90-Year-Old Delivers Baby!?!
By Julie Sander
May 8th, 2009
While browsing through news sites online, I came across a story about a 90-year-old woman in the UK who delivered her great-grandchild.
After returning from a walk, her 32-year-old granddaughter went into labor. Margaret Jones, who worked as a midwife in the ‘50s and has since had both hips replaced, was called for help and delivered her great-granddaughter.
I find it extremely heartwarming that this 90-year-old woman was not only able to deliver a baby, something she hadn’t done for over 50 years, and also be so involved with the birth of her great-grandchild. Not many people can say they were brought into the world by a 90-year-old woman.
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Chemical in Sippy Cups and Baby Bottles Banned
Briana Bierschbach
May 8th, 2009
In a step to protect children from dangerous chemicals, Minnesota lawmakers banned sippy cups and baby bottles containing a potentially harmful ingredient.&n...
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Lead Still Found in Toys
Julie Sander
May 4th, 2009
On April 29, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission reported a recall on a dinosaur play set due to a violation of the lead pai...
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Teacher of the Year
Briana Bierschbach
May 4th, 2009
A Brooklyn Park middle school teacher was named Minnesota Teacher of the year Sunday. ...
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Swine Flu in Minnesota?
Julie Sander
April 29th, 2009
Today the Star Tribune reported Minnesota may have its first case of swine flu. Two schools in Cold Spring, Minn. decided to close...
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ADHD Medications Improving Test Scores?
Julie Sander
April 27th, 2009
In recent years, there has been much controversy over children taking prescription medications for ADHD and other behavioral disorders. Many people believe c...
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Tracking Kids Online
Briana Bierschbach
April 27th, 2009
Have you ever wondered what websites your kids are browsing? If your kids are at that age, the obvious answer is: of course. But would you go as far as monit...
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Voluntary Simplicity
Monica
April 23rd, 2009
I’m not sure how I stumbled on this (probably Facebook via Twitter via someone’s blog) but a high school in Illinois has created an interesting experiment for some of its students: “...
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Economy Falls, Child Abuse Rises
Julie Sander
April 17th, 2009
As the economy has been down in the dumps, child abuse rates across the country have been rising. According to yesterdays ar...
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Virtual Doctor?
Briana Bierschbach
April 15th, 2009
What if parents could get their sick children diagnosed by a medical doctor via the Internet? If you think that sounds too much like something out of "Back to the Future," thi...
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One girl rides for soldiers
Briana Bierschbach
April 13th, 2009
5 Comments
One girl is taking one long ride this summer to raise money for returning veterans needing a place to "heal."...
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Know your ABCs, 123s and the Financial Basiscs
Briana Bierschbach
April 13th, 2009
An interesting piece in Sunday's Pioneer Press posed an intriguing question: should...
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Sex Ed at the Legislature
Monica
March 31st, 2009
It’s been a year since Minnesota Parent ...
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Video games rotting your kid's brain? Think again!
Julie Sander
March 30th, 2009
If you struggle to pull your kids away from the Playstation and get them into homework mode, you probably won’t want to shar...
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Schools Prepare for Statewide Testing
Briana Bierschbach
March 27th, 2009
An interesting piece in yesterdays Star Tribune details how metro area schools are preparing students for an upcoming state-wide standardized test. Som...
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Fake Rochester Guidance Counselor Scamming Parents
Briana Bierschbach
March 27th, 2009
Watch out Rochester Public School parents -- a scammer is out to get your cash. An alert issued from Rochester Public Schools last...
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Teen Sleep
Julie Sander
March 25th, 2009
It’s every high schooler’s dream; a later start time. According to the Associated Press, a handful of schools in Britain have changed their schoo...
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School Starting After Labor Day
Briana Bierschbach
March 25th, 2009
Labor Day is late this year – a little too late for some school districts. ...
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More from the Legislature
Monica
March 24th, 2009
1 Comment
A potential change in state law could have you strapping your kids into booster seats in the car until they are eight years old. Monday the Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill written by Sen. J...
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Goodbye to Bullying?
Monica
March 18th, 2009
Can the state protect your child from bullying? This morning Minnesota’s senate has scheduled a hearing for a bill that would extend the state’s human rights protections to your child at s...
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Homeless in Minneapolis
Monica
March 16th, 2009
My Time magazine arrived this weekend with a powerful story about the rising number of homeless kids in...
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Tell us about a camp, win "Monsters vs. Aliens" passes!
Monica
March 11th, 2009
2 Comments
Know of a camp we don’t know about (but should)? Tell us about it and why we should include that camp in our 2010 Camp Guide and you’ll be entered to win four passes to the advanced 3-D sc...
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Eating Together
Briana Bierschbach
March 9th, 2009
The family that eats together, eats better, at least that’s what a recent study from the University of Minnesota is saying....
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Banning Barbie
Julie Sander
March 6th, 2009
On Wednesday, news broke that Delegate Jeff Eldridge of Lincoln County, West Virginia wants to ban Barbie doll sales in all of West Virginia. Eldridge was qu...
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Swinging in Style
Monica
March 5th, 2009
I don’t consider my myself a First Family nut, but this was just straight up cute: when the Obama girls (Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10) got home from school on Wednesday they were surprised with a new...
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Baby Einstein: dumbing down our kids?
Julie Sander
March 4th, 2009
Today, news sources are reporting a recent study claims educational DVDs for babies are a waste of time. As videos like “Baby Einstein” and &ldqu...
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Amnesty for Underagers
Monica
March 2nd, 2009
Just in time for our underage drinking story: the University of Minnesota-Duluth is creating a...
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Baby Facebook
Briana Bierschbach
March 2nd, 2009
It's like Facebook for your babies. Most new (and old) mothers want to tel...
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Safe Schools For All... Can a bill stop bullying?
Julie Sander
February 27th, 2009
Today’s typical classroom is extremely diverse. Students come from different heritages, different religions, and are more open about sexual orientation...
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Stand at Attention?
