Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch

Sweetheart. Honey.  Sunshine. Angel. Darling. Baby.

I'm willing to bet that all of us have pet names like these for our loved ones - especially our kids.  I was thinking about this recently when I went to pick up Anna from day care. As you know from the title of the blog, Anna has long been "the Pie" or "Annapie" to her family and to many of our friends as well.

She's also had many other names, including "Sweet Pea," "Burrito," "Peapod," and my personal favorite, the combo, "Anna Peapod Pie." These all arose when she was new and tiny and always wrapped up in something warm.

Peapod & Mama Heidi

Anyway, many of Anna's classmates call her "Anna Banana," and I think her teachers sometimes do too. When I came into the classroom one day last week, I said something like, "Where's my Pie?"  Before Anna answered me, a cute little boy quickly informed me that "she's not a pie, she's Anna!" Of course, I laughed.

Photo of the Week: Photographer in Training

Hello again! It's the start of another work week, and I am just so excited about that. *Sarcastic tone*

So while I try hard to gear up for both work and, of course, fun on MLWP, here's our Photo of the Week, which was taken by Anna at her friend's birthday party. I think she has potential!

Serious "cheeeeese"!

Have a great Monday!

Under the Microscope

I've noted before that, as is obvious, our kids are always watching us. They may go to school or day care during the day, but we are their first and primary teachers. When they react to events, the way they view the world, their methods of coping with things are all going to be our reactions and views and methods, at least at first.

So we have to be on our best behavior. And it's not always easy.

I found this article by Janet Lansbury, who teaches parenting classes, about the importance of teaching our kids by example - of raising them with social intelligence. It's a great piece and I would love for you to check it out and tell me what you think about it.  Have you done the things she suggests?  If not, what do you do instead? If so, what has or hasn't worked for you?

We're Not Just Your Punching Bag

It's that time again: another presidential campaign season is upon us. And, as is typical for these things, the candidates vying for their party's nomination to run will pull out all the stops to convince voters and party leadership that they've got what it takes....no matter who they have to hurt or offend in the process. And no matter how elastic the truth has to be.

Why am I writing about this on my parenting blog, you may ask?  Because, of course, the ultra-conservative candidates fighting to be the Republican nominee are once again trotting out their favorite proverbial punching bag: gay rights in America. Particularly gay marriage and gay parenting.

And I already loved Kenneth Cole for his awesome clothes and accessories.

It's Still Happening....

Well folks, I'm not pleased to present another heartbreaking story of gay teen suicide. But I want to keep this issue in the forefront of people's minds, so here it is.  I've written about this before. I've said all I know to say.

It's heartbreaking.

What's worse is that the article references several other recent suicides due to bullying at school or even at home. Is this ever going to stop?  How can we protect our kids?

Four words:  What will it take?

Philip Parker. He was 14 when he died. (Photo from metroweekly.com)

Waste Not, Want Not?

 For most of us, conservation is just part of our consciousness.  Many of us recycle. We reuse things that can be saved. We try not to use things we don't need.  This all seems simple, right?

Well.....not necessarily to kids.

When I first tried to explain the idea of "waste" to Anna, it was in the context of not using more than you need. She had spilled juice on the table and decided to wipe it up herself, which was great.  Except she used about 25 wipes to do it instead of 1 or 2, necessitating an unplanned trip to the grocery store for more wipes.

Photo from thisparentingadventure.blogspot.com

Photo of the Week: I Love My Hair!

Happy Monday!  Before we get into some interesting stuff this week, I thought I'd start things off with our Photo of the Week. 

Our Annapie has gorgeous, thick curls, and when she gets older, I know we'll be able to do lots of fun things with them - but for a 3 year old, convenience is WAY more important than "suffering" for beauty. It's just hard to sit through the application of hair product, combing, de-tangling, etc. if you're an energetic toddler.

When the time comes that we have to chase her down the hall after her bath to corner her and comb her hair....well, it's time for a haircut. Anna was SO excited to get it done at the big girl salon. And now she's one happy, and adorable, camper!

Friday Fun: Eww, Girl Stuff!

Disclaimer:  Some of today's material involves, well, "girl stuff." Which means you boys or squeamish people may not find it as amusing as I do. But then again, you might!

