Old School New School Part II
I was hanging out at the pier on the West side highway with my son and a dear friend of mine. Suddenly two cute little dogs appeared out of nowhere and accosted us as we were sitting in the grass.The dogs were followed by an attractive looking couple, a blond woman and a dark haired man."Don't worry," said the lovely woman "they're friendly."Upon further inspection I noticed that the woman was visibly pregnant. When I could be sure I said"How far along are you?"The woman replied that she was in her second trimester. We got to talking and came up that she was a former lawyer turned television anchor. She told me about working in TV and how much better she liked it than being in the courtroom.The topic turned back to pregnancy and birth."You know, all these people keep telling me that I need to get a Baby Nurse!" She remarked "And my response is 'isn't that what my mom is for?' Why do I need a Baby Nurse?""I totally agree," I replied "I would have been lost without my mom. I'm so glad she was there when my son was born."This was unexpected. When I met this woman, [...]
The Bluntness of Children
Let me start by saying that I am a very lucky woman. I am lucky because I have the opportunity to earn money while spending time with children. I love being with kids. It is a distinctly different experience from being with adults. But one of the main reasons that I enjoy spending time with children is this; they are honest.Just yesterday when I was teaching an Afterschool class a five year old child approached me and stated:"You look like a teenager!"I paused for a moment and said"Thank you!" I took it as a compliment. I mean after all I am approaching 30 at this point. If she thinks I look young, great!But the point is this; children (for the most part) do not sugar coat things. They tell you if your breath smells, if you look pretty or unattractive, if they like you or dislike you; they tell it like it is.Somewhere along the lines we loose that as adults. We are told that it is not polite to tell someone that their clothing is ugly, or that they smell badly, if we like or dislike them even. I mean I have had supervisors in many jobs that I [...]
Crying in The Bathroom
Let's face it; as much as I would like to think I've got it together, it's a lie. I am often overwhelmed by the stress of--caring for my son--maintaining my two "real" jobs--caring for my boyfriend--caring for myselfThere are more items that I could add to this list but it would literally take me all day so I'll spare you the gross details.The truth is, I am stressed out. There I said it. I've had enough and I want to freak out. So what do I do? I go to my favorite freak out place: the bathroom.One very wise mother of two turned me on to this fantastic space to cry in. Some people swear by screaming into a pillow, throwing things. I say go to the bathroom, take a shower and cry your eyes out. It works for me!So next time you feel like you are going to loose your mind. Give your child to someone you trust and go cry in the bathroom!
Free Baby Body Care – Earth’s Best!
As a mom who is attempting to live on a limited budget, I am always excited when I find free or low cost baby products.I received an email today from my favorite baby food company, Earth's Best with an exciting promotion; a free Baby Body Care kit by Jason. I am committed to caring for my son using natural and organic baby products. Jason's products are self described as "natural, pure and organic." To receive the free kit you have to:--Collect $15 worth of proof of purchase bar codes from your Earth's Best products--Write a check or money order for $1.95 to cover the shipping cost.--Send the completed package to Earth's Best.For more detailed information about the promotion, click here.
How Many Months Are You?
Before I had my son, I would run into adorable children on the street and ask:"Aw! How old is your son?"And the mother would reply:"He's 19 months."At that moment I would internally roll my eyes and laugh. 19 months? How old is that really? When you ask an adult how old they are they give you a regular number: "I'm 30." or "I'm 45." And they are referring to years and not months. I wasn't used to hearing age referred to in months. I promised myself that I wouldn't be one of those parents that referred to their children's ages in terms of months.However, now that I have a child times have changed. Up until my son was one year old, I referred to him in terms of months. He was at one time seven months old, then eight months etc. until he turned one year old.My son turned a year in May. Now that it is June he is no longer exactly one year old but rather....13 months!! I know, I swore I wouldn't do it. But the truth is, developmentally, from child to child, there is a vast difference from month to month.There is a significant difference between [...]
Who Needs Fancy Toys When You Have a Cardboard Box?
I was at the playground today with my friend and fellow mom, Gry. As our children ran loose, I was telling her that I was passing by a toy store the other day and I was tempted to go in, but I didn't.First I'll tell you why I was tempted to go in. I have been substitute teaching a lot lately, and thus have had less time to spend with my son. I thought I could go into the toy store, pick out something shiny and new, come home and say to him "look what mommy got just for you?"Now I'll tell you the reasons why I stopped myself.Reason # 1 - I thought to myself "He has so many toys at home, does he really need more?"Reason# 2 - I remembered past incidents where I had purchased a toy for him and he would ignore the actual toy and play with the box.Reason # 3- I tried to figure out why I had this sudden urge to buy a shiny new toy for my son since he has so many at home. I realized that I felt guilty for not being around as much and reasoned that if I [...]
The Park Slope Parents Debacle
I have been a member of the Park Slope Parents Yahoo group since my son was born. I have found the messages posted on their message boards to be useful and helpful for the most part. Recently I received an email from the administrator of the group stating that they are going to start charging an annual fee of $25 for their group. Now, as someone who has been enjoying the membership to this online forum where parents can gain insights into their children for FREE for over a year, I was devastated. Furthermore, as a person who makes very little money and is struggling to pay her rent and feed her family, $25 is a lot of money.So, I wrote PSP an email. It said:Hi,I am curious to know what the $25 annual membership cost is meant to cover. What expenses do you have? It is my understanding that starting a yahoo group is free. Perhaps the website is the main expense? For my part, I cannot afford to pay $25. I am very disappointed that your group has chosen to charge this annual fee. I have enjoyed your yahoo group as a free resource for parents. I feel [...]
Who is My Child?