Monica
February 25th, 2009
The New York Times headed to Marine-on-St. Croix’s Marine Elementary School to document a classroom wh...
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Mudville
Monica
February 24th, 2009
Local writer Kurtis Scaletta’s new young adult novel Mudville comes out today. The book follows young Roy McGuire, who lives in a town that hasn’t seen a sunny day in 22 years — that...
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The Facebook sandwich generation
Tricia Cornell
February 19th, 2009
Raise your hand if you’re on Facebook.Okay, you two holdouts in the back can leave. No, on second thought, you might as well stick around to hear this. You’ll join sooner or la...
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Sesame Street, Minneapolis
Monica
February 19th, 2009
Bert and Ernie will step away from Sesame Street this fall to debut in the Children’s Theatre Production of “Bert and Ernie, Goodnight!” The CTC announced their 2009/2010 schedule of...
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Bristol Palin on Teen Pregnancy
Monica
February 17th, 2009
In between hearing about the bizarre chimp attack in Connecticut and the latest Hollywood gossip, the Today show aired a segment about Bristol Palin, who had her first interview since becoming a teena...
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Bust a Move
Monica
February 16th, 2009
It’s winter dance season at high school’s around Minnesota, which has schools coming out with new rules about what sort of dancing is appropriate and what isn’t. ...
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Winter Weight
Briana Bierschbach
February 16th, 2009
Worried that your kids aren’t getting up and moving enough this winter, well so are the exercise experts who have some tips for keeping your kids activ...
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Less squirming at the dentist
Tricia Cornell
February 13th, 2009
The Big Bean recently lost her second and third tooth. Unfortunately, she lost them the same way she did the first: Yanked out by the dentist to make way for wayward adult teeth that refused to come u...
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Childcare woes
Monica
February 13th, 2009
The Strib points out an interesting byproduct of the down economy: day c...
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Keep Making Those Faces
Briana Bierschbach
February 13th, 2009
If you have ever felt silly making those sweeping gestures and swinging your arms around to communicate with your baby, don’t – a new study from ...
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Court Rules on Vaccines and Autism
Monica
February 12th, 2009
The New York Times website reports that a special court has ruled that vaccines are not to blame for Autism. Describing the evidence as “overwhelmingly contrary” to parent’s claim...
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Dating Your Spouse
Monica
February 11th, 2009
Last month ...
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Keeping Kids Safer On-line
Briana Bierschbach
February 11th, 2009
In case you missed it, yesterday was worldwide “Safer Internet Day,” and what a better day to learn more about keeping your kids safe on-line? ...
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Who's got time?
Tricia Cornell
February 10th, 2009
Four breakfasts; four lunches; two backpacks; two pairs of little boots; two pairs of little sneakers; a snowstorm of hats, mittens, and scarves. Who needs snowpants at school? It’s swimming day...
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Is This Going to be Forever?
Monica
February 5th, 2009
This clip has been making the rounds on the Internet, but in the off chance you haven’t seen it I’m posting it ...
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News you can use
Tricia Cornell
February 4th, 2009
A quick round-up of some local parenting news you may have missed:Your children might be eating better t...
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Banning Plastics in MN
Monica
February 4th, 2009
It’s been two years since MnParent ...
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TV Teens and Junk Food
Briana Bierschbach
February 4th, 2009
Th...
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24 Digits
Julie Sander
February 4th, 2009
I have a very odd habit… whenever someone is barefoot around me, I feel the need to count their toes. So when I heard this ...
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Tweens!
Monica
February 4th, 2009
I get about 20 emails a day that in some way mention “tweens,” those kids ages 8–12 who are in between childhood and the turbulent teenage years. ...
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Nuk Princess, take II
Tricia Cornell
February 3rd, 2009
Just about a year ago, my baby boy turned three. And, in a big-boy move that just about broke my heart, he gathered up every last pacifier on his bed. (There were at least five, I know, because he lik...
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Minnesota Book Awards
Tricia Cornell
February 2nd, 2009
The 2009 Minnesota Book Awards finalists were announced on Saturday. We're apparently a little behind on our reading here, but ...
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Girl Scout Cookies are here!
Monica
February 2nd, 2009
I was a Girl Scout until I was 18. I know…it’s unheard of. But I signed up in first grade as a Brownie and, well, once I’d made it to 8th grade (that’s Cadette status, btw) I ...
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Cuts for Charity
Monica
February 2nd, 2009
Starting today you can get your child a haircut and give to charity all at the same time. From Feb. 2–15 Fantastic Sam’s will donate $1 from every kids’ haircut to St. Jude Children&...
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Save handmade
Tricia Cornell
January 30th, 2009
I'm jumping on the bandwagon late because I've been trying to say something that hasn't already been said. No need. ...
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Recession babies
Tricia Cornell
January 30th, 2009
Some folks are holding off on starting or expanding their families. That's not surprising, considering that past...
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Teens Gone Mild
Monica
January 30th, 2009
A recent article in the New York Times delves into an issue we're ...
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Lunch and recess
Tricia Cornell
January 29th, 2009
What are the most important subjects in school? I'm going to turn an old joke on its head and say they really are lunch and recess. And, apparently we're not doing too well at either. I...
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Eight Baby Crazy
Briana Bierschbach
January 28th, 2009
As a child, I always wanted more brothers and sisters. For me, two siblings was just not enough. But whenever I would ask for more playmates, my mother would...
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Obama Dolls?
Julie
January 28th, 2009
Over the past week, news sources have been reporting that Ty, the company famous for Beanie ...
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Recession? What recession?
Monica
January 28th, 2009
Apparently the boutique baby shop Oh Baby! isn't feeling the effects of the economic downturn: the store is moving to a larger 2,400 square foot store in the Galleria in Edina -- that's four times ...
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Foster to adopt
Tricia Cornell
January 28th, 2009
I dare you to read Nia Vardalos's story and not want to run out and hug the actress and enthusiastic ...
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Busy, busy babies
Tricia Cornell
January 27th, 2009
Babies have so much to do: 1. Play with feet. 2. Chew on...
