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I’m looking for suggestions for two items—diaper cream and sippy cups made out of something other than plastic.
We currently use California Baby diaper cream at home, and that’s what I was sending to the child care center. However, they must use the cream much more often than I do, because my infant alone was going through almost a tube a week (at $11.50 each!). So we switched to Boudreaux’s Butt Paste because it comes in a giant tub that lasted my first child almost 2 years! Both are a 3 on the Cosmetic Safety Database so I’d actually like a safer alternative. Any suggestions?
My next quest is to find a sippy cup for my 7 month old. We use glass bottles and are hesitant to switch over to plastic (even if they are BPA Free) sippy cups. My center allows the children to walk around with their cups so they need to be indestructible, and they need multiple cups for the day (a liquid can only be left in the cup for an hour, so if they start and stop drinking, it has to be tossed). The only alternative I can think of is stainless, but with the price, purchasing multiples can really add up.
--Green Mom
Clearly this was my favorite Super Bowl Commercial…but not everyone agrees. I think the plastics industry can use some good PR right now and should concentrate on that rather than taking the fun out of one of America’s pastimes…Super Bowl ads.
BTW, I totally agree with the last segment of the commercial and urge Dunkin Donuts to take note. Why does a small coffee come in a paper cup, while all the other sizes come in Styrofoam?
We recently got the ZOKU Quick Pop Maker from Williams-Sonoma. It has been a huge hit in our house. We store the aluminum mold in our freezer and are ready to make popsicles in 9 minutes any time we have a craving! My 4 year-old loves to pour the juice into the mold, then we set the timer and wait for our pops to freeze. 9 minutes later we are enjoying our treats! We have experimented with all kinds of juice (peach, mango, blueberry) and love to make chocolate pudding pops. At $49.95 it is a little bit pricey, but well worth the investment for on demand healthy treats! (Chocolate pudding is healthy, right?!?!)
--Commuter Mom
Looking for Valentine's cards that you can feel good about. We found some do-it-yourself cards that support a great cause. Enjoy!
As a working mom, guilt is par for the course. I feel guilty that I can’t be more involved in my children’s classrooms; I feel guilty that I can’t meet my son at the bus stop; I feel guilty that my children are often the first ones to arrive at the child care center in the morning and are sometimes among the last to be picked up. I am constantly upstaged by the room parents, the mystery readers, and the school library volunteers. So I decided to do something about it – to get involved where, and when, I could. I joined a couple of committees that meet in the evenings. But I’ve quickly discovered that volunteering begets more volunteering. If you join a committee, they are going to want you to take on tasks and projects and initiatives. They’re going to ask you to represent the committee at this meeting or that forum. And you’re going to want to say “yes,” to be an active committee participant. The problem, of course, is that all of the time you spend being an engaged member of your children’s school communities is time you could otherwise spend with your children. And in the end, that just creates more guilt. When the choice is dinner at home and bedtime snuggling versus hammering out the details of the school lunch menu and deciding what the theme of the winter gala should be, I’ll pick the former every time. I guess some kinds of guilt are easier to live with than others.
--Modern Mom
As you may well know by now, 10 American missionaries from the Central Valley Baptist Church in Idaho have been charged with child trafficking for attempting to whisk 33 Haitian children, most of them not even orphaned, across the border to the Dominican Republic. I, for one, hope that Haiti and the U.S. throw the book at them. I don’t believe for a second that they didn’t know that what they were doing was wrong. "Honestly, it's been a confusing process. We have tried to figure out exactly what they wanted from us," said one of the women arrested. I’m sorry, but if you even know someone who is related to someone whose best friend’s brother’s second cousin has tried to adopt, you’d have some inkling that it’s confusing, and that, in fact, parents spend years trying to produce the paperwork foreign governments want when they go through the legitimate adoption process. And if you have no experience in adoption, what makes you think you’re qualified to take 33 children away from their families with nothing but purported “good intentions” to back you up. And answer this, my dear missionaries: If there are dozens of legitimate aide organizations supporting children in Haiti, including those who have actually been orphaned in the country, why was it so important that you so quickly remove these 33 children from the country? And, by the way, your pleas of ignorance are wearing thinner every day. A Pulitzer-prize winning American journalist reports that she warned you you’d be stopped at the border. And, after all, you are American. Have you ever tried to file your taxes, get a driver’s license, or even a fishing permit? Government paperwork can tend to be confusing. And believe it or not, people get pretty persnickety about it when it comes to taking children away from their homes. So, while you’re in your jail cell bemoaning how you’ve misunderstood, just think about the 33 children whose lives you have further traumatized, and the thousands of Haitian children who need adoptive homes, and the thousands of families who want to adopt children in need, and the millions more who are trying to adopt and be adopted all over the world, and how much harder, longer and more trying you’ve made it for them. Then perhaps you can rethink what your mission really ought to be.
