Now What Baby: Guest Writers

Showing posts with label Guest Writers. Show all posts

3.13.2009

Emilie

What is your biggest struggle as a mom? Trying to balance work and family and still leaving time for myself is sometimes tough. My blog has been a big help in making time just for me after the kids are in bed. Our weekends are always so crazy trying to get caught up on cleaning and laundry. I never really feel caught up but I’d rather spend a little extra time with my kids than have a spotless house.

What is something you caught yourself doing that you mom used to do and you swore you wouldn't do? Honestly my mom is AWESOME. I always hoped to be a mom as wonderful as supportive. I have caught myself using my own spit to wipe my kid’s face if nothing else was handy. I always hated that and swore I would never do it but hey, nobody will know there is my spit on his face but they will notice that crusted boogie so I reason it out that way!

Share something funny your child has said or done. I’ll never forget when my son was 20 months and had a limited vocabulary. My husband got a huge drill in the mail and when he lifted it out of its case my son said in total awe,” Oh, WOW!” The timing was so perfect and the sound of his little voice so sweet that my husband and I will never forget it.

What is your guilty pleasure? My guilty pleasure is Kate Spade. I love her style and have a couple of bags and one pair of shoes. I can’t justify any more than that but it feels good to have a least one part of an outfit that is special.

How do you unwind? I love reading mommy blogs and will sit comfortably on the couch with our laptop reading and entering giveaways. I really enjoy the opportunity to share with other moms. I’ve also won some amazing products that we never would have known about otherwise. I also do yoga twice a week through work on my lunch hour. It is amazing how good I feel afterward..

Favorite TV Show? My favorite show by far is True Blood on HBO. I have also read all the books the series is based on by Charlaine Harris and I’m hooked. They are by far my favorite books. There is nothing greater than finding a series that is so addicting. I finished the first seven novels in less than a week. (I stayed up WAY too late to do that.)

What is a tradition you started with your family? On the weekend we always make a big breakfast. Both of my boys love pancakes, french toast and waffles so it is usually one of those. My oldest can be a picky eater but he can’t get enough of my blueberry pancakes and sausage.

How did you decide on the name of your child? Lucian came from a combination of loving the name Luke but not its popularity. At the time I was pregnant my husband and I loved the show Rome on HBO and a main character is Lucius. We decided on Lucian. For my second son Warren we chose a family name. It is my father’s middle name. Lucian has the same middle name as his dad and Warren has his dad's first name as his middle name. It worked out great!

When asked what my favorite product is as a mom I had to ask myself, “Self, what is one product that you are in awe of every time you use it? What is the product that you constantly marvel at its innovation? What product do you wish you had thought of?” My answer is simple, the Boon Catch Bowl.

Seriously, all you mamas out there with young children need this bowl. It has everything that a normal bowl is lacking in the childproof department. Afraid your child is going to spill the contents of a bowl required food like cereal or soup? No problem. The suction at the bottom of the bowl grips to the highchair or table like a vise and yet is somehow easy enough for an adult to remove. How does that work? I don’t know but I’m not going to question the miracle suction.

If the food needs a bowl then it most likely contains liquid. As a mom we know getting food like soup to a toddlers mouth without losing at least some it is a tall order for a child not yet a master of the spoon. The built-in spill catcher is perfect for catching all those little “oops” spills. Save your bib, chair, clothing and poor abused floors with the Boon Catch Bowl.

I won this bowl in a contest almost a year ago and I’m so thankful I did. We use it regularly and I can’t imagine being without it. I think it is a must have for any mom and I wanted to share this wonderful product with you. It is inexpensive but so convenient and I hope that you will try it out. The only bad reviews I've seen for the catch bowl state washing it in a dishwasher caused warping or the suction to stop working. I was surprised since our dishwasher is fairly new and powerful and we've washed it on the top rack numerous times. It works as good as new. However, you may want to simply wash it by hand to avoid this potential problem.

2.18.2009

Elita

I am the mom to a 14-month-old boy named Miles. I am a librarian by education and training, but my passion is breastfeeding advocacy or "lactivisim" and I hope to eventually work in the field. I live in sunny South Florida with my husband, baby and Sunny, our Pomeranian.

