Dear Mr. Rabbit:

The six year old wants to write to the Easter Bunny with his list of...requests? Demands? I wasn't aware that the Easter Bunny took requests. And truthfully, I'm not sure he will, though I have it on good authority that if the boy were to ask for a couple more Magic Treehouse books, he'd be happpy with the result.

So he tells me "Easter Bunny lives in California." Really, now? I did not know that. Furthermore, I do not know how he knows that.



Luckily I have a friend in California who, as it turns out, lives right next to the Easter Bunny. Quite fortuitous, really. She graciously suggested that we mail the letter to her ten year old son who will personally run it over to the rabbit hole and she'd even make sure Mr. Bunny mails a response back. How awesome is that?

At bedtime tonight I told the boys I'd look for the proper address on the computer. I can't wait to see the look on his face when I tell him I found it....you just can't buy that kind of magic.

Monkey Do

This is her first real attempt at a slide - it's been so hot, then rainy, then muddy, then mosquito-ey and then back to hot and so on. I feel bad that we haven't been to the park more than a few times this fall, but the weather is nice now, so we'll definitely start going more often.

An added bonus was that the boys actually asked if they could go to be early. Seriously - you cannot get any better than that - and they were out by the time their heads hit the pillows. Brilliant.

Trick or Treat to Make a Difference

Here's a great charity that everyone can stand behind - UNICEF is holding their annual Trick or Treat for UNICEF fundraising event again this year. Please consider ordering, making, or picking up from Pier 1, Hallmark, and Baskin Robbins stores Halloween-themed Unicef boxes to take Trick-or-Treating this year to fill with change to make a change.

This is a fantastic opportunity to teach even the littlest children that they can help. And it's easy!

The first step is to explain to your children what they will be doing and why it's so important. You may also need to explain that it will not diminish their candy haul even a little. Each child should know that not everyone is as fortunate as they are but that they can make a difference. My boys were upset to learn that some children and even babies don't have enough food to eat, but they were also very excited to learn that they could do something to help.

The money they collect will benefit children all over the world by providing basic necessities like food, water, medicine, and education. UNICEF also provides aid to disaster areas such as the recent earthquake and tsunami victims which your kids may have seen on the news lately.

Every moment of every day, UNICEF is on the ground providing lifesaving help for children in need. We provide families with clean water and sanitation, we vaccinate against childhood illness, and we help protect children against malaria. We provide nourishment to fight malnutrition, and we care for children affected by AIDS. We protect children from abuse, and we give them an education. We are here to make sure that all children lead a healthy, humane, and dignified life.

UNICEF has been helping children for over 60 years and has saved more children’s lives than any other organization in the world. We have the history and the experience to overcome obstacles like politics and poverty—even war—which can stand in the way of helping a child survive. While we could never do it alone, we are often the ones who reach children in need after everyone else has given up.

On Halloween night, or your area's designated trick-or-treat night, just take your Unicef box/canister with you and ask people to contribute and have them explain where the money will go. Seriously, who can resist a tot in costume asking for pennies for charity?

And sending in your collected funds is super easy. Do you live next to a Coinstar machine? You can just dump the change in there and Unicef will receive 100% of it, no postage needed. There are also several easy ways to donate by credit card or the old fashioned way via the post office.

I'd suggest using the Coinstar machine and tossing in the money you otherwise would have paid in postage - every little bit counts!

Oh, and lastly, you can even double your take via a corporate sponsor - check out how here.

And if you don't have a child or don't plan to trick-or-treat, please consider a small donation anyway.

"Practice cancelled due to inclimate weather‏"

I love it! Inclimate weather. I may have to work that into something somehow. Not sure I can do that without sounding like a moron, but still...I like the idea.

It's raining, which makes the lawn happy. And according to the boys it makes the trees happy because they are thirsty. No doubt they are right.

Soccer practice is canceled, which makes me sad because I've paid for it, but happy because I'm flat out exhausted and the idea of spending an hour chasing the baby off a muddy field is an unattractive one at best.

