President Obama Speaks to Us

Obama's Speech was hopeful last night. The part that stood out to me what the part on parent's responsibility.

From Momlogic:

The 52-minute speech was interrupted 50 times by applause. Here was one of the quotations that brought Congress to their feet:

"In the end there is no program or policy that can substitute for a parent ... for a mother or father who can attend those parent-teacher conferences, or help with homework, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, read to their child. I speak to you not just as a president but as a father when I say that responsibility for our children's education must begin at home. That is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue -- that's an American issue."

I always believed this. I'm glad President Obama said it. Now let's get to work!

Spoke too soon

Last week I mentioned that Maddox has finally hit the terrible two stage. Well I spoke too soon. It only lasted about a week. Now he's back to his sweet, mellow self. Maybe he was just having one of the weeks. We've all had them. Toddlers can have them too. Of course maybe I'm jinxing myself again. I better shut up now.

Potty Training and weekends away

We took our first weekend away without Maddox this past weekend. It went as smooth as a baies butt. It was actually only about 24 hours away. We dropped Maddox off at friend's on Saturday around 11am and picked him up by 2pm on Sunday. Those of you without family close know how hard it is to get away when you have children.

The weekend was a success. My husband and I has a great relaxing time. Maddox had a blast. Probably more fun then us!

We also started potty training last week. We are doing it a little early because Day Care wants him 100% trained by May. So far, he loves his potty. He is about 50/50 on actually going on the potty and not going, but we're getting there. Stickers, claps, pats on the back. He loves it.

Although, not loving cleaning up the 1 and 2s on the floor!

Stay tuned for a new slick tip this week.

If you have any tips you'd like to share, email me at kerry@slickmachines.com

What's in your bag?

What's in your diaper bag? Here's a video of what I carry with me for my toddler. Those of you with smaller children may have different things, like formula, spit rags, etc. But... this is what gets me through. Enjoy!

Hold on, it's gonna get bumpy.

It has happened. The dreaded stage in a child's life that no parent wants to encounter. Maddox has officially entered his terrible twos. The crying, the falling on the floor kicking, the whining, the screaming at the top of his lungs. It has come.

I'm in a bit of shock since I thought we'd get through the toddler years like a breeze. Maddox has always been the mellow child. Friends have often commented on how good he is and how mellow he is. Our Day Care teacher even stated a few times that she wishes all her charges were like Maddox. I thought we were in the clear. I thought we had the angel everyone hoped and dreamed for. But in the back of my head I was always waiting for this day. The day when everything gets turned around on us. I mean, how come we'd be the lucky ones, right?

Well, as soon as the big number 2 hit, the little devil that has been growing inside my sweet little boy decided to rear it's ugly head. At first I ignored it. I didn't think that my boy, that has been a model child, would ever have a tantrum. Well, I was wrong. It's been building inside of him for two years and now I've come to accept that we are in the thick of this stage of toddler-dom. There's no turning back.

I was starting to get upset about it and starting to dread the anticipation of "will he or won't he" scream like a banshee if I try to dress him, change him, take him to day care, feed him, take him to the store. But I now realize there is nothing I can do but sit back and watch it unfold. He's in this stage where he still is not in control and doesn't know enough to do everything himself and it's damn frustrating to him. I get that.

My solution: I will be here to comfort him. I will be here to wipe his tears and snot. I will be here to move any breakable items out of the way. I will rock him and sing him songs. But otherwise, there's not much else I can do. It's going to happen. It will last as long as it will last and me getting worked up about it wont' change a thing.

So now I'm going to go buckle my seat belt, keep my hands and feet inside and hold on. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Slick Tip: Cookbook for Baby Food

This week I wanted to share my favorite cookbook for babyfood. I use this still to cook meals for all of us at dinner. Let me know your favorite recipe book!

You can get Annabel Karmel's book here: Amazon

Making Babies on a Downturn?

I came across an interesting post on The Daily Beast about the recession and making babies. A survey the Beast did shows that baby-making plans are down:

Nearly half of all Americans surveyed (42 percent) are now less likely to have children, and many are postponing other major life events. Americans are now less likely to get married (31 percent), move in with a partner (26 percent), or go through with a divorce (35 percent). Add maternity wards, wedding registries, chapels, and divorce courts to the list of institutions likely to suffer in the coming years.

