Reston Mom

more kid music

 Did you know that Pandora has channels for kiddos?  This might help if you are tired of the same cd that your kid always requests.  I was just made aware of these, so I haven't actually listened to any of them yet - but I'm anxious to give them a try especially on car trips or during clean-up time in the house.  

Toddler Radio – Meant for kids 4 and under, this station is educational and fun! A variety of toddler-friendly themes and music genres are explored. Look for Sesame Street, Disney, & The Wiggles among others.

Lullabye – Meant for kids 5 and under, this station is designed to prepare your tyke for a nap or bedtime (or any time you want to bring the energy level down a notch). It's full of mellow sounds and sweet lullabies.

Radio for Kids – Meant for kids 7 and under, this station is fun, educational, and not too baby-ish. For kids who are moving on up from Toddler Radio. Many musical genres are included here, and due to the variety and quality of songs, it's enjoyable for kids and adults!

Rockin' Kids Radio – Meant for kids 7 and under. This one is my personal favorite; an energetic station good for dancing, room-cleaning and high-energy play. This station is a winner for kids (and adults!) who love upbeat music. Rock out, kiddos.

Tween Radio – Meant for ages 8 to adult. This station is appropriate for those too old for children's music but a bit too young for rock 'n' roll's more adult themes. It includes pop music favorites like Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, and the cast from “High School Musical.”

Kneebouncers

"A whole lotta fun for the itty bitty ones" - the tag line.

go ahead - hit play.  hit any key.  or hold the key.

I'm not sure what I think about babies playing computer games, but I totally identify with the personal story of the creators of this site.  And, I have to say, I do love the site.  It is so cute and colorful and fun! There are a ton of games like the one here. I randomly chose this one because I couldn't decide which I liked best...maybe the music one? I don't know. And the whole point is that the tiny ones can play, because the only thing required is to hit any key.  I have yet to put it to the test with Ami yet, though I'm pretty confident that she would really like it.  I'm filing it away in my brain for that moment when I desperately need something.  

You can download games for your own site, blog, or myspace: how cool is that!?! 

go to Kneebouncers to check them all out!

Thinkfun is really fun!

We were familiar with the game Zingo by Think Fun - but I didn't realize they hadso many great games for a variety of ages!  I want them ALL for our family!  I saw a display at Barnes and Noble while I was there and got really excited about this line of games.  I also happened to see that they make a bunch of brain teasers (they call them serious puzzlers) - which I LOVE and wanted to buy them all for myself! Then, I discovered on the website, they have online demos for 6 of the games so you can just play those there and three more besides here.  I'd rather my girls play these games than some others on the computer anyway - so I thought that was really cool. 

Baby Einsteins - Not So Smart After All

Here is an article from Time about babies regarding language development and watching tv

John and Kate plus eight

We try to limit tv time for the girls, but let's face it...there are times when I cherish the ability to lean on technology to quiet and entertain for a moment.  That goes for both myself and the kids.  In the evenings though, when we are all exhausted, we sometimes cuddle on the couch together for a show or (dare I admit it) we might eat dinner while watching tv (pizza picnic anyone?) We are quite limiting in what we allow the girls to watch, but neither are Matt and I going to turn our evening over to the Care Bears or something.  So, in the past we've seen many, many episodes of 30 minute meals with Rachel Ray - as Hope, in particular, is a fanatic about cooking shows. 

More recently however, our girls have become infatuated with the famous family from John and Kate plus eight.  We're talking a mom, dad, twins, and sextuplets.  All the kids on the show happen to be very close in age to our own girls.  I don't know if that has anything to do with it, or whether kids are just interested in other kids and families, but our girls are crazy about this show.  They literally beg for it, cry when I say no, and pour over every second of viewing when allowed. 

I have to admit, I enjoy it too.  It's interesting to see how this family meets it's challenges - I give mad props to any mom of eight, especially with multiples, not to mention 6 kids all at the same developmental ages!    

