Culture

As a mother of young kids, it's easy to get caught up in the lives of children so that the biggest cultural event in your life is the opening of the Jim Henson Muppets exhibit at the Atlanta History Center (I'm really looking forward to that!) or a week of all new episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I spend 90% of my time in mom mode, and I have the uniform of capris, T-shirt, running shoes and ponytail to go along with it.

Here's my latte today though: Do something cultural that doesn't involve the kids. Go to a museum, see a classic film, go to the theater, etc. This is not a tip I would have thought of a week ago, but I've had a big few days culturally. On Tuesday night we watched The Graduate (Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft) which Rob & I had never seen. It's really good, I guess that's why it's now a classic. It was a nice break from the over-the-top everything movies of today. Then my big cultural showing of the week was really last night. My step-mother's mother had an extra ticket to see the Broadway play Wicked at the Fox theater. It was amazing, and I feel great today just because I had that experience of going to it.

What's for dinner?

I know, there are books, websites, blogs, etc devoted entirely to ways to feed your family. Here is a tip that someone told me last spring, and it has really helped me: Decide by 10 AM what you are going to do for dinner that night. It sounds so simple, and it is, but I didn't realize that I really did it before. It's so easy to get caught up in rushing through the day that you don't stop to think about dinner until you have 3 hungry children ready to eat. Then it's too late to plan!

At least 2 or 3 days a week, my decision is that we are going out. I am not someone who cooks every night by any means. At least this way I can manage expectations with everyone for the evening plans. I just went to the grocery store, and tonight we are having an Ohio favorite for Rob, Brats on the grill. Tomorrow is taco night. I feel so organized right now! Last night we went out with friends, and that was great, too.

Everything can be a source of stress, but I have found a way to make dinner time a little easier for this family at least on some nights. Of course, I'm sure that someone will end up eating a pop tart and banana for dinner instead!

Slow Down

My tip today is simple and one that I should try a little harder to follow, slow down! If you are running late, you're not going to make up any time by trying to rush preschoolers out the door - trust me, I've tried. I'm sure that they played a part in the reason that you might be late, but it really isn't their fault so just let it go. If there is something for which you absolutely cannot be late, the kids need to be in the car, stroller, or with the sitter at least 10 minutes early. Murphy's law is so true with kids, I should just call it Mary Jane's law. This morning was a good example, I thought we were all ready to get in the stroller to go to preschool, but then Mary Jane (who was wearing a cute outfit of pink jeans and a shirt) saw Charlotte's outfit. Charlotte had on tights and a skirt, apparently a much better choice. Getting a 2 year old into tights and a skirt is not a quick process. I also had to convince Charlotte that her choice of shirt was too small and needed to be changed. Needless to say, we left about 10 minutes later than I planned. You know what? It wasn't a big deal.

Being on time to 1st grade with Mason is a whole different story, but the rules still apply, slow down and don't make your child anxious or feel responsible for the fact that things don't always run according to schedule!

Daddy

This morning Mary Jane had a 30 minute tantrum because Daddy left for work. There was nothing I could do to calm her down. I felt terrible for her and for me because I was so helpless. By the time we took Charlotte to school, took Daddy to work (his bus never arrived) and made it to Starbucks, she was happy again. We then had a great morning of coffee, strolling and storytime at the library. My latte of the day is that all tantrums will come to an end! You might have to wait it out for a little while. Mary Jane didn't want me near her until she calmed down. Also, there are times when it is nice to not be the favorite parent - Mary Jane would rather have Rob take care of her if she wakes up in the middle of the night. That's a nice break for me sometimes!

Sunday Lessons

When I was little, everytime we had dinner with my grandparents my Grandfather would ask "What did you learn today?" It's not always an easy question to answer, but in the few days since I have been working on this blog, I've realized that I learn alot each day! Here are some of my lattes of the day...

1. Church is a great place to get some "me" time - the girls both love Sunday School during which I go to Java Monkey and read the Sunday Times Magazine. Rob and Mason spend some daddy son time together. During church, I sit with my grandparents who are now in their late 80s. It is very comforting to sit through the routine of the service and to see my grandparents help one another after 65+ years together.

2. Being a mother makes you overly emotional about most things and that is ok. Mary Jane stopped sleeping in a crib 4 days ago, and we were going to take the crib down this afternoon. I stood in the girls' room and cried and cried about it. It's a big milestone for her, and I'm excited that we're moving on, but I've has one of my babies in that crib for 6 1/2 years. Now I don't have any more babies in the house.

Starting a Business

Of course, we would all love to find that perfect business idea that will give us flexibility to do what we love while spending time with our families and making enough money to support everyone at home. I just thought I would take a minute to say good job to a few who have actually had the endurance to make it work. www.stinkykids.com is a t-shirt business started by the mom of kids at our old preschool. I must say that this family has done more than our share to help get the business going. Another one that I have supported a bit is www.darlingmummy.com I love their shirts and I must be a sucker for $25 tees. If you end up shopping with either of them, let them know that you read about them on my blog. If you design and sell expensive tees, let me know, I'll probably buy one. If I were at all artistically inclined, I would design some myself.

The one business that all moms should check out is www.brainytunes.com My brother-in-law is a terrific kid's singer/songwriter. It's worth a listen. If my mom and my sister are still the only ones reading this, then I guess we all know the words to Molly the Moose (my personal fave).

If you have an idea, you should take the leap and just try it out. Julie Clark, a mom from Ft. Collins, CO spent $15,000 making a video. Just a few years later she sold The Baby Einstein Company to Disney for 7 million dollars!

Organization (or lack thereof)

I have several books about how to get organized, reduce clutter, etc. It's a slow process for me because I tend to just keep things in stacks around the house, but it's hard to keep little hands from moving things. Organizing toys is a constant battle, but we have a rough system for it. Rob now refuses to purchase any more bins, baskets or shelves to further organize. We need to just "get rid of the stuff." This blog is going to be yet another test of my organizational skills. I haven't quite figured out how to organize my thoughts. I would welcome any suggestions.

I guess my daily latte (or tip) on this subject is to purge as much as possible rather than store it. This especially holds true for toys. One thing, you must make sure that you have all of the pieces of a toy before getting rid of it otherwise you're in for trouble when a 3 year old finds a stray part.

Useful (sometimes) Tips

Here is a random assortment of tips that might be useful. I find it easy to collect tips, but not always easy to follow them:

1. Do it the night before - I often leave the house 10 minutes late in the mornings thinking I should have started the wash, packed the snacks, picked out clothes last night instead of watching Nip/Tuck episodes from Netflix.

2. Do it all at once - I have found this very useful for laundry and cleaning, it is easier to devote a few hours to each rather than spend a little bit of every day and feel like it is never done.

3. Stop the junk - if you look at the bottom of one of the free credit card offers you get in the mail, there is a number you can call to stop all offers. I did this a year ago for me and Rob and it has made a huge difference in the amount of junk we have to sort through.

More to follow, hence the term daily latte...

Lip Gloss

If you have a toddler, a tube of clear lip gloss is a great tool for entertainment or distraction when you're on the go and the mess is relatively minimal.

Addictions

So my big addition right now is coffee, more specifically mochas. In the summer, I take them on ice, but today I ordered my first hot drink of the season. A sure sign that fall has arrived in Atlanta! I'm thinking that there is a good chance that blogging will be my next big addiction. At least this doesn't cost $5 a day.

My life has gotten just chaotic enough that I am terrible at keeping up with email so this seems to be the next best thing. I can post new pictures and share any news. Most of it will be trivial stuff usually about the kids. Check back in a few days, maybe I'll have something interesting to say...