The Season is Upon Us!

Cold and Flu season!! Since returning from our Christmas trip, our family has been passing bugs around. We haven't gotten the flu, thank Heaven, but we seem to not be able to shake our colds. Our humidifier is getting an extra workout this year. And doesn't it seem impossible to keep the water in the humidifier clean?? I thought I would pass a long a little tip that I heard on one of my shows, though I can't remember which one. It was suggested that a few drops of tea-tree oil in the water will help keep the water in your humidifier (and the air) clean! Tea-tree oil can be purchased at health food stores and online at www.vitaminworld.com . So there's your tip for the day. Hope you all are happy and stay healthy this Cold and Flu season!

No Guilt Zone

I want to declare this a "No Guilt Zone" or NGZ :-). I think that we, as moms, handle a lot of guilt. The world hands it out to us pretty steadily. Guilt about how well we are parenting comes from the media, family, friends, coworkers, ourselves and probably other places I haven't thought of. We can be made to feel guilty about anything. From how much time we spend playing with our kids, to what we feed our kids and what toys we buy our kids, where and whether they go to preschool (Ooh that one hit a little close to home), etc. etc. I really can't sit here and list everything there is to feel guilty about when it comes to being a mom. I don't have the time, I have to go feel guilty about the mess in the toy room. Guilt is a joy thief. It is love's unseen enemy. And I believe, It can rob us of the joy that motherhood should possess.
So, it made me a little sad when a dear friend and mom mentioned that she felt a little guilty having read some of the things on this blog, like she wasn't doing things right. That is exactly what I don't want anyone to feel reading this blog. The reason I named it "Get Real Mom" is because sometimes I want to scream that when I hear and see all the things that I am doing or not doing that can make me feel like a failure as a mom. So here comes a shocker: I do not, nor does anyone else, have perfect children. I only write about my experience and I have hoped that some of you would like to contribute your experience as well. Do not feel guilty that Suzy was potty trained later than all her friends, or that you have given full juice to your two year old, or that you can't afford to put your kids in the extra curricular activities that they would like to do, or that your girls are the only ones that won't keep bows or pony tails in their hair (another one that hits close to home) or that you don't have a perfectly decorated nursery for your new baby, or whatever else they can dream up for us to feel guilty about. My point is, do not feel guilty if what has worked for some doesn't work for you. Take a deep breath, and release the guilt as you exhale. Say it with me "I will not feel guilty for this!"

Toy Recalls: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas?

Seriously, I am exasperated by all of the talk of lead in the paint on our child's toys. Thousands of toys being taken from the shelves because the toy industry has not been diligent about protecting our children from this poison. Until this past week, we had been pretty much untouched by the recalls. When the first recalls were made, I scanned through the lists and pictures. I found one item that we had but according to the dates, it should be safe. I threw away the Dora, backpack and puppy anyway. Just in case. I trusted that the watchdogs were doing their job and that if there was any more potentially sickening or deadly toys in my playroom, I would be aware.
Then this week I saw a story on our local news that talked about how a Fisher Price doctor set, just like the one we got our 2 year old for her birthday, had been pulled from shelves in Illinois because of lead paint on the blood pressure cuff. Sounds OK, but the story went on to say that these cuffs were still on the shelves in every other state. The industry says that it is because Illinois has stricter laws on the amount of lead allowable. The pediatrician they had on said that no amount of lead is safe. He also said that there is reason to believe that the elevated levels of lead in our toys could correlate to the increase in certain learning problems in kids like ADHD. Just great! The toys that I give my children could be causing them to have learning struggles in the future!!
So now I am just mad, and a bit paranoid. As I was walking down the toy aisles looking for stocking stuffers for the girls, I found myself wondering, "which of the toys that I am buying for Christmas will be taken away from my children in the coming months?" Each toy I look at with a suspecting eye. Is this little Strawberry Shortcake doll going to cause my children to have serious learning problems in the future? I have looked into getting a home test for lead but found that the Consumer Product Safety Commission found them to be highly unreliable. So for now, I just have to rely on recall lists and our government to get the information. I have to admit that that is really not very comforting.

