I still believe in Santa

When I was growing up, Christmas was the best holiday of the year. To me, it was even better than my birthday because everybody had a gift to open. On Christmas Eve, I would sing/recite a poem/play hand bells/usher at the Christmas service and then lay awake in anticipation of the next morning. My parents had a  rule that we couldn't get up before 6 a.m., but please believe at 5:59 me and my brother were at their bedroom door begging and pleading, "Can we go downstairs, now? Pleeeaaaasse." They couldn't even get the complete "yes" out their mouth before we hit the stairs, the rumbling of our feet sounding like it was ten of us instead of just two.Then after the "oh, wow's" and the "look what I got" dances, we would run back up the stairs with what we could carry and dump everything in the bed with our parents because they hadn't got out of bed yet and we were way too excited.

Being a kid on Christmas Day was some of the best times I can remember and I try to recreate that for my kids. Even though I explain to my kids that we give gifts as a celebration of the birth of Jesus (let the church say "Amen"), I still want them to feel the joy I felt when I would see gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. If that means pretending that I didn't see two Santa Clause's in the same mall or that I didn't just hear somebody reveal the secret in a movie, than so be it.

If people don't want their children to believe, that's on them, but don't be a jerk and ruin it for the rest of us who go through the motions of trying to create lasting memories for our kids. It's so much negativity around, from bullying, missing kids, hearing about economic issues and sex scandals on the news everyday, it's about time to bring something good in. You may not think that your kids are paying attention, but they are. My son's kindergarten teacher sent home a newsletter telling parents that this is the time when kids not only observe, but repeat back what they hear, so if there is something we don't want the class to know about, keep it to ourselves (she didn't use those exact words, but I know what she meant).

Let your kids be kids. Stop demanding that they grow up so fast. When I found out the truth about Santa I wasn't mad, I was grateful that I had parents who loved me enough to create a magical world for me. Will the big reveal always go that smoothly? Who knows, depends on the child, but as long as they believe I'm gonna keep it going. I'll get up in the middle of the night and put out gifts and My kids don't really want for much- every time I ask, they keep saying the same two or three items, and I think that's mostly do to the fact that I make time for them. We color, we play the Wii together, I take them to Jungle Java or the playground (weather permitting) and we read together some nights. So while the best gift I could give them is my time, the Santa thing is just extra.  I'm going to continue to create those moments because I'm grateful in Santa's ability to make a child's eyes light up and believe in something that they can physically see. The fact that they are on good behavior for a little while helps, too.

Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas! 

In need of a personal retreat

I need to take a break. A day, a full 24 hours to myself. No husband, no kids, no work, no business, no phone calls, no email, no drama. No cooking, no cleaning, no fussing, no stressing, no planning, no lists. Just me, my music, some good food, ice cream, a couple of good movies, magazines and a good book (something real juicy). I might even take my husband's game (if I can pry it out of his hands) and play Dance Central all night. Ohh, and my karaoke machine and ...wait, I might need two days.

I am often told that I don't know how to relax. I have always tried to be supermom, and I have the Halloween pics to prove it. But, the stress has left me emotionally, spiritually and physically exhausted. And I realize that I'm married and I should "share the wealth" as far as responsibilities go, but I'll be the first to admit that I am a control freak and I want things done when I want it and how I want it. Don't judge me.

So I'm thinking that there is no way that I can go on this little "retreat" in my own home. Why? Because it's just not possible. Even if I can manage to send the hubby and kids off to do something for a day, I still won't be able to do something non-house related. There is always something to clean and I just can't concentrate sometimes. I will definitely be getting a room for a night.

The thing that really opened my eyes to needing this mini time out is while I was watching Oprah's Lifeclass, which has been the best free therapy I could have received. On this particular episode they talked about how people need to slow down, because they are on autopilot and not only missing out, but making horrible mistakes. There was one woman who's story broke my heart and I remember hearing about her several years ago when it first happened. She forgot to drop her daughter off at day care and the daughter died from sitting in the back of the hot car for 8 hours. Another man forgot to turn off his wife's car that was sitting in their attached garage and she and their pets died of carbon monoxide poisoning. But, then there was a lady who took a year off from her family because she was so drained that getting away was the only way to get back to being her.

And that's where I began to think about me and my life. Lately, I have felt like I'm rushing all the time. I'm always looking at a clock and everything is always a countdown to something else. By the end of the day I'm exhausted and in the morning it's a struggle to get out the bed. I don't mind working full time while also building up my business and taking care of my family, but I don't want to wear myself thin either. So, I'm hoping that this retreat will be the first of many to help me become more balanced and more appreciative of the moment I'm living now.