--News Mom
I have been having a tough time getting psyched up about crafting with the kids in a purposeful way lately. We have been doing a lot of crafting and in fact, I’m very close to finishing my first real quilt, but as for planned projects with photos, I just haven’t been feeling it. The truth is, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by “life” lately. Everything just seems disorganized both at home and at work. I just feel like I can’t get ahead. And I thought about doing a blog about all the things that are weighing on me personally. But you know what, complaining about unexpected bills, minor but annoying illnesses, what I’m pretty sure is an early mid-life crisis, weight gain and arguments with my husband seem pathetic in light of what’s going in Haiti. I can’t possibly complain, knowing what is going on there. So in an effort to be positive I thought I would share 10 lighthearted, good things that are happening/going on right now.
- I got to go on an actual girl’s night out and it was local, which for me is huge. A fun night out in walking distance. Love it. I’m committed to making this happen more often.
- My older daughter has learned to sew and she is really into it. It’s a little ridiculous how happy this makes me.
- I have finally broken my two year-old of a crazy habit of drinking juice before bed that started when she was sick and was becoming a real problem. This has involved many lies and exaggerations.
- I organized my front hall closet AND the play room and in the process, managed to fill two construction-size bags for the Salvation Army.
- My husband and I made cheese and it actually tasted really good.
- I have two gift cards to Anthropologie just waiting to be used.
- I have mastered a chocolate chip cookie recipe that meets all of the requirements of my family. It has taken years to find the recipe that they all find irresistible but I have done it.
- I am coming up on three years as a dedicated runner. This feels good to me right now and when I’m feeling this stressed, just getting up in the cold New England weather to run feels like an achievement.
- My dog has not gone to the bathroom in the house in more than a month.
- I have found a drugstore hair color that looks half-way decent in my hair so since August, I have been able to save $640.
--Crafty Mom
I was excited to hear in the news earlier in the week that President Obama was going to make child care a key issue in his State of the Union address. I’m glad to see he mentioned it and is proposing a long overdue increase in the child care tax credit. But I was disappointed to see that it didn’t even merit its own sentence and that he failed to mention there is an income cap for eligibility. Middle class families surely need all the help they can get to afford quality child care. But at a time when women are just starting to hold economic power in their households and make measurable strides in the managerial ranks, it hardly seems right to exclude seasoned professional parents from this benefit.
--News Mom
Night One: Up at 2:00 a.m. for 2 hours, change soaked through diaper and pajamas, feed bottle
Night Two: Repeat above (Dad), Sleep with toddler in his bed after he wakes up screaming (Mom)
Day Three: Order Overnight diapers and push as much food as possible during the day
Night Three: See Nights One and Two
Night Four: Up at 4:00 a.m. and sleep on rocker in nursery
Night Five: Repeat
Day 6: Baby wakes up with fever, call in sick from work, take baby to doctor. Ear infection
Night 6: Sleep in rocker
Day 7: Baby still has fever. Work from home and tag team with Dad, takes both of us to give him Amoxicillin (one to hold him down, one to pry open his mouth)
Nights 7, 8: See previous Nights
Day 9: Toddler starts putting hands in mouth and not eating
Day 10: Notice posted at child care center, 1 case of Coxsackie virus reported
Day 11: Toddler wakes up with blisters in his mouth, call doctor, Coxsackie virus, immediately spikes fever
Day 13: Mom wakes up with Conjunctivitis
Day 14: Morning: Amoxicillin caused diaper explosion, just as we’re finishing breakfast. Get baby in bathtub. Afternoon: Child care center calls, toddler has broken out in hives all over face. Trip to the doctor at 6:20 p.m., no definitive answer. Could be the Coxsackie virus, could be developing an allergic reaction to seizure medication. Super!
Day 15: Another diaper explosion before work but does not require bath. Phew.
Day 16: Green Mom starts researching dream vacations.
