Parenting Roundabout

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Catherine shouts out The Great Pottery Throwdown [https://play.hbomax.com/page/urn:hbo:page:GX0gQ9AKAgr5cuAEAAAG_:type:series], which is The Great British Bake-Off for ceramics. Nicole discovered Temecula wine country [https://www.temeculawines.org/] almost in her backyard, and Terri rediscovered Pinterest [https://www.pinterest.com/mamatude2/the-parenting-roundabout-podcast/] for posting quotes from this podcast.

We know everyone's out of practice with the outside world after months of lockdown. But is it really necessary to measure the hand grips on the monkey bars before your kids play, as this article suggests [https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-06-27/summer-playgrounds-come-with-fun-and-hazards]?

We complain about those times when an adorable moppet inserts themselves into an adult conversation (or meeting), usually at the parent's invitation. Should we be gracious about this, or expect better behavior from grown-ups?

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, the Making It makers created with (but didn't bake) cookies and then built little lending libraries for goodies like tools, spices, sporting goods, and kites. We will be watching to see whether the judges follow through on their "no changing your design or you're going home" policy. Next week: season 3, episode 3.On Veronica Mars, the episode titled "Losing Streak" really did include streaking (the mayor sprinting through town in the buff). And we are losing it with Veronica's unhappiness and repeated accusations against Weevil. Three episodes to go! Next: "Entering a World of Pain."

When we heard about Ariana Grande giving away $1 million in free therapy services, we started brainstorming about what kind of benefactors we'd be if we had the funds--like create an elite squad of customer service ninjas for parents. Mentioned: Medical debt forgiveness [https://www.gofundme.com/f/let039s-wipe-out-1-million-in-medical-debt] (benefiting RIP Medical Debt [https://ripmedicaldebt.org/]); MacKenzie Scott [https://time.com/6050873/mackenzie-scott-profile/].

Brainstorming Speed Round questions in the kitchen brought recent topics on Tupperware [https://www.parentingroundaboutpodcast.com/blog/speed-round-sunday-tupperware-inventory] and refrigerators [https://www.spreaker.com/episode/18922710], and today's on those collections of recipes we may only admire from afar. Mentioned: A Man, A Can, a Plan [https://www.amazon.com/Man-Can-Plan-Great-Meals/dp/1579546072/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1510426436&sr=8-1&keywords=a+man+a+can+a+plan&linkCode=ll1&tag=motherswithattit&linkId=aa1c97a29f4d6501974f8803191ec495], Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks [https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss_tl?url=search-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=australian+womens+weekly+cookbooks&sprefix=Australian+wom,stripbooks,139&crid=26TQE2ATOCWCD&linkCode=ll2&tag=motherswithattit&linkId=b1ccbe9cbfa96153eb33f2379e10ab31]​.

Inspired by a Facebook post [https://www.facebook.com/grownandflown/posts/1498189386947803], we dream up fantasy vacations. It turns out we care very little about luxury accommodations or exotic destinations. What we really need is a cozy bed and a Worry Concierge. Mentioned: Family reading weekend at Design Mom [https://designmom.com/how-to-host-a-family-reading-marathon/].

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup: Terri has a powerful new phone charger that solves the problem of missing and decomposing charger cords [https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HNZ82ZM/A/mophie-powerstation-wireless-xl-portable-battery-10000-mah?cid=aos-us-seo-pla]. Nicole is sparing her cat from the plastic cone of shame with a soft fabric neck pillow [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X6J88MC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]. And Catherine is enjoying ready-made meals from a local catering company that pivoted during the pandemic.

Terri's birthday was yesterday, and Catherine's is next week. But don't rely on these idea lists from New York magazine [https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-birthday-gifts-for-mom.html], Etsy] [https://www.etsy.com/market/gifts_for_mom_birthday, and Cosmo [https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/g26765913/gifts-for-mom-from-daughter/] when you're shopping.

Today we're complaining about that fine line between showing our kids compassion and unconditional love, and teaching them that it's not okay to hurt our feelings just because we're moms. Because being passive-aggressive about it doesn't seem to be working.

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, we welcome the return of Making It, the crafty, punny competition show hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman. While episode 1 of season 3 contained maybe more crying than we had expected, it still had plenty of very cool crafts to admire. Next: Episode 2, now with even more makers.But on Veronica Mars, there wasn't much to admire except the return of Leo (now an FBI agent with a jacket full of snacks!) and his uncomfortable hang-out with Logan. There are a lot of characters (and plots) we're sick of, and it's only been four episodes. Next: Episode 5, "Losing Streak."

With graduation season wrapping up, we talk about how things went for the class of 2021, and how the class of 2020 might be feeling about that. Plus, three of our students head back-to-college/med school in person.

Terri's ongoing war with coffee-dive-bombing gnats led to a chat about satisfying homemade fixes for everyday annoyances ... like apple-cider-vinegar traps for GNATS GNATS GNATS! (Mentioned: our Tupperware abundance [https://www.spreaker.com/episode/45189997].)

We take a look at our LinkedIn profiles and wonder whether we should add positions like "life coach," "chauffeur," "employment counselor," and even "zookeeper."

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Nicole has upgraded her robot vacuum [https://www.parentingroundaboutpodcast.com/blog/roundabout-roundup-majestic-pure-hair-mask-eufy-robovac-and-celestial-seasonings-fruit-tea-sampler] to a combo vac/mop (that unfortunately does not kill giant scary spiders) [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RQC1GHZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]. Catherine recommends checking out your city's offerings, which you're paying for anyway so take advantage. And Terri urges you to watch In the Heights [https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/heights], either in the theater or on your own comfy couch.

What is the protocol for reaching out to your kid's significant other's parents... during/after a pandemic? We don't think Miss Manners has an entry on this.

Spiders and mice and bunnies, oh my! Nicole has a traumatic tale to share, and then we discuss our criteria for gently escorting critters outside vs. declaring war.

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, we took a soothing voyage on the Queen Mary with the Steven Soderbergh movie Let Them All Talk. Nothing really happened, but we still enjoyed watching the ocean go by with Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen, and Dianne Wiest. Mentioned: Tim Brayton's review of the film at Alternate Ending.Over in not-at-all soothing Neptune, California, the Veronica Mars writers tried to make us believe the bomber had been identified. But we've been watching for four seasons now and we knew that couldn't be true. Next: Season 4, episode 4, "Heads You Lose." And we'll enjoy the return of the crafty competition show Making It, hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman, Thursday nights on NBC.

According to this Wall Street Journal article [https://www.wsj.com/articles/tent-sleepovers-the-extravagant-party-kids-are-craving-in-2021-11622059882], fancy tent sleepovers are all the rage right now. So the way we bring our kids back together after isolation is to... separate them into individual tents in the same room? Okay, sure.

How is it we have so many Tupperware items? They multiply, don't you think? And why can we never find the right lid? We compare notes on plastic-food-storage-container overload in a speed round that turns into a mini-rant.