The Mamahood

Hot Spot

Last weekend we celebrated our older daughter's 4th birthday two weeks early, in anticipation of possibly quick travel to adopt our younger daughter (HA!). It was our first foray into the whole "book a place, have a party" realm, and let's just say, I'm now a believer.

We hosted our party in StudioKids Art, a cute little studio behind one of the grand old homes in neighboring Glen Ridge...it still felt homey and cozy, but without it being my home that needs to be cozy. The owner, Suzanne, did a great job engaging the kids in a few cool, frog-related crafts. (I heart my daughter for choosing cool, non-commerical themes like frogs and cats for her parties, instead of Diego and Disney Princess.) The kids put on an art show, and everyone applauded as they showed off their collages and clay frogs.

Then we chowed down on pizza, did an ice cream cake, and everyone headed off into the sunset (okay, the midday sun) with their creations, some lollipops and balloons. Including us...no cleanup required.

You best believe we'll be booking another birthday party there sometime in the future (perhaps for younger daughter, once she's old enough to wield a glue stick).

Being Creative

If you want to know who comes up with creative how-to projects for sites like Kodak Gallery's Idea Center, you've come to the right place. I love coming up with creative projects—even if I never make a single one. I can't lay claim to all of the ideas here, but quite a few of them are mine.

How hard is it with two?

Okay, all you moms out there...I'm starting to freak out about how to handle a 4-year-old and a 16-month-old and still maintain my sanity. Because my husband tends to work odd schedules, there are times when I'm on total bedtime duty, total morning duty, etc. And I'm trying to figure out how I'll get two kids into bed simultaneously. Anything you wish you'd known beforehand that you feel like sharing? Feel free to share your wisdom in the comments.

Birthday Party Hypocrite

When I first became a mom, I vowed I would never host a party for my daughter anywhere but home: With her summer birthday and our pool-and-patio backyard, it seemed silly to pay a few hundred bucks to have the party elsewhere...plus, I liked putting a personal touch into the party. I thought a Mickey D's or Gymboree party was too cookie cutter for my precious daughter.

Until now...we're now planning to host our daughter's party at an art studio, where all I have to do is address invitations and bring in a cake. Planning my daughter's last two birthday parties was exhausting...and when I factored in the amount of time I'd need to put it together, the costs for the elaborate menu...and calculated the hours obsessing at my per-hour rate, the outside party was a better bargain. And so now I have time to surf the web over and over  to find the best way to make a froggy cake for her.

How to Help

A huge aftershock hit China, heaping more destruction onto an already devastated area. There are so many stories coming out of there that make my heart so heavy—parents losing their only child, children losing their parents (just yesterday, one orphanage took in over 2 dozen children affected by the disaster). And so many people still missing, so many people without food or water, living under a tarp or the bare sky.

We get daily updates on how the orphanages are faring. There are still nearly a dozen orphanages that no one has been able to contact, and they fear the worst. Fortunately, at the rest, no one was injured; but buildings are unsafe and supplies are dwindling or gone.

There are several organizations that are on the ground right now, trying to help in the earthquake zone. Here are a few that I support and would recommend as good charities who will do their best to help those in need, if you're feeling so inclined:

Love Without Boundaries
Half the Sky
Spence-Chapin (our agency, which is working in conjunction with Americares; specify Earthquake Relief)

Mother's Day Goodness

Today is my third Mother's Day as a mom, and the best one yet. So far, it's included everything a mom could want:
1. A nice long sleep-in (past 10!)
2. iced coffee
3. a little girl screaming "Happy Mother's Day" at the top of her lungs as she hurtles toward me with a bouquet of flowers
4. an adorable handmade purse with a picture of my daughter and "I love you" painstakingly written on one side, and the reasons she loves me on the other, highlighting my culinary skills and fashion prowess..."She makes me good food" and "She buys me pretty clothes" are among them. (You know I'm going to carry this purse with pride!)
5. two cute sets of pjs (AKA my work clothes)
6. a delicious breakfast, made with love by my husband (and my daughter)
7. Dozens of fierce hugs and kisses and lots of "I love yous"

Wishing all the moms out there a Mother's Day filled with laughter, love and lots and lots of hugs.

Obsession

My daughter loves Fred from Scooby Doo. Not in a crush sort of way, but in a scary, "I need to be him" sort of way. The way that requires wearing white shirts and blue pants every day, and results in temper tantrums if the only white shirts in her drawer have flowers on them. The way that requires us to call her "Fred" and answer to "Shaggy" and "Daph-a-nee" or again, meltdown.

So we tried banning the Scooby gang from our TV, and requiring her to put some color back in her wardrobe. We were doing pretty good...she wore purple and orange and pink, and Fred joined her posse of imaginary friends, instead of being her. Until we decided to let her watch just one episode last night.

Zoinks! We're back at square one this morning. White shirt, blue pants. (Thank God she hasn't asked for that weird orange scarf.) Tantrum because Mommy wanted to be Mommy, not Shaggy.

So we're hiding her Scooby book, and putting Scooby out to pasture. And we're scanning the channels for a healthier obsession....we like Super Why! and Ni, Hao Kai-Lan around here, but both are past their prime as far as she's concerned. Suggestions?

For the Birds

Our latest arrival is impending, so our family has kicked the house revival into high gear (since you know I won't have time to go through a mountain of paperwork with a toddler and preschooler underfoot). And of course, we have to create a nest where our little one can get cozy. After much internal debate (including our older daughter's insistence that we should decorate the younger daughter's room with her crush's photos), we're going for a bird theme. The room will be sky blue with clouds painted on it, and we're decking the walls with a big tree decal and painted birdhouses. Originally, I had planned to lovingly make a quilt for her bed, but reality has sunk in...since I managed to create one single square in the past six months, I think we're purchasing the cute (and yes, probably vastly overpriced) bird bedding from Pottery Barn Kids (so far, we've picked up the crib sheet and blanket, but still need the quilt and the pillowcase). Beyond the crib, we're getting a storage desk that can double as a changing table for now, and a tall dresser. I hope she'll like it!

Birthday Party Bias

My daughter has two preschools. One is a half-day program for two days a week, the other a full-day program three days a week. And she seems to be pretty darned popular at both. The problem? For the kids in the half-day class, Friday afternoons have become the "it" time to host birthday parties. Which means that either A. I have to give up precious work time (and the full-day program that I've paid for), so my daughter can be the belle of the ball...er, birthday party or B. She has to miss out on a day at the movies, a party at a gymnastics place, etc.

Neither option exactly floats my boat. But because of my current workload, B is the only option. Unless, of course, I can convince the SAHMs who dominate my daughter's preschool that actually, Saturday would be a much better choice. Not very likely though, I can imagine.

Mission Impossible = Mission Accomplished

Our potty training saga (which lasted longer than Britney Spears' marriage...I think) has reached its long-awaited conclusion...after a year's worth of bribes, begging, flattery and flat-out threats, all it took to get her to do the dead was a simple combination of Miralax, a really high fiber diet, and a well-timed request to have our daughter toss out her remaining pull-ups. Though I have to hand it to the girl...she fought it to the bitter end, holding her #2 so long she screamed from the shooting pain in her stomach. (And boy, it was tough watching her cry and knowing it was just from her pure stubbornness.) That'll be an extra few hundred or so we can put in the bank...at least until our next child makes his or her appearance!