My 5-Year Old Needs a Secretary

Ok, so you warned me. Before Chatterbox started kindergarten, I was put on notice by all of you primary school aficionados that the paperwork and homework involved was no joke. I laughed. I scoffed. I did not take heed. Well. The joke's on me!

Let me introduce you to the Daily Folder. It's brightly colored and is adorned with a lovable little frog sporting the motto: "Fully Responsible Organized and Growing." But do not be fooled. This Daily Folder and me? We have a love-hate relationship. Each day Hubby or I have to initial the Behavior Chart and return it back to the teacher. Then, there's usually about 3 - 5 notices or forms that need reading and filling out.

And don't get me started on the items that require a payment.

Continue reading My 5-Year Old Needs a Secretary...

Summer Camp 2.0

Apparently summer camp isn't what it used to be. My daughter went to day camp last week (for the first time!) and had a blast. Every day was chock-full of activities and the awesome field trips. Of course, it cost us an arm and a leg, but hey - she thoroughly enjoyed herself and so it was worth it for us.

The registration package before camp was my first clue that summer camp, and kids in general, have come a long way since I went to camp back in my day.


Continue reading "Summer Camp 2.0" on DC Metro Moms

Saying "No"

Ever since I was a little girl, I've been a people pleaser. Whether it was my parents, my teachers, or my (gag) boyfriends, I've always tried to make everyone happy - even if it was to my detriment. It didn't help that I am also a classic overachiever and a Type A personality, which lent itself well to law school and the bar exam, and even motherhood, where I proudly sport the title of Alpha Mom. It's only been in recent months that I've realized that this "quality" of mine to do it all and do it well might actually be more of a curse than a blessing.

Continue reading "Saying 'No'" at DC Metro Moms Blog...

Rollin' with the DC Metro Moms

Last week I had the privilege of attending two awesome events with my fellow DC Metro Mom bloggers. First, let me say that the DCMMB crew rocks. The personalities are fabulous, there are jokes aplenty and a good time is sure to be had by all when everyone gets together.

On Monday we were invited to a party, graciously hosted just for us by Quaker Oats, at Good Stuff Eatery. While that would have been reason enough to celebrate, the cool-factor of the event shot through the roof when we learned that the restaurant's owner, Chef Spike from Bravo TV's Top Chef series was going to be hanging out with us! You know how much I love Top Chef and so the chance to meet Chef Spike in person was beyond amazing. He was funny, friendly and down-to-earth - just as I expected!



Later on in the week were invited to a luncheon at PBS headquarters to meet with the big dogs behind the hit kids' show SUPER WHY. The PBS crew couldn't have been better hosts. Right off of the elevator, I was greeted by Clifford the Big Red Dog and got to enjoy a delicious lunch in the company of, of course, the rockin' DCMMB bunch and SUPER WHY Creator and Executive Producer, Angela C. Santomero, and Lesli Rotenberg, PBS' Senior Vice President of Children's Media. The event was held to share the research and development of PBS KIDS shows like SUPER WHY, one of PBS KIDS most popular shows for preschoolers. You can read all about our visit to PBS here, but one thing I must say is that I was struck by how much careful thought and research goes to into every second of the SUPER WHY show. If you are a parent of a preschooler wondering what channel to turn the TV to for your little one, you can rest assured that the brains (and moms) behind the PBS Kids programming have the best interests of your little ones first and foremost in their minds. The visit, presentation, and discussion made a huge impression on me and it's for that reason - and not because of the generous swag bags that they sent us home with - that I have become a total PBS Kids cheerleader in my home. Not only for the television shows, but also for the educational and entertaining content that is provided online at PBSKids.org The website is uber kid-friendly, interactive and has a ton of great games, quizzes and activites for kids to do. I had to drag Chatterbox away from my laptop (it's Mommy's turn now!) last night because she was so into playing the SUPER WHY games. And that's not all - now you can download their at-home educational curriculum chock-full of fun learning activities to do with your preschooler called Learning With SUPER WHY, right here.

I remember growing up on PBS (Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, Mr. Rogers - the whole deal) and so I am quite comforted and touched by the fact that my kids will, hopefully, have an affinity for PBS too.

Teacher Appreciation Week and Me: An Action Adventure

If you have school-age kids then you probably know that this week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Meaning that there is just one more thing you have to remember to add to your insanely busy schedule. Don't get me wrong - I have the utmost respect for teachers and completely appreciate all that they do - I just do not have a spare moment to throw another task into the mix of my hectic daily shuffle. [Incidentally, apparently some teachers don't even really want parents to jump thru all these hoops anyway] But, like I always do, I found a way to squeeze this in and last night, after a fantastically-fun night on the town with the DC Metro Moms crew and Chef Spike, I headed to the grocery store at 10pm (yes, insanity) to pick up breakfast items for Chatterbox's teachers to enjoy this morning.

As luck would have it, Chatterbox woke up with a runny nose and cough (no fever, phew!) so we decided to keep her home. I have a big day at work today so I was rushing to get ready -- appreciative of the fact that I did not have to wrestle Chatterbox into her school clothes, coerce her to eat more than a crumb of her breakfast and check her backpack -- when I realized "Oh crap! I'm supposed to send the breakfast stuff with the nanny when she dropped Chatterbox to school!" So much for that plan since I wasn't going to ask the nanny to lug three kids all the way to school to take the food when no one was actually going to school today.

And so the initial calmness of the morning was short-lived. I tried calling the other parent who was organizing the breakfast to see if we could postpone until tomorrow, but she had already bought her items and they were donuts and bagels that really wouldn't keep until tomorrow. So, hubby and I flew out of the house as soon as the nanny arrived, drove the opposite way of work in traffic to drop off the fruit salad and juice to the school (where the teacher was SUPER thankful, by the way) and drove back to our metro station to start the lengthy commute to the city.

