Dinner challenges

My son loves to eat. No, wait, that's not right. Maybe I should say: my son loves to eat what he likes. Unfortunately, vegetables and other healthy foods are not included in that list.

He goes through stages where he wants to eat an apple Nutrigrain Bar for dinner. Every day. I know there are worst things he could prefer, but I'm sure eating these for every meal probably wouldn't help him. The other night, I slaved over a nice dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas and corn bread. He didn't want anything to do with them. He had it in his mind that he wanted a Nutrigrain Bar, and that was that.

The solution? Bribery. I gave him a tiny piece of the Nutrigrain Bar, then told him he had to eat such and such if he wanted more. Worked like a charm. In those instances when he doesn't ask for anything in particular and just won't eat his dinner, I break out American cheese (his other favorite). A little piece here and there will coax him to eat everything (except his veggies of course).

Unsuccessful juggling

Juggling work, school and family...sometimes the balls just fall. It's Friday already, and I'm of course behind on my schoolwork. With computer problems, connection problems, a sick kid, and working late, sometimes there's no time to keep everything going. Enough venting! Here are some tips when you need to keep your toddler happy so you can catch up on everything:

1) Washable crayons and sticker books. As long as your toddler doesn't like to stick everything in their mouth, you should be able to buy some time letting them color. I chose sticker books because the stickers aren't sticky enough to ruin your counter or walls, but enough fun to entertain your toddler for some time and have pages for coloring. Make sure you only bring them out for special occasions.

2) Have some newer toys in reserve. New toys tend to keep their attention for a little while anyway...

3) We have a ton of our son's spare toys in a large bin that he can't get into. If you're desperate, then just move the bin to the middle of the floor, open it and let him at it. You'll have a big mess after, but he'll be so excited to see so many toys it will keep him busy for some time.

4) Assign him a task like picking up his toys. It doesn't sound like fun, but I find my son loves to help out. I ask him to pick up his blocks (scattered all over the living room of course) and he'll go around and pick them up one-by-one, making a trip to put them into their holder in between each block. Make sure to praise him and make a big deal out of how helpful he is...works every time. ;-) Buys you 15 minutes at least.

Well, that's all I have for now. Have a great weekend!

Technology...I curse thee!

Well, this weekend has been a challenge. Only two days after I post about my love for technology, our primary computer dies. It didn't exactly die, but was just infected with a virus which rewrote some of the Windows dll files. We got rid of the virus, but it corrupted the dll files, making the computer virtually inoperable. After wiping the computer and re-installing Windows, it's now back up and running, but for a price...

Time. I have virtually no time left to enjoy myself at all this weekend with the computer problem. Today was filled not only with a visit to the pediatrician for my son's ear infection (again) but with a mad dash to do my Accounting exam and post discussion follow-ups before bedtime. I'll have to fit in dinner and researching medical benefits plans with my husband in the remaining couple hours of today.

Tip of the day: Tivo/DVR a bunch of your child's favorite cartoons to allow yourself some time to catch up on homework...but don't let your television become your constant babysitter.

Thank goodness for technology...

One thing I found after having my son was the extreme change in the amount of time I had to myself for entertainment. I love to watch movies and a wide variety of television shows to relieve stress after a busy day at work. The only thing that got me through the first 6 months (and certainly the 1.5 years after that) was Tivo/DVR. The ability to record shows and pause live TV allowed me to regain some of my sanity...even if only in 15 minute intervals.

Being a first-time mother, and having paranoid relatives who were always telling me the horror stories of SIDS and other terrible infant-related illnesses, I forked out $70 and bought a baby monitor that not only transmitted the sound from my son's room, but also transmitted video. It allowed me to do housework or read a book while relaxing on the couch while my son was sleeping peacefully upstairs, and I was able to glance at the monitor (every 5 minutes for the first few times) to check on him. So, my recommendation: don't be cheap. Fork out an extra $20 and buy a nicer baby monitor. You won't regret it.

Welcome to my blog!

Finding time to gather your sanity isn't always possible when you're a working mother. Tack on a couple college courses and attempting to keep the house clean, and it's almost impossible. I created this blog to not only fulfill a college course assignment, but to try and give some helpful advice on how to juggle the demanding job of motherhood...oh, and a full-time professional career as well.

I'll occasionally sprinkle in the shining moments of parenthood coupled with some humorous experiences (not so humorous at the time), but will try not to dwell on the "cutesy" moments of raising a toddler...I'm sure people don't want to hear me gush about my adorable, toe-headed 2-year-old.

So, I hope you enjoy my blog and learn a little something about overcoming mommy madness.