Parenting Roundabout

We give a shout-out to all that need-to-do stuff waiting on us, and then stuff it back in our purses and inboxes for a little while longer.

We react, with predictable skepticism, to a preschool that won't let kids use the term "best friend." Plus, how social media is actually good for …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine is enjoying the latest Starbucks iced tea [https://www.starbucks.com/menu/product/2123226/iced?parent=%2Fdrinks%2Ficed-teas%2Ficed-black-teas] along with the current Earth …

This Buzzfeed article reminisced about things "kids today will never know" from the point of view of millennials [https://www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/funny-kids-today-will-never-know-tweets]. We see your "DVD menu on …

When the Huffington Post told us there were four things to do to avoid raising entitled kids […

On Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist this week, Zoey turned 30 and chose among the three attractive men fighting for her affections. Now will she stick …

It feels like everything has been on hold for over a year, but we found we have made some forward progress in categories such as TV Watched, Hours …

Since we're past the stage of life for shows like The Bachelor and Big Brother, we broadened our choice to Food Network and HGTV shows, and allowed ourselves to imagine we're foreign travelers and stars.

We reflect on our many years of kid-performance experiences, from marching band to dance to water polo.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole's dog, and her carpets, are benefiting from Glandex Anal Gland Soft Chew Treats […

While we're not there yet, eventually there will be a post-Covid reality. But how do you help kids get back to normal when there is no normal …

A blog post titled "5 of Our Parenting Choices People Have an Opinion About" got us ranting about why everyone insists on caring about how other …

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist is back, and so is its general focus on White People Problems. But we're still rooting for Zoey and the gang (especially for the new love interests for Max and Mo). Next: "Zoey's …

When we read "Doctors debunk 16 myths about raising kids" [https://www.businessinsider.com/experts-debunk-16-myths-about-parenting-younger-children-toddlers-2020-3], we had to jump in and debunk some of the debunking. …

Terri's trip to the Gluten Free and Allergy Friendly Expo (now called the Nourished Festival [https://nourishedfestival.com/about-us]) got us thinking about all the different allergy-accommodating foods available today …

How does your family manage during power outages? Do you happily play board games by candlelight, or sit in corners clinging to your dead iPhones?

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine's beautifying her hair with Majestic Pure's avocado and coconut hair mask [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y29JGSK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]. …

We obsess about Reviews.org's offer of cash in exchange for a digital detox (https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/20/us/stay-away-from-screens-challenge-trnd/index.html; no phones, TVs, computers, video games, smart devices). We …

On this week's Round 3, we complain about the possibility of Instagram for Kids. This seems like a good idea for absolutely no one (except marketers …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, Veronica Mars season 3 adds another murder into the mix. But what we really care about is the buddy comedy "Logan and Heather." We also listened to the Veronica Mars …

An article listing "14 Signs You're a Good Mom" [https://www.scarymommy.com/messy-mom-good-mom/] got us talking about all those dead giveaways that a child lives in your house: toys in the bathtub, random detritus in …

​Snacks for the road! Two of us advocate for every kind of junk food, diets be darned, while one will allow for apples. We're leaving her at the side of the road.​

A viral post about not sharing […

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Ever the early adopter, Terri has joined Clubhouse [https://www.joinclubhouse.com/] and is enjoying the …

We respond to a tweet that asked, "Would you rather always be 10 minutes late or 20 minutes early?" by lamenting the awkwardness of being early, even …

Why is it that moms are always in charge of saying no, except to adding more work to our plates? We complain about the challenges of knowing when (and when not) to say no. Mentioned: The new Netflix movie Yes Day […

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, the Logan-Veronica roller coaster is in full effect. Having gotten back together at the end of episode …

An article titled "18 Things I Wish I Knew When I Turned 18" [https://www.scarymommy.com/18-things-wish-known-turned-18/] prompted us to wonder if …

Is it weird to eat hamburgers on a random Wednesday instead of at a cookout? Do you ever put a turkey with the trimmings on the table outside of Thanksgiving? We chat about the way certain foods get attached to certain …

Inspired by the movie A Quiet Place [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6644200/?ref_=fn_al_tt_6], we pitch our scariest parenting-themed horror movie ideas, featuring crying babies, IEP meetings, and more.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Nicole's cat is sitting pretty in a window perch hammock (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BR5MKMS/ref…

Is warning your kids that someone might be mean to them in response to their actions just as bad as being mean to them yourself? We struggle with when to step in and when to zip our lips.

A Facebook post from Rookie Moms [https://www.facebook.com/rookiemoms/posts/264427161907372] prompted us to muse about eliminating one thing we do each day in our homes so that we'd never have to do it again. Mentioned: …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, Veronica Mars season 3, episode 10, was a nice, soothing, case-of-the-week plot. There was little else going on--except that the overall story arc is now "Who killed the …

After nearly a year of coexisting with Covid, we take a look at what's changed (for better and worse) and what hasn't. We're still podcasting, for one thing!

Why do Facebook Messenger, Fitbit, and autocorrect hate us so? What did we ever do to them?​

With all these grown-up, independent kids, we should be doing great at exercising, scheduling medical appointments, and other important tasks. Just …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Terri suggests livening up your lockdown life by giving your electronic devices names. Nicole's feet are happy in …

After reading an article called "The 5 Best Parenting Decisions I've Made so Far" [https://www.scarymommy.com/5-best-parenting-decisions/], we …

Having kids means your every move has potential to embarrass, annoy, or aggravate most of the members of your family.

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, two episodes of Veronica Mars. We're not sure we'd call this season entertaining, exactly, but episode 9, "Spit and Eggs," had about three episodes' worth of plot. Some …

"Homemaker" seems to be the IRS-official job title for what parents do, but we find it entirely inaccurate and insufficient. Can we get credit for some of the many jobs parenting entails, like tutor, therapist, and …

On Speed-Round Sunday, we share a mini episode from our past for your weekend listening pleasure. This one comes from a time when potlucks (and gatherings of any kind) were a thing.

Finding something that everyone will …

​First, we have to figure out what values we value most; and then we have to try to teach them to our kids.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Catherine recommends Uniqlo's HeatTech layers if you're always cold [https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/women/heattech]. …

In a careful, knock-on-wood way, we are starting to think about post-pandemic plans, from big things (traveling and having kids back in a traditional …

Inspired by a New Yorker article [https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/one-star-reviews-of-early-parenthood-milestones], we give poor reviews to several parenting experiences we do not care to repeat, from dance …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist is still on hiatus, so we watched season 3, episode 7 of Veronica Mars. This one finds Veronica in extreme peril not once but twice, but first …

... who is also trying to work from home. During a global pandemic. We share the behind-the-scenes videos we'd film to tell you we're parenting teens …

We do some quick takes on pies vs. cakes. Also cookies vs. brownies, hard ice cream vs. soft, and fruit vs. chocolate.

We discuss the anger styles of our kids, our spouses, and ourselves, and how they all mix together into a nice toxic soup.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Nicole is healing aches and pains with Tiger Balm [https://www.tigerbalm.com/], while Terri is helping shelter …

After reading an article reporting on scientific research about how alike mothers and daughters are [https://www.scarymommy.com/turn-into-our-mothers/], we confess how much--or how little--we resemble our moms.

The New York Times set up a primal scream hotline for moms [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/18/parenting/primal-scream.html]. Or you can visit https://screamintothevoid.com/ to type away your frustrations. …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist takes on racism in the workplace in a thoughtful, well-done episode. …

We take a cue from writer Emma Beddington at the Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/09/almost-a-year-working-from-home-time-for-my-family-performance-review] and provide performance reviews for …

Do you live uptown? Downtown? On the wrong side of the tracks? In the suburbs? We put ourselves on the map.

Surprise: We've found that helping our kids through painful setbacks is, well, painful.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Catherine recommends the new podcast Listen to Sassy [https://listentosassy.com/], while Nicole is enjoying an …

When our own problems seem overwhelming, it's very tempting to want to swap them for someone else's. But our advice in this situation is to be …

With a return to normalcy on the horizon (right? maybe?), we wonder about some of the skills and habits that have atrophied over these many months of lockdown. Are they gone forever?

On Zoey, it turns out that Zoey's extraordinary trip does not mean that Zoey took Terri's advice to go on vacation. Nope, she goes on a drug trip with her neighbor Aidan and her CEO, Danny Michael Davis. This was not …

What happens when parents and kids experience a culture clash? Is it tougher to provide support when your child is very different from you, or is …

We scour the addresses, phone numbers, and birthdates of our lives to discover digits that seem to be following us around.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." But will you be able to find it when you want to see it?

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Terri wants you to know that you can save your eyes with a zoom-in feature on Mac […

After a sanctimonious New York Times article on kids' screen time during the pandemic [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/16/health/covid-kids-tech-use.html], Indi Savarajiva countered with "Screen Time Cannot Be Worse …

In a follow-up to our episode on whether we're morning people (spoiler: Nope), we discuss the best, and worst, times of day we experience as parents.

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, Zoey's "extraordinary" employee turns out to be unextraordinarily fired. And because two love interests for Zoey were not enough, we now have a third on the scene. Next: …

Nicole's results from AncestryDNA were a little unexpected, and gave her some new bragging rights in her family. Catherine's, from another purveyor, …

It's not just us, right? Wearing shirts so worn through that it looks like they've been in a knife fight is some kind of guy thing?

On Second-Listen Saturday, we share moments from past episodes for your weekend listening pleasure. This one harks back to a time when children went …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Following up on yesterday's episode on pandemic clothing, Nicole recommends a pair of comfy pants from Target […

From door pants [https://www.instagram.com/p/CKVr_U8B5qu/] to Zoom shirts […

Not every product needs to come with an extra, like a chart to keep track of your face masks […

It's boyfriend troubles for both our heroines this week. Zoey's dreams are really nightmares, and poor Max can't seem to do anything to help her. Next week: "Zoey's Extraordinary Employee."

On Veronica Mars, Logan and …

An article on peer support for mental health [https://www.verywellfamily.com/peer-support-programs-for-mental-health-5096446] got us talking. Is this wise, or even practical? We're all for more mental health help, but …

Nicole's got us all beat as we count up the houses, apartments, dorms, and other domiciles we've occupied in our lives.

Stop the madness: When seventh-graders are taking SAT prep classes, that's a bad sign.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Terri's enjoying the Too Long, Didn't Watch podcast […

While none of us are the primary chefs in our homes, we still have strong opinions about what kitchen gear is essential and what just takes up too …

Some are morning people, some are night owls, and some do their best work in the middle of the night. We think it's too bad that the early birds run …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, both our current watches have us worried about how the season will go. Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist seems to be floating away without the weight of Zoey's father's …

As our kids get older, we have to look at milestones in new ways. What are we looking forward to with our adult and nearly adult children? Mentioned: …

Our case choices at the moment seem to be style over substance, but a big fat protective case can't fit in your pocket.

