Filed under: Family togetherness, 6-7 years

If Christmas is for the kids, then New Year's Eve is for the grownups, right? At least it was before you had kids. Because I became a parent at such a young age, I never really had a life 'before kids'. While my friends were out partying on New Year's Eve, I was usually home with Christy.

I didn't really mind missing out on all the fun back then and not much has changed since. There is nothing wrong with lining up a babysitter and hitting the town on New Year's Eve. Or taking the kids with you to a family-friendly celebration. But for us, New Year's Eve is a time for staying home and spending time together as a family.

Tonight, we will bundle up and visit our city's beautiful botanical gardens, which are decked out in holiday lights and decorations. We will chase each other through the trees and drink hot chocolate around the bonfire. Later, we will have a picnic on the living room floor and try to stay awake until midnight.

I can't think of anything I would rather be doing on the this, the last day of 2007, than spending it with my family. How will you ring in the new year?

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Filed under: Newborn, Going into labor, Weird but True

I cannot imagine how terrified this woman must have been to find herself lying on a sidewalk about to deliver a baby in the pre-dawn hours of Christmas morning. But there she was, along with her hapless husband, about to give birth on the ground in front of a Philadelphia bus station. Fortunately, she did what most any woman would have done under those circumstances - she screamed.

It was that scream that caught the attention of Steven Rocher, a police sergeant with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. Rocher was out playing Santa early Christmas morning, delivering some gifts to his mother, when he heard the woman scream and saw a man tugging at her clothes. When he approached, the man begged for his help.

Rocher has no training on how to deliver a baby, but he managed just the same. "When I heard the baby crying, I felt a sense of comfort because I knew the baby was OK," he said.

After delivering the baby, Rocher called for backup and a rescue car took the family to the hospital. "I will remember this Christmas when I retire for a long time," Roche. No doubt mom will, too.

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Filed under: Family togetherness

Back in Istanbul, Turkey, where my family is from, my maternal grandmother had a ritual every New Year's Eve -- something that falls into a category I like to call "Middle Eastern Voodoo." (Note to self: write a post on MEV in 2008 for all of you...)

My grandmother, Arshagouhi, would take a pomegranate at midnight and throw it out the front door of their teeny apartment, allowing it to shatter into a million pieces on the street. With the toss of the strange fruit, she would make a wish: that each seed would multiply into as many chances for good luck. The image touches me every year, the primitive wishes of good fortune from a mother of four living in poverty.

On New Year's Eve 2005, I went into early labour and began the wait for my pomegranate. Two days later, my first child was born. His fortune for us was great love, a stable job for Daddy, our first house -- stability and giant leaps into adulthood.

This isn't a new thought. There is an old Jewish proverb that says, "Every child comes with a loaf of bread under its arm." We often chart astrology and Chinese horoscopes looking for signs and hope that our children will improve and enrich our lives.

2007 was the year of the Golden Pig, an event that occurs once every 60 years in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese believe this to be the most auspicious year for a child to be born. And so we rang in the birth of our Golden Pig this past August. What will her fortune bring? Though the arrival of Lucine has brought smaller wallets and less space in our home and car, I am excited to enter 2008. Lucy-Goose has also brought us bigger hearts and completed our family circle, bringing me inner peace and a strength I never knew I had.

Here's hoping your children and grandchildren bring you good health, prosperity and loads of happiness in 2008.

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Filed under: Moms, Adventures in Parenting

I don't know about you, but I've found it nearly impossible to find a babysitter for my son. The sweet teenaged girl down the street covered for me once, and I think I paid her well and thanked her appropriately, but she's been unavailable every time I've called her since that first time. I've poked around on Craigslist a bit, looking for an occasional babysitter so I can go to yoga or a night class, but nothing has ever come to fruition. And I'm somewhat resigned to a complete lack of social life, unless my Mom or brother happens to occasionally feel exceedingly patient and equipped to deal with Nolan's preference for never sleeping and tantruming often.

It's New Year's Eve tonight. I have An Inconvenient Truth lined up and ready for the DVD player. An open bottle of Cabernet sits in my kitchen cabinet and I'm ready to down a glass at midnight. But other than that? I'll be reading blogs, checking on my sleeping toddler; most likely I'll be sawing logs well before midnight. But even if I did have a babysitter lined up, I'm not quite sure what I'd do with myself. Partying rabidly is not an option when one has a 6:00 AM wakeup call.

