Tuesday, 02 September 2008 00:00
Although Joshua Henkin’s second novel, Matrimony, is about marriage, it is also about much more, from friendship and love to betrayal and sacrifice.
The story follows the main character, privileged and wealthy Julian Wainwright, through his friendship with college classmate Carter Heinz and love of his life Mia Mendelson. The relationship between Julian and Mia begins in their freshman year and continues through two decades, a changing society, and various locales, as Henkin explores the growth and, ultimately, with the return of a resentful Carter, the difficulties of love.
1 Comment
High school can be tough for anyone, but Cat Peters finds herself struggling as she tries to adjust to her new school. From missing homeroom and having locker trouble to getting a demerit and being told to go home to change her clothes, everything about her start at Darkmont High School has her down.
No matter the season or the weather, my kids find a place to play sports. From baseball to soccer to football, they play inside and out, on a team or with friends. And for every sport, Nerf items are always the products of choice. Now especially, as everyone gears up for football season, sports are huge in my house. 
Things sure have come a long way since the summers of our childhood. Running through sprinklers and classic water balloon fights (although still as excitement-inducing as ever) have slowly found themselves replaced by such modern marvels as Slip ‘n Slides and water parks with rides and gravity-defying slides as thrilling as any rollercoaster. Of course, at-home water game fun is epitomized by the Super Soaker.
New moms (and even experienced ones) have so many questions when it comes to babies and toddlers. Although we may have our mothers, sisters, and friends to help us out, we still tend to trust the doctor’s word most. Pediatrician and national parenting expert Tanya Remer Altmann discovered this when she answered calls (she called them the “mommy calls”) for the Mattel Children’s hospital at UCLA. Over the years, she kept track of the questions parents were asking and turned it into a book for parents, Mommy Calls, which answers the top 101 questions that parents asked.
Back to school means pencils, books, crayons…and toothbrushes? The new school year presents the perfect opportunity to teach young kids about the proper way to brush their teeth - especially since dentists recommend that you replace your toothbrush approximately every three months (something you might not have worried about during the summer). And while parents understand the importance of this, children are not always equally enthusiastic. Tooth Tunes Junior provides the perfect solution for preschool aged kids who might not stand still long enough to brush their teeth by making what was once a chore both effective and fun.
As my teenage children (not to mention my husband and I) enter those tumultuous college preparation years, they find themselves staring the SAT’s squarely in the face. For many years, teens have believed that that, in order to study for this exam, they would simply need to hole up in their bedroom for weeks at a time with an SAT prep book weighing more than their entire backpacks. Thankfully, the “For Dummies” line has created an innovative game that makes studying much more fun.
As kids, we often found ourselves asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Our answers summed up all of our hopes and dreams in one seemingly glamorous profession. Yet we never heard the question “Who do you want to be?” Even now, when asked, “who are you?” our response usually describes our job or what defines our day-to-day schedule. Whatever hat you may wear (including mom!) means a busier and more hectic lifestyle than you ever imagined. So you can see how losing track of yourself can be an easy thing to do.
As moms, we all worry whether or not our children consume a healthy and balanced diet. Think of all the schemes we come up with just to add a few more fruits and veggies into the daily menu. However, even with so much focus on our children’s healthy diets, I sometimes find myself letting my own slip. Balanced meals do not always seem so simple when you juggle work, family, afternoon carpools, loads of laundry, and practices that take place during dinnertime, and life can easily become too busy to worry about nutrition. Realfood Organics' Her Daily Nutrition vitamins provide a unique way to supplement your diet with vital nutrients.
Lately I feel like I have spent more time than not on a plane. With constant trips to conferences and meetings, I have traveled back and forth across the country multiple times over the past few weeks. And besides the reading material, music, and snacks that everyone knows are standard airplane necessities, the most important thing I travel with are comfortable clothes. Everyone knows there’s nothing worse than spending a 6 hour flight wishing you’d worn looser pants or a different top. And for moms who are traveling with young kids, why should it be any different for them? I recently came across Planewear, a company started by a mom and former flight attendant that makes plane-ready clothes for kids which aren’t just comfortable, but incredibly cute.