We go beyond dogshaming.com (Hey, that's Nicole's dog, Missy!) to put others on notice for their shameful behavior.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine discovered the new-to-her suite of Jackbox Games [https://www.jackboxgames.com/]. Nicole invested in a …

As our kids need less hands-on attention, we speculate about how we should adapt our work life. Should we lean in to more responsibility, or check …

When it comes to parenting, judge not, lest ye be complained about on a podcast. An article ostensibly about being a strict parent, but really about …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, the return of two of our series watches: The new-right-now Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (season 2), and ​the throwing-it-back-to-2006 Veronica Mars (season 3). Zoey has lost …

Given how often we complain about our husbands and kids here on the podcast, today we talked about some nice things they've done for us lately. Actually, our daughters got all the kudos this time around, so the boys are …

Checking out the Kickstarter for the super-duper Sandman Doppler clock radio [https://www.sandmanclocks.com/pages/doppler] got Terri wondering why ordinary clock radios are so @#$%@ inscrutable.

We turn to the one and only Ron Swanson (who inspired the phrase "child proximity associates") for a description of our current friendship life.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole's Instagram Minute returns with @ZillowGoneWild for a dose of real estate humor […

Like everyone else in the world, we are looking forward to 2021 being an improvement over 2020. Today we take a slightly cringy look back at our hopes for 2020, and come up with some new ones for 2021. Mentioned: Keep …

On Monday's episode, we made resolutions for ourselves. Today, we're pinning some goals on our husbands and kids. There are a few self-improvement …

On this week's Round 2, we bridge the gap between the old year and the new with Bridgerton, a ballgown- and plot-packed adaptation of the first book …

Happy 2021, and welcome to a new year of Parenting Roundabout podcasts. Today we cast a look back at the resolutions we made for 2020 (to which the …

A recent chat about losing things loaned leads us to today's discussion of actual deliberate theft. And mugging!​

We reflect on 200 podcast episodes: My, how we've changed, and grown, and spent a whoooole lot of time talking.

We recall New Year's Eve (and New Year's Day) traditions and memories, like narrowly avoiding Y2K disaster and giving Times Square a wide berth. How do you celebrate?

When you receive holiday greeting cards, do you decorate with them? Make crafts with them? Let them collect in a pile on the table and leave them …

​Today's question: What is your favorite holiday candy? Or are you quite happy with everyday, year-round treats dressed up in holiday wrapping? (If …

​Today's question is "How many of these holiday movies [https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjkiebus/rotten-tomatoes-top-christmas-movies] have you seen?" (With …

Happy holidays! This week, we're bringing you a seasonal speed round from our past each day. We'll be back with a brand-new episode on January 4.

…

On Speed-Round Sunday, we share a mini episode from our past for your weekend listening pleasure. Today's question: Do you buy holiday gifts for your …

Family traditions rule this time of year, but sometimes they change with time and sometimes new members (or overzealous teachers) make for new …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine suggests Bond-Touch bracelets as a sweet gift option for long-distance couples. Nicole's finding her …

If our family's experiences were turned into holiday movies, we'd get a little Home Alone, a little Hallmark hometown romance, and a little Krampus …

For our Round 3 this week, we look back at holiday traditions we kinda regret: The ones that we didn't continue, didn't start, or didn't nip in the …

After five hours of fanfare last week, The Voice came to an end and crowned 15-year-old Carter Rubin the winner. We're disappointed for our favorite, …

Merry Christmas week! We'll be talking about the holidays all week, and we're kicking it off with our most memorable family Christmases. Turns out …

We check in from California/Canada, New Jersey/California, and Wisconsin/New York to compare notes on the different way people talk about things like carbonated beverages, major driving thoroughfares, an Italian …

Our methods may not be conventional, but we discover we're kind of good at self-care, as long as it takes ten minutes or less. Mentioned: last week's "issues" episode […

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Terri, our resident Swiftie, is loving Taylor Swift's latest album, "Evermore" […

An article at Jezebel about she sheds [https://theattic.jezebel.com/a-she-shed-of-ones-own-1844832355] got us thinking about our ideal just-for-us …

It's final exam season, so we lament our kids' current level of preparedness and recall our own. Some old habits die hard.

The Voice's top 5 performance show was very entertaining, with skilled performers and a good variety of music. We're glad we have a rooting interest …

After reading about a days-long pay-it-forward chain at a Dairy Queen drive-through in Minnesota […

Gone, but not forgotten: Books, photos, and a stuffed cheetah just seem to have wandered away.

It's a recurring feature on the podcast: DIY therapy. This week, making kids' issues and struggles our own. So bad! So inevitable!

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole purchased a Netvue security camera to spy on her pets when she's away from home […

This year more than ever, we have to shop online for Christmas gifts. One of us is almost done, one is just getting started, and one just wants to …

Usually on Wednesdays we complain, but today we're actually not complaining about the way Covid is causing so many holiday season events to be …

On The Voice, the top 9 were revealed (last Tuesday) and performed (Monday night), and just like that, the finale is almost here! We're still rooting …

After watching the coverage of Daphne, the koala that climbed into a family's Christmas tree [https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/03/asia/koala-christmas-tree-australia-scli-intl/index.html], we talked about what our families …

​Whether it's computers, sneakers, iced tea, ketchup chips, or coffee creamers, we're true to our faves.

Is there a way to help kids and young adults learn how to gracefully merge onto the conversation highway?

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Terri enjoyed the Taylor Swift documentary, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions on Disney+ […

We've said it before and we'll say it again: The pandemic has us craving alone time like never before. We'd like to work alone, travel alone, eat alone; it all sounds good! Mentioned: Eating Alone and Loving It at …

For this week's rant, we take issue with a Pandemic Pollyanna who can't just enjoy a good complaint--she has to give everything a brighter side […

On The Voice, we're jumping in to the season already in progress and trying to figure out what is going on. We know this much: We're rooting for Team …

We talk about recent research showing that parents' screen-time nagging doesn't really reflect kids' tech use later in life [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201118141726.htm]. We're ineffectual, so we …

We count up all our household computers — the living, the dead, the well-used, the idle, the laptops, the desktops, the iPads, and the ones that come …

We have a checkered history when it comes to habit-forming. Does it count if we're good at creating the same good habits over and over again?

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, we share warm and wonderful entertainment in several genres. Catherine recommends Kevin Wilson's book Nothing to …

Today we're grateful for small wonders like mobile ordering, in-home room service, and next-day delivery. And of course, we are very thankful for …

Not only is the pandemic throwing a wrench in our holiday plans, but our own kids are too. We seem to have gone from doing holidays our parents' way …

On Dancing with the Stars, it's the season 29 finale! And, well, at least the show itself was fun? The results, however, were not to our liking. We …

Sometimes you just need to look at cute puppies or pandas. On today's Round 1, we talked about online self-care: Visiting digital destinations that soothe and/or amuse, instead of causing stress. Get all the links at …

On lizards in shoes, lake flies, ticks, and that moment you realize the bug you thought you captured to take outside is now probably crawling on you somewhere. Eek!

Normal Rockwell, we ain't: We talk about the pressure — external and internal — to have a portrait-worthy holiday and our attempts to bring …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole recommends the Litter Genie for families with cats […

Whether it's advancing age, lack of sleep, or just 2020, we find ourselves feeling very forgetful. We shared a few of our reminder hacks, but welcome …

Following up on last week's complaints about Moxie, the robot that socializes your kid, we now rant about Keepa, the "social distance trainer" that …

On Dancing with the Stars, it was a finale-like semi-finals, with contemporary numbers and 10s raining down like confetti. Plus, a shocking elimination: Non-dancer Nelly made it to the finals while figure-skater Johnny …

Meghan Leahy is a parenting coach after our own heart: She's all about finding what works for you and your kids and ignoring the rest. We discuss a chapter titled "The Invisible Work of Parenting" from her excellent …

​After crossing U2 off her bucket list, Nicole's wondering who we're still waiting to see (in the faraway, Covid-free future).

Nicole went to Canada and came home to a painful teen breakup. She's not planning to leave home ever again.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine recommends the Great American Pop Culture Quiz Show podcast [https://usaquizshow.com/], a spin-off of …

With gatherings and travel a no-go, we're brainstorming how else to observe Thanksgiving this year. Virtual Turkey Trot, anyone?

Today's rant is brought to you by Moxie [https://embodied.com/], a robot that promises to teach your child social-emotional skills, mindfulness, and …

On Dancing With the Stars, Icons Night brought plenty of eyeliner and quite a few fun dances, along with a farewell to Backstreet Boy AJ McLean. Next: The semi-finals.

We're doubling up on dancing for a few weeks with …

We often talk about our dogs, and Catherine's family briefly had custody of a hedgehog. But even though it might be legal to keep a kangaroo, a …

​A funny story from Ellie Kemper about what calmed her baby on a plane got us thinking about unusual things that comforted our little ones.

We wade into the treacherous waters of kids and lying: What are the best ways to react, and to teach them about honesty? (Surprise: There are no easy answers.)

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Terri invites brides- and grooms-to-be to check out Wedding Dance School, from Dancing with the Stars pros Pasha …

Hearing about Play-Doh's new line of Play-Doh for Grown-Ups (with scents like "Overpriced Latte" and "Lord of the Lawn") got us obsessing about other toys we loved and want to bring back. But we'll take our Play-Doh …

We once thought that as got older, our skin would toughen up and we'd be able to handle criticism. Turns out? Not so much! If you're going to leave …

On Dancing with the Stars, the double elimination turned out to be one elimination (bye, Crishell) and one withdrawal for medical reasons (get well soon, Jeannie). We're still voting for too many of the remaining …

As this article from the Wall Street Journal [https://www.wsj.com/articles/parents-are-the-new-remote-school-zoom-bombers-11603800001] points out, …

Last Sunday, our topic was weddings. Today we finish our review of late spring/early summer with a look back at our long-ago proms.

How much do we, can we, and should we oversee and intervene in the romantic lives of our teens and young adults? We're not sure, but Terri does have …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole's Pet Stuff Minute gives you super-soft, doughnut-shaped pet beds […

We talked about Halloween last month, and today we're back to follow up on how we plan to observe it. After all, everyone needs candy right now.

