Wednesday, April 28, 2010

A few weeks ago, I had my very first parent-teacher conference for my daughter.

She's two.

She goes to school two days a week.

Anyway.

One of the things the teacher said was that "Ella serenades them all at naptime with one or two songs before going to sleep.”

This wasn’t especially surprising because 1) she comes from a long line of musicians (his side, not mine), and 2) she sings and/or plays “instruments” ALL.DAY.LONG. at home.

However, it did send me into fits of giggles in the car wondering exactly what E sings to the classroom each time.

Right now, she’s really into singing Pink’s “So what? I’m still a rock star. I’ve got my rock moves…” (except the Chippettes version, of course).

Was this her naptime lullaby, or did she choose one of the others in her two-year-old repertoire?

As with any child, E has her own…well…adaptation of songs.

As I’ve mentioned before, one of her favorites is Beyonce’s “All the Single Babies” (known as “All the Single Ladies” to most of you) complete with video-like hand motions. (She hasn’t seen the video, but I might’ve shown her a move or two…)



However, the one that really made me snort thinking of her singing it to the class is a preschool Bible song called, “Rise and Shine.”

The song starts like this, “Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory.”

However, E sings, “Rise and shine and give God the Brobee, Brobee.”

(In case you didn’t know, Brobee is character from Yo Gabba Gabba.)

And these, my friends, make up the songs my daughter is singing to her preschool class.

And now I’m wondering exactly what kind of “conferencing” the teachers are doing about E’s parents?

And then I think, "So what? We're still rock stars. At least we've got our rock moves..."

Monday, April 12, 2010

There's nothing like a sunny, 60-plus degree day at the park to make me realize how lucky I am.

1. I'm grateful for the flexibility in a WAHM schedule where I can take day time to spend doing fun things with the munchkin, and

2. I'm especially grateful for the blessing of another wonderful daughter added to our family.

As we're sitting at the park on a long, bench swing, I tried to hold my toddler's hand. Sad that she pulled away I said, "I would like to hold hands. Some day very soon you won't think it's cool to hang out with me, and even worse, you probably won't even like me very much."

To which she replied in a perfect two year old retort?

"Hahahahaha! I know, mommy, I know..."

And she proceeded to scoot all the way to the end of the swing.

And so it begins...

Saturday, April 10, 2010

I happen to think there are way worse things than texting and driving...like having a toddler in your back seat.

Before I get all of the you're-insane-texting-is-deadly-I-can't-believe-you're-being-so-irresponsible-to-post-this hate, you might want to get in line.

I suggest starting here.

And consider this, do you really think that statistics are going to show that someone crashed  because she had to lean down to retrieve a kid's meal chicken nugget that rolled under the front seat?

I think not.

I'm not saying texting and driving isn't dangerous. It is very dangerous, as Will Smith proved. And he also proved sitting in a bathtub with a jellyfish was dangerous. See how that works? There can be more than one dangerous thing at a time.

I'm all for apps that download onto new (or young) driver's phones and disable texting while driving. I think that should be part of a parent's choice. However, I'm not so sure if I'm for no texting (or cell phone use) while driving for everyone.

If that's the case, I think they should also outlaw the following while driving:

• DVD players in cars (hahahahahaha to the "only in the back seat" requirement).
• Eating fast food (if you've ever tried to eat something from The Bell while driving down the highway, I feel ya).
• Listening to incendiary talk radio personalities.
• Taking notes while on a business call.
• Pets on your lap.
• Any kind of personal hygiene (including shaving, brushing your hair, make-up application, or staring lovingly at yourself in the mirror).
• Toddlers in the backseat.

Let me tell you, if you've never had a toddler screaming at the top of her lungs and launching a sippy cup straight at your head while barreling down the highway at 65 miles per hour, you probably don't understand driving distractions.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

I have an admission. I actually own this movie.

OK, in the fairness of full disclosure, I don't own it, but I have it in my possession (and, as you know, that is 9/10).

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

A couple of years ago (B.E., before Ella), my husband, our friend Dennis and I  were watching a documentary on the snakehead fish that invaded the Virginia/Maryland/D.C. area when we lived there.

