More and more of the kids’ schoolwork is requiring the use of a computer — we definitely needed this. But an internet-connected computer in a private room makes this mom of growing kids worry.

So I decided to set up this computer with a wireless USB adapter. Now this school computer can only access the internet when 1) I say so and 2) I hand over the adapter.

No sneaking online … “just to check email.” And no surfing without supervision. But it’s quick and easy to go online when we want to. I love this easy solution!

Raphael’s reaching milestones this summer. Come read the details at Faith & Family Live.

If God created the internet for no other reason, it surely was so that mothers could help and support other mothers through the potty training process.

Excellent advice. Moral support. Practical considerations.

It’s all there. Go now.

The mother in me knows that these small changes are just a hint of the bigger ones to come — car keys and girlfriends and going-away to college.

So today I am grateful for the sound of a young boy’s cry of “Snake!” I relish the fact that it does not fail to bring all of them stampeding outdoors to hunt. I cling to the whoops of victory that erupt from the gang of them as they seize their prey.

And I savor the sight of them, dusty-faced in grubby T-shirts, beaming boyishly before me.

Also, I don’t dare let my kids Google, even with a filtered search. Can anyone recommend a “clean” and kid-focused search engine or collection of links?

UPDATE: shutting down comments while I’m away

Technorati Tags: kids online, filtered internet, safe surfing

Well, she’s not actually getting paid or anything, but the stable where she has taken riding lessons for the past 8 years has offered her a “work for riding” opportunity. She works in the barn and grooms the horses in return for free riding.

Well now, riding is worth more to this particular 13 year old than any paycheck could ever be. Not to mention the fact that just being in the barn and caring for the horses feels more like heaven than “work” to her.

My mother heart can rest. She’s not leaving home yet, just going to the barn. All in all, a mighty fine arrangement.

I know we are standing at the precipice of a whole new world as our older children mature, and yet somehow it does not feel as daunting to me as it did 13 years ago today when we first looked at this little bundle … and trembled.

But darling Kateri, colic and all, was exactly what this nervous parental unit needed. And today, as a beautiful young lady whose birthday gifts will include hermit crabs and Chinese calligraphy supplies, and whose requested birthday dinner will consist of pork pie and chocolate cake featuring a frosting likeness of her favorite crowing rooster …

2. If you are a mother embarking on a 90 minute car ride in the cramped quarters of a Toyota Corolla with a 9 year old boy and 11 year old boy in the back seat, check under that seat before you close the doors and leave the driveway. The kinds of things you do not want them to have access to are a foam baseball bat and a plastic ice scraper.

3. If you are a wife and you allow your husband access to the family Netflix queue, date night will roll around and you will find yourself sitting down in front of this.

In desperation, I finally called out, “Does anyone know where my pasta pot is?”

“Um, it’s up here,” Kateri answered matter-of-factly from upstairs … where she was cleaning out her pet turtle tank. “I’ll get it back to you just as soon as I take my catfish out of it.”

No problem. I’m sure Racheal Ray deals with this kind of thing all the time.

(Don’t worry, guests. I used a different pot.)