Latest

Mominatrix
Daddy, what are you doing to Mommy?
By Kristen Chase
All’s fair with love and sex until that wee one you produced after long months of robotic sex or that one drunken unmemorable screw is old enough to walk in on you doing the dirty deed. Here’s hoping you’ve been putting aside money... read the rest

Silence is Not an Option
The Judas Kiss
By Robert Green
How many parents, mothers in particular, would knowingly put their children in harms way and confine their children to an environment absent of any boundaries, safety and protection? How many women are tormentors by proxy, consenting accessories to crimes... read the rest

The Yellow Bus of Salvation
Hail to the bus driver, bus driver.
By Kimberly Valzania
To all the school bus drivers out there... you have NO IDEA how much you mean to me. I ask you, what parent isn't positively gleeful when their precious cherubs finally don their Sponge Bob or Dora backpacks to dutifully march down the driveway... read the rest

The Parental is Political
Who is Sarah Palin?
By Julie Marsh
Judging from the scarcity of information about Sarah Palin's political positions, it's not surprising that most voters don't have a clear picture of the recently announced GOP vice-presidential nominee. Based on the information at On the Issues, culled... read the rest

The IP Bookshelf
Doctor Ted by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre
Doctor Ted By Andrea Beaty, illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre Margaret K. McElderry; $14.99 32 pp.; ISBN-13: 978-1416928201 Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews There's a saying about how if you find a need, fill it; Andrea Beaty fulfills that adage in a... read the rest

Dinner for One
The ABCs of Single Parent Survival
By Susan Courtad
My children are set to start another school year. You know what that means. No, not a frantic dash to Target for new pencil cases and backpacks. It’s the time of year when single parents everywhere need to do a little back-to-school shopping... read the rest

The IP Bookshelf
Never Take a Shark to the Dentist by Judi Barrett, illustrated by John Nickle
Never Take a Shark to the Dentist (And other things not to do) By Judi Barrett, illustrated by John Nickle Atheneum; $16.99 34 pp; ISBN-13: 978-1416907244 Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews Every kid knows there's a list of things she's never to do. Most... read the rest

Mominatrix
Those cheatin' hearts.
By Kristen Chase
It seems that you can’t open a newspaper, magazine, or hell, an email from a friend and not read about a politician’s wife, a celebrity’s spouse, or someone close to you suffering at the hands of their husband’s wandering eye. Or... read the rest

Long Journey on a Short Bus
The Club.
By Karen Murphy
Last year just before Halloween we shopped for costumes. Each and every year for years before that I had lovingly and painstakingly sewed intricate costumes, despite knowing next to nothing about sewing, but now that Eric was of age to wear one I felt... read the rest

The Parental is Political
The ins and outs of sex offender notification.
By Julie Marsh
Are there any sex offenders living in your neighborhood? Of course not, you think. Not in my neighborhood. But how do you know? Have you checked your state's registry? Do you check it regularly? Or are you expecting to be notified by law enforcement... read the rest

Mamma Mia
Being a passenger in life.
By Anita Doberman
I am trying to learn one thing as I grow older. Yes, even I attempt to grasp higher truths, and these are not tips to be a better cook or crafty mom because they are impossible tasks for my incapable hands, but notions that I really have no control over... read the rest

The IP Bookshelf
Sipping Spiders Through a Straw: Campfire Songs for Monsters By Kelly DiPucchio; illustrated by Gris Grimly
Sipping Spiders Through a Straw: Campfire Songs for Monsters By Kelly DiPucchio; illustrated by Gris Grimly Scholastic Press, $15.99 40 pp., ISBN-13: 978-0439584012 Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews With just a few weeks left of summer, there's just enough... read the rest

Of Mice And Kids
I had honorable intentions.
By Margaret Curran
For months, my kids begged me for a pair of pet mice. In fact, the word "beg" doesn’t do justice to the extremes my girls’ went to in order to convince me to invite mice into our house. They swore they would take care of their new... read the rest

Home/Office
Back to Life, Back to Reality
By Dana Tuszke
Summer is almost over. The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting darker and many parents are ready to get back to reality. Ready to send their kids back to the life of text books, loose leaf paper and sharpened pencils. I don't know if I'm... read the rest

The View From Here
The Top Five Reasons School Should Not Start in August
By Amy Nathan
School starts in August in many school districts across the country (ours on August 20th), and that’s just plain wrong. First of all, it’s a Wednesday. If administrators are going to start school in what is ostensibly only the third-quarter... read the rest

What's the Matter With Mommy?
Loser Mom Syndrome
By Kelley Cunningham
The most overlooked disease facing Mothers today is Loser Mom Syndrome. LMS is a constant threat, a dark storm cloud lurking on the horizon that threatens to undermine any fleeting feelings of control and peace a mother can create for herself. You... read the rest

The IP Bookshelf
It's Not Fair!, By Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
It's Not Fair! By Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld HarperCollins; $16.99 40 pp.; ISBN-13: 978-0061152573 Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews It's no secret that I'm a fan of Amy Krouse Rosenthal's. From her unconventional memoir Encyclopedia... read the rest

Mominatrix
Getting lucky.
By Kristen Chase
It’s no secret that today, 08/08/08, is considered the luckiest day this year – thousands of superstitious couples are scheduled to get hitched and hordes of preggos are being offered huge prizes just to pop one out. Lottery lines are already... read the rest