We fell behind our snack box schedule and ended up with two boxes. Allison and Ben opted to do one video vs. splitting them up (so sorry for a longer video!).
Having two boxes to compare was interesting. There were a few similar treats (rice crackers) but the April box also featured some real standouts.
It was “Back to School” day and it certainly was a special one. Our school’s COVID-19 strategy was to do half days at home and half days in the classroom.
It was Ben’s first day in the classroom and he wasn’t very excited (he never is), but he turned it around by the end of day. I thought it was important to document the day (I try to do it every year).
First Day: Kindergarten
First Day: 1st Grade
I made a quick comment about this on Facebook the other day, but I wanted to formally announce that my time writing for BabyCenter is over.
Normally this time on a Sunday morning, I am searching news feeds for ideas for my (mostly) weekly article about parenting and raising a child, but the pressure is off. After (exactly) four years, I will no longer be writing for BabyCenter.
I have been running out of steam for the last few months… feeling like I have been repeating myself and covering the same general topics. My (excellent) BabyCenter editors are also looking to go into a specific direction and so we came to a very natural parting of the ways.
The editors (past and present) and writers on BabyCenter were kind, encouraging, and pretty darn wonderful. This experience was a much needed change from some of the previous blogging experiences I had at other sites.
From a writing perspective, I learned restraint. I couldn’t rely on my natural tone and had to change my style to match the audience. At times I found that frustrating, but overall, I am very proud that I didn’t follow my more base instincts.
That learned-restraint has been reused and refined on my weekly podcast.
Besides writing, I learned a great deal about operating a blog, getting better awareness for posts, and more than I ever wanted to know about usage rights for pictures (you can’t put the genie back into the bottle).
My main online project The Source has been growing in popularity this year and this newfound “extra time” on Sunday mornings will be spent improving that project as well as creating content for this blog right here (which I have been neglecting).
Thank you for reading and supporting my articles at BabyCenter, I never imagined I would be writing there for four years. Special thanks to Amy H, Amy G, Betsy, and Dina for the feedback and support you provided over the years.
If you want to keep tabs on me… follow me here, at The Source, and on twitter.
Photo: Allison
…I totally envision this happening. I go back 6 or 7 times to work the writing to ensure massive feedback kerfuffles don’t happen. Sometimes it works and other times I get called a smug asshole…
…unless my headline has something about being a Dad, and then nobody reads it 🙂
@babycenter
Opinion: Is fighting okay?
Is it ever okay for kids to get into physical altercations?
Personal: Too busy parenting to socialize
Article about not socializing too much due to the baby’s schedule.
News: NJ bans tanning beds
I basically make fun of the real house wives of NJ and “Tan Mom”.
Opinion: Can you outsource parenting?
The comments about this one got pretty wild. Interesting post.
News: Kids and Google Glass
Article about the potential social innovations with children that Google Glass could create.
Opinion: Dangerous houses and tiny rebels
Post about the differences between parenting today and of years past.
News: Another kid with a mohawk makes headlines
Covering another story about a kid getting suspended for having an alternative haircut.
