My daughter has a crush on a boy a school.  She’s had several of them over the last couple of years…and I know it’s a typical thing for little girls to go through.  She also has one on her dad.  And that, too I know is typical.  It’s what psychologists call the “Electra Complex,” a stage of psychosexual development that occurs in girls between the ages of 3-6 (and the same can be said for boys and their mothers, the “Oedipus Complex”). Girls will connect with their father at this point in time, finding him attractive, indicating she wants to marry him, etc.  A father is, after all, the first male love a little girl will  encounter, so it makes sense she will have these feelings. And so, I guess I am not really sure where I am going with this…do I intervene?  No.  It’s a normal stage.  Do I think it’s a problem?  Not really.  Do I feel jealous, as some mothers have indicated?  Heck, no!  What I am thinking is this: My daughter acknowledges her dad …

With the week off school for one kid (Kate–kindergarten), it was a great time to have some mother-daughter bonding time at the local “Color Me Mine” paint-your-own-pottery place.  Since Kate is a super-artistic kid, I knew she would love this experience.  Looking over the shelves packed with paint-able ceramics, Kate zeroed in on exactly what she wanted: a butterfly bank.  Very fitting for my little ball of energy who seems to flutter from activity to activity.  Plus, her room is already decorated in butterflies and daisys, so I couldn’t have been more proud when my little one was catering to her momma’s desire for sticking with a theme.  Kate got right into it and quickly selected the colors without hesitation.  She knew exactly what she wanted.  (Not so me…I would have deliberated my time away just on color selection). I loved watching her work.  She was creative, deliberate, and happy.  She focused and took pride in her work.  She got mad when I made suggestions.  I had to restrain myself.  After a few attempts at hints …

My hubby went on a business trip to New York oh…about two months ago.  I am just now getting around to reading the book he brought home for me, “Mind in the Making,” by Ellen Galinsky.  Ms. Galinski is the president and co-founder of the Families and Work Institute (www.familiesandwork.org) and has written many books on parenting, including, “The Six Stages of Parenthood.”  Her most recent book, “Mind in the Making” (www.mindinthemaking.org) lists out seven essential life skills that kids need to develop to become active and successful adults.  Of course, you are curious as to what they are–so here goes! Skill #1: Focus and Self Control.  Kids need to this skill to achieve goals–especially when there is so much distraction and information overload, media wars, etc.  This all involves paying attention, remembering the rules, thinking flexibly, and exercising self-control. Skill #2: Perspective Taking.  Sure, this has a lot to do with empathy, but there is so much more to it than that.   Figuring out what others think and why they think that way.  When kids can look …

Okay, so yesterday’s post was all about showing your appreciation for all of those extra-special people in your child’s life.  Well, I have to follow-up with this one today: how to teach your kid to be grateful. Ellie-the-Elf “visited” our home last night and left a little token for my own little elves: holiday-themed socks.  I thought they were cute.  Kate (5 1/2 years) did not.  She stormed into my room early this morning as I slumbered away, “Mom!  Ellie left socks.”  She said with disdain.  “Uh?” I rolled over and rubbed my eyes.  “Oh that’s nice, Kate.  Let’s talk about this later.”  Kate is a super-early bird.  It was too early, especially for this.  When I came downstairs at 10 to seven, mind you (such a bum sleeping the day away, huh?), Kate continued to complain.  “I wanted something exciting.  This is not exciting.  Maybe make-up?”  She lost her lip gloss that Ellie gave her within a day.  Besides that, I am not at all condoning the use of make-up till she is 21–at least.  …

I had a fun opportunity to be the “Mystery Reader” in my daughter’s kindergarten class this morning!  What  fun time–more so than I expected.  She was all smiles and grins when I showed up book in hand.  And so was I.  As a family who is crazy for books, this was the perfect opportunity to show it off.  I read Jamie Lee Curtis’ book, “Big Words for Little People” in which the reader is introduced to many grown-up sounding words like “consequence, patience, cooperate,” among others.  All are illustrated with hilarious art from Laura Cornell.  But the “biggest” big word of all is “LOVE.”  I love how they talk about the words being the language that connects us all.  I also made and distributed little bookmarks to the class.  Simple and easy: I purchased pre-cut bookmarks for about $2.99 from a craft store, added some stickers, a ribbon, and a little blurb about who the mystery reader was and what we read.  They loved the special little treat–a reminder that books are great! 

