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 …
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Almost two years ago my family moved into my parent’s house with the anticipation that we would be buying our own home shortly after. We stayed 18 months. Finally, we're days away from moving into our own home. But, it feels like I'm leaving home...
The purpose of our family moving in with mom and dad 18 months ago was to be free of all commitments and go into a 30-day closing with as little stress as possible. I think I have simply gone into denial this week that we are actually moving. We still have to go through the closing process, but it's here. The boxes are packed, the trucks scheduled, the utilities are transferring and, of course, the kids are being handled. I’m insanely excited, but it’s now become this bitter sweet pill. I’m wondering why we have so much stuff in mom and dad’s garage to move. I thought all of our stuff was in storage. This past week, I have been constantly thinking about how much I have enjoyed living with my parents. Y’all are probably like, “you have …
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Even though there's always more to do, we all need our Starbucks moments
Way back in the good ol’ days prior to having kids, didn’t it seem like time was all we had? There was plenty of time to shower, eat, get to work, go out for dinner or drinks, go on vacation, and you would still have plenty of time left over. I don’t recall ever having to implement my mad skills of time management. That could also be because my children have not only sucked my time up, but also have sucked my memory up. Anyway, as parents our plates can get a bit overloaded very quickly. Not only are we planning for our own days, but our kids’ as well. Being a stay-at-home parent I thought would allow me all this time to go on play dates, join the PTA, be the “soccer mom,” the den mother, the Tupperware hostess with the mostess, and, of …
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that the introduction of solid food take place between 4-6 months of age.
There seems to be a lot of variation these days regarding when parents should start incorporating solid foods into their infant's diet. Some studies suggest that introducing solid foods too early can lead to obesity, adult onset diabetes, celiac disease, allergies, eczema and feeding difficulties. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests that the introduction of solid food take place between 4-6 months of age. According to the AAP, breast milk can provide all the nutritional requirements for the growing infant. In 2005, the AAP encouraged the delay of solid food introduction until six months of age for exclusively breast fed infants with a multi-vitamin supplement also being offered. The 4-6 month infant, who is formula fed, can …
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Our household has become a hot bed of bacteria and virus. Between four adults and two kids, we're one big Petri dish.
We're a family. We go through the gamut of colds, flu, infections, rashes, and fevers. There are sleepless nights with a feverish baby, a coughing toddler, a puking child, and lots of snot. We deal with ooze from the eyes and sometimes the ears. I've been on the phone at 2 a.m. with children's health care nurses talking me through fever symptoms, more than once. As a parent, that's what you do. Parents usually get the illness and it takes us three-times as long to recover. It's what we endure as the creator of these little germy miracles called kids. My oldest son, Ethan, and I have been treated for strep. My mom has had a couple stomach viruses. My husband has had a lingering sinus-cough-thing. My youngest son, Quinn, has a sinus and ear…
The bill’s author, Rep. Yasmin Neal (D-Jonesboro): "It is patently unfair that men can avoid unwanted fatherhood by presuming that their judgment over such matters is more valid than the judgment of the General Assembly."
Georgia House and Senate legislators will hold a public hearing Wednesday to call attention to the double standard on reproductive rights by introducing the Anti-Vasectomy Act. The act was inspired, in part, by Athens Democrat-turned-Republican state Rep. Doug McKillip's abortion legislation H.B. 954, which attacks women's reproductive rights, according to House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams. "It is the obligation of the General Assembly to assert an equally invasive state interest in the reproductive habits of men and substitute the will of the government over the will of adult men," Abrams said. Rep. Yasmin Neal (D-Jonesboro), author of the Anti-Vasectomy Act, said thousands of children are deprived of birth in Georgia every year because…
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Modern-day moms have choices, thanks to the radicals.
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Saturday, February 18, 2012
By Erin Gallagher If Rick Santorum is to be believed, “the radical feminists succeeded in undermining the traditional family and convincing women that professional accomplishments are the key to happiness.” As I sit at my kitchen counter nursing my newborn and attempting to earn a living, I can’t help but think Ricky boy is full of crap. Yep, I’m a stay-at-home mom. I used to rock the suit every day. I worked in the Loop. I owned my own agency. I traveled the world. I climbed the corporate ladder. I hit the glass ceiling. I shattered it by choosing to stay at home with my kids. First of all, I’m not buying the idea that the traditional family is entirely undermined. Nor do I agree with the premise that professional accomplishments can’t …
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 …
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 ›