Unsolicited parenting advice is always awesome--especially coming from strangers.
One that stands out in my mind is a young woman who worked at a store in the mall telling me my baby's cry meant she was hungry--she had learned what different baby cries meant on Oprah. What made it really awesome is that I knew what my own child's cry meant without having ever watched Oprah. But for some reason I thought I'd try to finish buying my stuff before I whipped out a boob to feed her.
But really, the best unsolicited parenting advice my husband and I have ever received was last night. While checking out at a store (why does it always happen at the check out counter?), my almost one year old was chewing on the bag of bread. A couple behind us told my husband that the best way to stop kids from biting stuff was to rub the inside of their cheeks with some bourbon.
Yeah...because we're going to go right home and try that one out. I could not make stuff like that up if I tried. People telling me that my baby is hungry makes me want to punch them. But advice that involves putting alcohol in a baby's mouth is so ridiculous that I actually can laugh at it.
What's the best unsolicited parenting advice you've ever received?
Friday, June 19, 2015
Friday, June 12, 2015
Dear Dog "Parent"
Dear Dog "Parent,"
My Facebook newsfeed was recently drenched with pictures of your dog and words of your worry because of her scary surgery. She got spayed.
I acknowledge that each person's worries and fears and problems are real for them. But it is hard to care much when between pictures of your dog is a picture of a three-year-old boy I know who is fighting a rare childhood cancer. He has climbed up a sculpture and is about to jump down into his dad's arms. He is getting a chance to play before he is hooked up to IVs again; before another blood transfusion that will hopefully bring his white blood cell count up high enough for him to undergo another surgery to remove another tumor.
Admittedly, that picture puts my own worries into perspective as well. But forgive me if I say a prayer for that boy instead of your dog.
My Facebook newsfeed was recently drenched with pictures of your dog and words of your worry because of her scary surgery. She got spayed.
I acknowledge that each person's worries and fears and problems are real for them. But it is hard to care much when between pictures of your dog is a picture of a three-year-old boy I know who is fighting a rare childhood cancer. He has climbed up a sculpture and is about to jump down into his dad's arms. He is getting a chance to play before he is hooked up to IVs again; before another blood transfusion that will hopefully bring his white blood cell count up high enough for him to undergo another surgery to remove another tumor.
Admittedly, that picture puts my own worries into perspective as well. But forgive me if I say a prayer for that boy instead of your dog.
Friday, May 29, 2015
Summer 2015 List
Our summer break starts next week! With my first child exiting Kindergarten, we can all really use the break. The two little ones and I can use a break from the car line and the oldest is excited to spend more time with family. The month of June is going to be really exciting with a visit from an aunt and two cousins and then later from Grandma and Grandpa.
As always, I've made a list of fun things to do. But this summer we need to make a conscious effort to keep up with reading, writing, and math for our soon to be first grader. I'm new at that--any suggestions?
Here's my list of summer fun for our family:
As always, I've made a list of fun things to do. But this summer we need to make a conscious effort to keep up with reading, writing, and math for our soon to be first grader. I'm new at that--any suggestions?
Here's my list of summer fun for our family:
Super
Fun Days
The Beach
Downtown
Disney
The Gulf
Coast
Orlando
Science Center
The Zoo
Mini Golf
Closer
to Home Fun
Family
Bike Ride
Picnic at
the Park
Splash
Pad
Swimming
Pool
Library
Farmer’s
Market
Playing
Outside
Run
Through the Sprinklers
Play with
Water Table
Water
Balloons
Hula
Hoops
Sidewalk
Chalk
Blow
Bubbles
Rainy
Days
Mosaic
Art (w/ torn up paper)
Read-a-Thon
Learn
about Sea Animals
Write
Letters
Pillow
Fort and a Movie
Dance in
the Rain
Summer
Foods
Homemade
Icees
Pizza on
the Grill
Homemade
Ice Cream
Smores
Jello
Popsicles
Lemonade
Summer
Learning
Sea
Animals
Florida
Animals
Hurricanes
Thunder
and Lightning
Sundial
Learn to
Tell Time
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Mother's Day
I know that Mother's Day can be a sensitive time for some people. Women who want to be mothers but can't be. Children, no matter their age, who have lost their mother or whose mothers are not part of their life for whatever reason. Mothers who feel guilty for not being as good a mother as they wanted to be.
