Sippycup

Tricks of the Trade

As a mom I come across annoying little problems everyday.  On some days, I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing (o.k. pretty much everyday). I'm constantly winging it. It's such a relief to know that other moms out there sometimes feel the same way.  Better yet, someone might already have an answer to a problem that has been keeping me up at night.

They say that necessity is the mother of all inventions.  It's so true.  There are moms out there that have invented (or stumbled across) certain tricks that can make all of our lives easier.  Think about the guy that invented Post-Its he was trying to invent a strong adhesive and instead invented a really weak one.  Post-Its were a total mistake. 

While you may not have invented the next Post-Its, you must have invented a couple Tricks of the Trade. 

Recently, our Sippycup mom, Sandra, asked: "How do you get the yellow stains from spit up out of baby clothes?  That stuff is harder to get off than bird poop on your car after a hot L.A. day...."

Come on moms out there...help the poor woman out.  Share your wisdom on Tricks of the Trade. 

Update: Listerine Agent Cool Blue

After posting the info on Listerine's Agent Cool Blue Plaque Detecting Rinse several of you have shared your experience with the stuff.

Thanks to Bertie for clarifying that the Bubble Blast flavor also turns your teeth blue (not pink like I thought). 

And thanks to Sandra who wrote: "I just got this a couple weeks ago, the only ones that have used it are my husband and I. I guess I should let my 6 year old use it. It doesn't seem to work too well cause only the spaces in our teeth turned blue, but maybe that's a good thing!"

I think you're right, it is a good thing that your teeth turned only a little blue.  I tried it after a piece of Laffy Taffy and my teeth looked like a bunch of blueberries (they're usually blue only around the gum line on other days).

Please share any other cool products that might be fun AND good for our kids. We'd love to hear from you.  Also, let us know if there's something your looking for, maybe some mom out there already has an answer.  Remember, as moms, we've been there, done that.

Problem of the Week: Playdates

Now that Emma is going back to preschool, I thought I'd make things easier on all of us (mainly me) by inviting some of her friends out for play dates.  In the hopes that when she goes back next week she'll at least be comfortable around a few kids. 

Well my friends, this play date stuff sucks! There's just no other way of describing it.  It's just like dating all over again!

Step One-The Call:  You leave the same super long message on a machine hoping for a quick call back.  The hours pass, and no call. You silently begin to feal rejection.  Maybe I came on too strong. You start to doubt yourself, are other moms out there cooler?  Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. Finally (it's really the next day, but it felt like forever), a call back.

Step Two-The Meeting: You discuss all the possibilities.  My place or yours?  We decide on neutral territory, a local park.  The big day arrives.  You pack snacks for all (want to be generous), fix everyones hair (want to look presentable),  and wipe everyones snots (one last look in the rear view for any bats in the cave).  You have your husband promise to call exactly 30 minutes into the date so that if things aren't going well you can fake an emergency and leave. He never calls, your stuck there for the rest of the eve.

Step Three-Get Acquainted:  Next thing you know, the kids all run off to climb the jungle gym leaving you and this "new" mom no choice but to talk.  This is no small task, especially if you land one from another planet.  You have nothing in common.  The awkward silence is broken when she asks if you like your current cleaning lady.  How the hell am I supposed to answer that? I AM THE CLEANING LADY!

Step Four-The Big Decision: The date is over.  Do you take it to the next level?  Invite them over or just call it quits and search for someone else? 

There's got to be an easier way.

Run Like a Mother

I never thought I would ever enjoy any kind of exercise, much less running.  But after a brutally long day (actually summer) I find that there's nothing like a nice long run. 

I started running thanks to Steve who signed me up for a half marathon (13.1 miles) as a Christmas present.  What ever happened to giving someone underwear?  Needless to say, I wasn't too thrilled.

I tried running pre-kids and hated it. My knees hurt, the treadmill made me feel like a hamster going nowhere, and the shows on the T.V. at the gym were snoring boring.  Nothing to love at all.

