Dear Kid Saturday

Welcome to this week's installment of Dear Kid Saturday. As always thanks to Christina of Cutest Kid Ever for the idea and inspiration. Christina wrote an amazing piece last week on raising kids with Asperger Syndrome - I highly recommend it to any mom who's felt like "the blind leading the blind."

And now this week's letter...

Dear Just-Myself,

You’ve informed me that you are no longer interested in being a dog, a princess, or even a fairy – you are just a girl and you would prefer to be addressed as such. A very interesting turnaround!

We had a nice week, didn’t we? Daddy had the day off on Monday, so we went to a hockey game. We used to take you to the Seattle Thunderbirds games when you were a baby. You thought the noise and lights were pretty fascinating, but eventually you didn’t want to be held for three hours and couldn’t really stay up so late anymore. Now that you’re older (and you get your own seat), you’re not really much of a sports person; but we thought we’d try it anyway – if anything, I figured you’d enjoy spending so much time with Daddy and that you’d think the “cheerleaders” were fabulous.

As it turns out, you’re quite the hockey fan! You kept track of the puck, asked lots of questions and led our group in chanting, “Let’s go, red!” You weren’t so much interested in the cheerleaders (that’s my girl!), but you did want to stand by the locker room door so you could high-five the players as they came out on their big tall skates with their giant padding. Very cool.

We spent lots of time rhyming and making up songs this week. In fact, you made up a poem for me. It goes:

I’m four!
I score!
A floor!
A door!

It’s just about the nicest poem I’ve ever heard.

You’ve also taken to calling me “Queen,” despite the fact that you are (and make no mistake about it) NOT a princess. I confess – I like it.

I’m not sure why, but you’re having a little separation anxiety lately. This week you’ve not wanted to spend much time with Daddy (“I want Mommy to read me my bedtime story!”); and you’ve told me that you missed me each time you’ve left the house. You always love school, but this week you made a big show of not wanting to go. And last night, when you got home from Grandma Tiny’s, you told me you were too homesick to have any fun. Hmmm…

We played a fun music game the other day when we were out getting groceries. We decided to only talk in music (it was very Gilbert and Sullivan, actually, although I’m sure you thought we were the first people to ever think of it). The rules were: no talking between musical phrases, AND no ending a phrase until you’ve made it rhyme with the previous one. Guess what? You were really good at it! Who knew we could make up such great songs about milk and paper towels?? You even added a little choreography.

In the “random” category, you’ve apparently become terrified of robots. You refuse to go upstairs by yourself and when I ask you why, you say, “Because I’ll feel like there’s a robot behind me!” Wow. Those evil, following robots, huh? Not sure how to handle this one. Maybe I’ll have to stage a robot extermination…

We’ve got lots of fun stuff in store for the week, little one. You’re going to a friend’s birthday party tomorrow, and get this! Your Barbies are invited! And next weekend Daddy’s taking you to your very first “Daddy’s Little Sweetheart” dance. I’m pretty sure you’re going to love it.

I love you, sweet girl.
Mommy

Eco-Friendly Handmade Valentines - It's That Time Again!

'Tis time to shout your love from the rooftops! Or, at least, to shower your kids' classmates in candy hearts, right?

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Retrocrafted Paper Goods has added just a few special greeting cards and minis to make your loved ones feel special.

Here's a peek at what's in the store:


Be Mine


I Adore You

Want something special for your child's classmates this year? These 100% recycled, handmade minis are perfect!


Just For You


Be My Valentine

Go handmade this Valentine's Day!

Chubby Simply Won't Do Anymore

Between raging hormones, the holidays, the inability to exercise like I normally would, and stress eating, I gained an unsightly ELEVEN POUNDS between my miscarriage in September and the end of the year. While it may not seem like all that much in the great scheme of things, I'm normally quite a petite person. At 4'11" a gain of two pounds is noticeable - 10 is almost two pants sizes. Not good. Not good at all.