--Green Mom
Just when I thought I had wasted too much blog space and mindshare on the transgressions of powerful, famous men – Mark Sanders, Tiger Woods, etc. – all fathers of young children, John Edwards blows the roof off all of them, especially when it comes to the parenting end of it. It did not escape my attention that he made the announcement admitting his paternity the day after Scott Brown was elected to the US Senate, giving the political media another major story to occupy them. At least he had that part of it figured out. As if it weren’t bad enough that he was cheating on his wife who was struggling with cancer, while raising young children and forever mourning the loss of their older son, all while standing by him as he ran for President, he denied it publicly, even though he was pretty darn certain he had, in fact, fathered a child with his mistress. That alone qualifies him for all-star status in the Hall of Shame. But let’s not stop there. He asks a top aide to take the blame and falsify DNA tests to prove it. Edwards wrote, in his pithy statement, "I am Quinn's father. It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter, and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me.” Understands? Good luck, buster. All of America is struggling to understand, and I’d like to meet the person who has yet to figure it out.
--News Mom
If you can’t read to your kids, you might as well have James Earl Jones, Jason Alexander or Camryn Maheim do it, right? Check out Storyline online. Members of the Screen Actors Guild (of which apparently Al Gore is also a member) read children’s book aloud.
And if your kids are a bit older and you’re looking for something a little more educational, be sure to check out Boomerang. It’s an audio program for kids ages 6-12 years and in each hour-long episode, the Boomerang! kids present stories about big ideas: science, current events, history, economics, poetry, geography, jokes, mysteries and more.
We’ve all heard it’s a mancession – a recession where unemployment numbers for men are far outpacing those for women. As jobs are lost in male-dominated fields like construction, they’re actually being added in female-dominated industries like education and health care. And, it turns out that those who may not choose to work if they didn’t have to, are actually the ones who can get work. According to the US Census Bureau, last year 200,000 SAHMs (stay at home moms) entered the workforce and the number of SAHMs nationwide is at its lowest point since the tech bust of the early 90s. At the same time, the number of women out-earning their husbands is on the rise. To me, it’s these sorts of economic pressures and realities that will make the most lasting impact on the advancement of women in the workplace. Check out the video on CNN.
--News Mom
The Pout-Pout Fish, by Deborah Diesen is one of our favorite family books – we always read it together. My favorite part is the kisses at the end; my daughter likes to see how low she can get her voice when she says, “blub, bluuuub, bluuuuuuuub”; my husband just likes to see how much he can make us both giggle.
The Pout-Pout Fish is a fun, rhyming picture book about a gloomy fish who discovers that being glum isn't really his destiny. Bright ocean colors, playful language, and engaging characters make the story perfect for sharing at home or at school. Children of all ages love Mr. Fish's transformation from a pout-pout fish to a kiss-kiss fish, and the story of The Pout-Pout Fish is all-but-guaranteed to turn a cranky child's pout (or even a grown-up's pout!) upside down.
From the site of Deborah Diensen
Check out Diensen’s web site, she has some great ideas for activities and story time ideas to go along with the book.
--Commuter Mom
Yesterday, U.S. Consumer Reports released that major stroller manufacturer, Graco Children’s Products Inc. is recalling millions of strollers because of fingertip amputations and laceration hazards. The design of the hinge connecting the canopy cover to the strollers allows small children to fit their fingers into the mechanism while the canopy is being opened or closed, resulting in injury. The picture above shows one of the strollers being recalled as well as the hinge mechanism. For more information as well as model numbers of the Graco strollers being recalled, please visit this site.
As I’ve written in this space time and time again, getting my kids to sleep at night is an ongoing struggle. But tonight I have a challenge of a different sort…I have to keep my 4-year-old awake. Tomorrow she is having an EEG, a test for which she needs to be sleep deprived. I’ve been instructed to keep her awake until midnight and to make sure she’s up by 4:00 a.m. If the instruction were to keep her up until, say, 9:00 p.m., there’d be no problem. We’d put on a movie, roast some marshmallows, and make it a family adventure. But I have no idea how to keep her up until midnight, and frankly I’m worried about staying awake myself, too. If I put her in front of a movie she will definitely fall asleep. If I try to get her coloring or playing a game, she’ll surely insist on going to bed. I’m considering taking her out somewhere, but I’m not sure I’m willing to face the dirty looks of people who are wondering what I’m doing out with a 4-year-old so late at night. And even if I’m prepared to ignore those who will judge, where can we go? The grocery store, perhaps….or maybe we’ll wander the aisles of the all-night pharmacy. Maybe I should enlist the help of my 7-year-old, who would definitely embrace the challenge…but then I’d jeopardize his school day tomorrow. Suggestions?
--Modern Mom
I would classify myself, in general, as a spring weather girl. I like mild sunny days and all the hopes of outside activities that spring brings. But secretly I do perk up a bit when winter weather dips to below 30 and snow starts falling. That is because I know that I can bundle up in a warm fleece, snuggle up to a good book or movie on lazy snow days, and happily enjoy all my favorite comfort foods. My new year’s resolution to drop those extra 5 pounds I gained this year doesn’t like it but I am happy as a clam enjoying soups, mac-n-cheese, chocolate chip cookies, etc...
