Ok ladies, my son's room was SUCH a disaster that I had to show it to you..... watch the video!
And don't mind my husband in the background.... he's really not as creepy as he looks :-) lol. When I watched this before posting it, I was looking at him in the shot, just standing there, hovering.... he looks like a pimp or an angry stage manager (hmmm... aren't those kind of the same thing?)
By the way, this morning Little Man played with toys he hadn't played with in a while.... because for the first time in a month, he was able to find them. Oh, and he made his bed. Success.
In my house, the first of three consecutive teenagers (yes - that is three kids in a row, over the next three years, bing, bam, boom) is getting ready to make the big decision - where to go to college. The big envelopes and and skinny letters have been arriving over the past couple of months, the college visits have been made - but how does a mom know that where her child attends college will be a good fit.
It's easy to compare the financial implications, financial aid awards and scholarships but what about the non monetary, non major/minor related questions? I found a great site that will give you all the information that you might (and might not) want to know about each school your child is considering. It's a website that is filled with information provided by the students (past and present) of each college or university.
www.studentsreview.com has information on everything from how good the food is to the social life, faculty accessibility to campus safety. It's been useful - there are some reviews that are definitely "angry" but take the good and the bad and read between the lines. Good Luck!
Spring comes to the Bangor Auditorium and Civic Center during the annual Bangor Y Spring Fair on March 28, 29 and 30. MaineMoms.com is giving you a chance to win a family pack of tickets. The rules are: Below you should see a photo from last years Bangor Y Spring Fair; You post your best caption idea in the comments section, and we'll pick our favorite. The winner will receive 4 admission tickets to this weekends fair. There is no purchase necessary and you must be 18 or older to qualify. One entry per person, leave your email address so we know how to get in touch with you, contest ends Friday, March 28th at Noon! And remember let's try to keep it clean as much as we possibly can. Good Luck!!!!
Besides working at WCSH-TV, I also teach aerobics at Women's Fitness Studio & Spa in Brunswick. After having Rosa in September, I was determined to start teaching again as soon as possible, but I knew after having a C-section, it would take time. I waited the obligatory six weeks to heal, and got right back on the horse, and was teaching by the beginning of December.
This photo was taken at the beginning of February and truly represents one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. It was worse than being naked in front of the entire OB Staff at Midcoast Hospital during my surgery, worse than tripping on the treadmill back in college and slamming into the wall behind it, and even worse than walking around work last week with my fly down. That's because this moment I was performing my aerobics routine at a strip mall in Brunswick during a health fair for a local hospital. Yes, Brunswick Alums, this is how far I have come: performing on a plywood stage at the Cook's Corner Mall.
I felt like one of those live mannequins that people laugh at. I felt like the freak attraction at the circus. Oh, believe me, I didn't volunteer for this job, I reluctantly agreed to join another instructor for this torture, only to discover later that this instructor had backed out and I would be alone. But the worst part was this was the same strip mall that I used to wonder around when I was a kid. Now, I was the freak attraction for the current teenagers to stare at and snicker. And snicker they did... I think the only people who stopped to watch the routine were the teenagers who made fun of me, and parents of my friends growing up; and oh yes, they laughed too. In fact, the person who laughed the hardest was my own father, who took the photos to commemorate my misery. I felt like I was in high school all over again.
We never outgrow those feelings of insecurity and self-doubt. As we get older, we get more comfortable in our own skin, but as humans, I think we all feel a little self-conscious from time to time. Now that I have a child of my own, I can only hope I can teach her to look past her future bullies and humiliations and see the bigger picture. But as Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) says in the movie classic "American Beauty":
"I wish I could tell her that's all going to pass, but I don't want tolie to her."
We recently bought a new laptop and got hi-speed internet after not having it for a few years...I decided it was a good time to revisit some internet guidelines with my daughter as her interests in the internet have changed drastically in the past few years. She enjoys surfing the web, instant messaging, social networking, and research for homework/school projects, all of which are VERY closely monitored. I keep the laptop in the living room so that I can see what she is doing at all times. One rule we have is that she has to ask to go on the internet, that way I know exactly when she is going to be on...we then determine a time limit together. Typically she is on 1/2 hour a night...of course if it is homework related than it may require more time. I found a great website http://safekids.com/ for pre-teens on internet safety. There is a great "family" contract to go over with your kids together. Here are some other great topics on the website:
Child Safety on the Information Highway Video & Audio Slide Shows Kids Rules for Online Safety (for pre-teens) Safe Socializing Tips for Teens Guidelines for Parents of Preteens Family Contract for Online Safety Chat Room Safety Think Safety When Posting Online Video Protecting your family’s privacy
Check out the video below...it has a good message.
For those who are curious, the bed transformation was a No Go. 2 things really helped us make this decision. 1. When someone said "Let him be a baby for as long as you can." This is so true, our kids grow too fast as it is, why rush it if we don't have to. and 2. Friday night - my 2 year old was put in bed at his usual time of 9pm.....he didn't fall asleep until midnight. I know!!!! I mostly blame this on the fact that his caretaker for the day put him down for a late nap and he didn't wake up from that nap until 6pm. Hopefully all parties have learned from this. I can only imagine the situation of this night if he was in a bed and was able to escape. So, the boy is still behind bars. But I don't think it hurts his feelings one bit, and mom and dad's feelings will continue to be at ease for a little longer.