You can find Elita at her blog Blacktating.

What is your biggest struggle as a mom? My biggest struggle as a mom is balancing taking care of my family with taking care of myself. All of my money, time and energy goes into my family and I need to work on finding the time to nurture my own interests. And get the occasional pedicure!

What is something you caught yourself doing that you mom used to do and your swore you wouldn't do? I can't really pinpoint anything my mom did that I ever said, "I will never do this to my child!" I had an incredible mom who did a great job raising me as a single parent. I was extremely lucky to have her.

Share something funny your child has said or done. My son is only 14 months so he has a limited vocabulary, but the funniest thing he does is dance the funky chicken. I have no idea how he learned to do it because we never taught him, but every time music comes on, there he goes, elbows out, flapping his arms up and down!

What is your guilty pleasure? My guilty pleasure is buying pricey make-up. I love experimenting with different color eye shadows and lipsticks. I am a bit of a make-up snob and could spend all day in Sephora!

How do you unwind? I typically unwind with a cup of tea and a book. When I get any alone time, I really love to read. I read to sleep every night. I also love trashy TV. VH-1 is my channel!

Favorite TV Show? The only TV show I hate to miss is Project Runway. I hope the last season they taped airs soon. I am having serious Tim Gunn and "auf" withdrawals.

What is a tradition you started with your family? One tradition I've started with my new little family is that we attend a local jazz fest that is held once a month. Live jazz bands perform in the park and we bring a picnic basket and have brunch.

How did you decide on the name of your child? Picking the name of my son was hard. I knew I wanted to name him after my grandmother and her name started with an "S" but there weren't really any "S" names I loved. We really liked the name Miles because it sounded cool and sophisticated but I wanted to honor my Nanny. So we finally decided on Spencer Miles. We call him Miles, but it works out well because his initials are S.Miles, as in Smiles. :)

When I put together my registry when I found out I was pregnant with my son, it was heavy on the breastfeeding supplies: milk storage bags, a hand pump, lanolin, nursing pads and a breastfeeding pillow. What did I get at my shower? Bottles and swings. Lots of swings.

So when an out-of-town friend who couldn’t make it to the shower called to ask what I wanted, I gratefully squealed, “Boppy, please!” And it arrived. And it was good.

The Boppy can be used for so many things, but it really saved my life those first few days of breastfeeding (after I managed to pry it out from under hubby’s head in the hospital!) Positioning a tiny newborn for nursing can be tricky, especially when you’re sore from the neck down. The Boppy helps you to be as comfortable as humanly possible. The horseshoe shape is designed to take the strain off of mom’s neck and shoulders and when you place it around your waist, baby is propped up at breast level. In those days I would never even dream of nursing my son without my Boppy. It was a permanent fixture on our couch, right next to the remote control. The best way to use the Boppy is to sit Indian style, but if you’re sore from a C-section, you can slip one of the “arms” underneath you as you lie on your side and lay baby’s head on the pillow. Even though I didn’t have a C-section, I would use the Boppy to nurse in the side-lying position so I could nap while my son nursed (and BONUS, he usually fell asleep, too!)

Even if you’re bottle feeding, the Boppy is great for supporting the baby during a feeding. Whenever I would pump, daddy would use the Boppy to feed the baby a bottle. And like I said, it makes a great pillow for Daddy to sleep on in the hospital while you text and email everyone about the birth because you’re too wired to rest.

You can also use the Boppy when your baby is a couple months old and starts “tummy time” to help him learn to hold that heavy noggin up on his own. Place the baby’s chest on the curved part of the Boppy. He will hate it, but this is one of the first in a long line of things you will make him do “for his own good,” so he should get used to it. You can also use the Boppy to prop your baby up on the couch next to you while you watch TV before he can sit up on his own.*

The Boppy can also help you make a fashion statement. Whatever you’re into--frogs, cats, pink, safaris, cupcakes--there is a Boppy cover with a print for you. Mix and match to suit your mood and always keep a few extras on hand for when baby spits up all over it or you spill food on it because you’re eating while nursing. The covers are a bit pricey, so if you’re a crafty mama, I suggest making your own. There are plenty of do-it-yourself patterns to be found online.

