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TGIF-Weekend Reading

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Weekend Reading:

Weekend Daffodils

Spring is almost here…

Looking forward to the weekend? I surely am, even though some are equally hectic or even more so than the weekdays when everyone is doing their own thing, work and school. Signs of spring are all around with weather warming here in Chicagoland. Time to get outside.

I felt sad reading this post in the NYT because I can’t even imagine how I could have dealt with my husband being away and possibly out of touch when my kids were young. This young mom has a “moment” with her 2 year old son that is more than touching. What must her weekend be like?

Bedtime around here is the time I feel my husband’s absence the most. We generally tag team dishes and bath, so once the kids are asleep we can enjoy some precious alone time (we also have a 4-year-old daughter). With him gone, I keep holding out hope for a fairy godmother to come do the dishes and fold laundry while I handle bedtime.

Narcissism is a word making the news lately. In psychology, this is not a nice label to have associated with you or your children. How does one develop narcissistic traits? Well, this study gives you some ideas about over valuing children and yes even your grandchildren.

 

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Ohio State University suggested that parents who overvalue their children raise children who overvalue themselves — narcissists, in the commonly used, nondiagnostic sense of the word. That overvaluation was evaluated in ways obvious and more subtle (if you thought your child had a working knowledge of all of those topics, you’re overestimating him or her — because several of them don’t exist).

Coffee and wine on Facebook refer to wake up and relax. They appear in mom feeds very frequently. Interesting discussions recently about the exhaustion of constantly multitasking.

Why do moms always talk about coffee and wine? Referencing the fact that talk of both beverages constantly fills up her Facebook feed, Kristen Schrotberger says she’s over the rampant liking of posts that reference the need for more coffee and wine. Her very matter-of-fact post on Scary Mommy sheds some light on why any conversation about alcohol and coffee is instantly popular. It’s because we parents are so exhausted from the constant multitasking we need to relax. Coffee picks us up, wine helps us wind down.

via: Kids in the House

 

Yet another weekend is upon us. I hope you enjoy some time for yourself!

TGIF-Weekend Reading

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Weekend Reading:

weekend chicago

Chicago

 

OMG…this weekend we may see the temperatures rise above freezing here in Chiberia (Chicagoland) and just perhaps some of this snow will melt and the ice on our stoop will disappear…FINALLY!

So many interesting articles appeared in my feed this week. I am excited to share some of them with you.

Morals, values, opinions and the Core Curriculum currently a hot topic is discussed here. This article really got me thinking. See what you think!

 So as a parent, I will teach the morals, the values and my opinions. The schools will teach my children to question me. In that way, we all end up on the right side of history.

Moral facts or mere opinions that vary from culture to culture, what do you think?

The Convent of the Sacred Heart Greenwich Middle School Parent Blog is on my favorite list. There are always some great posts that generate a lot of thought on my part about what my grandchildren will face in the future.

As a philosopher, I already knew that many college-aged students don’t believe in moral facts. While there are no national surveys quantifying this phenomenon, philosophy professors with whom I have spoken suggest that the overwhelming majority of college freshman in their classrooms view moral claims as mere opinions that are not true or are true only relative to a culture.

 

For me, sleep comes fairly easily and now that I am a grandmother, when I awake during the night, getting back to sleep is not usually a problem. But for many moms and women in general, this is not the case. Are you too stressed or worried to sleep well? Or do you know someone that is…then this NYTimes article may shed some light on why sleep is so evasive.

Why all the angst over bedtime, the one part of the day that, barring nightmares, ought to bring deeply needed peace? Many believe that sleep deprivation among women has worsened. In the “Women and Sleep” study, 80 percent of women reported being just too stressed or worried to turn out the proverbial lights.

Another weekend, my husband and I try to have dinner out on Fridays, most of the time with friends but sometimes just the two of us. We unwind at a local restaurant, where the waitstaff knows us and where we can enjoy eating and relaxing. I have to plug the Lettuce Entertain You restaurant group because they have been a dependable favorite of ours for so many years here in Chicago. They do not disappoint!

Weekend

Lettuce Entertain You

 

 

Enjoy a meal with your significant others this weekend!

TGIF- Weekend Reading

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Weekend Reading:

Another cold week here in Chicago with a fresh covering of snow. The weekend is warm and welcoming inside our home. We use our time to relax a little, along with catching up on some reading and napping with each other and our furry friends.

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Saralyn Richard, the author of Naughty Nana, is my cherished friend, who has written a charming children’s book about her dog Nana. It is a favorite of mine and I hope it becomes a favorite of yours. Enjoy an interview with Saralyn from Dogster.

