Strollerderby : playdate

Playdate: Does Your Sitter 'Love' Your Kids?

JeanneSager — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:01:00 GMT

My daughter tells her babysitter "I love you" every day when I pick her up and gives her a kiss. Her sitter does it right back.

And although we're not related, it doesn't bother me one wit.

According to Amy Jo over at Philly Moms Blog, it should. The stay-at-home mom says she's protecting her kids from insincerity when she says she'd rather not hear her kids' childcare provider using the "love" word with her kids.

"My oldest is only three and change, and I doubt he understands the difference between how his parents love him and how his teachers "love" him. I would hate for him to suffer any kind of hurt over this confusion," she says.

Hold on a minute here. Doesn't everyone who "loves" our kids love them in different degrees? You don't tell Great Aunt Sally not to say "I love you" even though she sees them once a year and can barely remember their names, do you? True, she's family, but this woman doesn't even know their names! And sends your son barrettes to wear in his buzz-cut hair!

Maybe I'm particularly lucky. My nursery school teacher still gives me a hug when she sees me, and she's been out of the game for some twenty years. Living in Florida most of the year, she sees me only in the summers at chance run-ins at the grocery store. And still, she remembers particular details about my childhood and relates them with a genuine smile. She might not love me like one of the kids she gave birth to, but I was one of her kids. Just like the hundreds of other little boys and girls who went through her little house on the hill catty-cornered from the old Chevy dealership.

Somehow, I'd bet she's the rule rather than the exception when it comes to folks who sign up for her (former) profession.

Amy Jo admits she's being cynical when she fears the teachers are just buttering her up for a better gift at the end of the year. But, really, if the people are in it for the gifts, they've chosen the wrong profession.

I chose my sitter based on a number of factors - but the number one was how she related to kids. She genuinely likes being around them and caring for them. So yes, I believe she loves my daughter. Not the kind of all-consuming love that I have for her, of course, but a love that makes her take the kind of care of her that I'd want someone to take while I can't be with her. You can't just turn the mama/papa bear thing on during the hours you watch a child and turn it off when they walk out the door.

Image: Clipartguide.com

Crafty Playdate: Birthday Tees From Way Back

JeanneSager — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:31:00 GMT

I sometimes think my constant persusal of craft blogs is proof I'm a bit of a masochist at heart. Because looking at some of these totally rockin', oh so easy to do at home projects is like driving a knife into my still carpal tunnel from pregnancy plagued wrist.

I'm not Martha.

So when I find something that makes me go, dude, I could so totally do that, I have to share it with you. Because if I could do it, a completely untrained monkey flown in and suffering from the affects of ebola could probably do it.

And hey, I love monkeys. Who doesn't?

So what's the craft? Yeah, yeah, I'm getting to that.

Over at Tangled and True, Jenn takes you through the entire process of making a totally retrolicious vintage tee for baby.She gives you the font, walks you through the stencil making, even tells you what paint to buy. OK, so stencil practically readymade and a keep it simple stupid walk through? Hello, sold to the non-Martha mom browsing the net. Although, it's free, so is it really sold?

Anyway, the number shirts caught me - because with my daughter's birthday coming up, I've been debating "is it too dorky to buy her a 4 tee for her 4th?" Because right now, I don't care. I've found a craft project she and I can do together, that will result in a funky tee for her birthday, and (cha ching) work as birthday gifts for all the kids whose parents say "oh, they don't need anything and refuse to give me a blessed idea of what their kids like."

Check out the whole process over at Tangled and True and get cracking - summer birthday parties are coming up fast!

Image: Tangled and True

Playdate: High Fructose Corn Syrup Freak Outs Be Gone

JeanneSager — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:33:00 GMT

Does high fructose corn syrup send you into a tizzy? Not eating it, I mean, but avoiding it?

Linked to diabetes in kids and other health risks, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) comes from corn (duh) that's been milled, made into a syrup then adjusted with the addition of enzymes. It's usually part glucose/part fructose. And all those freaky ads featuring the woman who convinces her partner that studies show HFCS is just like sugar come from the folks who do that refining. Which basically means you can't trust them.