Not everyone who wants to be a mother can be. And not everyone has the kind of relationship they want to have with their mother. But I do believe that Mother's Day can be a celebration of all women. A mother is someone who loves, cares for, and nurtures. And though my own mother takes the top spot, many other women have loved, cared for, and nurtured me through the years.
My mother bore me, raised me, taught me, and has always loved me no matter what.
Many of my aunts have given me that extra long hug when I needed it and been there for me to talk to through my childhood and my adulthood.
My sisters have listened to me and helped me through the experience of being a mother myself. I can't imagine that journey without them.
My good friends have been listened to me, laughed and cried with me, and watched out for me for many years.
My husband's mother and grandmothers have been amazing grandmothers to my children.
And for that mom guilt, this is my favorite quote about motherhood.
"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. ... What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply." - M. Russell Ballard
Not everyone who wants to be a mother can be. And not everyone has the kind of relationship they want to have with their mother. But I do believe that Mother's Day can be a celebration of all women. A mother is someone who loves, cares for, and nurtures. And though my own mother takes the top spot, many other women have loved, cared for, and nurtured me through the years.
My mother bore me, raised me, taught me, and has always loved me no matter what.
Many of my aunts have given me that extra long hug when I needed it and been there for me to talk to through my childhood and my adulthood.
My sisters have listened to me and helped me through the experience of being a mother myself. I can't imagine that journey without them.
My good friends have been listened to me, laughed and cried with me, and watched out for me for many years.
My husband's mother and grandmothers have been amazing grandmothers to my children.
And for that mom guilt, this is my favorite quote about motherhood.
"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. ... What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply." - M. Russell Ballard
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Teacher Appreciation Week
Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week. And I don't really appreciate my child's teacher. Nothing so bad has ever happened that I've considered having her changed to another class (mostly because I think that would be harder on my child than just staying in the class she's in).
There's been nothing really big--just lots of little things that have frustrated me. The teacher is not great at communicating with me. I ask direct questions and get responses that don't even acknowledge the questions. When my daughter pretends to read to a class of kids, she yells at her fake audience to calm down and that everyone will get a chance to see the picture and if you don't sit down you're going to have to move your color! (Their color is the system of showing their behavior that day.) Last week my daughter came home without a homework packet. I e-mailed the teacher to tell her and asked her to put one in my daughter's folder the next day. The teacher e-mailed back that she most definitely put a homework packet in the folder. Ummm... So mistakes happen, things get overlooked, I wasn't the least bit upset about it being forgotten. Until I felt we were being accused of losing it. How about a simple, "I'm sorry. I wonder what happened to it? I'll be sure to give her a new one tomorrow."
Anyway. Just lots of little things over the course of a school year.
Now regardless of my feelings about them personally, teachers have a hard job. They do something I would never attempt. They don't get paid enough. But whatever happened to a reminder about Teacher Appreciation Week and letting each parent/child decide how they want to celebrate their teacher? Why isn't a homemade card from my child enough? And even if you make some suggestions, having a certain thing we're supposed to do each day creates anxiety in a Kindergartener if she's not doing the same thing as everyone else. Is this a way to help us feel better about the fact that teacher's don't get paid enough?
I'm not buying a plant or flower for her teacher. And honestly, does she want 18 plants on her desk on Thursday?
My daughter will fill out the My Teacher is a Star Because... paper. She can wear blue on Friday. And I'll do her teacher another favor by waiting until after Teacher Appreciation Week to send back my honest teacher evaluation that she asked for. (Which she claims is anonymous but how can it be if my options are sending it in my child's folder or e-mailing it back?)
