Reviews

Elmo

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For weeks I have had Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey queued up on my “to watch” list. It took me a while because if I have the time to watch a movie it means the babies are sleeping, and who wants to watch a movie about Elmo after the babies have gone to sleep?

But I absolutely love biographies and hearing people’s stories.

Kevin Clash‘s did not disappoint.

A major theme became evident as I watched his life’s story unfold.

The unwavering support of his parents

Kevin was entranced by puppets from a very young age, and his parents did not discourage this. His mom said everyone was always telling her he should be outside, or playing basketball. But, she said, making puppets “was a talent that he had and he loved it.”

Dan Allender, in his book How Children Raise Parents, writes, “If we want to be good parents, we must learn how to read our children. And that requires learning how to listen to our children- one of life’s most difficult, most demanding tasks.” He goes on to say we should study our children and guide them in the direction of their natural bent.

Kevin Clash’s parents did this well.

As it turns out, he studied them too, and their characteristics are personified in Elmo. Clash admits that Elmo is his parents- “Elmo is like my dad, very imaginative and creative. And Elmo is also like my mother. The ball of fire that Elmo is, my mom is like that, a lot of energy and excitement about life.”

being elmo, a puppeteer's journey
Learning to be a good listener

“Being Elmo” gave me renewed appreciation for Sesame Street as a whole and encouraged my role as a mother in guiding my children to follow their dreams.

“There’s always going to be someone saying to you that you might not succeed…there’s always going to be some type of obstacle in the way. All of those things will go away if you really focus on what makes you happy.”

And through Elmo, Kevin Clash brings happiness to millions of children all over this world.

Prevention

New Uses for “Old” Things

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When I became a mother 3 years and 8 months ago, I also took on many other roles. Yes, we’ve all seen the list of a mom defined: manager, meal planner, chef, chauffeur, accountant, personal stylist, referee, nurse, the list goes on.

But who knew I would excel in these other, more obscure arenas?

To be added to my resume under special skills, pronto:

Contortionist : When I’m holding my baby on my hip and leaning sideways into the washing machine to transfer the load to the drier while keeping him steady, I consider auditioning for cirque du soliel.

Whimsical Storyteller: My husband tells my son redeeming angry bird stories to put him to bed every night. However when hes out-of-town, it’s up to me. It feel like my brain is stretching and reshaping as I try to keep my 3 year old as absorbed by the story as his daddy does. But something tells me his angry birds don’t live in Paris and start out their days eating pain chocolat while strolling along the Seine with Sophie the giraffe.

Sophie the Giraffe

Superhero’s Architect: Batman’s cave should look nothing like my Barbie doll’s house of yore- so I’m building new wings.

Tai chi Master: The incredible sloooooooooooow mooooooootion precision with which I lay down a sleeping baby, slide my arm out from under him or place his arms under the car seat straps and lock him in without waking him are worthy of Grandmaster status.

Vending Machine: I have been continuously breastfeeding on-demand, without a break, for 3 years and 8 months. Need I say more? Baby’s hungry? Look no further, Mama’s here.

Endurance Trainer: there are times I’ve held my 25 pound sleeping (sack-of-potatoes) baby for 3 hours straight. While standing. Many times, actually. Or times I haven’t moved for 8 hours straight while on an overnight flight so he would stay asleep on my lap. Or that lovely time I pushed my 6 month old straight up a hill in a stroller while carrying his 3 year old brother and holding his scooter in 95 degree weather.  Or the time I carried my sleeping, 35 pound two year old up FIVE flights of subway stairs while 5 months pregnant. Endurance people, endurance. Oh and while we’re at it, let’s  not forget labor and childbirth!

Night Vision Specialist: having a 3 year old in the family bed means there is no turning on lights when changing middle-of the-night diapers.

Ambidextrous-single handed-multitasker: the list of things I can do with one hand continues to grow, and it’s usually my left hand.  Cracking an egg left handed whilst holding my nursing newborn with the other comes to mind.

Detective: Any and every kind. From figuring out an illness to decoding tantrum triggers to hunting for bugs in the dirt, Sherlock, you have met your match.

Polyphasic Sleeper: How have I found time to ace all of my new titles? The same way Leonardo da Vinci managed to excel as an artist, architect, sculptor, inventor, etc. By only sleeping for 15 minutes at a time for a total of one and a half hours a day! Seriously- Who needs sleep?

Unless you’ve figured out how to clone yourself (I wouldn’t be surprised, as inventor could easily be on this list) you can add every one of these to your resume too. Hopefully we won’t be interviewing for the same position.