As this infographic from Scary Mommy shows [https://www.facebook.com/ScaryMommy2/photos/a.749225261826326/3330758833672943/], the pandemic means that …

On Dancing with the Stars, we question whether Cruella de Vil is as evil as Freddy Krueger, and whether everyone needed to be wearing fake contact lenses along with their fake blood. Overall, we prefer our dancing to be …

After reading "Moms of Teens Need These 14 Gifts to Make Their Lives Easier," [https://grownandflown.com/gifts-moms-of-teens/] we talked about the …

Here are all the games we could name from our childhood; we promise we didn't make them up. Not even "Barbie Dream Date."

Were our parents good parents? We have no complaints. Well, maybe a few tiny ones. Mentioned: Transforming the Difficult Child by Howard Glasser; The …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole has found a calming CBD oil from Lazarus Naturals [https://www.lazarusnaturals.com/] that works for her …

We obsess about how to motivate kids to do schoolwork in these strange times, when so many traditional incentives are unavailable to teachers, …

On today's Round 3, we complain about paperwork: Filling it out, getting it where it needs to go, and especially, printing it out in the first place. Why are we still using paper at all anymore?

Dancing With the Stars is humming along, with its agreeable stars making progress and their pros cheering them on. We've had enough of the fake audience cheering for Tyra, though. Next week: Villains Night.

Speaking of …

Kudos to Nicole, who has decided to go back to school and pursue a master's degree! That prompted us to talk about how well we're doing at learning …

Even though our ceremonies were back in the day before enormous wedding parties were a thing, we don't all have happy stories to tell.

We take a cue from Dancing with the Stars and recall our Most Memorable Years. Nicole's is definitely dramatic enough for a barefoot contemporary …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine's enjoying a new documentary podcast called Unfinished: Short Creek, and Nicole has found a cat tunnel …

In the beginning of the pandemic, everything was on Zoom. Then we all got a bit of Zoom fatigue. Now we're realizing that if we want to keep friendships alive, we have to embrace virtual get-togethers.

Earlier in the lockdown, we lamented the loss of several key appliances [https://www.parentingroundaboutpodcast.com/blog/lockdown-breakdown-appliance-edition]. This unfortunate trend is continuing, plus we've added car …

On Dancing with the Stars, '80s Night brought a lot of bad hair and costume cheesiness, along with the usual Too Much Tyra. While the dances weren't great, the stars are all showing a good deal of mirror ball spirit. …

On today's Round 1, we're talking about some of the tech troubles that accompany virtual schooling (for parents, kids, and teachers) and how to …

A cartoon from Hedger Humor for Babble [https://www.facebook.com/HedgerHumor/photos/a.633521596663665.1073741828.630201143662377/1785483274800819/?type=3&theater] got us thinking about the sweet simple things that …

We had a bossy parenting article to discuss, but decided to give ourselves a break on that, along with lots of other things parents are probably supposed to be worrying about.
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On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Terri is a fan of the latest update to the iOS operating system (although she has some free ideas for app …

During these times. the need for pick-me-ups is pretty much constant. We obsess about what we do now to cheer ourselves up, and what we wish we could …

On this week's Round 3, we complain about all the ways our family members spend money in ways we disapprove of: On luxury personal hygiene products, …

On Dancing with the Stars,​ Tyra repeatedly reminded us that the show was live, and then proved it with an embarrassing fumble of the bottom two couples and the elimination. Get it together, DWTS! Next: '80s Night.

On …

On today's Round 1, we discuss a Vox.com article, "How the Coronavirus Pandemic Will Affect an Entire Generation of Students." While only one of our …

Along with more obvious essentials like wallets, keys, and phones, we speak out for the need to have constant access to things like Band-aids, lip balm, and hand sanitizer. You never know when you'll need 'em! [This was …

This article on what parenting can (and can't) do [https://health.usnews.com/wellness/for-parents/articles/2017-09-20/what-parenting-can-and-cannot-do] really rang true for us. Plus it led to another in our series of …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine discovered Nutella Biscuits at the Nutella Cafe [https://www.nutella.com/us/en/nutella-cafe], and Nicole …

We're obsessing about the things we once obsessed over (like reading logs and music practice). Now, we obsess over how much of a waste it was to spend time worrying about these things.

Like everything else in 2020, Halloween is shaping up to be different--and difficult--this year. We're not sure how or if or whether we should …

On Dancing With the Stars, it was a doubleheader for us as we covered last Tuesday's episode along with Monday's Disney Night. Overall, we're …

A (judgy) article titled "10 Things Our Parents Did That Parents Today Should Bring Back" […

We checked out a Good Housekeeping list of 50 (Big and Little) Things It's Finally Time to Get Rid Of [http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/g4272/things-its-time-to-get-rid-of/] and found ourselves guilty of …

We mostly reserve judgment over the ways millennial parents do things their own way. Well, we try. (Here's the far-judgier-than-we slideshow that prompted this chat […

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole is upping her fitness game with a set of SPRI Xertubes [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00067E4P4/ref…

After reading this expert roundtable on the topic […

We know we're blessed with health, food, family, and shelter. But we're still bummed out about all the things that have been taken away or changed …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2: We take a detour from the DWTS ballroom and drop in on 18th-century Scotland with the first three seasons of Outlander (available on Netflix). Catherine found that the show …

Not to stress you out further, but cold weather is drawing nearer. We talked about this smart Vice.com article on small ways to prepare for a …

We chat about things that have completely fallen out of our everyday routine, and hatch a plot to fool today's kids about what that ancient relic the …

We recount just a few of the many ways that caring for our pets is remarkably like caring for our kids. For example, we feel like we're not that good at it.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine's taking over her daughter's baking projects with Lazy Cake Cookies […

California's El Dorado fire (the gender-reveal one) is burning very close to Nicole's home, so she's worrying about what to take if she has to …

A post about rules for parents of college students [https://grownandflown.com/parent-college-student-do-not-do/] put us on the defensive. We don't …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, Dancing with the Stars is back! But Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews aren't. We're watching for some of our favorite pros and for stars like Justina Machado (of One Day at a …

Recently we talked about what supports teens need as they head back to school [https://www.parentingroundaboutpodcast.com/blog/back-to-school-emotions

​We're still in awe of how they put dinner on the table night after night. But the cooking grease under the sink or the alfalfa sprouts among the glassware? Not so much.

Forget "growing out of it." We think it might take a lifetime for kids to adjust to the fundamental unfairness of having a sibling. Mentioned: This article on little kids and jealousy […

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole suggests @roomrater on Twitter [https://twitter.com/ratemyskyperoom] for laughs and even some practical …

Our kids are older now and we encourage them to fight their own battles. But sometimes, mama bear has to step in and do some roaring and baring of …

News about Amazon's new Halo health tracker [https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Halo-Fitness-And-Health-Tracker/dp/B07QK955LS] got us complaining about giving up privacy in exchange for convenience. We don't necessarily want …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, two more episodes of Veronica Mars have us wondering why anyone lives in Neptune, really. The runaway bride from "The Quick and the Wed" had the right idea. Next week, we'll …

The pandemic is terrible and we would very much like it to be over. But at least it's mitigated some awkward social situations, like home sales …

Maybe it's the four-hour plane ride. Maybe it's the old unhappy memories. Maybe it's some recent memories that aren't so great. For whatever reason, …

Terri wondered whether she's the only one whose children have abandoned shared TV watching in favor of random series on YouTube. (She's not.)

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine's excited about the brand-new Phineas and Ferb the Movie […

Like so many parents right now, we're obsessed with meeting our kids' emotional needs as they return to school (as outlined in this New York Times …

In the complaint department this week, we gripe about videos that could have been emails, videos that take way too long to get to the point, and the …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, we watched two episodes of Veronica Mars that were mostly up-the-middle procedurals (Where's the witness? Who took the money?) with just enough bus-crash and …

Last week, Catherine's daughter joined the shrinking ranks of college freshmen actually moving onto campus in this very weird time. She even brought …

Before there were computers and smartphones and fancy prefab fidget spinners, we kept ourselves distracted with ... taking apart pens. Peeling pencil paint. Unwinding paper clips. Doodling. So much doodling.

Terri sometimes feels her life is a bad detective show. Catherine is stuck in a not-that-funny sitcom, and Nicole's family drama is exhaustingly …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Terri is finding new uses for old technology, while Nicole is sprucing up old furniture and objects with …

Now that all three of us have reached the mid-century mark, we can obsess about the benefits of being older, wiser, and much more willing to wear …

Parenting is hard no matter what age your kids are. This article calling out middle school as the toughest age to parent […

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, a double dose of Veronica Mars, although both episodes were useless in their own ways. "One Angry Veronica" did nothing for the season-long arc, and "Donut Run" was based on …

Need to use a leash/harness/tether on your kid? No judgment here; two of us have done it. A tweet from Today's Parent magazine about kids being …

Ah, sleep time, when the subconscious opens the door on every stupid thing you could possibly imagine worrying about or wondering about or thinking …

It’s supposed to be a positive thing when kids get more independent. But we're both happy and thrown into existential crisis.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole and her family are keeping germs away with the Clean Door Anti-Contact Tool […

After hearing about an opportunity to sleep over at the last Blockbuster video store in the world […

We appreciate all the work that goes into pandemic protection cleaning and hygiene practices. But we've noticed that sometimes, a little flaw in the …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2: World of Dance wrapped up with a second set of semi-finals and then a fizzle of a finale (partly thanks to the pending pandemic, but also, the performances peaked in the …

We talk about an Illinois school district that made the news for banning pajamas during remote schoolwork. While we agree that respect and routine …

We reminisce about some concerts we've seen — and no lies on the list.

Nicole brings us this week's rant, about parents who elbow other kids out of the way to help their own offspring get ahead.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, a real hodge-podge awaits you. Terri's loving Taylor Swift's surprise new album, "Folklore […

Nicole's obsessed with her new kitten, and we've seen many other families bring home new pets (and toys like boats and motorcycles) during the …

Thanks to pandemic restrictions, it's been months since any of us has been home alone. Instead of complaining, we dream about what we'd do with that elusive alone time if we had some. (Spoiler: We're a little out of …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2: We're very displeased that World of Dance ended its first round of semi-finals by making children cry. We've been telling them for weeks not to! Next: We'll discuss the …

After seeing a few posts recommending college students pack a "bug-out bag" in case of Covid-19 isolation, we talked about what we'd need to pack up …

Statistics say 10 percent of the population is left-handed, but for our podcast, it's more like 33.3 percent. Guess which one of us is the leftie.​

In an episode from July 2017, we discuss guilt of the "it's not you, it's me" variety, as in "You should play the trombone because I didn't get to be …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine shouts out Pier 1's going-out-of-business sales [https://www.pier1.com/] as a good resource for dorm and …

With many kids set to do some kind of distance learning in the fall, we obsess about how to keep them motivated and engaged. Starbucks gift cards only go so far.

