mommy bytes mommy bytes Software geek and mom blogs about her life. I blog about the trial of parenting and work. I also review books and classical music, keep up with many podcasts and send along fun things I find on the internet. 
Articles
Giveaway - Be Happy Without Being Perfect
2008-03-14 15:15:00 In my enthusiasm to read this book where I am interviewed, I ordered my own copy and also received one from the publisher on the very same day. So I'm giving away a copy of Be Happy Without Being Perfect : How to Break Free from the Perfection Deception, which gives women perspective on how to avoid the Martha Stewart syndrome of constantly striving to be perfect.Here's how to enter (US and Canada residents only please):Send me a note using the form below (stupid Blogger and lack of a private e-mail field). For an extra entry, blog about this contest using this text with links and send me a link to your post.Angela at mommy bytes is giving away the book, Be Happy Without Being Perfect. Check out her contest post and enter by March 31st.Winner will be chosen on March 31, 2008. Please fill out this form to enter (be patient with the captcha...):Get the Contactify Widget (beta) widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox!--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by...
Thurzday Thurteen #36 - LOLCat Edition
2008-03-13 03:36:00 Here are my some of my favorite recent LOLCats:Check out more at .--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Edition
Wordless Wednesday - Dova naps with her best friend
2008-03-12 07:32:00 We were given this photo from Dova's preschool showing the girls sleeping together holding hands. Dova and Piper have been best of friends ever since they started this school as toddlers at 15 months old and are inseparable.--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Friend , Wednesday
Hump Day Hmm - WTF at Tsongas Arena!
2008-03-11 23:29:00 Adam's cub scout pack arranged a trip to see a Lowell Devils (minor league team of the NJ Devils) hockey game at Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts. It was a fantastic event including a tour of the ambulance used by the hockey players, pizza in our own club room, front row seats in the end zone, a chance for one of the scouts to ride the Zamboni (more on another post), and a free skate on the ice after the game. The atmosphere was festive, everyone was in a great mood, and the Devils won in a shoot-off. I forgot to bring my camera, but the iPhone was a worthy substitute, and you can see the entire set of pictures here.There was one incident that marred the event. All through the game, there were promotional giveaways, a Jeep and tons of shirts for the crowd. You can see the mascot, a "devil dog" throwing shirts here:I saw a shirt come flying over the glass and come down right over the cub scout pack leader. Now this guy is top notch person, pulling strings to organize the... More About: Hump
Tuesday Toot - Adam Writes!
2008-03-11 03:32:00 Adam has had a lot of trouble so far in first grade getting his writing assignments done in class. It started way back in September and has been a problem ever since. He would come home after school, knowing that he was in trouble for not completing his assignment and then whine and mope for hours (no exaggeration) that he didn't want to do it. We knew that he didn't have any problems with penmanship or forming sentences and couldn't understand why he wouldn't do them. In fact, he came up with this fantastic sentence for the word "froze" in a spelling test:When it was one degree, the power froze for a second.He finally explained that he didn't like to write "fiction" and he only wanted to write truths and facts. So for a while, he did his assignments by writing facts about the picture and not a story. But soon that didn't work either. His teacher felt that it was a "compliance" issue, but we knew that there was something deeply uncomfortable about writing for Adam. She... More About: Adam , Tuesday
Photo Hunters - Different
2008-03-08 02:50:00 In the REI flagship store in Seattle, Washington, there are giant "swiss army watch" clocks hanging around the perimeter of the store showing the different time zones of the world. I was fascinated by the fact that Nepal time was 45 minutes different from the world clock (UTC+5:45 to be exact), where time zones is usually differ by hour increments. I've always liked Nepal for being "different". For extra credit in high school history, I sewed a version of their flag because it wasn't the traditional rectangle. Let's just say there was some swearing along the lines of "I'm no Betsy Ross!" while making it.--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Photo , Hunters
Welcome to The Ultimate Blog Party
2008-03-08 01:24:00 Welcome to mommy bytes! Are you ready to party? Poke around and stay awhile. I'm a WOHM, a software engineering manager (sounds more impressive than it is, trust me), and an internet addict who has been blogging for nearly 4 years. I have two children, Adam and Dova, and a wonderfully supportive husband, Doug. Recently, I became a sk*rt editor! Check out their site for the hottest links around the web. And if you love Target as I do, I'm offering a $25 Gift Certificate as a prize. Check out #117 on the prize page. And be sure to join and visit all the other partyers at 5 Minutes for Mom.Here are a sampling of photos of us, check out the rest on Flickr. --- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Party , Blog , Ultimate
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
2008-03-07 04:59:00 On the way back from the Berkshires last year, we stopped at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts. The kids were all museum'ed out after visiting so many museums during this rainy trip. We were all pleasantly surprised when we finally arrived after our new GPS took us through many miles of back roads (it is accessible through the highways but we opted for the "scenic" route).The featured exhibits were works of Allen Say and the artwork for The Spiderwick Chronicles movie. I had never heard of Allen Say, and the original watercolors that were on display were breathtaking. We would open the books provided and search for its paintings on the wall. We bought Emma's Rug at the store because the girl reminded us of Dova, and after returning home, we borrowed every one of his books from the library. In the Spiderwick exhibit, there were full models of the sets used and you almost felt as though you just walked into the movie.I was all photographed out as we...