If you’re like me, here is a good one to warm you up all season long.
Minestrone Soup
YOU NEED
- 4-5 scallions
- 1-2 carrots, peeled
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 zucchini
- 3 oz. pancetta or prosciutto
- 15 oz. canned cannellini beans
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 14.5 oz. canned diced tomatoes
- 28 oz. vegetable broth
- 1 cup cooked pasta (you can also cook the pasta in the soup but, keep in mind, that it will soak up your broth)
- 1 tablespoon parsley
MAKE IT
- Cut the veggies and tear the pancetta/prosciutto into bite-sized pieces.
- Measure about ¾ cup of beans and ¼ cup broth into a mixing bowl (or food processor). Mash them up until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large soup pot, heat the oil over high heat. Add the garlic, scallions, carrots, celery and pancetta. Sauté for about 10 minutes or until veggies are softened.
- Add the tomatoes, zucchini and spinach. Cook until the tomatoes break down (about 10 minutes).
- Add the mashed bean mix, remaining beans, remaining broth, cooked pasta and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
- Serve hot.
--Cooking Mom
My second son was born with hypospadias. I had heard of the condition before and was aware that it was fairly common so I wasn’t overly concerned when we were told in the hospital. Our pediatrician referred us to an urologist who stated that my son’s case was moderate and could easily be fixed when he’s a bit older. He did go on to say that the number of cases has steadily increased since the 1980s and doctors believe this is due to environmental toxins (pesticides, hormones in meat etc.). This was the first doctor out of the many we’ve seen (my first son has a host of medical issues) that has actually attributed a birth defect to environmental toxins. While I’m not happy by any means that my little one will have to have surgery in a few months, it does make me feel like I’m doing the right thing by trying to live a healthier, more green lifestyle.
--Green Mom
The following is a recent e-family news article. Our thoughts are with all of the families impacted by this disaster.
Talking to Children about Natural Disasters
This week’s earthquake in Haiti is tragic. We, along with our children, are seeing images of adults and children in Haiti on TV or in newspapers and hearing about the earthquake on the radio. These kinds of events bring a sense of uncertainty and vulnerability to our lives and a huge rush of emotions; disbelief, sadness, fear, and perhaps anger. They also raise questions and emotions in our children.
Extraordinary events like this test us as parents, both as guardians of children trying to keep them emotionally safe, and as our children’s teachers trying to raise them to become enlightened and empathetic adults. Children learn from what we say and don’t say about the world and their place in it, and they also learn from our actions.
As children grow older and their understanding of the world outside their home grows, they not only need us to be calm and reassuring, they need our knowledge and ideas about the larger issues. Life is unpredictable — natural and manmade disasters regularly create catastrophe and tragedy. Why? Innocent people die, and some people are more vulnerable than others. Why? How can I help the people who are hurting?
The most important thing we can do for our children is to be there to respond to their emotional and educational needs, to listen, and to be our most thoughtful selves. The family can be a safe haven where children express their ideas and fears and be assured that parents will do their best to protect them. It can be a place to teach them about the world that they will inherit.
Children close to a catastrophe will have the following questions:
• Will I be OK?
• Will you be OK?
• Will everyone I love be OK?
Many children may be thinking, “That could have been me, or my friend, or my relatives, or someone I love.” “That could be me or someone I love — next time.” But it’s not just about trauma. It is important to remember that for older children, the impact may be less emotional and traumatic, and more intellectual. Why did this happen? How did this happen? What do we do now? To them it might be important, or just interesting, and they want to know more.
Adults largely set the emotional landscape for children. Children depend on us to be strong and solid, to know what is happening, and to guide them through the shoals of troubled waters. Their sense of safety stems from us: the big, strong adults who protect them from misfortunes that they never imagined.
Responding to Disaster
Some preschool and school-age children will react to catastrophe with anxiety and questions; others with little anxiety, but lots of interest. Other children will experience little anxiety and little interest. Our responsibility as parents is to:
• Recognize that every child is an individual.
• Reassure children of their own safety and security.
• Help children play and talk through their feelings and understandings.
• Limit their exposure to horrific images by reducing exposure to the media.
• Help children participate in global events in ways that are meaningful to them.
Disaster and Children’s Play
It is natural for children to reflect events around them. If disasters are dominating the talk of adults and the news, you may find young children expressing their concern or interest in their questions, play, or art.
