Parenting Roundabout

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Nicole is back with another handy pet product: an automated feeding dish for her cats [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FT93YM2?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details]. Terri is shouting out some cute, comfy, and made-in-the-U.S.A. socks from Zkano [https://zkano.com/collections/womens-knee-high-socks]. And Catherine is marveling at how far college applications have come, now that she's seen the Common App [https://www.commonapp.org/].

Nicole challenged us to name some of our family favorites, which proved to be a little challenging. But we did come up with some vacation spots, restaurants/cuisines, and movies that have a home in our hearts.

An article from Raising Teens Today [https://raisingteenstoday.com/things-moms-see-that-no-one-else-sees/] got us complaining about all those things moms' magic eyes can see that are somehow invisible to kids (and, usually, spouses).

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, we shimmied into the Dancing with the Stars semi-finals, and to a pretty predictable final four: Shangela, Wayne Brady, Gabby Windey, and Charli D'Amelio. Even though we are quite sad to see Daniel go, this is a pretty fun group for the finale.Over on Brothers and Sisters, no one's having that much fun, whether they're being tossed in jail, bailing someone out of jail, or not finding what they need at the party store. Next: S1E3, "Affairs of State."

The idea of using natural consequences [https://www.positivediscipline.com/articles/natural-consequences] to help kids learn is so good! So smart! So... hard to actually put into practice, when you really think about it.

We've talked about what's inside our refrigerators before [https://www.spreaker.com/episode/18922813]. Now, we want to know what's stuck to the outside.

​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. Not fun (although Nicole managed to find some humor), but very necessary.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Catherine alerts you to Costco's macarons, which come in seasonal flavors [https://www.mashed.com/1015690/costcos-newest-macarons-have-all-the-fall-and-winter-flavors/]. Nicole shouts out Charlie Berens on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@charlieberens] (and Catherine seconds this recommendation, although she's not on TikTok). And Terri's more productive when a snarky app checks on her, so she's been enjoying Productivity Challenge Timer [https://productivitychallengetimer.com/].

After learning that King Charles always travels with his childhood teddy bear and his personal toilet seat [https://jezebel.com/king-charles-wont-go-anywhere-without-his-teddy-bear-an-1849740365], we obsessed over what we take on trips, and what we leave behind.

On today's episode, we complain about being the keeper of the to-do list for everyone in our family, and the only one with any sense of urgency about just checking these tasks off, PLEASE!

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, the Dancing with the Stars producers got Terri to feel sorry for Heidi right before she was sent packing, along with perennial good-sport Vinny. We'll miss you, man. Next: The semi-finals.Then we turned from ballroom drama to family drama with the series Brothers and Sisters. We watched the 2006 pilot, "Patriarchy," which introduced us to the Walker family of southern California and its many cute white boys. Soon we will be able to tell them all apart. Next week: season 1, episode 2, "An Act of Will."

Nicole gave up her landline phones, which got us talking about what tech our households are hanging on to and what we're giving up (and which one of us was a teen princess with her own phone line).

What time do your kids turn into pumpkins, and who makes the rules? (Turns out, it's not always the parents.)

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 complain about. We're prepared to offload them all to a hired hand, or to Big Data. We're not picky.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Terri suggests cacao tea (she gets hers from Gold River Trading Co. [https://goldriverco.com/collections/cacao]) for when you want the idea of chocolate without the calories and sugar. Nicole's Instagram Minute returns with Cats of San Bernardino [https://www.instagram.com/catsofsanbernardino/], and Catherine's singing the gospel of rolling up your clothes to fit them in your drawers [https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/organizing-tips/a25908506/why-you-should-roll-your-clothes/].

Today we're obsessing about all those occasions where (mostly) moms have to step in and crush dreams, just because they are living in the real world. Is that fair?

Today we're complaining about little things that refuse to work and trip us up, from mayonnaise packets to electrical outlets to tiny plastic doodads in the dishwasher.

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, the common thread is "we hated the ending." On Dancing with the Stars, the judges saved the annoying star and sent the cheerful good sport home, and on Rutherford Falls, the writers introduced highly unnecessary, 11th-hour plot twists that will now never get resolved because the show hasn't been renewed. Quit while you're ahead, people!Next week, the DWTS theme is '90s Night. And we'll kick off a new series watch: Brothers and Sisters, a soapy drama that premiered in 2006 on ABC and is now available on Hulu [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758737/].

While Catherine says her son is not allowed to have senioritis, apparently she can have it for him. But when a kid can't coast through his senior year, his parents really can't either.

Summer offers delicious food and drink, but then again, so does fall. Don't make us choose!