The rain will make my roses happy too. No, not the roses I have in the front flower bed or the roses I have in pots on my front porch, but the three rose plants I have yet to plant....that have been sitting waiting for attention for a long time. Probably the better part of two to three months. Yeah......I know. But after a near-death experience in last month's heat, they seem thrilled to be alive and are flowering madly, encouraged by the relatively cool temperatures we are experiencing and I'm hoping to get to them this weekend.

I've promised to remove the children from the house tomorrow afternoon for several hours to allow Mr. Lawyer to enjoy his game. Fair enough, since he will be taking them to their soccer game at 8:30a.m. and I don't plan to attend. He doesn't actually know this yet, but since I won't make him get up 4900 times tonight and breastfeed the teething baby, I will accept it as his major contribution to parenting for the day.

Any ideas for entertaining 5, 4, and 1.5 for three hours tomorrow? If it's raining, I am considering taking them jeans shopping with me. Doesn't that sound like fun? Jeans shopping with three small, antsy, helpers? Jealous? Oh, yes, I know - you want to come too, doncha? I thought so.

Said teething baby needs attention. NOW. Have a good night.

Simple Ways to Greener School Lunches

I like to buy juice boxes now and then for convenience, but on a regular basis, I try to avoid them. One juice box isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but one juice box per day multiplied by ten months of school (180 days, on average) is quite a pile of non-recyclable trash. Multiplied by the 24 kids in your child's class is over 4300 empty juice boxes in our landfills per class. Add in the wrappers from individually wrapped snacks, yogurt cups, plastic Lunchable containers, plastic baggies, and so on and you've got a massive pile to contend with. If we could reduce that number by even half, that's a huge improvement.

So, what's a busy mom to do?

In lieu of plastic baggies and individually packed snacks such as crackers, cookies, fruit, applesauce, yogurt, and so on, I'd suggest going and buying some reusable containers that are also marked as recyclable, should they break. I like these twisty-lidded ones from Zip-Loc (Target makes a generic version) - you can put liquids in them and they don't leak. Plus, they are easier for a small child to open than the standard pop-top lids. More importantly, they are easier for the small child to put the lid back on, should he or she not finish whatever is in it, so you are less likely to end up with a lunch box full of wet stickiness.


Instead of juice boxes or disposable juice or water bottles, invest in a couple of BPA-free reusable ones.
You can freeze them 1/3 full of water at night and then fill with juice or water so they will be cool for lunch. I've even frozen them with milk inside - by lunch, the milk has thawed, but is still nice and chilly.

And what about those granola bars, and other wrapped snacks? You know, it's not important to me to produce absolutely no garbage. I do buy much less of that type of thing than I used to, but if my child has a wrapped fruit leather bar in with his reusable containers occasionally, I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

That said, if you can buy the product out of the wrapper, then I'd suggest you do so, but sometimes, there is no wrapper-free alternative. One solution, however, is to remove the item from the item, recycle the wrapper at home, and just slip it in one of the reusable lunch containers, next to Junior's sandwich.
One added bonus to going green is that it saves money. Woohoo! After the initial purchases of reusable items, it's vastly cheaper to fill your drink bottles with filtered tap water, milk from a gallon jug, or juice from a 64oz container than it is to buy little individual drinks. Similarly, you get so many more snacks for your money - the giant bottle of applesauce, the 32oz container of yogurt, and the huge bag of pretzels contain many more servings than the individual sized versions. If you have more than one child, then multiply those savings and it really adds up.

Another plus is that it's a fantastic lesson to teach your children - the earth is ours to take care of and this is how we do our part. We talk about being kind to our planet, but this is a good way to show them how we accomplish that goal - something tangible. It's a simple lesson, but an important one, regardless of your politics.

If you have any product recommendations or other ideas, please feel free to comment below.

P.S. Here's some great school lunch ideas from Family Fun.

Trying Not to Raise Material Girls (and Boys)

We may be living in a material world, but that doesn't mean we can't instill values that counteract the constant advertising bombarding our children, the lure of "stuff" that they see in the store or covet over a friend's house, and even the natural tendency of most small children to be at least a little selfish by nature. When you add in the young child's lack of understanding of the real value of money and the current state of the economy, their budding materialism can be plenty frustrating to deal with, especially around birthdays, holidays, and back-to-school.

So here's some ideas aimed at the preschool and younger elementary set to help you avoid raising a Material Child.

Limit Exposure to Marketing Aimed at Kids. Whether that is via television or websites aimed at children, or attractive packaging at the store, children are big business. Huge business, actually. I rarely allow The Disney Channel or Nickelodeon due to their ad-heavy programs, but PBS or Sprout or Noggin are relatively safe in this regard. And for older kids, if you have a DVR, there's no reason not to teach them how to use it to zip through the commercials. As for the grocery store, even a 4 year old child can understand that they put junky sugary cereal low so kids will want it and the healthy stuff up high. The same goes, of course, for the candy and toys in the check-out lane. Children can actually understand marketing once it's shown to them and I think we have a duty to point out the advertiser's sneaky tricks to them.

Praise Their Efforts to Share. And praise other kids who share and assist others, even if your kid isn't feeling so generous. Seemingly small things, like letting a sibling borrow her special lovey when he hurt himself are actually huge steps. And even sharing a toy they didn't want to play with to begin with is a good first step for the younger toddler.

Suggest Borrowing. Do you really need 2 of everything if you have two children? My boys (4 and 5) ask to borrow items from the other. The borrower then states the length of time the item may be borrowed, which is usually a ridiculous amount, like "thirnteen days." And so a contract is formed. They learned this on their own, possibly from going to the library so often, but it works for them. Perhaps in your house there is a limit of items that may be borrowed - say 3 at any given time? And a standard time, such as 24 hours. Whatever works for your family. I would suggest you let the kids decide on the details, though - it does wonders for compliance.

Be a Role Model. If you spend too much time shopping for wants rather than needs, or trolling the internet for your next designer shoe purchase, try to curb that behavior, especially in front of Junior. I think we are all guilty of that at times, but the key is to minimize glorifying it around the children. How many jokes/cliches are there about "Shopping" or "retail therapy" which, when examined, paint a pretty shallow picture of our culture? I don't want that in my home - it's not good for ANY of us.

Just Say No. Does your kid need it or just want it? Does he already have something just like it? Is he pitching a fit for it? Has he gotten other treats recently? Would he accept buying it as a gift for the next birthday party he attends? Or better yet, would he like to buy it for a child who has no toys or a sick friend? Would he prefer a trip to the playground or picking what's for dinner instead of that toy? Kids don't need a new trinket each time they go to the store. They may not believe us, but it's true - and importantly, they should not expect a treat each time they go to a store, even if they are well-behaved. A compromise is to buy a treat only on some trips out and only if they do not ask for one.

Reuse, Repurpose, Reinvent, Re-do. Extol the virtues of being green and wearing those perfectly nice hand-me-downs or last year's backpack for the sake of the environment. Explain that it doesn't have to be brand new to be nice - and sometimes old things (antiques) are even more valuable than the new ones. Most children are aware of recycling and the good it does for our planet; build on that idea. Take it further and explain that it's not just plastic bottles that we need to worry about, but all consumer items. Buying from a thrift store can not only be fun, but you get more loot for your money. If she compromises and agrees to re-using last year's lunch kit (or big sister's old one), then maybe you can refurbish it and put a special ribbon on it to make it special.

Teach About Budgets and Spending. Every child past the age of eating coins should have a piggy bank. Kids now see mom whip out a plastic card and take home bags of loot - they don't understand that mom is paying with actual money. Have them earn money at home by helping out and then take them to spend it to get a better idea of how much work it takes to buy one Hotwheels Car or a pack of M&Ms.