I look at this list as Mother's Day approaches and I'm thinking we need to change it to Mother's Week. Because let's be honest, teacher's are great, even the so-so ones like my daughter's do a lot of work. But mothers do a lot more.
There's been nothing really big--just lots of little things that have frustrated me. The teacher is not great at communicating with me. I ask direct questions and get responses that don't even acknowledge the questions. When my daughter pretends to read to a class of kids, she yells at her fake audience to calm down and that everyone will get a chance to see the picture and if you don't sit down you're going to have to move your color! (Their color is the system of showing their behavior that day.) Last week my daughter came home without a homework packet. I e-mailed the teacher to tell her and asked her to put one in my daughter's folder the next day. The teacher e-mailed back that she most definitely put a homework packet in the folder. Ummm... So mistakes happen, things get overlooked, I wasn't the least bit upset about it being forgotten. Until I felt we were being accused of losing it. How about a simple, "I'm sorry. I wonder what happened to it? I'll be sure to give her a new one tomorrow."
Anyway. Just lots of little things over the course of a school year.
Now regardless of my feelings about them personally, teachers have a hard job. They do something I would never attempt. They don't get paid enough. But whatever happened to a reminder about Teacher Appreciation Week and letting each parent/child decide how they want to celebrate their teacher? Why isn't a homemade card from my child enough? And even if you make some suggestions, having a certain thing we're supposed to do each day creates anxiety in a Kindergartener if she's not doing the same thing as everyone else. Is this a way to help us feel better about the fact that teacher's don't get paid enough?
I'm not buying a plant or flower for her teacher. And honestly, does she want 18 plants on her desk on Thursday?
My daughter will fill out the My Teacher is a Star Because... paper. She can wear blue on Friday. And I'll do her teacher another favor by waiting until after Teacher Appreciation Week to send back my honest teacher evaluation that she asked for. (Which she claims is anonymous but how can it be if my options are sending it in my child's folder or e-mailing it back?)
I look at this list as Mother's Day approaches and I'm thinking we need to change it to Mother's Week. Because let's be honest, teacher's are great, even the so-so ones like my daughter's do a lot of work. But mothers do a lot more.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Spring Break at Home
My daughter asked me what season came next and I told her summer. It's already so hot here in Florida that I completely forgot about spring. It's still happening on the calendar and spring break is coming up. As usual, we're staying home for spring break. But I want to try to make it fun for the kids and to keep my sanity (and the TV off). So I have a flexible plan for outings and fun things we'll do over the break. The students get this Friday off plus all of next week, so I have six days to fill with something besides our normal daily schedule (which the Kindergartener declares is "boring!" every time she hears what we did while she was at school).
Day One: Summer clothes shopping!
Okay, the exclamation point might be a bit much. The kids will kind of like doing it because they get to look at all the toys at the consignment shop while I find clothes for them. And I'll have fun up until the point that the baby is no longer happy in the stroller. So after a morning spent shopping, we'll all be good for some downtime in the afternoon.
Day Two: Library, Read-a-Thon, and Movie Night
In the morning we'll go to the library and fill up on new books and movies. In the afternoon we'll throw out all the pillows and blankets on the family room floor and read our new books. Do they have read-a-thons in school anymore? I think some Twizzlers will be necessary. Since we'll all be lounging around anyway, that will be a good night for a movie.
Day Three: Splash Pad Day
We'll tell friends that we're going to be there, but with or without them, we'll be there. When we come home, Mom will be exhausted even if no one else is, so we'll relax in the afternoon.
Day Four: Orlando Science Museum
We have a year pass so it's free--minus the stress of the drive of downtown and parking our van in the parking garage. The girl's could spend all day there, so we'll stay as long as the baby will let us.
Day Five: Cooking Day
The girls want to make homemade peanut butter. I want to try lemonade slushies. It will be good to have a day at home after a day at the museum.
