Mommin' It Up!

May 1, 2008

Bob the Builder Needs to GET A ROOM

The other night Bobby and I were watching Bob the Builder with the kids. It’s not my favorite show, but Joshua loves it and it’s pretty harmless. Or so I thought. This particular episode contained a story about Bob’s building partner, Wendy, and his crew planning a surprise birthday party for him. They pull off the surprise, and Bob says, “I thought you’d forgotten my birthday.” Then, the show takes a more um, adult, turn, as Wendy bats her eyelashes and says huskily, “Forget your birthday, Bob? Oh, never!”

I looked at my husband. “What was that?” I asked.

Bobby’s eyebrows raised in concern. “Um, I’m not sure. But I think the sexual tension between Bob and Wendy is making me uncomfortable!”

“Yeah, for real. I think they need to build themselves a room after the birthday party!” I agreed.

The next story in this episode is about the local famer in Sunflower Valley, whose name is Farmer Pickles. He never seemed suspicious to me, but this story was all about how much he loves his grandmother’s tea set. It accidentally gets taken by Bob and the crew for recycling, and when it is found again, Farmer Pickles has a serious hissy fit he is so happy to see it! Once again, this caught my and Bobby’s attention.

“He seems awfully excited about a tea set,” I observed. “You know, for a farmer.”

“Uh…is there a Mrs. Pickles?” Bobby asked.

“I don’t think so. He just hangs out with his scare crow in his sunflower oil factory.”

“Yikes. Pickles. Interesting name.”

“Maybe Sunflower Valley is more diverse than we thought.”

So, after that ground-breaking episode, I’ll never be able to watch Bob the Builder without snickering and reading into everything they say. And hopefully after reading this, neither will you!

You’re welcome!

April 30, 2008

WFMW:Kaboost!

I won’t tell you what kind it is, but I will tell you that I really dislike our portable booster seat. As a matter of fact, I’ve never really met a booster seat that I like. Well thanks to the good folks at Target, there is now a great alternative! It’s called “Kaboost”! (Isn’t that fun to say? Say it out loud a couple times. It makes me smile.) Kaboost is a portable chair booster that fits on the bottom of almost any chair and makes the chair taller. Geeenius! It’s really light-weight, and it took less than a minute to install. It adjusts to two different heights, (the same heights as standard booster seats do) and has TONS of traction on the bottom so it won’t slip. As a matter of fact, my hubby commented on the traction several times. It made a real impression on him! Also, it stays attached if you pick the chair up and move it. This thing is SO convenient!! And of course, it detaches and folds up easily and compactly so it is not a hassle to take with you when you are going over to a friend’s for dinner. If you are having a hard time visualizing , here are some pics of Joshua using a chair in our dining room fitted with our Kaboost. I will note that the Kaboost is for kids ages 2 and up – Sophie isn’t quite old enough to sit in a chair and not be strapped into it (besides – she can’t be trusted!)

Here’s Joshua without the Kaboost, sitting at our dining room table:

And here he is inthe chair with the Kaboost – look how much taller he is! (He’s checking to see if his peanut butter toast has a heartbeat.)

Side view:

And here’s a close-up of the Kaboost on our chair:

Isn’t that COOL? I love it SO MUCH! It retails at Target for $29.99 and I predict it is going to be the Next Big Thing on everyone’s baby registry. It also comes in three colors – chocolate, like mine, green, and natural. You can check those out here. It’s also part of Target’s new Parent Inventors Line – one of many cool products invented by moms & dads. Em & I will be reviewing some of the other products from this line within the next couple of weeks. But I can honestly say, I wish I’d thought of this one! The Kaboost rocks, and it works for me! For more Works for Me Wednesday tios, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

April 29, 2008

My question is this…

Is it possible for a mom to enjoy her child’s birthday party?

Because I’m pretty sure the answer is no.

Jenny’s trials and tribulations with baking her kids’ cakes is well-documented, and whenever a child of one of my co-workers celebrates his or her first birthday, the rest of us immediately ask “So at what point did you start crying?” because it’s a sure thing that Mom was in tears before the cake was cut. And I’m not talking the “my baby is growing up” kind of tears… more along the lines of “this whole thing sucks” kind of tears.

Kate’s fourth birthday party was Saturday. It was a very low-key ordeal – cupcakes, ice cream and a pinata at the town playground. Yet I was still so stressed about it. Imagine if my kid was named Suri! Well, then I would have a whole host of problems in addition to a $100k first birthday party, but I digress. Anyway, I was stressing out about not having made a ton of food, not having enough decorations (despite having spent $60 at the party store – how does that happen??), everything not looking cute, making sure everyone had people to talk to, worrying that the pace of the party was too slow… you name it, I was stressing about it.

That night, I felt like I had been hit by a truck. And each and every time I was up in the middle of the night nursing Sammy (and believe me, that is a lot), I was rehashing the party in my mind and finding more things to worry about!! I just had to wonder, is it even possible to enjoy your kids’ parties? I mean, obviously the main numero uno priority is that the kid enjoys the party, but must it be a stress-fest for mom?

In my experience, yes. Stress is a requirement. But someone out there must be able to prove me wrong… or right, as the case may be.

So let’s hear it – either your birthday party horror stories or your tried-and-true ways to make the party fun for everyone (yeah right, I will believe that when I see it).