Tall Tales… Just Wash Your Fruit.

I’ve found in my time being a mother it’s one thing to offer advice, it’s another to make up totally tall tales about the lesson at hand. The lesson was to wash my fruit before I give it to my son (duh.) This was a no brainer and I always rinse my fruit whether it states that it’s been pre-washed or not.

Of course I get a certain family member telling me that she had a friend whose daughter had strawberries that weren’t washed who ended up in the ER and died because of it. With that said I’m starting to believe she knows a lot of people with dead children *rolls eyes* since this happened locally I figured there would have been a write up done about it but I’m rather sure such a thing didn’t happen.

Yes, as a parent I understand there are certain precautions that need to be taken but when offering advice it’s a little drastic to be like “I knew someone who lost a child because…” It’s stressful enough having a child that you’re only trying to do right by, adding over dramatized advice only adds to the stress.

Long story short, wash your fruit and veggies before you give them to your kids… not because they’re going to end up in the ER… but more likely because if they end up with a nasty stomach ache you’re going to be the one dealing with the nasty consequences.

Free Kindle Day For “Broken Shards Of A Masterpiece”

Hello everyone, I figured I would post this up here to help a man out (“man” being my husband.”) He recently put out a short story anthology “Broken Shards of a Masterpiece” which is free on Kindle today! The short stories are pretty intense and are not at all sunshine and butterflies… is if you’re into dark stories of lust, love, life and death I totally suggest that you pick this gem up for free on kindle today! http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Shards-Masterpiece-ebook/dp/B00C32N5RI

Plus yours truly also has a feature short story in it as well (and no it’s not about kids)

A True Mother’s Day Post

So my mothers day long weekend wasn’t exactly glamorous by any means. All supposed activities were cancelled and I even opted out of having my gift picked up, at the end of the day I was beyond tired and simply wanted to sit down. Why is this? Because I am a mom. Because I had a little boy who ended up with a touch of heatstroke. It began Friday night when he gave me the early gift of rein acting a scene from The Exorcist which ended up with mom wearing more puke than she ever desired, my husband cleaned up the floor (and everything else that was in range of being a vomit target) as I took him upstairs to bathe… it was a very late night. Saturday my son was less than compliant as he complained of a headache, being cold (even though it was 30c outside) and wanted to go for an early nap which in the end mom happily obliged but only got to lay down for maybe an hour.

I did get to go out dancing Saturday night as dad took the reins and held down the fort as Mr. cranky pants went to bed fairly early. After a night of coming home late and crawling into bed even later my son was up with the birds and came into the bedroom yelling “mommy” at the top of his lungs. My husband did try to allow me a little more sleep but apparently couldn’t outwit our 3 year old as he ended up back in the bedroom beckoning for me to get up. The weather wasn’t compliant with my plans to go out and enjoy a trek across some suspension bridges (especially with a 3 year old) so that was scratched off the list right away, we ended up going out for a bit with plans to grab my mother’s day gift (since I knew what I wanted and my husband agreed it would be easier if I were to just show him.) Unfortunately a little someone wasn’t exactly feeling up to par so we came home. After much whining my son wanted to go for a nap which I was happy with because I was so tired and could use the sleep, unfortunately it was all of an hour long nap (just enough time for me to fall into a good sleep to be woken up again with “MOMMY!”)

Of coursed when your child has heatstroke they want nothing to eat or drink so there was a special trip made to McDonalds for french-fries and cream soda, those were eaten in the car as mom and daddy drove around because he was finally content with eating and drinking and we didn’t want to break stride. There was much soothing as my child cried and whined in my arms that he didn’t feel well, as I coaxed him into drinking more fluids as his tears soaked my shirt. There have been many instances where he’s gotten upset because I haven’t been dead on with my mommy senses knowing exactly what he wants. I must say dinner was good even though it was simple and eaten quickly, it turned out to be the most peaceful part of the day since kiddo was on the couch watching Land Before Time.

Now here I sit, tired as heck and not looking like I had a blissful, enjoyable mother’s day… but my son is feeling better, he’s smiling and laughing now and running around which makes it all worth it, I would give a day for time anytime… because I am his mom.

Sometimes We Forget About Down Time

The past two weeks have been totally nuts between celebrating kiddo’s 3^rd birthday (with more than one party, actually there were two of them.) We’ve also been really busy with my husband’s sister and brother in law moving to the city which was a huge move for them, and also with people coming in to visit. This has left our son most likely feeling a little overwhelmed. It’s hard not to forget that little people can become overwhelmed when there’s so much going on. Last night I was wondering why suddenly he was acting up so much at his birthday dinner, he wasn’t listening and didn’t want to sit and eat, he was all over the place being passed between uncles and friends, we took him to an arcade/mini golf afterwards where he ran himself into exhaustion. It was obvious now that I think about it, for the past two weeks we’ve been on the go constantly with absolutely no down time, he was being over stimulated and had simply had enough.

Today we had a relaxing day, we had a nice slow morning, we went over to my best friends place (who lives right beside us.) We let the kids play in the pool while mom’s got some sun, it was an easy going day where the schedule was rather loose, nap actually happened on time because by the time we got home I had a very wet and played out little boy, but he was happy.

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life it’s easy to forget that we ALL need down time.

Oh The Joys Of Little Boys, Never Saw This Coming (Mom’s Now You Know.)

Now some parents might think me horrible for posting this, but this is the nitty gritty shit that parents get to deal with… this is one of those things that people who aren’t parents have no idea actually HAPPEN to parents.

I had to take my son to the ER tonight… not because he stuck peas up his nose, not because he ingested something strange from a container with a skull on it… nope. What happened? Well my little boy had placed his penis on the potty and was taking a pee all while trying to keep the lid (yes the 2^nd heavier lid) up. He failed to do so and mom failed to catch it as it came smashing down on him. I don’t know who screeched louder as my thoughts were “oh my god my little boy!” My son did a scream and dance as I grabbed him and cradled him trying to assure him it was okay… I looked down and to my horror saw blood. I put a cold cloth on him and let him cradle against me as I called my parents saying I needed them to take me to the hospital. By the time we arrived he was incredibly swollen but all things considered he was calm and asking nurses for stickers. My biggest fear was if there was any internal damage and about it being cut. Luckily the people were great and got us in fairly quickly, the two doctors that were on scene looked like they were bikers with their tattoo’s and what not, they took a look and assured me that everything was going to be fine… bruised… sore but fine. In any case I’ve been told to continue with polysporine and keeping the area clean for the next while…

I’ve hear of the zipper catcher and even figured I would deal with that eventually with my son but I never foresaw that the toilet could be a potential hazard, so there you go mom’s… now you know.

Rain Rain Go Away

It’s been raining lately which I hate because that means either being cooped up in the house, doing lap after lap around the stupid mall, or paying way too much money to go to a kids play place where every other kid in the city is also visiting.

Here are some things I’ve found keep kiddo busy for at least an hour and then some.

Painting: I know you might cringe at the though of the mess but what I’ve done has worked quite well. I get acrylic paint, put little dabs of it into an ice tray and then put q-tips in to match the color of paint. For canvas I use big department store clothing boxes (cut in half.) Because the q-tips are so small they work perfectly for little hands and you don’t get a giant mess (as long as you remind your child this isn’t finger-painting.)

Cornstarch Goop: Cornstarch + coloured water + big baking pan to put the concoction on = hours of fun, plus you can keep your goop in a sealed container and use it again. Heck even I love playing with this stuff, it starts a solid and becomes a liquid in your hands as you drizzle it back down onto the pan. I recommend a baking pan because yet again… LESS MESS! This stuff is incredibly forgivable if it does make a mess though because all you need is some soapy water for clean up.

Forts: I’ve found if you “cheat” a little and use string to tie the corners of large sheets to things they last longer and actually stay up fairly well. Forget trying to jimmy them over top of things and setting heavier objects on them so they don’t slip.

Run around the house: chase each other around the house to wear out energy, move furniture aside and let loose, it’ll burn calories, and by the end you’ll both be ready for a nap.

Do a movie day: pop some popcorn, make some juice, have some other snacks and snuggle up together on the couch with a big blanket and re-watch some good ol’ classics.

Bipolar About Daycare

It’s come up that I have the opportunity (and I say opportunity for a reason) to put my son into daycare. With life forever changing, prospects of new jobs, and my grandparents who have been babysitting him getting older it’s come up that the best thing for him would be daycare/preschool. I do fully agree, since I only have one friend my age with a child my son’s age he hasn’t had the chance to really make friends or socialize, this would be excellent for him.

As a mom I’m totally going through what seems bipolar emotions of my “baby” going off to daycare. I’m sure the mere thought of it has aged me 5 years, it’s daunting to think of my child being in an organized group setting with other children. I dread the thought of him having temper tantrums, time outs, and hitting. My child has funny quirks like for some reason he doesn’t pull his own pants up after he’s done in the bathroom, he calls pinecones “kookooks” and thinks that his stuffed Tiger is real. Even writing this entry is giving me gray hair.

There’s also the opposite side of the spectrum, the pride, the joy of him coming into being his own person. The thoughts of a newer wardrobe, how fun it’ll be to pack lunches, going out and having him pick out a backpack and lunchbox, having him come home with crafts and making new friends.

Even in working with kids my entire adult career I’ve seen it all and I’m sure that those working in the daycare have also seen their fair share of WTF’s but I’m positive it’ll be my child who pulls a new one.