Seattle Mom Blogs

Deadline to purchase discounted tickets has been extended to March 14th!

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Kathryn, Eve, Isabel and myself are going to opening night of Mamma Mia at the Paramount Theatre.

Want to join us? We’ve been able to procure an exclusive discounted rate forSeattle Mom Blogs members! Full details are below.

This Broadway hit with music by Abba is a smash hit and NOT to be missed. We hope you can join us!

If you’re interested,email me at jenny(@)seattlemomblogs(.)com so we can organize a meet-up!

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Seattle Mom Blogs members have the opportunity to purchase priority discounted seats to the Broadway musical MAMMA MIA for the March 18th7:30pmperformance.

This special offer is available Now through Monday, March14 at the end of the day.
Ordering tickets is simple. Just follow the instructions below.

To Order Tickets:
1. Visit the website: http://www.broadwayacrossamerica.com/groupsales
2. Enter the exclusive password: momstix
3. Follow the instructions on the order page

There are no refunds and all sales are final. Tickets will be mailed to your address prior to the date of your selected performance.

For questions please call toll free at or email to

As a working mom, it’s an extra challenge for me to find special quality time to spend with my son. If I’m not cooking dinner, I’m cleaning the bathroom. If I’m not cleaning the bathroom, I’m doing laundry. If I’m not doing laundry, I’m returning phone calls.

Since the weather in Seattle has been nice(r) the past few weeks, I’ve been utilizing our commute home time. Gone is the mad rush from daycare to our apartment, where I pause under building awnings to shield the stroller from the massive amounts of rain and wind. Now, with the higher temperatures and brief peeks of sunshine, my son and I can enjoy the walk home. We can mosey into the bakery for a snack, or stop off at the market to buy fresh produce. We can even make a stop for Mommy to see what’s on sale at Ann Taylor (which, hello, is always having an awesome sale).

Because of this reaquaintance with downtown, I’ve fallen back in love with the Seattle Public Library. Anyone that has ever visited Seattle (in the last few years) have seen the library. There is no way to miss it’s geometric shape and windows that seem to go on and on forever. If you’ve stepped inside you’ve seen the brightly colored walls and rooms painted in different shades of red. It really is a sight to see.

Babboo and I have been making regular stops at the library to spend time in their awesome (AWESOME!) children’s section. Not only is the downtown library home to thousands (THOUSANDS!) of books, they also have puzzles, games, and computers for the kids to use. (The kids are limited to 1 hour/day of computer time, which I appreciate.) There are books for young kids, books for middle readers and even books in all different languages, from German to Swahili. (We picked up quite a few books in German for my husband to read to our son.)

Being able to sit back and read to my son without the pressure of cooking and dinner is something that I am now just beginning to appreciate. I hope the weather continues to improve so that Babboo and I can keep taking advantage of these little outings to the Seattle Public library.

So tell me, do you take advantage of the library in your area? If so, how do you use it?

Isabel is a pseudonym for this Seattle-based blogger. She’s been working since the day she realized soda and lip gloss weren’t free. Isabel became a mom in 2006 and continues to work full time, outside the home, since diapers and mortgages aren’t free either. You can read far too much about her personal life at hola,isabel.

If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for Double duty. One paycheck., email Isabel at holaisabel [at] gmail.com.

A while back, I got an email from Carrie with a great question: “What moves would you suggest doing during the day with my three year old around?” I replied, “Glad you asked!”

So, here they are, simple exercises you can fit in to your day while making dinner, waiting for your child to potty, and talking on the phone. That’s right, you’re going to get buff simply because you gab on the phone.

1. Overhead Press With Canned Food: (aka: I knew we stocked up on hearty chicken noodle for a reason!)

• While standing in your kitchen, grab a couple of heavy soup cans. (This will be in place of dumbells which you can certainly use if they’re handy.)
• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart.
• Hold soup cans at shoulder level, arms at 90 degrees.
• Press arms up over your head straightening your elbows.
• Bring arms back down to should. This is one repetition.
• Repeat as many times as three year old allows.