 

I think dogs are wonderful teachers of patience, compassion, loyalty, trust, responsibility, and love.

Unfortunately, a lot of children do not have consistency and stability in their lives. A dog is always steady, consistent, reliable, and predictable. A dog will always greet you the same way, and treat you the same way whether you are bad or good. Whether you got a good report card, are smelly or clean, whether your room is a mess, a dog is going to love you unconditionally and the same way all the time.

 

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For me children and rainbows go together, like rain and running in puddles on a rainy day. Here is an activity from Kristina at Toddler Approved, which helps me share my love of rainbows with my grandchild . I think you will find Kristina’s blog something you cannot stay away from…it will bring out the child in you this weekend.

Easy Preschool Cutting Craft: Paper Rainbows

One of my favorite parts about St. Patrick’s Day is that it is associated with rainbows. My kids love singing songs about the colors of the rainbow all year long and there is just something that makes me happy whenever I see a rainbow!

This week my preschooler wanted something to do while her big brother (my 1st grader) did his homework. We got talking about St. Patrick’s Day and she assigned herself to make a rainbow.

This easy paper rainbow craft project is a super simple way to practice scissor skills and cutting straight and curvy lines!

 

Kristina is the founder of Toddler Approved. She is a mom of three (ages 6,3,1), as well as a National Board certified teacher. Kristina taught for several years and then worked part-time as a curriculum specialist, new teacher coach, and crisis intervention trainer once she became a mom. She retired in Fall 2011 and now loves being full-time mom and teacher to her kiddos. She loves chocolate, running, taking pictures, and party planning. She is also currently the creator of the Virtual Book Club for Kids.

 

Pregnancy has been a theme on Parenting in the Loop during the past 11 weeks. Fashion and pregnancy can be a challenge right from the beginning. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Amy Tara Koch at a luncheon. I was taken with her style and her book Bump It Up. She has some wonderful suggestions for the fashionista momma to be, spiced up with Amy’s sense of humor. Please enjoy!

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FIVE FAST FERTILITY FIXES

1. When your jeans or trousers still fit everywhere except the belly, a SIMPLE RUBBER BAND can offer an additional breathing room. Leave jeans unfastened and loop the rubber band around the button and button hole. This sartorial trickery is easily concealed with a hip length tee shirt, some sassy, dangly scarves or a cute scarf worn as a wide Kimono belt.

 

Enjoy the weekend everybody!

Weekend Nap

 

 

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Weekend Reading:

Weekend Dog

My Favorite Weekend Pup!

There has just been too much snow in the past few weeks but here is some reading to catch up on if you have a Sunday free moment.

You grandparents out there, this is for you, so you don’t wind up on a list. You all know what I mean. Although we are the old sages when it comes to wisdom, there are some things we should definitely leave to our grandkids’ parents. Don’t you agree?

Traveling with kids just made easier with a new contraption Lugabug. Check it out here. Anything to help is my motto!

 

Frequent flyer families need to check out Lugabug, which makes carting your kids through an airport as easy as rolling your luggage. Mainly because your kids roll along on your luggage.

Lugabug is a fully collapsible, portable travel chair that attaches to the front of a suitcase quickly and easily to turn any wheelie bag into a ride-on suitcase. Kids as young as two, and up to 70 pounds just sit, attach the optional seat belt, and you’re off. Although it’s probably best for parents of toddlers, considering our 40-something pound grade-schoolers are usually pretty capable of walking on their own.

 

Boy or Girl baby announcements during pregnancy, known as reveal parties have  really come a long way. Some of these I really like some are just too over the top! What do you think?

It seems the days of simply announcing whether your baby is a boy or girl seem to be long gone. The latest trend in baby showers that shows no signs of waning is the gender reveal party — personalized, meticulously planned, sometimes messy events with executions that can be so time-consuming, we can only imagine that these ideas are conceived by parents who know they will never, ever have this much free time available to them ever again.

 

Sorry for the lateness of this post I hope everyone had something that made the happy this weekend.

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Again this week, measles and vaccinations are all over the news. This article simply explains, why measles is so contagious and so easy to contract. How does it actually invade us? You might be surprised to learn about the miserable measles.

“It’s the most transmissible virus we know,” he says. Measles, it turns out, has a special way of invading that makes it really, really easy to get out of the host—and into other people.

 

Have you helped anyone recently, like someone you didn’t know? We all need help sometimes, especially when we are towing around some young children. As a mandated reporter, I am required by law to report a situation that puts a child in danger such as leaving a child in a car alone. Many parents do not realize that they can be arrested and their children can be put in protective custody for this type of  child endangerment. What would you do if you saw a child in a car alone? 

