Friday, December 30, 2011

Tracking my NYRs (new year's resolutions)

I Googled and tried out a few online goal-tracking tools. I really like the fancy ones at LifeTick.com. They  even have apps for your iPhone or Android devices! The only thing is, the FREE version only allows you to track FOUR goals (for $20/yr you can track unlimited goals). I found a simpler, no-frills one, but let me talk about LifeTick.com first.

First, you create "Core values". I created four: faith, health, family, and hobbies to correspond roughly with my list of NYRs (new year's resolutions).


After you're finished entering Core values, you are directed to the next screen so you can list specific goals related to each core value. Here are my limited four -- you see the goal name, progress (and how many you want to accomplish), as well as the due date.



When you first "Create a goal", the following screen pops up -- you enter the "task" in the first box. Click on the calendar icon next to the second box, and then click the "recurring" option towards the bottom of the pop-up.

You can choose the start date, how often you want the task to repeat, and when you want the task to end.



The last box is how often you want a reminder sent to you about the task.


Easy and beautiful! There are enough nice reports/stats that it generates, but only for paid users. Boo!

Now, onto the free, no-frills goal-tracker, Joe's Goals.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

testing feed (again!)

This is a test of the feed service I'm using. If this were an actual post, there'd be content that'd be mildly, if not really, interesting. Again, this is only a test. Happy Thursday!


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testing feed

This is a test of the feed service I'm using. If this were an actual post, there'd be content that'd be mildly, if not really, interesting. Again, this is only a test. Happy Thursday!

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and/or share this post using buttons below.

New Year's Resolutions (NYR) (are you cynical already?)

[source: Richard Wiseman, How to keep your NYR]

I've grouped my NYRs into several categories:

Achievable:
  • No more chips or fries.
  • Attending church every Sunday -- no matter what
  • Attending small group -- building relationships
  • Reading the Bible and praying everyday
  • Date night with hubby at least once a month
  • Swim lessons for J -- and me too, I guess…
  • Going to the gym at least once a week (lower on the achievable list) -- so sad!

Lofty:
  • Blog here 365 days (actually 366 since 2012 is a leap year!
  • Take a picture a day for capturng.com 
  • Take a photography class
  • Lose 8 lbs. (pre-pregnancy weight)
  • Overseas trip with J (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan?)
  • A short getaway for hubby and me...without J or the dogs!

Pff! I wish:

It'll be interesting to see if I can cross these things off my list as I accomplish (or know I won't accomplish) them!

Please share your lists in the comments below!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Thanks, Amazon wishlist

Thank you, Amazon wishlist for being there for others to use even when I've forgotten about you.

My sister (real-estate-agent-extraordinaire) went to the trouble of finding my "kids" wishlist on Amazon and got J....

Splashimals!
$10.95 per set

By the power of adhesion, these cards stick to the bathroom wall and tube when wet. J isn't old enough to read but he sure loves to put these up and take them down! When he's old enough, he'll be able to create his own animal names, like penphant above. How about a liger (Napoleon Dynamite's favorite)?

What my A-type personality loves most about these cards is that all the drawings line up. The drawing of the left half of that penguin above will line up perfectly with the right half of the elephant. I tried it all different cards and they match every time. I appreciate the company's attention to detail.


Other variations available are:
  • SplashJack (slap jack for the tub $12.95)
  • SplashJack Royal (slap jack for the tub but with traditional card faces -- I actually thought it was poker! That wouldn't be kid-appropriate $12.95)
  • SumBodies (make your own characters $10.95)
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Advice for getting a screaming child into a carseat?

Last time I told the story of how J turns into a rigid-stick-of-a-boy when I try to put him in his carseat after daycare. It must be because the car seat looks like this to him:

 From Parenting. Illustrated with Crappy Pictures

P.S. If you're not reading Crappy Pictures, you're missing out!
She even has her own badge!
Click below:




Please leave your advice for getting J into a carseat below!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

How much do you enjoy parenthood?

Around 10:15am on at Saturday, we got in the car to have lunch with a friend in D.C. I already knew J was tired, so it was no surprise that he fell asleep in the car. My naiveté convinced me that he'd be ok even if we woke him up prematurely. Boy, was I wrong!

He was CRANKY! I mean, whining, crying, trying-to-climb-out-of-the-highchair CRANKY. Normally, I would agree with my husband to let him be, but we were in a fairly nice restaurant and I didn't want to be a bother and kicked out.