2. Wall Squats: (aka: you’ll love these but not until you’re finished)

• Stand up to an empty portion of your wall
• Slide down until your knees are at a 90 degree angle.
• Hold position until you either can’t stand it anymore, your three year old has to poo, or until the count of 25 (whichever comes first).
• Repeat 2-3 times.

3. Again, with the soup cans: More Shoulder/back (aka: Bra Muscles) strengthening

• Stand with feet shoulder width apart
• Take your heavy canned food items (I hope you eat thick soup)
• Hold them palms out at your side
• Raise your arms with your elbows straight until you reach shoulder height, arms straight out from your body.
• Return to your side.
• Repeat 2-3 times.

3. Stretch/lunge without weights (aka: put the kid down)

• Start with feet next to one another shoulder width apart.
• Step forward with your left foot.
• Bend knees in to a deep lunge.
• Feel the stretch/strengthen our back leg.
• Count to 10.
• Push your bottom up in to the air, glide back in to a half sit with your front left leg outstreched hand still on the floor.
• Feel the hamstrings (back of your legs) stretch.
• Step left foot back to center.
• Repeat on Right.
• Do as many reps as you are comfortable or unti the phone rings again.

That should get you started. You can also add normal exercises (such as dips) to your day with a chair and a few minutes of Elmo. Or dance to a fast song with your children (or three songs for a burst of 10 minutes of cardio) to burn off your latte. It’s easy to fit in exercise during the day if you remember to move. Although, honestly, how many of us don’t remember to move? Just a little bit of conscientious exercises will get you on the path to tank tops and short. Spring is nearly here. I’m getting ready. Are you?

Read more of Leslie’s sarcastic blahblablah at Mrs. Flinger and find podcast reviews, interviews, crafts, events and topics for the Seattle Parent at Mamaspod.Com. If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for Mom Friendly Fitness, email .

Ive always preferred to carry a small purse. In fact, for many years I didnt carry a purse at all. I figure if Ive got a purse, let alone a big one, Ill just fill it with crap I dont really need. So I like to keep it to the essentials.

Well as you know momhood is around the corner for me, and my friends have been teasing me about my purse. Youll never get away with that tiny thing as a mom youre going to need a big mom purse! My husband loves to tease me about this as well. He knows how I loathe big purses.

They are probably right, though. My love of small purses isnt going to cut it. I know moms have to carry all kinds of random things in their purse. I remember that my mom sure did. Im going to need to carry a bigger purse. But heres the problem I have no idea what to put in it!

There are endless books and websites out there telling new moms how to prepare for an infants arrival, including what to put in the all-important diaper bag. But where are the resources for new moms of older kids? I dont even know if there are any. I am going to be a first time mom and theres no manual for me. Yikes! And to make things worse, at this point I dont even know for sure how old our child will be. It makes it hard to prepare.

I was visiting my family in California recently and decided this would be a good question to ask my sister Nancy while we were out for dinner. Shes got two kids 11 and 14 and I know were not going to adopt a child any older than that. So she knows what kids need at different ages. So I told her my dilemma about what to put in a mom purse.

Well snacks are always important, she started. But dont carry crackers because they crumble and make a mess. I carry things like Luna bars.

Cheerios her husband chimed in. Little kids like Cheerios.

Oh, this is good stuff! I said, pulling a small pad and pen out of my small purse. Id better write this down.

Before I knew it the whole table was chiming in. Her kids had lots of opinions about it too. I listened with interest and jotted everything down. I was so glad I asked! Who needs a manual when you have sisters with kids? The kids and hubbies have great ideas too!

So do you want to know what they said I should carry in my mom purse? Heres the list we came up with:

Snacks (granola bars,Cheerios, fruit snacks)
Tissues
Hand sanitizer
Wet wipes
Something for the kids to do (small toys like stuffed animals, matchbox cars; crayons & paper)
Mints (make sure they are sugar-free)
Comb
Medications

So let me ask the experts what do you carry in your mighty mom purse? Do tell!

