CurrentMom

Getting Things Done with a Kid?

Image via Wikipedia

Technology Thursday

Before we had a child, my husband and I felt that we were barely staying on top of things in our household.  We're both well-educated reasonably organized individuals, but between two jobs, various activities, keeping a house, and trying to make sure to find time for each other, it was a challenge - a real challenge.  As anyone who's had a child knows, adding our son to the mix has only complicated matters further on the organizational front.  Now, we're trying to do our jobs, maintain the household, keep the baby (almost toddler) safe not to mention happy, and find time for the four relationships that now need attention and maintenance (me and my son, my son and my husband, my husband and I, and all three of us together).  Most of our other activities have been abandoned while we all seek to survive the little guy's infancy.

A few year's back I started implementing David Allen's "Getting Things Done" approach to life and work organization and maintenance.

The Sick Kid Shuffle

Work Wednesday

Inspired by the Obamas' romantic date night in Prague during the President's recent European tour, my plan was to blog about the beneficial effect on a working couple's marriage of not just a date night - but a whole date week - in a foreign locale, far away from daily responsibilities and routines. That was before we returned from our anniversary getaway to Lisbon, while we still had a rose-colored 50,000 foot view of our lives. (Thank you grandparents!) And before my three-year old refused a yummy-looking cupcake at the birthday party we attended the morning after we arrived home. And well before he - who battles naps every weekend  - said he wanted to sleep. A clear sign of trouble ahead.

For the next few hours, I tried to deny that anything was wrong.  I slumbered away my jet lag while my son napped for an exceptional three and half hours. My fantasy ended when he woke up and vomited all over the place.  The thermometer confirmed reality - 102.5 Farenheit, 39.2 Celsius - either way, it meant that we'd be doing the sick kid shuffle all week.

Slumdog Star Rubina's Father And Judgement

Therapy Tuesday

Slumdog star Rubina’s father wants to sell her. The world has gone wild; Slumdog star Rubina’s father is trying to sell her. How dare he! Now Indian police are investigating. Check out this You Tube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2grzeso6n0&feature=player_embedded

I have three children, and when they misbehave I have joked with them, that I am going to put them up for sale on Craigslist. I am sure you have too. Most parents have. The difference between us and Rubina’s father is that he was serious and actually tried to strike a deal with a reporter.

Everyone is so quick to judge, make news, and appear to be do-gooders.  What people seem to be missing is that there are tremendous differences between countries like India, China and Africa, which are third world countries, and America.

Zero Calorie Chocolate & Other DIY Spa Treatments

Meal Monday

Do you need a no calorie treat? Well, how about using your kitchen to mix up a DIY spa treatment?

For very little money and effort, you can mix up your own scrubs and bath salts. The Internet has tons of interesting recipes for homemade body products, and well known recipe sites are the first place to look.

RecipeZaar, for example, has a yummy-sounding recipe for Chocolate Body Scrub. All you need is sugar, cocoa, and oil. J. Ko posted: “This was a lot of fun! Won't go into the details, but it is tasty too! It was a nice way to change up the routine in a 13 year marriage, and it also left our skin satiny smooth! The tub cleaned up easily when we were finished.”

Have You Felt Judged as a Parent?

Family Friday

In recent months, women like Casey Anthony and Renee Bowman have come to symbolize Parenting Gone Horribly Awry.   Of course, less tragic examples of bad parenting abound, many of which appear to involve exceptionally poor judgment rather than "evil." 

Those of us in the Washington area may remember the mother who placed three children (ages 9, 8, and 3) into her trunk, closed the lid, then went barreling down Interstate 15 in her Volvo.  Fortunately, a police officer quickly intervened.  The mom's reasoning:  apparently the children wanted to see what it was like to ride in the trunk. 

Most of our mistakes as parents do not rise to this level.  I think that Bad Parent stories such as these appeal to so many of us simply because they make us feel better about our own parenting.   

When we assure ourselves that we would never do anything that stupid, it is relatively easy to get judgmental and smug about others' parenting.  This serves as a defense against our own feelings of inadequacy.  And sometimes what we react to are not others' mistakes per se, but simply parenting styles different from our own. 

When I start feeling smug toward other parents, it isn't long before I forget a permission slip or experience a similar mental lapse.  And I have certainly felt judged by other parents at times - let me share one example that still gets me steamed: