…How about you?…You can come too….We’re going to the zoo!
A trip to the zoo can be the highlight of your summer! Your kids will start singing that old children’s song before you even get out the door, so put on your walking shoes and get ready for a great family adventure!
A short list of thing to pack might include:
Baby stuff if you have an infant (stroller or baby sling, diaper bag, bottles)
A wagon if you have toddlers who might get tired
A soft mini cooler full of ice, water and snacks
Sunscreen, hats, first aid kit (for scrapes or bumps) and a camera!
Now you are ready for the zoo! You might want to let everyone use the bathroom before you start exploring so that you won’t have to leave the fun to find one later. Get a map of the zoo, and let each child pick an animal they especially want to see. Plan which path to take to be sure you get to see everything!
You will want to capture all of your children’s reactions to the animals they see! The first time my baby brother saw a giraffe, he was so amazed! He had a toy one at home, but his eyes got very big when the 16 foot tall animal looked over the wall. He couldn’t take his eyes off of it, and talked about the “Jaffe” for weeks!
Listen for announcements of feeding times. Your kids will love getting to see the animals being fed! When you and your kids get tired, take a break and have a snack of your own. This will give you all time to cool off and talk about the animals you have seen. Write down the funny things they say so you can remember them later!
My little girl loved the birds at the zoo. She pointed to a bunch lined up on a branch that were watching us, and said, “Look, Mommy! We are the birds’ show. They watch us like we watch a movie!” We got a picture of the row of birds, and wrote her idea under it in our scrapbook when we got home.
Once you are all rested, finish seeing the rest of the sights and check out the petting zoo. Hit the gift shop before you leave; I make sure each of my children has an opportunity to earn a little money each week, and they love being able to pick out a souvenir!
Once you get home, file your pictures and notes to scrapbook later. Trips to the zoo should be unforgettable, and you want to be sure your kids remember them all year long!
Remember when all the maternity clothes looked like clown suits? They had polka-dots, and big ridiculous buttons. Fortunately for the women of today, looking gorgeous for all nine months is much easier.
First of all, maternity clothes don’t have to be shapeless and drab, nor do they need to be gaudy and loud. You should be able to extend your own personal preferences and styles into the months of your pregnancy. Maternity clothes should look AND feel great!
If you are outgrowing your bell-bottoms, chic jeans are available from Gap at QueenBee.com.au and other retailers. Even before you need maternity jeans, you can find cute extenders to cover your unbuttoned waistband and let you wear your favorite denims a month or two longer!
Tops from Japanese Weekend can be found at BloomMaternity.net and elsewhere. These floral designs are perfect for those hot summer months! Also try wearing stretchy long-sleeved layered Tees in winter, or a long soft sweater with a cowl neck.
Loose flowing dresses that have tucks or shirring in the top allow room for your tummy to grow. Match them up with leggings for cool fall days and you’re ready for a walk thru the neighborhood! Again, the Aussies have it at MaternityWear.com.au.
Are you on a shoestring budget? Shop local thrift and resale stores for brand names without the price tag, or try CravingStyle.com for consignment steals that will make you look like you just stepped off a runway. For casual times, MotherWear.com carries everything from loungewear to swimwear, again at unbeatable prices. They also have a full line of bras for all your needs.
Check out these options, or sew your own dresses if you are feeling creative! With so many pretty clothes to choose from, you can look and feel like a million bucks - without breaking your budget! Remember, pregnancy is a beautiful time in your life, and you should feel beautiful to match!
I personally am not a big fan of TV series. I have a lot of things to juggle in my life, and don’t habitually watch a lot of TV. When I heard about the Sex in the City show from my friends I was not impressed.
So what? A show about four single girlfriends in NY City? I am married and have two children. How could I connect to single life in NY? I never thought I would become a fan of the series until…
I was going to business school, taking night classes at the Golden Gate University in San Francisco. One night I came home and my house was peaceful and quiet; both my daughters were asleep and my husband was watching sports after his own long day. I decided it was a great time for me to relax and unwind, but my head was still full of financial models, problems with resource allocation and integrated marketing strategies.
I poured myself a glass of white wine, stretched out on my sofa in the living room and turned on the TV. There it was: Sex in the City on HBO! I stopped, captivated by the funny, likeable women on the screen. I was quickly drawn into the story line - the script was smart and interesting and I instantly felt connected with everything they were experiencing.
