Moms

Susan here… I’m in Disneyland about to see the premiere of “Mickey and the Magical Map” and to celebrate the recent opening of Fantasy Faire. For disclosure I’d like to let you know that I’m at a media event and my travel, hotel and park pass expenses are being covered by Disney. As always, my opinions and love for Disney are my own. This will be a magical and busy weekend here at Disneyland with the premiere of “Mickey and the Magical Map” tonight and a ‘Monstrous’ 24 Hour party starting tomorrow morning at 6 am! I think Mickey and his friends are going to need to use magical powers to keep themselves awake and partying all that time. Crowds are expected to continue to grow throughout the party tomorrow as Disney fans celebrate all night. I’ll be here taking in the excitement too. (We’ll see how late I can last. I am known for being a night-owl. But it’ll depend on how early I start in the morning.) I have to quickly head over to the newly renovated Fantastyland Theatre now to see Mickey and his friends put on their fabulous new show. I believe so strongly in the power of storytelling and I love how Kevin Eld, Head of Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment explains the power of Disney stories: “We are obsessed storytellers and we are obsessive about detail… We all share a deep-seated passion about creating emotional moments. We get to touch people at the very core of their emotions. We want people to get lost in the story of ‘Mickey and the Magical Map.’” I know I will love this show, so I better sign off quickly so I don’t miss it. Join me on Twitter with the hashtag #JustGotHappier. Written by Susan Carraretto, co-founder of 5 Minutes for Mom Talk with me: @5minutesformom and Facebook.com/5minutesformom Pin with me at http://pinterest.com/5minutesformom/ Photo Credit: Disneyland Resort

WHEN THEY ARE NEWBORNS 1) Crib mattress 2) Persistent feeling of guilt for buying the $40 crib mattress instead of the top-of-the-line $500 organic ulta duo core certified allergen-free ECOGREENFOAM™ crib mattress with internal SIDS alert and solid platinum stitching. 3) Waterproof pad 4) Tight-fitting, organic cotton crib sheet 5) Tight-fitting, organic cotton swaddling blanket 6) No toys 7) No loose blankets 8) LOTS OF VERY LOUD & CONTRADICTORY OPINIONS ABOUT CRIB BUMPERS 9) Baby monitor with motion sensor mat, high-definition video and ambient temperature display 10) Baby who totally won't sleep in the crib anyway, not even for five minutes, hooray! WHEN THEY ARE TODDLERS: 1) Yup.

When you’re decorating your child’s room I think you need to make sure it’s fun and includes pieces that the child loves now but also pieces that will grow with them. Sometimes that is pretty hard to do but I’ve found one product that is gorgeous and timeless – Pigtails Ink  paper art. Pigtails Ink. art is a whimsical, unique and affordable way to personalize a child’s bedroom, playroom or bath. They have a variety of designs to celebrate your child’s interest; princess’s, space explorers, athletes and superheroes. Their letters are great for initials or spelling out full names and their bath art will remind your little one to Brush, Wash and Scrub.The art is printed from original illustrations and hand personalized by the artist with name and hair color. Prints are sold matted and fit standard size frames. Personalization and shipping is always free! - Pigtails Ink website I was provided one 8×10 art for review and it was very difficult to choose which one I wanted to place in Matthew’s room. Well, his soon to be bedroom (right now it’s still a playroom). I wanted to pick something that wouldn’t reflect something he was interested in now but could possible outgrow later in life. And let me tell you there were LOTS of choices – the themes I looked at included football, baseball, airplanes, racing and more….there was everything available for a little boy. I finally chose the Smile God Loves You artwork matted in blue. When I received it I was amazed at the quality and beauty of it. Matthew loved it and so did I. I really hope that this is something he will treasure as he gets older. It’s a beautiful piece that I think is so special. Most kids love personalized items and this is a fun addition to any room. All art is sold matted. If you would like it framed, that option is available, or you can just purchase a standard size frame at your local store. Pigtails Ink also has a variety of other items for girls that include art work, letter art, and bathroom art. The themes available for girls are princess, reading, cheerleading, skiing, and even Stars Wars Princess Leia inspired art. It is amazing and you will love it! Right now on the Pigtails Ink website you can receive a 20% discount. Enter coupon code SMILE20 at checkout. Custom artwork and stationery excluded. Expires July 15, 2013 Enter to win We want you to experience the fun of choosing artwork for your child so, 5 Minutes for Mom and Pigtails Ink is giving away one (1) 8×10 paper art to one (1) lucky reader!! Use the Rafflecopter form to enter this giveaway. New to Rafflecopter? Watch this 45-second video on how to enter! a Rafflecopter giveaway Which art would you choose?     Lesley is a mom of two kids – one girl and one boy. She’s married to her first and only love, Robby. Author of Life with Lesley. Her blog has a little bit of everything – life, love, parenting, along with product reviews and giveaways.

