Erin Mantz
http://blog.erinmantz.com
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Erin Mantz
My Blog Now Lives at www.hybridmom.com
Effective June 3, 2007, my blog moved to a new home - Hybrid Mom Magazine at www.hybridmom.com/blog.
Please visit and post a comment!
Erin
Please visit and post a comment!
Erin
"Metamorphosis By Mud" - My Personal Essay in May's Washington Parent Magazine
(Photo courtesy of Michael Palmer Photography)
In anticipation of Mother's Day, my personal essay about life as a mom of boys is running in Washington Parent Magazine's May issue. Check it out: "Metamorphosis By Mud: A Lesson In Mothering Sons" We were on a tight deadline for this photo shoot and had to do it on a cold, rainy April Sunday. Because we were shooting for the May issue, we had to appear to be in spring-like weather, and I wouldn't let Max and Zack wear jackets. I felt like a horrible mom for those ten minutes as they froze for the perfect shot!
EASIER TO BE AN ECO-FRIENDLY MOM
I always feel like I should be doing more to help/save the environment, but don't know where to start. If I log onto some environmental web sites, I get overwhelmed. Finally, a site just launched for moms who want to be more eco-friendly by starting with baby steps: www.GreenMomsCoastSide.com.
Green Moms have a tag line "Start Easy, Go Greener" and they really do make it easy. I can instantly take action when I see how they break out how to be good to the environment because they relate their tips to things I do in everyday life. They also organize the action items by category, such as cleaning supplies, clothing, gift wrap, transportation and more. I will try a few of their ideas this week, but I won't make my own cleaning solution with vinegar or give only homemade gifts to my sons' friends. I will buy eco-friendly soap. I will research a hybrid SUV (the lease on my gas-guzzling Volvo SUV is up in three months). I think I can be environmentally hip. Check back next week to see if I am.
APPEARED LAST NIGHT ON NBC4 TO TALK ABOUT GREAT GIFT SITES FOR KIDS
Last night on "News 4 at 5:00" here in DC on the NBC TV affiliate, I had the pleasure of appearing live to talk about great web sites for kids gifts. Click here to check it out!
Some of my favorites that I discussed on behalf of Washington Parent Magazine include:
Zia and Tia - eco-friendly and environmentally hip stuff for kids, like fair trade hand-knit puppets, each with a tag signed by the person who made it in Kenya. Through a partnership with Trees for the Future, Zia and Tia plant a tree for every product sold.
wwww.ziaandtia.com
Chic Tots - run by a Bethesda, MD mom, this site features baby, toddler and preschooler products that combine convenience and coziness with chic. Check out their adorable coveralls and blanket bags.
wwww.chictots.com
JuvieShop - Perfect for tweens, including a "LifeGear" shop with boombox bags with real speakers for iPods, t-shirts saying "I Love Cupcakes" and "Think Green"
www.juvieshop.com
WHAT DO YOU MEAN "MOTHER'S DAY SPENDING IS DOWN!?!"
A National Retail Federation poll today says consumers will likely spend less for Mother's Day this year than last year. People are watching their wallets more closely and thinking about gas prices and other economic challenges. Hmmm. BIGresearch, who conducted the survey, says consumers will be heeding mom's advice that she doesn't need much. I must be bucking the trend. I told my husband and kids I want a nice, shiny new cell phone.
I say I DO want a nice big present. I (and all moms) deserve it! It is the one day a year that is all about me (ok, my birthday comes in at a close second). Like every year, I hope and expect my husband to buy me a great gift. (My sons are 6 and 3; I actually count on the older one to make a great suggestion/hint to dad, as he's already asking me what I really want).
I want a new cell phone - a really updated, Blackberry-like contraption. I have an old Nokia cheap version that people buy for their kids. I use it for work, and every time I check email on it (which is about ten times a day), it take me four times as long as it does for my friends who are whipping out Treos and the like.
I know gas is expensive. But Mother's Day gifts can't go by the wayside. Every other day of the year, ours is a thankless job. I want my Mother's Day gift!
TAMING OF THE CANDY MONSTER JUST GOT EASIER
I spend a lot of time worrying that I am giving my kids too much sugar. Now, news reports are flying about a new lollipop that actually prevents cavities.
Dr. John Brunisma, dentist and founder of Michigan-based Dr. John's Candies, says the sucker attacks the bacteria that produces the acids that cause cavities. I am ordering some today!
Then, today's Washington Post Kids page reports on a new study showing kids who brushed their teeth and ate a cavity-fighting candy twice a day had 62 percent fewer cavities than those who just brushed regularly. While this study involved kids in Venezuela, testing in the U.S. is coming later this year. Where can I sign my sons up?!
THE WONDERS OF WHITE BREAD
My six-year-old son just discovered white bread last week.
He was at a friend's for a play date and they served him peanut butter and jelly on white bread. He got excited. He'd seen it many times in the school cafeteria, but now he was about to eat it for the first time! He loved it. The next day at home, he insisted I buy it. I gave in, mainly because I was tired of having him come home from school with uneaten wheat bread sandwiches and tossing them in the garbage. And I wanted him to eat something to get through the school day.
Wandering through the bread aisle at Giant, I pondered my choices. I saw Wonder Bread, and had visions of myself as a kid, eating it for lunch. But it looked sort of different now (ok, it was 28 years ago). Words on the wrapper caught my eye:
- "Wonder KIDS" (read: my kids will like it)
- "The FIBER of 100% whole wheat"
- "Calcium - 35% DV in two slices"
- "9 Vitamins & Minerals"
OK! I felt better about buying it.
The next day, I made my son's school lunch with Wonder Bread. He was happy. This continued all week, until we hit a potential roadblock yesterday morning. My husband, who is rarely home due to a demanding campaign job, noticed the Wonder Bread! This, of all things, caught his attention. He was shocked, and he had a comment: "No more white bread!" he said. I ignored the comment. See, he'd grown up in the seventies in a house where they never had white bread - they had wheat bread way before it was fashionable. They also never had sugar cereal or any of those childhood staples. They were that house. WE are not that house. (Secretly, I wonder how his mom did it, and wish I could have, but my kids outsmarted me early on.)
Something funny happened by the time the day ended. My son went to school and happily ate his lunch. My husband came in late from work and was starving. He took one look at the Wonder Bread and excitedly announced: "I think i'm in the mood for peanut butter and jelly!" I didn't say a word as he hungrily dug into the bag and made himself a sandwich on Wonder Bread. He poured himself a glass of milk. He was happy.
Looks like Wonder Bread's debut is a success.
KEEPING OUR KIDS SAFE
Whenever John Walsh (from America's Most Wanted) is behind something, I pay attention. Someone just told me about this site he developed,www.familywatchdog.us.
When you visit, you can enter your address and a map will pop up with your house as the small icon of a house and red, blue, green dots may surround your entire neighborhood. These colored dots represent criminals in your area. When you click on these dots, a picture of a person appears with an address and the description of the crime he or she had committed. You now have a visual of these community characters who may be walking or driving around your home or kid's school. I was shocked to see these dots just blocks away (yes, even in Potomac).
TALK ABOUT PROBLEMS SHARING...
Did you hear the news story yesterday about two
moms who got into a scuffle at a Chuck E. Cheese? Evidently, one's 13-year old son was playing an arcade game and wouldn't let the other mom's 9-year old birthday boy have a turn. The moms got into a fight and one is being charged with assault and battery! Sounds ridiculous, though i'm sure many moms reading this have wanted to punch another mom for something or other, right? Personally, I can think of a few times and people I saw just last week... But there's a difference between wanting to and doing it.
The real question is (as posed by a local DC disc jockey) - isn't 13 a little old to be at Chuck E. Cheese?
DON'T MISS: MY "HOLIDAY CHEER" ARTICLE IN BETHESDA MAGAZINE
Looking for ideas on how to eat, drink and be merry this holiday season? Read my article in the Nov/Dec issue of Bethesda Magazine (sorry, they don't make it available online - the magazine is sold at area Barnes & Nobles and Balducci's and some Safeways).
Talk about fun research - I talked with top bartenders and learned how to make fabulous holiday cocktails like Sparkling Blueberry Pomegranate Cocktails and Pineapple Upside Down Cake Martinis and found unique items to decorate or gift as gifts.
And check out my "Giving Back" piece and learn how you can adopt a family for the holidays and really help those who need it.