I Want Your Opinion!!

I know a woman whose mother comes one day a week and takes her two children for the day so this woman can get a break from the kids.  I know several women whose parents take the kids on the weekends on a regular basis.  I know of one rare case where both sets of grandparents are local and apparently they fight over who gets to take the grandkids on the weekends and during school holidays.  I know another woman whose sister will occasionally take her kids for an evening so she and her husband can go out.

Now maybe these grandparents are the exception, I don’t know.  Maybe they understand the added benefit this “break” gives the parents.  Parents need time to be alone together to be a couple and NOT parents every once in awhile.  Not everyone can afford to pay a babysitter, pay to go out and pay for the gas to take you where you want to go.  Since I only saw my husband four days a month, we really needed time alone together.  Even if we just parked the car somewhere and had an uninterrupted conversation.  Additionally, I needed a break from the other 26 days of the month I was on my own.

My parents were quick to point out when the house was messy and the laundry was piling up, but they never once called me up to say “how about you take off for an hour or so and we’ll watch the kids so you can get a little break.”  My mother did come over a few times to help me get caught up on the housework or laundry which is no small thing believe me!
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Beware of puddles on the dance floor

Genevieve Hinson MotherofConfusion.com

Potty training is an intricate dance. You have to know when to let your partner take the lead and when to drag him off the floor. There’s a time for fun-loving disco, and there’s a time for a get-tough slamdance.

I had been content mostly — to let my 4-year-old son set the pace on this big boy milestone.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t always so easy going about it. When Craig was 2, I forced the issue. However, I quickly learned that potty training before its time only leads to squish and ick on the carpet. After that I waited for the appropriate readiness signal.

It wasn’t until this last week I saw it.

I was choosing Craig’s outfit for the day when I asked him, “Do you want to wear underwear or pull-ups?” It was the daily question.
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Let’s help the children in Iowa

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS – Summer vacation is boring when all of your toys and games have washed away in a flood.

Two Cleveland Heights residents, Nivi Engineer and Sue Maher, are making sure that kids in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, can still have fun over break – with your help.

They are asking area residents to pitch in with toys and games for children of all ages that are non-wooden, non-cloth, and do not require a table. Suggestions include crayons, coloring books, card games, sidewalk chalk, and sports balls.

Items should be put in a backpack and labeled with the intended recipient’s age and gender. Nearby drop-off points are located in Westfield Great...

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What I know now …

Koshii Eslinger Moms At Work blog

When I was pregnant, I knew becoming a mom would change my life. I knew I’d be giving up a lot of “me” time, I knew my extravagant visits to the mall, day spas and sushi restaurants would taper. I knew I would no longer have my husband’s undivided attention, I’d probably end up driving an SUV and all of my hobbies would take a back seat.

What I didn’t realize:

1. Becoming a mom means becoming a pack mule. I think I’ve actually bulked up (muscle tone, that is!) since having my daughter. Who would have thought that such tiny creatures required so much stuff! And much of this “stuff” you have to bring with you everywhere you go!

2. Visits to the mall no longer include stops at Ann Taylor, Macy’s, Banana Republic and Victoria’s Secret. You’ll find me at Gymboree, Baby Gap and the Children’s Place.

3. Those once-a-month trips to warehouse stores (BJ’s, Costco, Sams) are now once a week.

4. TiVo now records Bunnytown, Barney and the Wiggles.
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Does Popular Equal Mean

We put up a post from “Deep South Moms Blog” on Tuesday by a mother worrying that her popular daughter would grow into a mean girl.  I was really intrigued by this post.  I’m willing to overlook the woman’s attempt to shift the blame for her own childhood behavior onto her “sidekick” because she obviously learned from her mistakes and changed her spots.

This is a topic I’ve thought about as my children enter school.  Bullying.  Boys tend to be very upfront and physical in their bullying while girls tend to be quietly cruel.  Girls start rumors, do the whisper-look-laugh thing and pass around lists.  “If you hate so-and-so sign here.” 

