May 2007

I had an incident today. I kicked an SUV and looked around for a blunt object with which to smash the windshield while carrying my baby in his bucket seat. Not my finest moment.

Instead of finding a bat handy, when I looked around, I saw a man with his very-pregnant wife pushing a grocery cart to their car (did I forget to mention that I was in a very crowded parking lot at the time?) and nearly burst into tears of gratitude.

“Can you please help me? This person has parked too close to my car so I can’t fit the carseat in and I don’t know what to do!”
The man replied, “is the baby in there? Can you go in the other side?”

This told me a few things right off the bat:

• they were true rookies-to-be. Why would I have an empty carseat in my hand at the grocery store? Aww, how sweet.
• he was helpful and a problem solver.
• they must not have seen me kick the SUV
• and within a minute, my problem was solved!!

Thank you kind strangers!

I couldn’t have put the carseat in by myself going from the other door because of the toddler seat already on that side, but the thoughtful, ingenious father-to-be helped me.

What are you supposed to do when the people are parked too close to you to fit the baby seat back in the car? This happened to me once with Holden too but I had a friend with me…

Enter the “Daddy Needs Your Stories” Father’s Day Contest for a chance to win a free copy of the new book, Daddy Needs a Drink: An Irreverent Look at Parenting from a Dad Who Truly Loves His Kids– Even When They’re Driving Him Nuts by Robert Wilder.

Here’s your chance to win fatherhood* immortality (enduring DNA aside): Submit a 500-word essay on the subject “My Favorite Father’s Day Story” by June 1, 2007. Three winners will have their work posted on the Robert Wilder website and receive a signed copy of Daddy Needs a Drink.

Estimated value of prize: $12.00. Estimated emotional value: priceless.
* You do not have to be a father to enter.

That’s a potential payoff of $.24 per word! More details at www.robertwilder.com/contest.html. Good luck!

Call it “baby crack”. Call it “developmentally appropriate media.” Whichever you call it, my kid likes it.

The new Baby IQ DVD, The World Around Us, holds a special allure for Julian because one of the stars is a stuffed animal he owns. This orangutan we call “Otis.” Hence, the video is asked for by request, “I want the Otis video”. He likes it so much that we brought it on the airplane with us to Mexico, and then, in Mexico, watched it at least once per day for 5 days.

In terms of a review, I don’t think it really matters what I say, what my husband says, or what Grandma Marilyn says. We’ve all watched it with him, and spent time pointing out the colors, the kids jumping, the numbers being counted. But what makes me put it on again and again is that when he’s watching, and I’m in the kitchen (bad mommy!) I can hear him narrating the whole thing in a constant stream of commentary. “That’s a rainbow. What’s in there? It’s a clown! Now it’s raining. That’s purple flowers!” He is completely engaged and anticipating his favorite segments.

And when “Otis” comes on the screen, watch out. I cannot help but run over to the couch and kiss him to celebrate the big moment. The adorable look of delight on Julian’s face is the exact reason we keep our terrible-two around.

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Visit the Parent Bloggers Network to read other bloggers opinions on this DVD.

A few weeks ago we mentioned that moms could contribute recipes to a cookbook, concieved by the MothersClick.com folks, that would then be available for purchase. It’s hard-covered, includes more than 50 recipes, and features an intro by Nigella Lawson. And we did not lie. It’s now available.

If you want to purchase in time for Mother’s Day, today’s the day to do it.

And to make it even sweeter: 100% of proceeds of book sales are donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

I just finished reading Three-Martini Family Vacation: A Field Guide to Intrepid Parenting and I fell in love with Christie Mellor’s candid way of telling me to get my ill-mannered children to behave before taking them on a fun, inexpensive holiday.

Her whole philosophy seems closely linked to the Rookie Mom’s notion of “do what YOU want to do” but in a snarkier, funnier tone. She gives tips on broadening your child’s palate away from “white foods” and explains the many reasons why it’s better to stay with friends than a theme park.

