The holidays are coming!

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away! For the past few years, Thanksgiving has been at my house. It feels like it's becoming tradition to host it. It's nice to have family and friends come over. The kids always seem to have a great time and I know they're looking forward to it in a couple of weeks.

Do you have a traditional Thanksgiving?

What about all you new parents out there? This will be your first Thanksgiving with your baby. What a special time it is. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and that you make many wonderful memories. I'm sure you will develop some new traditions as your child grows older.

What are your favorite things about the holidays and what do you most look forward to this time of year? For me, it's spending time with family and watching my kids enjoy their new presents.
Feel free to leave comments!
Happy Holidays!

Back to school

I can't believe that school has started already and that my kids are now 3rd and 1st graders. Boy, the time goes by quickly! It seems that when school starts, lives get busier. With homework and after-school activities, sometimes it's hard to squeeze dinner in there! It's hard enough when you have one child, but juggling 2 or more can be even harder.

Here are some recommendations for creating a schedule that's not too hard on you or your children:

1. Don't sign your children up for too many after school activities per week. Kids need some free time to just play and so often they are on the go from when school gets out until close to bedtime. If your child wants to do karate and soccer and tennis, maybe spread them out over several seasons so they are not doing all 3 activities at the same time. If you have more than one child, I would suggest letting the child pick one activity that he is most interested in doing and work that into your schedule. Then there is still time for playdates, homework, etc.

2. Before you commit to your schedule, map it out on paper to make sure that it is feasible. Wouldn't it be awful to have signed up for classes just to find out that it's too much and impossible to get from Point A to Point B in the amount of time allowed? Then your child will be disappointed if you tell him that you have to cancel his activity and everyone will be stressed out.

3. When you are arranging your schedule, pencil in "homework time" so that it is part of the schedule. This way, there are no fights about when homework should be done. It's done on such and such a day, and that's it! :)

4. Make sure to allot time for snacks. I know that when my kids get home from school they are really hungry. I always make sure they have time to eat a good snack before their after school activity. Otherwise, I have a very cranky child.

5. Make sure your child gets enough sleep. If you find that your child is grumpy or tired during the week, maybe she is not getting enough sleep. Try an early bedtime by moving it back 15 minutes per night until it is at the desired time.


I hope that you and your children have a wonderful school year!

Haywire chemical linked to SIDS!!! (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)

When I read this article on Yahoo News yesterday, I was glad to find that researchers seem to be getting closer to finding a cause for SIDS. Unfortunately, they are saying that some babies may just be prewired for this and there is no way to prevent it. The culprit may be "an imbalance in serotonin." They said that the serotonin level goes "haywire" and causes SIDS in mice that they tested. Researchers are hopeful that one day it may be possible to test newborns for their risk of SIDS.

As of now doctors recommend that babies should always be placed to sleep on their backs, as the risk of SIDS increases greatly when babies sleep on their stomachs. And parents are urged not to allow anyone to smoke around their babies, or to let their babies get too warm while sleeping.

The Baby Borrowers

I watched the show last night and had differing emotions about it.

First, I would never be able to leave my baby with a young couple who I don't know for 3 days! There is absolutely no way I would feel comfortable doing that. I honestly don't know how these parents did it.

Second, I feel bad for the babies. Many of those babies are at the age where they are experiencing separation anxiety. Even if they are not experiencing separation anxiety, I don't believe that it is good for them to be separated from their parents, placed in a home they've never been in, with people they've never seen, and nothing familiar at all. I'm not surprised that those babies were stressed out, crying, and not acting like themselves. Babies should feel safe and loved in their environment and this was far from that.

Third, I do think it's good for teenagers to see what it's like to be a parent, I'm just not sure that this is the way to do that. I just keep thinking about how that experience would be for the babies. They don't have a choice in the matter, they are just put in that situation and from what I saw last night, they were not happy about it. I don't blame them.

I wonder what the incentives were for the families who volunteered their children for this "experiment." I honestly had a hard time watching the show at times and am not sure I'll continue.

How did you feel about it?

More Summer Safety

I just read an article that stated that two children drowned this weekend in swimming pools. The children were ages 3 and 6. It is reported that Phoenix officials had 5 drowning calls in one hour!

