Most of us mamas have fond memories of selling Girl Scout cookies – often our cookie nostalgia is about specific varieties of the cookies themselves. For me it was the Vanilla Cream Sandwich cookies. I was a really picky eater as a kid – so the fancier types didn’t appeal to me. But, oh man, I loved those Vanilla Sandwich cookies!
At some point, they quit making my favorites – frown face here – but I still buy several boxes of Girl Scout cookies each year. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on February 26, 2009 // Leave a Comment
We jumped on the bandwagon last week and bought chickens. Chicks, actually, five of them. Just two days old when we brought them home, they’re about the cutest things you can imagine.
In case you’ve been caught up in more important things like the ongoing war in the Middle East or our sinkhole of an economy, let me bring you up to date. Chickens are big in Portland. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on February 24, 2009 // Leave a Comment
Did you catch Elizabeth Hovde’s anti-paid family leave rant in the Sunday Oregonian? (“A payday for no work?”)
Oh my… Where do I begin?
Briefly for those who are unfamiliar with the Paid Family Leave proposal currently before the Oregon Legislature, it would provide up to $300 per week (for up to six weeks) to workers who take leave after the birth of a child or to care for a sick relative. It’s funded by a two cent per hour payroll tax (which works out to $42/year for a full-time worker).
Hovde opposes the legislation for the following reasons: More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on February 23, 2009 // Leave a Comment
There simply are not many upbeat headlines out there these days. But midst the news of more layoffs, shortened school years and musings and doubts about the federal stimulus plan, here’s a bright note: We’ve got 15 birthday party packages to give away!
From clowns and puppets to tea parties and roller skating galas, we’ve gathered our largest assortment of birthday fun possibilities ever (and this is the fifth year we’ve been doing this party giveaway thing). And 15 readers will each receive one, absolutely free…
Click here to enter. You can check out our Birthday Party Resource Guide – with dozens of party ideas – by going to pages 21 through 32 of our February issue (online here).
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on February 19, 2009 // 1 Comment
We made two big assumptions here: One that you have school-aged kids; and two, that, if you work, you magically get Presidents’ Day off (or you can finagle it somehow).
If those two assumptions hold true, here are two great ideas for families on Monday, Feb. 16:
Stand for Children Rally to Protect Kids & Schools. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on February 15, 2009 // Leave a Comment
On Monday we blogged about the fact that, in the midst of our economic doldrums, some enterprises are doing okay – namely Wal-Mart and McDonald’s. Another that is faring well is the movie industry. (Heaven forbid that Brad and Angelina should have to take a pay cut!)
The reason, according to one pundit, is that we need an escape from the bad news; hence, we take ourselves out to the movies (hopefully during Economy Hour).
Here’s a better idea for escapism: Locally-produced LAUGHTER. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on February 11, 2009 // Leave a Comment
Just about everyone we know has been affected in some way by our current economic downturn. The worst hit are those who have lost jobs – or houses – or both. Others have seen once comfortable college funds shrivel up or taken significant pay cuts. And we all know that there’s more to come.
But midst all of this disturbing news, two corporate Goliaths are reportedly doing just fine: Wal-Mart and McDonald’s. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on February 9, 2009 // 1 Comment
My friend’s son walked up to his mom on the playground yesterday afternoon, crying.
“Those boys hit me with a stick,” he announced. “And they hit Sam, too.”
Sam is my 8-year-old son. The mother bear instinct quickly rose up in my chest. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on February 4, 2009 // Leave a Comment
When kids get sick, parents agonize. Sleep deprivation and schedule disruptions are draining. Worse yet, we empathize with our child’s discomfort almost viscerally. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on February 2, 2009 // Leave a Comment
