If it were possible to impale oneself on a tiny, plastic sword, I would have done it sometime during hour two of playing Lego Pirates. Normally I can take this type of torture, but as my son and I struggled through a joint day of flu-like conditions, I was ready for an easier way out.
While kids love the idea of being sick and missing school, for Moms it is a bit of a lose/lose. Unless that low-grade fever hits the day we’re supposed to head for our in-laws for a special family dinner, it’s hard to find a good time to be sick. Children loathe being sick on a weekend, of course, as it seems like such a waste when they could be getting out of early Monday morning Grade 9 Geography. But if you’re a stay at home Mom (or work from home, like I do)…this is the BEST time to be sick.
During the week if you’re sick, and the kids aren’t old enough to go to school, you’re usually stuck “managing” them from the couch as you shuffle through all of the same duties you normally have. If they’re older, and you’re lucky enough to send them all merrily off to school, it’s still hard not to feel guilty about the laundry not being done, the dinner not being prepared, while the unreturned phone calls and unwritten reports silently nag you, as the house returns to its normal bomb-blast state. And when the kids and Dad arrive on the doorstep at the end of the day, at least one of them (usually the tall one) will wonder aloud what the heck you’ve been doing all day, because you seem fine now.
My advice is to do what the kids do – and fake it when it works for you – to make up for the days that you’re really sick and you don’t get to BE sick. Spring it on a Saturday morning…just before the rounds of hockey practice, dance class, grocery shopping, birthday party attending and general chauffeuring of children begins. Write up a list for Dad to follow (here’s a hint – if you tell him to drop a kid at a birthday party for two hours, it is VERY important to tell him to also go back and pick up the same kid), tell the kids they have to be Daddy’s helper (just like they’re Mommy’s helpers during the week. No, say it like it actually happens.) , and lay back and listen to the dulcet tones of Dad saying:
“What do you mean it’s your turn to bring snack to hockey? What does that mean? Can we take a box of cereal? What…and a drink? Grab that bag of milk.”
“Where’s the card for this gift. You usually make one? We don’t have time – let’s just make sure to yell out our name when they open it up. They don’t open them in front of everyone?”
“Sure you can wear your “indoor shoes”, whatever that is. You’re going to be indoors at the indoor playground after we get through the slushy parking lot, aren’t you?”
“You’re hungry? Don’t you get your own breakfast? You’re four, right?”
“We have to pick up who? Do I know this kid? Is he the one who bites?”
“Your mother promised to do pottery painting this afternoon? Hmm…I heard that place burned down last week.”
“What do you kids want for dinner? It’s special night with Daddy so you get fast food. I know Mom doesn’t allow it, but we won’t tell her.”
Let them get away with it. Find a room with a door with a lock on it – one that can’t be picked with a tiny plastic sword – and enjoy your siiiick day.
Kathy Buckworth’s latest book, “Shut Up and Eat: Tales of Chicken, Children and Chardonnay” is available everywhere. Read “Funny Mummy” every month. Visit www.kathybuckworth.com and follow Kathy on Twitter.
Tina Fey’s “prayer for a daughter” is reason enough to make you want to go out and buy her new book Bossypants.
Whether you have a daughter or not, any parent can surely relate to this hilarious “prayer”.
“First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.
May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.
When the Crystal Meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.
Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.
Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels. What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.
May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.
Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen.Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.
O Lord, break the Internet forever, that she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.
And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.
And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. “My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.
Her mom, Cami Roselles, wanted to protect her daughter from playground taunting, so she had the first grader go under the knife to pin back her ears. The South Dakota girl was featured Thursday on “Good Morning America.”
Thanks to the Little Baby Face Foundation, Samantha who is in Grade 1, had her ears done free of charge. Dr. Steven Pearlman told GMA that children with abnormalities could face terrible treatment from other kids He said he doesn’t endorse minor cosmetic surgery to avoid bullying but said that having ears pinned back isn’t cosmetic surgery. It’s something more serious, he said.
Samantha Shaw before (left) and after (right)
“In my book and [that of] most of the medical community, the plastic surgery community, ears that stick out is not a cosmetic issue,” Dr. Pearlman said.
The saddest part is, the kids weren’t the ones who were picking on Samantha. Her mother Cami Roselles told ABC that adults were the ones making the cruel comments!
Although Samantha underwent surgery, her mother said she hadn’t actually been bullied. Roselles was concerned that she would be, judging by critical comments that adults had made in front of her.
Isn’t it sad that bullying is so prevalent in our schools that kids are having to resort to surgery to prevent bullying?
My kids drink chocolate milk. They eat hot dogs, Chicken McNuggets, chips, Oreos, ice cream and gummie bears. Do I let them have these things all the time? Hell to the NO.