How do you plan to ring in the New Year? Please tell me that I am not solo in my utter lameness.

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A lot can happen in a year, it's enough time to create and welcome a whole new little person and ParentDish entries that contain happy information of that sort are always my favorites.

But I also appreciate the entries that remind me that parenthood isn't all sunshine and butterflies and isn't for the faint of heart, but these are days we'll remember........ and miss.

I've also enjoyed reading and/or writing about interesting products and have dropped a fair amount of change on some of the really neat items I've discovered thanks to the site, much to the dismay of my husband. I've purchased gingerbread houses, monster mittens, Baby Bug ABC cards, a pettiskirt,and am the proud owner of a dozen sticks of Chicken Poop chapstick (Smells like lavender, not chicken!)

Babies and shopping, does it get any better than that?!

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Filed under: Moms, Emotions

I love this entry of Kristin's, because I was thinking about the exact same subject recently.

Well, specifically, I was sitting on my couch with my head in my hands while my son threw his fifty-third tantrum of the day, thinking how very much I wished I could just get up and leave the house, drive to the airport, and board a plane headed for a beach in Thailand. Or at the very least, that I could leave the house and go see a movie.

Or just be in my house, doing whatever I wanted, without some three-foot-tall human making my life miserable.

I was thinking, at that moment, that I would never tell someone that having kids was great, because a lot of the time it isn't great. Sometimes it downright sucks, in fact, and giving up your lifestyle of choice-even if we're just talking about the ability to read a book when you feel like it, or sleep in, or eat a leisurely meal-in favor of all the tedious moments that come with parenthood . . . well, it's not insignificant. There are times when parenthood is a burden, a never-ending testing of your patience, and a massive pain in the ass.

Oh, but the other times. What can I even say? As Kristin wrote, it's nearly impossible to describe what it is like to have a piece of your soul running on the earth beside you.

I've always hated it when people say "having children is the most rewarding thing you can do with your life", because I think it belittles all the choices that don't have anything to do with procreating. But the fact is, it's been the most rewarding thing I've done with my own life, despite the dreary days.

I don't really know what I'd say if someone told me they weren't sure if they ever wanted children, and what my .02 on the subject might be. I'd tell them the truth, that I wasn't sure I wanted children either, and that my decision to do so felt terrifying and unsure from day one. That it's been harder than I ever could have guessed. But also that it's so much better, that there are so many times when I cannot believe how much joy there is in my little world.

My life has grown and blossomed in a million ways since my son's birth. My heart has never known such love. I imagine there will always be days when I wish I could get on that plane, but I am so glad that I'm right here.

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Filed under: Newborn, Toddler, Preschooler, Magazines, Blogs, Adventures in Parenting, Emotions

Remember the great scared of Santa photo gallery? Well, if you felt bad that the world would never be able to see the tragic beauty of your photograph of your kid screaming in terror and/or anger at having to sit on the lap of a large stranger with a freakishly long white beard, you're in luck!

Parents.com has just launched a contest for pictures of kids whose encounters with Santa did not go so well. The contest will run until January 15 and the winner with the funniest picture will win a basket of prizes including six (6) DVD box sets, four (4) DVDs, two (2) Crayola Tadoodles sets, one (1) Comfy Easy PC, and one (1) stuffed teddy bear, a total retail value of almost $400.

Since my children were surprisingly well-adjusted about hanging out with anyone at all, I don't have any good pictures of Santa freak-outs.

Who knew that naughtiness and crying in front of Santa might one day pay off?!

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Filed under: Lifestyle, Size Six, ParentDish Laughs, Adventures in Parenting

Why would anyone in their right mind willingly submit themselves to eighteen (or more!) years of dealing with those loud, filthy, expensive, rebellious critters known as children? Surely, there must be some reason why people put up with their messes, the expenses, and the massive amount of care they require? Well, actually, there are reasons. Here are six of them:

• Free Labor -- this was always my dad's justification for having five kids. Sure, it takes a while, but eventually, they can become pretty darn useful. I know I learned ten-key-touch almost before I could walk and spent much of my life in my dad's accounting office adding up long rows and columns of numbers. That's in addition, of course, to the chores around the house.
  