1. If you’re going to be late coming home don’t wait until the last minute to tell her. Remember when you’d have to do chin ups and you knew you had to do 20? You’d get to 18 and think “I only have two more to go, I can make it” then some asshat comes along and says “Gimme 10 more”. How much do you like that guy? Not so much.  2. Come home and get in the house. When you get home this is not the time to chit chat with the neighbor over the fence about how it’s gong with the new baby. Assume that it is always Lord of the Rings orc war in the house and get inside to relieve the day shift because your wife has probably been walking around with that baby thinking “I only have to hang in there 30 more minutes….29…..28.” (see point above). 3. Get excited about the baby. I know, I know, you love that little weeble more that anything, but most new mothers are wired with this demented sense of responsibility so even if their baby is screaming like a rabid howler monkey they don’t want to leave it. So if you go in and say something like “take a shower, I’ve missed him all day and I can’t wait to hold him” she will be more willing to go bathe, eat or generally reset to be less crazy. It’s win-win. 4. Don’t ask “What’s for Dinner” If everyone in the house is alive when you get home that’s a successful day. My friend’s husband asked her why dinner wasn’t ready because “she’d been sitting at home all day doing nothing”. Aw, Buddy, c’mon. If you ask “What’s for dinner?” the answer may very well be “Your left testicle”. Eat cereal, order take-out or drink pumped breastmilk. Wing it. 5. Don’t go on about how hard your day was. Even if your day consisted of being gang raped by angry silver back gorillas, she can probably trump you. Not only can she trump you but it may include details that you otherwise wouldn’t have known about and don’t want to hear. You’re tired. You’re stressed. But it will just open Pandora’s box and it ain’t worth it. Also consider that this is someone who is up all night looking at your peaceful, sleeping vulnerable body. Don’t give her a reason to smother you with a nursing pillow. She’s probably already plotted your death a couple of times by now so don’t push her over the edge. 6. Don’t say you’re babysitting. The mother of your child may be too tired to catch this slip but any woman who has had more than 20 minutes of consecutive sleep is going to do a slow, Chucky-head-turn and hiss “You’re not babysitting. You’re parenting.” In your defense, I totally understand this statement. If you’re not the primary caregiver and you’re stepping in to take care of the baby then you are technically babysitting. Terms like “Daddy Duty”, “On call” and “At the helm” are always safer alternatives. 7. Don’t lie on your back and hold the baby above your head facing you. They puke. It’s the infant equivalent of the Funny Home Video guy pitching to the kid with the baseball bat and getting squared in the pills. Everybody likes lying on their backs, holding the baby in the air and fly them over their face. Babies LOVE this and this joy often sends a surge of yak right into your who’s-daddy’s-airplane-open-mouth. They give no warning. They are vomit grenades. 8. Be CIA guy. Too often I think fathers get shoved to the side and it’s all about the baby, and to a lesser extent, the mom. Don’t worry about it and just be a gazelle in the grassland because you’re in the trenches, and there’s no glory in the trenches. Be like those awesome CIA guys with the silly putty in their ear who silently, seamlessly gets the odd glass of water, load

This post on how to create a vision board was made possible by an item provided for review. This post may contain affiliate links.  All opinions are mine and mine alone. I work at home and my day is a combination of family and work responsibilities. I may be folding laundry while on a conference call with a client. I might be answering emails on my iPad while my son uses my business computer for his homework.  Unlike days when I worked in an office, my responsibilities sort of blur together some days. It’s easy to get off focus and find myself playing Candy Crush a few too many minutes or working after dinner when I should be relaxing with my family. How To Create A Vision Board To help me keep my mind on my goals and my attitude positive, I decided to create a vision board.  A vision board is a visual reminder of your personal goals and the positive thoughts you want to focus on.  Learning how to create a vision board is not difficult at all. Materials A piece of cork or foam board to serve as the base Ribbon to decorate Thumbtacks to hold your cards and images Card stock Images from magazines or scrapbook images that match your vision Fiskars 4XL Lever Punch Stamp Out Marker Instructions Using the ribbon, make a criss cross pattern over your cork or foam board.  Secure on the back with a staple or thumbtack. Using the Fiskars 4XL Lever Punch Stamp Out, cut out enough squares of card stock to write the word that describes your vision. Write one letter of your word on each square. Attach the card stock squares to the top of your vision board as a reminder of what to focus on. Attach the images that fit your vision around your vision board. You can slip them underneath the ribbon or you can attach them with thumb tacks. Hang it on the wall in an area you will see it regularly.  Mine is in my office. The Fiskars 4XL Lever Punch is part of Fiskar’s newest line of lever punches that makes it easy to create extra large embellishments for a variety of craft projects.  They are great for creating layered embellishments with multiple designs or creating windows on cards, scrapbook pages, or collages.  I love the Fiskars brand punches.  I have tried other brands before and the quality just does not stand up to frequent use. This lever punch has a wide base which means it’s not going to tip side to side while I’m using it. The Fiskars 4XL Lever Punch works with card stock up to 65 lbs so it is perfect for my scrapbook projects. It’s very easy to use and it punches cleanly through the card stock without a lot of effort. It also has a built in confetti catcher to catch the punches which is extremely handy. Fiskars offers a variety of different sizes of lever punches from compact to extra large. Shapes available include daisy, heart, star, butterfly, circle and  more. The Fiskars 4XL Lever Punch makes it so easy to make a bunch of punches that are exactly the same. Now that you know how to create a vision board, what will you have yours say? // document.write(''); // The post How To Create A Vision Board appeared first on Confessions of an Overworked Mom.