I'm also going to allow myself the opportunity to let go of my frustrations, my disappointments, my imperfections, my hurt, my fears and my anger. I'm going to pray, meditate, I might even cry and just deal with me and how to keep myself sane. I can't do nothing for my family or my business if I'm a hot mess. We as parents, spouses and human beings give and give until we are on empty and I am drained. I , whom have always been a positive person, feel a little less hopeful about my relationships because I feel disconnected from everybody. Truth is, I'm disconnected from myself.

I don't know how soon this day of solitude will happen, but I can't wait. This past year was a good year, but it was me who stopped it from being great. I won't make the same mistake twice. I'm taking time out for me.

What would you do with a day all to yourself?

Staying calm under pressure



My son was diagnosed with asthma last November and I've only had to use his nebulizer twice since then. So imagine my surprise when I'm woken up in the middle of the night by a little boy saying, "Mom, I need my medicine RIGHT NOW!" Of course I spring into action putting the nebulizer together while trying to calm him down at the same time. He is so panicked that his breathing becomes close to hyperventilating and he starts coughing up mucus. This makes him panic even more and he starts to cry.

In my mind, I wanted to cry, too, but I knew that I had to be strong so that he could see that everything was going to be okay. After I had his treatment going for a few minutes, I stepped out the bathroom and said a silent prayer (becoming a parent made me pray more than I thought I would) that I could continue to keep it together cause I could tell it was going to be a long night.

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, asthma is the most common chronic childhood illness and it affects one out of every 15 children. They also say that it is the leading cause of school absences for children and call-ins for their parents, and is the most common reason for ER visits. 

I can believe that, because that's where I wound up at 3 a.m. After his breathing treatment, his heartbeat was so strong I could hear it with him laying next to me, and his temperature shot up. So I decided to take him to the ER because the whole situation just made me nervous. Plus, lets face it, I was done sleeping that night anyway.

The plan of action was the same as it was the last time he had a flare-up; several days of steroids and breathing treatments every four hours as needed. There are so many factors that can cause an asthma flare-up, but I've pinpointed his to be the change of the weather, with his coughing being worse at night.

The best thing you can do as a parent is do your research and follow your instincts. I actually knew he had asthma before the doctors diagnosed him when comparing notes with friends who's children had it. I even scheduled the appointment with the allergist myself after his doctor said he just had a cold. He did have a cold, but he was holding on to it twice as long as my daughter and I knew that wasn't right. Know what triggers your childs' flare-ups, what the side effects of the drugs given are and pay attention to the patterns.

Its hard for any parent to see their child suffer, especially when it comes to something we take for granted- breathing. But, it's important to ease your child's fears by staying calm and being educated on what to do in an emergency. For more information about asthma in children and to take a asthma IQ test, click here.

 

 

The working mother blues

I am a working mother. As a matter of fact, not only do I work a full time job, but I own my own skin care and makeup business and am frequently taking and teaching classes throughout the year. So to say that I am still getting used to this back to school season is an understatement. I am excited that my son is going to the Big K this year and my daughter is in a new daycare, but I'm not happy about the 5:00 AM wake-ups, fussing at kids to put on shoes and having to make two stops before I get to my final destination. I feel my pressure rise just thinking about it.

But, most of all I feel guilty. I hate that I have to wake my kids up before the rooster even knows it's a new day. Not only that, but I have to leave them at school in latchkey, after all the other kids have gone home. I often wonder what it would be like to be a house wife, or at least a successful business woman who can make my own hours around the care of my children. In the perfect world, I would be Supermom, instead of feeling like the villain when I tell them it's time to go to bed and it's still light outside or when it's time to get up when it's dark.

I recently found a video on care.com's website about the guilt that some working mothers feel. I was glad to see that I'm not alone.




Until my perfect day comes, I guess I better put the kids to bed and go make these sandwiches for their lunches tomorrow. Hope I have jelly.

The Sibling Code

Some siblings have a secret code. It can be a look, a weird noise or a silly dance. For my kids, their secret code is all that and more. All they have to do is look at each other sometimes and they will bust out laughing. My daughter will always call my son into the room when one of their favorite commercials is on. Then they'll watch it in that "wait for it" moment and start laughing like it was their first time seeing it. Their favorite one right now is the two guys in kids voices playing paper-rock-scissors over a sandwich.  

I don't think me and my brother had a code. We had a pattern, though. I would tell him "no" whenever her wanted to go with me to a friends house or when he wanted to watch TV, then he would go tell on me to our parents. "Mama said come here" was his favorite phrase. But, we were five years apart and my kids are only two.