Sid the Science Kid

Lately, my girls have been indulged with a little extra TV for various reasons.  This week, Hope has patiently saved her allotted TV time until 3 in the afternoon when PBS airs it's newest educational show Sid the Science Kid.  I have to admit...the show is really cute and interesting.  I'm glad that, for whatever reason, she has decided she likes this one.  The show, co-produced by the Jim Henson Company, features a main character Sid who starts the show each time with a different question: "Why are my shoes shrinking?" "Why do bananas get mushy?" Then, music and humor and children's natural curiosity is used to explore real science curriculum.  The show airs in the morning as well, though during school time here. I'm so grateful for PBS, they really do have quality programming which my kids like and which I can lean on from time to time. 

bizarre childhood movie memories

There have been just a very few movies that I randomly watched sometime during my childhood that really stuck with me until I found them again later.   One in particular has long been haunting me and it is truly bizarre. Truly.  I have long remembered this particularly unsettling version of Jack and the Beanstalk (1976) - a sort of comical yet dark cartoon musical with profoundly disturbed and funny characters, seriously haunting music (70's rock-opera), and an anime princess.  And until now, I've never been able to put my finger on it again.  But the internet has solved the mystery for me!   You know I'm going to have to get my hands on it somehow just to make my husband watch it with me.  If you are interested in funky kid-videos - definitely check this one out!  In the meantime,  I highly recommend you read the reviews (here), you'll definitely be amused.  (note: I don't really recommend this for children, watch it yourself first)

character and cartoons

I recently had a conversation with my husband where I made comment about cartoons.....the cartoons our kids would be familiar with are more and more engineered for educational purposes - getting smart.  Super Why, Word World, Little Einsteins are all prime examples, but even Dora and Diego include interactive decisions based on color, shape, logic, etc.... Entire channels are based around cartoons that are educational (sprout for preschoolers for example) - and it seems the more "educational" it is, as in the more math, science, reading help it contains, the more it appeals to parents.  Other than maybe Sesame Street and a few other obscure programs, this wasn't the case when I was a child at all.  Rather the cartoons were geared towards character. Remember the old-school CareBears who came down to offer support, advice, and cheer to children? Even the Smurfs and GummiBears in their good guys vs. the bad guy escapades usually had some moral or character-building wrap up to the plot.  Well, cartoons are just cartoons and this is somewhat of a ridiculous post...but there just might be a cultural trend that is subtly reflected here.  Are parents placing more importance on scholastic aptitude and IQ scores than on building good character? Well, I don't know.  But I do know that I've had more conversations at the playground about preschool and learning how to read than I have about teaching honesty, generosity, and keeping your word.  And, I've met more kids on the playground who can read and do math but find no trouble in directly lying to me and bullying other kids.  Just some observations.

Kids-In-Mind movie ratings

Having recently taken my children to see a movie in the theater that I hadn't previously viewed reminded me of this site, a good resource: Kids-In-Mind.   You can read about their mission under the F.A.Q's ,but summed up it is this: "to provide parents and other adults with objective and complete information about a film's content so that they can decide, based on their own value system, whether they should watch a movie with or without their kids." 
Because of this:
"...we do not "condemn," "critique" or "criticize" movies. And we don't "praise" or "recommend" movies either. We advance no "beliefs" and we do not "preach" anything. We are not affiliated with any political party, any cultural or religious group, or any ideology. The only thing we advocate is responsible, engaged parenting."
You can pretty much count on just a straight-forward, fully disclosed, objective description of content.

Horton Hears A Who

Today was dreary and chilly and so we decided to take advantage of the yet unused movie tickets that had been given as a Christmas gift to all of us.  We took the girls on our first full-family visit to see a movie and watched Horton Hears A Who.  It turned out to be a rather relaxing way to spend the afternoon.  Popcorn is always a hit with our girls who sat on our laps, and despite already having had a morning nap, Maddie fell asleep during the movie.  Hope enjoyed the movie and I'll agree that it was pretty good. I'm always a little skeptical to allow my girls to watch something I haven't already seen, but this turned out well and was a really nice way for the family to just chill out and enjoy a drizzly afternoon together.  If you aren't familiar with the Dr. Seuss book, it's a good one - one I've enjoyed reading to my young girls as the theme-line is "a person's a person no matter how small." 

Date with the Dinosaurs

Hope and I had a little movie date today while Maddie was napping.  I was tired but anxious just to spend some time close together, so we popped some popcorn and put in a couple episodes of Prehistoric Planet which we borrowed from the library.  If you haven't seen these shows, they are really quite cool.  While they might be a bit scary for the little ones, if you have a kid who loves dinosaurs (like my daughter does!) then I'm sure there will come a time when they will really appreciate seeing them brought to life and learning more about them.  The series, a kid/family oriented take on the popular Walking With the Dinosaurs co-produced by BBC and Discovery Channel, originally debuted on the Saturday morning slot on NBC.  But, all of the episodes are now on DVD and you can own it for about 10 bucks.