If you don't know anything about snakehead fish:

1. They're ugly.
2. They can destroy an ecosystem.
3. They can "walk" outside of water. (WAY.)

According to that always reliable (and true!) source, Wikipedia:

Out of the water Snakeheads rhythmically move their fins and muscular bodies back and forth: the fish equivalent of walking.

Yeah. Way.

Anyway, back to the good stuff...

So, in the middle of this very serious documentary, there were multiple scenes from a movie called, Swarm of the Snakehead--Part Fish, Part Snake, Pure Evil.

For your viewing pleasure:



So, we did what any self-respecting, documentary-loving friends would do:
We promptly bought this B horror flick for our friend Dennis as a Christmas present. (It was hard to top the Hula Dashboard dancer, but I think this did the trick.)

And then we watched it with Dennis.
The entire thing.
And every 10 minutes within the movie it flashed the message, "For review purposes only."
I paid $24.95 plus shipping for this movie.
Huh.
Something didn't *seem* right.

After the movie, our friend Dennis *forgot* his amazing gift at our house.
That was two years ago.

Which brings me to present day.

I ran across the DVD the other day and wondered, "What happened to Swarm of the Snakehead?" Hard to believe that it didn't make it to the movie theater. It would be FAB-U-LOUS as an IMAX 3-D presentation.

So...where is Swarm?
I had to do research.
I went to the website where I purchased the movie and here's what I got.

Huh.
(Again.)

I knew I should've bought a Tshirt when I had the chance.

Luckily, some refrigerator magnets are still available.
In the U.K.

Trust me, this isn't the last you've heard.
I will find out what happened.
And, I will post it here.
Because I know that's what you'd want.

P.S. Here's how the Chinese like their Snakehead fish...stuffed with Thai herbs...
(heh heh)



*Names have been changed in this posting to protect the (not so) innocent person who shunned our nice gift.
**OK, I lied. There were NO NAME CHANGES. It really was DENNIS.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Lest you think that mommy bloggers do not spend enough time with their kids...BAM! Living proof:

(This was a quality 6 minutes of face-to-foot time, let me tell you...)

Take that, MomBlaters!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Apparently, mommy + blogging now = hate.

That's funny, because for me, mommy+blogging always meant "be at home for your child while doing something you love."

How silly of me to be out of the know.

Unless you're a blogger or heavy into the social networking thing, you may not know about the recent New York Times article that cast a negative light on mommy bloggers and stirred up a whole bunch of...well, you know.

So imagine my surprise when yesterday I found myself smack dab in the middle of all the mommy blogger hating, which was as much of a surprise as being in a Detroit Free Press article called World of sex, lies and mommy blogs.

When I spoke to Georgea Kovanis (the author of the article) a few weeks ago for an interview, I had no idea the slant of the article (she hadn't figured it out yet, she said).

After speaking with Kovanis at length about blogging and the need for women to lift each other up, I was shocked to be included in an article that perpetuated such negativity about mommy blogging. I felt that was only a very small part of what I was trying to convey about blogging, being a mom and being a woman.

And then the comments began.

There was an onslaught--mostly negative (go figure)--of comments about how "we" (especially those of us interviewed in the article) needed to (in no particular order):

• Get a real job.
• Lose weight.
• Enjoy parenting.
• Pay more attention to our kids.
• Get a life.

And then it started to get really nasty. So I did what any self-preserving blogger would do: I stopped reading.

Look, everyone is entitled to their opinion (and mostly I don't care about them), but people, you just made my whole point about women not really supporting each other.

Each time I write a blog post, do I need to run through my qualifications--being college-educated, a director at a hospital at 25, a college instructor and academically published--and then list the number of hours I spend face time with my child before being worthy of blogging?

Did you know that, for many moms, blogs are their business (or an avenue to drive clients to their business)? Or, that many moms make major sacrifices and use blogging as a business so that they can be home with their children, as I covered in my recent Understanding the WAHM Evolution post. Or, that many WAHM and mom bloggers do spend most of their day with their kids and do the majority of their writing during nap times, school time, or at night, after everyone has gone to bed (and in lieu of any sort of social life)?

More importantly? Why do you even care?

And, why do we have to rip each other apart just to feel better about ourselves?

Thankfully, the awesome Melissa Ford had enough sense to realize that a well-rounded piece needed to follow negative campaigns. She promptly interviewed several of us and posted here and here.