Talk to them about Saving. Teach about saving their money money longterm. For every dollar they earn, encourage them to save a portion for something big. And take them to open a bank account or other savings device that you can make deposits in a few times a year - consider letting them add to their own college fund or investing in a mutual fund once they are old enoug to understand the concept.

Make Things. OK, no one wants to show up at a birthday with a purple PlayDoh "snake" as their offering, but there's no reason your child can't make the card. That saves between $1 and $4. Multiplied by 12 or so parties a year...well, a child can understand that's quite a sum. A sum better spent on groceries and bills or saved for an important purchase. The same goes for teacher's gifts, babysitter's gifts, Father's and Mother's Day, grandparent's gifts - your child can make the card as well as (help make) the gift - perhaps a beautiful loaf of homemade banana bread or any of a number of lovely items - a quick google search for "homemade gifts" turns up dozens of fantastic links.

Talk to them About Charitable Giving. Along with saving their money, encourage them to share with people who need it. Even toddlers can put money in the Salvation Army holiday buckets and know they are buying things for people who don't have enough money for food and other necessities. I'd encourage you to pick a charity that they can see the good being done firsthand. Giving to church, for example, may be important to your family (even if it does good works), but it's quite abstract for a child to really comprehend where the money is going. Consider something more basic, like a food bank, animal shelter, or children's hospital. And instead of giving just money, many groups have wish lists on the internet - a child who takes their own money to buy dog food for abandoned dogs and then takes it to the shelter herself, will see the fruit of her actions. Similarly, delivering a box of box to a children's hospital is really something that a child can fully process. And it's fun too, as well as a good reminder for the rest of the family to be grateful for what you do have.

Sad Day

Today we had to put our five year old girl tortoiseshell cat down. She was in liver failure caused by precisely what, we don't know. She may have had an intestinal blockage or or could have been liver cancer or any number of other things. We took her to the vet several times and they couldn't give us a clear diagnosis without spending more than we have to spend on a kitty - even a well-loved kitty.

She had been losing weight since December and despite several courses of drugs had become very unhappy in the last week or so and it was apparent to Mr. Lawyer and I that the benefit of prolonging her life was outweighed by the ethical duty to let her go with dignity when when was past the point that recovery was likely or even possible. Cats don't show pain - I think it must be a survival technique. But she had become extremely withdrawn over the last week and we had resorted to syringe feeding and watering her, which she couldn't keep down.

So the kids... The kids are at that age where death is still rather abstract. After much thought, I told them after preschool that I had taken her to the vet and that she was so very very very old and very very very sick that Mommy and the Doctor tried to fix her, but she died at the Vet's office. The 5 year old took it pretty hard. And then he asked if she was just bones now, like dinosaurs. The 3 year old wanted to know what happened to the body. Because I'm a big chicken, I told them I didn't know and that we could call the vet and ask next week. I'm hoping they forget by next week.

She was as old as my 5 year old, which is not old at all for a cat. Actually, she was probably born right around when I became pregnant with him. We got her in October 2003, right before his birth. She was starving, pregnant, miscarrying due to a severe infection, had intestinal parasites, and ringworm. Per the vet, she would not have lived but a few more days had we not taken her in. She not only recovered from all that but went on to become the fattest smooshiest kitty I've ever had. She had a good, extremely spoiled life here - that much I know.

R.I.P Nutmeg

Why Don't Mommies Get Sick Days?

I'm going on strike.

Babybeast is Nine Months Old

Technically she has been nine months for a few days, but she had her "well baby" visit today, which typically consists of several needle jabs and a very sad mommy.

I requested that we put off her vaccines since she has been ill and the pediatrician didn't blink, which I appreciate. I also asked to have her allergy tested via blood testing since we had to endure the bloodletting anyway for the lead test. One of her brothers is extremely peanut-allergic and reacts to several other things as well. He tested positive around nine months, so if she has it, she almost certainly will too. Hopefully she will be like her oldest brother and at worst be plagued with seasonal pollen allergies - they will make you miserable, but they won't kill you.

Oh and this will come as no surprise to anyone who has seen her, but at 24.5 lbs she's at the 99.7th percentile of fatness for baby girls, or as plotted in a scientific manner, well off The Chart. Unfortunately, she's only at the 75th percentile in height. Which means, as my pediatrician kindly pointed out, that, "she doesn't miss a meal, eh?" No, no she doesn't.

The second boy was 27lbs by nine months, though, and he's pretty skinny now and the oldest was 26 pounds and change and he's very tall yet proportionate, so I have hope that Ms. Chubbywumpus, who is actually more active than either boy ever was, will thin out with time. I'll have to post a photo soon to mark nine months - maybe tomorrow if she seems agreeable to posing.

Hooray to me for surviving nine months (and counting) of being a mommy to three!

1....2....3....Damnit!

Overheard today. Yes, my little angels.

It's a new game they have invented. I'm not sure exactly what it entails, but it seems to involve yelling 1....2....3....Damnit! And then.....something? I can't see - they are in the next room. Running around, perhaps?

Hmmm.....sounds like some vocabulary editing is required on my part.

I may have to catch this on video for posterity. If I can stop giggling.

I know, you shoudn't laugh at that but damnit, it's funny.

Sickness

Well it's been a fabulous week here at Chez Lawyer. I mentioned before that the baby had a fever and was a tad cranky. She still had the fever and we had a rough night in Friday. A really rough night. But that's all. No runny nose. No cough. No wheezing. No ear pulling. No vomiting. No nasty poos. No nothing. Just the fever which was getting progressively worse.

I took her in on Saturday and the poor thing endured a battery of tests, most of which were painful or annoying.

Diagnosis? Pneumonia.

WTF?

I'm pretty low key about illnesses - I typically let them get over it on their own before resorting to the pediatrician who is not unlikely to prescribe antibiotics. I know that many doctors continue to prescribe antibiotics for things like bronchitis, which is no longer indicated. My mother's doctor gives out antibiotics like candy. He's a human pez dispenser. Nevermind that most of her problems stem from allergies; apparently antibiotics are the key to wellness. Wrong.

Taking antibiotics for colds and other viral illnesses not only won't work, but also has a dangerous side effect: over time, this practice helps create bacteria that have become more of a challenge to kill. Frequent and inappropriate use of antibiotics selects for strains of bacteria that can resist treatment. This is called bacterial resistance. These resistant bacteria require higher doses of medicine or stronger antibiotics to treat. Doctors have even found bacteria that are resistant to some of the most powerful antibiotics available today.

Antibiotic resistance is a widespread problem, and one that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls "one of the world's most pressing public health problems." Bacteria that were once highly responsive to antibiotics have become increasingly resistant.

Well that's scary, eh? So I'm hesitant to run to the pediatrician. Not only that, but it seems that every time I take healthy children there, they become sick within a few days. Coincidence? I think not. That place is a festering germ pool as far as I'm concerned and the less time we spend there, the better. And I like our pediatrician, truly I do. I have no complaints at all - it's not their fault that sick germy kids flock to their place of business, is it? Well, it is kind of, but it's to be expected when your business is sick germy kids.

So the baby had pneumonia. She had run a low grade fever for a few days and then Friday night it spiked up to just under 104 and stayed there all night and through the next night. After a desperately sleepless night, we thought it best to have her checked out.

The pediatrician we saw said her lungs seemed "clear" and that he'd take an Xray, just to be sure. Her ears were fine, so everyone thought it might be a bladder infection, there being no other visible or obvious symptoms. And they tested for that too. And she had a good wee all over the nurse as punishment for the catheter, proving that she wasn't even close to being dehydrated. And we all were quite shocked when the Xray image of her lungs came back cloudy and most certainly not clear.

Saturday night was rough too and I thought we might need to make a trip to the ER when her temperature climbed over 104, but after a cool bath during which she was bribed to sit still with all sorts of things she's not normally permitted, we were able to keep it under control.

And she's fine today, if a bit tired. She only woke once last night which was fabulous. Beyond fabulous, actually. And I'm beyond grateful - we both needed our sleep. A few more nights like that and we'll be back in fighting condition.

Guess Who Slept All Night?

In her very own bed in her very own room?

We had a difficult period getting her down due to the cold, but she slept from about 10:00pm until almost 5:00am which is nothing short of a miracle. She was woken by the elder Beastling at 6:00am but she went back to bed until 8:57.

She then had almost a three hour nap today.

I'm not sure if it's due to her being sick or not, but this is working for me.

Speaking of sleeping, here is the 3 year old plum tuckered out yesterday. He must have slept like that for an hour and a half. I should have moved him to his comfy bed, but something of a quasi-scientific interest in his position compelled me otherwise.

Sleeps Like A Baby

If "sleeps like a baby" means getting up every hour on the hour, wailing at the top of her lungs, farting, and then demanding food, then yes, she does.

The Dreaded Lurgy

Alas, we are infected with it. I know you Americans are confused and horrified - "oh dear, that sounds bad, doesn't it?" I grew up with this phrase - my brother knows what I'm talking about, "Not The Lurgy (shudder with mock horror!)" Yes, well we have it. But I think we'll make it. Luckily we are armed with Robitussin, orange juice, PBS Kids On Demand, and a pizza delivery joint just down the street.

Down with The Lurgy!

We will survive.

Sleep, optional

Memo to Babybeast:

I should preface this by thanking you for sleeping from nine yesterday evening until almost eleven. That's almost two hours straight; please don't think I didn't notice or appreciate your obvious efforts. I'd like to discuss the events which occurred shortly thereafter, however, as they are of some concern.

Firstly, after eating a nice big meal at both 8:30 and 9:00pm, I'm really not so sure you need to eat at 11:00, 11:45, 1:30, 2:30, 3:15, and 3:40. After all, and please don't take this the wrong way, but you are not in any danger of wasting away to nothing. And then when you woke up around 5:00 and I dragged you into the bed (against my better judgment, but really, who has good judgment at 5:am?) I'm afraid I did not explain clearly enough that my near proximity alone is not the same as an all you can eat as long as you can eat buffet. Please curtail your eating needs to two post-bedtime meals per night, effective immediately.

Further, and I hate to take your fun away, but gleefully scaling both your father and I at 7:00am while screeching cheerful baby screeches and poking at our eyeballs is just not going to work for me. I've spoken to your father and he is in agreement on this one. Cheerful baby screeches are acceptable, but not when accompanied by eyeball clawing. Thank you for your understanding.

In short, I think if you follow these guidelines, you will find that I am more more pleasant to be around during the day which only serves to benefit your experience as an infant. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,

The Mommy
xxx

Witness my Cheapitude

Being a stay at home parent has its downsides. Namely, I am paid primarily in freeflowing hugs and slobbery kisses. Unfortunately, those things aren't recognized as legal tender in this state, so I've had to become quite resourceful to avoid spending unnecessarily.

Today I used some $5 off a $5 purchase coupons that I got for signing up my email address at Kohls combined with some serious clearance deals there and at Target and got the following:

6' Christmas Tree (originally $24.99)
Package of 44 small red and silver shatterproof ornaments (originally $9.99)
Two Play Doh Playsets (originally $9.99 each)
Two 4-packs of Play Doh (originally $4.99 each)
Two Playskool bath toys sets (originally $5.99 each)
One organic cotton 4T girl's Pajama set (originally $26.00)

Total Original Price = $111.41

My price: $8.78

I'll use the ornaments and tree for the kids' tree next year since we had an unfortunate, um, incident, with their current one and it's no longer useable.

The Play Doh playsets and Play Doh 4-packs will be from the Easter Bunny.

The bath toys are for the baby, but have already been "tested" out by the boys.

And the PJ set is for the girl once she gets a bit bigger - she's in 2T now, and this runs small, so maybe next winter....maybe from Santa....hmm.

It's official. I'm a cheapskate. And you know what? I'm OK with that.