I watched the season premiere of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution this week as a lot of other parents probably did. I was shocked and horrified to see what the powers that be in the state of California were trying to pass off as food. Now, I’m Canadian (a Canuck if you will) so I really can’t speak first hand to what the state of affairs is really like down there, but from what I’ve seen on the show (and there aren’t many other shows/news organizations shedding light on the issue) the situation has reached “OMFG” status. I went to the USDA website and it says this:
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day.
Nutritionally balanced? *cocking an eyebrow* Really? Sticky buns for breakfast (that are microwaved in plastic!), fries and corndogs for lunch, few if any veggies… someone needs a refresher course on what the words “nutritionally balanced” mean.
While I was watching I was on twitter and mentioned that the situation was disgusting. Most people that responded to me were in total agreement, but there was one mother who responded with some comments that shocked me. She said that the program is severely underfunded and that a lot of kids count on the program as their only meal of the day. She went on to say that the program was in jeopardy of being shut down so a foreign (not sure what that has to do with anything) chef shouldn’t be rocking the boat in case it brings the downfall of the lunch program. She also said that something is better than nothing and if she could afford to buy organic she would, but she can’t so the “crap” will have to do.
Top left: My 4yo enjoying "plain" grilled chicken Top Right: My 2yo nibbling on a raw carrot. Bottom: What was left when my kids were done their dinner. My husband snagged the tomatoes after I took the picture.
There are several points I want to address there. I agree, the program is RIDICULOUSLY underfunded. I read that the allotment is $1 per day, per child. The economic collapse brought the poverty level in the U.S. up significantly and I have no doubt that there are a lot of children who depend on that one or two meals a day at school to survive. But if that’s the case, shouldn’t parents be fighting for the food to be better, for their children to have access to food that’s not deep-fried, microwaved and basically pure sugar?
The “something is better than nothing” comment really irks me. The food these kids are being fed can lead to diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease, not to mention it sets them up to develop an addiction to high-fat, high-sugar foods that most will not be able to break in adulthood. Giving them these foods might solve the immediate hunger issue in the moment, but it leads to so many other problems (I wonder how many kids are making it through the day awake and focused in class after their sugar crash?), there has to be a better way to address this problem. Complacency has never brought about change.
As I said, my kids eat “junk”, and I’m okay with it. There’s nothing wrong with treats, I grew up with candy and chocolate milk (did you know that chocolate milk made with cocoa or mixes that contain cocoa help to rebuild muscle after strenuous physical activity better than any other fluid? Google “chocolate milk after workout” for several case studies) and cupcakes. But I was also given a variety of fruits and vegetables and I do the same with my kids. The idea that you have to buy organic or “there’s just no point” is ridiculous. For some produce organic is “better” (but not necessary if money is an issue), like soft fleshed items (strawberries, peaches, grapes), but a good scrubbing in a 3-1 water/vinegar solution can take care of most of the chemical and wax residue on things like apples, pears, celery, carrots and other harder produce or those with a flesh you eat. I peel most of my kids’ fruits and veggies as they’re still young and the peels can be hard to chew and digest, but if you’re peeling, organic really isn’t necessary.
My family’s favourite veggie side-dish is a plate of raw vegetables in the middle of the dinner table. Baby carrots, cucumber, sugar-snap peas, cherry tomatoes, sliced peppers and raw red cabbage are some favourites. I have never offered dip with them and so they don’t know what they’re missing and happily eat the veggies all on their own. Last night we barbequed burgers for my husband and I, and chicken breasts for the girls and I made homemade french fries (cause you have to have fries with burgers!) and had this plate of veggies with it.
My 4 year old wanted to see what was inside of a pea pod. Let kids explore their food.
My kids ate their chicken, that wasn’t breaded, deep-fried or drowning in ketchup and a handful of french fries and they ate a ton of veggies! The plate of crudité (fancy word for raw veggies) cost me about $2.12 which works out to 53¢ per person. A bag of frozen mixed veggies will run you around $2 too and they have anywhere from 7-10 servings in a bag. For dessert they each had a banana (they eat a ridiculous amount of bananas!) which were 33¢ each.
Here are some money-saving tips for buying healthier foods:
* Buy in season produce. If something isn’t in season buy frozen, it’ll be cheaper than buying out of season fresh, and frozen fruit and veggies are just as nutritious as fresh.
* Buy in bulk. When shopping look at the price per/unit cost, the rule usually is the larger the package size, the cheaper it is per unit (serving).
* Stock up when items are on sale. Grocery stores cycle sales, baking supplies go on sale around holidays, condiments in the summer, things like granola bars, fruit cups and cereals at the beginning of the school year.
