I need a Kid Free Vacation ASAP

I love being a mom, it brings me such joy but sometimes I just need a vacation away. I love taking time and traveling to different places usually to see friends. I love going to New Hampshire and spending girl time with my best friend Brandy. Of course her sweet little ones are there which is fine. Her daughter is so amazing and since I only have a son it's fun to have a little girl time with Brandy's daughter. I would love to go on a trip where there's only adults. It's really important to have some me time or girl time. I am hoping sometime I can get Brandy away from her daily life and go somewhere fun together where neither of us has to but our mom hat on and we can just hang out and do whatever we want to.

It's easy to feel guilty especially if you are seeing families together but it is an important and vital part of parenthood. It's not going to be the end of the world if you spend a couple days away from them. If you can't afford a vacation, how about a night in a local hotel? That one night doesn't sound like much but it is a big deal and you will feel like new. You may even want to add another night to your hotel stay.  It's really important and a requirement to have some time to yourself every so often.

Enjoy your kid free vacation!

Traveling with a Fussy Baby

Noah is a huge traveler and I started him off young. We went on a long road trip when he was two months old. He enjoyed riding in the car most of the time. Occasionally, he would start to fuss. He didn't want to be in the car anymore. He wanted to stretch and be held by me. It's hard because you just want to hold them. It's not safe to hold a baby in the car, even though it's so tempting. If I could have just held him on long car trips it would have been easier. Thankfully I am creative and have a knack for making up songs. It helped some when we were in the car.

Even just sitting in the backseat isn't enough. I honestly think it can make it harder sometimes. If you have a snugly baby, just touching them is not satisfying. They can see you and almost beg to be held. It makes the temptation to slip them out of the seat worse. You really have to know what to do to soothe your infant in the car. It's important for everyone's sanity especially if you are traveling far. Trust me when I say this: picture it it's like nine pm we can't find our hotel and everyone is tired from driving. Noah starts crying and his toy breaks. This toy is the only thing that is stopping him from crying. I was a new mom as he was two months old. It was time to get creative. I sang rattle rattle thunder clatter boom boom don't worry call the car-x man for a half hour straight.  I tried to only sing it a few times but well Noah really loved it and he was done with the car that night.

I wrote a post about soothing your infant in the car to hopefully help other parents manage long car rides

Shopping for Noah's First Car Seat

Becoming a parent is the most amazing experience that you can have. It can also be very stressful. When I was pregnant with Noah, it was amazing yet scary at the same time. I was very high risk for different reasons during my entire pregnancy. I was really nervous about shopping for him until I was about five months along. I also found out that I was high risk for another reason. I had to shop efficiently because I wasn't allowed to be out shopping a lot. Buying a car seat was probably the most important item I purchased. You have to have one when you leave the hospital. I remember getting annoyed at the nurse's aide when I was putting him in the car seat. This was after spending the last two weeks of my pregnancy in the hospital on bed rest. I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could. I know she was just doing her job.

I ended up getting another one shortly after he was born. The one I had was too bulky. It also came with the matching stroller. I had better luck with it. It wasn't as heavy. I also had a baby who was built like a linebacker and he grew out of his infant car seat around 8 months old. I had to get a convertible car seat to accommodate his size. I was able to use it for a long time. I did miss being able to grab the seat and go. It's funny because I used to not be strong and my body has grown to be able to carry him. I would worry about being able to carry him once he was older. I guess that's one of the mysteries of motherhood. Maybe it's love. There's so much to consider when buying a car seat though. You need to make sure you are doing your research.

To see what all I recommend you know when buying a car seat check out my article.

School Uniforms: Good or Bad?

As I mentioned before, Noah goes to an elementary school that requires uniforms. Was I happy about this when I found out? Not really. Did I make a huge deal about it? No. I accepted it because it is their policy. It was hard to find the required color polo shirts. It wasn't because it was some outlandish color. I just happened to register and move to the school system late.

Let me tell you what Noah wears to school. He wears a light blue or navy polo shirt and cargo shorts or cargo pants. He also has a school t-shirt he can wear. Noah would most likely wear the same cargo shorts and cargo pants regardless because those are what he likes. They aren't stuffy starched pants or shorts. He doesn't have to wear a tie, normal or bow. His uniform has never been a big deal to him. When he gets a positive referral he doesn't have to wear his uniform. Honestly I don't see what the big deal is. I am sure you have some questions running through your head.

What about self expression? Shouldn't kids be able to express themselves through clothing?
Self expression is awesome. I believe that kids should be able to express themselves whenever they can. However I don't think that school is a place to have a fashion show. Kids get picked on for wearing off brand clothing. Kids also wear clothes that are too revealing or are too short. In high schools in some areas kids wearing  gang colors are an issue. If everyone has to wear the same thing, that will possibly help eliminate it.  I personally think that kids go to school to learn not to be complimented on their keen fashion sense. How many times have you heard a child in class say hey I love your uniform? Probably none.