I’d say the best way to teach your kids to be kind is to talk to them about your expectations for their behavior toward others, but don’t overlook the obvious “actions speak louder than words” adage.  Do you and your spouse or friends make fun of others you know or see on TV or read about in the paper?  Kids hear so much more than we realize and they internalize that behavior.  Often they mimic it.
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We goofed! Elyria Fireworks are July 3

In case you are in the process of making your holiday plans for next week, we thought we ought to tell you that we goofed.

In a box accompanying a story about Elyria’s fireworks today, we said the show at West Park will be on July 4. But that’s wrong. The display will begin at 10 p.m. July 3....

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Day One: I feel like a statistic

Victoria Mason DC METRO MOMS BLOG

The front door opened. Startled I looked up to find my husband coming home from work early yesterday. I was about to take a work related phone call so I just briefly asked him what was up. He perched himself on the edge of the kitchen counter and said, “It’s done. Over. I got laid off.”

Immediately, I had to grip the counter myself and keep from feeling as if my brain was doing a fade to black sort of thing. If there wasn’t already a baby growing inside me it would have felt as if my stomach was being kicked in. Pummeled. I hear the words being calmly stated, “Two weeks severance … one month of insurance …” and my mind just reels. How are we going to survive? I feel like one of those brief profiles you read about in a story on the current toll of the U.S. economy being featured in Newsweek.

The writer of the article would includes bits about our peaceful townhouse community, the average household income and how with one toddler and a baby on the way we were already feeling the strain of this lousy economy and weak dollar. Now this. Now we join the ranks of so many others in this country and it is all a bit surreal. Already we have heard the “You’ll be fine. It will all work out” comments about a million times. It’s been under 24 hours and I already want to smack those who say, “Just think! Now he can find something completely new that he wants to do. This is a blessing in disguise.” I can’t help but grouse and ask myself sarcastically, “Oh. Really? Is it also a blessing in disguise that in a few weeks I will be an uninsured pregnant woman too?”
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Snickerdoodles for snack time

June Naylor McClatchy Newspapers

Sometimes no snack in the world will do as well as old-fashioned snickerdoodles, with a glass of really cold milk on the side. Here’s a great recipe from a new book of 40 recipes called “Cookies, Brownies and Bars,” by Elinor Klivans (Fireside Hardcover/Simon & Schuster, $15.95). The kids can help with measuring and rolling the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar.

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 ¾ cups granulated sugar, divided

2 large eggs

Moms Forum: How are you dealing with gas prices?

McClatchy-Tribune

Moms Forum spotlights useful discussion taking place on the parenting forums of newspapers around the country.

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QUESTION: OL, when is it going to stop? Seriously! Every day gas goes up at least 20 cents or more. I’m starting to panic the closer it gets to $5 a gallon.

I stopped by our little electric car dealership today and took a look at what they had. …

How are you all dealing with this mess? Any thoughts of changing your cars?

— Posted by creatress at www.sacmomsclub.com

RESPONSES:

— I would definitely get another vehicle if I could, but because of my daughter being in a wheelchair, the transportation we currently have is the only thing available to us. Luckily I didn’t get a big van when we purchased our accessible van. We have a Chrysler Town & Country so it is nice to drive and decent on the mileage. The electric cars and other options do sound so appealing. I think the prices of those will go up soon. The demand will make it happen.
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New book perfect for crafty moms

Becky Sher McClatchy-Tribune

Whether you’ve got a baby of your own or are just a frequent purchaser of baby gifts, you’ve no doubt noticed just how expensive baby gear has become. Not just the necessities — strollers, car seats, high chairs — but the more frivolous (but oh-so-cute) stuff as well. A decoupaged pail for holding nursery necessities can run $50 at a fancy boutique. A sassy wipes holder to match the diaper bag? Easily $30.

If you’ve got even the tiniest crafty gene, pick up “Crafty Mama,” by Abby Pecoriello (Workman, $15.95), which outlines 49 projects that are guaranteed to elicit oohs and ahs at the next baby shower you attend. None of them require any particularly difficult...

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