Summer vacation is nearly here! Today is Lucy’s last day of preschool and tomorrow is Julia’s last day of third grade. And damn, you guys, I’m excited to have them home all day for a while. I’m looking forward to slowing down and doing a little more of want we want to and less of what we have to. Yesterday at breakfast, I asked the girls what they wanted to do this summer and we made a list. Last night, I turned that list into this. I got the idea to display it like that from The Buente Family’s Summer To-Do List. I especially love the check boxes to show our progress. It’s the perfect antidote to “I’m bored” or “We never do anything.” And I’m hoping it’ll keep me from letting the summer slip by, so when August arrives I’m not panicking and trying to jam everything into the last few weeks, turning our Want To activities into Have To activities and our relaxing summer into a hectic and torturous quest for fun that leaves us exhausted for the return to school. But I don’t want to think about the return to school right now. We’re ready for the summer!

Dawn, 5M4M contributor, recently attended the EPIC movie premiere in New York City. Expenses for her travel and lodging were covered by 20th Century Fox. All opinions expressed here are wholly her own. Have you heard about the Leaf Men and the amazing, hidden world of the forest in the upcoming film EPIC? I’m excited to share more thoughts about the new movie that will hit theaters this Friday, especially about the comedic elements. Check out my previous post for the lowdown on the story and some insights from the director on the underlying themes. Though EPIC is most definitely an adventure film with a lot of heart, there are plenty of laughs, too, and most of them are provided by the slimiest creatures on the screen. Mub the slug, and Grub the snail, are the protectors of the plant pod that holds the magical soul of the forest. They’re the perfect caretakers because the pod needs to stay moist– a huge talent of both snails and slugs! With funnymen Aziz Ansari and Chris O’Dowd as the voices behind Mub and Grub, the laughs come naturally. If you’ve seen the trailer, then you know all about Mub and Grub’s eyeball antics. What other creatures could even theoretically knock their eyeballs back and forth? Ansari and O’Dowd both bring their signature voices to these characters. Ansari is quick with a punchline, expressive and energetic, and O’Dowd’s charming Irish accent fits perfectly with his character who longs to be a Leaf Man despite his being a slug. I was incredibly fortunate to participate in a group interview with Aziz Ansari and Chris O’Dowd recently, and let me tell you, these guys are as funny off the cuff as they are when they’re performing from a script. How often do actors get to talk about their experiences playing a slug and a snail? When one blogger jokingly asked if they had done any research before taking these roles, they immediately launched into a funny back-and-forth: Aziz Ansari:  “No, I didn’t really do any research.  They have a piece of paper that has a script, lines on it.  And then, I just go in there and I say those a couple times, like we got it, and then I go home, done.” Chris O’Dowd:  “I had a slug farm, so like I felt like I was already one step ahead, yes like an ant farm.” Aziz Ansari:  “And me and Chris went to the woods with a magnifying glass and followed a snail and slug around for a couple of months.” Chris O’Dowd:  “It did not end well, obviously.  It was a sunny day. One thing led to another.  Yes, it was really sad.  It was sad, but worth it.“ I couldn’t stop myself from mentioning the slugs that keep finding their way into my own kitchen every spring and summer, and I expressed my hope that after viewing this movie, perhaps my kids won’t be so grossed out by the slow-moving, slime-trail-leaving creatures. Thankfully, Chris O’Dowd was happy to play along: Chris O’Dowd:  “You are welcome.  Get yourself a nice slug farm.” Me:  “I’d like to know how to fill that habitat.” Chris O’Dowd:  “Just slugs.  What I do is I don’t put anything in it other than the slugs.  So, it’s just slugs.” Me:  “Just slugs?” Chris O’Dowd:  “That’s right, yes, plastic tub of slugs, which is also the name of my autobiography, out this Christmas. Yes, hopefully, slugs are going to get a good rap from now on because I’m sick and tired of the anti slug brigade.” Their easygoing banter with our group was fitting, seeing as they had provided the lighthearted side of the movie with their funny performances. As a parent, I frequently find myself frustrated with kids’ movies, because of the innuendo and more adult-like humor that too often finds its way in. I was delighted that this wasn’t the case with EPIC. I didn’t find myself cringing at any parts