We lament and complain about how moms are always stuck in the middle, mediating between two other family members who clash. Can anyone tell us how to fix this (since running away from home isn't an option right now)?

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, World of Dance wrapped up the junior division duels with another talented rubber band, a semi-professional (?) hip-hop duo, and a troupe with a teen who's getting taller …

It's important to celebrate tiny victories when they happen, so here are our tales of upcycling, repairing, and cleaning success to inspire you. We owe it all (well, most of it) to YouTube. Mentioned: Cleaning expert …

We consider the degree to which the cool things of our youth — Walkman! Stirrup pants! The Seventies! — have not fared well with time.

We talk about the weird ways having money, not having money, spending money, and not spending money can all make you feel ashamed. What's up with that?

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: In her continuing series on Apple products and accessories, Terri shouts out Mophie's handy wireless charging pad […

When it comes to following--or even just noticing--trends, we find that our kids care a heck of a lot less than we did. But we're not necessarily …

We're so grateful that we have the means to feed our families. We're just not sure how it is that they are eating so much. ​It may be time for a …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, the duels continue on World of Dance with the junior division. That means teeny, tiny Savannah Manzel took on the caped ballroom troupe, the contemporary trio MDC3 faced off …

It's easy to bond with little kids, or it least it seems that way now that we're looking back. But we've found ways to bond with our teens and young …

We're not afraid to say we like these weird foods. Hear us justify our appreciation of rice cakes with margarine, Brussels sprouts, and Vegemite.

We ask: How did you know you were ready for kids? And once you knew, did the universe help you out, or smack you around a little first?

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole discovered that the Apple Magic trackpad helps you look your best on video calls […

We admit it: Sometimes moms behave badly. We confess a few of our recent sins and ask for absolution in what will certainly not be a recurring …

Helping kids learn independence is never easy. We share some wins, losses, and in-progresses to remind ourselves that this stuff takes time (and trial and error).

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2: World of Dance returned from an unexplained hiatus with another round of duels, along with the redemption round for the upper division. We're sorry to see Styles and Emma go, …

The disruptions of the global pandemic mean making tough decisions about work and school with ever-changing information. It's hard for adults, and …

We recall some cruises we have experienced, both life-changing and nausea-inducing, and wonder if we'd still enjoy them as much today.

We are very live-and-let-live when it comes to kids and technology, but we wonder whether teens need to have better manners when it comes to their …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Terri recommends Despair.com for a daily dose of snark [https://despair.com/], and Nicole's Instagram Minute also …

A month from now, Nicole's nest will be empty (at least of children; the pets are all staying). She's obsessing about her next steps, and we're here …

After watching a video on the 10 most important things to simplify [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp9zZHqG3bA], we share our complaints with the minimalist life. You'll never catch us keeping it simple, thanks to …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, we promised you the second round of World of Dance duels, but it turns out they're airing tonight, July …

Using smartphones even in the presence of our children may be smarter than we think, or at least not the "OMG PANIC" we have been led to believe. A recent study […

Following up on our recent crisis chat, which included an account of Nicole's son's scary car crash, we talk about some other car accidents in our …

We welcome visitors to our homes ... sort of. We prefer that they not stay too long, require us to take them to Disneyland, or venture out of their assigned areas.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole's daughter loves her new Bedsure linens [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PWVTWBN/ref…

When kids are older, keeping them safe goes way beyond buckling them into a car seat and covering all the electrical outlets. You have to follow them …

How honest should you be with other parents about your life? Your honesty could really help another parent (see this Instagram post from …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, World of Dance moves from Callbacks to Duels, and we're generally in agreement with the decisions the judges make (plus we're happy to see tWitch show up as a guest judge).

…

A discussion on the Bobby Bones podcast, along with our recent Second-Listen Saturday episode on marriage. prompted us to talk about whether marriage and parenting are hard (um, yes) and whether saying so to newlyweds …

If you want to find something, research something, or maybe get some under-qualified tech support, we're your girls.

We put our combined 68 years of marriage to the test to offer advice and cautionary tales. Mentioned: The trailer for an ABC sitcom, "Splitting Up Together" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=denqJWOc6Go].

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Terri's enjoying her new iPhone SE (which is not too big for her dainty hands). Nicole found another adorable dog …

We sure try to help our kids when they feel stressed, but sometimes the result is more stress--for everyone. What do you do about stress-management …

We're finding that the he always uneasy "balance" between work and life changes as kids grow. It's not less difficult; it's just different.

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, it was callbacks week on World of Dance, in which we got to see (sort of) 10 groups vie for four spots …

As Nicole's son gets ready to move into his (swanky) first place, we reminisce about a basement in Vancouver, a spacious abode in Kansas City, and an …

We'd like to think we're good at writing and teaching and maybe even podcasting, but there are some jobs that are just not for us.

There's a very fine line between encouragement and overselling, and between our kids' disappointment and our own. We try to walk it ... very …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine learned How to College with a new book […

Prompted by a wonderful Twitter thread [https://twitter.com/Remember_Sarah/status/1273674758756786176], we reminisce about what we thought was fancy …

A DIY project that didn't quite get DI-done prompted us to complain about all those times when, as parents, we should have made better decisions--but …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, the World of Dance judges seemed a little grumpier in week 4 of the qualifiers, but we are still here for this mostly cheery show. Next week: the duels. Mentioned: Posts from …

Let's just say celebrations differ depending on who's planning them, as these tweets outline […

This isn't one of those name games that uses the name of our childhood street or pet. We're just wondering whether we'd ditch our last names — which people find unaccountably confusing to pronounce — for something more …

Teaching kids about money management and family finances is an ongoing project, with good, bad, and ugly lessons all around.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, three ways to calm. soothe, and self-care: Terri's air is cleaner with her new Blueair Blue Pure 411 air purifiers[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CV1H65W/ref…

As this Washington Post article notes, scientific advances like germ theory changed family culture […

We take issue with the anonymous person who coined the phrase, "Do something every day that scares you." We can't even brush our teeth every day, so give us a break, please!

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, we check out a new-to-us dance show: World of Dance. So far, so good; we love the variety of dance genres, group sizes, and ages of contestants. We'll be watching the show on …

You'll always parent your second child differently than your first. After all, they're different people. And standards slip when you're tired!

Do you like your clothes loose or tight-fitting? ​Maybe because we work at home in sweats and yoga pants, we're all for comfortable over constricting. But only really sloppy-looking sometimes.

When we were handing out awards recently, we should have had a category for Waiting: Best wait, worst wait, longest wait. Wait here, we have more to …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole's Instagram Minute returns with @miserable_men [https://wwhttps//instagram.com/miserable_men]. Catherine …

We've found some big advantages to social distancing, such as abbreviated virtual meetings, curbside pickup shopping, and yard sign celebrations. We'd like to keep them around post-pandemic, please.

A tweet from @momsense_ensues inspired us to list all the many laws of parenting we've learned the hard way, like "You can never make a child eat, pee, or sleep."

We're just discussing one episode of Veronica Mars today, but what an episode it is. The season 1 finale brings all kinds of revelations (including the huge one Terri predicted), action, and drama, plus the triumphant …

Pets can really make our time at home happier, as this Facebook post from the Bobby Bones Show notes [https://www.facebook.com/bobbybonesshow/posts/3515360098478669]. We're even charmed by other people's pets and by …

Today's topic: Those things other people do that drive us up a wall. All we'll say here is, be careful eating around Nicole.

Spending money is stressful, especially when you need three cars in a few weeks or buy a whole house sight unseen. We did come up with a great idea …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Terri found a Panasonic cordless phone system that meets her elusive landline needs, and Nicole's enjoying …

We're starting to be able to get haircuts and dental cleanings again, and go out to restaurants. But with all the new rules and procedures, we're not …

A survey found that two in five people think they've changed for the better due to the pandemic […

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, first we have an episode that makes us squeamish because of the way it shames girls and gay people ("M.A.D."). And then we have one that makes us squeamish because we have to …

Catherine's daughter virtually graduated, and she gives the report on how it all went, from car parade to YouTube slide show. Mentioned: Gabrielle …

(This is a flashback to a time when we could travel!) Maybe we'd feel more excited about a carefully planned-out trip if the work of making that …

We're lucky that we haven't faced too many true-crisis situations in our families, but when we do, we tend to be of the "fix it now, fall apart later" type.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole's Instagram Minute brings us @karensgoingwild (https://www.instagram.com/karensgoingwild/; don't be a …

On our last Second-Listen Saturday, we replayed a discussion about special end-of-the-year awards we think parents should get […

Summer is upon us and we're stumped. What jobs can our teens or young adults do, when service jobs seem risky (and less available, due to …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, we're closing in on the end of season 1 of Veronica Mars, but not without a couple more cases of "Bad Things Happen to Neptune Students We've Never Heard Of." Plus, Terri …

It's Memorial Day, so here comes summer! It's shaping up to be just as weird as spring was, but with even more angry letters to the editor and Facebook posts.

You've seen that meme where you answer questions about your senior year in high school, right? There are way too many items on it for a Speed Round, …

We decided that parents aren't getting enough recognition for all they do (and don't do), so we've come up with some special awards for deserving parental behavior.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Terri enjoyed the "Pew Pew" episode of the Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast, all about the sounds in the original …

As an episode of the Freakonomics podcast outlines [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/covid-19-college/], colleges and universities, and their …

After reading about people making coronavirus-shaped pinatas to enjoy smashing them to bits [https://www.clairescreativeadventures.com/lets-smash-the-coronavirus-with-art-diy-coronavirus-pinata/], we talked about all …

These two episodes of Veronica Mars were quite a combo platter of silly high school plots (mascot-stealing in "Betty and Veronica"; petty harassment …

This new reality may be driving us crazy, but lockdown accommodations have gone too far when kids can get driver's licenses without passing a real, …

Today’s a mini-rant day for just complaining about the constant calls we get from telemarketers and scammers. Leave us alone! Do we have to just stop answering the phone? How annoyed are you by junk calls these days?