Sk*rt mania
2008-03-07 02:07:00 After the first few days of being a sk*rt editor, I have to say it has been a blast. I've watched stories that I've posted become extremely popular or bomb. My picture was in the latest e-mail newsletter, and my bio is on their editor page. Fame indeed! You can spend hours watching the front page, like the stock market. I have to admit, that some of the posts on the editor's pick list are a bit questionable, like having the word MILF in the title, where I try to keep my posts accessible yet eclectic (ah yes, a snob at heart).It has been interesting to see which posts the sk*rt community gravitates towards. Seeing this list of top stories, my conclusion is money, sex, with a bit of gossip, fashion and crafts. Actually I only said sex because before I left work, there was a "12 Tips to Great Sex" post that used to be in the number 2 spot and is now "missing" (see this screenshot). Now I'm happy that my story is in the number 2 spot, with that all important "penis" keyword. ... More About: Mania
Wordless Wednesday - Jumping in the Snow, Again?
2008-03-05 13:56:00 Since Adam was sent inside for wrecking Grandma's snowman before I even got a picture of it during the last Jumping in the Snow photoshoot, he more than made up for it this weekend after yet another heavy snowfall. Could spring really be just around the corner?--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Wednesday
Tuesday Toot - I'm a Sk*rt Editor!
2008-03-04 02:40:00 On Monday, sk*rt (www.sk-rt.com) introduced a whole new look and yours truly has been chosen as an editor in the Internet and Technology category. Actually, I'm honored beyond words as only 20 editors were picked out of 400 nominees.And what is sk*rt? It's like Digg for women. It's a place for people to share interesting links with other sk*rt users as well as the general public (you only need to join of you want to submit posts). As an editor, I get to scour the internet for interesting sites or posts and submit and promote them. For this internet addict, this is a piece of cake because I already bombard all my friends with cool links (just ask Doug, Jenn, George, Noorul, etc.).Here's a sk*rt badge that explains it:And so you guys don't feel left out...In fact, sk*rt got twitter'ed by marketing wonder Guy Kawasaki himself!So I probably I scored this nifty role by geeking out an adding a sk*rt feedflare to Feedburner. You know all those nifty links at the bottom of items... More About: Editor , Tuesday
Photo Hunters - Party
2008-02-29 05:47:00 When I think of parties, I think of balloons, especially since I have kids. So here are some of my favorite balloon pictures from various parties.The balloons just before Adam's 2nd birthday party.At Jessica's birthday party (Adam was just one).At MacMulkin Chevrolet's Corvette party last summer.--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Photo , Party , Hunters
Correlations That Make You Dumb
2008-02-29 04:50:00 From BooksThatMake YouDumb .virgil.gr, click to see it large.This chart takes the ten most frequent "favorite books" listed on Facebook from students at every college and maps them against the college's SAT/ACT scores. Of course it is supposedly just for "hilarity incarnate", but it draws some questionable conclusions. I agree that colleges have different test scores for their students, but trying to lump books that their students read is a bit far-fetched. Most colleges have a diverse mix of students and do not have predominantly one cultural or racial make-up. Books listed by Facebook members however, often do reflect cultural and racial characteristics. When you look at the scores for the colleges, you can see that CalTech is ranked first, where my Alma Mater (MIT) is only in sixth place. And the creator of the chart is from, big surprise, CalTech. Nothing like a bit of superiority as frosting.Calling this "Books That Make You Dumb" is great for generating traffic, but sen...
