Mommy Brain Monday November 22, 2010

Was it me, or was the internet kind of boooo-ring this week? Anyway, here's what did catch my eye:

Bye Bye, Wannado City:-( When I told Erik that Wannado City in Ft. Lauderdale would be closing in January, he freaked. We don't go often, but it is a fun place for the six to nine y.o. crowd. If possible, check it out before it closes.

My Dad Will Be Thrilled...with this late-breaking news from The New York Times--Cupcakes are out! Pie is in! (He really likes pie.) I'm not quite sure I buy it; I mean, cupcakeries are still opening left and right here in Miami, but it's something to ponder.

Vomit Hacks: Skyler went a few rounds with a stomach flu over the weekend, so this hack, and additional suggestions from the comments section, were relevant. Yeah, it's gross, but I hear there's something going around, so YOU'RE WELCOME.

Too Scared To Push? Yep. Ummm, I have to confess, that the title of this parenting.com article, "Too Scared to Push? Fear of Childbirth Leads to Rise in C-Sections" makes me think of...myself. When I was pregnant with Elle, there was a lot of buzz in the media about celebrity c-sections, and how all these celebs were scheduling their births to avoid inconveniences like, oh, schedule conflicts and stretched vaginas. Oh, how I yearned for my very own celebrity c-section. ( If you want to know the WHOLE TRUTH, I secretly wished that I could just be put to sleep and wake up with a baby, like in the old days. [insert horrified mommy judgement gasps here.] But, you know, they don't do that any more. It's like, dangerous for the baby. And you could die.) My desire for a scheduled c-section had nothing to do with a stretched vagina or scheduling around the SYSCO Food Show, and everything to do with FEAR. The fear of the known (c-section) seemed much less frightening than the fear of the unknown (that would be straight up vaginal birth, with all its possible last minute complications.) Anyway, turns out I didn't even bring the topic up with my doctor, for a few reasons: all my friends who had had c-sections told me I was CRAZY; my French doctor kept telling me I'd be fine because I was tall, and "tall women always have easy births", and because I already knew that said French doctor would just tell me NO and remind me that tall women always have easy births, then send my out the door with the thousandth reminder to avoid soft cheeses for the remainder of my pregnancy. However, all I'm saying is, I totally get the whole "too scared to push" business. So don't be a hater. (btw, I had the easiest birth experience ever. Apparently because I am almost six feet tall.)

It's Miami Baby Mama, Not Miami Wifey. The next time I have you over for coffee, I'd be happy to explain why I'm in a committed, long-term relationship with Erik, yet not married to him. In the meantime, check out the Comments Section of this article for 50+ perspectives on the relevance of marriage in modern times.

How To Carve A Turkey With Confidence. In Secret. Supposedly, the Whole Foods blog is going to show us how to carve a turkey "with confidence!" But alas, in the embedded video sweet, mild-mannered Hosea from Top Chef suggests that we carve the turkey alone, in the kitchen, to prevent errors caused by stage fright. (????) So if you want to know how to carve a turkey in secret because you have so little confidence you cannot cut a turkey at the table in front of your own flesh and blood, view this helpful video, courtesy of Whole Foods.

On that note, Happy Thanksgiving Miami Moms!

photo credit: sxc.hu/rcperez

Books for Kids In Miami: Reviews of Children's Books at the Miami-Dade County Public Library

Thoughts on what Elle and I read at bedtime this week. New book reviews are posted each week; inspiration for writing these weekly reviews is explained here.

The Book of the Week Award goes to....

White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker ISBN: 39081099923604

Rating: Sweet and simple. Elle and I both loved this little book about mixing colors. The rabbit jumps in the red. Then the blue. It's pretty basic stuff but the rabbit is just sooooo cute when he goes from paint cup to paint cup! We actually kept this one an extra week after we first read it so we could read it again. This book would appeal to younger kids too, for sure. (PS: I can't help it; I have to share this coo-coo head review of the book that I stumbled across when I was looking for the page count of the book. Uhhhhhhhhh, sir or madam? Chilll out!!!!! There is no racist conspiracy against white rabbits!!!)

