Dear Son,

This week, while you have been excited about your future birthday presents, you have also repeatedly let me know that you don’t want to be six.

Maybe you are worried that you won’t be my baby anymore.  Or maybe you have realized how fast time really is, and you just want to stay little a little longer.

I’m not sure what has been going on in your head this week, but I do know what’s been going on in mine.

I am in awe of you.

This past year you have grown so much.

Yes, you have almost reached the same height of your older sister.  And you outweigh her by several pounds now.

But it’s more than that.

When I look at this picture of you from the first day of church school, I am amazed by how you have grown.  That day you walked to your classroom like you were walking to a death sentence.  Over the weeks you slowly grew more confident.  You stopped needing your headphones.  You couldn’t wait to whisper to me about what you had done when you met me at the door.  And when your teacher pulled me aside and told me you had participated in a game of “Duck, Duck, Goose,”  I couldn’t help the tears.  Through all the years of library story times and other outings, you had never played with the other kids.

But this year, you did.

I’m told you also sang during one of the last classes, and even did the hand motions to the song.  Oh, how I wish I had seen that!

Today you didn’t hesitate to play at the park, even though there were 6 other kids already there playing.  A year ago that wouldn’t have happened.

if you make a letter wrong on your paper now, you try to correct it.  A year ago a simple mistake like that would have sent you running from the room to hide under your bed.

When there’s a bump in your sock, or your shoe doesn’t feel right, now you just take it off and try to fix it yourself.  A year ago you would have thrown your shoe across the room, and you couldn’t get your toes in the sock by yourself.

This year you have begun to read!  Seeing the pride on your face as you sound out the words, that is priceless to me.

You climb, you jump, you try new things…  This year I’ve seen your confidence increase as you’ve discovered just what you really can do.

I look forward to seeing what new things you learn this year.

You see, being six is a wonderful age, sweet boy.

It’s an age full of imagination, with dragons to fight and rockets to fly.

It’s an age of reading about your favorite animals and driving Hot Wheels on the back of the couch and building blanket forts in the living room.

It’s an age of discovery:  finding new things you can do, exploring new places

Six is a wonderful age.

And so is seven, and eight and nine…

And no matter how old you are, you will always be my baby.

And I will always love you.

Love,

Mommy

The post An Open Letter to My Son on His Birthday first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

It’s National Breastfeeding Week!

My babies are 5 and 6 now, and it seems like a lifetime ago when breastfeeding was a daily occurrence around here.  But this week has me thinking back to that time…

I remember sitting on a cold tile floor in a bathroom stall of some store’s bathroom, nursing my little girl.

That’s when it occurred to me how wrong it all was.

What was I doing here?

Why was I sitting on this dirty floor, hiding in a bathroom stall like I was doing something wrong?

What could be more natural than a mother feeding her baby?

That was the first and last time I put my baby and myself through that.

The next time I took my little Peanut out, I was more confident.   I knew that what I was doing was nothing to hide.  After all, when breastfeeding correctly nothing is seen except the back of the baby’s head!

I was armed with all the reasons we shouldn’t have to hide.  In fact, I already knew what I’d say if someone asked me to breastfeed elsewhere.

It turns out no one every did.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for all breastfeeding moms out there.  Some are met with harsh glares, others have rude comments tossed their way.

So for those just starting out, maybe a bit self-conscious and unsure like I was, here are just a few of the responses I had ready because no one should feel like they have to feed their baby in a public bathroom or out in their hot car.

• Breastfeeding a baby shows a lot less than those girls/women who go out in wearing itty-bitty thongs and low-rise jeans who then proceed to squat down, bend forward to look at something, and give everyone around them a view we all don’t need.
• I know for a fact that by nursing my baby I am showing way less than a lot of other women who go out in slinky, low-cut tops.

• My baby deserves to eat just as much as anyone else, probably more so.  No one else takes their food and eats in the bathroom or leaves the table to go eat in the car.  Why should my baby have to?
• Do you dictate what your other customers should eat or HOW they should eat?  Why is my baby any different?  (If asked at a restaurant)

Like I said, I was fortunate enough not to have to justify my baby’s right to eat in public.  But I know not everyone is as lucky.

Have you encountered rude comments/looks when breastfeeding in public?   How did you respond?

The post Breastfeeding in Public first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Meet Lexi, the newest member of our family!

As you can see, we’ve been busy!  With a pair of energetic kids, who are super excited to have a puppy, I’ve been doing just as much training of the kids as I have the pup!

Thinking of getting a puppy?

Here are a few tips for introducing that new puppy to the kids.

Introducing a new puppy to kids:

Little Lexi won’t be little long (she is a shepherd and lab mix), and soon she will be bigger than the kids.  So our first rule is:

1.  Teach children not to pet the puppy unless all 4 of her feet are on the ground.  It’s important that the adults in the house, as well as any guests, also follow this rule so pup doesn’t get confused!

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2.  With younger children it’s important that they know how to gently pet the dog.  Ears and tails are very tempting for toddlers to pull.  They need to understand that this can hurt the puppy.  You may want to have younger children practice petting stuffed animals.

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3.  Teach kids the “walk around the puppy” rule.    Puppies love to play chase and tackle games with each other.  Our kids love to do the same thing!  The problem is that when puppies chase those little feet, they are likely to nip.   (This one is going to take a lot of work!)

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4.   Teach them that when puppy is eating or sleeping it is time to leave puppy alone.  And NEVER leave small children alone with the puppy.