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More vaccine news
Tricia Cornell
January 26th, 2009
Last month our story on the rise of vaccine-preventable diseases and parents' unease about vaccinations ...
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More vaccine news
Tricia Cornell
January 26th, 2009
Last month our story on the rise of vaccine-preventable diseases and parents' unease about vaccinations ...
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Minnesota Parent This Week lives! It's just a day late.
Monica
January 16th, 2009
Hello loyal Minnesota Parent This Week enewsletter readers! As you've probably already noticed, the weekly enewsletter did not make it into your mail boxes on Thursday as it usually does -- Minnesota ...
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Room to roam for River Valley Riders
Tricia
December 15th, 2008
In October, we reported on ...
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Two more hours of kids programming!
Tricia
December 12th, 2008
The lede on the PiPress story is "So long, Big Bird — at least goodbye to you and the "Sesame St...
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Smart girls have more fun
Tricia
November 25th, 2008
3 Comments
Say it loud, say it proud: We're smart! We're committed! We're passionate! We're girls!Oh, wait, I got a little swept up in things there. I'm not actually 10 years old any more. But if I wer...
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But, Mom! I'm learning how to manage a public identity!
Tricia
November 21st, 2008
Something to think about for the weekend: All that time teens spend on the internet may be...
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Teef!
Tricia Cornell
November 19th, 2008
Remember how excited you were when those first teeth started showing up? And, on the other hand, how wistful you might have been: "Her little baby face looks so much more grown-up with teeth!&...
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In your neighborhood
Tricia
November 14th, 2008
I'm a sucker for this stuff.I know lists like these are of dubious scientific, sociological, anthropologlcal, or any other value, but I eat them up: ...
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A list with a purpose
Monica
November 13th, 2008
Christmas lists have been a hot topic around here, and I'm continuing the trend:Through December 24 Macy's locations will have official mailboxes for kids to post their letters to Santa. For...
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Fish and houseguests?
Tricia
November 12th, 2008
1 Comment
With the holiday season come not only silver bells, but also doorbells, as spread-out families reconvene for holiday cheer. But cross-country travel with children is not always so cheery. And multi...
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Gift lists - yea or nay?
Tricia
November 11th, 2008
1 Comment
We recently asked readers of our weekly e-newsletter, Minnesota Parent This Week (Sign up! It's free!) how they felt about holiday gift lists. And, boy did we get an earful. With one exception, eve...
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11,438 flu shots
Monica Wright
October 29th, 2008
I have to give a shout out to my alma mater, the University of Minnesota, for landing a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for giving out 11...
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HSM 3: A Reason to Miss School?
Monica
October 23rd, 2008
An interesting question arose on KDWB this morning (ok...sometimes we listen on the way to work. We're not proud of it). Are parents letting...
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Tough times for toys
Monica
October 21st, 2008
Toy makers are worried the economic downturn is going to ...
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The American Girls are coming
Monica
October 9th, 2008
O...MG. Just in time for the holidays:Mark November 15 on your calendar. That's when the new 22,000 square foot American Girl store opens at the Mall of America, and that space includes an A...
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Hard? Yes. Complicated? No.
Tricia
September 16th, 2008
I ask you, and I have asked myself this many times: Why does it all have to be so complicated, this parenting stuff? Is it hard? Oh, heavens, yes, harder than anything I have ever done. But ...
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Madeline is back!
Monica
September 10th, 2008
Remember Madeline? Miss Clavel? Walking in two straight lines? It's been more than 50 years since author and illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans released a Madeline book, but this September his grandson John...
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Author Courtney Martin to speak on eating disorders, body image at the U of M
Monica
September 8th, 2008
This is timed to perfectly coincide with our September cover story:Writer Courtney Martin will deliver a lecture entitled "Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters" at 6:30 p.m. on Monday...
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Get thee to a museum!
Monica
September 8th, 2008
I just got an email that reminded me of yet another reason to head to the library this fall: the Museum Adventure Pass! Holy cow is that a great deal: Library users with a valid card can check out ...
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Homework Help
Monica
September 4th, 2008
Ok, so it's just the first week of school and no one wants to think about homework just yet, but the St. Paul Public Library is planning ahead with two great services: one is a homework center, the...
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Emily Program Update
Monica
September 2nd, 2008
The Emily Program, an eating disorder treatment program we featured in the cover story this month, is opening its newest location in Burnsville this Saturday. Anyone interested in stopping by to se...
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Who are these people, take II
Tricia Cornell
August 18th, 2008
Some people freeze their placenta. Some bury it under a tree. I've heard that some eat it. And I know that some blithely and thoughtlessly leave it behind in the hospital hazmat bin. ...
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Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii
Tricia Cornell
July 24th, 2008
1 Comment
Who are these people?...
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Dinner with the family
Tricia Cornell
July 22nd, 2008
The U releases a study today showing that girls benefit more than boys from regular family dinners...
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Forecast for 2010: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Tricia Cornell
July 18th, 2008
I've never found this book wholly satisfying. The concept is great, but, I dunno, the narrative arc is all wrong. ...
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Ka-boom!
Tricia Cornell
July 17th, 2008
Feel like you're surrounded by new babies lately? You're not alone. Apparently, a record number of babies...
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Cooking for Dads in USA Today
Monica
July 10th, 2008
Rob Barrett, the host of the Eden Prairie-based web cooking show Cooking for Dads (...
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Little House goes gangbusters
Monica
July 8th, 2008
The new musical based on the classic tales penned by Laura Ingalls Wilder that is being staged at the Guthrie went on sale at the end of June and broke box office records by selling more tickets on a ...
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Teen Clinic
Monica
June 16th, 2008
The Star Tribune had an interesting story over the weekend about how Hopkins Hi...
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No excuses!
Monica
June 11th, 2008
Digging through my email today I found this gem: Hennepin County Library is presenting about 700 free programs for children and teens this summer,...
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Barack me like a hurri-McCain
Monica
June 4th, 2008
St. Paul has barely come down from the high of having Barack Obama declare himself the Democratic candidate for president when I found this in my inbox this morning: New York-based kids clothing store...
