Here’s how I’m doing so far (in no particular order):

1. Give up the guilt: This is an ongoing goal for me and one I’m sure I’ll be working on for the rest of my life, but I have to say I’m feeling pretty good about my progress so far this year.

2. Don’t let fear stop me from living the life I want to live: Another broad and probably lifelong goal, this one has already come up in the form of a strange and possibly wonderful opportunity which I’m hoping my family can seize next month. (More on that if it pans out!)

3. Find more activities my pre-teen son and I can enjoy together: I bought my son a puzzle over winter break (an impulse purchase as I shopped for holiday trappings) and we had so much fun doing it we’ve started doing puzzles nearly every weekend. Our whole family enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles when my son was younger, but we hadn’t done one in at least a year. My husband cut a large piece of cardboard so we can move the puzzle off the dining room table every evening at dinnertime, and now we’re back in business. It’s a great way to spend snippets of time together throughout the week/weekend and talk about anything and everything as we hunt for the right pieces.

4. (Re)learn a foreign language: I started an Italian class at PCC a few weeks ago and although I was panicked before the first class (I hadn’t taken Italian in nearly 30 years but I signed up for the second level), it all started coming back to me as soon as the class started and I love it! In fact, when our second class was canceled because of inclement weather, I was truly disappointed! (“You’re disappointed you get a snow day?,” my son asked incredulously!)

5. Learn to make great pie crust: I haven’t started on this one yet, but there’s still time, right?

6. Travel more: I’m working on this one. (See #2, above.)

That’s all I’ve got for now, but having written it all down I have to say I’m pretty proud of myself.

How are you doing on your resolutions, if you made any? Please share your progress and your challenges in our comments section below -– it might help you stay on track, get back on track, or even make new resolutions for the months ahead!

One thing I’ve realized is how lazy I had become, even with basic recycling. There were times (more frequent than I care to admit!) when I would toss used toilet paper rolls, empty shampoo bottles and other recyclables into the trash. No more. We can’t spare the space! And I love being able to recycle (i.e., compost) pizza delivery boxes!

One of the biggest challenges for me, so far, is cleaning out the fridge. I have to remember to do it the day I put the trash out because, without the security of wrapping spoiled food in a plastic bag (Yes, I do waste food! I’m trying to stop doing it!), I don’t want it sitting out of the fridge for too long. But on the up side, it has been making me clean out the fridge more regularly!

We weren’t home for Thanksgiving, but I imagine it wasn’t much of a problem since most of the trash generated would be food waste, which is still picked up weekly. It’s the winter holidays with their mountains of gift wrap that likely will cause most people concern. All the more reason to go greener this year, minimizing disposable wrapping and recycling everything we can.

If you live in Portland, how are you liking (or not liking) the new program?

What tips can you offer to those who might still be struggling with too much trash?

As these things often go, it was only a few weeks into December when I saw a post on Twitter from Katy Wolk-Stanley, Portland’s very own Nonconsumer Advocate, announcing a challenge she was posing on her blog: 52 Weeks, 52 Letters. Here’s how Katy put it:

“I am going to write 52 letters in 2011. Not necessarily to 52 different people, and I imagine that many of them will actually live in the same city as I do. I invite you to join this challenge. Write to those you’ve lost contact with and write to those you chat with on a daily basis. Write to your spouse, maybe even your own children.”

I hadn’t planned to write quite that many letters, but I thought it was interesting that at least two of us had a similar idea at the same time. (As it turns out, she got the idea from a friend, so it was more than two! And to be fair, Katy posed a similar challenge in 2009, so she beat me.)

A week or so later I saw a post on Twitter (yes, I spend too much time on Twitter!) about the 365 Project, “a photography project where you document a year of your life by taking a daily photo,” according to the website. Another challenge, I thought, to help us take the time to notice and document what’s important in life.

Why do we need such structured programs to help us remember to write letters to our friends or take a picture and document our daily lives? Probably just because we’re all so busy, but I for one am always more consistent when I have a structure or a schedule to follow. I clean the house on Fridays. I pay the bills on the 13th and the 27th of the month. Otherwise, it might just not get done.

