This is a guest post from Chrissie, a convert who lives in Wales.  She has her own business, which you can see at www.ScrappersUnlimited.co.uk, and her own blog, at www.lifeisscrap.blogspot.com.  She also has a teaching BA.  Her favorite American food is Grasshopper Milkshakes from the Cougar Eat, or possibly root beer from the Brick Oven, which apparantly is to die for. 

Our daughter is 4 years old and her social whirl of a life is already in full swing with a play date or a birthday party twice every week at the moment it seems.  I’m sure I’m exaggerating but it’s a lot anyway!  (more…)

Speaking of Christmas in the Airwaves, I found this schedule, for ABC Family television (check local listings) of all the Christmas programming on from December 1-25th. Most of the cool stop-motion annimation shows we loved as kids are airing, and often at 7 p.m., a more resonable hour for little kids.

They are even re-airing the original annimated How the Grinch Stole Christimas, which TBS already aired, before Thanksgiving. What were the network nitwits thinking?? Anyway, you can print out the schedule and make sure you don’t miss the shows that matter to you. Enjoy!

I think this might make me a communist or something, but I don’t really enjoy the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  I find it depressing. (more…)

This is an anonymous guest post, submitted by one of our Daddy readers.  And, Anonymous Dad, let me just say that we here at MMW stand up and salute you!  Enjoy.

Guilt and Redemption
My wife does everything around our home.  Sometimes I feel guilty about this, sometimes I don’t.  Lately I’ve been trying to help more. 

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This conversation happened at 5 am.

J:  MOM!  MOM!

Me: Wha, huh, what?

J:  Do you know what the best thing is for your body?

Me: (trying to pretend not to be there) What?
J: Lots and lots and lots of sleep!
Me: (thinking, Yeah, I know.) Umhm

J: And do you know how to get lots and lots and lots of sleep?

Me: (I swear it took all my might and strength not to say to my offspring, ‘Sell you to the zoo so you don’t wake me up before 6am?) Mmhm?

J: You sleep at NIGHT!  Wahhhhaahhaa!

Then the child proceeded to climb into my bed, from which my husband immediately evacuated, and began his best imitation of  an octopus.  Every 10 minutes he would ask, “Mom, is it morning?”  interspersed with queries about Christmas and what day it was going to be today.  Tears resulted in both reports that Christmas was about 30 days away, and that today was Sunday.

I am actually not feeling very up to snuff today, so I sent my family off to worship without me.  And my last thought as they left and J was crying because he had to wear church shoes was, “Sucks to be HIS primary teacher.”

And now, I’m going to follow my son’s advice about what is best for your body.

I’m going back to bed. 

I’m wondering what that is, exactly.  
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 To our wonderful Mommies (and Dad’s!) out there, we would like to wish you a wonderful and gratitude-filled Thanksgiving.

Feel free to list things you are grateful for-whatever they may be… Happy Turkey-Day one and all.

Recently I took a little weekend jaunt with my parents and my sisters and they all brought their kids and I left mine home because I’m just mean that way.

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My assignment for this year’s Thanksgiving is stuffing.  I need a good recipe.  Please help me.  Thank you.  That is all.

These are based on actual events.  Sad, isn’t it. Now you know.  My secret is out.  I’m rather boring.

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Dear Man who owns the Blacksmith/Wood working shop in the mini mall next to my new favorite cafe,

The sign in your window that says, “Beware of Dog” may not be good for business.  Perhaps you should consider leaving your wild barking dog who was parked in front of your glass door at home.

Love, A potential customer who didn’t enter your store for fear of rabies. (more…)

……I am ‘Aunt Jane.’  I’ve decided I’m tired of hearing “Mommy, can I…?”  “Mommy, where’s……? ” “Mommy, can you….?”  So for today, I have informed my children that they are to call me ‘Aunt Jane.’  For today I am she. (more…)

This totally mindless piece of entertainment news got me thinking about my life choices.  And I think I’ve made some serious errors in my career track.  Speech pathologist, mom extradinaire?  Nah, to heck with all of that.  I should have been a Bond girl. (more…)

Elaine Jack came to our enrichment meeting last night, and she was beyond awesome.  She spoke on “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”   She related a story about when she spoke with President Hinckley about what he wanted for the women of the church. (more…)

Yes, it’s true.  I had heard that this particular pediatrician was, um, shall we say, “hip” with maybe a whispered ‘ee!’ at the end, and I had even heard he had a long ponytail, but I was still not totally prepared for the young hip doctor with a pony tail and the skinny goatee that started in the middle of his chin and crawled down his neck like a giant fuzzy caterpillar who boomed into the tiny and poorly lit examining room to rescue my son from his 103.7 temperature.  And wow, that was quite a sentence, if I do say so myself. (more…)

Mr. M, my 6 y.o. has had a really hard time with school this year.  I’m not sure why, but he has had a hard time “conforming” to the school rules.  As I’ve commented before, most of his troubles are just boy things, like playing super hero in the bathroom or down the halls, etc.    (more…)

Sometimes all I want is to get away from my children. Don’t get me wrong, I would lie down in front of a freight train for all of them- but some days, I just simply want a break. Every mom of young kids knows this feeling. 

Today, as I was trying to go pee (sorry if that’s too graphic, but hey, we talk about poop all the time) and into the bathroom first came Beanie, then my kindergartner trailed, then my husband followed, to see “what I was doing”, and he was holding the baby. Gee, Hon, what’s it look like I’m doing?? Could ya’ll just go away for about 2 minutes?? Pleeeeeease? Five of us in the bathroom, mom sitting on the potty. Cool. (more…)

Help! Cheryl got so much good advice on the biting, I too will bring my problem before you and beg your mighty mama minds to help me!

Since the weather has changed, and we are floating away in the ark-bound northwest, my boys are now house-monkeys. Yes, I suppose I could still throw a life-jacket on them and toss them in the backyard, but somehow I think CPS wouldn’t agree on that being a fine idea. Sooo….

They are fighting like little maniacs. Constantly. Constantly. Constantly. If I turn my back for two seconds to do a chore, get dressed, make myself some breakfast, feed Abby, they are at each others’ throats. Beanie even bit the snockers out of Jeff the other day, leaving a large purple welt on his belly and a perfect set of teethmarks as a souvenir. It’s bad.

So what’s a mama to do? This is one of the perrils of having kids so close in age, I think, but it’s also not OK with me- so I ask any more experienced moms out there: Short of duct-taping them in the corner, what can I do to restore harmony to our home?

Now I must go be Mama, as they are at it again…. (it’s gonna be a looooong winter)

It was yellow, with little chairs painted red with yellow handprints of the teacher.  The kid’s thumbprints were all over the table, and some creative artist had turned the thumbprints into cute little characters.  Each child had signed the table, and had decorated an individual checker piece.  The checker board in the middle of the table was precisely painted.  It could not have been more perfect.  And I wanted it.  Badly. (more…)

This is a guest post from reader and frequent commentor, Cheryl.  She needs some advice.  Let’s help her out, ladies.

My 2 year old son has started this terrible habit –biting people. He has yet to break the skin and he knows it is wrong, but he won’t stop. How do I handle this? My girls never would bite anybody, and so this is very new territory to me. Has anybody had a biter? How did you get your kid to stop? What are the best methods? Any help would be very, very appreciated….

We have been invited to my DH’s company Christmas party Winter Soiree.  The invitations says ‘cocktail attire’.  What, exactly does that mean? (more…)