I try to sneak up on my kids so I can crack the code, but soon as they see me coming, they start laughing even more because they know I want to know. What's the secret to their constant happiness and frequent giggles? Then I realized it was us, we were the secret. My husband and I have tried our best to have them grow up in a household filled with love and all things positive. So what if the echo of high pitch laughter hurts my ears during bath time or I never get to complete a meal without saying, "Stop and eat your food." My kids are happy and healthy and that means so much more to me than them cluttering my house with toys, because they also fill it with joy and laughter. And I don't care if I never crack the code, as long as they keep it going strong.

Where's the "no kids" section?

I overheard some women talking today about their weekend the other day. Okay, I'll admit I was basically ear hustling, but in my defense I was reading my magazine until I heard one of them say that people should leave their kids at home when they go out.  According to them, parents with children should either find a baby-sitter or stay at home. Really?  So what if I don't have the funds to both go out and pay for somebody to watch my kids or I only trust a handful of people to watch my kids and they happen to busy the night I want to do something? Is that my only choice? As parents, we already sacrifice darn near everything but do I now have to tell my kids, "Oh no, baby I can't take you to the so called family restaurant tonight because it's socially unacceptable"?

Now, I will admit there have been times when I wish I would have kept my child at home. As you know, even the most well behaved child can cut up if pushed beyond their comfort zone. My children behaving badly kept me out of church, the movies and Cracker Barrel (long story) for a long time. To me, its just about accessing your children. If you know that your child is going to act a fool if they don't get a nap in first (i.e. the Cracker Barrel incident), then make sure they get one. When I take my kids out to dinner on a Saturday night, it's always during what I call "family hour" which to me is between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., maybe even 7 o'clock if we got a late start on the day.

I can understand that when you go out to eat, sometimes you don't want to be bothered. When my husband and I get the opportunity to go out to dinner alone, the last thing we want is our meal interrupted by somebody else's child. I do know a few people who ask the hostess to seat them away from kids and that seems to work for them in way that makes everybody happy.

Since they have taken the smoking section out of Michigan restaurants, maybe they should start asking "kids or no kids?" Do you think this would be fair or should those wanting a "kid free" zone just deal with it?

How do you feed picky eaters?

I'm going to tell you all a secret that I don't want you to tell my husband. . .  If you let this secret out, it could literally change the flow of our relationship. . .I mean this is so big that I'm scared to admit it myself. But, here goes. . . (deep breath). I like to cook. Now I know that this may shock some of you who have known me for a while, but I actually like to be in my kitchen. Baking is my favorite because I'm a sweets fanatic and a "set it and forget it" type of girl. What I don't like is cooking for picky eaters, hence the fact that my husband does most of the cooking. I believe in wholesome, balanced meals but it's hard to feed kids vegetables who will almost scream at the sight of anything green on their plates.

Being the only foodie in the house is hard.  I thought that I could convert my daughter, but the daddy's girl seems to be following in her dad and brother's footsteps. I love to experiment and try new things, but they seem to be satisfied with the rotation of chicken-turkey- pork chops- more chicken. But, the one thing that I've realized with the kids is that presentation is everything. I can't just slap some peanut butter and jelly on some bread and expect them to eat it. I have to cut off the edges and cut it into triangles before they will even consider taking a bite. My husband gave them one without the crust cut or cut in half and they looked down at the plate then at each other, then back down at the plate. It was hilarious.

So here are just a few tips that have helped me deal with my picky eaters.
- We love making sliders, so we tell the kids that they are Krabby Patties. All those hours of Sponge Bob have to come in handy at some point.
- Cans of Chef Boyardee are convenient and have a full serving of vegetables. Plus, they like the different shapes so I have no complaints.

- Kids love to dip. Whether it's ketchup, barbecue sauce or syrup, kids like to dip food. It can get kind of messy, but that's what handy wipes are for.

- Lead by example. I always cook veggies with our meals and place them on both mine and the kids plates in hopes that if they see me eating them, they will eat them too.

- Like I said, presentation is everything and sometimes you just have to make it fun. I made some Mickey Mouse pancakes for my kids for a little change of pace. The coney island restaurant don't have nothing on me.



Sorry, I couldn't rotate the pic.

How do you deal with picky eaters?

I also found some cute kids recipes on the Betty Crocker website. I might try a few and post the results. But for now good luck and Happy Parenting.    

Snaggletooth days are ahead

So my son has a loose front tooth that he's been messing with the last couple of days. He pushes it forward with his tongue but lets out a fake whine whenever I try to touch it. I'm just going to let it come out on it's own and save him from the horror I went thru as a child. I remember my parents suggesting tying one end of a piece of string to my tooth and the other end to a doorknob and shutting the door. I think I blocked the memory on if I actually let them do it or not. I remember a tooth coming out while I was eating. And I remember a tooth falling out as soon as somebody touched it.