 [source: MSNBC]

I was noticeably peeved at J's behavior. At one point, I took him to the entrance to try to calm him down, but no luck. Eventually, my husband took him outside and luckily found Playseum across the street to hang out in. By the way, this location is much nicer and larger than the one in Bethesda.

Once the two of them left, my friend asked me how I enjoy parenthood. At the peeved-moment, I said "60/40", which now sounds so sad - only a bit above 50/50?!

Now that I have had time to cool-down, realistically, I'd agree with my husband and say 70/30...even 80/20, but that's on average. Some days it's 100/0 and other days it's 1/99!

Anyways, another new year's resolution for me is to remember to enjoy all aspects of parenting -- the good and bad. Also, to do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that I may become blameless and pure, a child of God (Philippians 2:14-15 NIV).

So...
How much do you enjoy parenthood?


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Saturday, December 24, 2011

'Twas the night before Christmas" Mommy version

I like 'twas 'cause I'm old English on the inside *wink*

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through our home
Nothing was stirring, not even the iPhone

I intended to decorate, to hang lights and hang stockings
But those tasks came second to cleaning and resting
So our home, it does look like it does everyday
Hey! At least there are presents tucked somewhere away!

Our son's in his crib, no one's staying up late
Gosh, wouldn' it be nice if he slept until 8?

When all of a sudden, there arose such a clatter
I barely opened my eyes to turn down the baby monitor
Unfortunately for me, that wasn't it
Then my brained turned back on, "It must be St. Nick!"

Sure enough it was he, trying to be fancy
Backing his sleigh into visitor's parking
I got to the door, before he could ring
The doorbell that'd definitely start the dogs barking

He was dressed in faux fur, from his hat to his shoes
He had a Starbucks in hand, on the phone using bluetooth
He complained about traffic, "That dreaded 270!"
I said, "What'd you expect? People are still shopping!"

He came in and said, "No lights and no stockings?"
"COME ON!...
"Can we talk 'bout his later, perhaps by email or texting?"

I shushed him as he plopped his bag on the floor
Our son stirred a bit, overheard on the monitor
Soon St. Nick was done, out the door he went quickly
Instead of his sleigh, to next door he shimmied

When he was all done visiting our little street,
He got back in his sleigh, hurt were his feet
He had more homes to visit, DC metro is crowded
"Maybe next year I'll use UPS or FedEx it!"

"My GPS's been stolen! What a long night!"
Nevertheless…
I heard him exclaim, while he flew out of sight,

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"


 by expandng.com

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P.S. Read this mom-version of the classic poem
with a sweet lesson for all moms at the end.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Mashed bananas

We now know what J was doing when he held his hands together and rotated his trunk in this video...

Mashed banana in The Wiggles' "Hot Potato"

Last night, my husband and I broke into this song after dinner (we're officially dorks now), and the biggest smile came on J's face! He clapped and spun around a few times. It was so heartwarming, I teared up (yep, dork again).

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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Spending $271 per child this Christmas?

When I was growing up, I remember receiving ONE GIFT from my parents. When my sister and I were old enough, we also exchanged a SINGLE GIFT. So seriously, what is up with spending $200 per child these days?!

The survey results of Are your kids spoiled? on Parenting.com shows that:

Parents plan to spend an average of $271 per child on gifts this year, with a surprising one in eight spending between $300 and $400. Despite the tough times, 74% will spend the same amount or more than last year.

The drivers were guilt for not fulfilling their children's wishlists and keeping up with the Joneses. Speaking of wishlists, it was Target that came out with a toy book with checkboxes next to the toys. Really?

This year, we bought multiple gifts for J because we've been dragging our feet on toy-buying in general since J didn't play much with them anyway. Now that he's 17 months, I like him having more options to play with than electrical outlets *wink*.

We bought an American Plastic Toys My Very Own Kitchen Play Set (video of J playing with it here), a Mega Bloks Fill & Dump Wagon, and two toys for the diaper bag (Fisher-Price Stacking Blocks and Tomy Hide n Squeek Eggs). Total is not even close to $271.

Well, there is some good news from the survey:

Almost 4 out of 5 families make an effort to something to counteract the commercialism of the holiday and teach kids the importance of giving back. 70% of parents donate gifts or money to those less fortunate, and 16% volunteer as a family. 36% of families also encourage kids to spend their own money on gifts for others.

Did you hear about the anonymous donors paying off people's layaway accounts at Kmart around the country? The donors often wanted to payoff accounts for families with young children so they wouldn't have to "miss Christmas".

We need to give back to our community. And by "we", I mean my family too.


