Need help!

little miss trampledamage is starting kindergarten in September (yay!) and it's an all day school, but she'll be coming home for lunch. She'll only have an hour though. This is going to be a change of pace for both of us (and younger brother!) because up until now I've run the day as morning activities, then come home and relax while I figure out something for lunch, then relax some more before doing stuff in the afternoon.

Any suggestions of good things to make for lunch. There are no allergies or dietary requirements to be concerned with. It just needs to be easy (because I am no kind of cook), something I can prepare in advance - the morning before or, even better, the evening before and left in the fridge or something I can freeze and re-heat, also something filling but not too heavy - I don't want her falling asleep at school!

I'm having the usual real life = chaos problems at the moment so I'm not getting any time to get my head round this. So I need help :o)

Thanks all.

 I really enjoy music and it seems to have rubbed off on my 13 year old son. However when I want to take him to a concert with me he seems to shy away from the crowd scene. I asked him why and his response was... "you're kinda crazy and dance all the time." 

When I drop my son off at school and I have the music pumped up in the car my son has a tendency to roll the windows up or turn the stereo down as we approach the school. I asked him why he turned the music down and his response was... "it's kinda loud and I don't want my friends to hear what you are listening to."

My son's first concert was going to see Peter Gabriel (some of you probably don't even know who that is). He was 10 at the time. Most kids see "Barney and friends" as their first concert. 

I think it's funny that it's not HIP to be hip with your mom!

I had plans with a friend of my daughters and her family, to go to six flags on July 6th. We had these plans for months. Probably since March. Everything would have worked out prfect because her mother is pregnant and cant ride anything anyways. My husband doesnt like anything that spins.My son is only 47" tall, most of the good stuff requiring 48" or taller. Amber chickens out on a lot of things, so I thought being with her friend would help cure her fright. There were a million good reasons to go together. Tracy (the mother) mentions she is bringing her brother about 6pm on the 5th. Cool. Fine. Then she calls me at about 9pm..

( long story )

Hello there!

1. How old are you?
37 - 38 in about 19 days

2. How old is/are your child/children? (for the pregnant, use the number of months/weeks left to go)
twin girls - 10; boy - 3; girl - 1
3. Boy/Girl?
:) see above
4. Did you always want children, and were your children planned?
I was not really sure about having kids.

The Twins were not planned, but the other two were both sort of like, "let's see what happens." :)
5. Do you ever wish your experiences of parenthood were different? Why?
Every minute of it has been amazing (and stressful, hard, challenging...). If I could do it all over again, I would not listen more to my own heart/intuition than the words and comments of other so-called experts. After the twins I learned that there is no one perfect parenting style. So, yeah...just wishing I'd listened to myself more in the beginning.
6. What do you think your children will be like as adults/older children?
Well...I hope they will all be happy and healthy. ;)

The twins want to move to New York and design clothing and "do art." I have every confidence in the world that this will happen. They are determined young ladies. My son - not really sure. Maybe he will become a Buddhist monk...or skater dude. ;) The youngest will most like live in the wild woods, wearing long skirts and talking to the trees.

Or they will all live at home until they get a "real job." *giggle*
7. Name three things you wish for your children.
~ Confidence in themselves
~ Health - mental, physical, spiritual
~ The ability to keep hope alive when they feel things are hopeless
8. Which attributes have your children taken from each parent/family member?
Wow - good question.

It is hard for me to say something like, "oh, my son acts just like his father," because the kids have their own personalities. They have been "shaped" by all the people they've encountered in their life. We've tried to teach them about everything they encounter, so it can become part of their life history.
9. Did your experience differ from what you expected? How so?
I never thought being a parent was going to be easy, that's for sure. ;)

When I was pregnant with the twins I had this whole list of things I wasn't going to do as a parent. You know, like saying "I'll get you a candy bar if you stop screaming in the store." Sometimes you have to do what works. While bribery is not a main part of my parenting, there are times when you have to use what is available.

