ANOTHER PRESIDENT
I guess I’m just in a Presidential kind of mood…
“When you get to the end of your rope,
tie a knot and hang on”
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
I can’t believe a mom didn’t say this first 😉
MOM MAKES A DIFFERENCE
All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.
– ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Remember when you are busy making dinner and changing diapers and doing art projects that you are appreciated.
And you will be appreciated more as time goes on!
BEING COOL
This blog article can be also be read at DC Metro Moms Blog. It’s a great site!
It’s 2008. We aren’t children anymore. We are turning another year older in 2008. Are we cool…? Does it matter…? What does it mean to be cool?…
My New Year’s resolution is to be cool. I’m not giving anything up in 2008. I am being cool this year. Easier said than done? Maybe not…
I read an article awhile back that discussed coolness. George Clooney was mentioned. He definitely seems cool. But why? The sly grin… the clothes… the trappings of stardom? I don’t think so. George Clooney seems to be ‘cool’ because he’s comfortable. He’s comfortable with himself, he’s comfortable with his life. Yes, one could say, ‘How could George Clooney not be comfortable?’ But money and especially fame, do not make you cool. What is cool, then?
Going back to that article– it was interesting… and long. Out of that whole article, 5 sentences stood out to me as a mother.
“Coolness is relaxation.” That may seem hard at first. But being relaxed doesn’t mean you aren’t busy. Being relaxed is merely taking things in stride. And moms are the best at this.
“Coolness is courage.” Coolness is taking a deep breathe and your son’s hand on the first day of preschool and telling him how much fun he’s going to have. Coolness is smiling at everyone on your way out, even though you already miss him a little.
“Coolness is knowing what’s going on.” Or coolness is at least knowing how to change a diaper, get little people dressed and fed, while trying to figure out what is going on.
“Coolness acknowledges the limits of life while affirming that life is worth living.” No one can be a parent and not be reminded everyday that life is worth living. And no one can be a parent and not be reminded everyday, especially during flu season and potty training that there are limits to life.
“Coolness is the freedom to be yourself.” How cool is it that we are older now… There is no cookie cutter for the perfect mom (trust me, I’ve looked). We are tall and short and blond and brunette. We laugh and cry and sometimes hit our heads against the wall (when no one is looking).
Coolness isn’t clothes. It doesn’t matter how much a pair of jeans cost, they’re really just jeans.
Coolness isn’t a purse or a particular diaper bag.
Coolness is being a mom, and trying your best and being your best for your kids and yourself.
Coolness is understanding that you aren’t perfect and your kids aren’t perfect…and when you’re tired at the end of the day and thinking, ‘What else do I have to do, what am I forgetting?’ you pick up your child and give them a hug.
That’s cool.
Moms are cool.
T-SHIRTS AND THE GOLDEN GLOBES
Looking for a pick-me-up or a cool present? Look no further. Â
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I met tons of cool moms at the launch party for DC Metro Moms blog last week. One of them not only blogs, but sells cool mom t-shirts, maternity t-shirts, baby stuff and even shirts for dads.
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Kristen, who blogs at MommyNeedsaCocktail gave all us contributors our shirt of choice. My choice is shown here, ‘Mommy Needs a Glass of Wine’.Â
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I hope she is enjoying a cocktail now because she is just getting home from the Golden Globes. She was giving away complimentary t-shirts, etc. in the Boom Boom Room at the Globes which is the party for kids and parents, as well as a swag event for sponsors.
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So check her stuff out at BabyBrewing…
and you may be seeing one of your favorite stars sporting one of her shirts.
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YEY! MOM POWER!
POTTY TRAINING 101
This blog article can also be read at DC Metro Moms… It’s a fun site!Â
Potty training… I’ve done everything. And I’m happy to say…
I’m done!!!
I hope I’m not jinxing myself by writing this.
But here it goes…
We’ve had ups and downs; I’ve had good ideas and bad mistakes.Â
This is just one mom’s journey.
 First of all, I thought I’d be different. How hard could it be? So I went to a free potty training seminar before I attempted anything…
In the seminar we basically learned to devote 2 days to potty training. Plan fun activities inside and don’t go anywhere… and your little one needs to wear a big shirt that hangs down to their knees… and nothing else. This helps them ‘realize’ the sensation of having to ‘go to the bathroom’. Okay, I thought, I’ll try this.
We started at 8am, used a timer to remind us periodically for our son to ‘practice’ going to the bathroom, baked cookies and other fun stuff and at 6pm that evening my son announced for the first time that he had to go ‘pee pee’
and he went in the toilet.
Victory! I knew this wasn’t going to be that hard! I’m prepared; I’m a well-informed mother!
 What I haven’t mentioned yet is- that was this time last year.
My son really never wet his pants again, but pooping was a catastrophe. Yeah, I had about eight months of cleaning dirty underwear.
I think it’s partially due to boys standing up to pee (which they instinctually change to after a couple of days) and having to sit to have a bowel movement.
He could never quite get to the toilet in time. It wasn’t that bad, he wouldn’t go completely in his pants, but it got tiresome
(oh really, motherhood and potty training sometimes get tiresome Sherlock?).
 So what did I do? I did everything.
I made a chart with stickers on the refrigerator. I then quickly changed the chart to only reflect positively on successful trips to the bathroom. I gave him rewards when there were a lot, okay a few, stickers on the chart. Then I started to reward him with a new book every time he did a completely successful day…
I quickly realized this was not practical- financially or- on any other level.Â
So then I took the advice of a mother of three boys and just let it alone.Â
That didn’t work either.Â
So what happened?Â
I was almost giving myself an ulcer anticipating starting school this past September because all of the 3’s classes (which my son is in) had to be completely potty trained. So about a week before school started I talked to my son. I told him how much I loved him and how much I believed in him and that he had to go ‘BM’ on the toilet at school, that’s the rule. He looked at me very matter-of-factly and said, ‘Okay’.Â
He has never had an accident since…
at school or at home.Â
I now believe there is truth to the old dictum that says: when a child is ready to do something, they will do it… but not a minute earlier.
I am happy to be done with potty training. And I am also a little wiser now.Â
I don’t know anybody who has potty trained their child completely in a couple of days. Accidents happen.Â
Potty training teaches a parent humility…
in a good way-
I’ll never forget helping my son out with a toilet trip that was just a little late. I got him cleaned up and took a deep breath and went over to the sink to wash my hands. I washed them and sat down on our couch and started to relax when I smelled something. I smelled my hands. My hands smelled?! Then I looked at them and realized that somehow I had a little bit of poop under my fingernails.
That’s all that needs to be said now, isn’t it? I started to laugh.
 And if you are having problems with potty training… just remember:
 Nobody goes off to college in pull-ups; everybody learns eventually!
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I Was In The 2012 Show !
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