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Bugaboo Recalls

The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued recalls on two Bugaboo products:

If installed facing forward direction, the baby seat can fall off the stroller frame.
The front wheels may lock while stroller is in motion, causing stroller to tip over.

Follow the links to get replacement or service kits.


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Giveaway from A Thrifty Mom: Ultimate Date Night Finale


Enter here --> Giveaway Ultimate Date Night Finale
$25 Regal Gift Card + $30 Olive Garden Gift Card!


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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

9 things not to say to your child (I confess I've said some of them)

Read original article on Parenting.com
  1. Don’t bother me. Instead, tell them why you can't attend to them right this moment.
  2. You're such a ____. Meaning, don't label them.
  3. Don't cry. Instead, address their specific feeling.
  4. Why can't you be more like ____. Instead, focus on their accomplishments.
  5. You know better than that. Hey, maybe they actually don't. Make it an opportunity to reinforce something.
  6. Stop or else ____. Instead, focus on positive reinforcement.
  7. Wait until Mommy/Daddy gets home. Instead, address the matter immediately.
  8. Hurry up! Instead, find calmer ways to speed things up.
  9. Great job or Good boy/girl! Surprised by this? Actually, this positive reinforcement is good as long as it is specific to something he/she said/did/etc.
Confession. I've said to J:
  • Don't bother me, especially at the middle or end of day when we're all particularly tired. I'm learning to tell him why I may need a few minutes/seconds of a break.
  • You know better than that. I should know better than this. J's only 17 months! He's going to need reminding every time that outlets are not toys.
  • Stop or else ____. Is counting to three any better? I should learn to redirect.
  • Hurry up! Boy, do I say this every morning. I'm learning to remain calm though.
  • Great job! I'm learning to praise him for specific things -- and being cute shouldn't be one of them because then he might connect his worthiness to his looks. I wonder if this is equally true for boys and girls...
What suggestions/confessions do you have?

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$10 off $25 purchase at Macy's today & tomorrow


$10 off $25 purchase at Macy's today & tomorrow until 1pm, with exclusions of course. Go here to print your coupon! I have a two more things to buy today...

Monday, December 19, 2011

Family photos by A. E. Landes Photography

Photo Card
View the entire collection of cards.


Right before my birthday dinner with my sister and brother-in-law (BIL), aka A. E. Landes Photography, he agreed to take some family photos for us before the sun set. We made it to the Gravelly Park near the Reagan National Airport. It's right by the Potomac River and where many people go to watch the planes take off. We made the card above using Shutterfly (shop through Ebates {referral link} and get 8% back). Unfortunately, we won't be able to get them out by Christmas so they'll be New Year's cards :).

J was in awe when the planes took off. The photo in the middle above is him watching the planes go by. The one below is 5 seconds later ;). Poor guy -- his knees knocked together out of fear!


Luckily, if Mommy or Daddy was near, J was ok.



Below are some other favorites from the shoot.



J enjoying sherbet at The Dairy Godmother

Thanks again to A. E. Landes Photography, D. C.-area photographer extraordinaire!
 He also edited out a scratch on J's nose, so thanks!!
P.S. My husband got the impossible shot of Coco & Jasper both sitting AND looking at the camera!

J's first love


Well, J's first love, after Mommy, Daddy, and Milk, of course…

During the parent-teacher conference at J's daycare, Ms. R told us the cutest story about J and his object-of-affection, M.

Of all the girls in his class, M is the only one that allows J to come near her. He loves to gently stroke her beautiful blond hair. They give each other hugs and kisses. He knows which is her cubby. He takes her fleece jacket out everyday to lie on it. When she leaves, he screams, "MmmmmmmMMMmmm" and is very upset. I have to admit, I'm a bit jealous!

This weekend, we met a little girl who also had blonde hair. He kept following substitute-M around. When he finally got close enough, he reached and put his chubby arms around her for a hug. She immediately put out her arms to block him and made a P-U face -- first rejection. It's ok. J bounced back.

*Sigh* Our little guy is growing up so fast!

When did your son/daughter start showing affection for a non-family member?

Friday, December 16, 2011

Use Google Alerts to find online deals


If you're on the lookout for something, I'd recommend setting a Google Alert. It's not always timely, as in getting notifications as soon as a deal appears, but I haven't missed a deal so far. I've setup Google Alerts for "Pampers Gifts to Grow" so that I can collect free points in my Pampers account. With purchases and free codes online, I've racked up over 3,000 points. I was waiting for 3-in-1 bike, but their rewards keep changing...

What do you think of Google Alerts?

