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My husband is an ethics officer of a large Fortune 500 company. He regularly conducts investigations of ethical misconduct, and while he isn’t shocked by the college admissions scandal, he finds it fascinating.
Most of my husband’s cases involve smart people doing stupid things for a little extra edge or a little extra money. They risk their career, their personal relationships, their reputation for a few thousand bucks, or a roll in the hay with a subordinate. Why?
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Look at them, an idyllic family, frolicking hand-in-hand-in-hand through the grass on a breezy fall day. I spent an afternoon photographing them for their holiday card and let me brag for just a moment about their stellar qualities. They are very low-maintenance. No one worried about hair or clothes or the cold. They seem to really like each other. Seven people crammed together and not one nasty word was uttered. And talk about patient!
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Last week I posted a new collection that made demented use of baby dolls. As penance for my evil ways, this week's listicle is devoted to the wholesome wondrousness of babies.
Did you know that 20% of the time, babies cry for no reason at all? My pediatrician once told me that factoid and I believed it for a full minute before I was all, like, wait, doc, how did you figure that out? Did you ask them and they told you that they weren't hungry or sleepy or poopy? That really they were just bored? The pediatrician was my dad and he rues the day he encouraged me to question authority. Anyway, turns out this scientist has figured out how to measure a baby's thoughts.
Can't stop watching this family sit-com featuring the smiliest baby of all time. It's one of those clever shows where the family is so messed up, they're actually super loving and inspirational. (Like Roseanne or All in the Family.) Plus, Cloris Leachman is phenomenal!
Here's a cool infographic illustrating the Harvard study on most common birthdays.
My kids are grown yet I am gobbling up this parenting book. I can't stop talking about it to anyone who gives me an opening. It makes so much sense! If you experience confusion, conflict, or misunderstanding with people you love, this book might help.
An entertaining wordplay of Mary Had a Little Lamb -- for brainiacs!
The next baby gift I buy is this.
Baby On The Way, the collection photographed above is a pretty gift for a mom to be and is available here.
In my line of work, I see the drama play out nearly every week. At your garage and rummage sales, I purchase the things that your grown children don't want. And it's killing you. Recently, a woman whimpered to me as I bought her beautiful but fragile cane chair with a floral seat needlepointed by her great great aunt: "My son won't take it," she lamented. "Really?" I asked. "Does he know that his ancestor probably raised, harvested, spun, and dyed the wool in that cushion? That she probably sacrificed her good eyesight for that cushion?" She looked at me and shook her head. "He doesn't care. It's too Grandma-looking."
Kids these days! What are we to do when we need to downsize our possessions but they don't or can't take the things we've held on to -- for years -- with them and their homes in mind?
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This was our holiday card last year -- a reincarnation of the days, sixteen years earlier, when my sons actually did what I asked. By which I mean they donned antlers and Irish knit sweaters and lined up by age.
We took the original photo the year that we moved to Wisconsin. The boys loved how deer, foxes, even coyotes would meander through our woods and the idea of dressing up as reindeer delighted their innocent little imaginations.
They don't really do what I tell them anymore. Because at this point, what can I tell them that will be heard? To match their socks? Those days of parenting are over.
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Happy Thanksgiving Friends! I have for your Black Friday enjoyment a little ditty of a video for Finder Not Keeper. If you enjoy it, I hope you "like" it and share it. After watching, scroll down below for a few fun tidbits about the making of "Shelf Life."
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