Like I mentioned above, my own inner parent is a good guide. When I stopped listening to her, and started listening to others, it seemed to change my parenting in a very bad way. Just because something looks good on paper (on a website, etc.) doesn't mean it is going to work for your kids...or for you. ;)

What still throws me for a loop is a certain amount of dogma that comes with parenting...and the "we are the abc group who does abc things...and we don't want your xyz group trying to infiltrate our way of thinking...because we are totally right...and you are totally wrong." We are all in this parenting boat together, and even if we don't agree on the "perfect way to parent," I know we all still love our children. ;)
10. Do you want more children?
Yes and no. I'd love to be around more kids, but pregnancy is hard on me. If a baby magically appeared on my doorstep, that would be cool.
---

Nice to be here!

1. How old are you? 21
2. How old is/are your child/children? 5 months
3. Boy/Girl? Boy
4. Did you always want children, and were your children planned? A bit hard to explain. When I was a little girl, I would be carrying around 5 dolls as my children and I would put a basketball under my shirt so that I could be "pregnant". I wanted children for a while. Then in high school, I changed my mind momentarily. I was having too much fun and wanted nothing to do with the idea. Once I graduated, I met an amazing man and he brought back that want for children and longing for a large family. My son, Nathan, was kind of planned. We had an unplanned pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage in 2007 (I had had a previous unplanned pregnancy that ended in miscarriage prior to that in high school, as well.) and we were both really upset about the miscarriage. We decided we'd just let fate take it's course and if it happened again, it happened. 2 weeks short of a year since the miscarriage, I got pregnant again, and had a very healthy and happy pregnancy.
5. Do you ever wish your experiences of parenthood were different? Why? I wish I could have had the vaginal birth that I really wanted. I made it to 8 cm (with no epidural! I am proud of myself for that because I really suck at dealing with pain!) when my son's heartrate dropped dramatically. They couldn't get it to go back up and I had to go in for an emergency c-section under general anesthesia. The cord was wrapped around his neck several times and the lower he went into the birth canal, the tighter the cord got. As for my parenting experiences, absolutely not. I love my son more than I could possibly explain, he has given me so much more than he can ever know and I cherish every single moment with him and would not change anything, no matter what the bargain!
6. What do you think your children will be like as adults/older children? Judging by his current personality, he is going to be very happy and extremely funny.
7. Name three things you wish for your children. First and foremost, I want my son to be himself and be happy and comfortable being himself. I don't ever want him to feel like he has to be a certain way. I want him to be him and that's all. Secondly, I know this is quite cliche, but I want him to dream big and do what he wants to do. Whether it be an Astronaut, Lawyer, Ballerina, Musician -- whatever. I want him to have the confidence to do it and achieve it and know that his parents are behind him 110%. Lastly, I want him to know that no matter what he does and will do in the future, regardless of the circumstances, good or bad, conventional or unconventional, his parents love him more than anything else in all the world.
8. Which attributes have your children taken from each parent/family member? He's an extremely calm baby, he doesn't cry or fuss much at all. He gets that from me. He's also a fantastic sleeper, which he definitely gets from his daddy. He laughs a lot, and he gets that from the both of us. Look-wise, it's really weird. One moment he will be a spitting image of his dad, the next he will be a spitting image of me.
9. Did your experience differ from what you expected? How so? Yes and no. When I was pregnant, I knew I loved my son. But I did not expect to feel this amount of absolutely unconditional, undying love for him. I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined that this is what being a mom would feel like.
10. Do you want more children? Absolutely. We want a minimum of 4, but if financial circumstances are right we'd really like 6.

( Pictures and an awesome video! )

Current Music: Redneck - Lamb of God

1. How old are you? 24

2. How old is/are your child/children? LB is almost 4 months

3. Boy/Girl? Girl

4. Did you always want children, and were your children planned? She's the best thing I never knew I wanted.

5. Do you ever wish your experiences of parenthood were different? Why? I wish we'd had a better birth experience...I planned a homebirth and ended up having a c-section. It was necessary but it made me a more fearful parent.

6. What do you think your children will be like as adults/older children? She'll be very active, and more socially than materially motivated.

7. Name three things you wish for your children. I want her to have a strong personal relationship with God, I want her to be kind, and I want her to be passionate about learning.

8. Which attributes have your children taken from each parent/family member? She has my hair, Daddy's luscious lips, and Gramma's eyes and face  shape.

9. Did your experience differ from what you expected? How so? Breastfeeding isn't really something that can be described.