Although we’re still nursing, my 14-month-old is a bit too wiggly to stay put on the Boppy, so I’ve found some new uses for it.

Keeps the heat off my legs while using my laptop*

Supports my son while he sleeps on the couch.*

*These uses of the Boppy nursing pillow are not sanctioned by Boppy.

Pam

I work at a local hospital as a Speech-Language Pathologist. I’ve been there for 5 years now. Before that, I worked in Singapore for 2 years and met my husband while on vacation during my time in Singapore. I took a cruise of Australia and New Zealand with my parents and he worked on the ship. We’ve been married now for 4 years. I have a son, Duncan, who is 2 ½ years old. We are expecting to add a little girl to our family any day now; she’s due on Feb. 11^th

What is your biggest struggle as a mom? Finding the time to do it all and to do it well. I work full-time and although I firmly believe that’s the best option for our family, it becomes difficult to come home from work and have to deal with temper tantrums, make dinner, tidy up, find the energy to play, and then do the bedtime routine thing. It’s also a struggle to balance family time and me-time and to not feel guilty about it.
What was the biggest surprise about being a parent? Discovering just how much you can love someone else and how proud you can feel of the seemingly little accomplishments.
What is something you have caught yourself doing that your mom used to do and you swore you wouldn't? Crying when I’m angry or frustrated with my son. My brother and I used to make fun of my mom for crying all the time after she got mad at us and now I do the same thing and I hate it.
Share something funny your child has done or said. Duncan is a little ham and is always saying funny or cute things. The other day when I picked him up from daycare, though, he had star stickers all over his face and he was so proud of them. Then his teacher warned me that he’d put his cardigan on all by himself; we got home and took off his jacket and his sweater was on upside down and zipped up. The waistband was all folded over at the neck and the collar was trying to fit around his waist. I was so happy he didn’t want to take his jacket off when we were at the doctor’s; that could have been embarrassing.
What is your guilty pleasure? Chocolate...
How do you unwind? I enjoy reading and try to take the time to do some every night after Duncan’s in bed and before I go to bed, but it’s often hard to find the time.
Favorite television show? Ugly Betty
How did you decide on the names of your child or children? We agreed that we wanted names that weren’t too popular (my brother was one of 5 Chris’s in his class and we didn’t want that) or too weird. Duncan was an easy choice; it was my maiden name. His middle names are after my dad and my husband and were actually put together by a friend of my mom’s who was calling the baby “James Robert” before he was born. For this one, it was a bit more of a challenge. I wanted to give her a Filipino name as my husband is from the Philippines but he didn’t want that. He and my mother came up with the first name, assuming it will be a girl. I guess we’ll have to wait and see...

Aren’t we always, as wives, mothers, women, trying to find that magical solution that makes our lives easier? Lots of products claim miracles and although some come close to delivering, most of the ones I’ve tried have potential but aren’t quite worth the hype. Until now...

The item I use on a regular basis that really has made my life easier is my iRobot Roomba vacuum. With the simple push of a button, it cleans my floors, including in corners and under furniture, leaving me with time to play with my 2 ½ year old son or complete other chores around the house. As a working mom, it’s hard to find that balance; time with my son is so valuable but the housework can only be put off for so long before the dust bunnies take over! This little robot solves that problem for us. For best effect, we pick things up off the floor and usually flip Duncan’s chair upside down on the dining room table as his spot is always the messiest and then let the Roomba do its thing. It has a bizarre little cleaning pattern but it gets the floors clean; it’s amazing what you find in the dirt bin when you empty it after a cleaning cycle. It doesn’t get tangled up in power cords or fall down stairs and easily moves from hardwood to carpet to vinyl floorings without fuss. If it happens to find itself stuck somewhere, it just stops and beeps to let you know that it needs help.