Now, post-kids, I can honestly say I LOVE RUNNING!  No, there's no magical hormone released during pregnancy that will make you enjoy exercise. And yes, my knees still hurt.  Oh and, thanks to the extra baby weight, my thighs rub together so much you could light a fire between them. But it's a good pain. Really.

Maybe running is awesome because it is my chance to get away and listen to my iPod without interruption.  The treadmill is now my friend.  I enjoy the fact that it stays still (not like my two-year old).  The repetitive movement is now like a soothing lullaby singing step, step, step.

I can zone out the world and catch up at the same time.  To catch up I just look up at CNN on the T.V..  Too heavy.  I zone out.  Just look at the the fat girl running on the treadmill in front of me.  Oh wait. That's me in the mirror.  Damn, I wore the wrong sports bra and the air is on really cold in here (no wonder I kept getting all those second takes).  Who cares, I'm alone (at least in my head).

This past February, I completed my first half marathon.  YES, ME 13.1 MILES. Me, the same person that will drive in circles looking for the parking space closest to the door.  Me the person who never walked 13.1 miles much less ran them. And I did it all by my little self. It was such a cool sense of accomplishment.

I think there is something to be said about doing things for yourself. As parents I'm sure that a lot (if not all) of us tend to put our children first.  And, to a degree, it's not necessarily a bad thing.  But if you can find one thing to do for yourself; do it.  Go ahead, do it and don't  you dare feel guilty. 

Remember, that as parents we constanly cheer our children on.  "Yeah, you peed in the potty". "Yeah, you blew your own nose".  "Yeah, you put your shoes on by yourself".   Let's not forget to cheer for ourselves.  I know that for a long time I did.

I'll never be able to explain how cool it was to hear Emma brag about how "her mom runs marathons".  In her eyes I broke a new world record (I finished at the end of my age group). And when she was holding the medal I got (everyone got) you'd swear she was holding an Olympic Gold. I know that in her little world she's proud of me too.  You just can't beat that.

Top Best/Worst Things About Having Kids in Your 30's

Been There, Done That.  By the time you're 30 most are actually partied out and looking for an excuse to stay in. "Sorry, we can't make it, it's  right around nap-time".

No More Going Solo.  You went solo on vacations, dinners and parks.  Now you can take your own kids to Disneyland (no more borrowing nieces and nephews). No more being the 30 year old dorks (with no kids) on the Dumbo ride.

Stir Things Up.  Believe me, there is nothing like having kids to shake up a marriage.

Abstinence.  By the time you have kids in your 30's you will only have energy for very few things other than the kids.  Sex will no longer be an issue.  Just say: "Look honey, I have enough energy to do the dishes or do you and the baby needs a clean bottle so it looks like you're outta luck".

Reality Check. By the time you're thirty you'll realize that you're biological clock is ticking and that if you don't get cracking you'll be 50 with a kid in kindergarten. 

You're Ready.  You're not financially, emotionally, or physically ready and yet you're very ready.  Ready to take on whatever might come with being new parents.  This one's really hard to explain, you almost have to be there to understand.

You're Not as Naive as You Were.  By the time you hit your 30's you've been around enough babies to know that it's gonna be hard, really hard.  So you kinda go into it bracing yourself for the blows (at least you know enough to put your dukes up).

You Can Honestly Enjoy Them.   Not that you can't enjoy kids if you had them earlier.  It's just that because you have been, there and done that- that you don't feel robbed of anything when they finally do come. 

It seems like 30 was just the right time (at least for us).  Kinda right in the middle.

Problem of the Week: Sodas

I tell you, the problem of the week just seems to come so easy. 

Here it goes: Over the last few weeks we have had my nieces and nephews visiting for the summer.  Since then, our days have been filled with going out as well as eating out.  As well as being very hard on my diet and wallet it has created an awful addiction for Emma and Sean.  Sodas.  All they want to drink are sodas. 

