Thursday, July 5, 2012
Sometimes "free puppies" are free for a reason!
So just as life has been finding some order and relaxation around here we made the move that will blow it all up. We adopted not one but two puppies. Our friends and family all said, “you’re crazy, you’re insane, what are you thinking”, etc. We had our heart set on completing our “all American” family and also shutting the kids up. It’s been a nonstop discussion of begging, pleading, crying, whining and promising for us to get dogs. My husband and I made a pact years and years ago when he bought me our last dog. He slightly mentioned how he left Spanky’s sister there and I burst in to tears thinking of her being the last one picked and being alone. So we promised each other that our next pets would be siblings. That was 13 years ago and …
Thursday, April 26, 2012
My family recently moved into our new home. We moved at least 25 boxes of toys for our two boys. Where did all these toys come from?
In my teenage years, I was lured into being a nanny by a family with five children. My pay was a whopping $6 an hour. They had moved into the neighborhood and, looking back, the mother must have been a tiny bit overwhelmed. One of my duties was to organize the playroom. The empty 10' x 10' room in the basement was filled with 35 moving boxes marked "toys." What family has 35 boxes of toys? After my family's move 9 days ago, I now know that family wasn't crazy for having 35 boxes of toys for five kids. We moved at least 25 boxes of toys for our two boys, Ethan and Quinn. How on earth did this happen? We packed a storage POD two years ago with lots of toys that the boys wouldn't miss for a few months...we planned to be in our own home by …
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Children ages 5-10 can register now for classes during next week's spring break.
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Thursday, March 29, 2012
Registration is ending soon for Artscape! 2012 at East Cobb Park. Only 15 spaces are available each day for the classes, which take place next Wednesday and Thursday from 10-11 a.m. Northeast Cobb children ages 5-10 may be signed up for the classes, directed by Kent Nulty and that will feature Vincent van Gogh's "Flowering Almond Branch" painting. Registration must be completed online here and the cost is $15 per child. Parents must also sign a waiver of liability form to complete the process.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Are energy drinks safe for children? Energy drink manufacturers claim their products promote health and invigoration, but U.S. Poison Centers have recently begun tracking energy drink toxicity in children.
Energy drinks are the rage with U.S. adolescences. Children are experimenting with energy drinks for the rush from caffeine, plant-based stimulants and other ingredients, and to stay awake. In 2007, 5448 caffeine overdoses were reported with 46 percent of these cases occurring in children age 19 or younger. U.S. Poison Centers now track toxicity related to energy drinks. Energy drinks contain caffeine, plant-based stimulants, simple sugars and other additives that provide the stimulant effect. Let's compare a cup of coffee, which contains about 75-100mg of caffeine. In some coffee houses, a cup can contain up to 150mg per 6 oz. Remember that when drinking hot coffee, it enters the body slowly. In contrast, energy drinks can contain 500mg …
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
How does a parent keeping up with two growing boys?
If my sons aren't eating, they are growing (or making a mess, or being insanely loud). I can't keep up with two growing children. One month I need to take a loan out on food. The next month I need to take a loan out to clothe them. It starts with the eating frenzy. This begins the second, and I mean the second, my 6-year-old son, Ethan, walks in to the house from school. He is starving. A bowl of cereal, Goldfish® crackers, or raisins won't stall his hunger. That's a "snack-a-tizer." It takes a buffet to fill him up until dinner. He can eat his dinner, second helpings and half of his younger brother Quinn's dinner. I watched my brother eat like a refugee when he was a teenager. I'm thinking I might have to use the college fund for a short …
February is American Heart month. It is estimated that 17 percent of U.S. children are obese. Obesity, coupled with a high sodium diet, places children at risk for hypertension and heart disease. Find out how to help your child maintain a healthy heart.
Many people do not realize that children can develop hypertension. Often times there are underlying reasons for children having high blood pressure that are related to kidney disease and other types of medical conditions. I want to address the healthy born child, who is overweight or obese. Children who are overweight or obese have higher blood pressures than most children who are in their appropriate height and weight class. I also know that obese children have approximately a three-fold higher risk for hypertension than non-obese children. This is the first time in American history that our children may have a lesser life expectancy than their parents and it is due to lifestyle issues such as obesity, lack of physical exercise, high fat …
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
As we move forward into Quinn's third year, I'm becoming aware that a 3-year-old tantrum is nothing more than a 2-year-old tantrum with more verbal abuse.
My son Quinn and I were driving home from the doctor's office. All was well. Quinn decided he was hot and wanted his window open. It was 40-something degrees outside. He was just diagnosed with an ear infection. I'm thinking "not"! A sick 3-year-old and the word "no" equal a balls-up temper tantrum. The tantrum's first 90 seconds happened at a red light while he tried repeatedly to Houdini himself out of his five-point car seat harness to get to the window. During this time, my immediate reaction was to shout at him so that I could be heard over the screaming of "stupid mommy!" Yes, of course, I was being a "stupid mommy." Quinn was out of control. Why would I think that shouting back and telling him to calm down would work? We have …
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
It takes a savvy parent to know when the "faked illness" game is being played.
Way back in Kindergarten (last year), I sent Ethan to school when he had complained of a stomachache. He wasn't begging to stay home or really complaining, so I figured it was gas or one of the other millions of things that can make your stomach unsettled. That was my epic fail in the "kids being sick" file. Poor Ethan barfed during the class's round circle for all his friends to see. Things have never been the same since. Two days following that fiasco, he kept saying his stomach hurt so I kept him home. He did not appear sick while home. I caught on that he was embarrassed to go back to school. We had that sweet little mother-and-son talk about how "these things happen" and how "everyone will have already forgotten." Back to school he …
Tattooing has become common in pop culture. This form of self expression is illegal in children under 18 in Georgia and various other states.
A Georgia mother was recently arrested for allowing her 10-year-old to be tattooed. In Georgia, it is illegal to tattoo a person age 17 or younger. Parental consent is inconsequential. The fact that this child was tattooed speaks volumes regarding the ability to get a tattoo under the age of 18. I did notice that his mother's mug shot clearly displays a tattoo upon her neck. I have always pointed out that children mimic what they see. One only needs to look at professional athletes and one can see an endless array of "body art." We know that children idolize sports heroes, which brings us to ask these two questions: 1. "What is a hero?" 2. "How accountable should our sports icons be regarding behaviors both on and off the …
A local mom opened the Northeast Cobb kids' hair salon in 1999.
Kids aren't always enthusiastic about haircuts. Small children require a little more patience. Sabra Dupree, the proud mother of two sons, certainly understands. A love of hair styling and working with children inspired Dupree and her husband to start Kids Kuts Salon in 1999. "We've been here 12 years, same spot. I love to come to work everyday. I love to watch the children grow up," Dupree told Northeast Cobb Patch. The salon employs an enthusiastic team of stylists: Amanda, Chiraz, Shaundra and Dupree. The team performs about 44 haircuts daily. A basic child's haircut costs $14. A bang trim, $5. Salon services go beyond hair cutting. A boy's haircut with highlights costs $28. Your child's ears can be pierced for $24. Highlights and …
34.042045
-84.483256
Kids Kuts Salon
2323 Shallowford Rd, Marietta, GA
/articles/a-cut-above-kids-kutz-salon
1378612
/locations/6287926
Gayla
4:44 pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012
by the way Katie, what kind of puppies are they and what did you name them? just curious... more ›