Stride Rite - not as expensive as I thought

When I asked for advice on soft-soled shoes for J, people recommended Stride Rite and Robeez (free shipping on all orders today for delivery by 12/24 at both sites). I also got a recommendation for Shoe Train at the John Cabin Mall. Apparently, they are the BEST children's shoe store in the area with knowledgable staff and a great selection, especially for kids with specific foot-related needs.

For convenience's sake, my husband took J to Stride Rite and got a great deal! I love a deal!

I was all set to pay $30-$45 for a pair of their SRT Soft Motion shoes. But they were having a 50% off sale and my husband got 2 pairs for $33 $40 (whoops, mistake)! I'm not sure if that sale was specific to that store since it was closing, or a recent promotion. Below are the shoes we got and love. J walks so well in them, as if he weren't wearing shoes at all! I'd highly recommend them!




I remember on Black Friday buying size 5 shoes for J. It's only been a month and he's already a 5.5 (and thus wearing a 6). CRAZY how fast their little feet grow. Plus, J has little "man tao" feet, meaning they resemble little Chinese bread buns -- so cute -- just want to eat them up :).

First time with non-family babysitter

Last time my husband considered hiring a babysitter, my reaction was basically what?! you craazy. It was Valentine's Day. J was 8 months old. Luckily, my sister and BIL (brother-in-law) stepped up to the plate and stayed home with sleeping J while we went out for dinner.

Fast forward 10 months and my husband has an evening company partaaay tonight at some fancy smanshy country club that requires men wear jackets after 6pm. Not that we couldn't bring J, but he probably wouldn't have that much schmoozing with industry folk.

I wasn't looking forward to finding and interviewing lots of candidates on sites such as Care.com and SitterCity.com. Luckily for us, the PTO at J's daycare sent out a list of teachers that are available for babysitting! I guess we could have approached J's teacher ourselves, but we were afraid we'd be stepping on the school's toes or whatever.

Soooo....tonight we are leaving J with his first non-family babysitter. 

So, I hope he eats dinner, and plays nicely, and can fall asleep without either one of us being the one to get him to bed....I'm sure he'll be fine since he knows this teacher -- she's right next door and apparently he loves to play with her hair and sit in her lap when it's time to read a book. Aw!

Hope everyone -- me, my husband, and J -- will have fun tonight!

Monday, December 12, 2011

[Video] Walking + what kind of shoes should he wear?



Here is J taking some steps, though not his "first", just the "first on camera". As you can see, every time I whip the cameraphone to take a video, he comes walking, which means I can't ever get a long enough video!

My sister is always making fun of me because I kept saying that "he isn't walking yet" because he wasn't walking independently until a week ago. Well, now he's definitely walking! He also is definitely falling a lot too -- especially under Mom's watch. I may be testing/stretching his ability too much.

Speaking of walking, I'd like to know....

What kind of shoes should he be wearing as he's learning to walk? Any brand of "soft-soled" shoes you'd recommend?

Just for the record, when he's at home, he's barefoot (as demonstrated in the video). But since the kids go outside while at daycare, they have to wear shoes. Currently, he's wearing "normal" shoes, which may also be tripping him up. The soles aren't flexible and are kinda thick. Any recommendations you can give would be great!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

[Video] Rocking out on the guitar



J is bouncing up a storm to the beats from the guitar. He also does this thing where he folds his hands and rotates his trunk back and forth. It's so cute and hilarious!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Tantrums

J throws some relatively minor tantrums, compared to the little girl in the video below anyways.


As I posted before, J used to throw food on the floor whenever he was bored/frustrated/done. Eventually, we worked through it, and it hasn't been a problem anymore.

These days, J's tantrums usually involve wanting to be outside playing just a bit longer than Mommy or Daddy want. It all started when J started feeling more confident on his feet. As soon as he got out of the car when we got home, he wanted to take a walk, whereas I wanted to go home. Tantrum! It usually involved J slumping down and taking a seat on the sidewalk.

Well, the tantrum started evolving, and now starts even earlier. Because of J's love for walking and being outdoors, we take the "long" way around the school to get to the car. As soon as I pick him up to put him in the car seat though, he turns into a rigid-stick-of-a-boy and won't let me put him in his car seat.

The first time it happened, I strong-armed him into it. He cried for about 2 blocks.

The next evening, I let him play around in the car for a minute. Then I strong-armed him into the car seat. He cried for about a block. This repeated itself for a few days.

Today, after listening to the Anatomy of a Tantrum on NPR, I held a stick-straight J at the car seat until he calmed down. He didn't seem to want to, so I let him stand in the car and closed the door (and watched through the window). He had some fun playing with the air vents but, not a minute later, he was trying to climb into the car seat while saying, "Up! Up!" No tears on the way home. Whew!

