Christmas is coming -- what's your list?

I love these things... one of my playgroup mom’s just sent it to me.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Whatever works!

2. Real tree or artificial? FAKE... first time we have a fake one... will be much easier to come home to after 2 weeks away... no dried up tree and messy needles on the floor. This one even has the lights built into the tree... how easy is that!!!! Alas, no yummy pine smell :(

3. When do you put up the tree & decorate? Whenever Husband can separate his lazy ass from the computer!

4. Favorite gift received as a child? New clothing... I was quite poor... and always looked like Raggedy Ann.

5. Do you like eggnog? not really... the idea of it is much better than the actual stuff.

6. Do you like Hot Buttered Rum? never tried it... probably same as above.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes... but its Upstate at my parent’s country house... it is carved out of wood.... and is set up all year round. I love the way my 2 yr old calls the big guy "Jofuss."

8. Hardest person to buy for? My dad... I bought him a sharper image massager chair once... wow that did not go over very well! This year (during our "early" x-mas) I bought a duo present for my parents "THE WAR" DVD set ... they seemed pleased.

9. Tinsel or garland? All too messy

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail.... just sent them... always too late!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Board games with no pieces, every year my Babcia (mom's mom) would buy used toys at tag sales... and wrap them up for the grandkids. She had 7 kids... and MANY grand kids... her homeade cards were the best though! she called me UZIE.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Miracle on 34th st... I can totally relate to the little girl.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? After thanksgiving
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? of course... whoever hasn't is lying!

15. Favorite Christmas Treat?
Home-made pierogies! mmmm

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear

17. Favorite Christmas song? Whatever my kids sing
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel

19. Favorite Christmas Family Tradition? Stockings Cristmas morning, so nice to see he found my girls in the Netherlands... as there much anxiety about this the night before.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? whatever my kids make

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Both... Catholic on Christmas Eve... Protestant side Cristmas Day

2. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Decorating! I love the way it all looks, but hate doing it!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? A hand painted... hand blown glass ornament I received at an ornament swapping party I once threw. It is painstakingly painted on the inside through a little hole on the top... you have to see it to believe it. I'm waiting for the day my kids break it!

24. Favorite full Christmas dinner? Homemade Pierrogies and Gowomkis and Borscht (how do you spell that?) traditional polish food AWESOME!

25. When do you take the tree/decorations down? Whenever Ray can separate his lazy ass from the computer.

Halloween Recap

Ok, so here’s what we came up with. Natasha originally wanted to go as Hermione... but at the last second had a gender bending idea of going as Harry Potter. She added her own touch of blood at her school before the parade. Delfine went as a Dutch girl... which really was a pilgrim costume. The wooden shoes were a little too much for her to walk in... and she only wore the crazy Brade's at home and didn’t want to wear them to the parade or to trick or treating. Emerson went as a little police man. The best part of that costume was his little whistle. He had trouble keeping the hat on his head. We’re still reeling from all the candy... and I keep bringing huge bags of it into work. So far they haven’t noticed mommy leaving with large amounts of their candy in the morning.

A recent article from Newsweek I thought was interesting. Seems I'm not alone.

Something Scary Is In Your Closet
By Matthew Philips
NEWSWEEK
Updated: 3:22 PM ET Oct 27, 2007
Halloween costumes are supposed to be scary, but what's putting a fright into parents this year is how slinky the options are getting for their daughters. Designs for classics, like witches and princesses, are featuring more halter tops, miniskirts and bare midriffs. One version of a Little Bo Peep costume for preteens, on sale at Buy Costumes.com, has a corset and knee-high stockings. An Army-girl costume is labeled "Major Flirt." These , along with hot sellers based on TV shows like "Hannah Montana," are making it hard for parents to find something that won't make their trick-or-treater look like a lady of the night.
"Halloween has become just an excuse for little girls to dress like sluts," says Celia Rivenbark, author of the 2006 book "Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank." Americans are expected to spend nearly $2 billion on Halloween costumes this year, twice what they did in 2003, according to the National Retail Federation. But the trend simply reflects the culture, says Jackie MacDonald, a costume buyer for catalog giant Lillian Vernon. "We don't want to say they're sexier," MacDonald says. "Just more confident." Feel better?

Halloween is coming... hide the black lipstick!