In the past, I've been a bit of a yoyo dieter, and I suspect that's what I can thank for my snail's-pace metabolism. Since 30, fighting fat, especially around my midsection, has been a nearly impossible task. Given my height, my calorie target for weight loss is in the 1200 vicinity. I don't know about you, but I'm HUNGRY when I try to live on 1200 calories. What's more, despite the fact that I make veggie-rich family dinners most nights, I'm notorious for trying to get away with starchy, salty, cheesy lunches and skimpy breakfasts, which I know are sabotaging my efforts. My "dieting" M.O. usually goes something like:

Breakfast - 100 calories
Lunch - 150 calories
Dinner - 500 calories
After-dinner snacks - 400 calories

Intellectually, I understand that, with habits like that, I can get 60 minutes of cardio six days a week (which I usually do) and still be chunky. Something's gotta give if I want to make a real, lasting change.

Last weekend after a particularly appalling (but I won't lie - delicious) dinner out with my husband, I resolved to change my approach. So, because I believe accountability is key when it comes to goal-setting and personal growth, let me tell you what I plan to do differently this time around.

1. Eat three balanced and filling meals each day, taking care to meet those good old food pyramid recommendations for fruits and vegetables.

2. NOT count calories, but rather focus on identifying low-fat, filling, nutritious foods that will keep me satisfied from one meal to the next.

3. Establish a realistic fitness goal and focus on achieving it rather than clocking a certain number of minutes each week. This summer I conquered the Couch to 5K plan which was awesome. This time I plan to go for 10K and beyond.

4. Decide on one or two low calorie, low fat after-dinner snack options that I will enjoy, but that don't encourage binging (goodbye, pita chips and hummus...).

5. Rid my home of "diet foods" like fat-free chips and sugar-free candy. They are not helping me to make healthy choices and do nothing to nourish my body.

6. Ultimately, within reason, let my body decide what size it will be. If, in three months, I can run for an hour at a time and can say at the end of each day that I've given my body the fuel it needs to be lean, healthy and strong, I can't complain if there's still a little pudge around my belly. After all, I'm a mom. It happens.

What do you think? Solid plan? I promise to keep you posted. Since last Friday, I'm down 2.5 pounds (mostly water, I'm sure - but so what?). Sweet. To be comfortably back within the healthy range for my height, I really need to lose about 10 more. To be at my pre-girlie weight, I need to lose 13.

Here's to doing it right!

Also, on a loosely related note, I feel strongly that every thirty-something woman I know should read Laurie Notaro's The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death. I laughed so hard I cried - several times. The chapter on the broken treadmill was a serious kick in the tush for me (all wrapped up in a sassy, hilarious package). Read it!

Timer 2.0 - Who Knew??

Last week I wrote about ways for WAHMs (or ANYBODY) to stay on top of their housework amidst family and professional obligations.

One of my suggestions was to set a timer, giving yourself a specific amount of time in which to complete your household tasks. The goals are to a) force yourself to work faster and smarter; and b) avoid the "dread" factor by ensuring yourself that you're only going to have to work on those tasks you dislike for a short period of time.

Well, it occurred to me this weekend that perhaps the timer could have other uses...

Like (I assume) any mom of a preschooler, I struggle with keeping my little one focused, particularly on things she doesn't want to do - like cleaning her room, picking up her clothes or tidying up the playroom.

We recently implemented an allowance - tied to a set of simple weekly chores - which has helped, but still the announcement that it's clean-up time generally sends Little Miss over the edge. Because it seems like more drama than it's worth, I'm guilty of letting her procrastinate endlessly or do only a moderately acceptable job.

As of yesterday morning, her room was barely navigable, so I announced that it was, indeed, time to take it on. Before she had time to protest, I grabbed a timer and told her she'd have 20 minutes to finish her room. Since I also had chores to do, I told her I had to get the upstairs bathrooms cleaned in the same amount of time (thus eliminating the potential for "Will you help meeeeeeeeeee, Mommyyyyyyy?"). Naturally Ms. Thing wanted to know what would happen if we didn't finish on time. Since I hadn't thought that one through, I went with iPhone privileges. If I wasn't done, I didn't get to play iPhone scrabble, and if she wasn't done, she didn't get to play iPhone UNO.

Again, before the whining could commence, I started the timer and began RUNNING toward the upstairs bathrooms yelling, "Hurry! Hurry! We can do this!"

Much to my surprise, she followed me up the stairs and into her room, shouting, "Mom! Hurry! Don't forget to let me know how much time is left!"

I made a big show of "hurrying," running between bathrooms and panting as though I was exhausted. I'd shout, "Ten minutes left! We can do it!" and she'd reply, "Don't worry, Mom - I'm almost done!"

Whaddayaknow?? She finished her room BEFORE I'd finished the bathrooms and spent the rest of the time cheering for me. I pretended to cut it close, hanging up the final towel just as the alarm went off. There were high fives and "the cheer of greatness" (her invention) all around and, more importantly, NO DRAMA.

I tried it again later when we both needed to take showers and get ready. Again, she was finished first and thought all of my "rushing" was absolutely hilarious.

Sweet!

Now, I'm sure this little game will eventually lose its luster and I'll have to implement some kind of real consequences. But my thought is that, as long as I participate and keep the enthusiasm up, I can get at least get her once-a-week chores completed without unnecessary unpleasantness or procrastinating. For now, anyway.

Score one for Mom!

Dear Kid Saturday

Welcome to my first installment of Dear Kid Saturday for 2010. It’s been a really long time, I know. Since September, it’s been hard to talk about…family stuff. And frankly, my attention’s been focused elsewhere. As we head into 2010, however, we have every reason to feel optimistic, and I feel a renewed desire to celebrate the little moments that make parenting a preschooler so much fun.

So, without further ado, here’s this week’s letter to my special girl.

Dear Toilet,

You’ve been a dog now for about… three weeks?

It started as a game you played with the other dogs - you got on all fours, barked, rolled around with them. They went nuts, which you thought was hilarious. Pretty soon you wanted Daddy and I to play along. You wanted us to play “owner” and “pet shop guy,” and you begged to eat your dinner on the floor.

At first we tried to discourage you (honestly, the barking and following us is sort of… trying), but now we’ve settled into a situation we can all live with. There are a few rules - only girls get to go to school or to the grocery store, and no doggies are allowed at the dinner table. As long as we act out our roles and toss you a “biscuit” now and then, you’re happy.

Originally your name was “Princess Poodle,” but you changed it when Daddy tried to put you outside to go potty. You told us, “Call me Toilet now because I’m the only dog in the world that goes potty in the toilet!” OK then.

When you’re not being a dog, you’re doing some pretty amazing things. Over the summer you began sounding words out, and now you can read me a book with only a little bit of help. So cool! You’re also doing simple math in your head and asking insightful questions about science.

You get frustrated easily, though, so I’m careful not to push it. It seems that as long as there’s no pressure, you’re a learning machine. As soon as it becomes clear that I’m in any way invested in the outcome, you totally shut down (usually giving me wrong answers or repeating nonsense phrases - “eyeball alien” is your favorite). You’ll be starting kindergarten in the fall and I’m anxious to see if you have the same issues with your teachers…

You still spend most days singing. If you’re occupied with something - a game or a puzzle - you’ll sing pretty “aaaaaaah” songs that sound like the accompaniment to a fairy movie. When you play with dolls or, more commonly, your stuffed animals, you make up elaborate musicals, complete with ballads and big, exciting production numbers. You pick up lyrics quickly and love to play on the songs you already know by changing the melodies slightly or adding your own words.

You told me the other day that you’d like to learn how to “act out a character.” For a girl whose parents both have theatre degrees, that wasn’t a huge surprise. I’m investigating some kids’ acting classes… so we’ll see what we can do. In the mean time, I’m encouraging you to act out stories from your books, which you think is pretty fun, particularly if Mommy plays the wicked witch.

I love you so much, sweet girl.

More next week,
Mommy

Stuff I Love - Friday Edition

It's Friday, and the occasion calls for some eye candy. Today I'm serving up some delicious handmade treasures in tangerine. Enjoy!


OriginalsByLynnette


sketchbook


polishedtwo


retrofied


museglass


karingrow


Gingeroni1

WW - Who Needs a Human Baby, Seriously?