Want a quick primer on how to avoid HFCS? A guest post by the writer of Life Less Sweet appeared on Food With Kid Appeal, highlighting the highest HFCS offenders. The scary ones? Breadcrumbs (we use a fair amount of those in my house), Children's Tylenol and sweet pickles. Throw in sushi (sorry, I'm going to ick that one - I'm a vegetarian), tonic water and Worcestershire sauce, and you're starting to hit a lot of families.

To find out what else you should avoid and pick out some safe eats (maple syrup, yum!), check out the piece.

Did it make you think twice about dinner tonight?

Image: Food With Kid Appeal

Playdate: Four Times the Fun Says "I Could Have Been Octomom"

Shannon LC Cate — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Michele, mother of triplets conceived via IVF tells all in her blog "Four Times the Fun." What does "all" include? Michele takes the uninitiated behind the scenes of IVF to discuss how hastily and under what pressure-cooker circumstances decisions are made about the number of embryos get transferred in an IVF procedure. She confesses that given her and her husband's own seat-of-the-pants decision making on transfer day, she might have become the mother of more than triplets, herself. Here's a sneak preview:

"[My husband] looked at me and said, "We're already in to this thing 40 grand and it isn't going to work, and we aren't freezing any again. I'm not shelling out another 5000 bucks to do IVIG on frozen crappy 4 cell embryos."

Then he looked at the doctor and said, "Put them all in. If two are really bad and not going to make it, then we aren't freezing them, so let it play out."

At no point when I was laying on the table with my bladder ready to explode did the doctor say to me, "Guidelines were issued in 1996 by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, with the intent to cut down the number of multiple births, particularly triplets and higher, that can result when many embryos are implanted and more than one takes. Big multiple births can lead to disastrous, life-threatening complications, lifelong disabilities such as cerebral palsy, and crushing medical costs."

No. He said, "Okay. That sounds great. Sorry about the wait. You'll be able to use the bed pan in just a few minutes, Mrs. S."

Michele also casts some helpful light on the subject of fertility specialists and regulation in a post about the ethics of what Nadya Suleman's doctor did. (The post was written before everything was known about Suleman's case, and has some inaccuracies, but her point is unchanged, regardless.)

Perhaps most interesting and useful for those of us who haven't undergone any fertility treatments or the difficult decisions they can entail, Michele's commenters are largely high-order multiple moms themselves, with their own IVF or medicated IUI stories to tell.

All in all, this blog adds a lot to the conversation about fertility medicine and drawing lines about and around it.

What They're Babbling About: Birthdays and Every Day

JeanneSager — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:38:00 GMT

Is there any day as big for parents as their kid's birthday? Forget the wedding anniversary or - dare I say it - your own birthday. There's big doings for little kids, and other day-to-day life in this week's edition of What They're Babbling About.

Big on birthdays? About.com's parenting section is planning a birthday party next month - and you're invited. Write up your party post, and send it over by Feb. 25 (that's Wednesday) to get your piece of cake. - About.com

Everyone could shave a little money off the day-to-day family expenses. But sometimes hitting up the secondhand store means money wasted, says this mom. She says thrifting it is kind of gross - what do you think? - Parent Dish

Think you're the only one staring delivery in the face and still throwing up? Lil Sugar's taken a poll - sixty eight percent of their readers got friendly with their toilet during pregnancy. Somehow, that still doesn't make us feel any better. - Lil Sugar

Hey Mom clique. Hello, you, yeah, you. Mighty Maggie is trying to say hello, can you hear her? Ever been the mom on the outside looking in? - Parenting

Image: SagerScenes

Smackdown: Babies Don't Need Birthday Parties

Playdate: Anti-Racist Parent Offers Philosophical Commraderie and Practical Advice

Shannon LC Cate — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:02:00 GMT

After reading about the horrific cartoon depiction of Barack Obama as the chimp who wrote the stimulus bill in the New York Post this morning, I was gripped again with the odd paradoxical feeling Obama's presidency gives me as the mother of African American children. On the one hand, I feel the visceral opening of possibilities previously cut off from my girls by virtue of race--and more importantly, racism--and its place in American culture. On the other hand, I am terrified by the new daring racism popping out of the woodwork of our society, now that the true, self-conscious racists have such a clear target for their animus.

