Truth

Before becoming a parent, I wish I had known that the things that I fear myself would be magnified by a thousand percent or more for my children. I knew that having kids would open up a whole new world of fears and phobias, but I never realized how many nights they would keep me awake. It's so much more difficult to manage these anxieties when you know that, ultimately you have no control. I may stay out of the ocean because I'm scared of it, but I can't make my kids do the same. The loss of control makes things terrifying to the Nth degree.

Perhaps if I had realized this earlier I would have done some preemptive therapy!

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Get the Scoop on Diaper Goop

Right around the time of Lucy's six month check-up she developed a nasty looking diaper rash. We had the pediatrician take a look, and while he wasn't worried, he did suggest trying a few things to help clear it up. First he said to try an over the counter anti-fungal cream, because she had a fungal rash nearby, even though they didn't look that similar. If that didn't work he suggested an over the counter antibiotic ointment. Well, two weeks later she was still all rashy. Luckily we had agreed to try out (that is, I agreed to experiment on their bums in the name of science) a cool diaper cream called Diaper Goop for the Parent Bloggers Network a few weeks before and the package had just arrived!

I opened the first jar and examined the contents. Diaper Goop is a creamy yellow color and a little sticky because it's lanolin based. Which is, um, awesome if you are also a nursing mom like me! Not only can you use it on your baby's bum, but you can use it on dry nipples! I'm not currently suffering from that particular affliction, but I have had some wickedly chapped lips lately, and guess what helped heal those right up? Diaper Goop! They should call this stuff 'Everywhere Goop' because once I started slathering it on myself I couldn't stop. Crusty, winter hidden knees and elbows look fresh and new! My heels are as soft as butter! Flaky cuticles smooth as silk. Both kids currently have colds, and I've been using it under their noses to prevent chapping. Superb!

But how about the bums? Well, unfortunately Lucy's rash was a particularly tenacious bacterial thing that required a prescription, but since we've finished that up I've been using Diaper Goop on her every night as a precaution. And Sammy loves it. He actually asks to have his bum gooped before bed. Well, not so much 'asks' but when I'm putting on his overnight diaper he lifts his legs, points to his nether regions and says, 'Mommy, cream!'

We received a few extra tubs of Diaper Goop to pass along to friends, but I might be tempted to keep them for myself! Thanks PBN!

Mah Preshus Boi

We all love our children and think they are the most beautiful/intelligent/athletically gifted people in the universe. After all, aren't they a perfect blend of you and your partners' most glorious traits?

Don't you want to just eat him up?

But recently we've been dealing more with where Sam is lacking rather than where he is excelling. It took all this time, but we finally have a speech therapist coming next week to start working with him. For the duration, I was so focused on this one negative. But guess what? Sam has a lot of positives. He can sing along with any tune. He can finger paint with reckless abandon. He can whip up a mean plastic food soup for lunch. But the thing I think he's best at is loving.

Yes, he may have trouble with telling me how much he loves me, but he shows me in a million ways every day. First of all, one of the only words he speaks clearly is 'Mommy' which he calls out all day. Frequently he says 'Mommy' while he makes the sign for 'I love you.' Talk about heart melting!

But it's not just me. He loves everyone. When I pick him up from school it takes us 15 minutes to say goodbye because he. Must. Hug. Everyone. Including Max, who never wants to be hugged. Then he must blow everyone kisses. Then he must say 'Bye bye' to every single person. And they all love it! Except for Max.

I frequently hear him mumbling to himself while playing. When I listen closely (and because I know his secret language) I hear him naming all the people he knows and loves. It goes like this most of the time:

Mommy
Dada
Yanni (Aunt Allison)
Pop-Pa
Nana
Yeow (our cat)
Oose (Baby sister Lucy)

And repeat.

So my little guy, while not the most talkative boy in town, might be one of the most lovable.

And god damned if he isn't cute!

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This post was brought to you by the Parent Bloggers Network and Jennifer Fox, the author of Your Child's Strengths. Visit PBN for all the details!

Backyard Bugs

When I was in college I did an internship at the Philadelphia Zoo. The duration of my summer was spent inside a small rotunda with about 75 different kinds of bugs. Like African hissing cockroaches, scorpions and tarantulas. Part of our 'job' was to become very familiar and comfortable with the animals on exhibit because the kids were allowed to hold most of them, and we had to be able to transfer them from the terrariums to their arms.

Yeah.

So I got over my fears of scorpions pretty effing quickly.

After a few days I realized that these creatures, who most people treat with scorn, are really quite exquisite. After that, my love of insects only got more intense. (Except for bees. I HATE bees.) I ended up doing my senior project on crayfish, which are like insects that live underwater. And all of this was because I was pressed to move beyond my comfort zone and really learn to appreciate creatures totally different from myself.

I hope one day that I can do the same thing for my children. When they come home with worms or lizards, snakes or rodents, I'll do everything I can to foster and encourage their interest. Maybe one day they'll write a paper on the combative nature of Orconectes obscurus.

