All Is Busy, On New Year's Day

Every year my husband works on New Year's Eve, which means that most of the time he is off on New Year's Day. Since we are those people who decorate waaaaaaaay back in early December (or late November, occasionally) our tree is usually crispy by the 24th. With two kids and one cat, bits of wrapping paper are tucked under and in every little nook and cranny. Toys are strewn about and the animatronic Santa in the front yard is half burnt out. 

It's really quite tragic. 

So we spend the day sorting and piling, packing and filing. He's in charge of the outside and I take care of the inside, with a little (and I mean a little) help from the kids. Once everything is safely stashed in the basement in their big red and green tubs we haul out that vacuum and start sucking up the needles. Luckily, the kids like this part and are quick to point out any strays that I missed. 

Once everything is finally clean and the kids are in bed we enjoy the champagne we missed out on the night before!

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Avoidance: It's the Only Way

Here it is, plain and simple: when we go back to visit our families of origins during the holidays the drinks flow a little too freely. My mother-in-law loves champagne, as do I. My parents always stock up on Mike's Hard Lemonade over Christmas. As soon as five o'clock rolls around (technically, it's actually when the kids go to bed) the libations begin flowing. And sometimes they keep flowing late into the evening. And sometimes early into the morning. Which only leads to sorrow the next day when someone is calling for 'Mommy' at 7:05am. So this year, to control at least some of the chaos, I am going to try to avoid the booze. Maybe not every day, or maybe not 100%. Let's just be honest here, some occasions necessitate a drink. 

Just maybe not three. 

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This post was brought to you by the Parent Bloggers Network and BigTent. Click on over to find out how to play and maybe win a $250 Target gift card. If only they sold six packs!

eebee's adventures!

Waaaaaaaaaaay back when Sam was a baby and we were new to the world of videos on demand, I went through the entire 'kids' menu trying to find some good quality programming. Amidst all the PBS and Nick offerings I stumbled upon eebee's adventures. It was a big hit with my wee boy, and for a few months we would watch some of the short videos every few days.

Cut to almost three years later. Sam is now very opinionated, and when we flip on the TV he is usually the one choosing the show. Lucy doesn't seem to mind too much, but I've been trying to come up with something they can both watch and enjoy. Plus it needs to be something I don't find to be completely mindless drivel as well. Needless to say we end up watching the 'Your Baby Can Read' DVDs quite often. 

Luckily the Parent Bloggers Network came to the rescue, sending us an eebee's adventures DVD and a soft eebee book for our viewing/playing pleasure. The video contains three segments: laundry list, just you and me and little objects, big ideas. The book is all about laundry time and ties in nicely with the video.

The main focus of eebee's world seems to be learning from the objects around you. Eebee and the other children featured in the video use fabrics, mirrors, cereal and pots and pans in their learning adventures. There are simple, catchy songs that got both of my kids dancing and singing along. Plus the title song is easily adaptable to accommodate any child with a two syllable name. I don't get it entirely, but they both lose their minds when I substitute 'Sammy' or 'Lucy' for 'eebee' in the song. 

The book is also a fun little learning experience for young minds. The laundry book has activities such as putting towels in the washing machine and hanging clothes on the line to dry. It's bright and colorful and full of different textures. Lucy especially loved the crinkly parts. Being almost three, Sam was a little too old for this book, but he actually had some fun showing Lucy all of the ways to play with it.

As a bonus, it doesn't feel like they are trying to sell my kids something every other minute. I mean, even Sesame Street had commercials these days. Yes, they have toys and other merchandise, but they don't beat you about the head with it. 

As a parent, I have very much enjoyed eebee's adventures. It's simple approach to learning and exploring with everyday objects has made me more creative with my own everyday objects. 

Care to win a copy of eebee's adventures 'All in a Day's Play' and the 'Laundry Time' soft book? Leave a comment here by friday 12/5 at midnight to enter!

Truly Amazing

From the moment my first child was born I was astonished. His tiny body, so recently surrounded by my own, made so many miraculous changes practically in the blink of an eye. The transition to breathing rather than getting oxygenated blood via the cord. The closing of heart valves and the opening of new ones. Without these, his life, and human life, would be impossible. 

In Amazing Baby, Desmond Morris covers everything from these first moments until your sweet little newborn is somehow a two year old. From organ systems to personality development, this book covers basic biology in a way that would make any person, parent or not, interested in these lovely little beings. 

Accompanying Morris' text are hundreds of stunning photographs. These are what transform this from simply a parenting reference to a work of art. Take it from someone who considers photographing her children a highlight of her day: these photos are a big part of what makes Amazing Baby amazing. Also, you don't have to take just my word for it. Both of my kids attempted, on several occasions, to kiss the photos of the adorable babies. Luckily I had dry washcloths near by so that the book wasn't ruined. Several of the photos are also accompanied with overlays which show complex internal structures, such as the newborn skull, eye anatomy or brain lobes. 

With all of the information on development and anatomy, Morris never misses an opportunity to drive home his main point that parents have the most profound effect on their child's development. As he states at the end of the book, 

"Looking into the tiny face of a newborn baby as she nestles in her mother's arms, it is important to remember that they way the little infant is treated during the first two years of her life will have a profound effect upon the course she takes later as an adult. It should be easy enough for a child who has enjoyed a loving, richly stimulating, fun-packed infancy to grow up into a happy, well-adjusted adult. For an neglected or deprived infant, however, it may prove much harder."

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Thanks to the The Parent Bloggers Network for introducing me to Amazing Baby. I'm definitely going to be holding onto this one. You know, just in case! 

Autism's False Prophets

Just before Lucy was born I reviewed Paul A. Offit, M.D.'s book Vaccinated. I know it's odd to say that I enjoyed reading a book on vaccine history, but as a (former) scientist and a parent, it appealed to me. It was well written and well researched. When The Parent Bloggers Network reached out to me to review his new book, Autism's False Prophets, I couldn't say no. The first book only covered the history of vaccines, and as any person, parent or not, knows, vaccines have been very much at the center of many major stories in the past decade. 

Offit knows his work has consequences. He starts the prologue by quoting some of the more colorful hate mail he has received. Having my own children, I cannot fathom how difficult it must be to parent one with special needs. I can imagine that these parents, in moments of desperation, are just looking for someone to blame. Many choose Offit as their target, and while this could lead to risks to himself and his family, he presses on. Why? Because he believes he is doing the right thing. The just thing. 

I admit, I have to agree. 

Offit spends the beginning of the book discussing Andrew Wakefield's proposition that vaccinations, specifically the MMR vaccination, causes autism. The way in which the information was presented lead to a media storm of enormous proportions that had millions believing unproven, unsound data. After Wakefield's bombshell, Offit goes on to detail many of the supposed treatments for autism. These treatments had parents of autistic children digging deep into their pockets, giving them hope of a cure. None of the children were 'cured' and some of them were even harmed in the process. 

Offit also delves into the scientific and judicial process for the reader to dissect exactly how these process work in relation to these cases against vaccinations. (I know it sounds boring, but seriously it's not!) He also discusses the relationships between science and the media, science and society and how those can affect the way information is disseminated. 

Paul A. Offit M.D. is, no doubt, a man with an agenda. He wants to protect children from unnecessary, harmful procedures. He wants to protect parents from spending countless dollars on what amounts to snake oil. And he wants to protect the doctors and scientists who are hard at work on autism causes and treatments. 

Which is why I hope we continue to hear from Paul A. Offit, M.D.