Add to this a third feeling of itchy annoyance whenever anyone suggests that racism--even race itself--is "over" now that the United States has a Black (biracial!) president and now I'm so conflicted and bothered I can barely get out of bed.

What's a parent who believes in racism and is passionately committed to its eradication to do on such a morning? Click immediately on my browser's "ARP" bookmark. Anti-Racist Parent is a group blog dedicated to parents of all races with children of all races who want to take positive action to eliminate racism from their lives and their society. ARP is no place for the "color blind," the believers in a "post-race" society; the singers of kumbaya. It is a place instead that looks race and racism squarely in the eye, meets its logic with intellectual rigor and offers experienced opinions and practical advice to all who'd do the same.

If you are devoted to an anti-racist stance, but are not sure what to do or where to start when it comes to educating your children in same, Anti-Racist Parent is a great place to get started and meet some like-minded peers.

Sharing African American History and Culture Through Kids' Books: Preschool Edition

Sharing African American History and Culture Through Kids' Books: Elementary Edition

No Great Outpouring of Support for Sudanese Mother of Quints

New Edition: What They're Babbling About

JeanneSager — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:31:00 GMT

We're introducing a new feature here on Strollerderby this week, one that will hopefully show up every Friday. We'd like to think we cover all the parenting news that's fit to type up, but we've got little monkeys running around our houses that sometimes demand our attention too.

Fortunately, a few of our friends outside the crib fill in for us. And Strolllerderby's bringing them home. We'll give you a look at What They're Babbling About every week, so you can have a playdate with us.

So what's the babble been like this week?

Good Enough Mother Rene Syler remembers begging for the white dolls that her friends had because there were none out there that looked just like her. With the hype (and mini scandal) over the now-renamed Sasha and Malia dolls, she ponders - is the attention on black girls good for little ones? - Parent Dish

Wondering what the baby's really thinking? Belle Vivir's got a letter from the baby to the Big Guy upstairs. And if you're expecting mush, look elsewhere because this baby's got some attitude. - Belle Vivir

If your Net Nanny's keeping out all the good stuff (like searchines of crib bedding people, come on, get your minds out of the gutter) how about a pile of kid-friendly Web search engines? - MOMformation

If there's no man around to play daddy, you're perfectly fine on your own. But you could always join forces with a bunch of other single moms to make your own big happy family. - Jezebel

So you hand your maternity clothes off to a friend who's got a bun in the oven and . . . uh oh, you're preggers. Can you ask for the clothes back? - Alpha+Mom

Image: Jezebel

Is the Sitter Just There to Watch the Kids?

JeanneSager — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:25:00 GMT

Have you ever asked the babysitter to do laundry? Wash your dishes? Take out the trash.

A fed up babysitter sounded off over at MomLogic this week, putting parents on notice she's paid to watch the kids . . . and only to watch the kids.

"Mary Poppins," says she's sick of moms bugging her about how to properly iron their little boy's shirt before a party, and she's not reaching their hands into that laundry basket and washing hubby's clothes.

She's got a point. She's not the maid. She's the sitter.

But is she a little bit wrong too? Is there ever a time when it's appropriate to ask the sitter to do chores around the house?

It's rare that sitters come to my house, but I can't say that I've ever asked one to do anything more than spend time with my daughter and keep her out of trouble. I try to prep the meals ahead of time, so they have only to throw some milk or juice in a cup at intervals throughout the day and unwrap the PB&J to put it on a plate. They're welcome to the food in the cabinet, but I'd prefer not to come home to a pile of dishes in my sink.

Beyond that, there isn't much I can imagine asking my sitters to do. I admit I am enamored with the one teenager my friend recommended, who spent part of the day in my daughter's room with her, empty each dresser drawer of clothing, folding everything and putting it back. I paid top dollar for her, but wowsa - I could FIND a pair of jammie pants and a jammie shirt that matched that night! You want her number now, don't you?

