Grasshopper New Media Presents...

As a kid, I remember turning on the TV to watch cartoons every Saturday and Sunday morning as well as everyday after school. I don’t remember my  parents limiting my TV time, but we didn’t have computers, cell phones and every other electronic gadget either. I don’t remember how much or how little TV I [...]

I have an indoor child and an outdoor child.
One boy wants to spend his summer swimming, riding his bike, and hiking.  The other would be happy, it seems, never to feel the sun warm his face and arms.  He’d like to watch movies, use the computer, read, and play video games.
Managing these competing preferences has [...]

My daughter is thirteen years old. She’s been sick before, like your kid has been sick before. But after so many years, I’ve become used to it. I’ve developed a certain courage and self-assuredness. So when she came home from her sightseeing tour of Boston and New York feeling a little run-down, I thought it [...]

Back when my older son (OS) was a baby, I remember another mom telling me that she thought the school breaks were perfectly timed. Just when you got tired of packing lunches, it was summer. Then once your kids were bored, school started again. In some ways, I understand what she means. [...]

With the end of the school year upon us, it’s time for summer vacations. Even though gas prices continue to increase, a lot of us are going to be traveling around via car instead of plane to visit some fun and interesting places.
I wanted to take this time and this article to get up on [...]

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 [...]

If I drank, Father’s Day is definitely a day I would spend in a bar, drowning my every emotion. You see, I’m a stepfather. And being the stepdad on Father’s Day is like being the Vice President on Inauguration Day – They say nice things about you, but really, everyone’s there to see the other [...]

When I was a child, my mother was a heavy smoker.  Every so often she tried to quit smoking, but she never lasted more than a few days, days that my brother and I still remember as tough on us all.  I don’t think she ever yelled at us as much, or as arbitrarily, as [...]

We took Andrew to Jordan’s house today.
We is Nancy, Andrew’s mom, Hope, Andrew’s sister, Allie, Andrew’s fiance, and me, Andrew’s dad.
Jordan is The Ready Set, the leader of a band that Andrew is spending six weeks touring with. Andrew isn’t a musician, he’s the merchandise-selling guy. During the next six weeks, Andrew and Jordan and [...]

Ahhhhhhh, silence. The boys are off to camp this week (olders at Boy Scout camp, youngers at Camp Grandma), and Hubby and I are on our own.
Of course this means lots of free time spent leisurely eating bonbons and getting pampered and spoiled. I will also have time to clean [...]