I really don’t know much about football.  At all.  Even though my sons play.  Sure, I know the basics like the definition of a touchdown or fumble.  But the finer points are lost on me, because really I don’t care. 

I do make sure that we have a huge buffet of snacks to eat (which means no having to cook dinner and just grazing on delicious foods all night) and I try to cheer when appropriate.

I read this cheat sheet at MomLogic today that was written by a former NFL player.  A sort of what you need to know before you go to that Superbowl  party.  He gives the basic information about the two teams, the goals of both the offense and defense, but by far my favorite part of the post is:

here are a few things we don’t want to hear:

• No team wins a game based on the color of their uniforms.
• We don’t care how nice the athletes butts look in their game pants.
• We don’t care how cute any of the players are on the field or on the sideline.
• We don’t care how pretty some girl is in the stands.
• We don’t care what you think about Giselle, Jessica Simpson or any other player’s significant other.

 

The rest of the list is over at the website.  Very funny. How many of you admit to doing these?  I am guilty.  He also states the rule that during the Superbowl all conversation must be limited to football.  I guess discussing the mortgage crisis or giving thoughts on HFCS should be left for another time.

One of the things that I love so much about blogs is the sense of community. 

People who are writing beautiful things about parenthood that inspire you, like Antique Mommy.

People who make really crafty things, and then sell them so you can pretend that you are crafty and  original too!

People who say the things that you are thinking, but in a much funnier way.

People who use their blogs to reach out and teach.

I love that all of this is just out there, waiting for you to stop by and read.

A new study has revealed that High Fructose Corn Syrup contains mercury.  Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.

Given how prevalent HFCS is in the types  of  processed foods that children routinely eat, the small amounts of mercury that are found in HFCS might pose a threat to them that has never before been considered.  Seriously?  Mercury?  This is what we  have to worry about now?

We all know that HFCS is not good for us nutritionally, despite what the corn growers association tells us in their Sweet Surprise! campaign.   But now we have even more reason to try and avoid it.

 Anyone else feel like our generation of children have become guinea pigs for the food industry?

Now that January is coming to a close, I should probably take down my Christmas decorations.  Yeah, I am one of those people.  The kind who put up their decorations and never take them down. 

It isn’t all attributable to laziness.  I genuinely like the decorations.  During the rest of the year my decorating style can best be described as spartan.  I don’t have a lot of knick-knacks.  My fireplace mantle is somewhat barren, as are the tops of my bookcases and tables.  But come Christmas?  I whip the house into a frenzy of garland, candles, lights, snowmen, stars, nativity sets.

Once I take it down the house feels empty.  I know I could, in theory, decorate for every holiday that comes around, but given my level of procrastination, I would just be putting out the Fourth of July decorations at Thanksgiving.

This weekend?  Totally my weekend to wrap everything back up in bubble wrap and bring it to the attic. 

 Next weekend at the latest.

A new study has revealed that children do appreciate their parents… when they are about 22 years old.  How funny that it coincides with gradutaing from college and finally living on their own.

An online survey of 5000 families revealed this “surprising” information.

It makes perfect sense to me.  Little children love to imitate their parents and be with them.  Then as they grow older, children start to pull away from their parents, also known as the lovely teen years, when suddenly they think their parents know nothing.   Once they are adults, they are able to better understand their parents actions and motivations.

I would even go a step farther and say that once they have children of their own, they fully understand the love that parents have for their children and realize that their parents tried their best.  I remember after I had my first child clearly thinking, “Wow, now I get it!”

If anything I think it tell us parents not to try to be friends with our kids, but to remember to parent them.  Eventually they will come back around.

Scene: Me, serving homecooked food that I slaved over the stove for hours preparing.  (Okay, maybe hours is a stretch.  How about for what felt like hours?) 

5 yr old daughter: Why does it LOOK like that?

4 yr old son: And why does it TASTE like that?

Me: Because it is DELICIOUS??

They both look at each other and then at me.  And very seriously say:

4 yr old: That’s weird.  It doesn’t SEEM delicious to me.

5 yr old: Me either.

1) The crockpot is your friend.  Take-out is also.

2) So is a good calendar.

3) And a glass of wine with dinner.

4) That laughter is sometimes that only answer.

5) That letting your kids ________, will not cause the world to end.  (Fill in the blank with whatever is applicable for  your situation, options include: wear clothing instead of pajamas to bed, spend an entire day watching Disney channel, wear their hair in really stupid hairstyles…)

6) Friends who have the same parenting style and philosophy as you will replace friends that you thought you had much more  in common with.

7) Never say never.  You will. 

Make your words sweet, because you will have to eat them one day.  One of my friends says that the reason her backside is so large now after she had children is because she has had to eat so many of her own words.  

9) You will use tv as a babysitter. Or you will spend years without showering.  The call is yours.

10) There will be days when you think you are ready to sell the children to the gypsies and run as far away as fast as you can.  But just then they will go and do something so profoundly cute that you are forced to reconsider.  Until the next time.

I am sure many of you received the following email about the Barack Obama stamp that will be available tomorrow for an Inauguration Day scavenger hunt. Might be a fun thing for the kids to look for during the drier parts of the Inauguration celebration. Because we all know that it is not as exciting for young children as it is for us.

Celebrate a unique and important moment in American history with your kids by your side. Log in to Handipoints on January 20th, 2009, to commemorate our 44th President’s inauguration in Washington DC. Handipoints will be celebrating President Obama’s first day as President with a limited edition Barack Obama stamp and a whole new US Presidents Stamp Collection.

Not only does Handipoints keep your household chore routine alive, it also brings American history to life!

A Historic Scavenger Hunt
Every day, kids in HandiLand are given clues to find a special Stamp of the Day. If you’ve never participated in the daily Scavenger Hunt, Tuesday, January 20th is the best day to start: there will be a special edition Barack Obama Stamp hidden somewhere in HandiLand, just waiting for your child to find.

This Stamp belongs in our newest Stamp Collection: US Presidents. This collection commemorates and celebrates the Presidential achievements of 14 of America’s bravest, most devoted patriotic leaders… including our brand new 44th President.

Log in today to find the special edition Barack Obama Stamp!

If you do nothing else today, watch Martin Luther King Jr’s I Have A Dream speech with your children. Even after hearing this speech more times than I can count I am still moved by it.

It only happens every four years, which is forever in kid years.  I don’t think any kids younger than high school age can really remember anything about previous inaugurations. 

It is the perfect time to teach them about this extraordinary event that happens in our country every four years, the passing of power from one elected president to the other.   And in particular the historical significance of this Inauguration.

Education World has 10 great activities

This site explains the significance of the Inauguration and provides a brief history of the Inauguration.  I printed the info on this page out and read it aloud to my children

The official site detailing the events of the day

Inaugural Lesson Plans developed by that National Teachers Association

Brief Biography of Barack Obama