Aren't they just like little clones?  I don't think that they are clones. Every child is unique and just because they are required to wear their uniform it doesn't take away from who they are. What about drones? Nope they aren't drones either. They are at school to learn and learn through art and music and work to express themselves. They will have to most likely wear a uniform when they work as an adult. School is their job.

Won't they rebel? I am sure different kids rebel for different reasons. I don't really see any correlation of wearing uniforms and rebellion. I haven't heard of tons of kids rebelling because they wore uniforms. Most of us go through a rebellious stage at some point. We do it, we move on. I have a vast knowledge of crime and serial killers and I have never heard of someone running amok because they wore a uniform in school.  There is always some kind of big issue that causes them to kill.

Think back to yesteryear when you were in school? Do you remember the majority of what you wore to school? I can probably remember a several outfits from each year. I have a great memory, especially when I have photos to remind me. It doesn't matter what you wear to school, what matters is your education. No one will look at your transcript and say oh Susie  wore Abercrombie to school and Billy wore Walmart clothes so let's give the job to Susie.

Take Charge of your Child's Screen Time with iParent.TV

As a mother I am very cautious about what Noah is exposed to. I am always worried that he is going to see or hear something that will scare him.  He likes to watch shows that aren’t on Disney Jr. or Nick Jr. sometimes and I often wonder if what he is watching is good for him. He likes to watch the Science Channel.  We are a Christian family, so I try and make sure he doesn’t believe that we evolved from monkeys or that the Big Bang really happened. It is easy just to have him watch those shows with me or to kind of tell what it is about by reading the description.  Noah also likes to have time on my tablet.  He loves downloading new apps to play.  I have noticed before that some of the apps he downloads don’t have nudity or violence, but some of them have questionable ads on them. My son doesn’t need to be exposed to dating sites. He has downloaded apps that have some violence. Those apps were removed. He doesn’t understand the dangers of those games. I don’t have parental controls on it. It is connected to the internet and even my Facebook account.  I need to know which apps are ok and which ones are not.  Thankfully there is iParent.TV.  It will help give parents a piece of mind when it comes to apps, smart tv or social networks.

I have had the internet since I was 12. I am 32 now. I was exposed to some pretty unsettling things in my 20 years online.  When I was first online, there were only message boards. Chat rooms didn’t even exist yet. I remember being ten years old and a guy asking me what my bra size was. I was a naïve kid and I had no clue about bra sizes. Even then there were dangers. Chat rooms don’t really exist anymore, now there is Facebook. Those creeps out there are still targeting children. They aren’t doing it in public anymore. They are sending messages to children and trying to groom them. I was a 13 year old girl and I knew what it felt like to just want to fit in. Noah will not have any social media until he is 16. I know that sounds crazy but it’s not a risk I want to take. Even then I will have the password. Unless Noah gives me a reason not to trust him, I will. I just don’t trust the creatures in the computer. 

Here is more information from iParent.TV:

What is iParent.TV? If kids are awake, they are probably on a smartphone, in front of a smart TV, downloading apps, or posting to social networks. And most likely parents have no idea what they are doing. Founded by author, pastor and father Craig Gross, iParent.TV is a yearly, subscription-based website for teaching and informing parents on all things tech, mobile, devices, websites and apps for kids. The site is currently in development and expected to launch in July 2014.

The Problem is most parents don’t have an inside track to tech or social media dangers, let alone how to safeguard their kids against them.

58 percent of 10- to 12-year-old kids believe they know how to hide their online activities from their parents.

46 percent of kids said they would change their online behavior if they knew their parents were paying attention.

iParent.TV is designed to keep parents ahead of the tech curve. It will help parents understand, get involved and safeguard their children in the ever-evolving tech world. iParent.TV educates parents with all the latest trends via websites, social media, apps and devices.

 It started with a group of dads who felt like their 9 year olds knew more about tech than they did. They were right. But their idea will help change that forever for all parents. Once launched, iParent.TV will have hundreds of videos and product reviews that are current, cutting edge and trending, keeping parents who subscribe ahead of the tech curve.

How it will work? iParent.TV will be a subscription-based site costing $49 per year for parents to access videos, reviews, how-tos, and live chat support. It will be the largest website on the Internet helping parents understand what’s safe and what’s not in the world of tech. The founders of iParent.TV are currently raising funds through Indiegogo, offering interested individuals the opportunity to become early adopters with special subscription rates through mid-March. The website is scheduled to officially launch in July 2014.

I consider myself to be very tech savvy but I can always learn something new or be reminded of something I may have forgot. So even if you think you know everything, consider iParent.TV as an investment to your child’s safety.

You can save on your iParent.TV subscription by becoming an early bird subscriber. The early bird price is $29. 

Order your subscription early  iParent on Indiegogo 

For more information visit the iParent.TV website 

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