Author: Even that’s Odd

  • Screen Time

    The Great Tween Phone Battle: A Parent’s Journey Through Screen Time Hell

    Or: How I Became a Digital Detective in the War Against YouTube. Let’s be honest—peer pressure around getting phones for kids, tweens, and teens is absolutely intense. If your child already struggles to fit in, not having a device can make them feel even worse. But here’s the cruel irony: giving them a device might…

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  • The Great Washer Swap: Electrolux vs. Our Old LG

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    The Hunt for a Second-Floor-Friendly Washer Look, I’ll be honest—I had Electrolux earmarked as our next washer practically since we bought our LG back in 2010. Why? Because our LG, while generally reliable, shook our entire house like we were experiencing a minor earthquake whenever it hit the spin cycle. When you’ve got laundry on…

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  • The Dryer Saga: My Electrolux Gas Dryer vs. Physics, Common Sense, and My Old LG

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    When You’re Forced Into A Matching Set Let’s talk about being backed into an appliance corner. With limited laundry room space, we needed to stack our washer and dryer. And because stacking kits apparently cannot be universal (heaven forbid!), we were forced to get an Electrolux dryer to match our new washer. Enter the Electrolux…

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  • Montreal with Kids: A Long Weekend Adventure That Felt Like Europe (With All the Real-Life Plot Twists)

    November 4-7, 2023 | Kids ages 10 and 9 Sometimes you want to feel like you’ve traveled to Europe without actually crossing an ocean. Enter Montreal – our perfect solution for a long weekend that would give us that “foreign land” experience while keeping the drive time reasonable (well, mostly reasonable) from the Hudson Valley.…

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  • Jungle to Beach: Our Spring Break Family Adventure in Belize

    After three years of chilly spring break destinations (Ireland, Iceland, and Germany), we decided it was time for some sunshine and warmth! Our family of four, including our 10 and 11-year-old boys, set off for a week-long adventure in beautiful Belize. Here’s our experience splitting time between the lush jungle and pristine beaches of this…

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  • A Family Learning to Snowboard. What Could Go Wrong?

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    I spent a good part of my teenage and college winters going skiing and had always wanted to share that with our kids. But here’s the thing: skiing (or snowboarding) is now REALLY expensive. Rentals, helmets, tickets, clothing—it adds up to more than $1,000 for a family of four. All for an outing that our…

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  • 6 Days in Iceland with Kids: A Family Adventure

    October 2-9, 2022 After the COVID lockdown lifted, we decided it was time for a real adventure. With Play Airlines now flying out of our regional airport, Iceland felt like the perfect destination for our family of four (kids aged 10 and 8). Since Jennifer didn’t feel like planning another elaborate trip and I admittedly…

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  • Café GE Refrigerator: The Good, The Bad, and The “Did Anyone Actually Test This Thing?”

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    When Your Kitchen Aid Gives Up the Ghost There comes a time in every appliance’s life when it decides it’s had enough of keeping your food cold and calls it quits. Such was the fate of our Kitchen Aid refrigerator, which prompted our foray into the brave new world of refrigerator shopping. Having survived the…

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  • A Memorial Journey Through Germany: Adventure, Mishaps, and Memories

    Originally planned for spring break 2022, postponed by COVID, transformed into a memorial trip for my mother – our family’s unforgettable adventure through Germany with kids (11 & 10) and grandparents (70s). The Journey That Almost Wasn’t Our German adventure had more plot twists than a soap opera. First planned for spring 2022 to visit…

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  • DC with Kids: A Winter Break Adventure (Ages 7 & 9)

    December 2021 – When pandemic fatigue meets family wanderlust Between Christmas and New Year’s 2021, we decided to escape the Hudson Valley winter doldrums and take our boys (ages 9 and 7) on their first real DC adventure. Because nothing says “relaxing holiday break” like navigating the nation’s capital with two energetic kids, right? The…

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  • Better Late Than Never: 2019 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition Review

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    When I purchased my Ridgeline in 2019, Honda sent me a few surveys. Since I did a pretty detailed job on the first one, they ended up sending me a second, more comprehensive survey. I think I gave them a thorough review, but it was in their format, so I never had a copy. I…

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  • Follow Me Tandem: The Ultimate Family Cycling Solution

    Beyond great Woom kids’ bikes, the best thing I purchased for riding with young children was the Follow Me Tandem Bike trailer. This has to be the best bike accessory ever invented for family cycling! The genius of the @FollowMeTandem system is that your child can ride solo until they get tired, and then you…

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  • Woom Bikes: The Ultimate Kids Bike Brand

    When I was looking to get our kids bikes to get them started riding, I did a lot of research. I found that training wheels were a bad idea and that a balance bike was the way to start them off. After a balance bike, the most important thing was weight and the ergonomics that…

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  • Our Williamsburg Adventure: A Family Trip with Two Elementary Schoolers

    April 14-19, 2019 | Kids: Ages 6 and 7 The Great Musket Obsession (And Other Colonial Williamsburg Truths) Let me start with the most important piece of advice I can give you about Colonial Williamsburg with kids: Every single child will be running around with toy muskets. I’m talking about a full-blown colonial arms race in miniature.…

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  • Ireland with Kids and Family: A Comedy of Errors and Emerald Isle Magic

    Ireland Travel Adventure: March 22-31, 2018 Disclaimer: I’m writing about this trip 7+ years after the fact, so I may not be remembering things exactly as they happened. But hey, that’s what makes family stories better, right? Time has a way of turning disasters into comedy gold. The Cast of Characters When Norwegian Air started…

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  • Tulum with Toddlers: A Family Adventure in Learning

    January 2017 – Ages 5 and 4 Sometimes the best family vacations are the ones that teach you the most about your kids (and yourself). Our January 2017 trip to Tulum, Mexico was exactly that kind of adventure – equal parts paradise and parenting reality check, with a healthy dose of “what were we thinking?”…

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