• Someone to blame -- If you are habitually late (as I am) or forgetful (as I am), having kids can cover for you an awful lot. If you're late, it's the kid's fault. Forget to do something? You were busy dealing with the kids. This doesn't work so well as they get older, but for the first dozen years or so, it's great.
  


• Candy -- If you like candy, but don't usually buy it, kids are a great source. They get tons for halloween (they'll never miss one or two coffee crisps!), not to mention Christmas, birthdays, Easter, and so on. There's always leftovers and, if you train them right, they won't be too into it and you can pig out after they've forgotten it all.
  


• Tax Deduction -- This was my dad's other big reason for having kids -- not surprising given that he was a CPA. I don't know the details (I have a CPA of my own for that) but they can make a noticeable difference on your taxes. The best scenario, of course, is to give birth on New Year's Eve -- that way, you get a full year's deduction for only one day of parenthood.
  


• Messiness -- Kids are the perfect excuse not to obsess over having a less-than-spotless home. Your house doesn't look like the ones in the magazines? Well, heck, that's because those people don't have kids! You do, so naturally your house perpetually looks like a Chuck E. Cheese.
  


• Smiles, Hugs, and Kisses -- Okay, sometimes Sara just smiles in a way that makes the sun seem like a burned-out lightbulb. And Jared is great at hugging -- he just sort of melts into your arms and becomes part of you. And there's nothing like the feeling of their cheeks as I gently kiss them goodnight at bedtime.

So, I guess it's all worth it, eh?

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Filed under: Eating, Doing it myself, Tantrums, Speech, Emotions, Discipline, Likes and dislikes

"I want a fruit leather," he say with a sly grin.

"You can't have a fruit leather, it's dinner time," I say

"But I want one," he whimpers, making a perfect pouty face. "I just really, really want one."

We could go on all night like this, and we might well have, had I not stopped short, realizing that I was the one who created this particular problem. What was I expecting, asking my almost three year old what he wants for dinner? Of COURSE he wants a fruit leather. Did I REALLY expect him to say, that he wants broccoli florets and whole grain pasta?

But it's so easy to get sucked into this kind of discussion. I asked him what he wanted for dinner because I was busy and distracted and honestly, I hate thinking of what to make for dinner. Always have, even before I had him. It's half the battle, in my mind: deciding what to have. Once I know, making it is easy peasy as Jamie Oliver would say.

Back to the point, do you find yourself doing this: asking your kid an open-ended question and then arguing with them when they answer honestly, but inappropriately?

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Filed under: Toys, Elementary school, Going to school, Marketing to kids

Are you ever surprised by the things that sparks your child's interest? I'm sure toy manufacturers would love to know what toy is going to be the latest obsession. It's impossible to predict but interesting to observe the things that fascinate children.

My son has always had a love affair with anything to do with the Titanic. The James Cameron version of the movie came out about the time he was in kindergarten and he watched that movie so many times he broke the VHS tape. He became obsessed with anything to do with this story and we owned every picture book ever made with pictures and stories of the sinking of the Titanic. He learned to read by learning trivia facts about the Titanic. He would spend countless hours telling me every imaginable fact about the construction of the ship, what kind of wood they used, etc. He even had a miniature version of the the Titanic that was a bathtub toy that would fill up with water, split and sink to the bottom of the tub.

One day I received a note from his kindergarten teacher that he had failed one of his recent assessments. The students were required to know their birthday and had to tell the teacher the month, day and year when asked. Kyle had told his teacher that he was born on April 14, 1912. He continued to insist that this was his birthday and refused to acknowledge his true birthday. The teacher was curious what significance this date had and I had to tell her that it was the day the Titanic sank.

Luckily, Kyle learned his birthday and passed kindergarten. To this day, he can still tell you more than you ever wanted to know about the Titanic. I am still trying to find a way to incorporate math equations into some sort of science fiction trivia game. I am convinced he could memorize anything if it had the name World of Warcraft attached to it. However, I do occasionally ask him to tell me his birthday just to make sure.

Has this happened to you? Surely my son isn't the only child out there with the ability to write a lengthy equation to calculate the physics behind the Starship Enterprise but snarls when forced to write simple math equations?

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