There are several different models available. We have the 530, which cleans up to 3 rooms on a single charge and comes with a docking station and 2 virtual walls. The vacuum will actually return to its docking station when it is done cleaning or when it needs recharging. The virtual walls allow you to block off a particular area you want cleaned and the Roomba won’t go past them (we use this feature a lot when we’ve picked up one area but don’t want it going into another one yet or to keep it out of our son’s room while he’s sleeping). There are more basic models that aren’t able to clean as many rooms or have a docking station to return to and more advanced models that have scheduling systems. There are also models designed specifically for pet hair, workshops, and the Scooba which apparently mops your floors as well.

Unfortunately, it won’t clean the stairs so I still have to get out the regular vacuum for that job and to my knowledge they haven’t yet designed a model that will scrub my bathroom, but my only regret is that we didn’t discover the Roomba earlier. My husband is hoping they come out with snow-blowing and lawn-cutting versions soon!

Shari

I'm a school psychologist currently working in sunny San Diego. My husband, whom I met in graduate school, is also a school psychologist. Recently I added the even more important title of "Mom" to my resume when my first son, Keenan, was born in September. I know it sounds cheesy, but since then, I have enjoyed every minute of my new life--although and I am looking forward to my son sleeping through the night! (If you have any tips, please contact me!)

Anyhow, I'm pretty new to the blogging world--I have a new blog called A Psych Reviews: A School Psychologist's Introduction to Parenthood.

You can find Shari at www.aPsychMommy.blogspot.com

What is your biggest struggle as a mom? Learning how to re-balance my already busy schedule. I recently started working again and I am finding it difficulty to ensure that my family remains my top priority. My New Year's Resolution was to not bring work home and so far I am already failing!
What was the biggest surprise about being a parent? While I was pregnant, my biggest pet peeve was hearing "Your life will change when you have kids." No kidding! I always knew my life would be different, but I never imagined that it would change so dramatically! I won't get into all the details of how my life has changed since I imagine most of the people reading this are parents themselves and have an idea--but let's just say that I can't remember what my life was like just a few months ago, and I wouldn't want my new life to be any different than it is now.
How old is your child? My son is five months old
What is your guilty pleasure? Chocolate! I have the bad habit of eating when I am stressed. When I returned back to work, I noticed that I was craving everything sweet. After going through a jumbo size bag of M &M's, I decided that I needed to switch to dark chocolate which is richer and more satisfying in small amounts. Plus, the antioxdants in dark choclate help to justify my need for it!
How do you unwind? I love yoga. I haven't had much time to practice yoga since my son was born, but I would love to start taking classes again soon. I also love to take walks with my son.
Favorite television show? Any reality show--you name it! I almost put this under guilty pleasure, but I thought that would sound funny. There's something about peeking into another person's life, no matter how artificial the setting, that intrigues me. I guess it's similar to following blogs, right?
How did you decide on the names of your child or children? We decided to go the cultural route with our son. His first name is Irish (which is my husband's background) and his middle name is Japanese (named after my grandfather).

Are you a busy mom? Looking around in the blogosphere, I see many of you nodding eagerly. As a busy mom, I know that we are all trying to find those favorite sanity saving products that make our lives even a tad bit easier so that we can spend more time with our family. For me, my search began when my son was first born.

My son was born premature at exactly 35 weeks gestation after a somewhat rocky pregnancy. Since he was born early, he had difficulty with the suck-swallow pattern needed for eating as well as some jaundice. Because of this, he had to stay in the NICU for a week. My goal from the beginning of the pregnancy was to breastfeed and I knew having him stay in the hospital for a week would place a huge kink in this plan. I immediately got in touch with the hospital's lactation consultant who hooked me up with a hospital grade pump. I was told to pump every two to three hours around the clock in order to ensure that my milk supply would not go down as well as to have enough milk to bring to the NICU. I was also told the importance of sterilizing the pump and collection parts after each and every pump since we did not want to risk my son getting an infection.

Pumping around the clock and traveling back and forth between the hospital and home was very stressful for us. Needless to say, I was sleep deprived and the thought of having to clean and sterilize pump parts and the collection bottles after my 20 minute pumping session did not help alleviate the stress. I called our lactation consultant and asked her if there was an alternative to boiling water after each pump. She mentioned the Medela Quick Clean Micro Steam bags as an easy and quick alternative. I immediately sent my husband out to stock up on these bags.