As a babysitter myself back in the day, I remember doing that type of thing - the unasked-for tidying. I clearly remember alighting from the bus with the little boy I watched every afternoon, heading inside to set him up at the table to do his homework then turning to the dishwasher. We had our adventures, but when we weren't tromping through the woods or reading in the living room, I felt like I had to keep myself busy.

There were limits. I would never have touched the parents' laundry; and if they'd asked I would have balked. Laundry is just too personal a job for someone who isn't being paid to do it, and for a teenaged babysitter to have to see the Dad's underwear there can be untold traumas!

But the kids' laundry is another issue. "Mary Poppins" says she won't iron the baby girl's socks as asked. She won't iron the kids' pajamas either because that's "stupid." I tend to agree with her on the order itself (but then again, I don't iron - that's what a spritz of water and a tumble in the dryer is for). But this is an issue that's related to the task at hand - it's part of taking care of the kids. Doesn't that make it part of her job?

What about picking up after the kids? She says she barely has time to get their dirty breakfast bowls in the sink because keeping up with three toddlers is hard. Yes, toddlers are hard to handle, but she picked babysitting. She told these parents she could handle the task. Now, apparently, she can't. So maybe the people she needs to go back the drawing board with the parents, and discuss what's expected and what she's comfortable doing. Or maybe she needs to find a new job, in a new career path.

I might not ask my babysitter to do much, but if she told me she flat out didn't think she had to do things that related directly to watch my kid, I'd be finding another sitter.

Image: MomLogic

Playdate: Do You Pick Their Friends?

JeanneSager — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:57:00 GMT

There are two kinds of kids says Oregon mom and blogger Julia Siviglia. The ones who are a bad influence on your kids and the ones for whom your kid is the bad influence.

Writing about the kid who's taught her son to turn regular erasers into toy guns and the dislike for pink he's developed thanks to his friends, Siviglia put out into the blogosphere what I've been worrying about since my daughter started nursery school. Just how much say do I have over her friends?

It's not that there's really much to worry about. I don't think she'll be learning to smoke a joint over a table of blue sand or picking up tips on how to break curfew during circle time. My biggest fear could even have me labeled a bit of a snob, but I'm willing to swallow that pill for the sake of my child. There are kids who are downright strange. Kids who scare me a bit, for reasons I can't exactly put my finger on. And I confess I change the subject when they come up in conversation in our house. What about "so and so," I'll ask, subtly guiding the conversation toward her cousin, who is also in the class. I'm not looking for my child to hang out with the "popular" kids or encouraging her to form a nursery school clique. I don't tell her who to spend time with or warn her against making friends with anyone in particular. I'm just wary already of the kids with a bit of an edge, the kids I can see being the troublemakers down the road.

It's not always the other kids I worry about. Siviglia's right: peer pressure is out there. And my daughter can put the pressure on with the best of them. We're still trying to balance the bossiness in our only child without breaking her of self confidence. And we're watching other kids closely to see what's "normal 3-year-old" and what peccadilloes are simply part of her personality. In cases where she's the agressor and her playmate is taking it on the nose, I am quick to step in. Which is why, for now, I prefer to see her paired with kids who are her emotional equals (for lack of a better word), kids who won't take her guff. I don't want her to get too big for her britches. I don't want her to be the bossy kid who the other kids avoid.

I've found the best answer is simply avoidance. I avoid discussing the "strange" kids as much as I avoid negotiating between two arguing toddlers (unless, of course, it gets physical). And I avoid putting my daughter in situations with kids I don't approve of - as much as is humanly possible. Am I picking my daughter's friends? Sort of. But isn't that what playdating is all about?

Five Ways to Spot a Stalker Mom - So You Can Run

Playdate: When Two Moms Don't See Eye to Eye But The Kids Do

When They Can Curse in Context

7 Tips for Playgroup Survival

Bad Parent: Friend Alert

Playdate: When Two Moms Don't See Eye to Eye But The Kids Do

JeanneSager — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:57:00 GMT

What makes for a good playdate in your neck of the woods? Is it the moms or the kids? I hate to admit that the closer my daughter gets to picking her own friends, the more I'm dreading it.