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The gift of blood
Monica
June 2nd, 2008
I seem to be minoring in baby showers lately due to a spate of friends who are pregnant around the same time, so this email caught my attention: Cord...
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Kids and Vaccines
Monica
May 30th, 2008
Last week's Time magazine featured a cover story on kids and vaccines, tackling an issue that has gain...
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Camp: Good news x3
Tricia Cornell
May 23rd, 2008
Good news #1: Camp Heartland -- for kids with HIV/AIDS -- is opening its grounds to all kids for one week this summer, in a special session called Camp Aurora Borealis.Good news #2: Fees ben...
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Baby Names, round 939840
Monica
May 19th, 2008
Those of you who regularly pop by the MnParent blog know that Tricia and I have an unhealthy interest in baby names. One day we're slinging jabs about the presidential terms that ruined our names (Tri...
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Budget Feedback
Monica
May 19th, 2008
The St. Paul Public Schools want to know what you think of the 2008-2009 budget. No really, they do.The proposed solution to balancing a projected $10 million deficit includes $7 million in c...
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Comprehensive Sex Ed is Toast
Monica
May 7th, 2008
Anyone else feel a little deja-vu? Just like last year, Gov. Tim Pawlenty threatened to veto the entire Education Policy Omnibus bill due to the comprehensive sex ed legislation. And (once again) a...
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Best mullet
Tricia Cornell
April 29th, 2008
A coveted title, apparently. Check out this cute little guy....
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The Status of Girls in Minnesota
Monica
April 29th, 2008
Yesterday at the state capitol the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research released research on the status of girls in Minnesota. The results? A lot i...
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Sex Ed Update: The Sequel
Monica
April 29th, 2008
Things change quickly when you have a bill in the legislature, so my sex ed updates are becoming more frequent. Here's the latest: the House passed the measure. Read more ...
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Sex Ed Update
Monica
April 24th, 2008
As you probably noticed on the main MnParent page I did a story on standardizing sex education in Minnesota for our April issue. The bummer about deadlines -- especially during the legislative sess...
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I'm Taking Credit for This
Monica
April 18th, 2008
Two blog posts in one day! I am clearly more productive when Tricia isn't here. Anyway, my friend Emily has emailed me two different MSNBC links about plastic today. Emily has heard me rant on the top...
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Mother's Day
Monica
April 18th, 2008
I was flipping through my planner recently when I realized we are closing in on Mother's Day. My first thought: crap. I need to think of a unique, personal gift to get my mom that she'll appreciate...
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Calling All Budding Musicians
Monica
April 15th, 2008
The Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (GTCYS, or "GIT-seez" to those in the know) is having auditions for the 2008-2009 season on May 16-18 at Mayflower Church, 106 East Diamond Lake R...
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NKOTB!!
Monica
April 4th, 2008
This morning there's major excitement in the office, and it's not due to the weather or the fact that Tricia's out sick. Rather, it's the revelation that New Kids on the Block are getting back togethe...
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J. Lo's baby safety
Monica
March 31st, 2008
2 Comments
Despite what all the celebrity gossip magazines tell us -- "Stars! They're just like us!" -- we all know the truth. So when I read that Parents magazine had ...
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Kids and wine at the table
Tricia Cornell
March 26th, 2008
Eric Asimov writes on wine for the New York Times. That means there's wine at his table and in his house at all times, I'm guessing. He has two sons, 16 and 17, and ...
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Know a pet lover?
Monica
March 26th, 2008
Know a kid who’s kind to animals? The American Humane Association is celebrating its 94th annual "Be Kind to Animals Week" May 4-10 and to highlight the event they are seeking nominati...
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Back by popular demand
Monica
March 25th, 2008
The Children's Theatre Company just sent out an e-blast stating that their popular play "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" will be back for a two-week, 22-show run this summer (the current ru...
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More on kids and computers
Tricia Cornell
March 24th, 2008
Someone else is thinking about kids on computers. (See my post on Friday.) The Wall Street Journ...
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Hey, baseball fans
Tricia Cornell
March 21st, 2008
I'm just going to paste the whole press release here. The part about there being only one entrant from the TC really got me. Where's our hometown pride?Here's the release: ...
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Kids online
Tricia Cornell
March 21st, 2008
I'm the mean mommy. When we toured the Big Bean's new kindergarten, our guide proudly opened the door to the computer room and said, "You probably like to play on the computer at home, right?&...
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Certified safe
Tricia Cornell
March 20th, 2008
Has all the lead paint news made you want to chuck the contents of your kids' toyboxes and replace everything with sock pupp...
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"D"aisy Camp Scholarships
Monica
March 18th, 2008
This month we're talking about divorce in the magazine, and for my piece on ...
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Yaaawwwnnn...
Tricia Cornell
March 17th, 2008
Yep, that's right. I'm still yawning. I'm still yawning at 11:30 in the morning. And my excuse? Daylight savings time. ...
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It's not the Internet
Tricia Cornell
March 14th, 2008
This is a nice little slap upside the head to all those (us?) aging nattering nabobs of negativism. (Go ahead, Google that, kids.) ...
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Sex at the Capitol
Monica
March 13th, 2008
It sounds like a headline from the current issue of the New York Times, doesn't it? But I was not at the state capitol yesterday for anything quite so scandalous. Instead, I attended the senate edu...
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Wha?
Tricia Cornell
March 13th, 2008
It's this sort of thing that makes me want to throw my hands up in the air and give up. Qui...
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Eeek! Lice!
Monica
March 12th, 2008
Last fall, just as school was starting, I was working on a story about head lice. The pesky bugs were brought to my attention after state representative Karen Clark proposed a bill that would ban the ...
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Momnesia
Monica
March 6th, 2008
Here's a secret: the easiest way to wind up Tricia is to send her a product or pitch her a story that is solely mom-centric. You're guaranteed to get at least a mini-rant about how being a father isn'...
