A Mom's Life

Hip and Useful School Supplies for MOMS…as seen on CBS 2

Meredith Sinclair — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:50:00 GMT

If you’re a mom, the sight of late August on your monthly calendar means one thing…time to stock up on multi-colored folders, new school shoes, and a fresh supply of number 2 pencils.

But moms everywhere also need a few essential back to school supplies too. I recently visited CBS 2 Chicago to share some fantastic finds to make back to school a little more productive and fun. You can check out my segment by clicking on the related billboard on the Chicago Parent home page.

In the meantime, here’s where to find all the goods I shared:

1. Those fabulous Timbuk2 messenger bags can be found at Uncle Dan’s Camping and Outdoor stores throughout Chicagoland. Or you can check Timbuk2.com to see their full range of products, or to design a bag yourself.

2. The hip and comfy back to school shoes I showed can be found at Ugg.com, or Target.com. With these two picks it’s simple to be chic and comfortable walking that carpool runway.

3. The mommy business cards I featured can be ordered at Papercreations.net. Or you can visit their store in Orland Park.

4. The Mom Agenda AllInOne Folio and desktop organizer is available at MomAgenda.com. They also have the coolest field trip, grocery, babysitter, and Honey-Do lists on their site.

5. To make your own Carpool Survival Kit like the one I showed, simply snag a soft shower caddy (I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond), and fill it with stuff to make your time in the car a little more fun. I filled mine with things like my favorite music CDs, a bit of dark chocolate, a mini manicure kit, a reusable water bottle, some small books of poetry and short stories, a journal, a coffee shop gift card, some yummy hand lotion, and a great pen.

Don't delay, you deserve a little back to school swag too! Hope this inspires you to take a moment to prepare yourself, right along with your kids for back-to-school.

Best!

Meredith

The Calm Before the Back-to School Storm

Meredith Sinclair — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:09:00 GMT

Yesterday I spent a few hours hanging out at Old Orchard with my boys. This outside shopping center is a lovely place where my little ninjas can’t do too much damage as they karate kick their way from store to store.

We had lunch at their favorite burger joint, ran around on the snake-like play area, and just enjoyed the unscheduled nirvana of a sunny summer afternoon.

Then, as we walked into a children’s clothing store, everything abruptly changed. We were truly stopped dead in our flip flops.

The three of us were suddenly bombarded big time by the bold cardboard signs of another school year fast approaching.

It oddly felt like fall thanks to the kicked up air conditioning and we found ourselves seriously contemplating the cozy blue and green Rugby shirts and puffy vests, the army green lunchboxes standing at attention, and the shiny new leather shoes lined up two by two.

Truman quickly reminded me that he “DID need a new lunch box ya know. I mean the primary colored Teen Titan one would never do for 1st grade! It’s so pre-school.”

And Maxwell, my long-pant loving child, was mesmorized by the wall O’ jeans.

He’s only ten but now has to make important decisions about his denim styling. It was laughable to watch my little dude who will wear the same thing 3 1/2 days in a row, staring at the sea of blue, trying to choose between boot cut, mud washed, carpenter, and classic fit. He dug the mud washed look but ended up picking the classic cut after I explained that all boys’ jeans end up mud washed in the end so it’s really like getting two for one.

(When I as 10, I got wranglers, and they came in one style…cheap.)

Anyway, last night after that summer buzz kill I lay in bed until 2 AM with double tied knots in my stomach and a carpool lane sized list of stuff to do before that first bell rings.

And now I’m wondering…are you guys as wigged out by the fact that school and all of it’s over-scheduled grandeur is a mere three weeks away? Lie to me if you’re not.

Here I sit in my favorite coffee shop gulping a “calming” green tea, making my long and short term lists, (so that I can sleep tonight), and unwrapping my new ‘08 August-June organizer.

So tell me all you super moms, (and dads)…how are YOU planning to keep yourself mentally and emotionally stable this school year?

Please, oh please, share your tricks for holding it all together from September thru June. Your little piece of advice just might be used in our next CBS 2 morning show segment! Come on…give it up for the rest of us stress-ball moms!