Like her favorite cartoon monkey, Curious George, Anna is curious - about anything and everything. So, it comes as no surprise that she has all sorts of questions about women's bodies and the products we use.

Curious George photo from ethos3.com

Here are some of our recent conversations with her about these "sensitive" topics:

I May Be Just a Little Bit Crazy

"I'm not completely insane....I may be just a little bit crazy...."

This is my favorite line from the song "Crazy" by Alana Davis.  It's how I feel a lot of the time - I know I'm sane, but I have my crazy moments. And lately I've been having more and more of them.

Part of it is the stress of changing career roles and expectations. Part of it is the financial pressure and uncertainty that causes. And, of course, part of it is having a very bright, verbally skilled toddler who's always trying to play me like a fiddle.

But other than that, I'm super.

Take It to the Limit

There should be a special reward for parents with kids from the ages of, oh, say two to four.  Because as I've discussed before, the evolving behavioral challenges of the early years don't end with the so-called "terrible twos."  In fact, I found age 2 to be much easier than age 3 is proving to be thus far.

Anna is smarter now, so she's better able to argue and attempt to cajole her way into whatever she wants. She's also developing her own strong-willed personality (which, I think, is hereditary). While I'm glad that this means she will probably become a confident, assertive woman.....it makes the early limit-testing just a wee bit difficult to handle.

Okay, more than a "wee" bit. Sometimes I feel a little nuts.

Bedtime Blues?

I know we're not the only ones who find bedtime to be well, a bit of a struggle sometimes. Or most of the time.

Aside from the fact that Anna has difficulty falling asleep without me, our biggest issue is that it takes her a long time to wind down at the end of the night.  Recently, we've tried to implement some changes that will provide more structure, get Anna in her own bed again, and give us some grown-up time to relax and maybe watch non-cartoon TV.... with mixed results.

I just came across this article on tackling bedtime issues, which I think contains some good ideas. Some of it is new and some isn't....but the more I come across ideas I've already read about before, the more it helps reinforce for me that these are methods that do work.

Please let us know what you think and what works or doesn't work for you. And sleep well tonight!

Photo of the Week: Superstar!

So this whole self-employment thing is cutting a bit into my blogging time! LOL. Anyway, while I'm working on some new stuff, here's this week's Photo of the Week, which is our little girl feeling like a superstar and saying "California!" before dissolving into fits of giggles.  Fabulous!

Friday Fun

This Friday's "Friday Fun" was just that - real Friday fun away from the computer.  Anna and I had a fun "me and you day." Hope you have a great weekend!

What Will It Take?

I can't stop thinking about the racist math problems that I posted about the other day. I'm not trying to overdo it with this topic, but it just absolutely floors me that in the year 2012, this kind of ignorance is still widespread enough for things like this to appear in kids' school assignments. So I think it needs to be discussed. A lot.

What's worse is the flimsy justification that the math problems were supposed to coordinate with social studies lessons. That makes me wonder what in the world those kids are learning in their social studies and other classes.

Photo from abcnews.com

Obviously, the larger issue of racism isn't limited to public schools - it's everywhere, still. I just read an article about a racial slur used to describe a customer on a Papa John's receipt. And that was in Manhattan, just last Friday.  So clearly it doesn't matter whether you're in a huge, supposedly cosmopolitan city or in rural Georgia. Ignorance is everywhere.

You Gotta Have Faith

Yes, it's a George Michael lyric. And someone else's lyric too, I'm sure. It's probably been restated over and over again in many inspirational publications, discussed in churches, you get my drift. But what I'm learning right about now is that it's one thing to remind yourself to have faith; it's quite another to actually feel and possess faith.

Taking a leap of faith can be very scary. I recently decided to do some contract legal work for a new company started by a friend, and I'm excited about that. I thought this would be a great way to supplement my income and help provide for my family, while still having the safety net of my salaried part-time job.

That was the plan, anyway, until my employer decided that I should go to contract status there too, effectively making me self-employed. In just one week.

I feel sort of like the baby bird who's pushed out of the nest just before she's really ready.

Photo from exploitsofmommyhood.blogspot.com

Worst Assignment Ever?