Thursday Thirteen #35 - Favorite Podcasts
2008-02-28 08:15:00 If you haven't caught the podcasting revolution, go get yourself an MP3 player and subscribe! It is completely effortless with an iPod and iTunes; podcasts are automatically added and removed to your device. I don't see how people listen to podcasts while sitting at a computer, I'm always clicking around in about five different tabs and do not have the attention span for that. While I'm stuck in the car, traveling or exercising, I cannot live without it. No more crappy radio and lots more choices! The Daily Breakfast with Father Roderick - This is the "must hear" show every morning for this non-Catholic, non-Religious listener. The Dutch priest discusses movies, video games, gadgets, food, health, with a smattering of Catholicism mixed in. He is funny, intelligent and always interesting. NPR Story of the Day - Of course not all radio is crappy, and I certainly need my fix of NPR. Doing the Story of the Day podcast allows me to skip the stories I'm not interested in ("Fil... More About: Podcasts , Thirteen , Thursday , Favorite
Hump Day Hmm - Assertiveness and Gender
2008-02-27 04:52:00 As a follow-up to Julie Pippert's post on Is there gender bias on the playground and political field alike?, here is my take on assertiveness and gender. Since I don't follow the political arena as closely as I should, I'll limit my observations to what I'm supposedly an expert on, my children. Having both a boy and a girl allows us to see differences in assertiveness in action, as well as just about every other area. As all parents, we try not to raise them differently but their natural gender tendencies always show through. Let's just say that when Dova plays with Adam's cars, it's to pretend that families are taking a vacation. And when Adam plays with Dova's doll house, it's to line up the dolls and shoot them down with rubber bands. I hate to make generalizations about gender, as you really need to look at each child individually. But no matter how hard we try to ignore it, there are definite differences in our kids and darn it, they often fall into the temperamen... More About: Gender , Hump , Assertiveness
Wordless Wednesday - Which Way Is She Spinning?
2008-02-27 04:35:00 Put your answer in the comments: clockwise, counterclockwise or both! Since she is a silhouette, it is an optical illusion and you can actually get her to spin both ways. Check Maniac World for more information.--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Spinning , Wednesday
Astigmatism Through Genetics (aka Dova's New Glasses)
2008-02-24 14:52:00 Here's Dova in her brand new Barbie glasses. She failed her last preschool eye exam in one eye, so we took her to the eye doctor to find out that she has astigmatism in her left eye, exactly like her brother and her mother. Is it possible that genetics are so specific that astigmatism in one eye can be passed on to exactly the same eye in both children? Apparently it is in our family. Unlike the rest of the family however, she is slightly far-sighted where we are all near-sighted. Brother Adam and dad Doug are slightly near-sighted and I am hopelessly near-sighted, although my vision has improved ever so slightly in my old age (check the links for all our glasses). I started wearing glasses at 7, not as early as these kids at 5 and 4, but I think early screening has improved. My vision got progressively worse until it hit about -12.0 diopters. But thankfully, glasses or contact lenses bring me back to 20/30 vision so I'm not legally blind. Basically, the only clear distance... More About: Genetics , Glasses
Photo Hunters - Wooden
2008-02-23 01:44:00 I purchased this man and woman wooden puzzle from the Signals catalog years ago when it went on clearance. I can't find the artist's website any longer, but I remember that he also offered a man-man and a woman-woman puzzle as well. The kids often ask why the woman's heart is at the bottom, and I tell them that is where the babies are made with love. Of course this wooden puzzle was photographed on our wooden birch floor with naturally reflected sunlight.--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Photo , Hunters , Wooden
When it comes to spelling tests, order counts
2008-02-22 18:02:00 Adam came home from school one day with this atrocious grade on his first grade spelling test. Only 2 correct? On closer examination, it appears that all the words except one are indeed spelled correctly, but just not in the right order. I knew exactly what the problem was. He had memorized the words and wrote them out ahead of time in the order that he learned them. I have seen him do this when we practice with him for homework. In the test, you can see that he actually wrote the second word correctly, erased it and then wrote the word that should have come next in order. He could not accept the random order! Apparently, he is too smart and has too much OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) for his own good.At first when I saw the teacher's markup, I thought, she must be kidding, actually writing out all the correct words as if he really misspelled them that badly? She must have known he was just doing it in order. But giving him a 2 and not simply putting a note saying th... More About: Tests , Spelling , Order
Which Sports Car Are You?
