Parenting Sites 411

We don’t have guest over to our house often.  Our house is a wreck and even though my mom works her tail off everyday (I am in a non-mobile cast so don’t even go there) to try to keep it all done but it is simply really hard to do with a 4 year old and a 6 year old scattering clothes, toys, dirty, more dirt. 

I have a few items that just need to be carried to the garage and stored and then of course there are crutches and walkers and can boots and holy cow my husband has no clue where the hamper is.  The one thing that irritates my mom (and our former cleaning lady) is that fact that we have so many computers.  I didn’t say that in a boastful way because, mos6t of 6them don’t work just yet. 

Wait, they might work, I just haven’t seen them in action. Right now there are about 4 laptops running, 2 fully functioning desktops, 2 desk tops that he is “building” and then the boys computer.  So, yea my family room is a wreck and I don’t even let the pizza delivery guy come inside. 

But, if you host a lot, I have some links for you…you can’t afford to miss.  Be a Better Hostesss – 10 to help you become the Ultimate Hostess With the Mostess

While you are checking out that article just keep reading.  There are tons of great stuff over there at Purple Trail

I’m curious how many of you that read here are stay at home mom’s, work at home moms, work outside of the home moms, etc. 

I’m curious to know your status and I’m gonna give you a few ideas that you can use to make a little extra cash.  And I  notice now that I didn’t include our dad’s on there so if you are a stay at home father or any of the others but fall into the father department of parenting, please jump in on the other section.

So, if you are just careening about, looking for some extra cash on the side, here’s a few ideas to get you started.  Dog Walker?  Well, where I”m from there are no such thing as dog walkers because dogs simply run free and walk themselves.  But, if you live in a big city, I can see where you might could make some cash (and lose some weight) if you did this for a living.  Could you imagine walking 2 or 3 dogs a day at 2 or 3 different times.  That’s be 3 long walks and 9 dogs…woot, some money there I’m sure.

A handyman?  Now, that, that’s pretty funny because a handyman I am not!  I couldn’t fix anything if I tried, but if you have those skills, people are always looking to fix broken things.  A medical transcriptionist is a great way of making some extra cash if you in that business.  I happen to have excellent medical terminology skills from all those years working in doctors offices and I type really well and I’ve yet to get one of these jobs so I don’t know how hard they are to get for everyone else but for me…not easy.

A few other odd jobs that you mind find some extra cash can be found in this article.

I’m curious about you guys?  I’m not sure that there’s alot of you out there reading, the signs don’t necessarily point in that direction, although I’d like to think that there is.  So, I’m wondering if I could get you all to answer a few questions for me.  Tell me who you are, what you like, what you want to read more of, what kind of sites you are interested in me finding for you so you don’t have to. 

So, there’s this little poll below and if you don’t mind answering a few questions, maybe we can vamp up the readers around here so that we could make this a better site, a more useful site. 

So, I ask you, what is it that brings you here?  And, all that good stuff?  I’m really wanting to build this site and I definitely need your help so anything you can give me is good.  Feel free to comment in the comments section or in the poll where it would be more private.  And, if you definitely want them to remain private, they will be there because there’s no where that it asks for a name and I’m not going to go IP hunting just for this.  I’m just curious.

If you are in need, and as a parent, who is not in need, of assistance, you can find a wealth of information on Parents.com.  I signed up for the newsletter and each time I receive one, I mark it with a special star so I know to go back and look at it when I have a lot of time.  I don’t want to miss anything or any part of the online edition.  Although, I do get the magazine as well, I know the wealth of information is going to be amazing.

Thus, you definitely need to make sure you have plenty of time when you get involved.  But, just assuming that you all like to read the same parts as me, I’m going to throw some links your way, see what you think and let me know.

First of all, on the idea that motherhood or parenting in general is stressful, you can find plenty to read at Moms on Stress and that’s not similar to Moms on Anti-depressants or anything, just moms discussing stress.  And, if there is one thing that is truly stressing, it is the thought of leaving your child with a caregiver other than say you or the grandparents.  That brings me to Watch Your Nanny.

Definitely, go check those out and see if they are as helpful to you as they have been to me.

Ok, so yea, I get it, I’m a parent but not everyone wants to hear me tell parenting stories.  So, I figure, I’ll give you one little parenting story and then guide you in the direction of some folks that can tell you a little more about parenting than I can.  Because, really, mostly all I can do is laugh at my inadequacies as a parent and make fun of my husbands lack of patience.   With that, Jace, who is 4 and has some issues..we are working on those that are real, but the fact of the matter is this….he is stubborn and no amount of therapy or discipline can cure stubborn.  Stubborn is as stubborn does and in order to combat it, you must be stubborn.

