Words do hurt

We all grew up with:

Sticks and stones may break my bones, 

but words will never hurt me.

However, these days, words are getting more intense, BULLYING is reaching new heights with irreversible consequences.  Before they even learn to speak, it's important to start teaching them the importance of using those words in a nice way...and it all starts with US, the role models. It's hard to remember that there is a little sponge absorbing EVERYTHING they hear and see, but we must. It breaks my heart to even think that MY SON's words might cause another child this much hurt and it hurts me even more to think that my baby head might shed tears like this child due to another child's words. 

My son isn't even 2 and hopefully years from when we'll have to discuss bullying, but I guess it's my momma sense that is already thinking ahead...AND WORRYING...

Photo from Ellen McKim Sattler's FB page

I like a song I heard once...

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words and unkind laughter are very real and we can feel them hurt  a long time after. So lets be careful with what we do and say, so that we don't hurt someone!"

Don't ask me where I heard it, cause I can't put a finger on it...but I do remember it was on a CASSETTE PLAYER (wow...old).

--------------
After i posted this, I checked my email and had a email from Parents.com with

Teach Your Kid How to Handle Bullies, in the subject line.... coincidence huh. 

Check out these 3 articles they posted:

•		Cyberbullying: What Is It?
•		Teach Your Child to Respect Others
•		18 Tips to Stop Cyberbulling

Guest Post: Laurel's Travel Tips

CAUTION: READING THIS POST MIGHT GIVE YOU A TRAVEL BUG!

So I have a Momma friend, Laurel Stelzer, who I met when I was living in Austin through friends. We were both 6 months preggers and stilling "running". Our friendship really developed in the later part of our pregnancy and was in full force by the time our contractions began. Our kids even had their FIRST PLAYDATE together!!

I can't believe that was already almost 2 years ago. We've since moved from Austin for our husband's jobs (who both work at the same multinational high tech Company as she so eloquently puts it), done LOTS of things, and written about even more things than we can put titles on! She has been living in Penang, Malaysia for almost a year now---half of which I must jealously say she's been traveling around. She's been providing me with adventures all the time, vicariously of course! I have gone to secluded islands, beautiful beaches, amazing romantic getaways, and learned a little more about what to do when traveling with a +1.

I'm not saying that our Little Flores Family hasn't done its share of traveling, but the Stelzers are definitely the PRO when it comes to this topic.

She posted a couple weeks ago about some observations and tips she's made about TRAVELING with a child that I thought you ladies might enjoy and find useful:

We have flown every month of our son's life since he was 4 months old. The notable low points were a redeye to Western Australia when he was 10 months (almost mobile, and very, very tired), and a flight back from Hong Kong at 14 months. Besides the tiny baby sleep-nurse puddle jumps we did early on (weren’t those the days!), our best long haul flight to date is surprisingly the 23 hour leg from Singapore to Houston we did just last month! I think we might be getting the hang of it! I wanted to document some of the tips and tricks we’ve learned about traveling with a baby or toddler.

Miles' last bassinet flight. He's right at the weight limit, and about 4" too long.

Most of our travel has been by plane, and here are some of the things I find useful:

• Timing: Mid-morning flights are ideal if you are traveling less than 5 hours; evening/redeye flights are asking for trouble. If it’s a long haul, its best to start out pretty late, even if baby sleeps a bit before the flight.
• Board last: Sure there is a special time for infants and children, but I find the less time sitting idle restricting Miles on my lap, the better. Split up with your partner if you are worried about overhead bag space. Pre-takeoff and taxi time is the hardest for him. I try and be last on the plane if he is up and running around. Of course, if baby is asleep, get on there and recline your seat for a while.
• Seats: Big planes almost all have the bassinet in the non-exit bulkhead seats and this is by far the best option on a long haul, the downside being an awkward tray table and potentially awkward TV. Next best would be any aisle seat. We learned a trick of booking both a window and an aisle (for a 3-3-3 configuration), with the hopes that the flight will not be completely full and the potential that the middle will be left free.
• Harnessing: Many of the airlines no longer allow a baby to be in a carrier for take off and landing. Until he was very mobile, I found keeping Miles in the Ergo while we flew was best for all of us. Also, if you do get a seat and want to use a carseat, double check the seatbelts are not equipped with airbag. If they are, they will not let you install the seat.
• Meals: Request specialty meals (we like Cathay Hindu vegetarian!). These are always ready first and they will hold them if you need it. If you are 2 adults traveling with a baby, get one meal at a time. I never count on airline food for Miles. Pick up something to go at the airport or pack lots of snacks that are always on the ready.
• Baby care: Pack a very small diaper bag to take to the bathroom. Mine has just 2 diapers, a couple wipes, hand sanitizer and a clean pair of pants. It’s the size of a big envelope. Restock from your carry on throughout the flight. It is so dry on the plane, each time you change baby, put lotion on the face. Also, get fluids down them any way possible (frequent nursing, juice-spiked water).
• Parent care: Sleep when the kid sleeps. Skip meals when you have to, shade your eyes, do anything. Drink water every time it is offered, grab 2 glasses if you have 2 free hands. Ask for help.
• Entertainment: I have found I can actually get through some movies if I put them on with subtitles. As for what to entertain a kid with, you have to know your kid. iPads seem to be universally loved. Miles is not huge into conventional toys, but loves any kind of junk around the seat or from the meals. Stacking cups are small to pack and have thousands of uses. I find a much-loved book to be a bigger hit than anything new.
• Share the love: And the crying. I typically get up and walk around (with Miles in the carrier) if he is fussing. This spreads out the misery with all passengers and I have never failed to have a mom stop me and say “You’re a good mom; I miss those days”

After landing and tearful reunions the fun starts – jetlag. General Rules:

• Set expectations: One day for each timezone. This includes baby and you, especially if you are getting up with them at night.
• Tummies transition last, allow for eating and drinking at night for at least a few days. I generally do food 2 nights, 2 more nights of milk/juice, then just do water at wake ups.
• Get on the regular sleep schedule as soon as possible. Limit naps, and do what you can to get kids sleeping at night.
• Use light to your advantage. Get out in the sun, especially around sunrise (good luck if you traveled west!) and sunset to reset circadian rhythms. Leave it dark at night, no TV or computers. Keep it light during the day, even nap with the shades partially open.
• Back to expectations, as sleep deprived as a traveling momma is, remind yourself it is not the kid’s fault they can’t sleep. Do your best, it will be over soon.

Age specific tips, based on experience:

• 6 months (3 naps/day): By far the easiest transition. Miles was still doing night wakings anyway, it was just a matter of stretching the naps to cover most of the nighttime and sometimes waking him up during the day.
• 14 months (2 naps/day): Sticking to the rules above, Miles was sleeping through the night by night 4. After we returned to Penang, I remember laying on the floor of his room, holding him to sleep. Not a habit I wanted to get into, but it got him sleeping at the right times.
• 18 months (1 nap/day): Things get progressively more difficult. I found that too late of an afternoon nap gets him into a long night sleep feeling and he wakes up grumpy for hours before going back to bed only to sleep a few hours. I keep everything dark, and have gotten into a bad habit of sleeping with him in the spare room, making the transition to the crib painful. Its taken more than 4 days this time, but I am relishing in small victories, like sleeping in my bed until 3:30am.

Tips for traveling with 2 kids are pending. Traveling alone, with our son and pregnant with #2, I took my own advice and asked for lots of help. "Lap infant” has a different meaning when your lap is not so much any more.

She has just launched her new Ex-Pat Resource Page,PenangMomma.com. If you are heading out for a family adventure with your family or moving to another country....SHE IS YOUR GO TO GIRL!

THANKS LAUREL!!

Local's Story-time at Books& Cookies with Alva Sachs

TOMORROW, September 30th at 4pm there is a Local's Story-time at Books & Cookies. The featured Local Author for this story-time is Alva Sachs, an award-winning children's author from Calabasas. She is the Author of Circus Fever, On your Mark, Get Set, GO! and her latest release is I'm 5. All three of those books have received honors and awards for children's picture books.

As a future children's book author and illustrator, meeting someone that has gone through this process and completed it successfully 3 times is going to be a great experience. It's hard to stay driven sometimes when you have a blank canvas and a pencil in your hand but can't seem to start that first line. Seeing completed projects and all the events that she has participated in, and the millions of smiles that she has brought to families...especially children...is a great motivator. It also reminds me that every great story starts with ONE WORD and every great drawing starts with one line....and I can't be nervous or afraid to place those lines. All art-work is a work in progress and the first line won't determine my success.