Now I know why I always feel disheveled and harried by the time I get to work.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!

Identity Crisis

I'm having a bit of an identity crisis. And it's not the kind you think. You see, I have an online identity separate from my IRL identity. It all started when I first began blogging and chose to blog under an alias for a variety of reasons: to protect my family, to avoid embarrassment, to not jeopardize my job. But then, I joined Facebook for work reasons (no, really! I monitor new media and high-tech products to keep tabs on the business practices of technology companies). The problem is, that I joined FB waaaay back when you had to be invited to join through a network.

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Can Busy Moms Be Green?

I consider myself a environmentally-conscious person, you know, aware of the world's issues and my place in it. Like global warming. And pollution. At home we recycle, we turn off unecessary lights (tho' that's more because Hubby is "thrifty" that us being green), and we teach our kids not to waste things like water or food. So we're trying.

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"Salma Hayek Breastfeeds African Baby"

Talk about a headline that grabs your attention. I first heard about this story on a radio show and then, of course, immediately googled the headline as soon as I could get my hands on a computer. The backstory is that Salma (I can call her that since we're such close and personal friends) was on a Goodwill trip to Sierra Leone and Nightline was along for the ride to document her trip. While on the trip, she met a mother whose milk had dried up and who was unable to feed her hungry newborn baby. So...Salma nursed the baby herself.

Continue reading...

Obama's i-Vacation

Apparently President-Elect Obama, who has been so tech-forward throughout his campaign, will be giving up his famous Blackberry when he takes office in January. Why? There are just too many safety and public scrutiny concerns with the President having the ability to access and send email. (Could you just imagine the things we would have heard if George W. Bush was sending email and it was somehow leaked? I shudder at the thought). Read more...

Pumping at Work: A Tutorial

It's official. My (short) maternity leave is over and I'm back at work. Nevermind the commute, the long days, having to leave my adorable little baby behind -- the most frustrating thing about being back at work is...having to pump. You would think that by now I would be an expert at this since this is baby #3 for me, but the truth of the matter is that it just doesn't get easier! Always one to help others though, I offer you the following tips when it comes to doing your motherly duty on the job.

1. Each morning, when leaving the house remember to pack ALL parts of your pumping paraphernalia to take along with you. This will avoid you getting into an argument with your husband, with whom you are carpooling, about having to turn around and go back home because you left your shields in the microwave sterilizer pouch on the kitchen counter. Read More.

Check Me Out...

I'm over here today...

Check Me Out...

I'm over here today.

Hectic

Is the word for my life today. You know how it is when you return home from being out of town - the refrigerator is empty, the luggage needs to be unpacked, clothes need to be washed, and oh yeah - I need to spend the day at WORK.

Until I can find time to post about our trip, surf on over to DC Metro Moms Blog and read my post from Friday. It's a guaranteed chuckle.

Fretting Over Your Nanny's Holiday Bonus?

Check out my post over at DC Metro Moms Blog.

We're Not In Kansas Anymore...

Or in 1988 for that matter. You know how I know? Halloween has changed my friends! And it's depressing if you ask me. I'm a sucker for holidays. No matter what, I'm right there decorating the house or throwing a themed party or what have you. So now that my two are old enough to get dressed up and appreciate the trick o' treating aspect of Halloween, I was thoroughly excited and looking forward to tonight. We got all dressed up (myself included) and, along with skeptical-paranoid-overprotective hubby, set out for the neighborhood.

Here's why things are different:

1. Last week, Chatterbox got a note home from school that the students weren't to wear any Halloween costumes to school today. I assume it was so as not to offend those that don't celebrate the holiday and to remain politically correct in these hyper-sensitive times. Whatever.

2. Tonight, we met up with some neighbors and made the rounds only of houses that we knew. Remember the good old days when you and your siblings or friends walked the neighborhood going door to door until your candy bag was overflowing? And then you came home, dumped your loot onto the living room floor and set back out for Round 2??

3. We hid the candy the girls collected on our rounds and replaced it with candy that I bought to give out to the neighborhood kids. This was hubby's idea. I had just planned on carefully checking the candy that the kids brought home, throwing out anything suspicious or homemade. But like I said, I live with skeptical-paranoid-overprotective hubby so he wasn't having it. And of course the girls were none the wiser and munched away contentedly on Mommy's safe and secure Costco candy stash.

4. It's 9pm and it seems that the trick o' treating time is over! My doorbell has stopped ringing and I still have a bunch of candy left to handout. Now I distinctly remember going until 11pm some Halloweens. I guess nowadays it's all about going trick o' treating at your local mall or zoo at 4pm and calling it quits after collecting a reasonable amount of animal crackers, boxed raisins and pretzels packs. BO-RING.

But what are you gonna do? Better to be safe than sorry. All I know is that the good old days are gone. No more homemade rice krispie treats from Ms. Dunwoody around the corner and no more gorging on assorted sweets lest your parents be accused of contributing to the nation's child obesity epidemic.

We're not in Kansas anymore. Or at least we're not in Montreal where I grew up.

I bet they're still out trick o' treating there.

This entry is cross-posted at DC Metro Moms Blog.

Love It! Thursdays - Preempted...

I know, I know, it's Thursday. But since there is so much going on today, and with us generally, LIT is on hold...

In the meantime, head on over to DC Metro Moms Blog to read my most recent post about the latest hot issue in mommyland. It's also Testosterone Day at DCMMB so take a minute to check that out too.