This entry also posted with the . Copyright 2008 Susan Metters. All rights reserved.
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In addition to being a writer and aspiring mom, Susan Metters also carries the distinguished title of Cancer Survivor Extraordinaire. Some of her secret ambitions include meeting Dr. Phil, hosting Saturday Night Live, and rising to the top as a rock star. You can read more about Susans life adventures by visiting her blog with the Seattle P.I., . If you have ideas, questions, rants, or ramblings feel free to email Susan at susan [at] seattlemomblogs [dot] com.

The fabulous Worker Mommy is having a Chicco Infant Carrier giveaway at her site, contest open through tomorrow night. Go on over and enter!

Whenever you do something out of the ordinary, a couple of things happen. First, you draw attention to yourself. Whether you meant to or not, thats what happens. People cant help but take notice. Second, people have opinions about your choice.

When it comes to our path to parenthood we havent done things the ordinary way. My husband and I got married in our late 20s but didnt start a family right away. We waited. And we waited. And then we waited some more.

Remaining childless by choice is not ordinary. Oh sure, people do it, but its not the norm. The vast majority of people who are able to have children, do. And let me tell you, it really seemed to bug The Majority that we were choosing not to have kids. Thats not the way things work! Why would anyone choose childlessness? You must be selfish people! Uh yeah, whatever. We had our reasons for waiting and it had nothing to do with being selfish.

Now that we are choosing to have children, were adopting. While adopting is not the way The Majority has children, its is a normal route to take if you are infertile. But the thing is, I could very well be fertile. Sure Im 41, but women can have kids in their 40s. I went through cancer treatment, but unlike many women, I didnt lose my menstrual period. So it is, indeed, possible that I could conceive a child. But wed rather adopt so were not even going to try.

Thats not ordinary. In fact, its downright weird in some peoples eyes. Why wouldnt you at least try to have your own? Everyone would rather have their own! And for all you know you could conceive easily! Then if it doesnt work right away you can always do fertility treatments! You could use donor eggs! Medical science can do amazing things! You should at least try! Thanks, but no thanks.

Now heres where things get even weirder: we want to adopt an older child from the foster system. This really seems to throw people for a loop. The reactions we have gotten when we tell people have often been negative. You better be careful! Those kids are really damaged! The state will just shove a kid your way and you wont get to choose! The state will hide info from you about all the kids problems! My neighbors cousins friends hairdresser adopted a foster kid and it was horrible! You better think long and hard before you adopt a foster kid!!! As if we havent thought about it or done our homework on the subject. Sheesh.

I have to be honest and say that it really sucks to get hit with so much negativity. You tell people youre adopting and youre so excited to share the news. You want people to be excited along with you! And at first, most of them are:

Were adopting!

How cool! Where are you adopting from? (The Majority seems to automatically assume were adopting internationally.)

Were adopting an older child domestically from the foster system!

Ohhhhhhhhh

At that point we’ve often seen their smile disappear,a serious look overtaketheir face, and then some of them even go on to share a foster kid horror story. Not exactly the shared-excitement we hope for.

I get it, I really do. We are doing something out of the ordinary and many people are not comfortable with that. They have limited knowledge about the route were taking. Their preconceived notions are often inaccurate. And apparently nearly everyone has heard a foster kid horror story and feels compelled to share it with us.

People mean well. They care about us and dont want to see us get hurt. I appreciate that. But Id be lying if I said its not a huge bummer to have your excitement met with doom and gloom. Fortunately weve got enough people in our corner that are excited for us and support our decision to balance out the naysayers. We draw strength from that support, and from the firm belief that we are choosing the path that is right for us.

And fortunately, every now and then we share our plans with someone new and instead of reacting with well-intentioned warnings, they surprise us with a huge smile and say, Wow that is so cool. Those kids really need people like you. Good for you! And in that moment, we finally feel completely understood.

This entry also posted with the . Copyright 2008 Susan Metters. All rights reserved.
_______________________________________________________
In addition to being a writer and aspiring mom, Susan Metters also carries the distinguished title of Cancer Survivor Extraordinaire. Some of her secret ambitions include meeting Dr. Phil, hosting Saturday Night Live, and rising to the top as a rock star. You can read more about Susans life adventures by visiting her blog with the Seattle P.I., . If you have ideas, questions, rants, or ramblings feel free to email Susan at susan [at] seattlemomblogs [dot] com.

Since I work full time during the week, Saturday has become Laundry Day at my house.

We don’t have our own washer and dryer right now. Instead I have to separate my clothes on our bedroom floor and lug them down in the elevator with my toddler and his toys in tow as well as my detergent. We head to the laundry room in our building dressed in our jammies early every Saturday morning. Then we go back up to the apartment and set the kitchen timer. When the time is up, we head down to move the clothes into the dryers (or back up to the apartment to hang dry).

Rinse and repeat.

I do 3 loads a week. (Maybe more if I choose to wash all of our sheets and blankets that week.)

Lately I have been feeling sorry for myself that my Saturdays are “wasted” on laundry. That is, until I heard from Shana.
So Shana, over at Gorillabuns, recently admitted to me that she did 15 loads of laundry last weekend.

I know from experience that each load takes about 42 minutes in the washer and 52 minutes in the dryer. That’s 630 minutes of washing and 780 minutes of drying for a total of 1410 minutes, or 23.5 hours.

There are only 24 hours in a day, which means that Shana spent an entire day doing laundry. AN ENTIRE DAY, doing laundry.

Needless to say, that’s a lot of freakin’ laundry.

I guess I shouldn’t feel so sorry for myself anymore. I should also rethink ever having another kid. Shana has two kids. That’s only one more then I currently have. I never thought that having one more baby would more then triple the amount of laundry I did.

Frankly, I don’t have the time.

Isabel is a pseudonym for this Seattle-based blogger. She’s been working since the day she realized soda and lip gloss weren’t free. Isabel became a mom in 2006 and continues to work full time, outside the home, since diapers and mortgages aren’t free either. You can read far too much about her personal life at hola,isabel.

If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for Double duty. One paycheck., email Isabel at holaisabel [at] gmail.com.

Monday was our home visit. We passed whew! Not that I didnt think we would, but its still a relief to have that part done.

Our social worker is incredibly laid back. The inspection of our home consisted of her going room to room and just glancing around. The interview was more of a discussion than anything else. Thankfully the whole thing was very low-stress. We probably went way overboard with our preparations but thats okay we got a lot of stuff done that weve been procrastinating for a looooong time. Let me tell you, our bathroom linen closet has never been more organized and I love it!

She was here for 4-hours and we spent the majority of that time talking. We talked about our upbringing, our marriage, and our hopes for our future family. She listened to what we had to say and offered some of her own insights. She clearly had studied our autobiographies and she really seemed to get us. It was a great discussion.

The only moment I felt on the spot was when she asked, How would you handle it if your child threw a tantrum? Egads! What a question! Being a visual person I could immediately picture the scene: Im in the store with a full cart of groceries. Ive got two kids in tow. The boy wants cookies but I already told him no (what a mean mommy!). He starts to throw a fit and I calmly ask him to stop. But of course he doesnt stop, he just gets louder. And louder. AND LOUDER. Everyone else in the store is glaring at me and waiting for me to do something about my screaming child.

Yikes! It was stressful just thinking about it. Have you ever seen that European commercial where the kid throws a tantrum in the grocery store? Thats exactly what I was imagining. (If you havent seen it, click . Its hilarious and horrifying all at the same time.)

So how did I answer? Stay calm. Be consistent. Follow-through. Dont give in. If I say, if you dont quiet down well leave the store I need to be ready and willing to abandon my full cart of groceries and leave. Let him work through his frustration and just scream it out if he needs to (in the car or at home of course, not in the store!). Dont bother trying to force him to stop or talk it through until hes calm. When hes calm, then have a discussion about it. Validate his feelings of frustration. Explain why his behavior was inappropriate. Talk about alternatives for expressing frustration.Set clear expectations for next time. And did I mention that I need to stay calm through this entire thing? Yeah, thats by far the most important part.

Pretty good for a pre-mom, huh? (Ive watched a lot of Dr. Phil in my day.) She seemed to think it was a good answer. But heres the thing it sounds good when you say it, but how does it work in real life? Especially the stay calm part?