A recent post by boxing commentator and playgroup mommy Karyn Bryant really drove home the conundrum for me. Like me, she's a tomboy - although her description seems more specific than mine. I'm not one for sitting around "talking about breeding," like the moms she rags on, but I'm not ready to kick it with the boys and cigars either. I'll leave that to Karyn. But I feel her pain. I crave conversations that don't begin with BPA and end with Yobaby.

It's something I've noticed a lot of dads just don't get. One friend's husband invited a co-worker and his wife to their son's first birthday party. "Oh, she just had a baby, you'll love her," he assured her. The woman came, and she was a dud. She sat on the couch and every attempt at conversation fell flat. We shrugged and moved on. But my friend's husband kept bringing her up. "Why don't you invite her over? Why don't you give her a call? Set up a playdate, go shopping."

Finally, she had to break it to him. Having two recently renovated uteruses is not the makings of a the relationship of the century. You need chemistry, not just kids.

For Bryant, that means a mom who'll watch the Friday night fights. For me, it's a mom who can agree with me that we keep one eye on the kids and another on the margaritas. Or, at the very least (if it's before noon), kick back and talk about something, anything besides the kids. What my daughter's looking for in a playdate is, of course, very different. She wants to go play with the kids she's meeting out and about - whether Mommy likes their mommies or not.

I'm happily at the helm of my daughter's social calendar for the moment, with a list of moms of whom I heartily approve and kids she's known most of her little life. We'll just hold out hopes that any would-be social climbers have moms who can make the list.

Five Ways to Spot a Stalker Mom - So You Can Run

Nanny 911 - Back On Our Side of the Pond

They Say: Mamas Should Suck It Up in Playgroups

Strollerderby Playdate: Getting Orphanage News From China

Amy Kuras — Fri, 16 May 2008 21:02:00 GMT

This week's horrific earthquake in China is bringing heartbreaking stories of all kinds, but some that especially hit parents right in the gut – the collapsing schools, for example, that killed hundreds of kids who were their families' only child thanks to the country's one child policy.
And for people trying to become parents, or add to their families, through an international adoption from China the news must be especially upsetting. There are a number of orphanages in the earthquake zone near Chengdu in Sichuan province, although thankfully there have been no reports of injuries to children at any of the welfare institutions.
I was pointed to China Adopt Talk by a friend who's currently in the process of adopting a special-needs boy from an orphanage in another part of China. They have frequent updates on the status of all the orphanages in the affected zone. It seems to be a pretty good source of information on the whole process of adopting from China.
The Half the Sky Foundation provides preschools and help finding foster homes to children in Chinese orphanages. According to China Adopt Talk, they are on the ground helping out with relief efforts and are posting daily earthquake updates on their site.
I know that adoptive parents are not considered real in some quarters, but these parents to be waiting to meet their children halfway around the world feel this disaster very keenly. Let's all keep a good thought in whatever way you choose to do that, and try to help if you can.

Photo: Half the Sky

Strollerderby Playdate: Sew Dreamy

Amy Kuras — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:31:00 GMT

In my ongoing quest to find my inner Martha, I acquired as a Christmas gift this year a nice entry-level sewing machine.
Here's the problem. The only person I know who sews? My mother. I love her, but her teaching me things tends to reduce me to a bratty teen. I still don't like to think about what went down when she tried to teach me to drive a stick shift. Un-pret-TAY.

I took a sewing class a few years back, and have a couple nice, remedial-but-hip kind of books that don’t assume you’ve been doing this stuff since home ec (which I did not take). But being a blog addict, I needed more.

Too many sewing sites are either, um, a little retro, or they are done by high-end sewers who seems to have no idea this doesn't come super easy to a lot of us, nor do we novices want to spend $45/yard on fabric we're likely to screw up.

But I've found a few that are inspiring, cleverly written, or beautifully designed, and often all three.

Stitch Lounge is the online outlet for a sewing lounge in San Fransisco —a place where people can come, work on projects together, and use the kind of tool they might not want to carve out a space for in their small city apartments. This is a brilliant idea and I wish there was such a thing in my city. Add cocktails and/or coffee and childcare and I might move in.

Also proffering tutorials is Sew, Mama, Sew, on things like fitting patterns, and how to assess your learning style to make patterns easier to figure out.

