Adding to the blogroll

Being a blogging neophyte, I only recently started to get the hang of the lingo.

But it wasn't until I started reading two New York bloggers at home with kids that I finally appreciated, down to my core, the real meaning of LOL. That's why I'm adding them to the blog roll. They hardly need the likes of me to give them a promo - I mean, finslippy and mr. nice guy are in the big leagues. They even have ads, for God's sake. But just in case you haven't done so, check them out ASAP. My favourite post from Alice, the mom behind finslippy, is this one - a must-read if you happen to be among the 99.99 per cent of parents who has spawned a picky eater. As for mr. nice guy, this stay-at-home dad got me hooked with his memorable tale of locking himself out of the apartment when his baby was still inside. Yikes. Brought back memories of all my own parenting blunders.

If the coffee doesn't wake you up, these two will.

Ready, Set, Go!

I just got my first cellphone last month. I'm not kidding. More on that later. But for today, that's all you need to know about how fast I tend to embrace new technology.

So imagine the horror with which my teenage sons greeted news of my next technological foray - into the world of blogging. To the MSN set at my house, this is even funnier than Will Ferrell's last big-screen appearance and more appalling than their mother kissing them goodbye within 20 kilometres of school grounds.

Thank goodness that after six years of having adolescents in the house, I am immune to disdain and oblivious to eye-rolling.

But I will confess that even I am surprised by this turn of events.

Until a few months ago, what I knew of blogging was limited to admiration of Wonkette's amusing moniker and a vague awareness that bloggers were those geeky creatures driving the political spin doctors crazy during election campaigns. (And no, I don't still drive a horse and buggy).

Parenting bloggers didn't lurch across my consciousness until a year ago, when the New York Times did a big takeout on the phenomenon and dismissed them as "online shrines to parental self-absorption." I didn't take that as an invitation to start surfing. Having recently started the Family Issues beat at the Star, I should have.

But I didn't get around to it until Peterborough parenting guru and author Ann Douglas advised me to get online if I wanted to tap into the kind of underground stuff mothers are thinking and but don't always say out loud. (She should know. She has her own blog here.) The result was this story in the Star.

And, because it coincided with the Star's plans to offer more to Web readers, it also led to the creation of our own blog.

By some standards, "Because I Said So" is one baby that's way overdue. But like the arrival of any newborn, there's never a bad time. These issues will never go away. Childcare choices. Cloth versus disposable. Homework. The mommy wars. Bad-mannered kids. Teenage gangs. Attachment parenting versus cry-it-out. Ferber or the family bed. Kids and pot. Kids and mental health.

So welcome everybody.

Can't wait to hear what you'd like to talk about.

Post a comment or email me at agordon@thestar.ca