The Mom Crowd

Let’s face it, some days life as a mom is harder than others. It doesn’t matter if you are a stay at home mom or a working mom. Life’s demands and the sacrifices it takes to love and raise our children can take a toll on us emotionally and physically. We get stressed.

I know for me there are certain things that trigger stress. My short list is: a baby that doesn’t nap well, running late for preschool (or anything for that matter), when children don’t follow directions– especially when they don’t want to get dressed and THAT is making us run late, when dinner needs to be made and the baby needs to nurse at the same time which then makes bedtimes for the older boys later than they should be, listening to the boys fight over toys, a crying baby, the long gray winter here in Pittsburgh. And that is just the short list! Hopefully it didn’t stress you out to read it.

I have learned that if everything goes the way I want it to then I won’t get stressed but that isn’t reality! I do sometimes wish the world revolved around me but I am sure it is in the best interest of the rest of the world that it doesn’t.

Since adding a third child to our family I have experienced the stress of how it has changed our family. Family dynamics and roles change with every child added and we are finally adjusting to life with a third child.

Sometimes I find myself thinking about the Serenity Prayer. It goes like this; God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change (the gray weather day after day, when boys decide to be selfish and not share, when the baby won’t go to sleep on his own), the courage to change the things I can (getting up a little earlier to get everyone ready to get out the door, being consistent in using discipline or sleep strategies, thinking about dinner earlier in the day instead of 4pm), and the wisdom to know the difference.

There are no easy answers to eliminating stress or reducing it but I did want to share some things that work for me.

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Many times my ten month old crawls over to me while I am busy emailing and checking updates online. I pick her up on my lap and together we enjoy watching YouTube videos. Ace jumps up and down on my lap and talks back to the monitor while we watch. We tend to watch the same videos each time, so I researched YouTube and found a few more videos that we can watch together.

Below I list 36 videos that are kid-safe and won’t annoy you. The videos are divided into seven sections: Pop Stars and Kid Shows, Classics, YouTube Classics, Geography Songs, Laurie Berkner Band, Nickelodeon, Tiny Toons, and Ralph’s world. To view the videos click on the photo of the video. So grab your little one and enjoy!

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When I wrote about moms in movies a few months ago, I received a couple of comments about Helen Parr, a.k.a. Elastigirl, from The Incredibles. I hadn’t seen this excellent animated flick since it originally came out in 2004, so I had to do some “research” and re-watch it. (It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it, y’all.)

My friend said:

On my list goes Elastigirl from the Incredibles. Similar thing, she has to remain a great mom while her husband suffers a bit of a nutty, but in the end she shows her strength and brings the family together.

Yes, I agree. Helen Parr (voiced by the brilliant Holly Hunter) is a remarkable mom. As I watched the movie through my couture “mom lenses” (designed by Edna ‘E’ Mode), I noticed her special blend of levelheadedness, responsibility, and feistiness (not to mention her ability to stretch into any shape).

In the first half of the film, she’s seen running the gamut of mom responsibilities: picking up her son from school after he’d been sent to the office, feeding her baby (“making the weird faces” to entertain him, no less), doing laundry, vacuuming, making her family endure leftover night. When the kids argue, she’s right there, peppering their conversations with random insights that sound like they came straight from a psychology book (“Do not shout at the table!” “Oh, don’t just stand there, Bob, I need you to… intervene!” “I don’t think you’re striking the proper tone here!”) She appears to keep the house running smoothly without griping about it, and she shows unfailing support to her husband, no matter what he might be up to. And she doesn’t hesitate to put him in his place if the situation warrants it.

Helen’s biggest scenes involve her children. And that’s when we see her cool-as-a-cucumber personality and physical elasticity come in handy the most. First of all, she flies a plane! Out of nowhere, this momma starts barking out commands like “Mayday, mayday, India-Golf-Niner-Niner is buddy spiked!” Say-wha? That is one piloting-savvy momma! “Abort, abort, there are children aboard, say again, there are children aboard this plane!” Aw, and always looking out for her kids above all else.

Through a series of near-misses and dangerous situations, Helen & her kids learn to trust and appreciate one another’s abilities. In a free-fall from the aforementioned plane, her freaked-out kids find rescue in a lifesaving parachute, provided by mom. Shortly after that, she turns into a raft (handily powered by son Dash’s quick legs). In between, she keeps her cool and helps Dash and Violet do the same, saying things like, “I expect you to trust me.” “Be strong. I’m proud of you.” In addition to being incredibly quick on her feet, she’s both encouraging and wise.

She is also comforting and truthful. Her truthfulness really shines out in the scene where she leaves the kids alone in the jungle in order to search for Bob. Before going, she gives them a speech on the dangers they face, and what to do about them if necessary. She doesn’t sugarcoat their situation – she respects them enough to tell them the truth. And they listen.

By the climax, the whole Parr family is working together, using their powers for good. They share the load. They cheer one another on. And they couldn’t do any of it without Helen, who kept a level head throughout the entire adventure (and who literally carried them all home). Plus, she’s great with directions.

Finally, I chuckled at a little scene that only us moms could really appreciate: in her super-suit, she catches her reflection, stops, and sighs. Let’s just put it this way: the animators gave her a relatively realistic “mom figure”. 🙂

So remember, moms, no matter what size we are, no matter how elastic or talented we may be (hey, I’m no pilot on the side, how about you?), our kids will always love us if we show the admirable maternal characteristics displayed by Helen Parr in The Incredibles. What do you think? Happy weekend!