Although there are unfit, abusive parents out there, most of us want to succeed at this, and are doing the best that we can. But we get tired, we get frustrated, we feel isolated and a little desperate sometimes. We all do. So let’s have more empathy and try to help rather than punish parents we see in their less-than-perfect moments. Most people will thank you for it.

 

What is the bigger picture that parents on both sides of the vaccination issue are worried  about? I think, it is the worry about the unspeakable and unbearable loss of a child that puts parents on either side of this dilemma. Now that,”herd immunity” is in jeopardy, unvaccinated children are more at risk of becoming ill and possibly dying or having life long disabilities associated with the measles virus. Where are you in this discussion?

 

As the measles outbreak gathers worrisome steam in parallel to the explosion of passionate rants both pro and anti-vaccination, I find myself wondering; what is this really about? Rather than get bogged down in the myriad of issues on either side- though at the outset I will say that as a pediatrician I unequivocally recommend vaccination- I will aim to look at the bigger picture.

 

Weekend

As the weekend approaches, we are in the middle of a deep freeze here in “Chiberia” as we like to call Chicago at this time of year. So for those of you in the snow belt stay warm and cozy and those of you who are in the sunbelt, ENJOY!

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Measles has reared its ugly head again and some parents are in an uproar over unvaccinated kids in school and public places who put children with compromised immune systems at risk. Some of these vulnerable children are on chemotherapy and cannot be immunized, they rely on “herd immunity” which is affected by anti-vaxers.

California is having some serious outbreaks which has brought this problem to the forefront again where it belongs until something is resolved.

measles-Weekend

 

In Orange County, the highest rates of unvaccinated schoolchildren are in affluent and mostly white communities, especially in coastal South County.

For the first time since 2007, the number of Orange County kindergartners up to date on their vaccines did not fall this school year – instead, it rose almost 2 percentage points to 90.4 percent.

Still, that figure is below the 95 percent level of immunization coverage that health officials say is needed to prevent a widespread outbreak.

Have you found your child’s passion?
building with blocksWhen you have a child with special needs, your mind tends to always center on the milestones you hope your child will achieve, and often forget that there are many things your child can already do, and often do very well. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in therapy and homework. Often, you only see the areas that need improvement, and don’t see (for lack of time or energy) the areas of talent or achievement. (Does this sound familiar?) When this happens, it is time to pause and breathe. And better yet, change your focus to take time to celebrate.

 

Do you take your child out of school for family vacations? This is another controversial topic this week. I did this with my own kids and they were fine but it really is a personal family and child issue. What do you think?

LEGO Water Tower Place

 

A recent article in the New York Times highlighted why taking your kids out of school for a family vacation can be beneficial for you, but a nightmare for teachers. Blogger Jessica Lahey, who is both a parent and teacher, says that while she’s taken her children out of school for events she deemed valuable enough to warrant a school absence, it’s also caused somewhat of a headache for those teachers who have to pre-plan packages of work for student absences. A few educators have even deemed it “illegal” and labeled such absences as truancy.

The subject seems like a hot debate. Some comments on the piece included:

Technically, it’s telling the truth. I am taking my kid out of school for what the state has deemed an “illegal absence.” That I talked to her teacher on meet the teacher night and emailed her about our upcoming trip doesn’t matter. Nor does the fact that said teacher is putting together a packet of homework to do on the trip.

It’s still “illegal.”

I don’t do anything illegal.

 

Another weekend is upon us and it is Super Bowl Sunday. Will you be watching? Have a great couple of days! Thanks for reading! Lorette

 

TGIF-Weekend Reading….

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Weekend Sunrise

Weekend Sunrise

After a gloomy “warmish” in the 30’s week here in Chicago, I am ready for the weekend, along with a Friday night dinner with friends and a wishful but unlikely “rest filled” Saturday and Sunday and perhaps a sunrise like this one!

This essay from the back page of the Sunday Times Magazine is a nice read. I don’t know about you all, but I grew up in a large city that I hated, Yonkers, NY. Long ago, it was known as the “City of Gracious Living,” but to me, that never mattered. Thank goodness, it was right next to New York City, which was in my mind Yonkers’ only redeeming quality.

 

As we drove off, I was grateful for what Tujunga was for me: a hometown I wanted so desperately to leave, but that taught me to work for the ticket that would take me away.

“Free Range” parents, who allow their children freedom to walk to school at a young age are coming under fire not only on social media but also from local law enforcement and children’s protective services in some areas of the country.  Are you a “free range” or a “helicopter” parent?

 

Kids go to the park every day. But it’s not everyday the cops come calling because kids are spotted there, but that’s exactly what happened to the Meitiv family recently.

