"Country Bumpkins, Who Are You Wearing???"

Admittedly, my daughters' red carpet appearances are few and far between, (especially now that my parents have pulled up their seventies-rust-coloured basement flooring), but I still like them to look their best when we go out. Is there any mom out there who hasn't hit the road with perfectly coiffed and attired children, only to realize that you yourself forgot to brush your teeth and change out of the spit-up shirt?

The other night when watching Nip/Tuck -- I mean, some respectable, educational programming -- a character dropped her baby off for her every-other-weekend with dad, leaving strict instructions. Not about the feedings or the nap schedule, no, she wanted to stress that tomorrow Daddy should "remember to put her in the Dolce". This makes sense coming from fictional Californian plastic surgeons, but do real people talk like that? Maybe that's the equivalent of me instructing my husband to "remember to put them in the Joe Fresh".

Frannie and Maggie's wardrobes are peppered with hand-me-downs (from older cousins and my beloved kijiji) as well as occasional designer duds (which to me translates as a Tommy Hilfiger or Polo logo -- no Dolce), but the bulk of their clothing comes from the usual big retailers: Please Mum, Bonnie Togs, The Children's Place, Old Navy, Sears and Zellers. Lately, though, I have become a fan of another designer, Joseph Mimran, and seem to be buying more and more of his Joe Fresh label (available at Loblaws stores.)

One day last week, my husband surprised us by returning home from Loblaws with some new spring apparel for Frannie and Maggie...and he actually has very good taste! Pictured are their new matching dresses, hats, socks and p.j.'s, which are adorable, but the best part was the price tag: the receipt reads $83.53 (and that even included some dental floss!)

I'd like to think that we're supporting a Canadian business, which of course we are, but I should note that unfortunately our cute new items have 'Made in China' and 'Made in Bangladesh' tags.

It's nice to know that Frannie and Maggie's wardrobes are ready for spring...even though the closest they'll get to a runway is the aisle at church. Would it be entirely inappropriate to get them to stop and pirouette halfway up the aisle next Sunday?

Where do you shop for your kids? Do you ever spend more on them than on yourself? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Read It (and Join Our Book Club): Marina Endicott "Good To A Fault"

I may not be Oprah , but I am part of a pretty fantastic book club. We get together roughly every six weeks, and take turns hosting, which also involves choosing the title and providing the refreshments. This time around, I'm in charge, and I'm sharing my selection with you. Though I can't offer you any treats (my witty repartee is treat enough, non?), I hope that I can introduce you to a terrific piece of literature. (I've already read it - thanks, Mom, for picking it out for me last Christmas!)

I am counting on the actual members of my book club (and you know who you are!) to offer a couple of comments along the way. Oh, but unlike at our real meetings, you are expected to remain on topic! Please don't post any spoilers though!

My choice? "Good To A Fault" by Marina Endicott. Here's how the publisher describes the book: "Absorbed in her own failings, Clara Purdy crashes her life into a sharp left turn, taking the young family in the other car along with her. When bruises on the mother, Lorraine, prove to be late-stage cancer, Clara tries to do the right thing, moving the three children and their terrible grandmother into her own house. As Lorraine walks the borders of death, Clara expands in to life, finding purpose, energy and unexpected love amidst the hard, unaccustomed work of sharing her days. But the burden is not only Clara's: the children must cope with the guilt of divided loyalties, and Lorraine must live with her growing, unpayable debt to Clara -- and the feeling that Clara has taken her place."

It's Canadiana, it's award-winning, it's powerful, and it's waiting at your local bookstore or library for you to pick it up. Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

I Am So Very Famous

Smartkiddies Mathematics

Here's a website which will appeal to teachers and parents alike: Smartkiddies Mathematics. At Smartkiddies, you'll find printable worksheets and interactive math activities sorted by both grade and topic. 

As a teacher, I often pull up the site on my laptop and project it to my Smartboard (interactive whiteboard) to teach or reinforce concepts. As well, teachers can create accounts for their students, and assign specific activities to be completed at school or at home.

The activities begin at the kindergarten level, so if you have a child 5 or older (or 3 or 4, if you're a "Hyper Parent" as mentioned in a previous post!) you can use the site to reinforce what's being taught at school, or for enrichment purposes. There are simple drills, as well as timed games and competitions which really motivate the kids. They can also pick "avatars" to represent themselves, choose their physical appearances, and save game points earned to "spend" on their characters.