I’m a very sentimental momma. I keep a journal for each of my kids. I plan to give them their journals on a special day when they’re older. I save all kinds of things from their early years (or months!), like the hat Eli wore home from the hospital, or the precious tiny socks Lucy wore in her first few weeks of life. When we got Lucy’s toybox for her first birthday, we picked out a special one that can turn into a “hope chest” for her later on. I even painted her name on the top in a fun, girly font. And not so long ago, I hung this shadow box on the wall in Lucy’s room. It contains a shirt I wore when I was about a year old, and a picture of me wearing it (these items were handed down to me from my mom when I got pregnant.)

Given my penchant for sentiment, saving special things, and personalizing objects for my kids, I was delighted to receive a piece of adorable babywear from Sew Cute to review. Their products are exactly the kind of items that keepsake-loving moms like myself would be interested in. Sew Cute’s site is chock-full of darling baby clothes and items that could easily fill your own child’s closet or make a great gift for a friend.

The clothing at Sew Cute comes in classic colors such as Bubblegum pink (as seen on my little model), Aqua blue, Marine black, and Christmas Snow white. You’ll find short- and long-sleeved tees, onesies, pants, hoodies, and the cutest knotted caps you’ll ever see on a baby. Hooded towels, bibs, and gift certificates are also available. Sizes run from newborn to six years. All items are personalized in a sweet font with the baby’s monogrammed initial or name.

Lucy is wearing the Personalized Long-Sleeved Tee. As soon as I slipped it on her, I was charmed by how cute she looked. It is soft, sweet, and captures her little-girl innocence completely. She was obviously comfortable in it. The shirt is high-quality, and the monogrammed feature is top-notch. I received the shirt less than two weeks after I placed my order, and I found Sew Cute’s service fast and friendly.

I can easily imagine this picture and Lucy’s shirt in a shadow box of its own for future generations to appreciate. If you are looking for a similar keepsake item for your family, be sure to check out Sew Cute!

• Sew Cute is offering The Mom Crowd readers a $5 gift certificate. To receive your $5 gift certificate you need to login and enter “The Mom Crowd” in the Referral field. There are many items on clearance for 40% off right now.

What items are you saving as keepsakes for your children?

Sign language has been an amazing communication tool for our family. Upon discovery that my daughter has Down syndrome, we were fairly certain that verbal communication was going to be delayed. As a result, we started teaching her sign language at a very young age. Darah is able to tell us when she is hungry, thirsty, hurt, sleepy, and when she wants a bath. She can also participate in “small talk” as well, by naming things she sees or wants like dogs, rain, stars, shoes, airplanes, and yogurt. Darah (at 3 1/2 years old) has over 200 signs now that she uses! Sign language has been such a gift for her and I am so happy that we introduced it to her! When Connor was born, signing was already part of our lives. Connor (now 15 months) learned signs pretty much by osmosis. I am surprised at the number of signs he’s learned just by observing Darah. The other day, Darah was in time-out and he decided to sit in time-out with her. When I allowed Darah to come out of time-out, he stood up and surprised me by signing “sorry.” I then drilled him some of Darah’s signs, and he knew “please,” “thank-you,” “dog,” and several other signs that I never once showed him. He also consistently uses “more,” “all done,” “eat,” “milk,” “bath,” and several other signs.

Babies as young as 10 months old can communicate with sign language. An ideal time to start introducing signs is when your baby is six months old. However, if your baby is older, it’s never too late! Here are some things that you should know when starting to teach your baby sign language.

Sign language will not impede your child’s speech development!

So many people think, “if I teach my baby to communicate with sign language, he is going to take longer to speak.” Actually, teaching your baby to sign will more than likely speed up his verbal communication. Before any child is ready to say their first words, there are some foundational skills that must be learned and some oral motor development that must take place. By teaching your baby to sign, you are teaching him the foundational skills required to communicate. By the time your baby is cognitively and physically ready to start saying words, he will be well ahead of his peers because of the communication foundation he’s already learned. These foundational skills include, but are not limited to:

• learning the concept of cause and effect

• understanding the concept of turn taking

• understanding that two or more words can be linked together, thus creating sentences (as in signing “more milk,” “big ball,” etc…)

Here’s a great article about the benefits of signing with your baby.

Reinforce with your spoken words!

When you sign with your baby, make sure you are saying and signing the word very clearly. Your baby is fascinated by your face; make it interesting by exaggerating your mouth movements. Be sure to talk to your baby all day long about anything and everything. By telling your baby about the train that’s passing by and talking about the yogurt and milk in the dairy aisle of the grocery store, you are reinforcing their receptive language skills.

Start off slowly

Begin by teaching your child 1-3 signs. “Milk,” “more,” “eat,” and “all done” are great signs to begin with because they are things that surround your baby’s daily life. Teach your baby signs that you have ample opportunities to use throughout the day.

Use your signs in context

It’s so much fun to show off our baby’s newest tricks, and sign language is a great way to capture those “oohs” and “ahhs!” However, make sure that when you are modeling or asking for a sign, it is in context. Asking your baby to sign “apple,” when he is neither hungry nor are there any apples around can potentially confuse your baby. The goal of teaching your baby sign language is to teach them a way to communicate their wants and needs, so make sure you keep it in context!

Don’t give up!

It is going to take you modeling a sign many many times before you see your child imitate. Keep going. Help your baby by doing hand-over-hand signing. This is where you take your baby’s hands in yours and do the sign together. Your baby will catch on! Just remember to be patient. Once they learn a few signs, it’ll get easier and easier to teach new ones. The first few take the longest to learn. Just make sure you’re consistent, enthusiastic, and give your child lots of praise for any attempts made. Your baby will have their “ah-ha” moment and will become a signing junkie!

May I recommend?

Baby Signing Time Volumes One and Two

These are excellent dvd’s which incorporate wonderful beginning signs with fun, catchy music. Both of my children love the Signing Times series and the Baby series is top-notch! Their website also has a lot of great information for parents who want to teach their babies to sign.

What has your experience been with sign language and your children?