Silicon Valley Moms Blog

Re-Gifting Redux

After years of stress, this year I finally figured out a "re-gifting" strategy. The New York Times may have published an article on "The Ins and Outs of Re-Gifting" and asked for readers worst re-gifting stories but I have already solved mine.

After weeks of hyper-ventilating over how many Teacher gifts I needed to buy, I finally just decided to go to Safeway and buy gift cards. No re-gifting needed on the Teacher's part. We don't celebrate Christmas (we celebrate Chanukah) but all of our neighbors do - so we go to Home Depot and buy over a dozen Poinsettias, but them in a wagon and do a pre-Christmas delivery. Many of our neighbors were nice enough to deliver useful Chanukah gifts back to us like flashlights and books for my boys. All of our various babysitters get a weeks worth of salary as a holiday gift (cash is good). While the New York Times mentioned champagne is the new fruitcake, it seems with my friends that entertaining is the new holiday gift.  We told family members to hold off on gifts this year, instead saving that money toward vacation time together in the future. For our kids we decided to buy one big practical gift (a family PC) instead of lots of little ones.  Because of the economic climate, work gifts seem to be a thing of the past. 

The gifting strategy this year was going well, until we received a big, beautiful fruit basket.

Emergency Visit to Laser Quest

The holiday season may be time for special family events, but when it comes to boys - they still need an energy outlet. My boys are great at school, other families houses or any time they can go outsideto play. But when it comes to a rainy cold days, things start getting wild. I know some boys can sit and play with a paper clip for hours, but most have what I call "boy energy". Boy energy is a force not to be reckoned with. That force can be sidetracked with Legos, reading, building games and other games for just so long. Then it is time to either put them in front of a screen or take serious action.

It all started when we realized that the bike ride I had planned for my 10 year old son and his friend, over for a playdate, could not take place because of rain.  We don't allow any gun toys into the house, but two Nerf guns slipped into holiday gifts. My normally pleasant son and his normally pleasant friend decided that my 6 year old twin boys made great targets for the Nerf guns. That is when I decided that an emergency visit to Laser Quest was the action needed to separate the older and younger boys.

So I did what any self respecting mom of three boys would do in this situation:

My Fantasy Charity: One Laptop Per Mom

If I could fund any fantasy charity it would be called something like "One Laptop Per Mom (and others)". Beyond the current "One Laptop Per Child" programs, I would like to target Moms, Dads, Teachers, Community Organizers (per Sheila BD) and even animal shelters (as Jill C. reminded me) IN NEED! While big local Silicon Valley companies like Cisco, Google, HP, Intel  and many others understand the impact of donating technology, I would like to start on a smaller scale and enable those in charge of taking care/educating of others with at least one (Wi-Fi enabled) laptop. With a Wi-Fi enabled laptop even those without internet access in their house can utilize free Wi-Fi hot spots.

Why laptops?

My 6 Year Old Said: I Want The Guy With The Dark Skin To Win

I am sitting with my three boys and husband explaining why this moment, that Barack Obama is now President Elect, is historic (the first time a white-majority country has ever elected a nonwhite head of state). We talked about the process throughout the election to my kids. My 9 year old and most of his friends all supported Barack Obama. Only one of my son's friends supported John McCain, because he said "John McCain will raise taxes on toys" (part of the mis-information campaign).

When I had conversations with my sons, it was mostly about the issues that each candidate stood for. But I was proud today when I asked my 6 year old which candidate he wanted to win, and he said "The guy with the dark skin" in the same way he would have described someone else as "the kid with the red hair."I am not only proud that my children have diversity around them in their school, but that skin color is just another attribute to them.  That many of the kids in my son's fourth grade class were supporting the "candidate" Obama because of the issues he stood for. That for them, race is not an issue.

Homework 2.0

I have a secret that I don't share with many people: while I am immersed in technology for business and social networking, I only introduce technology to my kids on an "as requested" basis. I believe when kids are ready for technology, they will ask for it. Then the first step is to provide safety education. The second step is to set up automatic limits (internet safety software) and time limits (one hour per day). The third step is called "hope", hope the education and limits work.

That being said, I may have gone too far with my waiting game. Gaming consoles and handheld technologies were the first things my kids asked for, and seemed safer because internet access was not included. Access to learning games, iTunes and YouTube were the first online requests.  Now my son is in fourth grade - and his school life has been completely transformed.  He does not like to write, luckily his classroom has a smartboard and laptops. Some homework can be accessed online then emailed back to his teacher. School basics go way beyond a pencil and paper, my son needs a home computer, internet access, digital camera, printer and USB flash drives.

The one task I should not have waited on was typing games.  By the time he is in middle school, most homework will be done on computers. Struggling with cursive may be a thing of the past.