I’m not sure how much green tea I can drink.

Want to know where to find the cool beach gear from my CBS 2 Chicago segment this morning?

Meredith Sinclair — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:23:00 GMT

This morning I visited CBS 2 Chicago to share some fun and nifty things moms should consider popping into their beach bags this summer. Although it feels like monsoon season outside here in Chi-town today, tomorrow (or 5 minutes from now) it could turn into a scorcher. So here is the list of the things I shared and where to find them for yourself. If you want to see the segment, look for the rotating billboard on the Chicago Parent home page.

1. The L.L. Bean Boat Tote. These bags are big and sturdy and have a lifetime guarantee. Plus they come in pretty colors, a multitude of sizes and can be personalized with you family’s name. I’m ordering one that says “Beach Mum” on it. They’re a no-brainer for your beach gear. Order them online at L.L.bean.com

2. The Neat Sheet. Like I said this morning, big heavy beach blankets are out. Light-weight, water and sand resistant beach sheets are in. They're also great for Ravinnia or those long little league games. Find them at neatsheet.com, or at your local CVS, Walgreens, or big box kind of stores.

3. The Sigg Bottle. You’ll never do plastic again. These water bottles are tough aluminum on the outside, top-secret, super safe liner on the inside. They won’t leach bad ugly chemicals into your water, and they come in 144 of the coolest patterns you’ve ever seen. Find these bottles at Siggusa.com, or at sporting good stores.

4. The Powder Pouch. These cute little pouches are filled with talc and when rubbed across your kid’s sand-laden body parts, the sand falls away. Sounds too good to be true I know. But trust me, it’s all good. You can order these at powderpouch.com

5. Aqua sphere water goggles. What do we loath most about our kids' goggles? The adjustment process for sure. These goggles are super strong, give 100% UV protection and allow for 180 degree visibility. But the best part is that adjusting them is a breeze. You just push in two little buttons on the side and slide the band back and forth. I could kiss the creator of these.

6. The safe-kid kit. This you make yourself by filling a re-sealable plastic bag with stuff to keep your kiddos safe at the beach or pool. Include any brand of continuous spray sunscreen,(it’s the easiest to apply), a mini first aid kit, handi-wipes, and the Bug Band. Bug Bands are like flea collars for your kids, but hey fit around their wrists or ankles, not their necks. You can find them at Walgreens or bugband.net.

Now you are all set for fun times at the lakefront or community pool. Happy summer!

Turn off the flipping lights!! or How one movie convinced my kids to reduce their carbon footprints

Meredith Sinclair — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:10:00 GMT

I recall all too well the fervent admonitions of my mother regarding the use of electricity and water in our house. Her sarcastic inflection, furrowed brow and exasperated hand gestures as she forcefully flipped off all the light switches while jaunting from room to room. And I remember rolling my teenaged eyes and wondering what the big deal was…"jeez old people are crazy" I thought.

But like all of life’s sweet ironies, I am now the hand waving, twisted faced, snarky little light Nazi.

My eldest son Max is convinced that he must have all 4 of the lights in his bedroom turned on to get dressed in the morning. He has a bathroom off of his bedroom too, so add two more energy-sucking flip switches onto that. And he rarely remembers to turn them all off. And Truman, well, Truman can't remember to put on underwear sometimes.

As I walk through our house I can literally see the George Washingtons bursting into flames from all that incandescent heat. Dollar by dollar, each month we are reminded of our wasteful ways.

And don’t even get me started on the length of our showers and depths of our baths.

My boys are sufficiently tired of hearing my doctoral dissertation on how we are not only hurting our bank account but the world at large every time we needlessly turn stuff on, without turning it off. But the fact is they don’t really care about our bank account. They don’t. And discussions of polar icecaps and global warming is about as real to them as a Harry Potter movie…kinda scary and intriguing but rather fantastical and over produced.

That was until we rented the movie Arctic Tale two days ago. During this hour and a half film my kids had an environmental Ah Ha moment.