And I thought I hated math problems when I had to do them as a child.  Check out this article about the ridiculously racist homework (math word problems) given to 3rd graders at a school in Georgia.  Here's a preview:

"Each tree had 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?"

Yes, you read that correctly. And there's more!

File this one under the heading, "WTF?!"  Please comment, people. I'm shocked at the degree of ignorance here.

Photo from worldofstock.com

Photos of the Week: Tool Time!

As many kids do, Anna loves to help "fix" things. So Santa brought Anna some tools....a lot of them, and mostly power tools like a saw, a torch, a drill, and other things that I'm not entirely sure what they are.

So, given the noise created by these tools, we decided it would be good for Anna to have her very own work station. She loves to follow me to the basement when I do laundry, so I found a tool table at Goodwill and put it down there for her, so now we can work together!  Check out these photos of her fixing something....not sure what....

Hard at work!

I love the safety goggles

Friday Fun: And the Pie Says....

Here are the first funny Anna conversations of 2012.  Happy Friday, all!

Mr. Mom

You may remember that Heidi recently wrote a post about disproving gender stereotypes in parenting. If you haven't read it yet, please check it out.  (Although you may be inadvertently feeding her ego - turns out that, to date, her post is the most read post in the 6-month history of the blog! My blog. LOL. So feel free to check out "Worrywart," the next most-read one, and give her some competition.)

But I digress.

Her post basically explained the ways in which she embodies many of the more traditional "dad" qualities and I am more like a traditional "mom," which may be surprising given our outward appearances.  But whatever way you slice it, we're a good team for our kids, so we must be doing something right!

Well, along those lines, I just read this article on CNN.com, written by a woman whose husband fills the mom role sometimes more than she does. If you found Heidi's post interesting, compare it with this article and tell us what you think about gender stereotypes and how they actually play out in real-life families.

In what ways does your family/ parenting style conform or not conform to the stereotypes?

Mommy, Why Are You So Mean?

Yes, it's a lovely way to start your day when these words are addressed to you, complete with a giant pout and big, sad brown eyes.  This happened to me yesterday as I was helping Anna get buckled into her car seat to go to day care.  The full quote went something like this:

"Mommy, why are you so mean all the time? You...you...you make me do stuff!  You make me put on my coat!" That's right, folks, I'm the most horrible parent ever because every morning, I grin an evil grin and....make Anna put on her winter coat because it's 20 degrees outside.

Horror of horrors!!!

THIS is why we wear heavy coats, kiddo! (taken last winter, before coats were evil)

Up In the Bouncy Clouds

As promised, I'll update you on my recent mega-travel experience solo with Anna. I discussed my concerns about this recently as we set off on our journey by bus and airplane to visit my family, hundreds of miles away.

Well, I have to say....I was really proud of how Anna handled it, and proud of how I handled it too.

"The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round...."

We did, of course, have our difficult moments, as is to be expected when you take a three-year-old out of familiar surroundings and drag her on a long adventure to a distant place, far from home and routine.

Sometimes she was cranky.  Sometimes she missed Mama Heidi and Kelsey and her stuffed animals that stayed behind and wanted to be home. Sometimes she ran wild in the airport because the wait was just sooooo looooonnnng.

New Year, New....What, Exactly?

It's 2012. Whee.

Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed wishing my friends a Happy New Year and receiving their greetings as well.  But I should warn you (spoiler alert!), if you're filled with optimism and joy about the new year, well....this post just may not be for you.

I have mixed feelings about the beginning of a new year. Sometimes I do get caught up in the excitement and want to go out.  Sometimes I stay up to watch the ball drop or have a champagne toast with loved ones and friends wherever I may be. In fact, I have very fond memories of several new years celebrations.

Photo from 101concepts.com

But what really affects me is the idea of a clean slate. And I'm not just talking about resolutions.

Photo(s) of the Week

Happy New Year!  Before I share my new year thoughts in a separate post, I thought I'd start off 2012 with our Photos of the Week. I say photos because this week, there are two pics from our vacation that I want to post.

Enjoy, and more soon from MLWP!

Making friends with painted animals at the airport!

Chillin' in my fabulous princess shoes