Everything's coming up daisies

Do you love it?! I do. It's the perfect hair clip for kids with little or fine hair (that's definitely my Lauren). By Izabella, the Bianca Hair Flower sells for $10 US each. Everything's coming up ... daisies!

I am not a soccer mom yet

For the last five weeks, my four-year-old son has been going to a once-weekly soccer class. But he won't play. The first week, he refused to let go of my pant leg. The other parents reassured me that he would get over it by the next time and told me not to worry. The second week, he clung to my leg only about 75% of the time. I was encouraged. The third week, he went out and even kicked the ball...until he fell and then the tears started and he wailed for the last 35 minutes (the class is only 45 minutes long, so it made for a very long class). The fourth week, he shuffled around the kids as they played soccer, he picked his nose, his picked at his finger nails, he scratched his head, he started hopping on one foot. In other words he did everything BUT play soccer. The fifth week, he did exactly the same thing, except this time, he started singing too.

I'm not sure what I'm more concered about: my son's lack of interest in a team sport, or my own embarrassment at the situation.

The experts say don't push, don't criticize, don't show your disappointment. Rather, try to find out why he behaves that way during soccer on another day at another time when things are more relaxed and soccer isn't the focus. They also say, I should to role play to find out why he's not interested. I should be the soccer student and he should be the coach. I haven't tried either yet, but I will do this week. We'll see how it goes!

Wheely, wheely fun!

What do you think of these? I think they're pretty darn cute.

From Australia, the Wheely Bug goes backwards, forwards, sideways and in circles. Wheely Bug bodies have a padded sponge layer that is covered with polyurethane leatheroid, which is easy to clean. Base is made from plantation-grown poplar plywood. Feelers are made with a stainless steel spring and has an internal limiter cord to resist pull out. And the handle is made of aluminum so it won't rust if you take it outside. Comes in small (ages 1 - 3 years) and large (3 - 5 years). My daughter would love riding on the ladybug Wheely Bug.

Find it at www.princelionheart.com.

The accidental haircut

My 2-year-old daughter has this habit of twisting her hair around and around her finger as she sucks her thumb. But up until last week, I had been able to undo the tangled mess she'd leave behind with relative ease. Then she managed to twist her hair so tightly that her knot looked like a cross between a beaver tail and a dreadlock. It was huge – the size of a loonie at least – and it was very close to her scalp. It also stuck out like a pony tail. And although I'd tried everything from combing it out to shampooing/conditioning it out, there it remained.

So I took out my scissors and cut the thing off. But I didn't want to! Because I love putting her hair in pigtails!

But now she's got a fashionable little bob that, in my opinion, looks very cute even though I, an inexperienced and reluctant hairdresser, was the stylist.

What do you think?

Noodles and beef

"Me. Noodles and beef," my 25-month-old daughter said to me this morning.

"Pardon me? You want to eat noodles and beef?" I asked.

"No. ME. Noodles and beef," she said more emphatically, this time hitting her chest with a closed fist.

"You mean, you ARE noodles and beef?" I asked skeptically.

"YES!" she squealed.

"Oh, okay," I said slowly, and with a little wave added. "Hi, Noodles and Beef."

"Hullo!" she exclaimed.

Introducing my daughter, Noodles and Beef.

Where does meat come from?

That was the sticky question my four-year-old asked me yesterday and my answer started waterworks that would go on for two hours.

It began innocently enough. We were having dinner which included pasta in a tomato sauce with ground beef. We began talking about the origin of the pasta and how it was made, then the origin of the tomato sauce and how it was made, and then we got to the beef. Uh-oh.

Well, Benjamin, my tentative answer was, meat comes from cows.

No, it doesn't, Mommy, he said. Milk comes from cows.

Well, yes, milk comes from cows and so does meat, I said.

How? he asked.

Uh, well, the meat, uh, sort of is, uh, the cow, I said.

Silence.

Do you mean they kill the cow? he asked.

Yes, I mumbled, and then said brightly and loudly, Hey, Benjamin, why don't we make cookies after dinner?

Bbbbbbbut, I like cows! I don't want people to kill them! he said, bursting into tears.

Oh boy. How do I get out of this one, I thought.

Do they use a knife? he asked. A knife is sharp and it will hurt them. I love cows!

He then proceeded to refuse to eat his dinner and threw himself on the sofa in tears. He asked me if we could write a letter to the "bad guys" to tell them that it's not nice to kill cows.

He also asked me to buy only the meat that the store makes, not the meat that comes from cows. I said okay [LIE]. I was desperate to stop him from crying and to be honest, I just didn't know what to do! Suggestions?

Birthday party-induced dementia

I suffer from High Pressure when it comes to planning my child's birthday party. At least that's what the Birthday Presure Quiz on Birthdays Without Pressure website (www.birhdayswithoutpressure.org) tells me.

I had about 10 children and most of their parents to my son's very first friend-populated birthday party when he turned four years old. That ended up being about 30 people in my home including family members. I spent weeks worrying about how his Thomas the Tank cake would turn out, as I chose to decorate it myself. I sought out a children's entertainer to keep my little guests happy. And I cooked lunch for all the guests. I was exhausted after the party was over. But even though my party plans may seem to be a little 'over-the-top' to some parents out there, I felt better after hearing the stories of other parents who have it all over me when it comes to extravagant children's birthday parties.

One of my mom acquaintances told me she went to a three-year-old's birthday party where they rented a pony and gave pony rides in their backyard.

Another party I heard about included renting a cougar, which then mauled one of the four-year-old guests.

Then I found out the FAO Schwartz offers private birthday parties for the cool starting price of $25,000. Wow.

Do you suffer from birthday party-induced dementia? Visit www.birthdayswithoutpressure.org to see how you rate. Or if you have a good story about an extravagant kid's birthday party, let me know!

Irritated by more expert advice

"In short, "Good job!" doesn't reassure children; ultimately, it makes them feel less secure. It may even create a vicious circle such that the more we slather on the praise, the more kids seem to need it, so we praise them some more. Sadly, some of these kids will grow into adults who continue to need someone else to pat them on the head and tell them whether what they did was OK. Surely this is not what we want for our daughters and sons." (Excerpt from "Five Reasons to Stop Saying, "Good Job!" Alfie Kohn, 2001, )

I don't know about you, but when I read this four-page article entitled "Five Reasons to Stop Saying, "Good Job!" I was more than slightly annoyed. Being a parent is tough. Everyone does the best he/she can as a parent, and it is downright hard to do everything right all the time.

As soon as we announce we're pregnant, 'wise' people come out of the woodwork, offering pearls of wisdom on pregnancy and raising baby. And there are plenty of people who think they can do a better job than you, if they stepped into your shoes.

So when I read this article (which my husband forwarded to me), I felt as though I were being reprimanded by the author for praising my son. Now, I can't even say, "Good job" to my son. Didn't parenting experts say we SHOULD praise our kids OFTEN for doing the right things and for doing things well? Or am I delusional?

For every expert who advises one thing, there are two more who oppose their advice. Can anyone keep up with these "experts"?