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adrien rock city, august 2019 Hey hey hey, it took nearly 18 months but Episode 18 is finally here — thanks largely to the eight-year-old insisting that we fire up the podcast machine. This is the first time in OMMC history that we record a podcast without the now-12-year-old (though I imagine he’ll be back for subsequent episodes). This time around, I talk with the lil’ brother about life as a second grader, some of his third-grade hopes and dreams (playing an instrument and learning more math are the list, apparently), his desire to become a better athlete, and why it’s sometimes annoying ..read more

art imitating link. november 2018 On latest podcast, we discuss the seven-year-old’s birthday and our recent Thanksgiving, and then recap our field trip to see Rhett and Link on the Tour of Mythicality that included an impromptu Beastie Boys flashback. We mentioned in the last episode that we had tickets to their next-to-last show and the experience exceeded everybody’s expectations. In case you’re wondering — and you almost certainly have to be — here’s the deal in the photo above: The 11-year-old was in the middle of one his now-frequent mood swings while the seven-year-old wanted to fix ..read more

when you’re going for steve harrington but end up looking more like eleven with a perm. oct. 2018 On this episode, the 11-year-old and I talk about the fact that his voice has changed dramatically since the last podcast -- seriously, he's gone from fresh-faced, squeaky-voiced elementary school kid to James Earl Jones as Darth Vadar. We go on to discuss what it's like to now be in middle school and some of the freedom's that come with getting older. Like, say, us deciding to let him watch "Stranger Things." (So far, he loves it. I can't stress this enough.) We also touch on what we did over ..read more

a boy and his LEGO avatar. may 2018 Experience has taught us that the 11-year-old can sometimes be very grumpy. Usually it's because he's hungry, but during long breaks from school -- like holidays or, say, spring break -- boredom can quickly morph into irrational anger if there is no contingency plan. Which is why this spring break was one long exercises in keeping busy.  It wasn't like we did anything exciting, we were just busy. And sometimes that's good enough. If nothing else, it gave us something to talk about on the latest podcast. We also discussed the breaking news out of Uran ..read more

new balance, ninja style. april 2018 The 11-year-old will wear anything. In that sense, he's like a lot of 11-year-olds. It also serves as a reminder that for as much as our kids are like us, they're also incredibly different.  For example, I LOVED sports growing up. When I was seven, I remember using chalk to sketch out hashmarks in our cul-de-sac for a makeshift asphalt football field. When I was eight I spent what felt like the entire summer playing pick-up baseball with the other kids in the neighborhood.   (Two things: 1) Parents go to jail  nowadays for letting their ki ..read more

old school, new school. sept. 2017 Five years ago, our oldest began kindergarten. His little brother was a few days shy of his first birthday, and our mornings consisted of bus-stop drop-offs and figuring out how to co-exist; I worked while he played, ate and pooped. It wasn't exactly a symbiotic relationship -- or at least it didn't feel like it at the time.  Now that the little one is in kindergarten -- we loaded him onto the bus an hour ago -- and it's just me and the dog, the mornings are weird. Weirdly quiet, weirdly ... boring. I can probably get used to boring -- it's my default ..read more

not impressed with bribes, march 2017 The 10-year-old retired from soccer a year ago. I want to think I learned some lessons from the experience, mostly about how to motivate a kid who wholly loathed everything about it -- from dragging him to practices to begging him to pay attention during games.  Honestly, I was relieved when he found rock climbing; partly because it was something he loved, but also because it meant I didn't have to endure the weekly stress that came with sitting through those practices and games.  Win-win. And not only that, I could apply what I learned throug ..read more

wig inspiration: 'trolls,' april 2017 Remember when trolls were, at worst, innocuous oddities? Now, instead of evoking images of furry-haired plastic dolls, they're considered a contemptible lot. Perhaps most shocking, it has nothing to do with the whole geriatric man-baby weirdness (seriously, look at that thing). Internet trolls, who take great pleasure in stoking discord through inflammatory rhetoric on message boards, comments sections and social media, have ruined the good name of those original trolls.  I aim to do my part to change that. Like most parents desperately trying ..read more

monkey puddles, january 2017 The nine-year-old loves science. He loves space-related topics in particular, and while he still watches way more "Phineas and Ferb" than any human should, he'll drop everything for a documentary about the planets, moons, distant galaxies and black holes. Science fact has led to science fiction. (Or maybe, more accurately, science fiction -- namely, Star Wars -- led to science fact, which has now come full circle.)  He watched "The Martian" the other night, but not before his mom gave him the "Okay, there are some bad words in this movie -- mostly because a ..read more