Well it looks like Ill find out soon enough. She said she needs to write up our home study report and have it reviewed by a couple of other people at the agency and then well be approved to adopt. She told us well probably be approved by the end of the month. At that point we can express interest in kids weve seen while surfing the adoption photo listings online and the agency will also start searching for potential matches. Things are cookin now!

And in case youre wondering, yes she noticed the bows on the dogs.

This entry also posted with the . Copyright 2008 Susan Metters. All rights reserved.
_______________________________________________________
In addition to being a writer and aspiring mom, Susan Metters also carries the distinguished title of Cancer Survivor Extraordinaire. Some of her secret ambitions include meeting Dr. Phil, hosting Saturday Night Live, and rising to the top as a rock star. You can read more about Susans life adventures by visiting her blog with the Seattle P.I., . If you have ideas, questions, rants, or ramblings feel free to email Susan at susan [at] seattlemomblogs [dot] com.

I recently got an email from someonewho is thinking of starting a blog. She wondered what advice I had. And how long does blogging take, typically?

While I have many, many thoughts on this topic, I also am curious to hear what YOU have to say.

So, how about it?

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of starting a blog?

What do you wish someone had told YOU?

And how long do you spend blogging, on average?

I’ll compile your answers (with credit, of course) along with my ownin an “Advice for new bloggers” post.

Catch more of Jenny Blackburns humorous anecdotes on being a mom, a woman, and a whole lot crazy at Absolutely Bananas.

If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for On Blogging, email jenny[@]seattlemomblogs[dot]com.

I remember thinking (keyword: thinking) that I was pretty on top of the whole parenting gig when my first-born was reaching important milestones.

He scoots forward on his bottom? Oh! He is exhibiting pre-crawling movements!

He rakes at the Cheerios on his high chair tray? Yippee! The beginnings of being able to grab something!

When he repeated, “ma ma ma ma ma,” I knew that it wouldn’t be long before I heard him say, “mama.”

It wasn’t a surprise that as he grew and developed, his personality began to unfold itself while he was going through some exciting developmental stages. One of these traits that began to rear it’s ugly head was his need to know exactly what was coming next. And since he was my first, I probably had a lot to do with fostering this “I need to know” behavior because I talked to him all the time. Without knowing it then, I informed him of what was coming – constantly.

What can I say? My husband was always at work and I had nobody else to talk to that was over the age of 2!

Eleven years later, and my sons constant need-to-know-everything personality is still going strong. He needs to know what time we are going to leave to go anywhere. He needs to know what to expect if there is a change in his morning routine. He is already obsessing about what time we’ll need to leave the house for school next year when he begins middle school.

Speaking of middle, thank goodness for middle children.

I think having the boys 18 months apart served my middle child well in regards to being an easy-going person. Never does he ask, “when are we leaving mom?” Never does he care if I ask him to throw on some shoes because we’re late and it’s time to go! He just goes with the flow, like a good middle child should.

Hopefully he can tell time.

Finally there is my little girl. My baby. My last child ever (excuse me while I sniffle in my tissue). She is almost like another firstborn in that her personality, and the fact that she came around when her brothers were 5 & 6, makes her stand alone in the whole birth order philosophy train of thought.

But the other day, her likeness to her oldest brother became glaringly clear to me – beyond a doubt. I don’t know why I hadn’t realized it sooner, but she needs to know exactly what everyone is doing and what is next on her own little agenda at all hours of the day. Without this all-important knowledge, she falls apart. Like no other 4-year-old girl drama, she will become this whiny, screechy, howling, demanding little dictator.

And I want to run for the hills.

I should’ve seen this coming. I should be prepared for this. But with my 3rd child, I’ve let my guard down a bit too much.

I blame the middle child. He was just too easy.

I’m ruined.

Carrie is a stay-at-home mother of three and wife to one busy firefighter. You can read more of Carrie’s mothering meanderings at her personal blog, Third Time’s A Charm? Please send suggestions to carrieb[at]seattlemomblogs.com.