Confession: I am a DIY fan girl (not to mention, pretty gosh-darned fond of acronyms) and I may or may not have openly admitted to having a slight crush on Mike Holmes. By openly, I mean blogged about my crushing...

It’s been unseasonably hot and humid here in Pittsburgh this month. This is made worse by our broken air conditioning system. We were meant to call about replacing it in April, but you know how these things go. So, we sit around and sweat under the ceiling fans and dunk our feet in bowls . . . → Read More: Breastfeeding Blog Hop: Sweet Breastfeeding Moments

This guest post has been submitted by Sarah Normandie   Teach your young child the science of creating colors with these fun activities that link art, science and literature all together. Your  “color scientist” will be having so much fun that he or she won’t even realize that there is learning involved!  Activity 1: Popsicle Paint Book to read:  Why Did My Ice Pop Melt? By Susan Korman  After Reading the book, Why Did My Ice Pop Melt? By Susan Korman, try this fun summer activity! First, fill Popsicle molds with washable children’s tempura paint. Use primary colors: red, yellow, and blue, to prep your child for the color mixing activity. You can find the tempura paint in most craft stores and local department stores that sell children’s art supplies. Next, freeze the paint in the mold. Then, head outdoors on a hot summer day to do some Popsicle painting! An easel would work great for this activity, or you can just hang your paper onto a tree. Younger children will have an easier time building their fine motor skills by painting in this upright motion. Also, as the Popsicle paint melts, the paint will mix together. Discuss why it melted and predict which colors mixed together will create other colors.  What Your Child Will Learn: Your child will build their fine motor skills, and gain reasoning/prediction skills while engaged in scientific inquiry (discovering and predicting how the colors will mix). These skills will prepare your child for reading-as prediction skills are correlated with reading strength. This activity will also strengthen their problem solving skills.  Of course, freedom of expression in art and language development will also be fostered.  Bonus Activity:  Frozen Ice Melt: Another color mixing/ice melting activity is the “Frozen Ice Color Melt”. Fill various containers with water colored by food coloring (remember, primary colors only!). Put the “colored ice” in an outdoor water table, bucket, or kiddie pool, and watch the water change color as it melts. Don’t forget to talk about your child’s predictions to promote scientific inquiry and language skills.  Activity 2: Foot Painting Book to read:   Color Dance by Ann Jonas  What better way to learn about mixing colors than with some dancing! After reading Color Dance by Ann Jonas, bring out some large poster board or a roll of butcher paper, washable children’s paint (primary colors), a brush, and a bucket of water (to wash their feet). Paint your child’s foot, or simply let them rub their feet in a small puddle of paint (don’t forget to hold their hand, it can get slippery!). Put on some fun summer music and let your child dance on the paper, painting their footprints as they dance! Wipe off their feet and use different colors. As they dance, the colors will mix!  What Your Child Will Learn: In addition to language development and science inquiry skills, your child will build their gross motor skills (jumping, walking, balancing, etc) and learn to express themselves through art and music.  Activity 3: Water Spray Paint Book to read: White Rabbit’s Color Book By Alan Baker  White Rabbit’s Color Book by Alan Baker is one of my favorite color mixing books for young children. After reading the story, fill 3 spray bottles with a small amount of bottled watercolor paint (found in craft stores) and water. You can also simply fill with water colored by food coloring. Tack a piece of white paper to a tree, and let your little one spray the paper with the primary colors. Discuss how the colors blend together as they spray. Little ones will find it easier to spray upright, and older children could spray paper laid on the ground or on a table. You could also use stencils, or various objects such as string, buttons, or stencils placed on the paper to make various designs.  What Your Child Will Learn: Your child will build their fine motor strength by using the spray bottles, gain problem solving, and scientific inquiry skills by mixing colors and noticing the pat