Mama's Musings

End of (Summer) Days

Labor Day is a bittersweet time for many of us. We have to stuff our kids' feet back into proper shoes, tame our sunkissed hair and resume a proper standing in society as Little Johnny's mom or dad. The New York Sun reported on Dead Summer Walking. The journalist asked me how I felt about summer's end.

"It's like death," I said. Then again, there are moments of joy as I remind myself my children can only grow older when there is a future. And there is no future without endings and beginnings. So I bite my lip and rejoice in the appreciation of the day.

Speaking of appreciation -- for those of you struggling with your children's poor habits, the Appreciation Station seeks to reinforce positive behavior through rewards, treats and a general appreciation of the good things our kids do. I found myself getting annoyed with my kids and reacting badly when my son spilled water all over some papers on the table (that should not have been there!). Then I noticed how my daughter started treating her brother badly, too. I apologized for lashing out, then suggested they be patient while I had a conference call.

They both earned a token and my deep appreciation for their waiting. It is a fabulous tool you can fill with whatever you like. They start you out with stickers, coupons and gift certificates, but you can fill them with your own notes and treasures. It came just in the nick of time as school begins and the leaves fall. Appreciation goes beyond the summertime to every day. For that I am very grateful.

Pirate Mania

The pirate theme has continued throughout the summer. It is safe to say it will last on until at least after Labor Day.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my son has discovered Legos. There was no holding him back when he saw the Lego Castle Skeleton Ship Attack Special Edition in a catalogue that accompanied his fire station. After much searching, I found the marvelous set (thanks, in part, to a lovely contact who shall remain nameless). The ship took several fascinating hours to put together and by some fluke, my sister bought him a perfectly matching telescope that also turns into a pirate ship. It is a mock Lego set, much smaller and less detailed.

At first, I thought the Skeleton Attack ship to be rather morbid. My son playing with ghoulish characters made of plastic? Wouldn't it freak him out? I underestimated the pirate in him. He has played with it for hours on end. In fact, one morning, he awoke early and completely ignored his grandmother who slipped past him unnoticed. Arr arrr! Those pirates are most distracting.

Lovin' it!

Smoke-free clothes

A man was smoking at a neighboring table today. My friends were irritated by it, and I realized how European I had become. I have gotten used to smokers at restaurants. In fact, I love going to New York where it is a smoke-free environment in most buildings.

Another great thing is how my clothes don't need to be dry-cleaned every time I go out to a restaurant in New York. Go to one in Munich, however, and you'll make your local dry cleaners very happy indeed. You typically have to consider what you will be wearing when you go out in Europe and if it is easy to clean afterwards. Enter Dry Cleaner's Secret, a fabulous textile freshening towel that will cut your bill down to size. Dab the spots on your dry clean only clothes, toss it into the dryer, push permanent press and 25 minutes, and take out after it is done. If you hang up your clothes right away, they'll even look pressed. Amazing! The bummer is I don't have a dryer, but many modern households in Germany do. I will be recommending this product to anyone who likes to go out in their dry clean only skivvies.

No More SADness

„Summer is over," my father-in-law bemoaned to us on the phone today. It is Jackson’s sixth birthday, and he was calling to congratulate him.

"Let me get my towel," I said, dripping from a romp in the pool. It is 85 degrees today, a bit hazy, and perfect pool weather.

"It has rained the entire month," my mother-in-law said. I felt my shoulders hitch to my ears.

My husband returns to Europe on Tuesday. We follow a week later. I cringe at the thought of entering the cold, damp darkness called Central Europe . In fact, I never knew how light sensitive I am until I moved to Germany.

"You have GOT to get a sun simulating lamp, Christine!" my sister suggested. She suffers from SAD as well, seasonal affective disorder that leaves sufferers depressed as natural light becomes as rare as strawberries at Christmas.

I half-heartedly attempted to find a lamp. They seemed expensive, out of reach, and confusing. That is, until I found full spectrum solutions. They manufacture high definition full spectrum lighting. Their Blue Max Dawn simulator is the perfect thing when it doesn’t get light until 8:30 am in our underheated bedroom come November. Now I can awaken to a ‘light alarm’ that alerts me (gently) that it is time to wake up.

The full spectrum desk lamp is another thing I have now. Instead of crawling into my cave a.k.a home office, I can bask in the glory of simulated sunlight from November to April without feeling the intense winter blues. The company promises me I will turn my winter woes into winter wows. After a full month of summer fun in the sun and heat, I am ready. The sun simulator is fantastic. The warm cheery design resembles a flame. The desk lamp covers the entire desk and will fill my body with the necessary biorhythms to make winter a snap. Hopefully, it won’t be a cold snap. In fact, with my lamps in tow, it won’t really matter at all. My hope is I’ll carry the feelings of Hilton Head and Central Virginia in August right up to next spring.

Washington DC fun

We escaped to the big bad city today. The kids got a lesson in civics and aeronautics. The Space Shuttle 3D movie (narrated by Tom Cruise) was one of the best IMAX movies we'd ever seen. Highly entertaining and informative.

Tomorrow it's off to the zoo in the morning, then perhaps a visit to the Natural History Museum.

Mini Me Sizes to Make Travel Light

A little-known secret about me? I love trial sizes. Those dazzling aisle containers with miniature bottles of mouthwash and band-aids get me all a-quiver. Perhaps it is because of the possibility lodged in those tiny containers of hair conditioner and shampoo. You really just need them for weekend jaunts to faraway places only two-seater planes can take you. Or perhaps they imply a getaway with your spouse (you know, that person you see in the pre-dawn blur as your children awaken you for the simple reason that their bedskirts resembled the monster they were just dreaming about). I envision lying on a king-size bed, moodily flipping through a fashion magazine as I occasionally look up to the lakeside view from my five-star hotel window, trial-sizes at my side.

You think I'm kidding? I'm not. Whenever I feel down, I browse the aisles of our local drugstore, thinking of whether I should buy the family-size tub of lotion or the petite travel size version just in case I really do take that cruise. I was thrilled to learn someone specializes in travel-size packages. Minimus offers various convenient packages for Summer Camp, Baby on the Go, Dorm Laundry Kit, and more. They have grab bag snacks (not all healthy, but certainly good for an occasional school excursion snack), too. The best part is they have sizes matching the FAA's liquid restrictions during air travel. That's a plus for someone such as myself who flies more often than she drives.

Got Skin? Get Milk!

If you’ve ever ordered a coffee at Starbucks, you’ll know how overwhelming the choices can be. Tall latte skim light, heavy on the cinnamon sprinkles. Or ice cream – double order of soy cookies ‘n cream on a whole wheat waffle cone. Now you can smell like one.

SkinM.I.L.K® is the most unusual personal care line I have ever seen. In the shape of a milk bottle, these shampoo and shower gels come in two scents – vanilla cream or cookies ‘n cream. It is even made with 5% real milk proteins which soften and cleanse while leaving a most delightful ice cream parlor odor on your skin (not recommended if you’re on a diet!).

The other cool thing is the company gives 5% of its proceeds to Heifer International to send a milk-producing animal to a family in need. Now that’s wanting your milk and getting it, too!

I have to admit it took a little getting used to, but my kids really love the novelty of it. And it’s for a good cause. If I can’t get my kids to drink milk, at least I can get them to bathe in it!

Attention all Back-to-School Moms!

Before we left on our mega trip to the US this summer, I rushed out to buy my kids’ back-to-school supplies. Wrapping my son and daughter’s names around their new pencils wasn’t how I had envisioned spending the first few days of our summer vacation, but I knew if I didn’t label them, they’d be gone quicker than you can say "How wants another s’more?" once school starts.

But I’ve got great news. Stuck on You ("Labels for every Tom, Dick and Harriet") creates personalized school supplies every mom would love. Not only do they personalize your child’s pencils, they also have iron-on clothing tags to mark those expensive gym shorts your kid insisted on having.

My personal favorite is the Tools for School pack customized for boys and girls. It includes 12 colored pencils, 10 markers, 2 regular pencils, an eraser, pencil sharpener, pencil case and safety scissors. Had I known about Stuck on You sooner, I would have saved a lot of time wrapping my child’s name around all those darn pencils. At least now I have back up in case some wise guy unravels the tape and claims it as his.

Back to School - How to Have a Cool Lunch

My friend Lara has spent her entire summer at the pool. When we visited her last week in Lincoln, MA, I was impressed with her routine. She managed to motivate her two boys,ages 3 and 6, out the door and into the car within five minutes. With the alacrity of a mom on a mission, she packed snacks, towels, and sunscreen for all of us. What caught my eye the most were the Fun Ice Packs she used.

"Where did you get these?" I giggled, thumbing the basketball-shaped ice pack. She couldn’t remember. She also had a smiley face one to keep the kids’ ham sandwiches cool. Shamefacedly, I thought back to the times I made my daughter lug the huge, extremely uncool cool pack in her lunch bag when she went on school excursions. You know the kind you put in your family-size cooler for those weekend outings to the beach? You can find them here.

Madame Alexander Goes Hollywood

Growing up, I used to create theatrical performances with my best friend. We weren’t the players. Her extensive collection of Madame Alexander dolls were. Because the only thing that moved on the dolls were their eyes, we had to create compelling dialogue to make the play believable.

My friend lived in a farmhouse with no heat. Her mom worked two jobs to make ends meet. But every Christmas both she and her sister got one Madame Alexander doll each. It was a stretch for her mom, but those dolls, dressed in various international garb, meant there was a world out there waiting for them to discover. They also meant hours upon hours of fun as we thought up crazy storylines to entertain her family.

In my mind, Madame Alexander dolls represented fairytales in dolly form – Little Red Riding Hood, Little Bo Peep, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Imagine my surprise when I found out they’ve moved their line beyond a child’s imagination to embrace characters from Hollywood and Broadway!

In a new fall line up of Desperate Housewives dolls, Madame Alexander is speaking to a new generation of theatrical performers. Bree, Susan, Gabrielle, Edie, and Lynette are five new 16 inch dolls with movable arms with large heads and elaborate clothing. In my inner child’s eye, I can just imagine the stories we could make up with them!

Wicked ™ is another line they’ve introduced (based on the Broadway musical). The two witches, Elphaba (wicked witch of the west) and Glinda are both 10 inches and simply exquisite.

For those traditionalists, they also have the good old standbys such as Raggedy Ann and Madeleine, a very comforting thought indeed.