Finally, A Dress A Day. I am such a sucker for dresses, and while most of Erin's dresses are way beyond my skill level, a girl can dream.

Now to find time to finish that dishtowel project….

Image: A Dress A Day

Strollerderby Playdate: Deep Thoughts

Amy Kuras — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:32:00 GMT

Sometimes playdates are light and fun and hilarious.
Other times you find yourself talking about things you never thought you would, and the discussion stays with you a long, long time. If you are lucky enough to find wise friends, who can look at themselves and others in a fearless and clear-eyed way, you can even find yourself having insights into why you feel the way you do and why you parent the way you do.
That's what's been going on this week on Ask Moxie. You're of course already reading it, and if you're not go there. Now. Seriously. I'll wait.
Moxie, and her commenters, have really built an amazing community who treat each other with kindness, empathy and honesty (a tricky combo to master about anything but especially about parenting, which can really bring out the humorless schoolmarm in all of us). This week, a question from a reader about mourning the loss of her relationship with her first child now that she has the second (right there with ya) touched off a brilliant discussion about the issues we all bring to the table as parents, dealing with the way we were parented. A followup post drew even more comments and even separate posts on other blogs.
Parenting can be a lonely business – it's easy to feel like you're the only person who is struggling with a particular issue. Sites like Ask Moxie and even this one (we hope) help you realize we're all in this together and if we drop the façade there's a lot of common ground to be had.
Anyone for a rousing chorus of Kumbaya?

Playdate: Rice and Big Words

Amy Kuras — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:33:00 GMT

Sometimes it’s easy to find a playdate. And other times, you’re suffering from mom-of-a-newborn brain mush and you just need to play with yourself.

Minds out of the gutter, people. What I'm trying to tell you here is that I searched and searched for a recommendable playdate for y'alls, and just couldn't. I have blogs I love, oh yes I have blogs aplenty, but you probably already read them.

So here's what I intend to share with you: FreeRice.

This is a win-win. You get to feel smart, and you get to donate rice to the United Naitons World Food Program. Here's how it works: You play a vocabulary game, and for every word you get right, the site's advertisers donate money equibvalent to 20grians of rice to the World Food Program.

It starts you off with easy words and then ramps it up if you have mad vocab skills. Which I do, despite the use of the word "recommendable" up there. If, like me, youre suffering from major sleep deprivation and "mom brain" it serves as a nice reminder you have both an intellect and a social conscience you may actually someday access again, and if you just like to do charity or flex your smarts you can do that too.

And hey, there is a parenting angle. The guy who started it was apparently inspired by doing SAT drills with his kids.

Want Smarter Kids? Get a Life.

Amy Kuras — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:58:00 GMT

Heading out to celebrate St. Paddy's Day, and maybe feeling just a trifle guilty about leaving your precious angels behind?
Well, you shouldn't, says a study by professors at the University of Sheffield. According to their research, kids whose parents had active social lives scored better on a standardized test than kids whose parents did not.

Professors Sarah Brown and Karl Taylor looked at the social lives of 3000 parents, examining their memberships in resident's associations, sports clubs, volunteer organizations or church groups, and most importantly how many friends they had. That data was compared with their children's scores on standardized literacy, numeracy, and verbal tests. Those children whose parents had many connections and active social lives scored between one and four percentage points higher.

What's interesting about this research was that it took parent's educational attainment and class – which are pretty reliable predictors of a kid's academic achievement -- into account and found social activity was important across the board.

Researchers know that kids with good social skills tend to do better in school, but no one's yet looked at the parents. “It could be that the social activities mean there is a network for discussing child development that benefits the children, or that it helps instill values such as a good work ethic,” Dr. Taylor told the Times of London. “It’s also possible that the children of parents who socialize a lot are more sociable themselves."

For a lot of us (okay, me) the social life can be the first thing to go when we get busy with and exhausted by work, kids and household responsibilities. If nothing else this study reminds us that not only are those playdates with friends the best thing for our own sanity and balance, they can be good for our kids as well.