10. Do you want more children? Yes, but not for another five years. I want a VBAC, and to lower my risk of another round of pre-eclampsia. I'm also not thrilled with the idea of chasing a toddler while pregnant, so I'm on the Mirena.

I'm moving tomorrow and I'm kinda excited about it. This is partially why:

Today my son disappeared with his toy truck. After a moment of silence I called him. He came running back and found interest in Dragon Tales.

Later that day it occurred to me that he had come back without his truck, so I went looking for it. I found it. In the hallway. Apparently he felt the need to go off roading...in the litter box.

*shiver*

I then sanitized him thoroughly. I don't mind dirt and have even found him with bugs in his mouth, but cat poop...yuck.

Don't get me wrong. Cats are the cutest critters ever, but their finicky and poop in box.

No cats where I'm going. Woot.

Current Mood: bouncy

1. How old are you? 23

2. How old is/are your child/children? (for the pregnant, use the number of months/weeks left to go) I'm 15 weeks 3 days pregnant. So I've got 24 weeks 4 days left!

3. Boy/Girl? We will not know until August and I'm just dying to know!

4. Did you always want children, and were your children planned? I've always wanted children, for sure. I used to not be so sure about my fiance but after everything we've been through (2+ years of trying) there's no doubt in my mind. This child was definitely planned.

5. Do you ever wish your experiences of parenthood were different? Why? Not yet.

6. What do you think your children will be like as adults/older children? I anticipate that our child will be a geek/nerd. I really don't think they have much hope to avoid liking video games, movies, and being obsessed with good food. I hope that they will be a good mix between my fiance and I.

7. Name three things you wish for your children. Intelligence, the desire to know everything, and whatever they want for themselves.

8. Which attributes have your children taken from each parent/family member? We'll find out in December!

9. Did your experience differ from what you expected? How so? Infertility was not something I expected to have to battle, not at 23 years old. After getting over that hurdle though, things have gone incredibly well.

10. Do you want more children? It has been a fleeting thought. But we'll see where the future takes us. ;)

Hi! I'm Cynthia and my fiance is Joey. We've been together for 3.5 years. He's my best friend and I couldn't imagine having a child with anyone else. We're big nerds in different ways. He's way into video/computer games. And I'm a huge foodie and addicted to Food Network.
We have two fur babies, our almost 3 year old kittens Zelda and Velma.
We're atheists who live in a super baptist small town in Ohio.
It took us 26 months to get pregnant but got lucky on our first round of Clomid.

I'm sure there's a whole lot more but baby brain is kicking in and I'm getting distracted.
Anything you want to know, feel free to ask. I keep no secrets!

My two and a half year old son absolutely refused to sit on either the regular potty or the training potty. I finally brought the trainer into the living room and introduced it as his "chair." He excitedly sat on it for nearly a whole minute. That was it.
His language skills are still lacking and I've been considering a star chart for him to put stickers on and maybe little quarter machine prizes. (I don't know who let him on that secret, but he knows what they do!)
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions that might work for my reluctant preschooler.
:)

Current Mood: drained

Have actually been lurking for a while...always meant to fill this out...finally actually doing so...

1. How old are you? 35

2. How old is/are your child/children? (for the pregnant, use the number of months/weeks left to go) My son will be five next month.  My daughter is five weeks old.

3. Boy/Girl? One of each.

4. Did you always want children, and were your children planned?   Kind of, sort of.  I always wanted children but I never really tried to get pregnant.  My husband and I just didn't try to prevent it and figured that if it was meant to be, it would happen.  It did.  twice.

5. Do you ever wish your experiences of parenthood were different? Why?   I don't really wish that anything were drastically different.  I suppose that, had I known what was coming, I would have made different decisions about things that take me away from home.  I'm currently pursuing a Master's degree and night classes do mean that I miss a few dinners each week.  It's much more difficult than I had anticipated...being away from the kids for even a few extra hours.

6. What do you think your children will be like as adults/older children?  My son is very much like me.  He won't do anything in public/perform skills for an audience until he can do it perfectly.  So he'll probably be a neurotic nutjob like myself ;)  He's also an incredibly creative, kind and caring boy, so I'm sure he'll be a fabulous and artistic guy, just like his daddy.  It's a little early to tell about our daughter.  So far she's pretty laid back and smiles readily.  She seems like a happy-go-lucky kind of kid, I hope she actually is.