* Reduce the amount of food you throw out. Turn over-ripe fruit into desserts, wilted veggies into soups and stews and stale bread into bread crumbs or croutons. Leftovers can be revived as a new meal, leftover meatloaf can be chopped up and seasoned and turned into tacos. Be creative.
* Water down sugar-free juices by 1/3. It’s better for your kids and stretches the juice further.
I hope that Jamie Oliver (and his show’s producer Ryan Seacrest) can influence some powerful people in California to advocate for these kids. I know the problem is more wide-spread than just this one state, and I know that it even exists here in Canada (to some degree), but all it will take is someone to stand up and rally parents and policy makers to do better and that can serve as a model for other cities, states and even countries to take another look at how we’re treating our children’s health and well-being and what we’re feeding them. Our children deserve better. Speak up.
Amanda Goetz is a WAHM to 3 kids under the age of 5. Her love of cooking was fostered when she was a preschooler helping her grandma in the kitchen. After a year long stint as a sous chef, she left the industry to continue cooking as a hobby before the stress and politics of a professional kitchen killed her love of cooking. Now she creates delicious dinners and delectable desserts for her family and friends and blogs about it at The Best Mom on the Block.
I know what it’s like to look at myself in the mirror and hate what I see. I know what it’s like to never feel good enough, smart enough or pretty enough.
I know what it’s like to think that if I could only lose weight my life would be perfect and I know what it’s like to lose the weight only to find out that I’ll never feel skinny ENOUGH.
But I also know what it’s like to find recovery and regain control of my body and my life. I know how it feels to feel comfortable in my own skin and like myself from the inside out. I know what freedom feels like and I’ll never go back.
I lost over 20 years of my life to body image and eating disorder issues and was one of the lucky few to find recovery. As a fitness professional for 25 years, I had become frustrated with how our society confuses BEING fit with just LOOKING fit. There is a difference.
As a mother, it angered me to hear children as young as seven years old berating themselves over the size of their jeabs and being bullied for their body types. As a recovering anorexic/compulsive overeater, my heart broke for every child on the verge of a life consumed with food and weight obsession. I felt an intense need to do something to help.
Three years ago, I created the “Fit vs Fiction” workshop for kids and parents that I bring to schools, camps, parent groups etc. It’s an interactive presentation that gets people talking about the pressures they feel to live up to society’s unrealistic expectations about beauty. I use images, games and true life experiences to break down the myths related to the beauty,fitness and diet industries.
By telling my story, I give kids a safe place to share their own. The truth isn’t always pretty, but there’s beauty in having the courage to share it when it can help others.
In the last few months, I have been hearing from more and more parents that their young children are showing clear signs of negative body image and are seeing a drop in their self-esteem. Once again, I felt the need to take a stand.
The Fit vs Fiction Body Image Awareness Campaign was designed with the goal of bringing attention to the fact that our kids need help NOW. I’m constantly amazed at what the kids I meet share with me about the risks their willing to take to get the bodies they think they should have.
I’m hoping to get my posters seen by as many people as I can because nothing will change unless we change it.
Marci Warhaft-Nadler is the mother of 2 very active tween boys and has spent the last few years bringing her Fit vs Fiction workshop to schools in an effort to change the way kids treat and feel about themselves.In sharing her story of a lifelong battle and ultimate recovery from Body image issues, she gives kids a safe place to share their own. While no longer obsessed with food, she can’t however say the same thing about tattoos. Follow Marci on Twitter.
It put a huge smile on my face because he has never really been interested in drawing or doing crafts and it wasn’t until recently that he would draw complete pictures, of a house and a tree and the green grass and blue sky with white clouds.
But this picture made me smile and almost faint at the same time.
Why?
Take a look here:
Yep, that’s a “baby sister”.
He wants one. As if he’s asking for the shiny new toy at the store, the “I want a baby sister” request has started. I’m surprised it took so long, actually.
Now that my little boy, aka the Destroyer is four-years-old and no longer has the cutesy features of a preschooler, the Boss, who is 6.5, wants a baby sister.
Even the Destroyer, who has been attached to my hip since birth and whom I always feared would be uber jealous of a baby in the house, has been very open to the idea.
This recent incident has made me think – should we have tried for a girl?
But then I remember the pregnancy, the lack of sleep, the diaper changes, the hormones, the exhaustion, moodiness… and although I would love to have another child for all the joy a new baby brings, I only would if it was still the year 2007!
An ad for a clothing firm featuring a five-year-old boy with his toenails painted bright pink, has sparked some controversy.