It's worth bribing your child's teacher to create accounts for the students, because this provides free access to selected activities at home. There is a charge if you register solely as a parent.

You should note that the site is Australian, so there are a few discrepanices (e.g. pictures of coins, "trapezium" instead of "trapezoid") but they use the metric system, so our Canuck kiddies are fine with the measurement activities.

This has definitely been my go-to site all year, and parents and students alike have been very enthusiastic about it.

Notes About Comments

In honour of some of my friends and family members who are new to this blog thing, I thought I'd clear up some questions about the "comments" process. If you're on the home page, you can either click "read more" at the bottom of a post or  " # comments" beside the title to bring you to the comments screen, where you can see what others have said about the post, or leave your own message. You are welcome to be anonymous, or you can choose "Name/URL" and leave your first name, initials, whatever, and your website if you have one.

When you hit "Post Comment", your message is sent to me to publish or reject. So far, I have only hit the "reject" button once, because one of my friends used Frannie's real name before the whole pseudonym announcement. I don't find this type of blog leads to too many inappropriate comments, but one can never be sure.

In case you're wondering if there is any point taking the time to share your thoughts, I do check for comments regularly (okay, somewhat obsessively), and get that little "Yay! I've got mail!" kind of feeling when I find something there. Plus, it makes a blog much more interesting when people can add to, question, and challenge the ideas being presented.

So, go ahead! Pick a post and tell us what you think about it!

True Confessions: I'm Coveting My Neighbour's Goods

I want a Pandora bracelet. It's okay, it's not like I'm deluding myself into believing that I need it or anything; I just want it. But the problem is, I didn't even know I wanted one until my next-door-teacher got one. And then another coworker. And now I am succumbing to the equivalent of teenage peer pressure, and I know I won't rest until I have one!

This isn't the first time I've been sucked in to the charm bracelet trend. A few years ago, I got an Italian Charm bracelet, and rushed to fill it as fast as I could. By Christmas, my mom, grandma, two aunts and cousin all had the same bracelets, so the thrill was kind of lost.

The other night I went to my local jewelry store just to check out the object (quite literally) of my obsession. The bracelets themselves aren't unreasonably expensive, but the charms start at 30 bucks, so eventually it becomes to a piece of jewelry worth hundreds of dollars. The jeweler assured me they will not go out of style, but what else would she say? There are some adorable charms (my wish list includes the apple, the baby carriage, the bible and the clock), but I try not to buy shirts that cost more than $30, let alone items the size of my baby fingernail.

Now, don't tell anyone, but I checked on ebay, and there are knockoff versions of the charms starting at (wait for it) ninety-seven cents. I showed them to my husband, in an effort to justify the purchase, but he responded with "Oh, you won't want to buy those, because 'they' would know". Hmm. Yes, 'they' would certainly figure it out, especially since one of my dear friends has already memorized the catalogue of official Pandora charms. I can just hear her now: "Well...that one looks similiar to 790473PCZ, but I can tell it's an imitation." Catholic schoolteachers can be so cruel!

I don't want you to get the wrong idea about my friends. They are actually extremely thoughtful and supportive. They even laughed with me, not at me, the day my beautiful pleather boots (which I am guessing spent too much time in the cold garage) began to crack and peel off completely throughout the course of a staff meeting. Nice.

You know, the way I look at it, purchasing the bracelet would actually be a service to my daughters and students. I mean, how can we expect them to understand the important role of material posessions in social status and self-worth if we don't model it ourselves? (Yes, I'm kidding. Please no "this makes you a terrible mom and/or teacher" comments. They will make me cry.) In a do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do move, I actually showed my class the PBS Kids "Don't Buy It" website yesterday.

I am not proud of this fixation. I mean, I'm as in to material things as the next mom, but I keep myself to a pretty tight budget, and try not to be overwhelmed by consumerism. I have deeply rooted values, and I've even been known to purchase generic products. I buy and sell on kijiji, have no problem with hand-me-downs, and think of myself more as a saver than a spender. And yet...there's that bewitching Pandora!

I'm starting to think my colleagues have caught on to this angst.
"You really have to get a bracelet," they said the other day.
"I know."
"We're also going for Botox...want to come?" 
"Sure!" (Never to early to start, right?)
"We're thinking of getting tattoos as well!" 
"Okay!" (If that's what all the cool kids are doing!)
"And there's this bridge we were thinking of jumping off..." 
Wait a second...