7. Name three things you wish for your children.  good intra- and inter-personal skills, ease within themselves, respect and kindness for others

8. Which attributes have your children taken from each parent/family member? Our son is a perfectionist, skilled with language, and an animal lover-like myself.  He's also musically talented, outgoing, and a soccer fan-like my husband.  My daughter looks exactly like I did, as an infant.   She responds readily and eagerly to speech and music, so perhaps she also received a cobination of our interests...

9. Did your experience differ from what you expected? How so?  I was incredibly nervous and paranoid about doing everything "right," in the beginning.  With some experience, though, I've found that it's our lives, our schedules, which are complicated.  The kids, and this whole parenting thing, really aren't.  Of course, they aren't teenagers yet...hugs and kisses still cure all the boo boos.

10. Do you want more children?  We're done for now.  We'll examine the possibility of fostering/adopting when I finish this degree, but no more bio kids for us. there are some already existing kids who might find us acceptable.

Looking forward to some good discussions. :)

Current Location: mi casa
Current Mood: calm
Current Music: the Husband, watching Heroes on Hulu

My husband and I have been semi-casually trying for a second child (i.e. not using any birth control whatsoever, attempting to track my erratic cycle, and other things) for about 8 months now. Initially we'd hoped that our children wouldn't be too far apart in age, but at things seem to progress it's looking more and more like a possibility.

Since my brothers and I were 5 and 8 years apart, I don't feel that I have hardly any sort of emotional attachment to them. My husband and his brother were Irish twins and have been really close pretty much their entire lives. When we decided to start a family, we wanted it to be a close-knit, supportive, loving one (doesn't everyone?), sort of the opposite of how I grew up.

It's been a topic around our house lately whether children's differences in age can significantly impact their bonds with one another or if it's a mostly an environmental issue.

Any opinions, or experiences?

Current Location: Charleston, SC
Current Music: Jim James and Calexico- Going to Acapulco

Hi, I found this community and hopefully can get some ideas and insites from it. Here is who I am.

1. How old are you? 29

2. How old is/are your child/children? (for the pregnant, use the number of months/weeks left to go) I brought up my Brothers kids who are now 20 and 18 I took over their care when I was 14 and took it on legally when I was 15/16. I am planning on having a child of my own in the future but not in the traditional mum and dad way

3. Boy/Girl? Two Girls (adopted) would like to try for a boy

4. Did you always want children, and were your children planned? I have no clue, I was told at 14 that I could never have then and then had to take on my brothers kids which to tell you the truth hurt but in a recent physical I was told that the chances of me having kids it back to what a normal women my age would be it got me thinking of having them.

5. Do you ever wish your experiences of parenthood were different? Why? Yes, I had kids thrust on me from an early age, they where not mine (something the family kept reminding me) so I felt more like a caretaker then a mother. Internally I feel like I am their mum but externally no one ackowledges that so it's hard

6. What do you think your children will be like as adults/older children? I just hope they have basic repect for their fellow humans

7. Name three things you wish for your children. Love, Belonging and a good job

8. Which attributes have your children taken from each parent/family member? I think that the oldest has taken the seperation to heart and I have watched her withdraw from the family which is sad. The youngest has taken on the work ethic from her grandfather which is good to see.

9. Did your experience differ from what you expected? How so? As a young girl I always thought I would grow up get married and have kids in that order, maybe a dog... but then it all got shoved around and I was growing up while brining up kids which is hard. Now I just can't see marriage in my future so thinking of doing the single mother route

10. Do you want more children? Yes. At the moment the plan is that in 4 years my best friend and i will have a child together. He is gay and would like children, both of our families support up and like the idea, I know that even if he will not be a full time live in dad then he will at the very lest be a always there dad. We have spoken about living together but just depends on where we are in ou life at that time.

So yeah that is me. Thanks for readin

 How do you discipline your children? Do you believe in spanking? What are some things your child/ren has done to warrant disciplining?
How do you handle your anger when your child does something that makes you want to strangle them?