They sat there transfixed by the life stories of a polar bear cub and a walrus pup living at the top of the world, as their frozen foundation begins to melt underneath them. The same people that brought us March of the Penguins produced it, and it is just as beautiful and inspiring. And just as worrysome. At the end of the film, children appear on the screen giving easy tips for reducing ones carbon footprint and thus helping to protect our artic friends.

As soon as the movie was over my boys were full of questions about how all this melting was occurring, and more importantly what we were going to do about it. We spent the rest of that evening lighting candles and using flashlights, and talking about how we can make better choices for the world, and those cute little polar critters. Truman suggested we spend one night a week by candlelight, and Max (our shower hog), promised to be a speedier scrubber, and pick one light by which to get ready in the morning.

I’m now through with my rants and speeches about lights and showers. From now on I’m going straight for their animal loving heartstrings. I’m thinking of buying that movie to show from time to time, and posting pictures of cute little polar bear cubs by every light switch in the house. Oh and Max now has a shower clock.

If you too are looking for a way to get your kids to help reduce your family’s carbon footprint, give Arctic Tale a try. If nothing else it’s a fabulous family movie night selection.

I Have Camp Envy

Meredith Sinclair — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:48:00 GMT

I want to go to rock band camp too. Or maybe circus camp or musical theatre camp. (I’ve always thought I’d make a lovely Maria von Trapp.)

With summer in its second week and camps in full swing I am growing more and more envious of the summer adventures available to our offspring these days. Maxwell my ten year old has spent the past week immersed in the school of rock.

They’ve learned the proper spellings of all the major rock bands, memorized some mandatory rock trivia, formed individual bands, practiced their chosen pieces, composed one of their own, and recorded a music video. And tonight it culminates with a concert where all of the bands will perform.

Man, where was rock band camp when I was young? I clearly have a little case of camp envy.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if after we sent our kids off to camp for the day or put them to sleep at night we could scurry off to Mom Camp? A place where we could let our inner eight-year-old burst out of us and run free? A place we could forego embarrassment and self-conscientiousness and be downright daring with ourselves?

I think it’s so vitally important for us as mothers to unleash our creative yearnings and find ways to grow ourselves as we grow our kids. But more often than not, we just don’t’ make it a priority.

Well I say summer break is the ideal time to smash out of our day-to-day kid-centered grind and have a little camp time of our own. Moms need a little kumbaya and arts and crafts from time to time too.

So let’s go Super Mamas! Gather some girlfriends, put your man in charge of the kids for the evening or a weekend morning, or chip in for a sitter for a couple of hours and plan some Camp Mom activities.

Maybe it’s Guitar Hero 101, or a wine class with a sommelier from the local wine shop, or Tricks on the Trampoline (who said that big bouncy thing in the backyard was just for the kids?), or scooter races and freeze tag. I’m not kidding…can you imagine a game of freeze tag with the moms in the hood? Be creative, have fun, tell us all about it.

Comment on this blog and reveal how you and your home-girls will take back camp this summer. What are YOUR camp fantasies?

Clean up your act! Enter here to win some eco-friendly cleaning supplies for your family.

Meredith Sinclair — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:53:00 GMT

This is your last chance to rally your troops and do some spring cleaning!

The official first day of summer (June 21st) is fast approaching. So use the extra muscle you have with your kiddos home on summer break to spruce up your abode for those backyard barbeques, unexpected houseguests and all those kid sleepovers.

I recently visited CBS 2 Chicago to share five fun and easy ways to get your kids into the spring-cleaning spirit.

To see the full segment just click on the spring cleaning billboard on Chicago Parent's home page. It rotates, so just wait for it to pop up.

After watching the segment, come back and share one way you get your kids to help you clean up your domestic messiness. Your comment automatically enters you to win a batch of really cool cleaning supplies featured on the segment.

The winner will be chosen on June 21st.

So go now to the home page and check out our TV segment on spring cleaning with your kids!

The puppy express is headed for my house!

Meredith Sinclair — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:18:00 GMT

I said I would never get a dog. "I've cleaned up enough poop to last me a lifetime" was my mantra. And I kinda like my shoe collection without chew marks thank you very much. Nope, we're just not "dog people".

And then we met Roxy.

Truman and I decided this past Monday (yep, three days ago), to saunter into the local pet store to "look" at the puppies.

Tru has been playing fetch with the neighbor's dog lately, and has become very vocal about his desires for a little furry pal. We went to just SEE the dogs and say hello. I know, I know, silly silly woman.

Amongst all of the very expensive little purebreds in the place, there sat two sweet-faced mutts who had been placed on the North Shore as a sort of foster home until they could be adopted.

Man, it must suck to be the rejected dogs hanging out with all those fru fru puppies. To be the kid from the wrong side of town, with a mixed up mom and dad, sitting next to all those rich kids with the right pedigrees.

But, instead of being bitter, there was something very endearing about them. And one of them in particular caught our attention right away. Roxy was sitting there with her beautiful corgi-mix face, ears perked up, very intentionally watching us, watching her.

With a knowing deep in my soul that I was probably going to regret this, I asked to hold her.

Now, tonight at 5:00pm, Roxy will be ours.

I've been through the adoption application process, the interview, my references have been called, and my boys are going to be surprised tonight when we go back to "see" her, and I tell them we are actually taking her home.

What have I done?

I have a feeling this little fur ball will either be the bane of my exsistence, or the new little buddy I hang with throughout the day and love, love, love. Or maybe both.

So, PLEASE, give me some first time dog owner advice!!

How do I help this puppy become a wonderful part of my already busy family?

Random Mom Thought of the Day....

Meredith Sinclair — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:51:00 GMT

I am now clinically addicted to Mini Nilla Wafers.

Not big Nilla Wafers and not Vanilla Wafers, only Mini Nilla Wafers. Somehow it matters that they're smaller.

It is the one kid treat that knows my name and sings it longingly, like a snack Siren sitting on the edge of the little plastic bowls in my boys' hands.

I don't like Goldfish or Ritz Bits, and you can keep your Oreos and Ding Dongs.

But those Mini Nilla Wafers may require a stint in mommy rehab.

Have a "Random Mom Thought of the Day", or a kid snack that you buy more for YOU than them?

Please share!

Leaving a comment is easy...just register on the home page, and comment away.

Okay, I'm off to carpool, (with my baggie of snacks...shhhhhh).

Media-Free For The Kids AND Me?

Meredith Sinclair — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:56:00 GMT

I’ve been reading the book "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle, going to yoga more regularly, and posting reminders around the house to stay a bit more present and centered and in touch with myself and my family. So last week while in the tub, where I get all of my best ideas; I had an “ah ha” moment. Or maybe this one was more of an “ah…maybe” moment.

I was meditating on how much my kids have begun to obsess about the media in their lives. They LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to play on the computer, and to battle it out on the Wii, and to watch Saturday morning cartoons together on the couch. It’s not like it’s out of control and to be honest, these are times that my boys always get along, work together and are happily entertained.

I think of myself as a media-moderate kind of mom. I have never banned the box or made screen time a forbidden fruit. But I definitely have time limits for all things electrical, and my boys are pretty agreeable when it comes time to power down. They usually get twenty to thirty minutes of computer time, but not everyday, and we generally reserve TV for the weekends.

My husband is a TV producer, and we both firmly believe that kids need to be taught how to manage and evaluate media in their lives, not be kept from it entirely. We talk about the commercials they see and the content of what they watch.

That being said, my little idea in the tub was to completely remove media from our lives for the upcoming summer break. I’m talking no TV, and no computer games. These happen to be the two main time-suckers for our kids. I have decided to allow a movie a week, as this is usually a family activity and we still have to justify the home theater we installed in the basement.

I guess I’m just curious to see how this might change our family’s concentrated time together this summer.

In many ways, summertime is a much easier time to conduct this little experiment, with a lot more of our time being spent outside. But I also know how easy it is to rely on the various screens in the house to mindlessly entertain the troops at day’s end. I am also thinking of waiting until summer because I am going to need some time to prepare. I know full well that when push comes to shove, and the little dudes are tired and bored, there will be moments of weakness. And I will need to have my kid-entertainment quiver filled with creative, media-free activity arrows.