When we read a Popsugar post about a mom's Facebook Live rant on her son's school's disgusting bathrooms […

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine shouts out Pepper, the American Hedgehog Warrior […

As with every other event in American life, the Covid-19 pandemic comes with merchandise, and lots of it. Do you have any? Do you want any? Would you …

The pandemic has given us extra time to look around our homes and realize how much stuff we're holding on to that we don't need. What have you got …

Now that Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist has wrapped up for the season, we're doubling up on Veronica Mars. This week's episodes featured good detecting, but poor judgement, on Veronica's part—along with the arrival of …

In honor of Mother's Day, we decided to check in on some of favorite TV and movie moms and see how they might handle being locked down during a pandemic (like, how does Marge Simpson maintain that beehive without salon …

Catherine’s “grocery fair” typo already gave us inspiration for a discussion of fantasy school fundraisers, and now we extend that to any sort of …

Terri had a major meltdown about a potential delegation fail, which got us wondering (and whining) about why it's so hard to hand off …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole's Instagram Minute offers @d.a.d.n.o.t.e.s [https://www.instagram.com/d.a.d.n.o.t.e.s/], a sweet collection …

Now that her daughter's high school will be offering a virtual graduation ceremony, Catherine is looking for ways to make watching the event feel …

Just when we need them most, our household appliances seem to be protesting by falling apart. We're down half a dishwasher, a smoke alarm, a …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, we finished the season of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist with "Zoey's Extraordinary Dad." The season finale somehow tied up all loose ends while also leaving us confused …

Car insurers are compensating drivers for not driving, and colleges are refunding (at least some) room and board costs from abruptly cancelled …

As much as we love our computers and devices and online opportunities, it’s hard not to think sometimes that things were simpler when we couldn’t …

We try to keep things steady and stress-free for the kiddos, but there's not much we can do about the routine-busting disruptiveness of a parent's job loss or change.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole's Instagram Minute offers @commentsbycelebs, [https://www.instagram.com/commentsbycelebs/] because celebs …

Social isolation means anxiety, discouragement, and disappointment, but we're finding some ways to cheer ourselves up (most of them involve food and …

We know life has changed forever because of the coronavirus outbreak. And that might be a good thing, if we never have to exchange awkward hugs and kisses with acquaintances again.

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist had an extraordinary guest star (Bernadette Peters!) and continued to …

Thanks to the pandemic, the tables have turned: Instead of students pleading to be admitted to the colleges of their choice, universities are now …

Catherine's noticing of crafting moms on a skate-team bus made her think of what she'd like to learn how to do, and ask the rest of us for our skill wishes. Music and maintenance are at the top of our list. What's on …

We worry about a Time article [http://time.com/4604907/parents-dont-get-how-negative-they-seem-to-their-teenagers/] on the negative spin our kids may …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole's Instagram Minute offers @itsabandoned, a beautifully creepy account showing abandoned places […

Opinions on what the current lockdown is doing to teens (especially high school seniors) range from "worst tragedy" to "will make a good story one …

All this family together time is great. Just great! It's a Norman Rockwell painting up in here every day. (Help!​)

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, Zoey returns with an "Extraordinary Outburst." This translates into rather a lot of yelling, but there's also a lot of singing and dancing. We'll take that as a win. Next: …

Hindsight is 20/20 when it comes to the Great Staying Home of 2020. If we knew then what we knew now, we might have made some changes and some special purchases, big and small. Mentioned: "My coronavirus recovery …

We debate a bit as to whether today's Would You Rather question on where we'd rather live is about size of abode, freedom from yard work, or sharing …

Reports on early school times for teens and whether it works against their actually, you know, learning things inspired us to chat about sleep …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Twitter and Instagram feeds to cheer you during unprecedented times. Catherine chose @briancgrubb on Twitter, …

A segment on the Poscast podcast about annoying things we miss during this period of social distancing inspired us to obsess about how we'd answer the same question. Who knew we'd miss driving, or traffic, or normal …

For a change of pace, we decided to change the subject of today's Round 3 and focus on some non-pandemic-related complaints. We think everyone is pretty clear on what those are. But dental work, customer service, and …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist took an extraordinary week off, so we checked in with one of our past watches: One Day at a Time, now relaunched on PopTV after Netflix …

Since we've been sheltering at home due to the pandemic, we've had several birthdays and now Easter to observe. While the pressure's off to host a big party, the pressure's ON to make sure that special occasions still …

Peek in our car trunks, and what will you find? Let's just say that we're safe from earthquakes and starvation, but we're stumped when it comes to storing spare tires or removing dog hair. What's in your trunk?

Our daughters don’t much want to hear our advice about dating, and maybe it’s just as well, because we’re not even sure whether dating’s a thing anymore, or whether “a thing” is dating, or why you can’t ask someone to a …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Nicole's Instagram Minute brings us @kalesalad (https://www.instagram.com/kalesalad/; yes, Nicole recommended …

While there are really no pros to this pandemic, we are still trying to count our blessings, from health and shelter for our families to saving on gas and getting our walks in.

We want to follow the rules to keep everyone safe, but some social contact does seem essential. And also: Zoom, don't fail us now […

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, "Zoey's Extraordinary Silence" really did bring something extraordinary: a dance featuring American Sign Language and deaf performers. Bravo! Mentioned: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend …

We report in on what we have, what we don't have, and what we might have stocked up on had we known we should be doing that.

Groceries. Bank. Post Office. Bills. We lament some of our least-favorite errands, both out and about (we originally recorded this when we could …

An experienced mom recently told Catherine that she felt it was important for kids to have a talent, skill, interest, hobby — whatever — that they …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, online entertainment galore: Catherine shares writer Melisa Wells's updated-daily list, Creative Ways to Connect and Learn While Social Distancing […

It's hard to stay connected while also staying socially distant, but our kids and communities are getting creative. We'd love to hear how your family is bridging the gap between keeping safe and keeping in touch.

Social isolation judginess is all the rage, but are we judging those who are doing it wrong or judging the judgers?

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, "Zoey's Extraordinary Glitch" was, as predicted, that instead of hearing songs and seeing dances, Zoey was now performing them herself. So we got lots of fun dances, but …

Inspired by a slippery stairs competition (that ESPN has to air because there are no other sports), we talk about what records our family is going …

Our first cars were largely large—​the ones we learned to drive on, anyway. The first cars we bought were smaller, possibly explosive, and in one case not purchased until after marriage and family. ​

On Second-Listen Saturday, we share some fun moments from past episodes for your weekend listening pleasure. This one's from a time when staying in was actually optional. Thanks to social media, it’s all too easy to get …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, stuff to do, eat, and watch while you're stuck at home. Nicole recommends paint-by-number projects, Catherine …

Life under house arrest is hard for adults. Add little kids into the mix and the degree of difficulty goes up considerably. This is your permission …

It's hard enough for kids to make the transition from college life back to the family home under normal circumstances. When they have to do it under …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2: We got some heavy, heart-to-heart talks on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, but also lots of singing and dancing, up to and including an actual flash mob. Mentioned: The Good …

We check in on life under lockdown in California, New Jersey, and the Midwest. We're united in our lack of toilet paper and our surplus of people in our space while we try to work.

Shower? Breakfast? Paper? Yelling at kids to hurry up and get ready for school? There are all sorts of ways to start your day, but it shouldn't …

Borrowing a refrain from the Extra Hot Great podcast, we declare "I am not a crackpot" when we insist that buffets must have more than one item, Terri's dishwasher is freakin' LOUD, and teachers ought to, you know, like …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine recommends the book My Sister the Serial Killer [https://www.amazon.com/My-Sister-Serial-Killer-Novel/dp/0525564209/] (it's not what you think), while Terri suggests snacking …

We like the idea of houseguests, as long as they're very occasional. And don't stay too long. And don't mind doing some cleaning and minor repairs while they're here.

Just like this writer at Grown and Flown [https://grownandflown.com/rethink-follow-your-passion/], we have some issues with the career advice that …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, Zoey has an Extraordinary Night Out, with an extraordinary amount of singing and dancing (yay). Next on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist: "Zoey's Extraordinary Confession." On …

Since the coronavirus is definitely the only thing anyone is talking about, we talked about it too. But this was way back on Wednesday, March 11. Things have definitely changed since then: Two of Terri's family members …

Our couches get a workout, between dogs and kids and grown-ups who fall asleep there. We assess the sorry state of our sofas and congratulate Nicole …

Sure, we like our kids to do well in school. But should parents be obsessing about their kids' grades? And fighting every dent in the GPA? And …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole's back with another funny, inspiring Instagram account: Fruits of Motherhood […

When kids say something like "I'm stupid," a parent's first instinct is to tell them they're wrong. But in this case, our instincts are, well, wrong and stupid. What's the best way to help kids who are down on …

It's time for one of our trademark rants, and this time we target a school grading system that is confusing, impractical, and just generally a …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week: On Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, "Zoey's Extraordinary Failure" seems to be betraying her brother, but for us it's the lack of production numbers and laughs. Next: "Zoey's …

Who's the better parent, you or your own mom or dad? After we read about a survey that asked parents this question […

We all agree that covering your windows is important (though some of Nicole's neighbors? Not so much). But what are we covering them with? Blinds? …

It should come as no surprise that teens want their parents to be available but not intrusive. A New York Times article […

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine shouts out the Alex & Ani store in Cranston, RI, for giving her daughter's team the VIP treatment. …

Go read the caption on this adorable photo James Van Der Beek posted on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/p/B9CRnBQprAu/], then come back here for our discussion of just how right we think this dad of five gets it. …

Catherine's about to enter semi-retirement from all her sports mom volunteer jobs, and Terri and Nicole are already there. We wonder what we'll find …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week: On Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, Zoey's powers get her in trouble with neighbor Mo, and we trade growing complexity of plot (thumbs up) for big production numbers (thumbs …

Last week's mention of "The Repair Shop" [https://www.parentingroundaboutpodcast.com/blog/roundabout-roundup-apple-music-playlists-sheraton-hotels-linens-the-repair-shop] got us talking about family heirlooms: What we …

We hope you're not surrounded by people who make you feel like something's wrong with you. But come to think of it, there might be something we'd …

Do your kids represent themselves to their pediatrician, or are you the one doing all the talking? How can you transition teens and young adults to …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Terri enjoys listening to and creating playlists on Apple Music (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207542 or …

How do you cope when you and your kids have a different idea about the ideal frequency of saying, or hearing, the words "I love you"? We obsess about what's enough, too much, and just right.