Of course I try to hedge the tantrum by explaining/warning him that we're headed to the car to go home and that he needs to sit in the car seat. But I don't think he's able to really understand that at 16 months. So:

  • I gotta let J express his anger/frustration/sadness through these tantrums.
  • After he reaches the peak, which is screaming, tears, and boogers, he calms down and is ready to climb into the car seat.
  • It only takes a few minutes to run this cycle!
A point that the scientists made that really stuck was that don't try to intervene during the "anger" stage of the tantrum, such as when the little girl is rolling around on the floor in the video. Don't ask questions, don't provide suggestions, don't get angry, etc. Since that level of intense emotion can't be sustained for long, the tantrum will reach a peak, such as when the little girl in the video slams the chair, and "anger" will turn to "sadness", for which the child will seek comfort, i.e., you. Tantrums may seem like they last forever, but the little girl in the video went from screaming to wimpering in less than a minute. 

I hope tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, J's after-daycare pickup will be smoother and we can go right from the school to the car with few tears. 

What's the tantrum-trigger in your house?

Discipline

I believe at either J's 6-month or 9-month checkup, the pediatrician warned us to start thinking about disciplining J, as he would already be manipulating us...whoa!

Thinking back, his worst behavior was throwing food on the floor when he didn't want it anymore. At first, we didn't mind, allowing Coco to pick up the mess. But then we got Jasper, and the dogs got possessive around the highchair, so we tried to put an end to J throwing food on the floor.


It was really hard to stop J. The more we said "no", the harder and faster he threw food on the floor! We asked his teachers what they do at daycare when this happens so that we could be consistent at home. They said, "No, when you're done with something, you can push it to the side but not to the floor." So that's what we did at home.

You know what? Over time, it worked! J still throws things at times. He thinks it's hilarious. He usually does it when he's been sitting there well into 30 min, so who can blame a toddler? We still say "no" but are probably more likely to take everything off the table and take him out of the chair. We probably should really reinforce the "No, you can push it to the side but not to the floor" like we did before.

Well, now that J's 16 months, he needs to be disciplined a lot more. "Discipline" sounds so negative, as if we're punishing J. But discipline just means rules and order. One alternative is chaos, but I've read plenty that says kids need order/routine in their lives. Another alternative is danger. Of course certain things are off-limits. Lastly, we discipline J in order to teach him useful life-skills for success -- manners, sharing, listening, etc.

The discipline tool kit: Successful strategies for every age on BabyCenter.com breaks down age-appropriate discipline. A recurring theme is helping a child understand why he/she is being disciplined. J may be too young to really understand, but as the teachers say, he understands enough at this age.

It's also important that while disciplining, which focuses on the negative, parents should also remember to reinforce the positive. Example, "I'm so proud of the way you set that aside instead of throwing it on the floor."

The most profound thing from the article was to respective my toddler's "no". It's one of the first words toddlers will master because adults say it so often. We say it a lot to Coco and Jasper! I quote "knowing that saying no carries some weight will stop your child from saying it automatically...The more you respect their no, the less often they use it." Deep.

I won't make this post too long, so I'll save what I'm learning about tantrums for another post.

Ultimate Date Night Giveaway on AThriftyMom

Ultimate Date Night Giveaway at AThriftyMom includes one $25 Gift Card to Regal Movie Theater and one $30 Gift Card to Olive Garden. Enter now! Entries must be in by Dec. 9, 10pm, MST.

Monday, December 5, 2011

J's first professional haircut

J's pretty hair was getting a big long everywhere. It was getting in his eyes, ears, and the back was resembling a mullet. I hacked it pretty badly right before he turned one. Sorry! We googled kid-friendly hair salons in our area and turned up some bad reviews. Finally, we just decided to bring him to the place we usually get our hair cut, Beautiful Life Salon. The name is cheesy, but they're in Taiwanesetown, so they have to be!

Faye Ji cut J's hair, and she was patient and had great skills. J had to switch between sitting down in Daddy's lap...playing with new camera toy and iPhone...


...to Mommy holding him (that's J's hair all over me in the photo below).


Surely he is much more comfortable now! Such a big boy with his new haircut!


Some of these photos were posted to Instagram (lisacng) and Followgram. So please be my friend if you use these applications!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Gap: $25 Women's Puffer Vests - Today only


If you want an additional $5 off, click here for US, here for Canada. Once you sign in, you'll get a code for in-store use only. Enjoy!