So, with that, I tell you that when my son was asked repeatedly what the magic word was (and that word would be please just in case you don’t know)…he refused to say it.  Long story short, 10 minutes later, he is asked again, “what is the magic word?” and with the straightest of faces, Jace waves his little finger in my husbands face and says, “hokus pokus”. 

Er….what?  Ok, and for enduring that story… I have for you…freeebies….well, I mean, you know, a site where you can find more funny stories…you can watch them…for real…go see..

As you all know, I’m new at this blog and I’m working hard to find the best possible information for you.  Today, I’m going to link you up with some great giveaways. 

We will start with “Watch Out for Winter Germs!” This offers you an online program with nutrition, germ prevention and general wellness tips.  Give it a try and see if you can win.

And, give ol’ Abe a Happy Birthday by celebrating this great American with Live the Legacy poster.  You can also download historical timelines, lesson plans, Lincoln’s famous speeches and other resources.  You can even see community projects in world history and civics.  So, go enter at Abraham Lincoln 200.

Finally, you can get busy with Math Matters by getting into HotChalk’s first Math Matters curriculum, Off-Road Algebra and 30 free video lessons to use for you and the students.  You can even take a guided tour of the ins and outs of HotChalk if you click the “Take the Tour” button.

Yes, I realize that many of these are set up for public schools but don’t tell me our creative homeschoolers can’t make it work because I know you guys, you know exactly how to make it hot hot hot when it comes to learning and using your resources.  Go ahead and give them a try.

I don’t think it matters if you are alone in a strange city where you have no acquaintences or if you are surrounded by friends and family. There is something about motherhood that inherently lonely. This is especially true if you are a stay at home mother and spend your days at home surrounded by children (some of who might not even be able to form sentences yet). There was a great article at ParentDish recently by Kristin Darguzas that talked about this very subject. She highlighted another great post from Girls Gone Child that included some great insights on the loneliness of motherhood. For instance, there was this great nugget:

And no matter how much I love my life and the people who are in it, I usually feel completely alone. And sometimes it’s too much to bear without telling somebody or something other than paper.

It’s sad we have to feel this way.  It’s sad that motherhood has to be such an isolating experience.  I will admit that I feel extremely alone most days.  It’s as if life is passing me by and I’m helpless to do much more than just watch.  I love my children, I love them desperately.  But sometimes I am left wondering if there is more to life than this.

Saturday night we were in a hotel but we dutifully changed the clocks in the room so we wouldn’t miss breakfast with the grandparents in the hotel restaurant. I mean, they were paying, how could we miss out?

But since we sprang forward our lives have been operating on a hour difference. Last week we got up at 7:30. This week we are getting up at 8:30. Last week I went to bed at 11, this week I actually get to see Jay Leno’s monologue. And Fuller goes to bed at 8:30 instead of 8.

Then Fuller got the allergies, I got the allergies, and it all seemed really messed up.

I got a comment in my family blog that setting a lamp with an automatic timer would help the kids adjust. That seemed like such a simple idea. Her kid knows that his mommy won’t come into the room until the light comes on. Since we haven’t been beyond our yard since Monday (we go to the doctor today), I haven’t had the opportunity to pick up a timer for his lamp. But I think I am going to give that a try.

This is where segue to other great ideas that parents have and point out the fun site ParentHacks.com

If you haven’t seen this website yet, and you are a parent, then you really need to get over there. They have great parent to parent advice on how to meet the challenges of parenting.

Need a cheap bedrail? Try a swim noodle.
Missing instructions to some of your kids’ toys? I found toy instructions wiki through Parent Hacks.
Are you resisting potty training because it is scary and have no idea how to approach it? Um… not me? Well, this ping pong ball idea seems like a good hack to strive toward. I mean, for someone to strive for.
And since we aren’t talking about me, maybe I could have passed this glow stick during bathtime idea to someone who’s two year old screams like he is being abused whenever he touched the water.

If you have a hack, tip, or product recommendation, contact them and let them know.

Have a great weekend. We will be recovering from the attack of the allergies and maybe getting to visit with Cookie Monster. Really!

daylight savings, parent hacks, parenting tips

I don’t know what happened, but I know I tried to post something earlier, but it got eaten by a timeout on the network. Grrrrr…

Well, we still have sickness in the house and it has infected me, the mom, the one who should be holding this household together. Yesterday I lost track of the number of times my son threw up. It wasn’t pretty and I have the need for a carpet cleaner.

I didn’t do anything on the computer yesterday, I was just to woozy to sit upright.

We missed celebrating Valentine’s Day, because of all the fun with vomit we were having. It was a bummer, but hey it’s only a made up Hallmark holiday anyway. I tell my husband I love him every day! I still have some valentine’s to mail out, but that requires a trip to the store to pick up pictures, and with Fuller’s state of being right now, a car ride isn’t in our future.
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