Strollerderby Playdate: Mama Says Clean Your Plate

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:30:00 GMT

Forgive me if I unbutton my pants. I've just been on a Playdate with The Cleaner Plate Club. Man, that Mama can cook. Plus, she and I are both attempting to make the food that we serve in the house better both in a nutritional and an environmental sense.

Which is cool and all -- but the best part is that she fails to take herself too seriously. Witness the picture at right, used to illustrate a post where our hero decides to eat like a Hobbit.

She also makes a mean soup, like this Mostly-Veggie Cheddar Broccoli. And her sister just won an Oscar. And she has a great six-word story and knows where to get some "Barick Obama" cheese.

I'm so full I think I'll need to take my pants clean off. Avert your eyes.

Photo Credit: Cleaner Plate Club

Strollerderby Playdate: Hard-Workin' Woman

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:00:00 GMT

As much as I'd like to have a playdate with Kate Bush -- and if anyone can hook me up with Ms Bush, I'll get you a pony --- my playdate this week is with Dawn Friedman at This Woman's Work.

Dawn blogs about mothering, writing and the intersection between the two. But that's not why I want to go on a date with her. No, I want to hang out with Dawn because she has an uncanny skill at handling passionate (and downright irate) commenters.

She's had plenty of practice lately, given that she's been blogging about the open adoption of her second child. Friedman writes with grace and spunk -- and fo that she deserves an afternoon of chit-chat and cookies.

Photo credit: gaffa.org

Strollerderby Playdate: It's Not Easy Being Green (With Envy)

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:46:00 GMT

I am well aware that I spend a great deal of time complaining about the weather. It is one of my many endearing quirks. But it's hard to remain placid about the four inches of slushy mud that we have to slog through everyday to simply go outside. The filthy pantcuffs. The wet mittens. I tire of this.

So today's playdate is with Katie a.k.a. "Mamahops" who blogs about traveling with her four kids and spouse at Hell's Half Acre. For the last little bit, they've been living in balmy Mexico. Even though Ms 'hops woke up with a cockroach on her face, I am ready to go hang out with her for the rest of the week.

Margaritas are optional -- but sun is required.

Photo credit: Mamahops at www.hopalog.com

Strollerderby Playdate: Raising Chickens and Hell in Texas

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:30:00 GMT

Sometimes, you just need to go to Texas. Today -- when the weather where I am will make it above 20 degrees F only if the sun explodes -- is a fine day to head to the deep southwest. Today is perfect for a playdate with Redneck Mother Casey Kelly Barton.

We can hang out and watch her chickens and bunnies and dogs romp. Barton and I (and all y'all) can watch nature videos about pistol shrimp. We'll drink sweet tea and jaw about her two boys, one of whom, Hurricanehead, seems to be the kid my youngest will become. And, yes, this fills me with nine kinds of dread.

Won't it be lovely? I'm gonna go pack my shorts and tank tops now.

Photo credit: Southwest Veternary Symposium

Strollerderby Playdate: Doggie Style

Adrienne Martini — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:29:00 GMT

Show of hands - how many moms looked at their post-baby belly and immediately started to sob? How many were doing the same thing a year later? How many are making peace with how things in the boob-and-belly region are now? How many of you find keeping your hand in the air is aerobic exercise enough?

You are not alone. You know this, of course, but sometimes it's nice to read about someone going through the exact same issue who is able to eloquently express the struggle. Which is why we're playdating with Hillari Dowdle, a former Managing Editor of Cooking Light and Yoga Journal, who now blogs for Fit Pregnancy.

You know when she gets here we're all going to sit down and chat about House reruns, Hershey's Kisses, when baby weight just becomes weight, regression and downward dogs. I'll bring a yoga mat, my wobbly glutes and mojitos.

Strollerderby Playdate: True Tales of a Labor Nurse

Amy Kuras — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:02:00 GMT

I have a major thing for nurses. Oh, for the love…not like that, you sick bastards. Nurses go back three generations in my family.

Through infertility treatment and one completed pregnancy and one almost-completed one, it was always the nurses that got me through. I think that's the case for most women who've given birth; like 'em or hate 'em, there is always a Nurse Plotline as part of the birth story.

