Grasshopper New Media Presents...

Hubby and I just spent a week sans children (older boys went to Boy Scout Camp, younger boys went to Camp Grandma). I’d forgotten how different it is to cook for two people instead of six. I made some pasta Monday night, intending to also cook up some chicken and broccoli. When [...]

Here I am again, talking about kids and cleaning up. Are you getting sick of it yet? Hope not!
Today I walked into the office and the wireless keyboard was sitting in the middle of the floor, ready to be crushed by someone who wasn’t watching the floor carefully. I mentioned to [...]

There are times – for everyone, I’m sure – when we do the least amount, or the bare minimum, to “get by”.  The reasons may vary, but the outcome is the same.
We do as little as we can.
Lately, because of the many “little” crises that are ongoing at our house, I find myself increasingly doing [...]

I’m a Step-Father and the primary caregiver for my kids (and my wife). As such, I feel a certain obligation to be excellent at my job, to be faithful to my obligation, to do my best. Unfortunately, being good at my job means, in part, reminding the kids to do their chores, to do their [...]

My laptop died this past weekend.
Luckily, we have an identical laptop, so I was able to move my drives over, copy all of my personal data onto an external USB drive, and now I can work on almost any computer that I can get time on.
The problem is that I used my computer to handle [...]

It seemed like a good idea at the time.
It still is, actually. It’s just driving me crazy at this particular moment.
We decided to go ahead and put an addition on our house. The plans are identical to something our neighbors did with a few tweaks. We’re creating a mud room, turning the [...]

The kids are busy, I get that. They have school, homework, soccer, etc. But I still want them to contribute to the house and its upkeep. Yet getting them to do chores is like asking them to swallow hot coals. Still, I needed to solve this problem. Parenting advisers say, “Pick Your Battles.” Well, this [...]

I am not known for leaving things incomplete. When I start something, I usually take pride in finishing and making sure everything is cleaned up.
However, once in a while something comes along that is so big I work on it for awhile, clean it up, and hide it so I don’t have to feel guilty [...]

We went shopping during the first part of the Super Bowl. When we came home, Hope was on the sofa, watching the game, working on scrapbooking. We flitted around, putting away groceries, checking email, watching the tweeted comments on the game (and the ads).
“Emily called and asked if I was coming to the party. I [...]

When I started working from home a few years ago my biggest worry was how I would be able to do both of my jobs at the same time, parenting and photo editing. At first I relied on daycare a couple of days a week. He was only 2 and needed much more energy than [...]