Both of these projects tie in closely with another article in our December issue, “What’s Your Story? Preserving Your Family’s Unique History,” by the way.

What’s your feeling about such structured challenges?
Have you participated in any yourself?
If you were going to create such a project, what would it be?

The deadline for paper and online registration in Washington State was October 4, but if you live in Washington and are not registered in the state you can register in person at your County Elections Office until the Monday one week before Election Day (Oct. 25).

Make sure your voice is heard in this important election by returning your completed ballot on time! Here’s a handy dandy list of BALLOT DROP SITES IN OREGON to help.

Not sure if you’re already registered in Oregon? FIND OUT HERE..

Want to know more about the candidates?

Read about candidates endorsed by The Mother PAC, the first political action committee run by mothers to forward family-friendly policies in Salem and beyond.

Get details on candidates endorsed by Stand for Children, a citizen-led child advocacy organization committed to improving student outcomes by making children and their needs a higher political priority.

For more about the importance of your vote for your own children and all our children, read this month’s online article, Parenting and Politics.

This summer went by so fast – Do they all? I can’t remember! – but we definitely enjoyed ourselves while it lasted. We took a few road trips, visited OMSI and Oaks Park and our local swimming pools and playgrounds, and had plenty of good old-fashioned down time at home reading books, playing board games and hanging out with our wonderful neighbors.

But now it’s back to school for him, back to work for me. (I work at home, so I never stopped, but I definitely slowed down while my son was home.) I’m looking forward to having more time to focus on my work, more mental bandwidth to take on new projects and more uninterrupted blocks of time to actually start and complete a task in one sitting. I’m looking forward to taking my morning walks up Mt. Tabor more regularly and meeting friends and colleagues for coffee and the occasional lunch. And I’m looking forward to seeing my son’s smiling face after school every day and reconnecting with him as he tells me about his day, his friends and his triumphs and challenges.

If your kids are back in school, what are you looking forward to most?
What will you miss most about summer?

Here’s the scoop: Every year during July and August we ask our readers to tell us about their favorite family-friendly destinations and businesses. You let us know where your family loves to eat, shop, hike, celebrate, exercise and more. As a reward, one lucky voter, chosen at random, wins a Family Fun Package including a $50 gift card to the winning restaurant (the “Happy Highchair” winner!), the books “Out & About with Kids Portland” and “Best Hikes with Kids Oregon,” and the DVD “Portland at Play.”

Don’t keep those wonderful local businesses a secret! Cast your votes today! We’ll reveal the winners in our September issue.

My little boy turns 10 tomorrow, and while I’ve never been one to lament the passing of each developmental stage (I didn’t cry when he started kindergarten and not once have I looked back longingly to his colicky beginnings!), I have to admit this double-digit milestone is affecting me. Maybe it’s because he’s started doing that thing where he rolls his eyes in exasperation every time I speak. Or maybe it’s because “Mom” has become a three syllable word (as in “Oh Mo – o – om!” … cue eye roll).

And so I have to ask: What’s a mother to do? Is 10 officially pre-teen? And if so, what can I do to remain “in parental control” while at the same time keeping the lines of communication – and the lines of affection – in tact?

I’d love any and all advice from more experienced parents out there. When did your child enter the “Oh Mom you’re so embarrassing!” years, and how have you – and your kids – survived it?

Happy Birthday Sweetie! (I promise not to call you that in front of your friends!)

North Clackamas Aquatic Center: Buy 1 Big Surf Swim admission, get 1 free. (page 33)
Bob’s Red Mill: Buy any 2 Bob’s Red Mill products, get a third of equal or lesser value free. (page 32 … they’re also our Family Fare feature this month!)
Old Spaghetti Factory: Free kid’s meal with a paid adult meal. (page 31)
Play Boutique: Free drink, 30 percent off a class, and $25 off camps! (page 30)
Learning Palace: 15 percent off all regular priced items. (page 30)
Clowns Unlimited: $25 off any order. (page 51)
Sunriver Resort: Resort rewards program with credits ranging from $200 when you stay four nights to $350 when you stay seven nights. Credits can be redeemed for resort-owned dining, children’s programs, golf, bike rentals, spa treatments and more. (page 25)
Grandma’s Place: 25 percent off your first month’s tuition when you enroll by August 1. (page 15)
World of Smiles: Complimentary dental exam for kids under 2. (page 15)
Johnstone Financial: Free consultation. (page 16)
Tidee Didee: One free week when you pre-pay for four weeks. (page 48)
Cricket: Two unlimited lines for $75/month. (page 29)

Pick up your copy – and start saving – today! (Some restrictions may apply.)