The Thread of Life: Twelve Old Italian Tales retold by Domenico Vittorini

ISBN: 39081091157532

Rating: Not for preschoolers. Elle and I only read the first of the short stories, because the vocabulary and "hook" to the story was a little to advanced for her. Put simply, she didn't get it. She's too young. I flipped through the remaining stories and decided to check this one out again when she is older.

The Little Black Hen by Antony Pogorelsky and retold by Elizabeth James

ISBN: 39081091878277

Rating: Meh. This is a retelling of a Russian fairytale, supposedly a favorite of Tolstoy's. Hm. We did enjoy reading this book, in large part because of the amazing illustrations. Be aware--this is an old school fairy tale, meaning there is death, kinda harsh punishments, and consequences that modern fairy tales don't typically include. Elle is a fan of the old school tales (she loves the picture of Snow White's mom at the window, finger dripping BLOOD onto the snow) but for your own kiddos, be aware before you start the story. Why just a "Meh"? Well, there were no princesses. Soooo....this was not a true crowdpleaser.

Disney's Beauty and the Beast ISBN: 39081099917275

Rating: Beauty and the Beast? Again? Elle ne-ver gets tired of Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc. If she had her way, we would just read the Disney versions over and over again. It is truly for my own sanity that we raid the library's 398 section (Dewey Decimal for Collections of Fairy and Folk Tales), so I can read many, many slightly different versions of these classics and not lose my mind. So, this book, straight outta the Disney factory, was fine--the story was just like the movie, the illustrations were...just like the movie, the nuances were: just like the movie! Enough said. Elle loved it.

Six Dogs and a Police Officer by Caryn Sonberg ISBN: 39081096187278

Rating: Meh. I picked this one up because we read a book about this character's first day of school a couple of weeks ago, and it was pretty good. In Six Dogs and a Police Officer, Olive and her family travel for a vacation in the city, and Olive gets lost.

A First Book of Fairy Tales stories retold by Mary Hoffman ISBN: 978-0-78947-906-8

Rating: Guilty love. Basically, this is a CliffsNotes of fairy tales. You have picked up on the oh so subtle fact that my youngest is somewhat obsessed with fairy tales, right? So, we're all very happy with this book. Each tale is condensed into a two minute read. So my torture is minimal. And Elle gets the complete, albeit very short, fairy tale. Recommend to anyone in my boat.

Take a Kiss to School by Angela McAllister ISBN: 1-58234-702-6

Rating: Good. Pretty standard story about a boy (well, mole) that is nervous about the first day of school. Would be great to read as your own little one starts school, if there is anxiety.

Mommy Brain Monday November 15, 2010

Happy Monday! Let's get right to the fun:

We've All Seen That Cat Piano at Target, Girl. Thanks for the Warning. Honestly, who hasn't been driven half-batty by some obnoxious toy? That someone else bought for your kid? While alleging to be your friend while at the same time introducing a child-sized mommy torture device into your home? Mmm-hmmm. Sometimes, like in this case, it might even be a member of your cherished inner circle (you know who you are, MOM, who bought Elle a very similar toy piano and sent it by mail, while living safely out of earshot in a neighboring state.)

What Do I Think of Pregnant Bikini Contests? Um, I DON'T! I'll go on record--I don't like this.

Martha Stewart + Stephen Colbert = Tasty. Hard to nail down the best part of this clip, but perhaps when Martha explains that she gives her turkeys mini-bottles of liquor to relax them before breaking their necks (with her own two hands, of course) for Thanksgiving. I worship this woman.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Martha Stewart
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive

Mean Girls, Part Infinity. These days, there's no shortage of discussion of bullying, on the internet and in real life. I clicked on this blog post about whether or not parents should make their kids attend playdates/birthday parties that they say they don't want to attend. The writer advocates teaching children to be kind, and shares a heartbreaking story of her daughter being bullied by "friends." One of the commenters linked to this article from The New York Times, which is about bullying in younger girls. The article has hundreds of comments to date, that are heartbreaking to read, but offer several theories and approaches to bullying from parents and former victims. I was surprised to read that many people have witnessed parents (moms) condoning and almost being proud of their bully daughters. Huh? Really? Heartbreaking. Be kind.

Holiday Gifts for Miami Teens & Tweens 2010 Edition. It's that time of year, everyone. This list of teen/tween gift ideas has some great suggestions.