This article on parents staying up too late (in an attempt to get some kid-free time) got us complaining about how the bedtime struggles never really …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist delivered a little less singing and a lot less dancing than we'd like, in "Zoey's Extraordinary Boss." We're hoping next
week's "Zoey's …

After reading about this mom, who checks in with other parents when her teen goes to their homes [https://www.parents.com/parenting/better-parenting/teenagers/i-dont-care-if-other-parents-dont-do-i-do/], we talked about …

Today's question asks about how much we can bear to pay for hair cutting (and styling and coloring and what-all). Looking at our pictures, perhaps …

When one loving parent thinks that gentle teasing is the best way to help a child get used to the way others may joke around, and the other loving parent knows that even gentle teasing is unappreciated by said child and …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Nicole found a smelly-dog solution in Wahl Deodorizing and Refreshing Pet Deodorant […

A tweet from @jdesmondharris on weird little things we just can't manage to do got us obsessing about our own life skill failings, from legitimate …

You know all those annoying life admin tasks you have to do, like paying bills, filling out forms, and doing your taxes? We're ready to handle them book-club style, with friends, coffee (or wine, pick your poison), and …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week: On Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist ​("Zoey's Extraordinary Best Friend"), Zoey tries to untangle the whys and hows of her power, and then thinks better of it. This is a good …

Yes, we've heard the mantra about praising effort, not outcome, and we get why it's important. But we still think there's a time and a place for a …

Continuing on our grooming theme from last week, we look at shampoos and wonder how much is appropriate to spend. Our preferences range from pricey salon selections to the bottom of the supermarket barrel. How much do …

Your kid made the team—hooray! Your family is putting loads of money and time into making your athlete successful — yay! go! And then the coach …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Since it's Valentine's Day, check out Terri's Love Notes for Special Parents [https://www.byterrimauro.com/]. …

We're so glad to be past the Classroom Valentines stage of life, but we still have plenty of suggestions for how Valentine's Day could be improved. …

We complain about ghosting (new name, old phenomenon) but also concede that sometimes, we'd like an "unfollow" feature IRL.

With both of our TV watches over (sniff), we've lined up two replacements. First up, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, a high-concept drama that …

When we read this list of 7 Things Moms of Teens Don't Give a Crap About [https://grownandflown.com/moms-teens-dont-care-about/], we discovered we actually still do give a crap—especially when it comes to being friendly …

On today's speed round, we debate the merits of good old-fashioned bar soap vs. fancy and fragrant body wash. It was two against one, but you'll have …

Our podcast is dedicated to the topics parents complain about, so we thought we’d discuss what can happen when you’re just overwhelmed with how much work parenting can be — physically, logistically, emotionally. Do you …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Catherine makes the case for checking luggage when you fly (mentioned: her shout-out of Wheresmysuitcase.com […

Just about any reality competition or game show would be way more challenging if you had kids in tow, so shouldn't we be earning cash prizes and …

On today's Round 3, we're complaining about friends who postpone plans again and again, and about how to teach our kids not to be those people.

We weren't, in fact, ready, but both of our show watches have come to an end. The Good Place's series finale, "Whenever You're Ready," brought the series to a satisfying conclusion (Terri needed some convincing, but she …

When you return home after a vacation or some other disruption to your routine, do you unpack and re-combobulate immediately? Do you shove your …

Terri's having a fight with her dentist. Nicole's always shopping around for a better one. Catherine lives in dread of being sent back to the gum …

Catherine got a worrisome letter from her daughter's school, and the fact that it turned out to be part of a giant clerical error didn't keep her …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Terri has an organizational tip that helps you give older clothes some love. Meanwhile, Nicole's loving her new …

When our kids were small, we couldn't wait to get beyond hours-long bedtime routines and driving them all over the place. But now, we kinda miss …

On today's episode, we complain about the division of household labor that puts us squarely in charge of all telephone transactions. Why, oh why, …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week: After watching "Patty," the penultimate episode of The Good Place, Terri's hoping for one more …

We talk about ourselves and our families a lot on this podcast. But off the air, we're talking about other families we encounter out in the wild. Mentioned: Ellen Seidman's blog, Love That Max […

Earthquakes. Fires. Tornadoes. Floods. Hurricanes. Hurricane panics. We've seen 'em all, and in some cases bought the insurance. What is Mother Nature up to in your part of the world?

A Washington Post article about the science of why your child is such an entitled brat […

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Catherine is cautiously optimistic about air frying (in this Breville Smart Oven [https://www.breville.com/us/en/products/ovens/bov900.html]), and Terri is enjoying lemon cookie mini …

Nicole had to deliver a birthday celebration to her away-at-college daughter, which got us obsessing about how we celebrate special days for special …

Yes, we know kids should be involved in activities, but does it have to be so hard to make time for practices/games/meetings/events, and transport …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, we're charging toward the finish line with both of our shows. Our heroes are suddenly ballooning into the afterlife on The Good Place, and on The West Wing, we dive deeply …

When we read about the Dutch concept of niksen, or basically doing nothing [https://www.scarymommy.com/we-all-need-niksen/], we had to talk about whether we can actually single-task, let alone zero-task.

Hobbies like sewing, knitting, and crocheting theoretically have as their end product something somebody can wear. For today's question, we wanted to see if any of us are quite that industrious. Maybe our moms were, and …

Kids will never learn how to survive failure if we don't let them fail, sure, we know that, absolutely, and yet, who wants to stand back and let your …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Nicole loves the beautiful pictures of her home country at Images of Canada on Instagram […

Sending our kids out into the big wide world everyday is tough, especially when we know all the little things they don't quite know or aren't quite good at. So how do we do it? We'll meet you in the surveillance van. …

To quote Free to Be You and Me, "Some kind of help is the kind of help we all can do without." Specifically, when we ask for help, we would like to …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, The Good Place is back with "You've Changed, Man," which ends with yet another plan for the afterlife, …

We've all heard the buzzword, and we all know it's good for us. That doesn't make it any easier to make time for self-care--especially when our …

Being sick is no fun, but sometimes, we wish for the ability to just put school or work on hold for 24 hours and take good care of ourselves. Sick …

Watching the NBC drama This Is Us got us thinking profound thoughts about the way our childhoods have formed the people we are now ... and shallow …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Catherine's feet are cozy thanks to Uggs insoles [https://www.ugg.com/women-footwear/sheepskin-insole/1101443.html…

Not only are we obsessed with embarrassing things that happened to us in high school, we're obsessed with trying to protect our kids from having the …

New phone frustration has us wondering if we're too old to be technically savvy, or if it's technology that needs to do a better job meeting our …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, Catherine saw Star Wars: The Newest One and shares her thoughts. Then, she and Terri discuss West Wing's "Transition." We're nearing the end of the series, but these last eps …

2020 is going to be a big year for both Catherine and Nicole: They'll both be celebrating (maybe observing is more accurate?) their 50th birthday. …

Harry Potter had his invisibility cloak, and we're jealous. If we had the power to move about undetected, just think of all the good intel we could …

As moms who work at home, we depend on some semblance of routine to keep us on task, and as much as we love our kids and spouses and want them to be around us every moment, forever and always, they do tend to mess with …

Terri's keen to keep things status quo in this new year; Nicole is looking ahead to some professional changes and travel. Catherine is both excited …

We always say that when it comes to parenting, we've been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. So today we share our hard-won advice with those new parents who are just joining the club.

This is a Speed Round with consequences, as we reveal our parenting resolutions for 2020. Two of us are trying to back off, while the third feels …

Today's speed round topic: New Year's Eve (and New Year's Day) traditions and memories, like narrowly avoiding Y2K disaster and giving Times Square a wide berth. How do you celebrate?

We're closing out 2019 and welcoming in 2020 with a week of speed rounds. Today's topic: What's something you did right in 2019?

Whether it's moving to a new country at a moment's notice, moving to the big city with big dreams but no job, or traveling abroad without really being sufficiently worldly, we've done some things in our lives that still …

We lament the fact that we have to make all the decisions in our families, at least partly because we won't let anyone else do it. Well, two of us handle decision-making that way — find out which of us has discovered …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Catherine sings the praises of the simple apple slicer […

According to an article in US News and World Report [https://health.usnews.com/wellness/for-parents/articles/foods-for-anxiety-lower-kids-stress-levels-with-these-healthy-choices], eating foods including salmon, …

On this day of gift-giving in honor of a baby, we discuss whether nontraditional baby shower gifts are an improvement on the basic baby blanket and onesie. Plus: Bonus complaining about how it's harder than ever to buy …

Special guest Nicole joins Terri and Catherine to talk seasonal entertainment... which she's not actually consuming, as it turns out. Still, we …

Home Alone may be a hit holiday movie, but in our homes, the kids definitely want (or need) company, with one notable exception. A survey of social …

In appearance, in temperament, in lying-down-in-a-dark-room-with-a-wet-rag-over-your-eyes anxiety, we all take after one or the other of our parents. Find out which side of the tree our apple doesn't fall too far from, …

Is your clan starting to look like something from "Modern Family"? Are you close to aunts and uncles and cousins and siblings, or happy staying as far away from any feud fodder as you can? Are your friends more your …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Terri's thankful for the cloud's magic ability to make her life easier, while Nicole's praising Costco Travel for …

Inspired by John and Sherry at Young House Love Has a Podcast [https://www.younghouselove.com/podcast-155/], we discuss the Rule of Age 10, which …

With the 2010s coming to an end, everyone's talking about the bests of the decade. We, of course, had to talk about this topic our way: By complaining about parenting trends that trouble and annoy us. Mentioned: Our …

NBC made Making It into a two-week-long "event" instead of a season, and the show felt overpackaged. But we still enjoyed watching creative makers make things. Mentioned: The Extra Hot Great podcast discussion of the …

Sure, there are things we can (and probably really should) teach our grown and nearly-grown kids how to do. But then we'd be out of a job, and we …

A while back we talked on a Speed Round about places we'd like to visit, and thinking a little more along those lines, we share some other things we'd like to do before it's too late, from education to travel to all …

Is moving away from home an absolute rite of young adulthood that we must force our kids to engage in above all else? Or can we give the kids a break …

It's time for one last rummaging through the grab bag to end the week. Today, have some fun with a chat on our fave songs to entertain or maybe annoy our kids with, plus our thoughts on dogs’ birthday parties.

From the grab bag today: Chats on comfort food and weird things we’ve found. But first, we’ll look back on that time when Nicole wore two different …

For today’s grab bag selections, we have an important conversation from earlier this year on … um … Kim Kardashian’s bathroom, plus an emotional look at our favorite … emojis. Yeah, we’re a little goofy this week. Hope …

We’ll be back next week to chat about the whole season of "Making It," along with the “West Wing” episode “Requiem.” Meanwhile, we pulled a couple of …

Last week we talked about releasing ourselves from unrealistic expectations and going for good-enough. Thanks to some unexpected travel and computer crises, our good-enough this week is a grab bag of past conversations …

From high cliffs to dark forests to a scene right out of a suspense movie, we share some scary spots we've found ourselves in.

