Tag: mommy musings

When it Comes to Parenting, Does Hypocrisy Rule the Little Things?

Posted on by MommyQ

Parenting Tips

I hear myself saying things to my rambunctious children like, “Don’t leave your shoes in the middle of the floor,” and “Pick up your messes,” and often notice, I don’t do these things myself. It makes me wonder, are all parents hypocrites? When it comes to the little things, are we walking contradictions?

My hubby and I are good about the big stuff we preach to our kids, like no cussing. Once in a while we accidentally let an expletive fly in front of the kids, but it’s rare. When we tell them not to hit, scratch, bite, push or shove each other, we’re on track. We never handle situations in a physical nature. Well, I may have thrown a brush at my hubby 10 years ago, but we weren’t even engaged and certainly didn’t have children way back then. Plus, he may have deserved it. I wasn’t aiming right at him. I digress.

It’s the small things that make me think I’m a hypocrite:

Pick up your mess! – I’m always trying to get my children to put away their toys and pick up the little explosions of stuff around the house. Then I find myself walking through the door with my own ‘mess’ of stuff and it all lands on the kitchen counter. And it piles up higher and higher. No, I’m not great about putting my messy things away.

Don’t leave your shoes in the floor! – I can’t stand seeing shoes scattered all over the place. Then again, I’ll leave multiple pairs of my own shoes all over the house. They rarely make it upstairs into my closet either!

Don’t eat in front of the TV! – I encourage my kids to eat their meals at the table. But sometimes I want to relax and watch TV, so I’ll eat a sandwich or a meal on the sofa like a true-blooded couch potato.

Wear a coat! – In this ridiculously cold weather, my hubby and I are always nagging the kids to put on heavy winter coats. Then, he and I only wear sweaters and walk out without coats ourselves. Sorry, I can’t stand being too hot. Besides, I know I won’t freeze.

Try new foods? Oh yeah, this is a good one. We’re always trying to encourage my kids to discover new foods. I’ve even resorting to bribing them with dessert if they at least taste  a new dish. Uhm, I’m as stubborn as a mule when it comes to trying new foods. But I’m old, I’ve had my whole life to know exactly what foods I might like and which ones I can live without. Doesn’t wisdom make me less of a hypocrite?

What do you think? Are we all hypocrites when it comes to our day-to-day parenting ways? Is it okay to be a walking contradiction as long as our intentions are good? Do tell….

Image: NatalieDee.com

Which is Worse: Gum in the Dryer or Walking Pneumonia?

Posted on by MommyQ

How to remove gum in the dryer

It’s been a hectic few weeks, thanks to my extremely unattractive cough. I sounded like an 80-year-old woman who smokes two packs of Virginia Slims per day. No, I don’t smoke and I’m not 80 yet. The cough hit me out of nowhere and lingered. I knew it had to be bad if my husband told me to go to the doctor. Well, my kiddos were under the weather too, so I figured it was allergies. I ended up taking them to the pediatrician and we got antibiotics, so they were good to go. I woke up the very next day and felt like my lungs were full of fluid. The cough that seemed to be getting better got 10x worse overnight. I finally caved and took myself to the doctor.

As you know if you’ve taken your children to the doctor with you, it’s not fun. They think the visit is for them and I was trying to trick them by saying it was for me. When they finally realized I was telling the truth, they were cool. And then they were BORED. We were stuck in a tiny room with zero toys. It was 4:00 p.m. so they were tired. Not fun. The kiddos were wreaking havoc with two bouncy balls the nurse (who obviously doesn’t have young boys) gave them. They were bouncing them off the ceiling – literally. When the doctor asked me if I could stay longer for a chest x-ray, I came so close to declining. Then I thought, how much crazier can it get? She diagnosed me with bronchitis and a sinus infection. The next day, I got a call. They sent my x-rays to a radiologist who spotted pneumonia in my left lung. Whoopsy!

I’m feeling better, as you can tell by the fact that I’m actually sitting at a computer and writing semi-coherent thoughts. I’ve been knee-high in dirty clothes because if mommy doesn’t do the laundry, a magical fairy (called a maid) doesn’t show up and do it for me. Today I opened the dryer and removed a few shirts. I instantly noticed something sticky on them. Hmmm. Gum in the dryer! Collapsing on the floor into a pile of mucus and tears seemed like a great idea. I felt totally defeated and mortified. I grabbed some cleaner and started scrubbing. My husband appeared. I took my head out of the dryer to see he was holding a piece of paper. It had instructions for getting gum out of the dryer. Wet dryer sheets. Wet them, let them sit on the gum residue for about 20 minutes and it comes off like a charm.

To answer my own question, thanks to my hubby’s Google expertise, walking pneumonia is worse than gum in the dryer.

Why Laughter is a Great Family Tradition

Posted on by MommyQ

Laughter is a great Family Tradition

“Dad, tell the one about bonking that kid in the head with your toy train.” “Dad, tell the one about running from the neighborhood bullies.” “Honey, tell the one about passing out in the park.” That’s the way most of our family get-togethers end. Whether it’s sitting around the table with half-eaten pieces of birthday cake on car-themed paper plates scattered about or sipping coffee together, stuffed from a delicious Thanksgiving turkey, the best part of every family gathering is the laughter.