You can imagine my shock to realize at the end of the show that I had watched the whole episode. I was hooked! It became my ritual to come home after my business classes and relax watching the next Sex in the City episode.
I don’t know of any woman who wouldn’t like this series. You could be a single woman, a woman in the relationship, a mother, a girlfriend. It has something to offer every woman, in every stage of her life. I guess the idea of real friendship and relationship is very close to all of us!
I’ve been missing Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte! I am really looking forward to seeing the movie soon. I won’t be in town on May 31 when it opens in theaters, but when I come back I have a date with the girls to see the movie - I can’t wait!
Pregnancy is a special period for every woman. It is one of the happiest times of our lives! We go through the big changes. We have to develop a new perception of life and learn to appreciate our new body. One of the questions we ask ourselves is: How to look healthy, attractive and be pregnant?
I personally cannot understand why some mothers stop exercising and start eating for two. That will encourage excessive wieght gain as well as making us feel ill. Why shouldn’t we look beautiful and healthy during this special time of our lives?
Studies have shown that lack of physical activity is directly connected with depression. One in five pregnant women is depressed, and as we all know depression affects mental health and our outlook on life.
Researchers also found that only one in six pregnant women is getting the recommended amount of exercise per week. Exercise has huge benefits for both the mother and her child. The exercise boosts your energy level, releases endorphins (which contribute to a positive mood) and strengthens you for the coming delivery.
Every woman can find appropriate level of exercise and suitable activity. I would personally recommend yoga and cardio exercise. When I was pregnant I was walking every day for a period of 40 – 60 minutes at a time, sometimes twice a day. I felt great during the pregnancy and didn’t have any weight issues after giving birth!
I would like to encourage mothers to treat themselves nicely while waiting for their bundle of joy: exercise, find time for the massage, a facial, and the spa. Just enjoy your life, and make it a healthy one!
Pregnancy is a special period for every woman. It is one of the happiest times of our lives! We go through the big changes. We have to develop a new perception of life and learn to appreciate our new body. One of the questions we ask ourselves is: How to look healthy, attractive and be pregnant?
I personally cannot understand why some mothers stop exercising and start eating for two. That will encourage excessive wieght gain as well as making us feel ill. Why shouldn’t we look beautiful and healthy during this special time of our lives?
Studies have shown that lack of physical activity is directly connected with depression. One in five pregnant women is depressed, and as we all know depression affects mental health and our outlook on life.
Researchers also found that only one in six pregnant women is getting the recommended amount of exercise per week. Exercise has huge benefits for both the mother and her child. The exercise boosts your energy level, releases endorphins (which contribute to a positive mood) and strengthens you for the coming delivery.
Every woman can find appropriate level of exercise and suitable activity. I would personally recommend yoga and cardio exercise. When I was pregnant I was walking every day for a period of 40 – 60 minutes at a time, sometimes twice a day. I felt great during the pregnancy and didn’t have any weight issues after giving birth!
I would like to encourage mothers to treat themselves nicely while waiting for their bundle of joy: exercise, find time for the massage, a facial, and the spa. Just enjoy your life, and make it a healthy one!
You know that program about kids who say the darnedest things? Here’s my own gem, from a few years back…
Our washer had broken down and the part was on order, so I found myself at the Laundromat one Sunday afternoon. I was hugely pregnant with my second child, and had my 18 month old daughter in tow.
My little girl was really good at the Laundromat. Didn’t run up and down and make me chase her, like a lot of the other moms were having to chase their kids. Didn’t try to get into the soap, or drag the dry clothes I was folding down off the table.
I was proud. So when I was almost ready to leave, I gave her a quarter to put in the little toy machine by the door. You know the kind - you put a coin or two in, twist the handle and a little plastic capsule drops out into your hand, which you subsequently chip a nail trying to open.
She diligently inserted her two bits, and solemnly cranked the handle. The plastic ball was blue, and after I forced it open a little black thing about an inch and a half long dropped into my palm. I had to look at it to realize it was a tiny replica of a pistol.
Well, we didn’t really have toy guns in our house. Daddy had a hunting rifle and a shotgun, but they were kept under lock and key. I wasn’t sure she would even know what it was. I was sooo wrong.
She grabbed from my hand and whirled to face the room. Planting her feet slightly apart, she held the pretend gun in both hands, using the perfect teacup grip well known to FBI academy graduates.
“Put your hands on the car!” she bellowed. Heads turned and jaws dropped across the crowded space. “Put your hands on the car! Do it! NOW!!!”
About fifty people cracked up. I think I saw one guy actually fall out of his chair, he was laughing so hard. I rushed my innocent little future law enforcement officer out to the car pronto.
She had obviously spent wayyy to much time with Daddy that weekend watching re-runs of COPS!
What’s the funniest thing your kid ever said? Share, please!
Start your child off in life by feeding them the healthiest food you can find! More and more parents are turning to organic baby foods to limit exposure from high amounts of toxins from fertilizers and pesticides.
Organic foods are available from most groceries now; Gerber has come out with the Gerber Organic line and Earth’s Best carries jarred organic foods as well as a line of crackers and other finger snacks that are also ‘green’ certified. These are both good products, but new brands offering frozen or refrigerated organic products may be more palatable to your baby.
Plum Organics is found at Whole Foods and other health food retailers, and Target stocks Homemade Baby - both of these are refrigerated or frozen organic baby food options. Tastybaby is a relative newcomer currently stocked on the west coast only; developed by a former Cordon Bleu chef, these frozen delicacies are perfect for the organic baby.
Of course, all these options can be expensive, so you may want to consider making your own organic baby food from fresh ingredients. Buy organic fruits, vegetables, dairy, grain and meat products and do it yourself!
An excellent way to make infant baby food is to prepare enough for a week at a time. Buy small ice cube trays to freeze the food after preparation, and small snack sized baggies to store the frozen cubes in.
Begin by cooking any raw foods until done and tender. Puree, or blend to desired consistency, and add thickener of your choice - commercial baby cereal is fine, or try mashed banana, yogurt or tofu.. Spoon into the ice cube trays, allowing room for expansion. After the cubes are solidly frozen, turn them out into baggies and label them with the date and ingredients for storage. One cube is equal to approximately one ounce of food.
Start with organic vegetables, and add fruits and oatmeal or rice cereal at intervals. Remember to allow at least four days between new foods to check for allergies. As your baby grows, you can add meats slowly; first pureed and mixed into the vegetables, then coarsely ground or shredded as your baby gets teeth to chew foods.
Feeding your baby organic foods is a first step to helping them live a ‘green’ and healthy life. Whether you buy yours ready-made or prepare your own, you can be assured that your baby is getting the best and safest nutrition you can provide.
The whole country is trying to go green, it seems, and it’s time to join the parade! Did you know that using ‘green’ household product not only save trees and precious petroleum resources, it also is safer and healthier for you, your family and your pets?
Commercial cleaners contain harsh chemicals that can irritate the skin, eyes and nasal passages, as well as damage your home. Green products use natural cleansers to keep your house bright and shiny without these harmful additives.
Twenty Mule Team Borax is one of the best products on the market for cleaning bathrooms. Phosphate and chlorine free, this powdered cleanser is safe for septic tanks and easy on hands. Tubs, showers and sinks come clean with less effort than many brand name cleaners!
Seventh Generation Free and Clear boasts an impressive line of laundry and dishwashing products. These glycerin based detergents come in powder or liquid form and leave no residue to irritate your skin, and the softener is gentle and effective. Dish powder and gel leave your plates and silverware clean and grease-free. Their toilet paper, also green by virtue of its minimum 80 percent post-consumer content, is comparable to non-recycled brands.
Begley’s Best is a line of carpet and upholstery cleaners that is biodegradable and non-toxic, so you need not fear for your pats and children. Perfect Planet’s floor cleaners and polishers take stubborn dirt up off of hardwood floors and out of grouted tile joints with a strong but safe.
Each of these products can replace a commercial cleaner in your home, including those containing chlorine, ammonia and phosphates. Eliminating such toxic chemicals from your personal living space can only be beneficial, and helping conserve natural resources is a wonderful plus!
Tell a friend
Mothers Day is the best time to show how much your mother and grandmother mean to you. The gift for Mothers Day shouldn’t be expensive. It should be thoughtful.
Few ideas:
1.A mini notepad. There is no denying that women do their job 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They do all household chores, manage your finances, take care of their husbands and their children, and even report their own office jobs for 8 hours in 5 days.
2. Mini photo album. It is a great project for kids. Come up with the theme, choose cute pictures and put it in the small photo album.
3. Make a picture of your mother or grandmother and put it in the nice frame.
