Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Bad Mom V 2.0

For the most part, I'm pretty tuned into my kids.  I can look at them and tell they have a fever.  When they are acting out, I can usually figure out what the underlying issue is.  When they are hungry, I can tell by the way they are acting.  Most mom's have these skills.

I recently realized that I lacked the ability to push my kids away from gender stereotypes.  Swift and quick intervention is required.

The process behind deciding which camps to put Abby in this summer was drawn out, laborious and likely over thought.  This is my approach to most things (ranging from birthday party themes to searching for recipes, you name it).

Abby is attending the following camps, she has already attended 1-3:

1.) Gymnastics Camp

2.) Nueva Camp (very cool and progressive camp at a local private school, her two sessions were Art and Circus )

3.) Galileo Camp (the theme was Amusement Park and the day is broken into art, science and outdoor activities)

4.) Girl Scout Camp

Her favorite camp so far has been Galileo.  When I asked her why she told me "because we get to do science and I love learning".

My heart sank.  It sank far.

I focused her camp sessions on girly things.  Art, Circus performance and gymnastics.  I assumed the Galileo camp was going to be fun for her, but thought she might not like the science part.  It NEVER occurred to me that she would like the science twist to Camp Galileo.  Shame on me!!

I am a Director of Finance and I work in an organization that builds the eCommerce websites.  In many instances I'm one of the few, or sometimes the only woman in the room during meetings.

Why the hell would I perpetuate this trend/stereotype and not encourage my daughters to learn something other than gymnastics, art and performances?  Why would I not want them to be the only female in the room during meetings?

Abby has a week off from camp this week.  This past weekend I scoured the web to find science related projects she might enjoy.

It's going to take me a while to get over this.



Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Oh Boy, Was She Mad!

My youngest daughter, age 3 1/2, has developed a very unpleasant night time routine.  She won't stay in bed.

No matter what we do, what we say, how we react or don't react, she won't stay in bed at bedtime.  It's like a mildly unruly boomerang that occasionally has tantrums.  And this all started as I'm entering my busy period at work.

After about a month of spending 1-2 hours each night to get her to stay in her bed, it was time for some intervention.  I thought about how she's motivated and one thing came to mind: chocolate.

I spent some time this past weekend coming up with a chart that she can use nightly.  The chart consists of 7 things she does every night at bedtime.  I used a cute font and lots of colors.  As she finishes one task, she gets to put a check in the check box.   These are the items on her checklist:

1.) Take bath or shower
2.) Get into PJ's
3.) Brush teeth
4.) Read stories
5.) Turn on nightlight
6.) Turn off bedside lamp
7.) Stay in bed

We leave the last one un-checked until morning.  She has to stay in bed all night.  If she does, she gets chocolate before breakfast (and by chocolate, she gets one M&M).  It's enough to motivate her.

The first night in, no fights at bedtime.  She was so happy to put checks in her check boxes.  She didn't go to sleep right away, but she did stay in bed.  Whoo hoo, but perhaps a bit too early to declare victory.

We also installed a child safety door knob cover on the inside of her bedroom door.  This is where it goes sideways.

She got up out of bed at 11pm for whatever reason (perhaps to go to the bathroom as she recently stopped wearing diapers at night).  I woke to crying, loud crying.

I went into her room and found her sitting next to her bedroom door and boy was she MAD.  I won't go into the gory details, but it took an hour to get her calmed down and back into bed (took me another hour after that to get calmed down and back to sleep).  She was not the least bit happy we installed the door knob cover on her door knob.  We took away some of her independence, the independence she is displaying so proudly these days.

Let's see how we do tonight..




Sunday, July 14, 2013

A Little Meal Planning - Courtesy of The Pioneer Woman

This past Saturday, The Pioneer Woman's new episode was about quick meals.  I can certainly benefit from quick meals.

Lately in our house, meal planning has consisted of finding something in the freezer or sitting down with a laptop to see where we can order dinner from.  This isn't the healthiest form of eating and Steve and I both know we need some help in the healthy eating department.  Our girth can attest to it.

As my kids are getting older, I'm allowed a little time to get things done while they play quietly together.  Well, at least until they start fighting or the little one hits the older one.  Today, they are working on a straw project and I am working on meal planning.



After watching the Pioneer Woman's episode and browsing through some of her other recipes, I came up with these 4 for the week:

Mini Meatball Sandwiches
(ground turkey for this one and a side salad)

Pasta alla Betsy
(we'll use whole grain penne and add a side salad)

Lazy Chilies Rellenos
(I think I'll add some ground turkey to this one, use egg beaters and use 2% milk)

Beef with Snow Peas
(supplementing with frozen/cooked organic brown rice from Trader Joe's)

I then took the printed recipes to Steve and negotiated for him to make 2 of them.  We have 7 days to cook the 4 recipes.  I think that is manageable, maybe...    The good news, it's likely we'll spend less on lunches this week too since we'll have leftovers.

I'll let you know how it goes.



 

Monday, July 8, 2013

Summer Art Projects for Kids - Can't Wait for my KiwiCrate order!

I ran across a mention of Kiwi Crate on a blog I read.  I took the name of the website and tucked it away in my brain for a later date.

This past weekend we went to Monterey.  The girls had a blast and cried when we left.  It's always a good sign when they cry, it means they had a good time.  The girls were in bed by 7:30pm or so each night so I was left with two options:

1.) watch TV
2.) shop on my iPad

I chose to do both!

Kiwi Crate came to mind.  I spent some time browsing their site and bought a few things.  The concept is fantastic.  They put together 'crates' of themed projects.  They have great options for both boys and girls.

I purchased the following:








They also have great DIY projects.  I'm eyeing this one our summer vacation:

Vacation Jars (to store your vacation memories)



Here's why I love this site.  For me, time is short.  Their project kits (or crates) take the guesswork out of coming up with new ideas and also alleviates the need for me to go to 2-3 stores to get all the supplies for a project.

When I get my order and the kids have some time to try it out, I'll let you know how it goes.

I am in no way affiliated with Kiwi Crate and the pictures are from the KiwiCrate.com site.