You’re a parent, so you’ve likely been “on-call” in the middle of the night when your child isn’t feeling well.   “Mooommmmm….I don’t feel so good.”  You wiggle out of your warm slumber, shake the cobwebs from your head, and place your wobbly legs on the floor.  Padding down the hallway to your child’s room, your heart breaks.  She is sick.  She needs you.  Last night this scenario happened here at our house.  Kelly was sitting up in her bed in her fleece footed jammies with the nickname, “snuggle bunny” embroidered on them, complete with bunny feet.  Of course, their was laundry to do and a kid who just didn’t feel well.  We changed clothes, washed up, and snuggled.   True to the nickname, Kelly is a little “snuggle bunny.”  We talked about what hurt and where, I felt to see if she had a fever (nope), and we decided it was time to go back to bed.   Just as I was leaving her room, she asked, “Can you read me a book, momma?”  Who could resist?  “Why sure, …

She’s a handful, this kid of mine.  But I love her with all of my heart.  Kate Riley is her name, wearing me out is her game.  I think I knew she would be a handful even in utero.  She would punch, wiggle, and kick.  Hard.  I can still feel the phantom pain of it up in my right side.  She wasn’t about to reveal to us whether she was a boy or a girl during the 20-week ultrasound, turning somersaults and sucking her thumb instead (she still bites her nails and loves to tumble…some things never change).  I remember feeling so disappointed when the ultrasound was “inconclusive,” feeling angry and annoyed because gosh-darn-it, I wanted to decorate a nursery and I didn’t want to go lame-o neutral (no offense, if that’s your style.  I now know better).  I remember, my dad telling me after that ultrasound, “Well, that’s your first lesson as a parent: no matter what, you can’t control these little ones.” Can you see that grimace over my face now?  Do you …

I have a super-cute, yet very precocious little girl.  Kelly is 3 going on 14.  Sometimes, I think I am not smart enough to keep up with this little pip-squeak .  She’s one smart cookie and the questions she asks are just down-right dumbfounding.   Her memory of things in the recent (and distant past) are amazing, so are her observations, vocabulary, attention to detail, and insights.  I don’t know how on earth this kid got so darn smart!   As the second born daughter in our family, I was feeling a bit guilty that she was getting my attention second-hand.  I really felt the need to focus on my first-born since neither of us has been through particular developmental milestones together before.  So I worked with my first born on play concepts, socializing, preschool academics, and the like (not to mention speech issues related to CAS)….all along feeling sort of guilty that I wasn’t devoting the same kind of attention to my littlest angel.  Lately I began thinking that there is a “second-born advantage” going around.  Perhaps little …

I don’t know about you, but does time seem to slip by way too fast?  For one, I am having a hard time believing that this is probably “peak leaf week” here in Chicgaoland…weren’t we just running around in our swimming suits?  Of course, in just a few short weeks is the second biggest holiday in “kid-world,” Halloween (first on the list is Christmas).  I don’t know about you, but I am overwhelmed with 1.  the fact that time seems to go by waaay too quickly (yep, my parents were right about that when I was younger) and 2.  holiday preparation(s).  At Target today, I overhead a mother saying to her little one, “Let’s add it to your Christmas list.”  In the reality of things, Christmas feels far, far away to this two-year old, but for what it’s worth… Of course, my own kids have been talking about the festivities already, too.  We’ve heard stories about elves lately, as well as a few wish-list items (an American Girl doll bed) and I’ve even had a …