Wittie Cooper wRItes again (and again)

  There's an interesting phenomenon I've noticed since arriving in New England and driving on the roads: the aggressively generous driver. or AGD   Being from New Jersey where I first acquired my license and most recently living in Florida (both places where driving seems more like a contact sport), I expected to get more of the same: impatient, pushy, and erratic drivers.  The first time I took the car out by myself I was nervous.  I didn't know where I was going really, and the fact that my Florida plate was still emblazoned on the back -- I figured the other drivers would eat me for breakfast.   But as I took my time, overly obeying the speed limits and carefully watching the road signs, I encountered the AGD.  I was waiting to make a left when the car that was approaching me slowed to a stop.  As I wondered what they were doing, I could see they were waving me on to take the left.  I was confused and hesitated.  Then the hand be...

So I've been dieting for a few months now. And by dieting, I mean NOT letting myself have a donut with breakfast, a cookie with lunch, and a nice round double dish of ice cream after dinner.  Oh and all the snacks in between. I remember talking to my sister (who was getting ready for her wedding by working out a bunch and watching her calories) and telling her I thought I was ready to finally get serious about getting back in shape, myself. "Download a meal tracker, that's what I did," she said.  "It really helps when you can actually see what you're eating all day and helps to keep you accountable." I had never tried something like that.  I worried I would get lazy with it or get frustrated when I was trying to add my meals.  But I also knew that once I got over those humps, I might be able to stick with it. So after reading some reviews I decided to try MyFitnessPal.  I had some success with it, but mostly I liked the recipes it supplied.  It did, howe...

They say you can learn by example.  Just sitting back and watching how someone does the thing you're trying to learn is a completely acceptable form of education. I like to treat parenting the same way. Now, don't get me wrong, I know the basics.   Don't touch a hot stove.  Don't run with scissors.  Don't go swimming unless you've waited at least half an hour since you last ate (that one never seemed very intuitive to me.  What constitutes eating?  Does a snack count?  And what about fluids?  Surely a cold fizzy Coke or beer sitting in your gut spells disaster too?) So, I have a modicum of common sense.  But when it comes to situational redirections, I tend to get flustered.  It never used to matter since I always had my kids in daycare.  But now that Joey is getting older and more interested in making friends, I get to see how he interacts with other people's kids.  And what I'm finding is that I'm probably way too overbe...