Please, please, please take every precaution to make sure your children are safe. If you have a pool fence, make sure it is locked so if your children are outside they cannot access the pool. If you do not have a pool fence, make sure your doors to the backyard or sideyard (any doors that lead to the pool area) have locks on them so the children can't get out.

I think that even with children who are very young, it's important for parents to explain the "rules". They cannot go outside without asking first and they must have an adult with them. I think that those rules need to be really clear and if a child decides to go out on his own, you need to discipline so they understand that it's not okay.

A child can drown so quickly in just a little bit of water. We have to be extra vigilant in keeping an eye on our kids so they don't get hurt.

Swimming lessons are really important. The City of Phoenix has a wonderful, inexpensive summer program for kids. My kids have improved so much in their swimming abilities.

Enjoy your time by the pool, but keep your eyes on your children. Always know where they are so we can all be safe.

Summer Safety

I just wanted to talk a little about sun safety. Two summers ago, my then 4 year old daughter was at her first day of 1/2 day camp. They were playing without their shoes on and the fire alarm went off accidentally in the building next door to them (attached). The kids ran out the front door across the blacktop parking lot at 3pm on a 107 degree day. The result was that my daughter had 2nd degree burns on the bottoms of both of her feet!

It was absolutely awful. She couldn't put her feet down on any surface for 2 weeks. Our whole way of life changed. Just the simple tasks of brushing her teeth, getting dressed, playing, etc. were now impossible for her to do on her own. We had to bring a bowl of water to her so she could brush her teeth and rinse out. We had to pick her up any time she had to go potty, or anywhere for that matter.

Fortunately, my daughter has recovered fully. She does not have any physical scars. She did go to physical therapy as well as a few counseling sessions, but she is now doing great.

Today, I was at swimming lessons with my daughter and I was watching the children walking on the deck. Some of the kids were curling their toes, others were walking up on their toes, and another was walking on his heels! I said to the mom next to me that my daughter had received burns on her feet from walking on hot ground and that I recommend that kids where swim shoes this time of year here in AZ or anywhere else where it's really hot. Abbie won't get in the pool without her swim shoes. The great thing is that they are a whole $4.00 at Target! You can't beat that!

Anyways, I urge you to be cautious in the strong summer sun. Apply sunscreen every day; where swim shoes on hot decks; cover up those seat belt buckles with a towel when your car is parked.

Have a safe, fun summer with your family!

Father's Day

To all the dads out there, Happy Father's Day! Things are so different now then they were 30 years ago. Dad's used to take mom to the hospital, the doctors would whisk her away and dad would wait in the waiting room until the baby was born.

Now dads are very active as soon as they find out their wives are pregnant. Dad's help pick out the baby furniture, put together all the gadgets so they're ready when baby comes, they go to prenatal classes such as baby care and lamaze, and they are in the room throughout delivery. They even get to cut the umbilical cord!

Dads are an integral part of the family system. In my family, I love seeing the kids react with excitement when they see dad's car pull up in the driveway when he comes home from work. And then hearing their glee when he walks in the door. Watching them play and interact is always fun too.

I have also met many stay at home dads. Kudos to you! I know it's not for everybody, and I give you credit for doing this. It's so nice to see dads so involved in their kids' lives.

So Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there. Enjoy your day. You deserve it.

Hospitals Score Poorly on Breastfeeding

I just read on article that reports that many hospitals do not do well on promoting breastfeeding. According to the study reported on, hospitals include packets of formula in their gift bags to new parents, and they give formula or other supplements to healthy, full-term babies.

I think that hospital personnel needs to get permission from parents before they give babies formula supplements. If a mom wants to breastfeed exclusively, she should start right away. Breastfeeding is not easy for babies. They need to "learn" how to do it. Sometimes it is common for a baby to not be able to latch on well. If there are physical risks to baby such as too much weight loss/not enough nutritional intake, and supplementing with formula will help baby, then by all means, go for it. Although breastmilk is best, sometimes formula is required. And that's ok. Heck, I was formula fed and I think I turned out all right! :)

Summer fun...

We've been having a lot of fun this past week. Spending a lot of time in the pool and the kids are becoming such good swimmers! It's so fun to watch them. Connor is sometimes so sweet to Abbie. He surprises me at times with comments like "that was really good Abbie" or "Yea, you're right."

It almost makes up for the bickering in the car! hehehe

We've been spending time with my brother which has been really nice. The kids always have so much fun with him when he comes to town. They always want to sit next to him at dinner. It's very cute...

Connor is really enjoying his summer class he takes in the mornings. He's learned how to tie some really neat knots and he's in the process of making a "light box". Abbie got to go down the water slide twice today at swimming lessons. She LOVED it!

The joys of summer...

Bickering siblings

Well, I'm finding that my children have been bickering during just about every car ride this past week. They stop pretty quickly after I point out what they are doing, but it sure sounds awful when they're doing it.

What seems to work to get them to stop is when give them a choice: they can either continue bickering and I'll pull the car over and we won't go where we were going, or they can stop arguing, respect each other, and sit nicely in the car.

Luckily, the latter always works! I have never had to pull the car over and go home. My kids are 19 months apart, and I've had so many people gasp when I tell them that and say "it must be so hard for you!" Actually, quite the opposite is true. My kids get along very well together. Even when they were much younger they played well together. In some ways I think I may have it a little easier than parents with children spaced further apart, because my kids have a little more in common with each other. They definitely like to play with different toys. My son is all boy, and my daughter is very girly. But for the most part (aside from those car rides lately) they are respectful of each other and treat each other well.

"What Teacher Do You Like?"

Today I was asked what Kindergarten teacher someone's child should get next year. I told her that both of my children had Mrs. _____. I like her a lot but I know that many parents have complaints about her. Most of the complaints have to do with the fact that Mrs. _____ is not very "lovey-dovey" with their children. They believe she is too strict and "academic".

My thoughts on this are that I think it's good for kids to experience different teaching styles. In the real world, we have to interact with all types of people every day, so why not start out early on? Kids adapt well, and although you as a parent may want your child's kindergarten teacher to be Ms. Lovey Dovey, your child will probably be just fine with another teacher.

Differences in parenting between mom's and dads

It's very common for males and females to play with their children in different ways. Often times, the styles of play are extremely different.

Yesterday I was in the kitchen and I was listening to the bantering of feet running, the snickers and laughs of my children, and the louder, bigger feet coming down the hall. (those were of my husband). I wanted to intervene and say "guys, let's not run and make so much noise" but I stopped myself. I knew that my husband and my kids were having fun. No one was getting hurt and the kids don't get as much time with him as they do with me because of Tom's work schedule.

Even when we had our first baby there were times when I wanted to say "no, you're doing that wrong, do it this way" but I knew that just because he did things different from me didn't mean that his ways were wrong.

I think that it's important to let dads be involved with baby and older kids. Even though they do things differently and sometimes we have a hard time not intervening, try as hard as you can to let him do it the way he wants. If it doesn't work correctly, he'll either ask you how to do it, or he'll try another approach.

In my house, my husband definitely does more "roughhousing" than I do. I will intervene if they are getting too rough and if someone is going to get hurt.

In the big picture, it is important that both mom and dad agree on what style of discipline you're going to use when your children misbehave, but when it comes to the small stuff, such as bathing, changing diapers, playing, etc. different styles are fine. I actually think it's beneficial to the child to experience different styles. I know that my kids enjoy both styles of play that my husband and I provide to them.

Welcome

This is my first blogging experience! I'm excited to be starting this. A little about me: I have 2 children. My son is almost 8 years old, and my daughter is 6 years old. It's amazing how fast the years go by. I remember so clearly the days they were born. Sometimes I wish I could rewind the clock back to those days when I could hold them in my arms. Treasure the moments you have with your kids because before you know it, they grow up.

At night when my kids go to sleep I try to remember the funny things they said, or good parts of the day. Let's face it, some days can be very stressful and it's easy to forget (or ignore) the good times.
Tonight we were walking the dog and I was watching the kids walking next to each other and listening to them talk and laugh. They looked so cute!