 

“We’re amazed this has become a national conversation because we’re just doing what our parents did or [what] was considered perfectly normal just one generation ago,” said Danielle Meitiv, who was investigated on two occasions by Child Protective Services (CPS) in Maryland after allowing her children, aged 6 and 10, to walk to and from school and the local playground alone.

 

As a nursing professional, who worked in labor and delivery, I am not a fan of home births. While I understand why moms would opt for this opportunity, I would not for just the reasons that appear in this mom’s story and post from Yummy Mummy Club.

 

Martin’s feelings are absolutely valid and an upsetting birth experience can have lasting effects on a mother and her family. But it’s wrong to scare women from wanting to go this route, because that decision is one which should come from research and discussion, not fear – one way or another. A certified, licensed midwife is a health care professional and they understand birthing risk. We can plan and hope for the best, but also be keenly aware (as I was throughout the labour) that it could easily go the other way, through no fault of our own. –

You probably notice that two topics above are from Yummy Mummy Club, which is one of my personal favorite sites. I follow YMC on Facebook and enjoy many of their posts. Go ahead and check them out!

Have a great weekend everyone! 🙂

TGIF-Weekend Reading….

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Weekend Reading!

bicycle in snow...maybe not this weekend

My picks for weekend reading after another cold week here in Chicago. The weekend looks like we will get a January thaw, you just might want to get outside or read these posts?

Daphne Brogdon is a blogger, blogger who also does stand-up comedy. She now has a gig on the Food Network, Daphne Dishes. Here is post about some of my conversation with her this week.

 

Today, I had the pleasure of enjoying a conference call with her. She answered questions about how she combines both worlds of blogging and cooking and how she came to the place where she is now with her own show Daphne Dishes on the Food Network.

Friends are precious and good friends are few, at least that has been my experience. What happens when a friend’s spouse dies or their child dies? How does your friendship change?

 

Friends are mostly a source of joy for me but as I get older I am finding that the more joy a friend brings me the more difficult it is when a friendship changes or ends.

Ringing in a New Year after the death of a spouse…how does one move on when the beloved is still inside you? One woman’s perspective:

 

So many of the men I meet on Match — the ones who are widowers, not those who are divorced — are still mourning the love of their life. She, their late wife, the mother of their children and grandmother of their children’s children, laughed at his jokes, travelled the world with him, comforted and warmed his bed at night. Now she is gone, never to return. After a while he feels the pull of the body’s biology and the heart’s longing, as do we all. “She” is not coming back, one must move on, so who else might there be, out there, he wonders, in the world-at-large?

So how does one move on, when the love of your life is gone, be it your husband or wife or another soul mate with whom you shared a life for many years or for several decades? In truth, you don’t move on; the beloved is still inside you. You just make room in your life for a new relationship, internally and externally, grateful to have had what you had, and grateful as well for the opportunity to care romantically for another human being before you “shuffle off this mortal coil.”

 

Here’s to a wonderful, warm weekend! Warm is relative!

TGIF-Weekend Reading….

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Weekend Reading!

My picks for weekend reading

After an arctic cold week here in Chicago, I am really glad to see Friday and the weekend roll around, with the sun shining outside my window as I write this post. I am not letting the sun fool me – it is only 7 degrees outside with a below zero windchill of minus 11 degrees! Yikes!

I am going to post a picture that you can use for some meditation or as just a reminder of a more comfortable summer day on the water-my personal happy place!

Weekend

A Day at the Beach…Martha’s Vineyard

 

Seeking women over 50! Do you want to make a big change in 2015? Read this, it might help you with your resolution.

 

Dear Readers,

We’re seeking 15 women age 50 and older who plan to make a radical change in their lives in 2015. Whether your New Year’s resolution is to strike out on your own, reinvigorate your marriage, get healthy — through diet, exercise or something else — start a business, adopt a child, overcome a fear or learn a new skill in 2015, we want to hear from you. The aim is to create an inspiring initiative that reminds us it’s never too late to change your life, pursue your passion, or prioritize personal happiness and wellbeing over traditional definitions

 

How do kids organize and control their world. There is no gray for them, knowing this just might help you understand their behavior.

 

In fact, black-or-white thinking helps kids organize and control their world. As they put things into one of two categories – like or dislike, fun or boring – they make predictions about behaviors and situations. Being able to do this shows they can understand two very different ideas at the same time.

 

How are you going to find social connections as you get older? Do you respect the Virtual Village concept?

 

Then he ran across the idea of virtual retirement villages, whose members pay a yearly fee to gain access to resources and social connections that help them age in place. Sold on the concept, Mr. Cloud joined with some friends to start Capital City Village four years ago.

I hope you all have a warm and wonderful weekend!