I fell in love with the bags immediately. The steam bags are very easy to use. Just pop in the pump parts, add two ounces of water, place the bag in the microwave, set it for three minutes (depends on the wattage of your micro—there is a nifty chart on the back of the bag and the time ranges from 90 seconds to 5 minutes), and walk away. Beep-beep. Voilà! In just a few minutes, my microwave and these nifty bags eliminated 99.9% of harmful bacteria and germs. It really couldn't be any easier. Each bag can be used up to 20 times making the cost per use to be roughly a nickel each. Well worth it in my opinion.

I was lucky enough to be a stay at home mom for four months. During this time, I found the steam bags to be helpful in sterilizing our son's pacifiers and bottles. Now that I'm back at work, I pump two times a day. I have fallen in love with these bags all over again as I can just toss in the pump parts and bottles, start the micro and then have time to change a diaper or put away some dishes (can you tell I love to multi-task?).

The bags are small and easy to stow away in a drawer when not in use. They are easy to pack and take with us when we stay the weekend at grandmas. Although we haven't travelled far yet, I know that these will be one of our essentials as we can easily find a microwave in a hotel (or even [gasp!] a gas station!) to sterilize on the go. Alas, for those who do not have a Medela pump, don't fret—according to the manufacturer, these bags can be used with most other pumps too (just check with your pump's manufacturer) as well as other feeding accessories. I have even found that the items that I have steam sterilized air dry super quick--much better than drying with a towel or leaving on a drying rack all day. Worried that you will lose count and not know if you used the bag 15 times or 50? There is an easy check-off chart in the back. Medela pretty much thought of everything and these bags are fool proof—even for moms like me who are constantly in a very sleep deprived state!

Try them out—there really isn't much to lose. They come in packs of five for around $4.50 to $5. I'm sure you will find that these make the lives of us busy moms a bit easier. Remember to share them with another new mom!

Kari

My name is Kari and I am a former junior high school teacher turned stay-at-home mom of 3 boys ages 17 years, 18 months and 3 months. I have a wonderful husband who values me staying home with our children and I know how lucky I am to be here for every step, burp, whine and dirty diaper. When I was on bed rest with my 2nd son I began reading blogs by other mothers and one blog led to another and I was hooked! I think what I struggle with the most as a woman is balancing all my hats. Mother, daughter, wife, aunt, etc... I do the best I can and sometimes I do better at one more than the others. I am really good at telling others that it is ok not to be perfect. I strive to be a little easier on myself this year.

You can find Kari at A Giveaway Addicted Mommy

What is your biggest struggle as a mother? My biggest struggle as a mother is juggling the completely different needs of my sons. I am helping one learn to drive while teaching another how to use a fork and spoon and then attempting to remember what time I gave the other one a bottle.
What is your favorite tv show? I am having an affair with my TiVo. I don't know what we did before we had it. I won't hide that I love my reality shows; Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Biggest Loser, Big Brother and Top Chef.
Whats one thing your mother did that you swore you would never do & now you catch yourself doing? My mother's favorite saying was, "Because, I said so!" and I swore I would never say that to my child. I now say it on a daily basis.
How do you unwind? I wouldn't trade my life for anything but I seriously need my alone time and take my ritual night-time bath to unwind and read something not related to parenting.
What's your guilty pleasure? My guiltiest pleasure is entering giveaways. I just can't stop and am truly A Giveaway Addicted Mommy. I enjoy learning about new products and companies (especially mom-owned) and share that information on my blog along with random thoughts/events of my life and of course links to fabulous giveaways!

Enjoy your sleep while you can! That was the phrase I heard most when I was pregnant. I was so panicked! I love my sleep and it had been 15 years since I had had to worry about this. 15 years ago I was young and sleep was for the weak. Surely there had to be someone who had come up with the secret to getting our children to sleep through the night by now?