Oh, and tell them Metro Parent sent you!

Sure we have our own favorites, but we want to know where your family goes for sweet frozen treats. The top three “Family Favorites” from our reader survey last year were Cold Stone Creamery, Ben & Jerry’s, and Staccato Gelato, but we know there are many, many more local places serving delicious ice cream, fro yo and gelato. So this week, we’re asking our readers to share their own favorites.

As an incentive, we’re offering a $20 gift certificate to Ben & Jerry’s to one lucky reader who shares his or her favorite frozen treat shop on our Facebook page.

Here’s how to enter:
1. Go to our Facebook page.
2. “Like” us, if you haven’t already.
3. Comment on the post from June 28 (today) about ice cream.
4. Send your email address to emily(at)metro-parent(dot)com with the subject line “Ice Cream” (because it’s not always possible for us to contact fans via Facebook).

YOU MUST COMMENT ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE TO ENTER.

We’ll pick a random winner from all comments placed by 5 pm on Friday, July 2.

Good luck … and thanks for your help!

My dad’s a funny guy – and I mean funny as in “ha ha” not funny as in odd. All of his life he’s enjoyed laughter, his own and that of others, whether it was over one of life’s countless spontaneous moments of mirth or a good solid joke.

Here’s an example: Dad and three friends (all fathers) went fishing one weekend when he was in his 30s. The fish weren’t exactly biting so he and his buddies decided to stop at a roadside stand and buy several large salmon.

One of the group – my dad can’t remember whom – came up with the idea of telling the wives that they caught the fish. This group of jokers then went a step further and had a local photographer take several shots of them with their “catch.” One of the proud wives brought a photo over to the local newspaper (you can see where this is going …). They published it in the next edition with the headline “Local Men Get Lucky.”

Dad’s still laughing about that one, nearly fifty years later.

Not all of dad’s jokes are so elaborate or staged. In fact, for the most part his humor is the seamless sort that blends into his life and relationships, an underlying premise – an assumption, really – that’s always there. It’s made the lives of his five kids so much richer and, during rough times, simply more bearable. Dad’s always looked at life through that lens of humor – and I feel strongly that it’s due to his comic nature (whether genetic or acquired) that all of us kids have funny bones. I really can’t think of a greater gift that he’s given his children – except, of course, his love.

To be sure not all funny fathers are loving – and not all loving fathers are particularly funny. It’s pure serendipity when they’re both.

I came across another funny father recently. The book The Poo Bomb: True Tales of Parental Terror by Jeff Vogel (Andrews McMeel, 2005) landed on my desk. The prologue promised that the book contained “everything funny that happened in our daughter Cordelia’s first year of life.” I skimmed through it, expecting hackneyed dirty diaper jokes and projectile vomiting anecdotes. What I found instead was genuinely funny stuff – irreverent, sometimes bordering on obscene, but funny nonetheless. Even the diaper jokes and vomiting scenarios were hilarious. In Vogel’s version of FAQs, he writes: “Q: Why did you use so many dirty words when writing this? A: I do not feel that it is possible to write honestly about parenting without using a lot of obscenities.” See? Funny stuff.

Lest you conclude that Vogel is a lousy father – and this would be a fair assumption after reading some of his passages – it’s clear that he isn’t. He’s just another funny, loving dad. Consider this passage about his infant daughter: “I don’t have what my wife refers to as ‘foo foo’ feelings. No warm fuzzies. But I strongly suspect, if necessary, I’d get hit by a car for her.”

I have no doubt that my dad feels the same way.

My father is almost 90 years old now. And he’s still making us laugh.

But, more importantly, he still makes us feel loved.

By Marie Sherlock, editor of Metro Parent, in loving memory of Gerald Sherlock (1915-2008)