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It's what's for breakfast
Tricia Cornell
March 5th, 2008
Yep, it's what's for breakfast, but it ain't food.One pissed-off parent (not a Minnesotan) wa...
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All-day K
Tricia Cornell
March 4th, 2008
1 Comment
A year and a half ago, we ran ...
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Hot lunch, good lunch
Monica
March 3rd, 2008
A familiar face was on Rachael Ray's TV show today: local chef Seth Bixby Daugherty, former executive chef of Cosmos in Minneapolis. Bixby Daugherty was on the show to promote his nonprofit Real Food ...
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Who needs more cute-kid videos?
Tricia Cornell
February 27th, 2008
1 Comment
You do. Watch this. Otherwise, you might miss this wisdom for t...
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Cut the boys some slack
Tricia Cornell
February 26th, 2008
...
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Green baby
Monica
February 25th, 2008
An interesting press release just landed in my inbox (or, more correctly, I just got around to clicking on a press release that landed in my inbox a couple of days ago...oops): the new ...
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They call me baby driver
Tricia Cornell
February 25th, 2008
My kids won't drive until they graduate from college! It's a bike and a bus pass for them! Yeah, I know, easy to say now, 11 years before it becomes an issue. But I found it interesting that ...
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So simple and obvious...
Monica
February 20th, 2008
...that I wish I'd thought of it: mother Lori Pope was sick of buying toys for her twin toddlers only to see them quickly bore of the toy and move on to something else. As clutter would build and inte...
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"Reasonable quantities"
Tricia Cornell
February 19th, 2008
Did the TSA ever ask my kids what they think "reasonable ...
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Baby names, part III
Tricia Cornell
February 15th, 2008
We promise we'll quit after this. Or, maybe not. This was just too good not to share...
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Baby names, part II
Tricia Cornell
February 14th, 2008
Monica already made fun of my name earlier this week (to be fair, she admitted to the beating her own name took...
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Bah humbug, part II
Tricia Cornell
February 14th, 2008
Remember how very little I care about Valentine's Day? Well, that doesn't make the holiday go away, especially not in preschoolers' eager, conforming, friendship-seeking hearts. Our daycare ...
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Bah humbug
Tricia Cornell
February 13th, 2008
I don't really care much for Valentine's Day... or Mother's Day... or Father's Day... or, really, most any holiday. Some of you astute readers may have notice that for the past few years the magazi...
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Baby Names
Monica
February 11th, 2008
Two women who work in our office are pregnant, and it's gotten us all talking about baby names lately. According to ...
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Not to make light of it...
Tricia Cornell
February 11th, 2008
I've been thinking a lot about divorce lately -- not, of course, because there's anything wrong at home, but because we've got two stories about divorce in our March issue, which goes to press at t...
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Birthday party madness
Tricia Cornell
February 7th, 2008
Two recent birthdays in our house -- and I admit we pretty much bagged on the party both times. I brought goody bags to school, which generously provides the birthday cake. For the youngest, we cal...
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You want. You want. Cookie now.
Tricia Cornell
February 5th, 2008
The little guy is about to turn three. He's beautiful, delightful, and infuriating. I think, if you asked him, he might tell you the same thing about his parents.The other day we had this ex...
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Hot tea and books in bed
Tricia Cornell
February 4th, 2008
Here's a tip for all you perspective parents lurking on this blog: Do not, under any circumstances, procreate more than 600 miles from your nearest relative (and 1500 from most of them). Because wh...
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Little worrywarts
Tricia Cornell
January 16th, 2008
What do your kids worry about? I'd like to think mine worry about easy things like monsters and losing their toy trains, but I know I'm kidding myself. They've seen enough in their little lives to ...
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Yawwwwwwnn....
Tricia Cornell
January 15th, 2008
The first bell rang at my school at 7:15 a.m., if I remember correctly. Tired? Yawning? Unprepared? All signs of laziness. Typical teens. "Early to bed, early to rise...," our Puritan anc...
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Girls+Meals
Monica Wright
January 8th, 2008
A five year study completed by University of Minnesota researchers and published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that girls who eat five or more meals per week w...
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Happy New Year
Tricia Cornell
January 8th, 2008
According to Estonian tradition I would owe each and every one of my readers a bottle of vodka in penance for such belated New Year's greetings. I'll skip that and pass along this crucial, life-sav...
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Juno, Jamie Lynn Spears, and Teen Pregnancy
Monica Wright
December 19th, 2007
2 Comments
Last night I saw the film Juno, a comedic tale of a 16-year-old girl's unplanned pregnancy and her unique way of handling the...
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Minnesota Parent on Fox9TV: Curbing the gimmes
Tricia Cornell
December 17th, 2007
I really feel for kids around this time of year. They're surrounded by stuff, stuff they didn't even know they wanted until they saw it, stuff they can't possibly have all the tools to decide if th...
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Pool Safety Clears Senate
Monica Wright
December 14th, 2007
Nearly every Minnesotan has heard the story of Abigail Taylor, the Edina girl who was severely injured after sitting on an open drain hole that was missing it's protective cover at the Minneapolis ...
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WATCH ON SUNDAY: Communities for a lifetime
Tricia Cornell
December 14th, 2007
How can our communities be great places to live when we are young and raising our families, when we approach retirement, and as we age? Several Minnesota communities are taking steps in the right d...
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I never thought to wonder
Tricia Cornell
December 13th, 2007
Why don't pregnant women tip over? The answer: We are highly evolved. Apparently this question has been on people's minds:...
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Death and parties
Tricia Cornell
December 11th, 2007
Will parties, from the Star Tribune So many revelations in this article:1. We've ...
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Do we need another gift-giving occasion?
Tricia Cornell
December 7th, 2007
The NYT on "push presents"Soon after...
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Toot toot!
Tricia Cornell
December 6th, 2007
We're not really ones to toot our own horn, over here at Minnesota Parent. But I thought I'd let you know about some interesting content you might be missing, if you only pick up the print publicat...
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You're welcome
Tricia Cornell
November 30th, 2007
Kiddie Records Weekly Happy Friday! ...
