I write a monthly column over at AlliOSNews. It’s a techie site – extolling all the goodies and gunpowder on the Apple OS. (SHINY TOY!) I’m TechMom. And these are my stories on how technology is really used. There is so much technology to connect with ALL THE THINGS – so I kicked off my first post of the year with a little sampling.
(I’m well aware it’s Monday. If you want TechMom Tuesday on Tuesdays, head on over to AlliOSNews for all things Apple. TechMom Tuesday is typically published the first Tuesday of every month; this month is was the second week because of New Year’s Day. I reserve the right to rant more or less as the technical goings-on, well…go on.)
Happy New (technology) Year! I know. I’m a week late in sharing the wit and wisdom of my TechMom Tuesday musings. But I’m sure y’all were off celebrating the arrival of 2013 (or cowering in a corner because 2013 has completely set off your triskaidekaphobia of being faced with 365 days of haunting calendar dates – but hey, I won’t judge).
I, on the other hand, have spent the past week cleaning up from the chaos that was Christmas in the Stream household. The TechToddlers are the only grandchildren from either side of our family. (Translation – spoiled rotten.) And even though not everyone lives locally, we are all constantly connected.
- Watch the grandkids play from 400 miles away? Facetime.
- Toddlers being, well, toddlers? Camera/Instagram.
- Funny photos with witty captions? Facebook.
- Toddler commentary commiseration? Twitter (I use TweetBot).
- Personal statement to share about a relative? iMessage.
- OMG we totally forgot to order diapers – PANIC AT THE DISCO!!!? Diapers.com.
- Meeting up with friends for a playdate and looking for age appropriate tips? Foursquare.
- Being a TechMom anywhere in the world? Starbucks.
- Sharing all these tech tips and having TechToddlers raised with their entire lives being blogged for the multitudes to follow? WordPress.
All the social apps makes us feel like we’re around, even if we’re off in search of a moment of solitude. (Or in the grandparental case – gleefully handing a melty-downy tot back to parents with a smug “Being a grandparent is so much better” smirk.)
The first time I ever left my kiddos overnight was for a work gig. That week was also the first time my son Destroy ever said “mommy.” -.- Yeah, there was some serious sulking there. Especially because it wasn’t just hearsay. I got a grainy iPhone 3 video proving the toddling verbosity. (And I had some serious processing time while viewing that one. Because getting the iPhone 3 to load an app was not entirely dissimilar to an attempt at defeating a toddler’s determination not to take a bath or get in his car seat. Masters of the stall, people. But I digress…)
Now that the boys are older, if I’m off being anti-social for my company’s social media program or if TechDad has to hang back to protect the homestead while the rest of our family visits the non-local family it’s all about FaceTime.
“Hi Mommy/Daddy <toddler wave> I play trucks. <Scream> No! Brother hit me! Miiiiiinnnnne”
Most. Brilliant. App. Ever. Because, you know, it’s just like being there.
Search and Destroy are relatively certain that extended family are stored in Mommy’s iPad.
Every night after bath Destroy streaks into the living room (in a futile attempt to escape the evening diapering) and declares, “I wanna talk Papa on the iPad!” Over the holidays, GrammaJ and Papa came to visit. After recovering from the energy burst of PRESENTS, Destroy settled himself down in Papa’s lap and announced, “My Papa not in the iPad…Uncle Paul in the iPad?!”
I joke that my living room now looks like Toys R Us threw up. But that is obviously not true. Because not a single toy was purchased from the iconic giraffe toy giant.
Amazon. (Another app that I think is fantabulously easy to navigate and use. Bonus recommendation – Amazon owns Diapers.com.)
In accordance with my twins’ 2-year-old developmental stage, one of their holiday gifts was a small dry erase board – to express their budding imaginations via artistic creativity. (Or, as I see it, markers to color on the wall with.)
Search eyed it. “Where are buttons?” he asked suspiciously.
The adults responded with the traditional grown-up communication stylings of a very blank look.
Search sighed with a hint of annoyance. “My iPad is missing its home button.”
Constant connectivity. Even in the imaginations of the new generation.
Constant technology, although I never turn on facetime or skype. I have them and will use them for scheduled appointments only. What can I say, sometimes I stingy with the grandparents’ grandkids. how is ToysRUs still in business, anyway?