I began to look for books on the topic, but which one was the best? There are so many to choose from. Luckily, I was home watching The Today Show one morning and I caught a segment featuring Jennifer Waldburger and Jill Spivack from Sleepy Planet. They are sleep consultants that wrote a book that I now call my “baby bible,” The Sleepeasy Solution. The book is encouraging and easy to read. They walk you through each step of building your child’s sleep plan and how you can maneuver through the inevitable bumps in the road. There are separate sections for bottle-fed and breast-fed babies as well as working with older children.

My son is a Sleepeasy success story. He sleeps 11 to 12 hours a night and 2-3 hours a day (naptimes are also covered in the book) without needing any assistance from us. No bottles, no rocking. At night we do our bed-time ritual of bath time with daddy, a short book and then we kiss him good night and put him in his crib. At nap-time he actually comes to me and lets me know he needs to nap! It is beautiful!!

I will admit, we fudged a little bit here and there. There is a bit of crying that is involved on the part of your child (and I did a little too). But we were committed to getting him to sleep through the night. The great thing about this method is that children learn to self-soothe. That is, they learn how to put themselves back to sleep again if they wake up in the middle of the night. Sometimes I hear him in the middle of the night. He will cry out, maybe he had a nightmare or my teenager slammed his door and woke him up. But that is all I hear. I will check on him and he will be fast asleep. No sign he was ever awake.

This is my go-to gift for all baby showers. My copy is on my nightstand so that it is always at hand. As your child grows, there will be adjustments you will have to make and this book has made each transition much easier. If you are having sleep problems with your child, or want to avoid having sleep problems with your baby, I highly recommend buying the book and/or DVD. You can win one on my site. I have 2 books and 2 DVD’s to give away to 2 lucky readers! Click HERE!

Amber

My name is Amber. I’m 31 and between the two of us, my husband and I have 6 children, but only 3 are young enough to live at home. He had 4 and I had 1, then we had 1 more. We also have two grandsons and a third due to soon be born. I always say we are a modern day Brady Bunch!

At home we have William who is 11, Bailey who is 9, and Katelyn who is 2. The oldest three are Sarah, 27, James, 22, and Hannah, 20. Sarah’s son, Matthew, is 6 and Hannah’s son, Isaiah, is 2. Hannah will soon be adding another boy to the bunch. I think he is to be named Jeremiah. I can’t wait! Those boys are my treasures, it is a lot of fun being a young granny!!