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Santa who?
Tricia Cornell
November 28th, 2007
I had this e-mail exchange with a friend and fellow parent at our daycare this morning (slightly edited to protect the innocent):...
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Safe and secure in the back seat
Tricia Cornell
November 27th, 2007
I love this: safercar.gov.I'm not that into cars. My husband will tell you that I can rarely muster an accurate description of a car bey...
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Better school lunches
Tricia Cornell
November 26th, 2007
Two common complaints about the challenges of serving healthier school lunches: Kids won't eat them and they cost too much. Turns out, a ...
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Over the river and through the woods
Tricia Cornell
November 21st, 2007
We're off. We've installed the portable DVD screens in the back seat of the car and intend to sedate our children with Teddy Grahams and juice boxes all the way to Wisconsin. Wimping out? You bet I...
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College Students + Thanksgiving = stress
Monica Wright
November 19th, 2007
An article on cnn.com today talks about a Thanksgiving recipe many families don't think about: the combination of college students returning home for the holiday mixed with old family rules and expect...
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A patch full of pumpkins
Tricia Cornell
November 16th, 2007
Many many thanks to everyone who entered the coloring...
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Handmade holidays!
Tricia Cornell
November 15th, 2007
We have a knockout of a gift guide coming to you in December. I won't spoil the surprise, but I will say we're all very excited about it. And, I wanted to share something I just had to cut from the...
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In lieu of any actual news
Tricia Cornell
November 7th, 2007
I give you a cute kid story for the morning:While my husband was in the shower this morning, the four-year-old big sister decided to get some more cereal for her two-year-old baby brother. C...
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Moving on
Tricia Cornell
November 6th, 2007
Sixteen years ago, Nanci Oleson sat down in front of a radio microphone and started a conversation. "This," she said, "is what parenting is like for me. What's it like for you?"...
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Dip us in gold...
Monica Wright
November 2nd, 2007
...and call us winners! Last night the Minnesota Parent staff attended the annual Minnesota Magazine and Publications Association Excellence Awards and came away with two Gold Awards! The first was...
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Must. Not. Laugh.
Tricia Cornell
October 31st, 2007
All I can think is: "Bring your kid to work day." ...
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Helping out, and stuff
Tricia Cornell
October 26th, 2007
My kids are way too young to hear or see news about scary tragedies like the bridge collapse and the wild fires in California (Not everyone agrees with me: I had a conversation yesterday with a fri...
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This, folks, is a carabiner
Tricia Cornell
October 24th, 2007
The Mommy HookCrikey. I don't know why this makes me laugh as hard as it does, but, man... a carabiner. Rebranded. Mommy Hook! It's kil...
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Halloween treats are tricky
Tricia Cornell
October 22nd, 2007
I've got one living in my house. My good friend has two. You absolutely know at least one: kids with food allergies.Nobody knows why -- and better diagnoses are only part of the answer -- bu...
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My prayers are answered
Tricia Cornell
October 16th, 2007
When I was pregnant, those B vitamin supplements made me wretchedly ill. Actually, nearly everything made me wretchedly ill, but those vitamins topped the list. Two things I could tolerate were Che...
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Choosing a school
Tricia Cornell
October 12th, 2007
Permit me to engage in a little bit of self-promotion. Because, if you've got a toddler or a preschooler and you've just realized it's time to start looking at schools, or if you have an older chil...
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Moms and dads in green and blue
Tricia Cornell
October 11th, 2007
A little something you might not have known about me: I'm an army brat. My dad came home from work every day after work in his fatigues. I've got a special soft spot for military families, especial...
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Girls girls girls
Tricia Cornell
October 10th, 2007
Watch this. Then go give your daughters, nieces, cousins, granddaughters, babysitters and favorite girls a hug and tell them they are beautiful and smart and you love them and there's nothing they ...
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Take that, Manhattan!
Tricia Cornell
October 10th, 2007
So much for that vaunted low cost of Midwestern living. Turns out Minnesotans pay more for childcare as a percentage of their income than people in most other states. (This has actually been true for ...
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Let's talk about...
Tricia Cornell
October 4th, 2007
Or, really, let's not. Because who actually wants to? Not me, that's for sure. But we all know the old advertising slogan: "If you don't talk to your kids about sex, who will?" We definit...
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School lunch
Tricia Cornell
October 4th, 2007
Most kids eat one, sometimes two, meals out of three at school. And the offerings there aren't what they should be. When I was in school, the big buzz was about adding "healthy" choices l...
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Are you a holistic parent?
Tricia Cornell
September 27th, 2007
Will the women (And men? There might be some men involved.) behind the Holistic Moms Network mind if I call them just a little bit crunchy? A...
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Family pride
Tricia Cornell
September 25th, 2007
This Saturday, Family Pride will hold a training session where LGBT families can learn to tell their stories in a mainstream world. H...
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Summer '08, and a question for you
Tricia Cornell
September 24th, 2007
Okay, one summer down, time to start planning for the next. You think I'm joking? Oh, no, no, no. According to the American Camp Association, n...
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Be afraid
Tricia Cornell
September 20th, 2007
Normally I'm not a fan of scare stories. Or, rather, I'm not a fan of scaring parents in the guise of informing them. ...
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Can't make me look
Tricia Cornell
September 20th, 2007
i prefer my reality TV relatively melodrama-free, like this and ...
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You say you want a...
Tricia Cornell
September 14th, 2007
revolution?That's what MomsRising has been trying to stir up for ... oh, I think a little over a year now. And they've found some (sli...
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A standing rant
Tricia Cornell
September 12th, 2007
It's well known around these small offices that the easiest, most amusing way to watch my head explode is to refer to "moms" instead of "parents." That's not true. There's usual...
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Babies at work
Tricia Cornell
August 24th, 2007
And they don't mean hard at work learning how to insert their fists in their mouths.I don't know how I feel about this. Do we reall...
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Nature's pretty little princess?
Tricia Cornell
August 22nd, 2007
Turns out, girls really do prefer pink. ...