I wish I had some bad stuff to say to make my review a little more balanced, but I gobbled this book up. Maybe the short, quippy chapters are targeted at the sleep-deprived set. Is that a dig?

My favorite part — and what I plan to try immediately with my husband, infant, toddler, and no money — is the “surprise” vacation where you drive a few hours in any direction and just wing it. Family members can take turn being the king or queen for the day (maybe Milo won’t get a turn) and we have to do what the royal highness wants for food and fun.

Yeah, maybe on Holden’s day we’ll be riding trains, squishing play doh into poop shapes, and eating goldfish crackers, but then I’ll get a turn. Hooray!

Or “How to remodel a kitchen while six months pregnant with kid #2 and be so happy you could cry!”

I don’t know whether I can actually reach that very small target audience of parents of babies and toddlers that live in their own 100+ year old bungalows and are desperate for a kitchen remodel… let alone those of you who need to have it done NOW because another baby is on the way, but isn’t that what the Internets are for?

Top five must-have improvements (if you live in my house):

1. Dishwasher. The appliance that started it all. We moved heaven and earth (and stove, fridge, and sink) to get a dishwasher before Milo was born. And I love it every day.
2. Instant Hot. We debated this and decided against it for cost reasons before changing our minds and doing it anyway. I use ours every day for tea, oatmeal, soup, quickly making veggies, melting butter, sterilizing pacifiers, you name it! We got the one that does cold water too and chucked out the Brita.
3. “Green-ness”. We got cabinets made with FSC certified wood and ultra low VOC, urea-formaldehyde finishes from Eco-Home so we feel good that it’s healthy for our kids and the environment. Some sort of Mother Earth thing I guess. It all cost about the same as something from Home Depot, so we felt good about supporting our local shop without having to suffer too much for it.
4. Granite. I feel silly extolling the virtues of a granite counter top, but here’s why: it magically defrosts bricks of food in the time it takes us to spend an afternoon at Totland. (oh yeah, and the granite counter was the only non-green upgrade to our kitchen. shhhhh)
5. Big sink. We got a big ol’ baby-washing size sink from eBay. So I’m recommending a big sink that can fit a baby or a roasting pan (not both at the same time!) and also looking for deals on eBay.

Our contractor, Chris Paganelli was awesome, professional, green, and mighty timely. I needed someone to respect that the baby was coming and we didn’t want to live in the back of the house forever. Chris was a rookie parent himself and was excellent to work with.

Tips for living in a small space with no kitchen:

• Toys. We had to swap our playroom for the office because of the location of our kitchen. Consequently we hid 75% of the toys in boxes and untouchable closets for the duration of our short remodel. Legos, blocks, and other small creative toys are key.
• Play outside. If it’s winter, bundle the kids up and get out of the house anyway. We spent our time splashing in puddles and seeking out playdates.
• Food. Yeah, we still had to eat. We moved our microwave to the office (now dining room/play room) and bought a mini fridge from Craigs List. After the remodel, we sold the fridge back to the world for the same price. We ate lots of prepared grocery meals, takeout, and anything requiring limited prep (no cutting).
• Dishes. Disposable (sorry to admit it) and non-breakable melamine dishes from Target. We each got one bowl, one plate, one camping cup, and a few pieces of cutlery. Since dishes were being done in the bathroom, it’s best to limit the amount. I recommend a washpan and good scraping.

Well, those are some of the highlights… I’m happy to answer any and all questions!

But this gingerbread house kit from Twinkle, for the non-crafty among us, is darn cute. I would like to have it so that we can “decorate” it and put it out during the holidays, but not have to deal with candy and frosting.

Ok, who am I? Did I really just wish for a seasonal decorative item? Don’t I know that I am against seasonal decorative items? I’ve seriously lost it. Must be the hormones.

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Anyone else who married into Christmas might appreciate this, too. Oy vey.