Kansas.com: Suzanne Tobias

Family photos preserve the holidays, flaws and all

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:51 CST

If anyone could get a busy grandma to leave her kitchen on Thanksgiving Day — and not only leave her kitchen but take the turkey with her, still steaming in its roasting pan, and pose with it in the driveway — it's Joel Sartore.

The award-winning National Geographic (and former Wichita Eagle) photographer says the light was awful in his mom's kitchen that day, and he was too lazy to mess with a flash. (Thanksgiving appetizers will do that to a person.)

So he asked his dear mother to haul the turkey outside in front of the house, where he could get a decent shot.

Chat live with Eagle family life columnist Suzanne Tobias at 1:30 p.m. Thursday

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:04 CST

From 1:30-2:30 p.m. today, Suzanne Tobias will chat about family photos, get-togethers and more. Join here or, in the meantime, sign up to receive a free e-mail reminder about the chat.

Live chat with family life columnist Suzanne Tobias

Parenthood good practice in negotiation

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:13 CST

When a used car salesman — pardon me, pre-owned car salesman — gets up from his desk to fetch the sales manager, you know you're about to have some fun.

And by "fun" I mean, of course, no fun at all.

Just back and forth and numbers and more numbers, scribbled onto a sheet of paper to be initialed and sent to some nameless General Manager. I imagine this General in a cavernous, fog-filled room, a hologram head like the Wizard of Oz:

Live chat with Suzanne Tobias: Picky eaters, bedtime routines and more

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:13 CST

It's too late to join Eagle family life columnist Suzanne Tobias' first live Web chat, which was 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. today, but you can scroll through the conversation below:

Live chat with family life columnist Suzanne Tobias

'Would You Rather ...?' book proves engrossing

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:07 CST

While keeping me company during my shift at the school book fair recently, my son discovered this literary gem:

"Would You Rather?... Gross Out! Over 300 Crazy Questions (plus extra pages to make up your own!)."

I would like to thank authors Justin Heimberg and David Gomberg for this imaginative, haunting masterpiece, which had me pondering such weighty questions as: "Would you rather have hairy gums or ants crawling in your armpits?"

'Cops': Crime, punishment, right to remain silent

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:09 CDT

Apparently, I have the right to remain silent. Anything I say can and will be used against me in a court of law. I also have the right to have an attorney present during questioning, and if I cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for me.

Hannah, my 11-year-old, greeted me one recent morning by reciting these rights. Bleary-eyed and coffee-less, I had planned to remain silent for several more minutes, rights or no rights.

Instead, I was forced to stop, and squint, and mutter the mantra of tired parents everywhere:

Who's afraid of a little suspense?

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:09 CDT

Reporters keep asking author Maurice Sendak whether his just-released, PG-rated "Where the Wild Things Are" movie is appropriate for children.

What does he say to parents who think the film's too scary?

"That's a question I will not tolerate," Sendak, 81, told a Newsweek reporter recently.

School dance a step into the unknown

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:05 CDT

There are two main reasons I signed up to chaperone the middle school dance: 1) It's been almost 30 years since I've gone to a middle school dance — we called it "junior high" back then — and I was curious.

2) On a mortification scale of zero to 10, Hannah told me my presence at her first dance would be "about a seven." So she may as well have proclaimed, Louisa May Alcott-style, "Oh, Mother, do please come! It will be ever so boring and dreadful if you aren't there!"

At the principal's direction, I staked out a spot in a corner by the door, where I could monitor shenanigans and also keep kids from unplugging the DJ's power cord. It was prime real estate.

Decluttering, especially toys, overrated

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:04 CDT

I'm kind of addicted to those "declutter your life" books. You might say I collect them, which I realize is the definition of irony.

I love a clean, uncluttered room. I admire the principles of Scandinavian design — simplicity, minimalism, functionality. I like open spaces, clear countertops and bookshelves lovingly but loosely arranged.

I especially enjoy articles about controlling toy clutter. Because no matter how much mass-produced plastic junk my children collect or how many huge plastic bins we employ to wrangle it all, I feel like we're always just one solid purge session away from a home tour on the Design*Sponge blog.

Shelter animals are safe but they are not home

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:05 CDT

If happiness, as Charlie Brown so eloquently put it, is a warm puppy, you'd think a whole building full of pups and kitties would have you gliding across the floor doing a Snoopy dance.

That's what my daughter and I figured when we signed up to volunteer at the Kansas Humane Society.

Hannah loves animals, especially dogs, and needed community service hours for school. I love Hannah and dogs, especially the one we adopted a year ago, so we both took the required classes and now volunteer together.