Just curious, thanks!

Hello.

1. How old are you? 28
2. How old is/are your child/children? (for the pregnant, use the number of months/weeks left to go) 28 weeks pregnant, so less than twelve weeks to go.
3. Boy/Girl? Don't know. Don't want to know, for several reasons.
4. Did you always want children, and were your children planned? No and yes. My partner never wanted kids, and I was happy to let the vague "maybe one day" desire I had go. Then we did a really fast u-turn and here we are.
5. Do you ever wish your experiences of parenthood were different? Why? Not yet!
6. What do you think your children will be like as adults/older children? Realistically they'll be a bit like both of us, but hopefully won't pick out our worst bits! They're bound to be a bit odd and not quite fit in, cos we're like that and so are almost all of our family.
7. Name three things you wish for your children. Intelligence, tolerance, a strong sense of self.
8. Which attributes have your children taken from each parent/family member? Ask me at the end of August.
9. Did your experience differ from what you expected? How so? I didn't expect pregnancy to be complicated. I had an all natural minimal medical intervention pregnancy in my head, then they found I had pre-existing diabetes and that went out the window... Hey ho.
10. Do you want more children? No. Well, I'm in the maybe camp but my partner is in the no camp, so no. But we know how that turned out last time...

Hiya everyone! I've been lurking for a bit, but I noticed others are posting intros so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon.

1. How old are you? 29

2. How old is/are your child/children? (for the pregnant, use the number of months/weeks left to go) I have a son named Ian. He is 9. My daughter is Avery and she is 2. And I have an "angel" named Dexter. He was 11 hours old when he died in March.

3. Boy/Girl? Two boys, one girl.

4. Did you always want children, and were your children planned? My first child was a surprise. But my daughter was kind of planned. It was a "not preventing" sort of things. My youngest was a surprise as well. He was our first child together. (My first two are from a previous marriage.)

5. Do you ever wish your experiences of parenthood were different? Why? I wish I would have waited to have children. I had my first child at 19 and I wasn't nearly ready. But I don't think I'd change anything. I definitely wish I would not have had to deal with an infant loss with my little Dexter. I'd give anything to have him here. Also, my daughter has a heart condition and needed surgery. I wish we didn't have to go through that.

6. What do you think your children will be like as adults/older children? I hope they will be creative, kind, ambitious and geeks.

7. Name three things you wish for your children. Confidence, love and to never know pain. I know that one is kind of hard, but it's a wish.

8. Which attributes have your children taken from each parent/family member? Well, my two first kids are geeks like me & their dad. Luckily their step-dad is also a geek so that influence is definitely there.

9. Did your experience differ from what you expected? How so? I actually think it's easier than I was led to believe. It's by no means easy.. but not as dramatically hard as people make you think it's going to be. It's pleasantly surprising.

10. Do you want more children? Yes. My honey & I would like to have one live child together. Since losing Dexter, we are planning to start TTC on Halloween. It's still a struggle to move one from losing a child. We visit his grave as often as we can and are seeking support group help together. But we want to have one with each other.. so we will keep trying.

1. How old are you? I am 32, hubby is 37
2. How old is/are your child/children? (for the pregnant, use the number of months/weeks left to go) At the moment we are going to be TTC...please see my info under cut if you are interested.
3. Boy/Girl? We are hoping to have a little girl
4. Did you always want children, and were your children planned? I was always unsure until a recent unplanned pregnancy and horrible miscarriage that followed:(
5. Do you ever wish your experiences of parenthood were different? Why? NA at this time
6. What do you think your children will be like as adults/older children? I hope my child will be strong, healthy, and unique...
7. Name three things you wish for your children. Health, happiness, and individuality
8. Which attributes have your children taken from each parent/family member? NA at this time
9. Did your experience differ from what you expected? How so? NA
10. Do you want more children? NA
( please read here for a more informative introduction, thank you! )

 1. How old are you? 26

2. How old is/are your child/children? (for the pregnant, use the number of months/weeks left to go) 6 year-old girl, 2 year-old girl, 19 weeks pregnant.

3. Boy/Girl? 2 girls so far...

4. Did you always want children, and were your children planned? I don't think I always wanted children, but my first one was definitely not planned. The second was planned, but we were just hoping to put it off a little longer. 