Celebrity Baby Buzz

Well, it's clear that having babies is pretty trendy right now - and great consumer business.  Stars are getting paid upwards of $4 million by magazines buying the first pictures of their baby and lines of baby products are springing up everywhere bringing in big bucks.  I'm not complaining - babies are amazing and the child and the experience are nothing less than miraculous, of course it should be celebrated and talked about and all the rest....but....BUT....people have been popping out kids since the beginning of humankind and I think I'd like to start seeing less attention going to glamour shots of famous new moms and their squishy little ones and more talk about those who had their babies more than a decade ago and have somehow managed to raise healthy, respectful people of good character.  I'd pay for an interview with a mom like that over a picture of Christina Aguilera looking all sweet and photo-shopped with her new son any day! Which is more fascinating to you? Another new baby looking like a wrinkly old man or a woman who has faced raising another human in this world and did a darn good job at it?

Maggie Tales

Maggie Tales instant storytime offers a great solution to waiting in lines, riding on planes or in automobiles, awaiting food at restaurants or any time your fidgety child needs something to grab their attention. The digital children's books, available on your computer, can also be downloaded to your iPhone, iPod, Sony PSP, Smartphones and more.  The Storytime library is updated weekly with new content for ages 2-8. 

Should the show be canceled?

This topic seems to be hot right now and I hate to beat it into the ground, but to (I quote) "participate in what is a national conversation about a controversial subject", I'd love to hear your thoughts about this article regarding "The nation's largest pediatricians' group on Monday said ABC should cancel the first episode of a new series because it perpetuates the myth that vaccines can cause autism." 

international adoption scams

Dateline NBC will run a segment on tomorrow, January 20, regarding international adoption scams.  I have wanted to adopt since I was barely a teenager and while my husband and I are still considering how this might be an option for our family at some point, I would want to be sure that I am creating a hope-filled, needed family for a child, instead of ripping them away from the one they truly belong to and who wants them.  These issues regarding Guatemalan adoption are not just scandalous, but truly heart-wrenching.

My sister goes on Donny Deutsch show!

I recently posted about the launch of my sister's new business, Mamaisms, and I've been proudly sporting the tees she sent to me.  Her fame continues to grow as she will appear on Donny Deutsch's show "The Big Idea" on CNBC, Jan 16th (that's Wednesday) 7pm pacific and 10pm eastern times. The business will be featured in a "what's new" short along with a panel of successful entrepreneurs who will review the product and idea and give opinions and advice.  I'm so excited for her! (and my other sister, Kathleen, who is a partner too!) If you are interested in starting your own business, then perhaps the show will offer some good advice to keep in mind, and if you want to know which one is my sister - she's the really pretty blonde named Jane Chaucer.

The blame game

So, with all the media tuned in to 16 yr. old Jamie-Lynne Spears' pregnancy, I caught myself having the following thoughts.  It seems that with Britney's publicized problems and now Jamie-Lynne's own issues, people are quick to cast judgment on their mother, Lynne Spears. Someone has to be to blame for the paths these girls are taking, right?  And the blame always goes to the mother.  Now, I'm not saying anything about Lynne - I know nothing about her (though I don't think I'd give her the mother-of-the-year award), but what I would like to say is that maybe it isn't always mom's fault.  Even though they are young, teens are individuals who make decisions regarding their own lives - and sometimes they just get it wrong, or messy, or whatever.....  I'll bet that there are plenty of awesome mothers out there who did everything a mom could possibly do to love and teach and prepare their children and still their kids made poor decisions with whopping consequences.  Now, I'm not letting moms off the hook - we obviously exert enormous influence in the lives of our children. But eventually, we as moms have to realize that even when we have done our very best, kids are sometimes going to make decisions that reflect themselves and not us. The question good mothers everywhere need to be asking is what our response will be if/when our kid decides to go ahead and make stupid, immature decisions for themselves. By the way, if you are interested, rumor has it that Lynne Spears is writing a book about her experiences as a mom.

Baby Borrowers

NBC is airing a new show this fall called Baby Borrowers - and I totally can't wait to watch it! The idea is that they are taking five teen couples age 16-19 who are anxious to have their own lives and families and giving them the chance to experience the pains and joys of parenthood....they are given "real houses and real responsibilities the most important of which is to look after children from a range of age groups. They'll begin with an infant followed by a toddler, pre-teen, young teenager, and lastly a senior citizen."  This is bound to be hysterical for us moms of young children who know day in and day out what that is like (though it hardly comes close to the reality of caring for your own child whom you love desperately.) And for parents of teens, wouldn't you just love to sit down and watch this with them?  At any rate, I'm so curious to take a peek at this show.  However, I do have to wonder......who exactly gave up their precious babies for 3 days to a teenage social experiment?