Another interesting result from the poll:

Americans who make less than $75,000 plan to have less sex—and even look at less sexual material—in 2009.

So, how does this translate for you? Are you planning to add to your family anytime soon? Are you holding off? Are you still having sex?

What will this mean to the baby related industries? I think it was really booming in the past five years. Maybe it's time to slow down.

Full Daily Beast post here.

My sister, the artist

A little plug for my sis. She's doing cool artwork for kids rooms and more. Below is one of her latest paintings. She also does alphabets and themed paintings.



Check out all her work at http://www.bitowhimsey.com/index.html

Tribute to my boy

When Maddox turned two last month, I wanted to put together a video journal of him over the past year. I don't keep a baby-book or scrapbook, so I decided a video scrapbook would be great. Something we can look back at over the years.


Maddox in his 2nd year from theslickmom on Vimeo.

Slick Tips!

I'm going to start vlogging parenting tips each week. I'm not an expert, of course, but these tips will just be little things I think make life with a baby or babies easier. This week... a little Valentine's Day tip for you. If you want, please send me your tips and I'll mention it on my vlog!

Momtroversy of the week

A popular mom social network, Momlogic.com posted a blog that has momlogic regulars up in arms.

The blog is about abortion vs miscarriage and the poster states that someone being a pro-choicer and then being sad about miscarrying is a hypocrite. I think the blog post is ridiculous and ignorant. Most commentors think the same. Here's the text, tell me what you think:

Pro Choice? Quit Crying About Your Miscarriage

Guest blogger Gina: I respect women's right to choose, but I have little tolerance for pro-choicers who expect sympathy when they have a miscarriage.

These are women who put pro-choice buttons on their backpacks in college and ridiculed pro-lifers for being backward, repressive religious freaks who want to control the world's uteruses.

Ten years have passed and lo and behold, these women have grown up, gotten married, and now have the itch to have a baby of their own. Suddenly the monthly visitor that they were relieved to get when they were 20, now, at 32, plunges them into the depths of depression.

Like vegetarians who eat chicken but not beef, many pro-choice advocates want it both ways. It's a baby when they want it to be, it's a bundle of cells when they don't.

If you believe that pregnancy doesn't produce a baby until some magic number (13 weeks? 20 weeks? 40?), then you must also agree that it's ridiculous to break down in hysterics, set up a memorial website for your "angel," and seek out a grief counselor when you start bleeding in your first trimester. After all, you're simply talking about the loss of a conglomeration of microscopic cells, right?! That's hardly something to cry about.

Advocate all you want, but don't come crying to me when your hypocrisy hits you like a ton of bricks. If you are going to defend the right to abort babies, you don't have the right to be upset when yours dies.

Click to see full article and comments

The crazy lady with the stroller= trendsetter

Yesterday I walked to get Maddox from daycare. It's a nice 15 minute walk and the sun was shining. I didn't leave the stroller at the daycare, so I had to bring it on the walk with me. I got several stares, curious glances and the like from others on the street. One couple passed me, looked at the empty stroller, looked at me and the back at the empty stroller with a quizzical glance. Another guy actually asked if I left my baby somewhere. Why was it so weird to be pushing an empty stroller? Did these people think I was crazy? Did they wonder why in the world I'd be pushing an empty stroller? It was very comical to me. I just smiled and kept walking. I think I smiled more because I wanted passersby to think I was crazy! I guess the funnier thing about the situation is that I live in a neighborhood will everyone tries so hard to be different that they all look the same. So maybe I started a trend. Maybe today I'll see a few more people walking around with empty strollers.

Momtroversy of the week

Octuplets. 8 kids. Rumor is that the mother is single and has 6 other kids. Yes. You heard me...14 kids total for this single mom. Crazy. Pure craziness.

From MSNBC:

A Southern California woman who gave birth to octuplets on Monday has six other children.

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The woman, who has asked to not be identified, is still recovering at a Los Angeles hospital along with the eight newborns. Her other six kids live at home with her and her parents.

That revelation has fertility experts questioning the mother's choice to get fertility treatments and carry a multiple pregnancy.

"Our patient was counseled regarding her options for the pregnancy. The options were to continue the pregnancy or selectively abort. The patient chose to continue the pregnancy," said Dr. Harold Henry with Kaiser Permanente.

The father of the octuplets remains unknown. The babies' grandmother says the mother used in vitro fertilization.