Mothers are all superheros, and I’m usually wearing my cape! It might look like it’s on backwards with a breastfeeding child’s legs dangling out from under it, but that’s my way of flying incognito.

moms are superheros
My cape, disguised as a nursing cover

What can you add to the list?

Prevention

Mind Over Matter

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I woke up today and looked at the clock. 8:22? I slept in! I feel great! I wonder why my baby chose today to sleep an extra hour, but I don’t mind- I”ll take it, no questions asked.

I hop out of bed a little quicker, a little extra “spring” in my step. Aaah. I feel so refreshed. I actually got to sleep until after 8! I haven’t felt this rested in a long time. It’s amazing what an extra hour of sleep can do.

The house was quiet. My husband and 3 year old weren’t home- wow, so cool. They let me get a little extra sleep since the baby was still sleeping and they knew I needed it. Love them!

I held onto this glow as I changed my baby’s diaper, brushed my teeth, and turned on the hot water for tea. Then I looked at the clock on the oven. 7:26?

What? I’m confused.

Then it hit me, and I was crestfallen. I called my husband. “Did we spring forward?” Instantly I felt robbed of that extra hour of sleep.

And exhausted.

This taught me two things.

  1. I am blissfully unaware of the world outside of my “small children” bubble, and
  2. Thoughts are powerful.

So is my clock.  And tomorrow I plan to wake up and greet the day cheerfully no matter what it says.

Giveaways, Reviews

Splish Splash Bathtub Filter Review and Giveaway

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Are you a mom who has been very mindful when selecting your baby’s shampoo, body wash and lotion- considering every ingredient and carefully choosing the perfect products?

Have you given as much thought to what’s in the water in which you are bathing your baby?

Our skin is the largest organ. It is very absorbent to everything we soak in and slather on it. It is also our first line of defense in filtering out harmful substances from our bloodstream.

The most harmful substance in our bath water is chlorine.

Chlorine is defined as a pesticide by the EPA since it is used to kill living organisms. It also causes cancer in humans. It is in our drinking water in low doses which is why I drink filtered tap water.

But the scary part is that over 60% of our harmful exposure to chlorine is due to inhalation of steam and skin absorption while showering and bathing.

From the time my baby was born until his first birthday, we lived in a LEED certified green building. Amongst many other amazing eco-amenities, they triple filtered the water that we used for baths and showers, removing most of the chlorine.

When he was one, we moved into a not so green building. Every time I gave my son a bath, I cringed at the heavy smell of chlorine in the bathwater, and noticed how dry his skin felt upon taking him out of the bath.

I resolved the issue by bathing him less. This is really not the best option with a very active toddler who spends most days outdoors and maybe even eats a little dirt.

Then I had another baby and when I put him in the bathtub and smelled the chlorine, I felt I was doing more harm than good.

I recently heard about a product that removes the chlorine from bath water and knew I had to try it. It is called the Splish Splash Bathtub Filter and works by running your bath water over the ball, or swirling it directly in the tub. Sounded easy enough to me!

I contacted New Wave Enviro and they sent me a Splish Splash Bath Filter to try out with my precious babies.

Splish Splash Bathtub Filter Review

It was super easy to use- I just hung it over the faucet and let the water run through it.

bathtub filter

Then I swirled it in the water for a few minutes. Next, I plopped my healthy little giggling dribbling baby boy in the tub. He was a-splishin’ and a-splashin’ and…

His skin felt softer upon exit, but I knew I needed to try it for myself for a true assessment.

It works.

My skin felt the best it has felt in 2+ years. I didn’t feel the need to slather anything on it when I was finished. The bath felt more luxurious too.

Perhaps it was the peace-of-mind I was feeling knowing I wasn’t marinating in chlorine, or maybe it was because I was actually in the bath. (A rub-a-dub, just relaxin’ in the tub)… But I know the filter was doing its job.

Easy to use, and it removes harmful toxins from my baby’s bath? Yes, please!

It retails for$49.99 (a bargain considering it lasts for 200 baths!) and can be purchased at natural food stores nationwide. For store locations, go to www.newwaveenviro.com.

GIVEAWAY

New Wave Enviro will also be giving away a Splish Splash Bathtub Filter to one of my lucky readers (within the continental US).

HOW TO ENTER:

Simply leave a comment on this post!

For additional entries, do any of the following and then come back to this post and leave a comment telling me you did:

You could have 7 entries!

Just remember to come back and leave a separate comment for each one you do, and each comment will count as an entry. This giveaway is open to US shipping addresses and will close on Tuesday. March 20th. Random.org will choose the winners, and I will announce them on Wednesday,March 21st.

Good luck!

Thank you New Wave Enviro for making my babies’ bath water safer!