2008-02-22 00:59:00 I'm a Ferrari 360 Modena!You've got it all. Power, passion, precision, and style. You're sensuous, exotic, and temperamental. Sure, you're expensive and high-maintenance, but you're worth it.Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.I was so pleased with this quiz result that I went on to take the other quiz offered and got these results:I'm a Mandarin!You're an intellectual, and you've worked hard to get where you are now. You're a strong believer in education, and you think many of the world's problems could be solved if people were more informed and more rational. You have no tolerance for sloppy or lazy thinking. It frustrates you when people who are ignorant or dishonest rise to positions of power. You believe that people can make a difference in the world, and you're determined to try.Talent: 41%Lifer: 38%Mandarin: 56%Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.Of course, I had no idea what a mandarin was, especially being of half Cantonese descent, but the descrip...
Thursday Thirteen #34 - Favorite Board Books
2008-02-21 04:17:00 My parents never kept any of my children's books, especially anything from preschool. So I hold a special place for these books which I have shared with my children and wonder if I'll ever let them go. I'm trying not to turn my kids into packrats, but to give them a balanced sense of sentimentality for their belongings. Count! by Denise Fleming. This book is wonderfully illustrated with rich colors and our kids have memorized the fun text. The Three Bears by Byron Barton. This board book version of the classic tale with its bold primary colors is a hit with the kids. We have the voices down for all the parts and they burst out laughing every time. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. This is my favorite Eric Carle book. As a baby, Dova had a sweet one piece suit with its illustrations and now she has a stuffed caterpillar from the Eric Carle museum. Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann. Some people love Goodnight Moon, but it is definitely the mischievous gorilla for... More About: Books , Board , Thirteen , Thursday , Favorite
More Chinese Ignorance
2008-02-20 05:03:00 Image from Between Heaven and Earth.My last post on what I would say when confronted by a mom who wanted to exclude a dad from a playgroup reminded me of this post about Doug's experience with apparent bigotry in a playground. Now this woman didn't have a problem with Doug taking his daughter to the playground in the middle of a weekday, but she had some serious ignorance about Asian-Americans. Shortly after I posted, he related another story. She had been having back pains so she went to see a doctor that someone recommended. She said he was a Chinese doctor and seemed very knowledgeable, but she didn't understand why he didn't suggest acupuncture.OMG, is she serious? Do people really think that all Chinese doctors are acupuncturists? Hello, we live in the US, where western medicine is the norm. In fact I abhor Chinese herbal medicine from bad memories as a child. My parents would make me drink this vile black liquid that smelled like cilantro when I was sick. Even as ... More About: Ignorance
Hump Day Hmm - What Would Angela Say?