As my millionth day as a substitute teacher comes to a close, I realize that there are certain universal truths about children. There will always be the smart ass child who remarks snidely when asked to do anything. There will be the eager to please child who offers to collect completed worksheets or gives helpful information. There will be the attention seeking child who behaves badly when ignored. But the question is: what kind of child will my son be? The truth is, I can see my son's face in all of these children. I have no way of knowing who he will turn out to be or how he will act in school. I almost want to fast forward four years so I can find out.
Old School/New School Mom Business Cards
A very wise woman told me that I should get business cards made for my blog. I trust this woman because I have known her since I was seven years old. Thank you for your advice Kyle!I ordered the business cards on Vista Print. Vista Print falsely advertises that their business cards are "free". They are not exactly free, but the truth is they might as well be free because they are really cheap. Essentially you have to pay for the shipping costs of the cards.Vista Print offers design templates that you can input your contact information into. I chose a template that I liked and the cards came to me in about a week and half. So here it is! Let me know what you think! I want honest opinions.
The End of a Nursing Era
After 12 1/2 months I am sad to report that I have stopped nursing my son. I am proud of myself that I was able to successfully nurse him for a little over a year. But now that I am working, it was the most practical thing for me to wean him and start him on organic whole milk. I was sad when I stopped nursing him. I thought he would be the one going through withdrawal symptoms and sadness. But you want to know something? It was me looking longingly at the Boppy pillow given to us by his Aunt Kimberly.I missed the bonding associated with nursing my son. He still puts his hand on my breast when I carry him around, taking some sort of ownership of it. But all in all he has been able to function fine without nursing. I remember how difficult it was to start nursing. I was in the hospital trying desperately to get him to latch on after my 20 hour labor. I was so exhausted that the first two days of his life I ended up reluctantly supplementing with formula. Finally, I went to a breast feeding class, which I thought [...]
The Unorthodox Mom
My great friend Cordy has just started her very own mom blog; The Unorthodox Mom. She is hysterically funny and outrageous. She is a self-described "ex-wild child" who has two children: a wacky 16 month old Aquarius and a sweet five month old Capricorn.So check out The Unorthodox Mom blog. I promise you will laugh your ass off.
My Thoughts on The Jon & Kate Plus Eight “Scandal”
I have been a fan of Jon & Kate Plus Eight since I gave birth to my son. I discovered the show when I was barely sleeping, caring for a newborn and needing emotional support which I received in the form of a television show. Each day, I would watch Jon and primarily Kate care for their eight children. It gave me hope that I could continue caring for my one child successfully. I liked that Kate fed her kids organic food and that she was a real human being. She is a honest person who doesn't sugar coat her feelings. She tells it like it is. And I admire that quality.I also identify with the Gosselins on a cultural level, Jon is half korean, half white and myboyfriend is half Filipino half white. The public gives Kate Gosselin a lot of flack for being mean to Jon or for being blunt in general. Personally, I like her. I identify with her outlook on life, her organizational skills are extremely impressive. Plus, wouldn't you get a little cranky caring for eight children and trying to satifisy all of their needs?Kate cares for her eight children seemingly with ease. This includes: [...]
Baby Drama
As parents we would like to think that our children are perfect. But they all have their days. Some days my son gets so cranky and I don't know what to do with him. I pick him up to comfort him and he arches his back, leans his head back and wails. He has a legitimate concern. Maybe he's tired, or hungry, or perhaps he's teething. Sometimes I joke to my boyfriend that he is being...dramatic! And you know what? He is being dramatic. Or at least it appears that way, because he currently only has one real mode of communication: crying. Sometimes I wish I could burst out crying when things don't go my way...wait, I do do that. But not to the extent that my son does it.When he doesn't get his needs met, my little man lets me know, and in quite a theatrical way. I think the reason I joke about him being so dramatic, is to relieve my own maternal anxiety. Let's face it, being a mother is a hard job. The hardest job I've ever had.And when my son is wailing his head off, I laugh at his dramatic display to ease the tension [...]
Save The Library!
Yesterday, my mom friend and I took our kids to Story Time at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza. My favorite librarian was there facilitating the program. She let the kids play for 30 minutes and then she read us three stories. Our kids listened eagerly and attentively. After the program was over the librarian's friendly smile turned into a solemn look."Thank you all for coming today," she began "I want you to know that the library is facing large budget cuts and currently over 300 jobs are going to be lost including mine. The library hours will be cut drastically. This library will only be open between 1pm - 6pm. Also, programs like these will no longer be available. If you want to stop this from happening, sign our petition at the front desk."As soon as I left the Story Time room, I bolted (stroller in tow) to the desk to sign the petition against the library budget cuts. I felt good about signing the petition, but I want to do more.The library is an incredible free resource for parents and their children. Its a place to take your child to enrich their life. You can take [...]
The Google Phone Camera Was Not Designed For People With Babies
I recently switched cell phone carriers and had the opportunity to pick a new phone. I chose the G1 Google Phone because I use the internet a lot and I had heard great things about the phone. For the most part, the G1 is amazing. It is user-friendly and the internet capabilities are awesome.The only issue with the phone I have is that frankly, the camera stinks.As a new mom I take a lot of pictures of my son. But the shutter on the G1 has a massive delay.Essentially, you click the button to take a picture and then it seems like a millionyears later, it captures the image. Now you can imagine how this would beproblematic if you were taking a picture of a baby because babies do not stay still for long periods of time.Here is an example. I attempted to take a photo of my son typing on akeyboard with the G1 camera. Take a look at the results:You get the point. Because the delay is so long, it is virtually impossible to capture a baby doing something funny or cute. Because, as any parent knows, babies move quickly.So please be advised, if you are thinking about [...]