Jamie Janosz

Okay - I have a question and maybe not an answer. In the past two days, two different media outlets made me think about the relationship between color and gender...specifically the color pink. On one of my favorite train-wreck shows, Wife Swap , I watched women from two radically different homes. One came from a hippie, creative, loosey-goosey home where the dad made money as a clown and the two young boys did pretty much whatever they wanted. The oldest boy - probably about 9 - had hair down to his waist and loved the color pink. In fact, he loved it so much that he always dressed in pink and painted his room hot pink. The other mom was from a football family in Texas. Her sons breathed football and believed that all cleaning and cooking was women's work. The results were not surprising. The football mom was horrified by pink boy and insisted that he cut his hair and paint his room a "normal" boy color: blue or green. This little scrawny 9-year-old stood firm. He w

This woman, who recently won a Chicago contest, is living out my fantasy. She gets to stay for a month in the city's Museum of Science and Industry. She will live there, sleep there, and explore the exhibits night and day. http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Chicagoan-Wins-Monthlong-Stay-at-Chicago-Museum-of-science-and-industry-104438434.html Why am I jealous? Because, when I was in middle school, I read the wonderful book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler . If you haven't read this book - or if your child hasn't - pick up a copy. It is one of my favorite stories of childhood adventure. A brother and sister run away from home and hide out at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. They survive by getting coins from the fountain and hiding perched on top of toilets to avoid security guards. Such fun! While this woman might not have the same thrill of escaping - she certainly gets close!

I couldn’t turn the television off the other night. I had stumbled on the series, aired by A&ETV, that is focused on compulsive hoarding. Now I consider myself somewhat of a pack rat, but according to a newspaper estimate there are as many as six million compulsive hoarders. Compulsive hoarders are people who can’t stop accumulating and storing possessions. In this particular episode, there were two women who were threatened with eviction if they did not clean up their living spaces. Their homes were so filled by possessions that they had only very narrow passageways through mounds and mounds of boxes, clothing, and even rotting food. The result was an astounding mess that towered over them in a menacing way. One woman was desperately ashamed and saddened by her situation. She expressed sorrow that her life had gotten to such a state and cried out to Jesus for help. Her friends, relatives, and a professional counselor were called in to help remedy the situation. She seemed eag

On the morning news, I heard that McDonald’s started a new promotional game targeted to the reported millions of Americans who are playing the Facebook game FarmVille. The press release says, "Our mission is to connect the world through games by offering consumers meaningful experiences that enhance their game play. Tens of millions of people play FarmVille daily and this unique campaign with McDonald's . . . further strengthens our commitment to delivering high quality in-game brand experiences." Now, I must stop here and admit something. I was one of those millions. I once owned a farm on FarmVille. It started innocently enough. I was checking Facebook, and an update appeared on my wall. One of my friends had just expanded his farm. “What is that?” my daughter asked. “I don’t know,” I said. Just a game some people play where you own a virtual farm. “I want a farm,” she said. “Do it!” We made the fatal click. It started with a little patc

This week, we will celebrate my daughter's 13th birthday. It is so hard to realize that this little baby we once held is now going to be a teenager. We will also celebrate our other "daughter's" birthday on the same day. I have never met her. Noelia lives in the Dominican Republic. Several years ago, while anticipating Sabrina's birthday, we started supporting Noelia each month through the ministry of World Vision. This blog, that I originally wrote to air on Moody Radio, explains why: When Tom Cruise and his wife Katie celebrated their daughter’s 2nd birthday, they spent a reported $100 thousand to commemorate her special day. $45 thousand in food; $17 thousand in fresh flowers and one thousand butterflies to fly around their daughter’s head. While this celebrity style bash may make seem over-the-top extravagant, I have noticed that many parents like myself feel an increasing amount of pressure to celebrate our children’s birthdays wit