2008-02-20 04:49:00 With only one day notice (!! - I like to ponder topics ad nauseum before I post), here is the scenario that I will pontificate upon for this week's Hump Day Hmm, sponsored by Julie Pippert's Using My Words:You're having coffee with some of your playgroup mom friends when one tells you she has the funniest story. "Some dad wanted in our playgroup," she laughs, "I told him no boys allowed. He was disappointed, but having a man would be too awkward, and anyway, our group is full, don't you think?" What do you think? What do you say?Right now, our family consists of a WOHM (work outside the home mom) and a SAHD (stay at home dad - I know, these acronyms make my head spin as well), so this is the perfect scenario for me to blow my top over. So here's what I think. I've lived my life as minority and as a woman and have experienced plenty of discrimination, from being called "Chinky" in school, to being asked why I don't have an accent, to comments that women should be secretaries... More About: Angela
Wordess Tuesday - Triple Play Fish
2008-02-19 18:04:00 Let's face it, since Wordless Wednesday is now daily, and I almost always post on Tuesday , we'll just call it Wordless Tuesday. This will clear the decks for the Hump Day Hmm tomorrow. As for the picture, I finally spent some time with my macro lens and our aquarium to capture all of our fish checking out the rocks.--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Fish , Play , Triple Play , Triple
Arr! A Developer's Life for Me
2008-02-17 21:56:00 Avast! I found this in me mail at work. Do ya really think it be appropriate for developers t' be known as pirates? Arr! Some o' them code that way, but t' meticulous ones like me would hate t' be associated with a bunch o' scalawags. Download yer own map and game pieces here. Me only complaint be where be t' beauties (women)? You think all coders be men?!?!(Thanks go to the English-to-Pirate translator for help on the pirate talk.)--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Life
Photo Hunters - Free
2008-02-16 02:13:00 I wanted to take this opportunity to promote the non-profit site Free Rice.com, which builds your vocabulary in exchange for rice donations to end world hunger (a win-win situation!). I first heard of it on NPR and have been addicted to the game since. It is a great cause and can be really useful for those teenagers preparing for the SATs. Plus it's FREE!--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Photo , Hunters
Photo Friday - Valentines
2008-02-16 01:47:00 If you're like me, you've had it with the hearts already! I've especially had it with all the knitted hearts showing up on Flickr's Crazy for Knitting group, and I wonder, did I cause the flood of knitted hearts or was that bound to happen anyway? I had wanted to post about this Valentine we made for Dova, but had so much computer trouble this week (enough for a future post and a half), that I didn't get time to do it. Besides it was Valentine's Day yesterday and my husband and family were calling. But thankfully Crazy Hip Blog Mamas came to the rescue today with an excuse for me to post about it.Earlier this month, Dova came home with yet another homework assignment for parents. They wanted us to decorate this heart as a Valentine for our child using "pictures, lace, construction paper, or words". Pictures I can handle, but lace? Construction paper? Those are foreign materials for a non-crafty gal like me. I was at craft store over the weekend looking for something tota... More About: Photo , Friday , Valentines
Thursday Thirteen #33 - Simple Pleasures
2008-02-14 01:38:00 In honor of Valentine's Day, here are some of the little things or simple pleasures that I love. Of course the big things are my husband, my family, our home, etc.After breakfast naps on the weekends.Having the kids run up to me when I come home from work.Seeing my daughter break out into a dance whenever she hears music.Having my son beat me at checkers (so smart!).Watching the kids sleep and listening to their breath.Making people laugh.Taking an awesome photograph.A fire when it is snowing outside.Warming up pajamas by the wood stove before putting them on.Eating raspberries and blackberries from the yard.Ruby red grapefruit all cut up.Thunderstorms.Swimming and floating in the ocean or on a river.Happy Valentine's Day everyone! By the way, check out this awesome list of simple pleasures if you want more.--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Thirteen , Simple , Thursday
Wordless Wednesday - Adam takes the shot
2008-02-13 04:08:00 I've been having lots of fun using my new 70-300mm lens. Here's Adam during hockey practice in his beautiful purple jersey (Go Kings!).--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Shot , Wednesday
Hump Day Hmm - Who's Allowed to Blog About Who?
More articles from this author:2008-02-13 03:46:00 This week's Hump Day Hmm over at Julie Pippert's Using My Words poses the following questions:Are people we know fair fodder for writing? People in our real lives? People we know or read online? Other bloggers? Things we read, such as blog posts, emails, news stories, etc? Are other people and the things they do fair fodder for our blogs (or other writing)? How do you handle writing about people? People you know in real life? people you know online? What are your criteria for discussing the people who affect you? Have you ever dealt with someone finding themselves in your writing and reacting (in any way)? Share with us your ethics and mores as a writer, when it comes to characterizing others.Since I've been blogging for nearly four years (yikes), I've often thought about what makes good blog fodder. As you've probably noticed, I rarely blog about my husband, Doug, mostly out of respect. I certainly don't want to air any dirty laundry in public, and nice things often come ou... More About: Blog 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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