The J Crew ad features Jenna Lyons, the chain’s president and creative director, and her son Beckett, 5.
Lyons is seen with a bottle of neon pink nail polish painting her son’s toenails under the headline, ”Saturday with Jenna… See how she and son Beckett go off duty in style.”
Lyons is quoted in the ad: “Lucky for me, I ended up with a boy whose favourite color is pink. Toenail painting is way more fun in neon.”
The image (left) was featured in an email sent to customers last week and has sparked quite the debate over gender identity in children.
A number of psychiatrists have slammed the ad, claiming that promotion of such an image “celebrates transgendered identity”.
According to a column by Dr. Keith Ablow for FoxNews.com, “This is a dramatic example of the way that our culture is being encouraged to abandon all trappings of gender identity.”
Another expert for Fox added that the ad is “blatant propaganda celebrating transgendered children.”
Jo B. Paoletti, author of Pink and Blue: Telling the Girls From the Boys in America, says the critics of the ad are overreacting.
“Lots of kids, say seven and under, might ask their parents for something that would seem to be cross gender, and I think most parents, especially in the privacy of their own home might think, what’s the big deal?”
On Thursday, April 7th, Kids’ CBC kicked off their first ever Twitter party, dubbed #kidscbc Tweetup.
The event was held online to connect with parents across the country to share their thoughts about children’s content, both online and on television.
A small group of mom (and one dad) blogger were also invited in-studio to hang out on the Kids CBC Caboose set.
Guests included Patty Sullivan, Anne-Marie Mediwake and Dwight Drummond of CBC Toronto news and later Steven and Chris joined us to make a fun Canadian Mocktail. The fabulous highlight of the day was meeting Yamma Mamma in person!
Yamma Mamma had a very important message to share:
Kim Wilson, Creative Head for Children’s and Youth Television at CBC, expressed the idea of creating a partnership with parents in hopes of building quality programming together.
New series in development are Napkin Man starring Ed Robertson from Barenaked Ladies and Monster Math Squad, a show about math skills, and a cool augmented reality show.
I received an invite in the mail the other day to a family wedding – an “adult only” wedding reception. I put it out there on Twitter to see what other people’s opinions are and what a response I received!
Most of the parents who responded said that they were just fine with it. But a few replied that they wouldn’t attend if they couldn’t bring their kids.
Some couples don’t want children to attend their wedding reception. Why? Reasons can range from trying to lower costs by trimming wedding guests from the list, to simply not wanting to put up with potential crying or hyperactivity.
The debate on this topic can get pretty ugly. Some people argue that it is rude and improper to exclude the younger members of a family that is on the wedding guest list. Some insist that a wedding is all about family and the circle of life, and that eliminating children from attendance at the wedding is therefore inappropriate.
At the end of it all, a wedding is the bride and groom’s day and it’s up to them.
The best wording to use on an invite, to avoid offending anyone, is to have “Adults Only Reception” or “Adult Reception” printed along with the reception location and time on the invitation.
The other rule is, if you are excluding some children, the rule is that you must exclude all children. There must not be different rules for different people or some individuals will be deeply offended and hurt – and rightly so. The only possible exception to this would be any children who are in the wedding party.
But the jury is out even in this area. While some etiquette experts feel that it may be alright to make this exception, there is a stronger belief that if the reception is to be adults only, no children should be included as part of the wedding party.
Who knew a simple invitation would cause such a stir?
What do you think – is an adult only reception cool or uncool?
P.S. We are not going to this wedding because we don’t have a sitter.
I love shopping for spring and summer! Who doesn’t?
Old Navy is always the go-to store for the whole family.
We went shopping for the kids at the Old Navy store in Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket. This location is part of the New Old Navy redesign along with 260 Old Navy stores which have been redesigned with moms and kids in mind.
But in this video, it’s all about mommy and daddy!
Linen capris, pants, dresses – I love linen! I also loved the cute little summer dresses as well as the accessories.
My husband loves the way Old Navy shorts fit – he has a pair in every colour.
Follow @amotherworld on Twitter and tweet this giveaway (you may RT once per day):
Follow @amotherworld and enter to #win a $250 Shopping Spree at #NewOldNavy http://su.pr/1ClOfb
Go over to watch my kids shopping for another chance to win!
Contest ends April 21st at 11:59pm . Giveaway is open to Canadian addresses only. Winner will be contacted and will need to respond within 48 hours or another winner will be drawn randomly.
That’s sick, dude.
Kathy Buckworth’s latest book, “Shut Up and Eat: Tales of Chicken, Children and Chardonnay” is available everywhere. Read “Funny Mummy” every month. Visit www.kathybuckworth.com and follow Kathy on Twitter. 