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Sound sleeper?
Tricia Cornell
August 17th, 2007
Parents warned against cough medicines for very young chi...
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Whose breast is it anyway?
Tricia Cornell
August 15th, 2007
Court orders woman to stop breastfeeding her sonMan, so many tough issues in that situation. But what jump...
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The high cost of care
Tricia Cornell
August 14th, 2007
Have you put off having a first or subsequent child because of ...
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Mr. and Mrs. Dodo
Tricia Cornell
August 13th, 2007
We're just not ready to be "Mr." and "Mrs." And we probably never will be. The norm among our friends, after our kids get old enough to figure out that "Alex's mom&q...
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Fear of falling
Tricia Cornell
August 10th, 2007
2 Comments
My family is in a rental apartment for a few months. That means a bunch of minor changes and frustrations: I don't seem to have packed enough spoons; none of the light switches are where I want the...
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Hah, take that!
Tricia
August 8th, 2007
Brainy babies aren't so brainy after all. Come on, is anyone really surprised? I've got no problem with the ...
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Tough talks
Tricia
August 8th, 2007
For the past week, constant news of the bridge collapse has been nearly unavoidable -- images of crushed cars and concerned civic leaders are on every newspaper box, the TV news, every news web sit...
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Welcome!
Tricia
August 2nd, 2007
It's a busy morning around here. And more than a little tense. As some of you know, our parent company, Minnesota Premier Publications, also publ...
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Respite
Tricia Cornell
November 16th, 2006
By now you've heard about the "nurse-in" in Vermont, protesting Delta Airline's ...
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Got plans for this weekend?
Tricia Cornell
November 15th, 2006
We do. It's Mama and Papa's night out and we're going to see Edgardo Mine a...
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Remember Goofus and Gallant?
Tricia Cornell
November 13th, 2006
Nobody around here does. I am apparently very very old. But everybody enthusiastically remembers Highlights magazine. Mostly...
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Everything old is new again
Tricia Cornell
November 10th, 2006
This cracks me up. A company called AlphaSmart is marketing a laptop to parents that, get this, cannot connect to the Internet. What an innovative idea! A computer without a modem....
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Whoa. Just whoa.
Tricia Cornell
November 9th, 2006
How do you get from a Friday afternoon drink with friends to crazy claims of increased alcoholism among today's mothers? (In today's NYT: ...
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The end of the innocence
Tricia Cornell
November 8th, 2006
I'm going to sound like the most naive parent on earth, but here goes. When we come home in the evening the kids watch TV for about half an hour while I get dinner ready. It's eith...
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Hey! Vote! Today!
Tricia Cornell
November 7th, 2006
I was the 163 voter in my precinct at 7:30 this morning. Imagine if that pace kept up all day? Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can find your polling place here: ...
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Garanimals
Tricia Cornell
November 6th, 2006
We learned a new word this morning: "Suggestion." The Big Bean proudly laid out her clothes for the day: Yellow flowered dress. Sky blue flowered turtleneck. Black flowere...
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So I had this idea
Tricia Cornell
November 1st, 2006
Halloween wasn't much fun last year. The Big Bean was almost three and, while she was way into her cozy warm dinosaur costume and delighted in her new knowledge that those colorful ...
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Apples were eaten
Tricia Cornell
October 23rd, 2006
Cider drunk. Pumpkins procured. A "big, fat" marker has been set aside so the little ones can draw the faces next weeken...
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Goodbye, Goodbye Mr. Muffin
Tricia Cornell
October 20th, 2006
Programming for tiny kids can't be easy. You've got to balance their vocabularies (which are growing by the hour) against their ability to process the events going on around them (which usually ...
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Apples! Pumpkins! Ponies! Oh my!
Tricia Cornell
October 20th, 2006
The three-year-old has big plans for this weekend: She wants to use her new jump rope outside. (She's small enough that we've been letting her jump inside in her socks. So...
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This weekend's must-do
Tricia Cornell
October 12th, 2006
There are seven - count 'em, seven -- items on this weekend's family Google calendar (still love Google!). And that doesn't even include the usual must-dos that can fill up a regular weekend: st...
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Something you don't know about me
Tricia Cornell
October 5th, 2006
I love mail! Love it love it love it. And this week has been a bonanza. Like clockwork, every day after lunch I pour the day's second cup of coffee and open my mail. This week's ma...
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Second shift
Tricia Cornell
September 29th, 2006
Sound familiar? 5:01 p.m. Computer off, phone on do not disturb, carry work trash to dumpster (it's my turn this month). 5:07 p.m. Pull into daycare parking lot -- if ...
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10-9-8-7-6...*
Tricia Cornell
September 27th, 2006
Seriously, start counting down now. On October 24 (that's 27 days away), history will be made. Or, remade. On that day, The Children's Television Workshop will finally release a DV...
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Social secretary
Tricia Cornell
September 22nd, 2006
Until I moved into my current job I was an adamant defender of paper calendars. I bought a new one every December, faithfully transferred vital information by hand, and carried it around in my m...
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Ka-boom!
Tricia Cornell
September 21st, 2006
So we just got an invitation to a birthday party for a little girl in my daughter's daycare class. We've made the birthday rounds before, but this is the first time the celebrant will be our dau...
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Oh, man
Tricia Cornell
September 20th, 2006
Oh, man. Oh, man. Why do I read this stuff? (Warning: Dead baby story. Maybe you really don't need to ...
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Shhhhh! yourself
Tricia Cornell
September 19th, 2006
Let's get something straight. When I am at a show at the Children's Theatre -- one recommended for all ages -- with my daug...
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New year, new you
Tricia Cornell
September 18th, 2006
Let's call it a summer hiatus. Because we all know little else takes a hiatus in the summer. Oh, sure, school's out. But it's almost as if classes are just moving politely out of t...
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Hewo!Ö is anybody out there?
Tricia Cornell
June 26th, 2006
Weíre headed off for a ten-day game of hide-and-seek with the southern California sun. (Weíll be doing the hiding.) On a last-minute Target run, my husband picked up ...