Day Six: Picnic at the Park
We have a park close by. I hardly ever take the kids alone (it's too hot and crowded by the time school gets out). A simple picnic will make this outing seem extra fun--especially if juice boxes are involved.
Ideas for the rest of the time:
Play games
Play with toys (what a crazy idea)
Color or paint
Water table outside (and invite new neighbor girl)
Sidewalk chalk
Make new playdough
Mosaic art
Am I the only one who has to plan out school breaks or risk turning my kids into TV zombies?
Day One: Summer clothes shopping!
Okay, the exclamation point might be a bit much. The kids will kind of like doing it because they get to look at all the toys at the consignment shop while I find clothes for them. And I'll have fun up until the point that the baby is no longer happy in the stroller. So after a morning spent shopping, we'll all be good for some downtime in the afternoon.
Day Two: Library, Read-a-Thon, and Movie Night
In the morning we'll go to the library and fill up on new books and movies. In the afternoon we'll throw out all the pillows and blankets on the family room floor and read our new books. Do they have read-a-thons in school anymore? I think some Twizzlers will be necessary. Since we'll all be lounging around anyway, that will be a good night for a movie.
Day Three: Splash Pad Day
We'll tell friends that we're going to be there, but with or without them, we'll be there. When we come home, Mom will be exhausted even if no one else is, so we'll relax in the afternoon.
Day Four: Orlando Science Museum
We have a year pass so it's free--minus the stress of the drive of downtown and parking our van in the parking garage. The girl's could spend all day there, so we'll stay as long as the baby will let us.
Day Five: Cooking Day
The girls want to make homemade peanut butter. I want to try lemonade slushies. It will be good to have a day at home after a day at the museum.
Day Six: Picnic at the Park
We have a park close by. I hardly ever take the kids alone (it's too hot and crowded by the time school gets out). A simple picnic will make this outing seem extra fun--especially if juice boxes are involved.
Ideas for the rest of the time:
Play games
Play with toys (what a crazy idea)
Color or paint
Water table outside (and invite new neighbor girl)
Sidewalk chalk
Make new playdough
Mosaic art
Am I the only one who has to plan out school breaks or risk turning my kids into TV zombies?
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Outfits and Independence
I was recently part of a conversation with other mothers about whether or not to let your children choose their own outfits. Most people agreed that if they saw a child wearing a strange outfit they just assumed they chose it themselves and thought it was cute. But when it came to letting their own kids go around like that, they worried about people judging them as a mother. One brought up a good point that her son has no sense of what goes together and frankly doesn't care, but she guides what he wears to avoid one more reason for kids in his class to make fun of him.
My three-year-old loves picking her own outfits. Her whole life is a game of dress up. I think her philosophy is that if she likes it, it goes with anything else she likes. And an outfit like the one below draws smiles now, but I probably would discourage something like this in a few years when she's going to school.
The conversation made me think about how little my daughters know about fashion because of how little I know. I thought they weren't influenced by me because I had no fashion to influence on them. And then my Kindergartener chose her tie dye school shirt and wanted to tie it up with a hair elastic. All she's missing is stirrup pants. (And to be super cool, she should be wearing two different socks on each foot.) I've heard the 80s are happening again (or happened, am I too late?).
My three-year-old loves picking her own outfits. Her whole life is a game of dress up. I think her philosophy is that if she likes it, it goes with anything else she likes. And an outfit like the one below draws smiles now, but I probably would discourage something like this in a few years when she's going to school.
The conversation made me think about how little my daughters know about fashion because of how little I know. I thought they weren't influenced by me because I had no fashion to influence on them. And then my Kindergartener chose her tie dye school shirt and wanted to tie it up with a hair elastic. All she's missing is stirrup pants. (And to be super cool, she should be wearing two different socks on each foot.) I've heard the 80s are happening again (or happened, am I too late?).
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