Then, the sneakiest move of all: "If you get a bracelet, you can blog about it!" That's really low.

But ha ha - I showed them. I'm blogging about it without even buying one. Ish. Stay tuned for further developments.

UPDATE: See March 29 Post for an important Pandora bracelet update.

Keep Your Kids Close To Your Heart!

If you want a creative way to keep your kids even closer to your heart, follow my lead: order a do-it-yourself photo necklace from Photo Jewelry Making. I bought a double-sided charm with a ballchain, but found the chain wasn't dressy enough so I bought a new one elsewhere. (If you order a necklace, I'd recommend upgrading to the sterling silver option instead.)

Make sure you choose a product that comes with the EZ-resizer software CD. The process was extremely simple: scan or upload your photo, enter the size # (provided with your product) and presto, your picture is the right size! My necklace even came with the photo paper to print the pictures on. I've received many compliments, and my daughters are pretty impressed as well.

The site offers other products, like rings, watches, and several different kinds of bracelets (maybe a Mother's Day gift for Grandma?), as well as bulk kits in case you're looking to start a new home business. I toyed with the idea, but decided instead to moonlight writing a blog for free....lucky for you!

Birthday Traditions (oh, and my daughers' pseudonyms)

Before I begin, let me introduce you to my daughters, Frannie and Maggie. If you're someone who knows me personally, this will likely confuse you a little, but I have enough strangers reading my blog now that I am following the lead of several other bloggers and assigning pseudonyms to my girls. The names do have some significance, but it would sort of spoil the point of the anonymity if I explained them.

It took me a while to decide exactly how I wanted to handle the name issue, but I am tired of saying "my oldest" and "my youngest"...especially when I know that gramatically, since there are only two of them, it should be "my older" and "my younger", which really don't flow. Okay, now that we have that out of the way...

Frannie will be four next month, so I've been thinking about her big day, and about birthday traditions in general. In our family, we have always done this really original thing where we get a cake, and put candles in it representing the number of years being celebrated, and then we light the candles, and sing a song... how long did I have you going for? I actually would love to start a cool new tradition with my girls -- preferably something that can take the emphasis off gifts -- so I'm hoping for some reader suggestions!

Growing up, choosing the meal (mom/my brother) or restaurant (dad/me) was always part of the birthday ritual. We have kept this up, except now with growing families restaurant meals are no longer a viable option.

As a child, one of my gifts would always be what I referred to as a "Birthday Girl" (but learned today that the proper name is "Enesco Growing Up Girl" - see photo). Actually, I think the first one I got was number 8 or 9, but then I decided I wanted to collect the rest, so I received them as random gifts. Kind of unusual for a 12 year old to ask Santa for a figurine of a 3 year old girl, but I wanted to complete the collection. Half my set is blonde and half brunette, which may have been a predictor of how I would spend my adult life. (Note: so far brunette is in the lead.)

Anyway, back to the Birthday Girls. Once Frannie was born, I put the baby figurine in her room, and each year, as she sleeps the night before her birthday, the next one goes in. After Maggie was born, I started moving the figurines over as she hit each age. I realize I could have just purchased her a set of her own, but oh well. I figure they can keep passing them along to the next generation of girls in the same way. (Is it weird that my kids haven't even started school yet, but I'm already really hoping that someday I'll be a Grandma?)

There are some neat birthday ideas  for different cultures at http://www.kidsparties.com/TraditionsInDifferentCountries.htm, but I'm pretty sure my two little Irish girls wouldn't be interested in adopting the tradition of being turned over and bumped on their head enough times to represent their age...plus one for good luck!

Frannie's celebration this year will be a simple affair: a grandparents/godparents dinner, which will include four cousins, and then one special outing and sleepover with her cousin/best friend. The cake will be Fancy Nancy (more on her in a future post) and the "loot bags" (which have taken on a life of their own at children's parties) consist of a hand-picked book from Scholastic and a box of Smarties.

I have a wonderful colleague who is the absolute queen of little girls' birthdays, and someday I will twist her arm to help me with a post on the topic, but I'd rather wait until after my daughers' special days pass. Too much pressure to live up to her example.

So, what do you do to celebrate your kids' birthdays? I'd love to hear your ideas!