After the last bite of food has been taken and our rambunctious, young kiddos have retired to the playroom, the adults sit around the table and retell funny stories we’ve heard a million times.  Certain topics never seem to get old like my dad’s rebellious childhood or my husband’s PG-rated college adventures involving alcohol-related stupidity. My sister and I tend to tell the same stories from our childhood about goofy Barbie antics and high school shenanigans.

No matter what life hands us over the years, laughter always proves to be the best medicine in my family. It’s affordable, easy to find and doesn’t require planning.  As far as family traditions go, it’s a no brainer.

Emoticons Make Me Feel Really Old

Posted on by MommyQ

I always thought I was cool enough to hang with everyone else, even people 10-15 years younger than me. Well, my coolness theory was busted wide open a few weeks ago when I saw a glossary of emoticons online. It’s not the animated emoticons, just the simple text ones you can make with parenthesis and symbols. You know, modern day hieroglyphics. I looked through it and realized I knew two of them, Smiley Face and Wink Face. Seriously? How sad is that?

Read my funny post on Babble, Emoticons for Dummies: Skip the Fail Face and Get Smiley Face!

My impending old age is no longer years and years away. Remember when you were a kid and 30 seemed like grandma status? Well, I’m on the verge of being 10 years older than grandma status.  Does that make me a great grandma? My sad emoticon fail made me wear a Fail Face :& in disgust. Maybe I should just trade in my BlackBerry for a pair of knitting needles and start wearing slippers around the house in 100 degree weather.

What has happened to you recently to make you think your cool days are over?

Cat Peeing Outside Litter Box: Reality Teaches Mommy A Lesson

Posted on by MommyQ

Like most families, we had furry children before we had real children. We got our two kitties about nine years ago. One is huge & fluffy & not too bright, while the other one is just plain fat & grumpy & very intelligent. Over the years, we’ve had issues with Big Fluffy peeing outside of the litter box. It turns out, he has had bladder infections. You’d think I’d know that by now…

A few months ago, I was cleaning the dining room and noticed a familiar foul odor. Cat pee!!! Ahhhhh! If you have ever had a cat that peed on the carpet, you know this is a horrible ordeal. You can never fully get rid of that gross smell and once a cat smells it on the rug, he will pee there forever.

I instantly blamed Big Fluffy for this pee fiasco and took him to the vet right away. It turns out he DIDN’T have an infection. What?! Tell me it isn’t so! The vet uttered those scary words, “It means it’s a behavioral problem.” Oh super. Trying to figure out the behavioral issues of a cat is like trying to figure out why old people care about the cost of a cup of coffee. $1.35? Why that’s highway robbery!

Anyway, I’ve tried every kind of trick to get them off the carpet. New litter boxes, lavender litter, new locations, bribery, crying, begging, etc. Small victories here & there, but nothing has worked. I was entertaining the idea of some kind of motion-activated scarecrow for the dining room and then I spotted the true crime being committed. It wasn’t Big Fluffy cat at all. It was Angry Fat Cat. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Angry Fat Cat may be angry and he may be fat, but he ALWAYS uses the litter box.

Today I finally took Angry Fat Cat to the vet and he has small crystals in his urine. All this time I was ignoring him and blaming Big Fluffy. I feel like a horrible cat mom. We got his meds and he should be feeling better in a few days. Hopefully the random pee attacks will cease as well. This has taught me a valuable lesson I can apply to my real children. Don’t blame anyone until you see the crime being committed with your own eyes. You may think you’ve got those little personalities figured out, but you don’t. And I have about 2 feet of ruined carpet to prove it!

MommyQ ‘s Top 10 List of Toddler Replies

Posted on by MommyQ

stewie

As you know, toddlers talk A LOT. And they are funny! No, he’s not as well-spoken or as diabolical as Stewie – thank goodness. In addition to  “please” and “thank you” and “you’re welcome,” we’ve been hearing some other amusing responses to our questions and comments.  Here’s my Top 10 List:

1. – “Mine!”

2. – “Me too!”

3. – “I want sumpin’ else.”

4. – “No, I hold it.”

5. – “Mama, get me more juice? More juice? Juicy? Juice?”

6. – “No, I busy right now.”

7. – “In a minute.”

8. – “I all done.”

9. – “Mommy? Mama? Mom? M-O-M?  Dada? Daddy? Dad?”

10. – “I wanna wear racin’ shirt.”

What are the funny little phrases you hear from your kidlet constantly?

MommyQ Getting A Makeover

Posted on by MommyQ

mq-makover

It’s official! MommyQ will be getting a makeover in 2010. Well, not really a makeover. It’s more like a bloggy face lift.

I’ve discovered that I have a variety of audiences who like different parts of my blog. Some of my mommy friends are all about the baby gear and children’s clothes, while others are only interested in the eco-friendly finds. And then there’s my favorite audience – the gossipmongers! Believe it or not, some of my readers just want to dish about celebs and indulge into my mommy musings. How fabulous!

You will no longer have to scroll and scroll and scroll. (Of course, you can just use the “search” box to find what you want.) Topics will be listed in nice little categories on the homepage. MommyQ is getting organized in ’10.

I don’t know exactly when the makeover will take place, but I’ll keep you posted. If there are any topics you want to see more of or less of, now is the time to leave a comment!