You can visit Amber at www.myspace.com/kittensmom775

What is your biggest struggle as a mom? I think my biggest struggle as a mom is probably patience. I hate to admit that. I almost backspaced and wrote about something else, but that wouldn’t have been honest. I’m impatient. I am. Particularly with my older children. It’s something I am dissatisfied with about myself and have struggled with for a long time. I like to think that I am making progress. I’d have to say that having my second child has improved my patience a lot, which is surprising since it could have gone completely the other way. Having my stepdaughter come to live with us full time has also made me pay more attention to consciously practicing patience. Even good change is hard sometimes, at least until the change is made anyway. Another big struggle is not to curse in front of the kids. Especially at my daughter’s age, she’s a parrot. But two years olds bring out the ‘dammits’ in me, it is a daily struggle. J One I’m semi winning, I’m proud to say, that was one of my resolutions to myself this year.
What was the biggest surprise about becoming a parent? My biggest surprise as a mother? How different my children are. There are 9 years between my son and my daughter. They have different fathers, they are different people, they are different genders, I expected them to be different. But they are still my children I thought they would be more alike than they are, not almost polar opposites in temperment and personality. Other than in looks and facial expressions, they are mostly alike only in the ways that all kids are alike. It is a mystery to me. So, sometimes, despite the fact that I am older, more experienced, more confident in my mothering skills and less uptight than the first time around, in some ways I still feel like a first time mom with her, sort of. Insofar as there are times when I have exhausted my knowledge as a mother on how to deal with some issue and nothing works and I’m left thinking “How in the world am I gonna figure this out?” At least now when I feel that way it isn’t accompanied by that panic that a real first timer has!
What is one thing that you have caught yourself doing that your mom used to do and you swore you wouldn't? When my son was about, oh I’d say 4 or 5, I had gotten after him about something. And I called him by his first and last name. As soon as it was out of my mouth, I had this little echo in my head of my mother using the exact same tone and inflection calling me by my first and last name. I cringed. Literally. I’ve since resigned myself to it, and other quirks. I have the advantage of having had two mothers to learn from. My first mother passed away suddenly a few years ago, my second mother (my stepmother, just to clear it up) has also been my mother since I was 6 years old. So I catch myself doing things like both of them. Just this summer I realized that the good morning song I’ve always sang to my kids I must have heard from her ‘cause I heard her singing it to the baby when they visited. She must have sang that to me as a kid. I’ve sang it to Will all his life, then Bailey when she was born into my heart, and of course I sing it to Katelyn too. And my grandkids when they stay. It’s good to have two moms!
Share something funny your child has said or done. I’ll share a quick funny on each of my kids. When Will was 3, I had repeated something to him SO many times. Finally I said” William, why can’t you listen to me?” He replied “I don’t know, I try every time, I just can’t!” Bailey was 5 when our second grandson was born. As I was taking the kids to the hospital to meet their new nephew she says “I’m two aunts now!” Katelyn is 2. In my family it has always been said that when you were really thirsty you were ‘pooping dust’, so if she’s chugging her drink or something I always ask her “Are you poopin’ dust?” Recently when she wants a drink of what you have she will walk up and say “I poo poo dust!” She also excuses herself if she belches or has gas. Or if anyone else does.
How do you unwind? I unwind by reading when I can. I love big fat novels, but I’m content with a magazine these days. At least it doesn’t matter when I get interrupted. I save my novel reading for bedtime, that is, if I haven’t passed out right along with the baby while putting her to sleep.
What is your guilty pleasure? My guilty pleasure is Milano cookies. I don’t share. They get hidden to be enjoyed by only me. It’s naughty not to share cookies with your kids, I know! J
What is a tradition you started with your family? We actually started a tradition this year. I had heard before about the long standing tradition of hiding a pickle ornament on the Christmas tree as a symbol of good fortune and the child that finds it on Christmas morning gets an extra present. So this year I got the background info to tell my kids, bought a cute little glass pickle, a gift either of them would like and we started that tradition this year. It was fun. And funny. I never thought it would be so hard to find a fake pickle in a fake tree! A bit reminiscent of a needle in a haystack.

This mom is a HUGE fan of Sprout TV and its partner site, www.sproutonline.com!! Let me tell you a little about Sprout and why I love it. According to their website, PBS Kids Sprout, is the first 24 hour preschool network. It is geared for children ages 2 to 5, and I can tell you my 2 year old loves it. I am thrilled to find a network that provides wholesome, quality, educational programming for my child. No matter what time of day it is, if she is watching TV I can turn on Sprout and not have to check the listings for a show she would be interested in. I actually use it as a tool to help educate her. Whatever she happens to be picking up on her own, I then expand upon it.

If you register (it’s free!), you will get a mail account, a My Refrigerator page to upload pictures and artwork, you can upload videos, and you can share any these on the Sprout Sharing Galleries if you choose. If so, your Sproutlet or their artwork may be featured on TV! (We’ve been on TV already!) And it’s all very safe, so you can easily share with your long distance friends and family without having to worry about who is looking. Once you join there are games and videos, coloring pages for print, craft instructions, and various other activities to share with your preschooler.

Sprout has a live morning show on the weekdays, The Sunny Side Up Show, on the weekends it’s The Let’s Go Show, The Sharing Show in the afternoons, and each night is The Goodnight Show. That one is our personal favorite. It has even helped out with our bedtime routine!

In just the last two weeks my 25 month old daughter has learned, from watching Sprout, the signs for: time, body, water, school, house and water. Over the last two or three months since we discovered Sprout she has learned some yoga stretches, which is super cute to watch, the beginnings of her ABCs (we’re working on them), a poem which she recites (in her fashion), numerous songs, and countless words.

We all know that most of us have the TV on way more than is recommended. I, for one, feel a little less guilty when what is on is Sprout, nothing they show is purely for entertainment, she loves it and learns from it. I very much encourage you to check with your cable or satellite provider about Sprout TV, and in any case, visit www.sproutonline.com, I really think you will enjoy it as much as we do.

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