To the nurses, it’s the other way around – for every Nurse Plot there have to be a hundred Crazy-Ass Patient stories (actually, my sister-in-law was a labor and delivery nurse for awhile and I can guarantee that firsthand).

As I am gearing up to have another baby and hoping very much to not be the talk of the nurses' station for good or ill, I found Rebirth Nurse completely fascinating when I stumbled across it today. A student nurse-midwife with seven years experience as a labor nurse, she tells it like it is from her side of the bed.

This one, given some recent and hilarious discussions around here from the male quarters, was especially funny.
If you ever wonder what really goes on in an L&D floor, this should be a must-read.

Strollerderby Playdate: The Awful Blog I Can't Stop Reading

Madeline Holler — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:32:00 GMT

How can it be that I am a regular reader of this blog? I mean, you could hardly call it a blog -- she posts only once or twice a month, it's not terribly interesting, it's surrounded by ads for gentle yet overpriced baby laundry detergent that you don't even need.

And it's her! Her! I don't even like her! I am not interested in her! I do nothing but criticize and disagree with her. I didn't watch her on TV before and, now that she's back, I still don't. I won't! Yet, I read her blog. I check it for updates, feel let down when there are none. I find myself identifying with her truly mundane stories and smiling at -- and I mean this in the rudest ways -- the very unfunny funny things she strains to write. Please, what is wrong with me?

Somehow, I have let Elisabeth Hasselbeck get under my skin and into the heart of my web browser. Bafflingly, I don't consider the three minutes I put in each month checking out her posts -- she doesn't even have links or games or a photo album to look through! -- wasted time. How could I? I love reading it! But shouldn't I hate myself a little more for loving it? Shouldn't I want to soak in a tub of scalding hot water and gentle Dreft soap bubbles?

It's like the playgroup I go to again and again. The membership is dwindling, the only mom who shows up is the one you have nothing in common with. Nothing! But I keep going -- once or twice a month -- to not connect, to not agree, to not enjoy. Why go? Why not.

Strollerderby Playdate: It Always Comes Back to Poop

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 15 May 2007 11:03:00 GMT

Awww, come on. Don't roll your eyes about another poop post. You know you've uttered something about poop at least four times already today and thought about it at least double that, as in "Note to mommy self: Must remember to tell father of this child to empty diaper pail as child's propencity toward excessive early morning pooping clearly derived from one of his 26 chromosones."

In case playgroup or book club or that big conference call with New York isn't until the end of the week and you need some serious commiserating today, or in case you have a glorious hour or four away from the kids and are missing out on every child and parents favorite topic, here's the scoop on poop around the blogo right now:

Doug's running the bases with a post-potty-trained kid, rounding the port-a-potty, the car and the shower, all inside one T-Ball inning.

The pipes are bursting at Fidget's house...and not the ones the plumbing inspector's there to check out.

After some serious tub-scrubbing, Cullen's kid hits the showers screaming.

Kristen's pulling that move from Singles. You know, the one where Keira Sedgwick wipes down the toilet with her ex-boyfriend's t-shirt that made you cringe and cheer. Only this time, it's Kristen's brand new shirt on her daughter's bum. Oh, and it's not a hip Seattle apartment, it's a nasty roadside gas station. But you'll cringe and cheer all the same.

Strollerderby Playdate: Chicago Style

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 08 May 2007 11:03:00 GMT

This morning, my boy is running around the house in an oversized t-shirt that I got from a street vendor for two bucks. It is one that most of us have buried somewhere to tell the world we all *heart* NY. While he's a well-traveled toddler, New York City has never been one of his stops. And really, as cute as he is when he squats down and makes a dress out of that t-shirt, every time he wears it I think about how I need to find him more gear from our city. Maybe a Steppenwolf onesie or dueling Sox and Cubs caps. Or possibly, a nod at the el train near our house we almost never take.

Lil E's not the only wonder to be homegrown in the Windy City. There's also loaded-up hot dogs (which I secretly despise...shhhh) and pizza (which I adore) and undying sports fanaticism (zzzzzz...sorry! what?) and politics. And, course, there are the bloggers. Even BlogHer thinks this is the place to be. In honor of all things cha-cha-Chicago, here are some of da second city women bloggers yous guys should be reading: