 |
 |
|
|
|
|
March 2008
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Christine, One word: Benadryl. I know, I... Well, I'm no mother but hope ... I did not know you had a blog... Christine - I would be intere... My son had had eczema also wh... Hi Christine, Having ... Categories
More KVUE Blogs
|
Holidays and ChaosAre you feeling a little overwhelmed with Christmas drawing near? I know I am! Shopping with a toddler is never very easy and I tend to feel extremely self conscious about even the smallest of disruptions. In some ways, I give credit to parents who can ignore the tantrums in stores and restaurants but I must say, I just can't do it! If Peter is misbehaving (which he does frequently) I feel the need to correct him and remove him from the situation. I just can't ignore it. I guess it's because I sense the nerves being rattled around us but I also know Peter is the type of child who likes to tow the line of discipline. But, isn't that the case for most toddlers? They like to test their limits. A few months ago, I blogged about my concern with Peter's eczema. I guess a combination of maturity and consistent skin therapy have eased the problem. I know a lot of you have emailed me about your own battles with eczema. Please let me know if I can help you in any way. I know the doctors say this particular skin disorder is hard to treat. I feel the best way to treat it is to trade success stories with other parents. Our winning combination has come in the most unlikely of places. Hope you and your loved ones have a fantastic holiday and Happy New Year! HolidaysCan you believe it's almost Thanksgiving? I am stunned at how quickly the time goes by! It's hard for me and my husband to make the holidays what they should be...as we're both in the news biz and it can be tough! November is part of the normal television ratings period and that means time off is almost non-existent. That also means Mom and Dad have to work and can't travel home to see Grandma and Grandpa. Peter is almost 2, so he won't realize their absence yet..but the time will come. I think this is the time to appreciate the efforts of all of those who work on holidays. Think of the job emergency officials have on the holidays. I remember riding along with some EMS workers while I was working on Thanksgiving a few years ago and they covered horrible tragedies (car wrecks, heart attacks). It was very sobering and it made me appreciate just how terrific my job really is.... I may be working, but I'm surrounded by my family and my extended family here at KVUE. I'm truly thankful! So, eat some extra turkey and enjoy your time off...because not everyone is as fortunate. Packin' a ToddlerThe time has come, I finally get a few days off. It seems as if this is becoming a rare occasion. Why can't we be more like the European countries, where people get 8 weeks of vacation a year? Why? Oh, one could dream. I am now trying to figure out how we are going to pack quickly (and I mean quickly) with a toddler! I guess my concerns over packing are part of my denial that we have to fly with a toddler. I have been over this before, how do you travel without making a scene? Peter is 22 months. This means he does not: If anyone is on our flight, we are apologizing, in advance. I am praying for a quiet trip, but God only knows if those prayers will be answered. Hope you have a great week. I will check in with photos, when I return. Thanks for checking in! Parent TrapHi everyone! I have been contemplating what I should write about today, and I couldn't dismiss my consistent internal nagging about being "one of those parents". I'm sure most of you can relate and I'd bet you have an idea of what I'm hinting at! As a working mom, I have a 'few' vices. Oh, heck, if I wasn't working, I'm sure I'd have very similar concerns! So, here it goes! Busy Day!Sometimes being a parent can be a bit overwhelming, can't it? Working parents can certainly have their hands full. At least I do! Thanks for checking in! Have a wonderful weekend! Time DOES fly!When Peter was an infant, everyone told me how quickly time goes by and pleaded with me to cherish each and every moment. I certainly have done that, but now that he is 22 months old, I can't get over the little BOY I have in front of me! Peter is no longer a baby -- he now tells me what to do! Every morning, he drags me to my closet saying "Mommy Please" "Mommy Please" -- of course, handing me my shoes to wear! He always wants to go outside. He could live outside 24 hours a day. He LOVES being outdoors. All he needs is a hose and a few buckets -- he's set! As happy as it makes him to be outdoors, it makes him equally MAD to return inside. I just started "time outs" and wow that's tough! We've been trying to sit together for 30 seconds on the couch until he calms down. At first, I didn't think he understood. But, now, by the time I get to 25 -- he is quiet. Well, usually! The funniest moment this week -- for this crazy mother -- happened when I tried to get Peter to try raisins. He looked at them and grimaced. He quickly handed 2 of them to me and said "No, thank you". At least he's polite despite being defiant. Gotta love kids! As if parenting wasn't a full time job, I've also been busy working as a volunteer. Along with the wonderful people at Austin's Susan G. Komen Foundation, I have been putting in extra hours to help spread the word about the importance of mammograms. Don't forget to watch for our stories on breast cancer every Friday @ 6pm on KVUE. Thanks for checking in! Have a wonderful day! Flying with a ToddlerI just returned from a wonderful visit home to see my family and boy, what a trip....in more ways than one! Peter is 19 months now and all energy as I've explained before. However, this was one flight I won't soon forget. It was a direct flight returning late from Chicago to Austin and I thought that maybe he'd sleep...well, he did, for awhile. But, about 15 minutes before the plane was about to land (12:15 am) the pilot came on the load speaker to talk about...well, a lot of things. Things that really weren't necessary when it's 12:15 am and I'm concentrating on keeping Peter asleep. Actually, there were a lot of kids on the plane -- so you would have thought he would have tried to keep the volume down. Instead, the crew flashed the lights over and over again and the pilot went on about the normal things only it seemed to be at record volume. Peter couldn't stay asleep -- instead he was scared out of his mind. He screamed at a pitch and intensity even I hadn't heard before and it went on for about 15 minutes. There was nothing I could do to comfort him -- he was tired, hungry, jet lagged, hot, uncomfortable and ticked off. I can't tell you how happy I was to get off that plane! I'm sure my fellow passengers were feeling equally thrilled with our parting of ways. I just hope he isn't going to think of that horrible 15 minute experience every Thanks for checking in! The talking and the whining!I admit it -- I'm one of those mothers. I am a worrier! Maybe it's because Peter is my first child..and he's a boy.. but, I am not "ok" with jumping on or off of anything! Peter is truly a very agile child. He can climb onto beds, couches, chairs, you name it. But, what's worse? He can jump off of them, too. His dad and I go back and forth about what's normal boy behavior. Here's what I can't help but consider. Someday, if I let him climb on everything and walk on every couch, he's going to do a nose dive off of the pew in church! Peter is also starting to show his "challenging" side. Moms, does this sound familiar? I say "NO" when he decides to stand up on an office chair or on the bed. I tell him he can only stay on the chair if he sits. So, he does. I then look back and I see this little smirk come across his face and then, yep, a standing 19 month old! I say "no" -- he giggles and sits back down. Oh, and the cycle goes on and on and on! I have been reading some parenting books and trying to reflect on the days of my parents reprimanding me for my "challenging" behavior. If you have any good books/programs you can recommend, please let me know! EczemaA new concern for a new mother! My son has/had Eczema. My gosh, I've never felt so awful for him. The itching and crankiness is enough to make any mother squirm! I think the hardest part of Eczema is the fact that it's hard to find the source of the problem. For Peter, it was out of the blue. I don't know if it was his favorite breakfast of scrambled eggs or the window cleaner! Fortunately, a friend of mine recommended a wonderful skin product that cured it almost instantly. Unbelievable! (If you ever want a recommendation, just email me.) But, as I researched this pesky problem I found so many people suffer extensively from it. Have any of you been able to find a cure or even a source for eczema? If so, please let me know. I'd love to hear from you and I'm interested in doing a news story in the near future. Until next time -- have a wonderful day! Growing up fast!Hi everyone. I wanted to take a moment to say "hi" and gush a bit about a new stage with Peter. He's 16 months old now and I'm feeling more and more of a connection with him. He's talking up a storm (I wonder where he got that from) but he's also initiating games of peek a boo with me. I was overwhelmed last night when he was able to run and hide from me and start calling out "ma ma" from behind my bed. He was just giggling until I came and found him. I never before REALLY understood why kids change your life. But, for me, Peter has changed my entire perspective on life. And that's really the truth -- no embellishment. I have never felt so excited to sit on the floor with a blanket on my head just to hear him giggle or walk closer to see my reaction. There have been so many times that I felt so unappreciated, you know, waking up 3 times a night just get screamed at by a teething toddler! But, every game of peek a boo and food throwing makes up for all of it. I guess it's a 16 month old's way of saying "thank you" even before he can really utter the words. I just hope he will soon understand how thankful I am ... for him! Thanks for checking in. Have a wonderful week! |
|
|
|
|