Answering Children’s Questions about the Earthquake
What we discuss with children may depend on our religious and political views. If our children are interested in discussing the earthquake, be prepared with the facts of the situation and the appropriate language. The key points for talking to any child are to:
• Tailor your response to the individual child — keep in mind the child's age, personality, and level of interest.
• Ask what the child knows and is thinking about; answer their questions without over-explaining and providing more details than necessary.
• If older children are interested in how earthquakes happen, help them find out more about the process.
• While parents should use children’s questions and statements as “teachable moments” to impart their political and religious thinking and values about basic issues, teachers should help children with any anxiety, confusion, or interest without expressing their own political religious or political views.
• In response to the question of “could it happen to me?” younger children can be reassured simply that we don’t think that anything like what they may have seen will happen and we will keep them safe. Older children may want to know a little more about how their situation is different from the conditions they are seeing in the media.
Final Words
There is no magic formula or right way to respond to a child struggling with catastrophe. It is important to know and respect the child’s way of being and coping, even when it is different from our own.
There is an Apple iPhone application for almost anything you could possibly imagine, and thousands geared specifically to help to make the world of parenting easier for Moms (and Dads) everywhere! The Big Oven applications is our new favorite.
Cost: Free!
Balancing work and kids leaves just about no time to search for high quality recipes and plan elaborate meals. Big Oven solves this issue by doing the work for you. This app contains hundreds of thousands of recipes, all of which are rated by other app users and are accompanied by pictures of the final product. You can even get fast access to a recipe list, a perfect guide while you’re wandering the grocery store. This is a simple and free way to take some of the hassle out of dinner time.
This time of year, when it’s cold and barren outside, one thing that perks up any yard is the sight of a cardinal or a blue jay. And while, as a teenager, I was totally perplexed and uninterested by my Dad’s list of birds that he spotted in his yard, I and my girls have totally come to love watching the birds at our bird feeders. We also love keeping an eye out for the squirrels trying to raid them but that is a whole other activity that I’m starting to get concerned is encouraging violence and an irrational hatred of squirrels.
A few years ago, we started making our own birdfeeders with pinecones, peanut butter and birdseed. This craft is quick and easy for even the youngest of kids with a little help from Mom (or Dad).
Collect your pinecones Tie a long piece of twine or yarn to one end
Spread peanut butter (or other butter – almond, sunflower seed) all over the pinecones, taking care to get some in between the scales. This part can be difficult for little, little kids but they can sure try!
Cover with bird seed. (I have found that sprinkling on the seeds and actually pushing them on to make sure it is really coated, works better than just rolling them in seeds.)
Hang from tree branches
Wait for birds (and squirrels)
--Crafty Mom
We survived my daughter’s very first “real” birthday party.
When we got home from the party, exhausted, my daughter wanted to open up her presents right away. By the time she was finished opening the gifts from her friends and our extended family, it looked like a princess had thrown up in taken over my living room. She got 3 Cinderella dolls, and like the 5 pairs of black shoes in my closet, none of them are exactly the same. One Aroura with her prince, a horse drawn carriage and several different outfits. One Ariel…she can go in the bathtub. Two Cinderella dress-up outfits which include a pair of “glass” slippers, and a necklace of blue beads (all which leave a trail of glitter on anything they come in contact with – my daughter says it “makes things beautiful”). And, one princess craft kit. Thank goodness my best friend flew in for the weekend with her daughter – they gave her a paper doll set that my daughter and I both love. It has a page of princess paper dresses, but there are about 10 other pages of non-princess clothes.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good princess just as much as the next girly-girl. But there is definitely a limit to how many hours I can spend pretending to be either a prince or a wicked step-sister. Last night, my husband said, “I’ve lost her to princesses, haven’t I?” I told him not to worry, she’ll still want to watch the Red Sox with her Daddy; she did not get the Sleeping Beauty Dress she put on her list for Santa.
--Commuter Mom
Our bedtime routine is anything but. Sometimes my 4-year-old will only go to sleep if my husband or I read in her room until she falls asleep. Other times my 7-year-old interprets “go to sleep” to mean “get out of bed and play with Lego’s,” over and over until we remove all 7,000 Lego pieces from his room. But one thing we’ve always been able to count on is our 2-year-old going to sleep as soon as we tuck him into his crib…until last night. We had said good night and were downstairs with the other kids when all of a sudden there he was, grinning ear to ear, visibly proud of his newest accomplishment. He then proceeded to climb out the next 5 times we returned him to his crib. I knew this day would come; I guess I was just hoping it would come a bit later…like when he’s 6. I’m not sure I’m up to nighttime pandemonium times three. On the other hand, I’m fairly sure I don’t have a choice. Suggestions?
--Modern Mom
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