SO...I hereby decree that the first lines placed on these pages are unimportant... unloading the pressure that is stacked on top of my drawing pencils and markers!

A little bit about the Bookstore hosting this Local's story-time:

Books and Cookies, a new bookstore, bakery, and enrichment center, seems to have figured out how to keep kids and parents happy and excited about reading. They have a cozy set up in their Bookstore and Interactive Reading Room where kids and their imagination are free to wander, and an Kid's Cafe where both you and your kid's taste buds are FREE to ROAM. Not only do they make it a great experience, they also offer other classes and events in theirActivity Space that you and your children can surely enjoy together, alone, or with friends...that will feed into their love of books and learning starting at an early age!

Books & Cookies is not only a great stop for moms with infants for STORY-TIMES, babies and toddlers for music classes, and everyone and anyone for BootCamp workouts, they are a positive influence in the community as well. They have teamed up with Children's and Literacy programs to give back and share their love for books....and of course cookies too.

Event's like tomorrow's Local Story-time take place the Last friday of every month. This gives the local authors a chance to connect with their readers and it give our kids the opportunity to meet those special people that write the books that they read everyday.

Come check out the FREE event tomorrow at Books & Cookies (2230 Main Street Santa Monica, CA 90405) and support our local author, Alva Sachs, from 4pm to 5pm. She will be reading her 3 books, have fun coloring activities, and will also be signing books!

WHO KNOWS? Maybe one day I'll get the chance to Host a LOCAL Author's STORY-TIME...ahhhh, so exciting!

To find out more about events and activities at Books & Cookies, check out this Calendar.

Why I started this BLOG...

Mommy-hood is a complex state in which us women have to all of a sudden become experts in all areas of life from Art's and Crafts to Accounting. The second we are "with Child" we start morphing into this SUPER BEING--educator, manner's enforcer, nurse, sanitation engineer, savings specialist, Rachel Ray Prodigies, mom-prenuers, artists, musicians, magicians, referees, bankers, interpreters, and SOO MANY MORE THINGS that are TIED into the STATE of MOMMY-HOOD!

With this blog, I hope to look for things that make mommy-hood easier; helpful sites, creative people, and other tools out there in one helpful place so that we can use them to make our MOMMY-HOOD journey a little easier.

I will try and divide my articles into the following Sub-TOPICS:

• Health/Fitness- Articles and posts in this topic will include nutrition tips to how to find the right bootcamp or exercise class for you and everything in between. This will be one of my personal favorites since I already write for examiner.com about LA women's Fitness and LA Motherhood as well as teach a BootCamp4Moms Class here in the Marina.
• Child Development- This Topic will attempt to organize and located some of those parenting sites that help you FREAK OUT about what your child should be doing at what age.
• Home Improvement- This will be a wide range of articles that all deal with things of the home, whether it's figuring out what cleaning products are best for the home to how to turn articles of clothing into other useful things.
• Technology- These articles will discuss those NEW TECHNOLOGY things that might infact not be too complicated for us and CAN HELP us Multitask MORE than we already do.
• Working Mom- Articles that pertain to those moms who work outside the home or have created their own businesses.
• SAHM (Stay-at-home-Mom)- Articles that relate to those moms who work from HOME taking care of their littles ones.
• Arts & Crafts- This will be a list of all the FUN and CREATIVE crafts that I find that you might enjoy too, from sewing to simple ways to transform things into OTHER things!
• Mommy Break- articles and posts related to those things that give mommy a 5 minute time-out.
• Enrichment- Posts that relate to books, intellectually stimulating things, and cultural activities that can enrich us as moms, our kids or our whole family.
• Family- anything related to our families whether it's how to deal with overly-opinionated family members to keeping the family nucleus at PEACE..which is sometimes easier said than done!
• Local Events- Things that are happening in this neck of the woods. If you would be interested in sharing what is happening in your area, just let me know, and I'll hook you up!
• FREE STUFF- Enough said eyy?!?

If you have any ideas for articles, want to share your opinion on a particular topic, or questions you would like answered, please email me at valeria.rodez@gmail.com with the MMHE in the Subject line. (MMHE stands for Making Mother-Hood Easier).

I look forward to sharing my findings with you as we all keep learning how to adapt and change with our new roles as they are thrown our way....but we must admit, WE WOULDN'T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY!