Blkirish’s Weblog

Join me and some other Hip Mamas for a reading at Rebellious Nature this Friday night as part of the Unblurred Art. Music.Performance Crawl along Penn Ave. Click here for details.

It’s not an overstatement to say that TechBoo loves Mary J. Blige. When I proudly told him that I’d managed to mention his favorite singer in my latest co-parenting post at The Faster Times, he gave me the side eye. “Don’t I get points for that?” I asked. “AFTER I read it,” he replied. [...]

Southwest: The Official Airline of Our Relationship Techboo and I get asked all the time, “How do you do it?”–”it” being maintain a long-distance relationship which will soon become a long-distance marriage.* Here’s one answer to that question: Tip #287: Making Long-Distance Love Work – Text Game Proper Text your lad […]

Presents…a reading by local writers Deesha Philyaw, Christina Springer, Melissa Sokulski, Kelli Stevens Kane, and Robin Monroe, along with Amanda Gilby, short fiction contest winner, reading from her piece featured in Issue 44: The Creativity Issue This latest issue honors and celebrates musicians, writers, and artists who can nurture their kids and th […]

Suffice it to say that for Techboo and me, our dance card is full between now and the new year. After Thanksgiving (which we are hosting), we’ve already RSVPed for 2 holiday parties and a Chanukah party. I’m doing a Kwanzaa presentation in BabyGirl’s kindergarten class, complete with cornbread baking activity (Jiffy!). Plus, there’s [ […]

Find out what I (Deesha) am thankful for (plus a challenge to all you co-parents!) in a guest-post I wrote for SingleDad.com. Shout-out to SingleDad founder, RJ Jaramillo, for the opportunity. Here’s an excerpt: At this time of year, even folks with the hardest of hearts and the biggest axes to grind might pause [...]

The bad news is: 1.5 hours of sleep. The good news is: http://bit.ly/36yldy

Below is a comment I left for Inkognegro in response to the follow up post to his guest-post at Single Sisters Speak (corrected for typos): All of your words on the “deadbeat dad” subject hit home, because I had one, but this: “Whether absent in the physical, or in the mental and emotional…your children become suspended in [...]

In the current Art/See issue of Bitch magazine (I got mine in the mail today), check out my review of the wonderful anthology “Who’s Your Mama?” edited by Yvonne Bynoe, and…my interview with the fabulous Farai Chideya. We chatted about her debut novel, “Kiss the Sky” and much more.

So one of the unexpected perks of teaching was revealed this week. One of the students in my writing class (the face-to-face non-credit class, not the online grad class) is a Notre Dame alum and a die-hard fan of ND football. Her whole family is, apparently. My Techboo is a die-hard Notre Dame fan. Notre [...]

On last week’s “Co-Parenting Matters” show, we discussed ways to get over your ex, for your own well-being and to facilitate your co-parenting relationship.  We talked about strategies for healing from that severed relationship and ushering in a fresh start to the next chapter in your life, which for many of us, includes [...]

“Parents, picture your children 30 years from now and ask yourself:  ‘What would I want my child to say about how I was with her other parent?  What lessons would I want my child to have learned through our co-parenting relationship?  How did I celebrate the part of him that is the other parent?’  By [...]

It’s been a busy day here in CoParenting101 land. First up, Deesha’s latest co-parenting post, “Divorce Cakes are Bittersweet with Kids in the Mix” is up at The Faster Times.    Here’s an excerpt: And what divorce party would be complete without the cake?  Looking for some divorce cake inspiration?  Here are 31 super-subtle poss […]

I thought this question posed to me (Deesha) on Twitter made for a good Thanksgiving post-script: @coparenting101 would you share a family recipe with your ex husband’s girlfriend? My response:  I’ve shared recipes with his wife. Plus, I share my kids with her, so why not a recipe? LOL… On the subject of sharing…Mike’s mini-van […]

Well, I (Deesha) am in the airport TGIFriday’s sipping blackberry mojitos waiting to board a flight to spend Thanksgiving and a long weekend with my fiance JB, my future bonus daughters, and extended family.  JB’s done most of the shopping and is cooking the turkey, one bonus daughter has baked a cake,  and I’m happily [...]

Photo courtesy of CG2_Soul Artist On last night’s “Co-Parenting Matters” talk show, we covered a lot of ground on the topic of step-dating. We had such a great conversation, we’re looking forward to having our kids’ stepmom and Mike’s wife, Sherry; and Yvonne Kelly, co-founder of the Step and Blended Family Institute; join […]

Find out what I (Deesha) am thankful for (plus a challenge to all you co-parents!) in a guest-post I wrote for SingleDad.com.  Shout-out to SingleDad founder, RJ Jaramillo, for the opportunity.  Here’s an excerpt: At this time of year, even folks with the hardest of hearts and the biggest axes to grind might pause to reflect [...]

This week’s “Co-Parenting Matters” show was very particular special because our kids’ stepmom and Mike’s wife, Sherry, joined us for our discussion about step-dating.  Our other guest, Yvonne Kelly, a wonderful certified step-parenting and relationship coach and co-founder of the Step and Blended Family Institute, defines the st […]

This was a dad-heavy week here on CoParenting101.org, so I (Deesha) thought I’d throw some mamas into the mix and mention two books I’m reading. I’m wrapping up Divorce Sucks: What to do When Irreconcilable Differences, Lawyers Fees, and Your Ex Husband’s Hollywood Wife Makes You Miserable by Mary Jo Eustace.  The “Hollywood Wife […]

That’s the question posed by Suzanne Reisman, one in a number of folks in the blogosphere providing commentary on a recent Working Moms article about the rising number of divorce cases in which dads (particularly stay-at-home dads) are being granted primary custody.  Here’s an excerpt from Reisman’s post at BlogHer: Since I don’t want […]