5. Do you ever wish your experiences of parenthood were different? Why? Never. I love my children, they are both incredible sleepers. They play well, are good natured and pretty calm. 

6. What do you think your children will be like as adults/older children? I don't know but I love watching to find out. I love watching as they grow up every day.

7. Name three things you wish for your children. I want my kids to have self-respect. I wish for my kids to be happy with themselves and the choices they make in their lives. My kids could experience lots of travel.

8. Which attributes have your children taken from each parent/family member? My oldest daughter has my attitude. She's much more like me. My youngest has my husband's attitude and is much more like him.

9. Did your experience differ from what you expected? How so? I never knew what to expect when raising kids so I was (I am) pretty open-minded. It's been a lot harder lately with my oldest because she is literally going through puberty at 6-years-old. She is currently on monthly injections to prevent it from progressing, but it still leaves us dealing with a child experiencing the emotions of a 13 or 14-year-old. It's difficult, but we deal with what we're dealt.

10. Do you want more children? My husband is unyielding and unempathetic and I don't think our relationship could handle me being pregnant again. I wouldn't mind trying for 4, but things would have to change significantly for me to change my mind after this one is born. 

Current Mood: amused

Hello everyone!

1. How old are you? 32

2. How old is/are your child/children? (for the pregnant, use the number of months/weeks left to go) 4 year old boy (2005 April); 10 month old boy (2008 August)

3. Boy/Girl? Both boys

4. Did you always want children, and were your children planned? No, I did not always want children. In fact, I was pretty adamant about not having kids when I was in high school. In college I thought about having kids, but not doing the whole marriage - have kids thing. Then I fell in love with my husband, who I had known since high school, and after a few years of marriage we said hey! let's see what happens, and low and behold, we had our first son. The second was a very pleasant surprise. We're still on the fence about a third.

5. Do you ever wish your experiences of parenthood were different? Why? No, I love being a parent/mommy/partner. Sometimes I wish my kids sleep more (whoever talked about sleeping babies/children and how sleep-begets-sleep have NEVER met my kids), but I wouldn't trade any of the sleepless experiences away.

6. What do you think your children will be like as adults/older children? Hopefully highly driven, loving, empathetic people who love their momma and daddy and the rest of the world. :)

7. Name three things you wish for your children. World peace, always a loving family member to talk to, and happiness

8. Which attributes have your children taken from each parent/family member? My oldest son is this awesome combination of me and my husband. He's an introvert like my husband, but he has my passion when he's full on doing activities and my empathy. He's also my mini-me in the sleep department. My youngest is only 10 months, but adores his older brother and so far just wants to be Just Like Older Brother.

9. Did your experience differ from what you expected? How so? Yes, I was raised in a very strict and abusive household, thus contributing to my whole "I don't want to have kids" mentality when I was younger. I didn't realize parenting didn't need to have so many tears and secrets.

10. Do you want more children? My husband is all for it (he wants three boys), but defers to me since I have to be the pregnant one. I'm not a very good pregnant person, I have had two very stressful pregnancies so we'll see what happens.

( pics of my family here! )

I get the psychology today feed here on LJ and one of the articles today is about a study that shows that, even though you might feel your brain has turned to mush, motherhood (well, parenthood in general in most cases) makes the brain grow because of all the new skills you learn.

Article here

I don't know if the increase in empathy has had any effect for me outside of my own kids (but then I was a lost cause for that anyway!) but I definitely agree with the multi-tasking skills increasing!

Current Mood: amused

My sister lives with me, shes 21 and has a 2 year old little boy who stays with us 4 days a week and with his dad 3 days a week.He has this habit(?) of humping. Hell lay on the floor on his stomach and put his hands down by his pecker and will hump away, and hell do this for a good 10-15 minutes, sometimes hell get up and move somewhere else and do it more. He's started to go near my daughter (who is a year and a half) and will hump near her, and I dont like that one bit. My sister and I keep arguing whether or not this is normal. I dont think it is, I mean some humping of a little boy is Ive heard but hell do this crap like 10 times a day. Anyone know if this is normal or how we should handle reprimanding him?

Current Mood: grossed out