We've all had success with picking the issues we want to focus on with our kids, sure, of course we have. But when spouses choose different battles, kids get in on the action, and we can't even win the fights we choose …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Nicole's binge-watching Nathan for You on Comedy Central [http://www.cc.com/shows/nathan-for-you], while Catherine …

After complaining yesterday about obligatory holiday traditions, today we obsess about what makes a holiday good enough for our families (or, really, …

A post at Scary Mommy [https://www.scarymommy.com/things-you-must-do-holidays/] got us talking about all the holiday stuff we once did--or did once, …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, Making It [https://www.spreaker.com/episode/18922331] is back for a second season (well, a two-week "event" [https://www.nbc.com/making-it]), and we're still all in, because …

A post on the blog Grown and Flown [https://grownandflown.com/dear-santa-15-things-mom-wants-christmas/?] got us thinking about our real Christmas …

Used to be, family photo clutter meant shoeboxes full of snapshots to sort through. Now it's more likely to be thousands of phone-snapped images …

On Second-Listen Saturday, we share some fun moments from past episodes for your weekend listening pleasure.

It's just a love of efficiency, really. …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Terri's shouting out our new weekend schedule (look for Second-Listen Saturdays and Speed Round Sundays in your …

We have so much to be thankful for upon this Thanksgiving Day: College and job opportunities for our kids, each other, our dear listeners ... and …

​We provide our kids with all the essentials, from electricity to staving off disaster with our constant worrying, and we get nothing but grief for our grief!

On Dancing with the Stars, we have a winner: Hannah Brown, who triumphed over the judges' barrage of 10s for Ally Brooke. Congratulations, Hannah …

We’re kicking off a week of gratitude by extending thanks and shout-outs to all of those people who have helped make our parenting journey just a …

Home TV screens are getting bigger, yet phone-size screens are more and more becoming the place our eyeballs soak up entertainment. We talked today about which screens we're most likely to watch TV and movies …

We lament the dilemma of having to choose between two kids and their activities/events, and wish someone would get going with some cloning or …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, we each shout out a handy-dandy delivery service. Catherine’s pick is WheresMySuitcase.com [https://wheresmysuitcase.com/], Terri’s is Keurig [https://www.keurig.com/content/beverages…

It stinks for us moms when kids are discouraged and all the Band-aids and hugs in the world don't make things better. And since their discouragements are our discouragements, we experience contact trauma.

We've found that just like adulting, parenting isn't always everything we thought it would be. (But we're never disappointed by these kids of ours.) …

On Dancing with the Stars, remember last season, when Bobby Bones won [https://www.spreaker.com/episode/18922326] and everyone freaked the heck out? This season, the semi-final prompted the freaking out when the judges, …

We're so overwhelmed by all the streaming services, cable channels, and other ways to procure and watch TV that we might just stick to podcasts.

TV commercials for Alexa have got us thinking about our personal degree of home automation and whether we wish we were more hooked up. Are you living it up in a smart home?

A story about Nicole’s son’s internship in Japan leads into a discussion about young adults who don’t quite get that you can’t max out your credit …

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, we each shout out a TV show we’re enjoying (see our Tuesday Round 2s for more). Catherine’s pick is Queer Eye on …

We’re still trying to understand what VSCO girls are, while helping kids navigate (or ignore) what’s trendy and what’s not.

An article about addressing kids’ annoying habits (through positive reinforcement only, please!) got us complaining about just how hard it is to …

On Dancing with the Stars, the dances were short, the evening was long, and Sean Spicer finally reached the end of his run. Next week, the five remaining dancers (Lauren Alaina, Ally Brooke, Hannah Brown, Kel Mitchell, …

Nicole’s dreaming about a few parenting decisions she’d like to do over, but Terri’s not ready to commit unless she can foresee all the possible …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup: Nicole and Terri discovered Yogibo beanbag furniture [https://www.yogibo.com/] during their mall meet-up; see …

A post about the importance of having a "vent buddy" in your life [http://wellbody.net/posts/2019/05/20/why-having-vent-buddy-important-health/] got us obsessing about our own vent buddy situations, and our kids' too. …

If you haven't heard the new and "improved" (ahem) version of the ABC song, you can listen to it on Bobby Bones's show […

On Dancing with the Stars, the dance-offs sent Kate Flannery dancing off into the sunset. We'll miss her!

On The Good Place, "A Chip Driver Mystery" was more misery than mystery, in our opinion, even if Brent did get …

After Terri and Nicole visited a Tesla showroom (during their historic IRL get-together […

On this week's Roundabout Roundup: Nicole raves about her Hydroflask (https://www.hydroflask.com/, but she's not a VSCO girl). Catherine and Terri …

On this Halloween day, we talk about what really makes parents scream, from head lice to forgotten homework to Caillou. Visit the Parenting House of Horrors... if you dare!

Today we reveal ourselves to be, on the whole, Scrooges when it comes to Halloween—at least the answering-the-door-for trick-or-treaters part. Not …

On Dancing with the Stars, Halloween Night gave the hair and makeup folks license to go even crazier than usual, and group dances meant a heroic …

Buzzfeed posed a series of Would You Rather questions on parenting topics to Jimmy Fallon […

On this week's Roundabout Roundup: Catherine finally (finally, finally) got a new laptop: A Lenovo Yoga 730 [https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/]. Nicole …

How much influence can, and should, and did, we have over our kids' social lives and choices? Like everything else in parenting, there's never an …

Should "fiver" birthday parties [https://www.popsugar.com/family/What-Fiver-Birthday-Party-45660067] replace the old-fashioned kind, where kids get …

This week's Dancing with the Stars mystery theme turned out to be "80s Tunes and Uncontrollable Sobbing," so that was fun. Our rooting interests are …

As a blog post from Swistle [https://www.swistle.com/2019/10/15/one-of-the-big-reliefs-of-parenting-the-stage-of-kids-making-their-own-plans/] so rightly points out, there are some kid milestones that are accompanied by …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup: Nicole's checking out consumer site The Inventory [https://theinventory.com/]. Catherine read Susan Orlean's The …

Nicole is obsessing about how to stay close to her daughter, who's away at university, while Catherine anticipates that looming departure. (Terri, …

After listening to a Freakonomics podcast episode [http://freakonomics.com/podcast/math-curriculum/] on high school math, we took on the topic as …

On Dancing with the Stars, we saw 20 minutes of dancing amid two hours of Disney promos and lots of faffing-about filler. And then nobody was eliminated!

The Good Place's "Chillaxing" gave us more Chidi (yay!) but also …

A HuffPo article on the sometimes unsung benefits of parenting [https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/amanda-haas/i-never-appreciated-these-parenting-perks-until-i-became-a-mom_a_23321700] had us reminiscing about naps, yoga …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup: Catherine wouldn't have survived the past week without Signup Genius [https://www.signupgenius.com/index.cfm]. …

Sometimes as a parent, you accidentally raise your hand at precisely the wrong time, and then you find yourself in charge of catering six meals for …

On Wednesdays we complain, and this week our target is care packages for kids away at college or camp. Turns out, we are not the kind of moms who …

On Dancing with the Stars, there was no advertised theme, but we declared it "Songs Inappropriate for the Dance Night." We're still backing James, …

After we read the viral post [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/apple-watch-saves-life-hard-fall-apple-watch-series-4-falling-emergency-bob-burdett/] about how an Apple Watch can call 911 if it detects a "hard fall," we came …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup: Terri's enjoying Lauren Alaina's new single, "Getting Good" [https://youtu.be/xebJj6ONjks] (and Lauren on Dancing with the Stars […

Of course we want our kids to be independent. In theory. In reality? We need rosaries and bubble wrap to get through it.

Carpooling is a blessing and a curse, and a new app called Floc [https://www.myflocapp.com/] is trying to make it easier for parents. We can still …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, we keep busy with three episodes of TV and two accompanying podcasts. On Dancing with the Stars, the annoyingly dragged-out elimination was even more annoying because it …

A survey of teachers [https://www.corgan.com/story/lessons-from-teachers-how-classroom-design-impacts-teachers/] from architecture firm Corgan got us …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup: Catherine's excited about the Downton Abbey movie [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6398184/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1], in …

Are you a stickler for rules, or the benevolent leader of a lawless land? Guess which one applies more to each of us.

Ever notice that moms are such good listeners that it basically becomes our full-time job? Sometimes we wish our kids would realize that dads have …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, we said goodbye to our first star on Dancing with the Stars. We think we're in favor of the new voting system—but definitely not the protracted elimination scene.

On The …

When we heard that Disney has a bedtime hotline [in which characters tell kids to go to bed; …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup: Catherine's enjoying the latest iteration of The Great British Baking Show [on Netflix; …

Mom stress and worry is eternal, but we have some modern ways of dealing with it, from meds to apps and other tech. We also depend on those old …

A McSweeney's list of surprising ways to injure yourself when you're over 40 [https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/16-surprising-ways-to-injure-yourself-when-youre-over-40] prompted us to recount our own aches and pains, …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, it was a double dose of dancing. So You Think You Can Dance crowned a winner (https://www.instagram.com/bailrok/, the one who's been our pick all along!). And Dancing with …

A New York Times article on Facebook groups for parents of college students (…

On this week's Roundabout Roundup: Terri's loving Taylor Swift's latest album (music collection? bunch o' songs?), Lover (https://amzn.to/2ZIwj9C). …

Terri has found the ultimate stool—er, tool—for thoroughly embarrassing her children. And she's sharing it with all of us!