Beth Blecherman is Co-Founder of the Silicon Valley Moms Group and has a personal blog on technology & parenting called "Techmamas.com".

When Mom Becomes a "Technology Freak"

When one of my ex-roomates walked into my house for a visit yesterday, I expected her to tease me that my "gadget charging station" was over-crowded. She was always the "neat freak" when we we lived together. But she did not notice the big pile of gadgets, because that is the norm in her house, too. However, she did ask my nine year old son how he was doing and he replied that he has become an expert windsurfer - "but mom has become a technology freak".

I laughed when he said that, but wondered what about my behavior had inspired that comment. I thought about how we spend weekends mostly technology free.  My son uses our laptops for homework and earns his screen time to play with the house entertainment technology. All this technology seems "the norm" for him. So what about my behavior made my son call me a technology freak?

Then I remembered the list of technology gadgets he sees me use each day, and it all made sense.

Calendar Anxiety

The school year has started and my life is now more complicated then ever. I have twins in two different Kindergarten classes that both have after school activities and after school care (because I am a working mom). I have a fourth grader that has homework to do and sports activities to balance. I work at home and have daily meetings, but want to find time to volunteer in all three of my kids separate classes. I finally joined a health club to start working out but can't find time to schedule my first introduction session.

In the past I have used my BlackBerry's electronic calendar that syncs with Microsoft Outlook, allowing me to print out copies out for my family. But this school years' activity schedules are still in a pile of papers in the middle of my desk - for one and only one reason - calendar anxiety..

The problem is that there are too many options available for me to use...

Comedian Mom Tina Fey as Hockey Mom Sarah Palin: Notes From The Skit

As I watched the Saturday Night Live skit last night where Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were playing Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton, it took me back to when the Silicon Valley Moms Bloggers were called MILF's by a blog in Silicon Valley (Valleywag). I think this is somewhat different, so I attempted to record the dialogue not to miss one word (hopefully I got them all).

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin: Good evening my fellow Americans, I was soooo excited when I was told Senator Clinton and I were addressing you tonight.
Amy Poehler as Hilary Clinton: And I was told I would be addressing you alone.
Tina Fey as Sarah Palin: Now I know it must strange for all of you to see the two of us together, What with we me being a John McCain's running mate.
AP as Hilary Clinton: And me being a fervent supporter of Barack Obama, as evidenced by this button (points to button on her lapel).
TF as Sarah Palin: But tonight we are crossing party lines to address the now very ugly role that sexism is playing in the campaign.
AP as Hilary Clinton: An issue which I am frankly surprised to hear people care about.
TF as Sarah Palin: You know, Hilary and I don't agree on everything...
AP as Hilary Clinton: (interrupts) Anything...I believe diplomacy should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy.
TF as Sarah Palin: And I can see Russia from my house.

(CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO AND MORE NOTES) 

Teenagers Have Sex

I remember over 25 years ago the issues I faced as a teenage gal at my local Silicon Valley Highschool (Palo Alto Highschool). I knew other kids were having sex. Yes, really - in highschool. I did not have sex in highschool for one and only one reason: I was scared straight after the school and home sex education I received. I knew that my family was tight on money - and I would need to be able to support myself after highschool. I thought that the only way for me to be able to support myself was to go to college. Because of my explicit sex education - I knew that if I had sex there was a chance I could get pregnant. And I did not want to become a mom before I finished college. Just did not. If I did, I feared I would not be able to finish college. I wanted to be independent, have a career and be able to support myself before I got married. And that is what happened.

Of all the things that I feel are flawed with the issues behind the McCain/Palin ticket, Palin's "princess in dreamland" support of abstinence-only education. McCain voted against teen-pregnancy prevention programs that would have included sex education about contraceptives while Palin opposed funding sexual-education programs in Alaska. Charles Blow of the New York Times today shared the UNICEF findings of teenage birthrate and teen sex. He said "To wit, our ridiculous experiment in abstinence-only education seems to be winding down with a study finding that it didn't work". I would mention details about Palin's daughter as an example, but Obama made a speech asking not to go there - so I won't.

Moms Not Only Drive Kids Around, But Are Designing Cars

As I climbed into my minivan to attend a viewing of the crossover Chevrolet Traverse with other Silicon Valley Moms bloggers, I started to feel the itch... I wondered if it  was possible to haul three kids, other carpool kids, and lots of kids stuff without being in a minivan? 

I see other moms driving non-minivan cars. As they open their doors at school pickup, some even have car floors free of food that has turned into compost (hey, at least I recycle). Before I left, I went to one of my favorite information sources (YouTube) to get a preview, and found a suburban dad and mom that shared their thoughts. When I got to the event, I did not expect that the Engineer and Vehicle Line Director I would be speaking with - would both be moms (one was even a fellow TWINS mom!).