It all boils down to this:

Mommy blogging is way more positive than negative. Yes, there are those who leave nasty comments and make a big stink to tell us we're not good moms whenever we post that we have a bad day and wish little Johnny would visit grandma until...college age. However, there are amazing moms blogging their every day lives...some to make money, some just to share their journey.

Many of us mom bloggers say things that others may not. If it gets a laugh, great. If it helps others realize they're not alone, even better.

What's wrong with that?

As I said to Melissa Ford yesterday:

I would like to live in a mommy world where we could discuss things reasonably and see other points of view instead of reverting to high school and going straight for the proverbial jugular. But I guess that only exists in the world of marshmallows, unicorns and rainbows. It sounds nice, though. I'd like to visit there sometime.

Tuesday, April 5, 2010

OK, we're really not, but it's been an interesting past 24 hours of press for the Wilson household.

First, my darling two-year-old daughter was pictured in the paper with the Easter Bunny at the marshmallow drop. (If she looks all sweaty, it's because she had to stalk the Easter Bunny a half-mile and then throw-down some one year olds to get to him all while trying to keep her bunny ears straight.)

And then Dawn featured our 'tie-dyed' Easter eggs on her fabulous PartyBluPrints entertaining ideas blog.

Then, I was quoted in a *controversial* mommy blog article in the Detroit Free Press called (SURPRISE!) World of sex, lies and mommy blogs, which then led to a nicely balanced follow-up interview and blog post with Melissa Ford over at BlogHer.

(I'll SO being doing a post about the whole mommy-blogging-hater-thing later, but first I probably need to ignore my child and then eat some more ice cream while watching DWTS...)

Anyway, like I said, we're kind of a big deal.

In our own minds.

(And in case you didn't know, the 'I'm kind of a big deal' is really a movie quote.)

(And now you do know.)

Friday, April 2,2010

I recently saw an intriguing tweet from @DawnSandomeno on Twitter. (She and Elizabeth have a fantastic blog with great ideas and info on a variety of topics for home entertaining.)

The tweet that I saw from Dawn involved using silk neckties to "tie dye" Easter eggs.

EXACTLY.

After scrounging in my husband's tie drawer and then making a trip to the thrift store for 100% silk ties, we finally got around to making them tonight. And I have to tell you:

It was a huge hit!

It was so great that I had to stay up and blog about it tonight so you can try it by Easter!




You cut up silk ties, wrap them around uncooked eggs, and then cover that with another piece of cloth--like a cut-up pillow case or sheet. After boiling the eggs (in the cloth), you take off the cloth and TA-DA, you have some of the most beautifully and uniquely colored eggs you'll ever see. (Head over to Party Blu Prints Blog for the full instructions.)









Our tie-dyeing session turned into an impromptu friend/pizza/egg coloring party. Everyone not only enjoyed the process, but they were also extremely excited with the results. We're already planning another tie-dyeing session! We've determined that these will be great for summer parties and barbecues, too.

Here are our eggs all together:

Looking for tips? Here are some things that we'll do again, or differently, next time:

• The blog was right, the uglier the tie, the better. Something you think no one would (or should) wear will make the best eggs.


• In places where the material doesn't stay against the egg, the egg will be white. Next time, we are going to try cutting 4 slits into the tie material (one cut in the middle of each side of the square) so that it folds more smoothly over the egg. (One of our friends said, "Think upholstery.")


• Consider the time. The 20-25 minutes of simmering time is after the eggs come to a boil. With the eggs and the cloth, the water took quite some time to come to a boil. (We got a late start and found ourselves with sleepy kids waiting for their eggs.)


• Stick with ties that say 100% silk. We had one tie that claimed "all silk" -- none of the color transferred to the egg.
• We had multiple adults and children participating, so we wrote our names on the outer edge of the white (outside) cloth with a permanent marker prior to boiling. Then, we took turns going around and "unveiling" ours. This was definitely part of the fun.


• DEFINITELY use the blog tip about "shining" the eggs after. We used vegetable oil and it made the colors even more vibrant.


• The boiled egg smell along with cooking fabric isn't pleasant. Open a window or two before you start.

HAVE FUN! Come back and post a link to pictures of your eggs so we can see how they turn out!