Mom, Could You Give Her One Of My Cards? Saving the best for last, my friends. Maybe I'm late to the rodeo, but I've never heard of such a thing: calling cards for kids. I'm not saying it's a dumb idea, I'm saying it's a BAD idea. The idea is, you have these business card lookalikes printed for your kid with your child's name, phone number, parents' names, gmail address, and unique artwork. You use them, according to the cardsforyourkids.com website, to "make a distinct first impression for your kids." And what might that first impression be? That you are shallow and waste your money? Because fifty cards cost $60. Trust me, I could go on, but I won't. Continuing to think about handing out "cards" for Elle or Skyler to arrange a play date, as opposed to, I don't know, writing the parent's phone number on the back of some stray piece of paper shoved in the bottom of my purse, is just. too. upsetting.

Books for Kids in Miami: Reviews of Children's Books at the Miami-Dade County Public Library

I love the library. Always have. I remember sitting on the colorful, carpeted floors of the children's sections of the libraries in Islamorada and Marathon, and painstakingly choosing Amelia Bedelia, Nancy Drew, and The Boxcar Children books to take home.

I would argue that in Miami, the public library is possibly The Best Deal Out There, especially for parents--from the videos, DVDs, books on tape, and computer access, to free live human assistance (that would be the librarians), and of course, the books.

Elle and I hit the library every week to choose bedtime stories. Some are meh, and some are so very sweet they literally make me choke up to the point that I have to struggle to complete the story. (Exhibit A: The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson. Exhibit B: The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.) So I had this idea that I would start doing brief reviews of these library books, since they are obviously available to any Miami parent, for free, and we read several each week. These days, we mostly check out from the Pinecrest branch, but you can place a request at any branch for any book, and the library system will transfer it to the closest location, or even to your house I think...not sure how that works though. I'm including the ISBN numbers so that you can check for the book at your branch with no confusion. You can also do this online really easily.

Important FYI--these reviews are based on my reaction to the books as read with a four-year-old, princess-loving, fairy tale obsessed, preschool-attending, girly girl. Just sayin'....your kid might be different.

Here's what we read this week:

The Book of the Week Award goes to.....

The Beautiful Butterfly: A Folktale from Spain retold by Judy Sierra ISBN: 0-395-90015-8

Rating: Fantastico! First off, Elle did not think she would like this book, because the butterfly as illustrated is not particularly "beautiful" according to her Disneyfied, four-year-old standards. But, we both ended up loving this Spanish folktale with a funny ending involving underwear and buttermice, and laughing out loud.

Toot & Puddle: You Are My Sunshine by Holly Hobbie. ISBN: 0-316-36562-9

Rating: Meh. Toot is in a bad mood, and a thunderstorm cheers him up. And your point is....????? My advice--choose a different Toot & Puddle book from the collection.

Little Rabbit Goes to School by Harry Horse. ISBN: 1-56145-320-X

Rating: Supercute. Especially if you have a preschooler on your hands. Included some themes that Elle really responds to--naughtiness at school, a kid (well, rabbit) not sharing, Little Rabbit getting lost and being scared, and then being found. The illustrations are great, and Little Rabbit is a-dorable.

Little Rabbit's New Baby by Harry Horse. ISBN: 1-56145-431-1

Rating: Supercute. Especially if you have a new big brother/sister on your hands, or are about to. The triplet rabbit babies in the illustrations are triplesupercute!

Little Rabbit Lost by Harry Horse. ISBN: 1-56145-273-4

Rating: Cute. Especially if you have a little one who tends to run off in crowded public places. Personally like the other two Little Rabbit books better.

The Cat of Strawberry Hill: A True Story by Fran Hodgkins. ISBN: 0-89272-684-9

Rating: Excellent. Adventure in the beginning really drew Elle in, and the ending was really sweet. Bonus--nice opportunity to explain what a "true story" is.

The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger. ISBN: 978-0-06-145223-9

Review: Dislike. I think if Elle had any concept of fall/autumn and what that was like, this one might have been a go. I loved the unique illustration style, and I love the message of the book, but....I spent the whole book trying to explain the concept of Autumn, leaves falling off the trees seasonally, and snow to my Miami-born-and-wintered daughter. So I guess, if your kid is familiar with Autumn, this one might work, but I'll bet that for many Miami kids that are Elle's age, is won't resonate.