Easy, just don't give them any, you say.  But how do you control them when all the other kids around them are enjoying the cool refreshing bubbly stuff? 

Maybe I'll just wait until everyone is gone and go cold turkey...pray for me, I have the feeling the withdrawal is going to be ugly.

Hot Day Tip

After a month of June gloom in May (I'm told we're calling it "May Gray"), it's finally hot in Southern California, so let's swap some mommy tips to beat the heat. After all, there's got to be something better than going to Toys R Us for two hours just to bask in the A/C.

One of my favorite "toys" for hot days is spray bottles. You can buy empty ones at Target or Big Lots for less than a buck each, and fill them with water. Then let the kids mist each other or themselves to their heart's content.

Owen and Stew like to spray all the plants on the porch, along with any bugs or spider webs that get in their way. They have entertained themselves for hours in this way, but since it's just a little mist, nobody gets truly dirty or wet- so it's an activity they can even do in their school clothes.

Share your own hot day trick in our Tricks of the Trade section!

(You need to register as a Sippycupper first! Don't worry, it's free and painless.)

Problem of the Week 5/4

This originally started out as me complaining about Emma's obsession with the number three and the color green.  But after the last three nights, Sean has decided to take over this weeks Problem of the Week slot.

Sean used to be my perfect little sleeper.  At nap time, I never encountered any problems. He would  roll over onto his tummy, stick his butt up in the air,  place his two fingers in his mouth and be out like a light.  Plus, he would sleep like a log.  And, until last Sunday, the nights were pretty much the same. 

It seems, however, he no longer needs to go to sleep at 7:30 like the rest of those immature 1 1/2 year olds.  Instead, he has decided he can stay up past 10:00 p.m. 

Come on Sean. I'm ready for bed by 8:30. 

My solution: make him stay in the room at his normal 7:30 bedtime- no matter what.

His response: not gonna happen lady.

He decided that the second I turn out the lights would be used as an opportunity to practice every single word in his vocabulary.  Well, who can blame him.  He's around Emma all day (Lord knows that girl can talk).  Finally, it's his chance to use all those new words he's been acquiring.  I'm convinced he was giving Emma a little taste of her own medicine. Oh sweet revenge! 

Emma, who no longer naps and just started preschool, was super tired and requesting (more like whining) that Sean be removed.   I'm sure that only made him happier.

After about 50 minutes (O.K. it was only 5, but it felt like 50)  I banned all talking.  I double dog dared them to make my day. All I had to do was threaten a time out. Super Nanny sure knows her stuff.  It worked! He stopped talking and Emma stopped whining.

That was so easy! I was so proud of Sean for understanding the concept of time outs.  My little man now understood that there is a consequence to his actions. 

I patted myself on the back.  I told myself, job well done mom.  See, you DO know what you're doing.  And as I headed out the door Sean brought me back to reality  by making every sound effect known to mankind.  Emma instantly broke into a laughter.  That laughter might as well have been a standing ovation.  He thought he was the funniest thing on earth.  I comforted myself by thinking that at least he wasn't talking.

I went back to his bed to pat him down and remind him it was time for sleepies.  Only to find that the little weasel had escaped!  It was now a game of hide and seek.  And he was going down!  At this point, I was beyond tired and frustrated. 

Steve, I later learned, was enjoying everything from the comfort of the living room couch.  For better or for worse, yeah, right.

I guess I could have just turned on the lights but that would have been like starting from scratch.

"Sean where are you?" I said.  Trying to remain calm.  I heard a faint little "hee hee hee" from across the room.  Emma of course forgot how tired she was and continued egging him on.  "Go! Chompers! GO!"  she cheered. 

I would still be looking for Sean right now if it weren't for the genius who invented glow in the dark pajamas. They must have had a little boy.

I finally wrangled Sean up, calmed Emma down and got them both to sleep by planting myself in the middle of the room.  I know this is just a passing phase.  I'm just bracing myself for whatever new and annoying thing will replace it.