Salt N' Peppa Got It Right

Let's talk about sex, baby

Let's talk about you and me
Let's talk about all the good things
And the bad things that may be
Let's talk about sex

After reading Sex Detox: Recharge Desire. Revitalize Intimacy. Rejuvenate Your Love Life. by Dr. Ian Kerner, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he had found inspiration in these lyrics. After all, a key component to this plan (besides the 30 days of abstinence) is conversing. Conversing both with yourself and with your partner, honestly, about sex.

In the book, Dr. Kerner sets out to fix Americans' sex lives, which have been busted to pieces thanks to our poor diet and exercise habits, the mainstream media's beauty ideals, and porn, just to name a few of the culprits. He deals with both the coupled and the single folks in separate modules at the end of the book, but the first part is for everyone. What Dr. Kerner suggests is that by keeping sex off the table for 30 days, and by following daily journaling exercises designed to help get to the root of any sexual issues, then afterwards you will be rewarded with great sex.

After undertaking the 30 day fast/self examination portion of the program, then you are slowly allowed to get back into the groove, so to speak. This is the section that interested me the most. There are two modules here, one for couples and one for singles. In the section for couples Dr. Kerner says that by touching and being intimate without the intention of having intercourse or orgasm, we can strengthen our bonds as a committed couple. I have always loved being hugged, holding hands, being caressed, and now I know that it's because those sensations spark my body to release oxytocin into my bloodstream. This is the same chemical that is released when a mother is breastfeeding her baby, helping to form a strong mother-child bond. It's powerful stuff, no doubt.

I wish I could tell you more about the section on singles, but this book has a great deal of appeal. So much so that someone stole it from my elliptical machine while I was getting some paper towels to wipe the machine down when I was finished with my workout. My wallet, cell phone and iPod were still there, but Sex Detox was gone.

The only drawback to this book is that it seems to be slanted to women in my opinion. Besides the hot pink cover, none of the men I questioned said they would care to participate in the journaling exercises. Perhaps these man have no sexual issues. That is unlikely, but I can see how daily reflection might be a bit too Stuart Smalley for some fellas, which might be a turn off to some guys. No pun intended.

In the end, there were interesting and valuable lessons to be learned from Sex Detox: Recharge Desire. Revitalize Intimacy. Rejuvenate Your Love Life. Even if you don't follow the protocol to the letter, just thinking about sex so much is sure to get you in the mood a little more often!

Care to hear what others have to say? Visit the Parent Bloggers Network and read all the other reviews of Sex Detox: Recharge Desire. Revitalize Intimacy. Rejuvenate Your Love Life. by Dr. Ian Kerner.

Swiss Penguin Enchants Many, Including Hasselhoff

Sam loves Penguins. We have several books featuring these delightful arctic creatures. Pingu the Swiss pengiun seemed like he would be a big hit in our house. The Parent Blogger's Network offered up this DVD back in December and we patiently awaited its arrival.

We don't watch much TV at our house (clarification: the kids don't watch much TV. Mom and dad are addicts. And also hypocrites.) I've been trying to slowly phase in a few programs so that Sam doesn't get culture shock in a few years. I like the idea of DVDs because it give me a lot more control over what he's watching, and for how long. The disc is composed of eight short episodes, each running around five minutes long. To me that was a huge plus because we could watch one episode at a time and not OD on the television. Also cool? None of the characters actually speak. Instead they squawk and honk in some oddly humorous penguin dialect. There is also a lot of gesturing and pantomime used in lieu of words to communicate the action of the story.

The first time I popped in Pingu: On Thin Ice for my own viewing, I was enchanted. First off,, the theme song is an excerpt from David Hasselhoff's Pingu Dance rap. I am so not kidding. The show itself was silly fun, and the clay-mation reminded me of episodes of Gumby from my youth. I also dug the family dynamic presented. Even though the father penguin was shown going off to work at the post office, he also did plenty of helping around the house, including the knitting!

While I found these quirky little birds (and seal) entertaining, Sam didn't seem to share my enthusiasm. I wouldn't say he disliked the show, but it didn't really hold his attention well. I think that, at not quite 2, the lack of clear communication made it difficult for him to follow along with the story. He would watch for a minute and then jump off the couch to find some toys. I tried playing it for him several times and at different times of the day, but he just wasn't that into it.

Even though Sam wasn't enthralled with Pingu, I think most kids would love him. He's cute, funny, and a little mischievous. As proof, I checked out the other reviews over at PBN and guess what? He's very popular.

So check him out. Or buy your own copy here. Or drop me a comment or email and maybe a free copy might find its way into your mailbox!

P.S. If you're commenting to win the DVD, please make sure you leave some way for me to contact you. If you don't have an email attached to your Blogger account, then just send me an email me at cheeseparty@gmail.com instead! I'm still waiting to hear from Demi who won a copy of The Ultimate Tea Diet.

Winner Annouced!

Congrats Demi! You won yourself a brand new copy of The Ultimate Tea Diet! Email me at cheeseparty@gmail.com with your contact info and I'll ship it right off to you.

Oh, and I went to Weight Watchers this morning. I lost 4 pounds!!!