Nicole is reeling from a string of unexpected, untimely bills, giving us a reason to complain about unnecessary emergency-room visits, overly …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, there was so much dancing on So You Think You Can Dance. Yep, we think these kids can dance! The top 4 proved it by doing about a dozen routines each (or so it seemed). On …

We follow up last week's food fight chat (https://www.spreaker.com/episode/18971910) with more on WW (https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/; formerly …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup: Nicole shouts out the Ikea bags beloved at college move-in time (https://amzn.to/2NI8Nal). Catherine's enjoying …

We try to set our kids up for success, one storage bin and phone alarm at a time. But they don't always appreciate (or, let's face it: notice) our efforts. For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at …

We complain about how hard it is for people with different priorities, preferences, and metabolisms to share a kitchen. For quotes, archives, and …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week: There was much dancing as the SYTYCD Top 6 showed off their stuff alongside several all-stars, …

Nicole has done it: She's dropped off her baby at college! She fills us in on the logistical and emotional details. For quotes, archives, and more, …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup: Catherine had a good experience selling through StubHub (https://www.stubhub.com/sell/hub/). Terri got a warm welcome and some free electricity at a FedEx Office store (…

It's easy to obsess when our kids make big choices, like what college major to declare or what career to pursue. The hardest part might be deciding …

On today's Round 3, we complain about high school schedules. Should teens really have to wake up so early? And what about block scheduling, where …

On SYTYCD, the top 8 performed, and performed, and performed: Five dances each, in solos, duos, and groups. We're tired just watching. Mentioned: To …

On today's Round 1, we compare and contrast our own weddings with those of the Kids Today, with their barn venues and their candy buffets and their …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup, Nicole shouts out the Rome Cavalieri Hotel (https://romecavalieri.com/), where she spent her anniversary. …

When you're juggling as many balls as we are, sometimes one or two get dropped. We obsess about these mistakes, and particularly the shame of …

A report on how much our little darlings cost us (https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/090415/cost-raising-child-america.asp) got us complaining about all the expenses we've covered over the years, …

On SYTYCD, just when we'd kind of gotten over the heartbreak of eager young dancers not being chosen for the show, now we get the heartbreak of eliminations. So long, Eddie and Stephanie (but see you on tour). Speaking …

Nicole's back from vacation and now she's getting her daughter packed up for college. Which means discussing the difference between "essentials" and …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup, it's a supersized edition with Mimi and Stacy from Living the Second Act (https://livingthesecondact.com/)! At the time of recording, Stacy was eagerly anticipating BH90210 (…

We're moms, so we obsess about our kids' safety. And there's really no point at which we will relax and just assume they're good. Mimi Golub and …

You know it's getting bad when a mom wishes her daughter would just meet a guy in a bar already. Mimi Golub and Stacy Feintuch of Living the Second …

On SYTYCD, we finally get to exercise our voting powers after this week's episode! We're choosing based on short-person solidarity and people we feel …

With Nicole enjoying a much-deserved vacation (happy anniversary!), we asked Mimi Golub and Stacy Feintuch of Living the Second Act (…

(While we take a brief summer vacation, we're sharing rules-related replays all week. Because what do parents love to talk, complain, and obsess …

(While we take a brief summer vacation, we're sharing rules-related replays all week. Because what do parents love to talk, complain, and obsess …

(While we take a brief summer vacation, we're sharing rules-related replays all week. Because what do parents love to talk, complain, and obsess …

Just like last week (http://www.parentingroundaboutpodcast.com/blog/what-were-watching-sytycd-top-10-girls-and-west-wing-message-of-the-week), "So You Think You Can Dance" brought us another perplexing round of cuts as …

While we take a brief summer vacation, we're sharing rules-related replays all week. Because what do parents love to talk, complain, and obsess …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup, Catherine checked out TV writer Liz Astrof's memoir/essay collection/parenting book, Don't Wait Up: Confessions of …

Last week, we obsessed about (offline) manners and etiquette (http://www.parentingroundaboutpodcast.com/blog/iffy-etiquette), and today we focus on …

On today's Round 3, we complain about all those sports, activities, camps, and classes that we thought would be the answer to our prayers, but fell …

On SYTYCD, there was 55 minutes of dancing, and 5 minutes of "huh?" as the top 10 girls were reduced to the top 5: Anna, Madison, Mariah, Sophie, and Stephanie. On "The West Wing," the message we took from "Message of …

On today's Round 1, we talk teensplaining: That lovely way that adolescents have of knowing everything and not being the least bit shy about sharing …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup, Nicole is fascinated by the YouTube channel Cargospotter (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA6aJAT9rH8vRwWGiGr2iqQ)

We obsess about all those little details of social interactions that we feel unsure about (which means we are also worried about what we have, and haven't, taught our kids about manners and etiquette). For quotes, …

Another parent's college admission post (in July!!) sent Catherine into a shame spiral. That prompted us to complain about not just mom bragging, but …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week: It was part 2 of the "So You Think You Can Dance" Academy, and a bunch of dancers thought wrong and were sent packing. Over on "The West Wing," Santos hits the campaign …

We talk about a survey of major milestones (…

On this week's Roundabout Roundup: Terri found a Catholic-friendly meditation app called Hallow (https://hallow.app/). Nicole's following Allie …

An article on young people starting businesses (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/29/business/mom-can-i-stay-up-to-prepare-for-my-pitch.html) led us to …

Terri may have just had a milestone birthday, but today Nicole is complaining about the little annoyances of aging. This is our reward for 20+ years …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2: 79 of the most wonderful dancers in the world arrive at the “So You Think You Can Dance” Academy, and …

AMC Theaters' Summer Movie Camp (https://www.amctheatres.com/summer-movie-camp) got us talking: What other businesses would we like to see offer a …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup, Terri has started a Facebook group called Parenting Young Adults with Special Needs in the Work World (…

Inspired by "Don't Let Her" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VVWgRufgIU), a sweet song from Walker Hayes (https://amzn.to/2L0FJKw), we obsess over all those details and quirks about our kids (and pets) that are …

An unwelcome visit from a live frog got Nicole thinking about setting boundaries and making rules. She has some complaints about what happens when …

On this week's entertainment-themed episode, “So You Think You Can Dance” is back with more auditions. We hope we can remember who we've met thus far when they arrive at the Academy. With no West Wing Weekly podcast …

After reading yet another article (https://www.mother.ly/life/we-only-have-18-summers-together-my-baby) about how parents only have 18 summers with their kids (they show up every year), we respond with a hearty "So …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup, Nicole's saving money on hotels with SnapTravel (https://www.snaptravel.com/). Terri recommends several Broadway …

On this Fourth of July, we're obsessing about what we're not doing for this holiday and so many others. Things change and that can be hard to face. …

As if birthdays weren't enough pressure, Terri's facing one that feels like New Year's Day times 60: What should she do to celebrate? And what should …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, a special guest star: Nicole Eredics joins us to talk season 2 of “Big Little Lies” on HBO. While she …

Sometimes it's tough to balance our kids' right to privacy with our own need to fill a conversational void. Or our ability to think on our feet when we're caught off-guard. For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup, Catherine's watching a cast of smart, funny women in a beautiful setting on “Wine Country” (…

At The Shop Forward (https://theshopforward.com/), which Terri recommended recently (http://www.parentingroundaboutpodcast.com/blog/roundabout-roundup-the-shop-forward-dormco-and-rory-omalley), you can customize a tote …

Summer brings travel, and travel brings us such a lengthy list of to-dos and don't-forgets that maybe it's easier to just stay home. For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at http://parentingroundabout.com.

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2: The judges' auditions continue on “So You Think You Can Dance,” with more of the most! amazing! dancers! (and one token "no thanks"). On “The West Wing” season 6 finale, …

A recent poll of dads (https://mottpoll.org/reports/parenting-put-downs-how-criticism-impacts-fathers) finds that many of them feel "shamed" by …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup, Catherine gives a quick review of the book “Oh Crap! I Have a Toddler: Tackling These Crazy Awesome Years--No Time-Outs Required by Jamie Glowacki (https://amzn.to/2WGD9uN). Terri had …

If you have a lot of high school grads in your life, you're probably spending many a weekend afternoon at a grad party (or several). We obsess about …

We attempt to translate all those words kids say that mean everything and also nothing: "Sure." "Okay." "Later." "Whatever." If you want to listen, that's "fine." For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, the “So You Think You Can Dance” lovefest continued in week three of the judges' auditions. But on “The West Wing,” "Things Fall Apart" as the Democratic primary remains …

On today's Round 1, we're talking about all those end-of-year awards that kids might get—if we gave them out at home instead of at school. Good job …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup, Terri's browsing an online store that gives back (The Shop Forward, https://theshopforward.com/). Nicole is …

A few weeks back, we identified lots of parenting tasks we'd like to outsource (http://www.parentingroundaboutpodcast.com/blog/outsourcing-options). Now, we've come up with a host of parenting problems we think a …

We revisit a past complaint target in a new way: First it was dental insurance (http://www.parentingroundaboutpodcast.com/blog/dental-dilemmas). Now …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, the superlatives were flying once again on “So You Think You Can Dance” as the judges auditioned many more of the most amazing dancers they have ever seen. Things were a …

On today's Round 1, we talk about high school graduation. Nicole's daughter received her diploma last week, and we compare and contrast with our …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup, Terri shouts out a fun and functional YouTube series called "Universal Homes" (…

Terri's still obsessing over a years-old situation, while Nicole and Catherine have more recent experience: What do you do when you're in a position …

It's another paperwork complaint: Choosing an emergency contact person to list on various and sundry forms. Turns out it's even harder to select that person when they'd have to be responsible for our pets. Mentioned: …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, there was much dancing: A new season of “So You Think You Can Dance” debuted (https://www.fox.com/so-you-think-you-can-dance/), and Bob Fosse danced his last on the finale of …

Hey, airlines: We have some brilliant ideas for you! There are so many ways you could make the air-travel experience easier and happier for families, …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup, Nicole shouts out the Vdara (https://vdara.mgmresorts.com/en.html), the Las Vegas hotel with the handy robots …

On this week's Round 4, our kids aren't obsessed with the K-pop boy band BTS, but Terri went to the concert anyway—twice! And that got us talking about our kids' concert experiences, and our own. For quotes, archives, …

Today's Round 3 is not for the weak of stomach. Skip this one if you don't want to join us in recalling and complaining about all the disgusting ways we've had to show love and care for our dogs. For quotes, archives, …

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, the tumultuous story of the tumultuous Fosse-Verdon marriage continues on the “Fosse/Verdon” episode …

After Nicole encountered a room-service delivery robot in Las Vegas, we talked about the many handy household uses we would have for robot …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup, it's kind of a life-or-death situation: Terri's loving life with an online patient portal (…

If you're a parent, it's likely you've obsessed over this topic at some point: Writing a will, setting up a trust, creating an upon-my-demise plan. …

After reading an article about tasks parents are paying others to do (https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/05/10/outsourcing-parenting-rituals-to-pros/3643343002/), we came up with many more jobs we commonly …

On our entertainment-themed Round 2 this week, two heroes (?) are under increasing strain. On “Fosse/Verdon,” Bob Fosse goes from the psych ward to the cardiac unit (in "Where Am I Going?" and "All I Care About Is …

A recent post on the Today show site (https://community.today.com/post/5-easy-ways-to-build-your-relationship-with-your-teenager) got us talking today. It's about "easy" (red flag!) ways to build your relationship with …

On this week's Roundabout Roundup: Catherine's eating Mann's Superfood Blend (https://www.veggiesmadeeasy.com/products/power-blend/) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Terri has a new source for potential work at …