Actually what I’m really trying to say is WHY hide the black lipstick? What happened to the creative make your own costumes? I remember my friends and I coming up with some really crazy stuff when we were kids. And that was ok. Now all I see are store bought costumes. What really get’s me the most are the girls costumes! Why are they always the “sexed-up” version of a character. You can’t just be a witch anymore... you have to be the “sexy” witch. I saw some very perverted costumes in K-mart the other day. And mind you I wasn't in the adult section... these are supposed to be for a child! There was a Britney spears pop tart outfit... short short skirt and head-piece to sing into. A Bratz Cheerleader – short short skirt, pom poms and skimpy top. The Devinne devil girl, short short skirt! The consensus was SHORT SHORT SKIRT! I have 2 girls... I would not be caught dead putting them into any of these. Alas all we could find that was acceptable for my 8 yr old was a Hermione cape... and my 6 yr old has to go as a pilgrim cause it was the most benign. What I wish more than anything is that Natasha could create what she wants -- like in these pictures. She found some black lipstick the other day... slathered herself and her sister’s face with it. Used a band-aid on the nose... wash-cloth and sleeping eye mask... voila... quite creative costumes I thought. (Although she didn't ask permission to do it... and it took about an hour to wash it all off) Alas if I sent them to school like this for the annual Halloween parade I’d probably be reported to child services. Yet sadly enough ... it seems a short short skirt is acceptable.

Dear Oprah... if you had kids you’d realize ... Jessica Seinfeld's recipes are ridiculous!

As seen on Oprah ... http://www2.oprah.com/foodhome/food/jseinfeld/recipes/jseinfeld_recipes_main.jhtml

Ok... so you want me to spend my Sundays making whaaa... puree’s? Are you kidding me? This was the most ridiculous celebrity book plugging I’ve seen in a long time. First of all this is certainly NOT a new idea. Women have been making baby food this way for centuries. My Grandmother during the war used to simply chew up whatever food she had, which wasn’t much, and feed her babies. She had seven children before during and after WW2, so NO Jessica this is NOT something YOU invented. Also, the idea of HIDING your kids veggies, or making chicken nuggets and pizza with hidden puree’s inside is like...hiding gems inside garbage! When Seinfeld’s kids leave the house and actually see a real carrot they won’t know what it is. Will they say... “mommy why isn’t this mashed up and hidden inside a hamburger?" Also how does she expect a working mom to spend hours making these silly concoctions? For me it’s simple, my kids eat what we eat. My 2 year old will pick up a broccoli stalk and start gnawing on it. Do you think he’d do that if he was used to eating broccoli puree hidden in pasta sauce? I was also alarmed by Dr. Oz (featured on the same show) not chiming in about how if you steam and puree veggies they lose tons of nutrients. This certainly also does nothing for childhood obesity. Kids need to learn to eat REAL fruits and veggies. People should really follow Alice Water’s advice. I had the pleasure of meeting her this past Spring in Rome where she re-vamped the America Academy of Rome’s menu. Why was I there? I'll save this for another blog entry.
Waters promotes organic and small farm products heavily in her restaurants, in her books, and in her **Edible Schoolyard** program in the public schools. Her ideas for "edible education" have been introduced into the entire Berkeley school system.
Let’s get kids to eat the real deal. If you buy local and organic produce it will taste so delicious you won’t need to hide anything!

Coming soon...
Halloween is around the corner ... hide the black lipstick!

Mr. Clean Magic Sponge Fact or Fiction

This is a recent email I received from a friend... any truth to this do you think? I will continue to post these types of emails here... I received one recently about red lipstick containing lead. And of course the one about the 4 yr old boy's Croc shoe getting stuck in an escalator.


Please pass this on to all the little one's parents in your area. Ok, I'm sending this out to everyone so they don't make the same mistake I made. I'm so embarrassed that this happened but I want you all to be aware of what can happen. This was caused by a magic eraser sponge. I have let both kids erase their crayon marks off the walls and never even thought the sponges would have this kind of chemical in them that would cause this kind of burn or even hurt them. Learn from my mistake. You can't even imagine how bad I feel that this happened to Kolby. Pass this along to anyone who has kids or grandchildren.

The email continues... but I gather you get the point.

My First Day Blogging

I have no idea when I'll find the time to write in this Blog. But I feel I really need an outlet for the struggle working moms have to deal with everyday. Leaving the house this morning was a total nightmare. I have three children and I commute to the city from New Jersey. My oldest was hanging on my body telling me "you can't leave me." Does anyone else experience this. And what do you do?