And I Was Worried About Princess Costumes

Silly me. Just last week I told my mother it was a-ok to buy T.D. costumes but just NO DISNEY PRINCESSES. I said yes to fairies and would actually rather her wear something off a clearance rack from a Halloween store. Bottle of Ketchup? Sure. Hershey Kiss? That is fine with me. Jasmine from Aladdin? Whoa there! Wait just a minute.I have a rule in our house about toys like this. No princesses, no divas and no queens. I don't like commercialized bedding or clothing either. A Dora t-shirt. Not in this house. I highly discourage people buying this stuff for T.D. for many reasons. First, I think it looks cheap. Second, as if there isn't enough advertising thrown at kids. Why continually have it in my house? I'm getting off track here. I'm really worried about the whole Princess Mentality with … [Read more...]

The Dash Two Factor

What is it about a kid free weekend that makes you wonder and discuss the idea of having another child? That topic came up more than once for H and I this sans T.D. weekend. For me, it surrounded me and clouded my thoughts, making me jump from one opinion to the next never able to land on a definite decision. When it comes to the idea of having another child many thoughts crowd my brain. They plague me and doubt looms large. Can we afford another child? How are we going to have room for another one? Can I stand the body upheaval again and the sickness I might have all the while caring for T.D. and not lose my ever-lovin' mind? I'm not so sure. I am an only child. I see nothing wrong with only children despite H's jokes of, "only children are weird..." I would love to give T.D. a sibling … [Read more...]

Us Against Them

Run! Run 'em hard! C'mon kids! Let's run over here. Climb the rocks! Look at the pretty gazebo! Oooh! Climb the steps kids, climb them. Up, down. Up, down. That's it!From six a.m. until 9 p.m. four adults spent an entire day running three little girls ragged. Four adults against three kids under the age of three. And can I just say, those girls kicked our asses. We did it all for a night on the town. Free babysitting by my parents had us giddy with excitement and almost a bit drunk on the freedom of it all. Who would be the victors? The sweet little girls or the hungry for drinks and adult conversation parents?In the morning it was endless rounds of strolling Elmo and tea parties. We ran them around the yard and chased butterflies. We kept them hydrated of course, but we didn't stop when … [Read more...]

Old Biddies Need Not Apply

Dining out with kids. It's a tough situation. There are two sides to it and I'm always torn. In my pre-kid days I was less than tolerant to screaming children in restaurants. Running around? That was a definite no-no. Control that child. Then, I had a kid. I realized that they are less than controllable 100% of the time. However, it doesn't mean that I believe that kids should be able to do or say what they want when in a public place like a restaurant. That being said, when you have five kids ages six and under (also known as not the best idea) plus four women who lunch at one table. There will be noise. You put four ladies who lunch together and there will be a downright ruckus. You add wine and you might as well shut the whole place down.So lady with the helmet head much like ol' Mummy … [Read more...]

Backlash?

This recent entry in Newsweek's 'My Turn' section made me pause. Could it be that there is a backlash forming against 'extreme parenting'? Read the article before delving further into this post or it won't make much sense. Done reading? Ok, good. First, I would like to say that I could not agree more with what Ms. Friedman has to say regarding people backing off women's biological clocks. It is no one's business but the couple or the woman's. Stop asking that question people! Stop touching pregnant and not-pregnant belly's! I'm still amazed at how it's even done to us folks who have already reproduced. Maybe we want to hang out in the 'only child' club for a bit longer than others. And that's just fine. My uterus doesn't work well under pressure. No one's does. Second, Friedman talks … [Read more...]