But, the thing that I will always remember (mostly because I have the pics for proof) is those school days snaggletooth pictures. My snaggletooth pics are buried somewhere at my mom's house, but my husbands are on constant display in his mom's dining room. If I wasn't afraid of retaliation I would post it, but know that missing front teeth, a greasy face and what looks like a leisure suit equals laughing until you cry.

Here's another thing I need to know. How much do teeth go for these days? When I was growing up the tooth fairy left one dollar, but I've heard as much as $5 or $10. I think with the way the economy is, the tooth fairy is going to have to determine price according to weight or something. What is the tooth fairy leaving your kids these days?

No more toys!

I only have two children, but somebody tell me why my house looks like I'm running a home daycare. The kitchen set is in my living room, potty chairs in both the hallway and the bathroom. I'm tossing wrestling men out my bed when I go to lay down, and I don't even want to think about the storage room that is wall to wall baby furniture, clothes and yes, more toys.

When my son was little I would conveniently send him to his grandmothers house and tow his toys he no longer played with to the basement every couple of months. I did this just before Christmas, but I find that there is still an abundance of toys. I went and bought the biggest storage tub that I could find and dumped all the toys in there, but I'm now afraid that the 3 feet high mountain of toys will avalanche on my children.

Even my kids think it's too much. When they come to me saying that they can't find a particular toy. I'll tell them to go look in their toy box, but merely seconds later they return empty handed, considering it a lost cause. I blame my husband, sweet man as he is. He just can't resit those two sets of puppy dog eyes looking at him singing "daaaddyyy". And I try to remind him that it's not necessary to buy a kids meal every time we get fast food. I have those little cheap plastic toys falling out my car when I open the back door.

Of course I'll take my part of the blame, too. I haven't been the "toy regulator" in quite some time and it has gotten way out of hand. I guess it's time for some spring cleaning. We'll set a date and ask one of our parents to watch the kids for a couple of hours. If they have any love for us at all, they will not send them back home with another toy.  

You know you're somebody's mama when you...

...have an iGo Potty app on your smartphone. Look, don't judge me. My daughter is 2 and a half and I am past tired of buying pull-ups. Me and my husband had a ritual at one point. We would declare in the store every time that this is the last time we are buying pull-ups. After about the fifth declaration, we just stopped saying it.

So, I was on the web reading an article about how to potty train a child in a week, and after I was finished rolling my eyes to the lies I was reading, I clicked on another article that gave the best potty training products. Of course there were books, (which my kids tore up), little pottys (that my kids play with), and a portable pot to keep in the back of the car (I'm good), but the one that I hadn't seen before was an app for my phone. They truly do have an app for just about everything.

It is supposed to be a timer, pretty much that will sing the "I'm a big kid now" jingle when it's time for her to go potty. Then, when she goes, she gets cute little "stickers" that add up to unlock games for her to play. It's a virtual version of the potty chart I had for my son with stickers and a prize at the end. I didn't really keep up with that much, but something miraculous happened. It's called my grandma.

So I have already been through this once with a boy. They are supposed to be harder to train then girls, but she is not a typical girl. I've never seen a little girl grab her baby doll, as she's dressed up as a princess,  jump off the arm of my couch, pin down her baby doll, count to three, then stand up pumping her fists in the air like she just won the wrestling championship.

Anyway, I'm going to give it the old college try with potty training app and see what happens. If this thing works, I'll shout it from the virtual mountain top via Facebook and this blog. If not, than I guess I'll have to go back to square one.

How long did it take you to potty train your child? Any tips?



iGo Potty app- Free



The story of us.

My husband and I met when we were 13, started dating at 14 (if that's what you call it when you don't have a job, a car or any money), and I haven't been able to get rid of him ever since (I tried a couple of times but thankfully he didn't call my bluff). Fast forward 15 years and we are married with two kids, Christopher and Desiree. Chris is just like his dad in looks and calm nature, even at only 5 years old. And 2 year old Desiree is truly her mother's child, from her face to her attitude. We both have our own little "mini me", so we're satisfied.

When I think about my life B.C. (before children), it almost seems like a movie I saw some years back. It truly was another life. Not better, just different. Anybody who tells you that having kids doesn't change anything, is in a serious case of denial. Every decision you make, from groceries to career moves has to be in alignment with the life of being a parent.

Having kids made me less selfish, more patient, full of creativity (it's hard explaining to a two year old why they have to pee pee in the pot) and more optimistic. They make you stay on your toes, and it's hard to be upset with them for more than a minute. Any person that can make you change for the better like that has got to be a good thing.