Some Resources for Toy Recalls:

Consumer Product Safety Commission Recall Announcements
CNN Toy Recall News Page
Toy Industry Recall Page - not sure I trust an organization created by the toy industry.
Medical Kit Recall
Recalled Lead Toys

The Perfect Christmas

Is it just me or do you wish you could buy some extra time during the Christmas season? I tell ya, it is just too busy. This time of year there is an epidemic of hurry up disease and we all have it. What is the cure? Hmmm... SLOW DOWN! Seriously, do we have to take part in every cookie exchange, holiday party, etc. etc.? What would happen if we said "no!" Would the universe as we know it come crashing down?
Last year, I would say our family had the hurry ups pretty extensively. We wanted to take part in every new Christmas experience that Texas had to offer and we were back home in Washington for two weeks to fulfill our established traditions there. When Christmas was over and we were back at our home in Texas, we didn't know where Christmas had gone. With all the rush, we felt that we just flat out missed Christmas with our rapidly aging little girls. So we decided this year, we would take it slow.
We are not volunteering for every Christmas service project that the church is putting on. We are not going to every little event. We are not taking Christmas pictures at the portrait studio or with Santa, we are doing that with our own cameras in front of our own special tree. Not that we have checked out of Christmas. We are just narrowing our commitments. We have about 2 things a week that we are participating in, some more time consuming than others.
I think as a parent, mom or dad, we put some huge pressure on our selves to make the perfect Christmas experience for our kids. We want to create memories that they will take with them into adulthood. Step back though, think about it, what kind of memories are you creating? If your current Christmas schedule is symptomatic of your undiagnosed case of hurry up disease, you may be creating memories of stress and frustration from never achieving that perfect Christmas. I caught myself, well I guess my husband caught me, last week when I was making sugar cookies with the girls getting stressed because they weren't using the cookie cutters "right." I don't want my girls to think that "making Christmas cookies is no fun with mom because she gets grouchy." I really don't want my girls to think that Christmas is a time to be stressed and hurried when really, it is a time to be joyful and thankful for the gift that God sent to earth, wrapped in swaddling clothes. An imperfect Christmas, no room at the inn, no clothes for the new baby. But a perfect child sent to live and die for us. That is the cure for hurry up disease.

Homemade Christmas Gifts

Since the season is upon us, I thought it would be good to discuss homemade Christmas presents. Every year since our parents became grandparents, we have provided them with a little hand crafted present from their precious little grandchildren. These gifts are great for many reasons but the two greatest reasons is that they are inexpensive and they are personalized by the kids. Happy for you and happy for Grandma and Grandpa. So in the last four years we have made picture frames with each family member's name (in the perspective of the child like Papa Jim and Uncle Tim) and then put a picture of each person with the child in the frame. Then when My daughter was two, we made dishtowels with her hand prints and the year on them. A set for each set of grandparents, and one for us. The materials were found at Walmart pretty inexpensively and she had lots of fun making the towels along side her friend who was making them as well. This year we are making something that I would love to discuss but cannot, lest I ruin Christmas for Grandparents who check on this site. Gifts that you or your children have made by hand are a much more personal way to say Merry Christmas, not to mention usually more inexpensive.
So, I thought that it would be a good idea to share a couple of resources here. I hope that others will leave comments sharing some of their favorite homemade Christmas ideas as well as great resources for the rest of us. My absolute favorite resource for any time of the year is www.familyfun.com. It is a website based on the magazine of the same name. The website is really easy to search for age appropriate crafts that will warm a loved one's heart. In addition to gifts, Family Fun is also a great resource for decorating ideas that kids can create so that they may have some part in decorating for the season. You can also check out your local library for great craft books that won't cost you a dime. Another idea is to go to Michael's or another craft store (I LOVE Hobby Lobby and I have to say, my friends in the Northwest are truly missing out!!). Anyway, back on topic, The craft stores sometimes have project idea sheets that are free. And Martha Stewart's craft line has a few projects that would be good gifts for grandparents or other loved ones. If you aren't crafty, your child is too young or maybe you are afraid of what your child might do with a little craft glue, there are also many gifts that you can make on online photo centers like Shutterfly, Photoworks, Walmart.com, etc. Ranging from mugs, to t-shirts, calendars to coffee table books, the special people on your list will love a picture or two of their favorite little ones.
So, what have you done in the past, and if you have any other resources to share, please dish!