So I’m starting now.

Throughout the next months, I’ll be blogging about my journey to the great beyond. I’ll let you know as I go how it’s all unfolding or unraveling.

Wish me luck girls…Mama’s gonna need it.

Oh, and yes I’ll be following the rules too, replacing “The Soup on E!” and “Keeping up with the Kardashians”, with the tower of dust laden books on my night stand, and the un-opened scrabble game from three years ago.

Hurry Up and Enjoy The Moment!

Meredith Sinclair — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:10:00 GMT

I finally got my thirty-something thighs out of bed before my husband went off to work for a little sunrise Yoga. I always love my Vinyasa flow yoga class because it’s a beautiful blend of killer all-over workout, and deep mental and physical relaxation. A real Yin/Yang boot-camp for your body and soul.

At the very end of each class there’s a lovely little thing called Savasana. It’s a time of meditation, centering and closure. Everyone lies down on their backs; legs spread, arms down, palms up, eyes closed.

The teacher then leads the group in a time of quiet relaxation.

It was my first time in this particular class, lead by a wispy German woman with cropped grey hair and a firm but nurturing voice. She worked us hard for over an hour, roaming the class making sure none of us were slacking off, and that all of the down dogs were in proper alignment.

As we neared the end of class, she announced that it was time for our reward. It was time to start Savasana.

Before our teacher had fully unraveled herself from her headstand, I was on my back, spread eagle, eye pillow in place, doing my best deep breathing. I was poised for what I knew would be the only piece of peace for the day.

Just as I was feeling like a wet noodle, I noticed something I had never experienced in a yoga class before.

Little by little the people around me started packing up, rolling their mats, putting back their blocks, and slipping on their shoes. Leaving early from yoga class? Sacrilage.

I was trying hard to listen to our leader’s commands to inhale/exhale and go to a quiet place, but all the commotion was deeply distracting.

I laid there just thinking about what a shame it was that these folks weren’t going to reap the benefits of ending the class in the calm, settled state I was striving to achieve. What’s another ten minutes? They apparently really needed to get out of there and on to their next activities.

So, I’ve been thinking...

Why are we always in such a gosh darn hurry? How do we as moms prevent ourselves from simply going through our days focused on checking off the things on our over-flowing to-do lists as fast as possible?

I know with my own two boys, we start rolling around 6:30 am, and it’s pretty non-stop till they plop into bed at 8:30 pm. More and more I have started to examine the necessity for that unstructured, stop and smell the roses kind of time. But how does one make time for downtime?

Where do we cut back? What do we let go?

How do we enjoy strolling through life a little, guilt free, when all around us there are shouts of “run, run, run…faster, faster!”

A friend of mine recently e-mailed me an article written by Anna Quindlen, a favorite writer of mine, where she speaks about the true lessons of motherhood.

In it she says that one of her regrets is that when her children were small, she wishes she had enjoyed the “doing” of things with her kids a little more, and the “getting it done” a little less.

I’ve decided to post her insight on my fridge, in the hopes of making it one of my new mommy mantras. Or maybe I’ll just add it to my “to-do” list.

How do YOU make time to enjoy the “doing” of life, more than the “getting it done"?

A Bedwetting Drug?? You have got to be kidding me.

Meredith Sinclair — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:53:00 GMT

Last week while flipping through a popular parenting magazine, I was shocked to see a small notice warning parents about the dangers of the bedwetting drug, Desmopressin. A bedwetting drug? For real? Now I know for sure we are a nation obsessed with meds.

Bedwetting is a part of my life right now with a six-year-old boy, who is working his way slowly but surely toward dry nights. So I have been reading loads of tips and ideas for helping him to get through the night without his internal flood-gates springing a leak.

We’ve done the overnight “diaper” thing, (they now try and disguise them to look like boxers for bigger kids…Truman wasn’t fooled), the no-liquids-after-7:00 pm thing, and now we’re onto the wake-him-up-to-pee-before-we-hit-the-hay thing.

He’s making progress, keeping dry more than not, and taking great pride in nights when he wakes up with the same pajamas and sheets with which he went to sleep. We don’t make him feel bad when he’s wet and we don’t over-do the praise when he’s not.

Has it been fun? No. Has it been easy? No. Am I tired of doing peed-in laundry? Yep.

But would I drug my kid to avoid all of it? Uh, no.

According to the FDA, the drug desmopression, when used to treat bedwetting can, in “rare” circumstances cause seizures and possibly death. The drug causes the kidneys to produce less urine at night, so if a child drinks too much water while taking the drug, it can lower the salt content in his bloodstream, and lead to a seizure.

When I googled the drug Desmopression I found this medication is primary used to treat a special kind of diabetes called “water diabetes”, in which the body produces an abnormal amount of urine. According to the information online, it’s in a class of medication called hormones. It works by replacing vasopressin, a hormone that is normally produced in the body to help balance the amount of water and salt.

Desmopressin is also used to treat people with bleeding problems after head injury and/or surgery.

The side effects list for this drug, as you can imagine, is huge and all of the things listed including nose bleeds, genital pain, fast or profound heartbeat, and loss of consciousness for awhile, sound far worse than a wet bed.

Kids have small bladders and less control...they’re kids. And bedwetting is, well, just part of the parenting package.

Modern medicine is a blessing for sure, but sometimes I think we all need to take two giant steps away from the pharmacy counter for a moment.

Now all we need is a drug to help our kids sleep through the night at six months, potty train by themselves, and learn to pick up their underwear off the floor.

Oh, wait, I think I might be out of a job soon.

Mommy Does Vegas...or, What Happens in Vegas, Should Probably Really Stay in Vegas

Meredith Sinclair — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:19:00 GMT

Double Down! Split em’, Hit, Stay, Black Jack!

This was my mantra last weekend in the windowless paradise of the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. Black Jack was the name of the game for my husband and I and another mom/dad team from the hood, as we morphed into hip high rollers for 48 hours.

This trip was months in the making for my friend Annie and me to celebrate our husbands' 40th birthdays. Thanks to some work related connections, we scored a sweet hook-up at the Palms. We’re talking two bedroom penthouse suite, ridiculous dinners, massages, and of course, those lovely cocktail waitresses.

Las Vegas is a true test of one’s self control.

This was the first time we’d been away from our boys for a whole weekend without the use of the grandparents as guardians. So we decided to use a service called Village Nannies, where the sitters are background checked, tested, and come complete with full-time jobs as teachers and social workers, as well as letters of recommendation from other over-protective parents.

Before we left, I wrote a small novel based on my boys' intricate lives, detailing everything from when to wake-up Truman to take him to pee so he wouldn’t wet the bed, to the precise combination of jiggles and kicks it takes to get the front door open. I stocked the fridge with really healthy food, and had the cleaning crew come so the sitter wouldn’t turn me into DCFS, wrote my boys special “I’ll miss you” notes attached to guilt induced little gifts, packed my stilettos, jumped in the limo, took a deep cleansing breathe, and left my mommy anxiety behind.

We really must be able to break free once and awhile without feeling as though we’re betraying our kids, don’t ya think? (Lesson number 1 of the weekend.)

Anyway, the weekend was spent leaping out of our mom and dad roles, wearing stuff we wouldn’t be caught dead in at carpool, and being goofy, noisy kids again (over 21-year-old kids that is). We danced in smoky, over-crowded, ear-damagingly loud clubs, got all gussied up just to hang out with our husbands, and threw a little caution to the wind. After the age of thirty five, acting like twenty somethings is really quite necessary from time to time . (Lesson # 2.)

When the party was over, we were truly ready to take off the plunging necklines and sexy, blister-inducing shoes, put on our hooded sweaters and Uggs, and step back into our mom roles. On the plane ride back, we talked about missing our little people, and how blessed we are to have such great stuff waiting for us back in the burbs.

But, for three days in February of 08’ we were smokin’ hot, 25 year old, sorta-high-rollin’, Vegas girls.

And my boys not only survived, they’re now asking when we could leave again so their new love “Shana” can come back and stay. No more gifts for them.