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'Aw done, beh-beee!'
Tricia Cornell
June 23rd, 2006
We're going to officially call that the Baby Boy's first sentence. That's what he said this morning as we pulled into the daycare parking lot. "Time to put down this doll, get...
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'Excuse me. Uh, excuse me!'
Tricia Cornell
June 20th, 2006
The voice wasn't trying to get my attention, so I ignored it. Or, rather, I would have, if I weren't nosy. But I am. So I got to see this exchange: A dad is holding h...
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There's a dinosaur...
Tricia Cornell
June 14th, 2006
My beautiful grunting boy officially became a Dinosaur on Monday, graduating from the Turtle room. He'd become something of a little terror in his last few weeks among the babies. ...
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All boy
Tricia Cornell
June 12th, 2006
We never really kid-proofed the house the first time around. Why cover the sockets when she'd surely request an audience before sticking her finger in one? Why gate the stairs when...
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Still learning
Tricia Cornell
June 7th, 2006
Last weekend I baked with my three-year-old and a family friend. At her request, we made pickle chiffon pie....
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And, doggone it, people like me
Tricia Cornell
May 30th, 2006
I'm good enough. You're good enough. I'm a good enough mom. You're a good enough dad. Over there, believe it or not, they're good enough, too. There are days I could bathe in those...
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Ask and
Tricia Cornell
May 25th, 2006
you shall receive. Jane Plane asked for a recipe from Theodora Zavin and Freda Stuart's ...
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In which I state the obvious
Tricia Cornell
May 24th, 2006
The pitches filling my inbox and my voicemail are a pretty good gauge of what our country is talking about... or, maybe, what it was talking about six months or a year ago. And, ba...
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Hooray!
Tricia Cornell
May 23rd, 2006
This past weekend, while I was hanging out with the ponies, our state legislators were burning some serious midnight oil. Some of them were talking about stadiums, and some of them were talking ...
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All the pretty ponies
Tricia Cornell
May 22nd, 2006
This weekend our neighborhood held its annual garage sale and carnival. So Saturday was spent wandering up and down blocks, picking up a plastic rake for $0.50, a plastic doll for ...
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Spare me
Tricia Cornell
May 18th, 2006
Did you know the Bratz have put out an album of children's music? Or that you can buy the soundtrack to the Disney/Pixar move Cars? Yep. Makes you despair just a little bit about t...
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The kid's gotta eat
Tricia Cornell
May 17th, 2006
I'm not a political person. Okay, that's an outright lie. But the truth is, I prefer to air my strongly held opinions on matters political in the company of people I know agree wit...
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Making a list
Tricia Cornell
May 16th, 2006
Saturday mornings we've got a routine going. It's my turn to get up early with the kids. So, it's 6:15. The cats get kibble. Everybody else gets Special K or Grape-Nuts. (Your kids...
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Weekend fun
Tricia Cornell
May 5th, 2006
Some families have little language shortcuts, expressions that signal their cohesion as a loving in-group. In our family, we have long-cuts. Why use one commonly understood word when a cum...
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Stuff
Tricia Cornell
May 2nd, 2006
(In which, Dear Reader, your editor gets a bit sanctimonious.) I like glancing at Al Sicherman's Tidbits column in the ...
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More phones
Tricia Cornell
April 27th, 2006
The New York Times looks at kids and cell phones again today. The tone is a bit hysterical-N...
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Tricia Cornell
April 25th, 2006
I want Paaaa-paaaa!" Papa was out of town. I had handed down some draconian edict like -- I honestly don't remember -- pick up your stickers, or something equally cruel. So my ...
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Housekeeping
Tricia Cornell
April 24th, 2006
I figured people were just shy. Or maybe not all that interested in what I'm saying. That may still be true, but it turns out that those can't be the only reasons there haven't bee...
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Tricia Cornell
April 24th, 2006
Buying security together $75-$125 a y...
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Flanagania
Tricia Cornell
April 21st, 2006
As sick as I am of the Mommy Wars, I don't know whether I will ever tire of Caitlin Flanagan-watching. ...
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Nah
Tricia Cornell
April 20th, 2006
Our family took the day off on Friday. We walked around the lake, dawdled at the grocery store, explored Richfield's W...
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Here we go
Tricia Cornell
April 6th, 2006
Naively, I thought we had a few years, or at least a few months, until we hit this particular phase. Dinner conversation last night: Daughter, three years, two months, ...
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Cookie U Want
Tricia Cornell
March 23rd, 2006
Two things that made me smile when I opened my mail yesterday: 1. Devo has reincarnated itself a...
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How not to talk to your 3-year-old
Tricia Cornell
March 21st, 2006
Yesterday morning I snapped, just a little bit. Tired of facing another round of early-morning demands. Tired of appending "please" to her every request. Just, well, tired, I asked her...
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This one blindsided me.
Tricia Cornell
February 27th, 2006
Now I need a place to hide away. It's the Modern Love column in the New York Times. ...
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My girl
Tricia Cornell
February 23rd, 2006
This terrifies me: 'I keep cutting till I feel better' (I know I heard a similar st...
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As long as it's pasta
Tricia Cornell
February 20th, 2006
I got the best piece of unsolicited parenting advice ever this weekend--and it wasn't about getting a six-month-old to sleep through the night. We went out for ...
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Learning the hard way
Tricia Cornell
February 17th, 2006
You know what doesn't work? Egg replacer. It's in the natural foods aisle, so I'm going to assume there's nothing chemically funky about the stuff. It's just not eggs. ...
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'Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy!'
Tricia Cornell
February 17th, 2006
My husband grew up without TV. (He ate a lot of carob, too, but that has damaged him in different ways.) Three years ago he couldn't reliably tell Grover from Telly Monster. And he certai...
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One fish, two fish
Tricia Cornell
November 30th, -0001
I had an important realization the other day: My kids don't actually eat anything I cook. I put it in front of them, to be sure -- balanced meals with what I think are kid-friendly...
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