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5.  And my favorite rule?  Since my little ones are 5 and 6, the kids  are responsible for keeping their toys picked up.  No stuffed animals can be on the living room floor.  When they are finished playing, they need to pick up their toys so little pup doesn’t decide to chew on them.  (We are keeping bedroom doors closed for now because I’m not expecting miracle here, people!)  It may seem extra harsh, but I’ve told them any toys that they leave on the ground and the pup chews on will NOT be fixed or replaced.

Keep in mind the kids have had a dog before, but our dear Kira was long out of the puppy stage when the kids were born.  So, while the kids know how to play with an older (well-trained) dog, this puppy business is full of new challenges!

Have any tips  to add to the list?

The post Introducing a New Puppy to Kids first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Last year I started a new Valentine’s tradition with the kids:  Valentine’s Message Hearts.

The idea is really simple.  Each day before Valentine’s Day, starting on February 1, I cut out a heart for each child.  Then I wrote a little note with a unique reason I love them.

Some of the messages included things like:  I love you because you really take good care of your stuffed babies, I love you because you always think about your brother, and I love you because you like to fish with Papaw.

Each morning they looked forward to finding their heart waiting for them on the kitchen table.  They would ask me to read them the note, and then they carefully hung them up on their doors.   We read through them several times and kept them up way past February.

This year I am looking forward to doing it again.  I’ve already got the hearts cut out, just waiting for those messages of love! 

Do you have any favorite Valentine’s Day traditions?

The post Valentine’s Tradition first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

For those who celebrate Christmas, the holiday shopping season is officially in full swing.

As you wander the aisles, looking for that perfect gift, I’d like to point out some real winners I’ve seen in the toy aisles this year…

Get your credit cards ready, because I know you are going to want each of these for your own!  (Pictures contain affiliate links for your convenience!)

The first on my list comes from the game section.  Surprisingly it’s been out for a couple years now.  (How have we not scooped up this gem for our game collection?)

What am I talking about?  Why it’s Doggie Doo!

Kids can spend hours of fun making the dog poop and then racing to scoop up the “feces.”  Not sold on the idea yet? Why, your little Fido also makes terrific gassy sounds before relieving himself right there on the kitchen table.

Maybe you prefer a different game, one not dealing with doggie doo-doo.  You’re in luck!

The commercial for this next one just makes shivers of joy run up and down every mom’s back!  

If you are lucky enough to wind up with Gooey Louie under the tree, the kids will get to take turns pulling a “gooey” out of Louie’s nose until someone pulls the lucky (or unlucky) one out that causes him to sneeze his brains out.  Have a little one who likes to pick their nose?  Now you can let them to pull out pretend snot instead!

Maybe you have an animal lover?  Might I suggest a dog from Potty Pets?

This little cutie isn’t going to play fetch, and you don’t have to scoop up after her, but she does pee!  Right there on the floor.  Isn’t that cute?  And I’m sure her soft, pretty fur will remain dry and clean after each “incident.”

Even Barbie has delved into the world of pet bathroom needs.  When Barbie takes her dog Taffy out for a walk, she gets to scoop up the little brown pellets of poop Taffy leaves behind.

Look!  Barbie even comes with a cute pink pooper scooper!

I could probably go on, but I know you are all anxious to make your orders so these terrific finds will arrive in time for the big day.

Got any others I should add to my list?

The post Toys I’ll Skip This Christmas first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

A few weeks ago my son became obsessed with the idea of Turbo, you know, the snail that becomes super fast.   The idea of a snail racing cars had him tickled, and even though he hadn’t gotten to see the movie in the theater, we had read the picture book from the library and he talked about it constantly.

The movie wasn’t out on video yet, but they had the soundtrack at the library, so I picked it up for us to listen to in the car.

The music is not really my type, but that didn’t bother me too much.  What bothered me is that a soundtrack for a children’s movie contains music that isn’t appropriate for children.

Some of the songs on the soundtrack are from Snoop Dogg.  One of the songs starts off:

When the pimp’s in the crib ma
Drop it like it’s hot
Drop it like it’s hot
Drop it like it’s hot
When the pigs try to get at ya
Park it like it’s hot
Park it like it’s hot
Park it like it’s hot
And if a n— get a attitude
Pop it like it’s hot
Pop it like it’s hot
Pop it like it’s hot

Okay, so they bleeped out the N-word on the movie soundtrack.  But really, is the rest of it anything you want your young children listening to?  I don’t want to have to explain what a pimp is to my preschooler.   And the derogatory slang for a police officer doesn’t make me much happier.

We hadn’t seen the movie before, but I didn’t think I’d have to preview the soundtrack to a kid’s movie before playing it for my kids in the car.  This is a movie geared towards preschoolers and early elementary aged children!

I was trying to reach the button so the CD would skip to the next song when I heard:

I keep a blue flag hanging out my backside
But only on the left side, yeah that’s the  C– side

Once again, they had bleeped out the word Crip, but seriously!  Do you want your children listening to a song full of gang references?

And don’t think that little kids can’t understand the words when they sing them so fast!  When I hit the wrong button and just forwarded the song ahead instead of hitting the skip button, we heard:

See I specialize in making all the girls get naked

“Mommy, why are the girls all getting naked?” asked my 6 year-old daughter from the backseat.

Yep, this is exactly the song I want my young, impressionable children listening to.  NOT!

I have to question why they would include such a song on a kid’s movie to begin with.  There HAS to be better songs that they could choose from.  When I looked up the song’s lyrics online, I was floored!  The entire song is inappropriate for kids.  (Look it up yourself and see what I mean!)

I’m disappointed, DreamWorks.  As parents we shouldn’t have to worry about what songs our kids might hear in a kid’s movie or on the movie soundtrack.

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If you agree with me, please share this post!  Our kids deserve better!

The post Kid Movies NEED Kid-Appropriate Music first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.