Paying for bedtime

June 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

retro-mom-money-images-Graphics-Fairy004 (1)(I know it’s been awhile since I wrote. End of school activities/ summer starting, you know the drill.)

Anyone feel like they’re “paying” for bedtime? I mean literally shelling out dough so their kids sleep?

‘Cause I do. Since I moved my little guy to a “big boy bed” I think it’s cost me. In sleep, sanity and cold hard cash. Seems like the only way he’ll stay in his bed is if there’s a reward after the night’s sleep.

We started out big with little die cast airplanes (at $10 a pop those can add up.) Then we moved on to a series of Little Einstein books. Fortunately for my wallet those were discontinued so I had to buy them used on Amazon for merely a penny (plus the $3 shipping; I’ll deal.)

But unfortunately those little (in content and name) books seemed to have waned in interest here in favor of bigger and better gifts. Last on the list? A $14 digital clock. I’m hoping his time telling skills will help to negotiate me out of these daily payouts.

After that? Oh, I promised him a Crocodile Creek placemat (anywhere between $2-5 depending where you are) and after that it’s anyone’s guess.

So as my wallet gets lighter I need to figure out a new sleep strategy. Can’t use food – I save that for car rides and watching big brother’s baseball game. Can’t use the iPad, I use that for getting dressed in the morning, carpool and when my nanny is here and I have to get some work done.

I know deep down I need to go cold turkey on my little bribery ring. I’m being blackmailed by the cutest con man around. But I have to show him who’s boss, right? I’ll just have to go ask my husband for a raise.

p.s. if you have a good toddler sleep strategy that isn’t costing you an arm and a leg I’d love to know… 

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Last minute Mother’s Day Must-Haves and Must-Dos…

May 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I’m going on CBS 2 Chicago to discuss last minute Mother’s Day gift ideas. I was so bad this year, barely getting my mom’s present in time. (Luckily, this afternoon still counts for getting it in time).

But if you’re still looking for some good gift ideas, I have scouted out some of the best last-minute options for you. Now, go on and shop!!

I have couple ideas for last minute activities if this gorgeous weather holds up. Sometimes it’s fun to have a Mother’s Day experience that goes beyond brunch.

  • Odyssey Cruise Mother’s Day Brunch — I love seeing the Chicago skyline from the water and while my kids love the water taxi it lacks a little ambiance for 0789_Boat_Headermoms. The big Odyessy ship just underwent a $2 Million renovation and moms can have a choice of an early (10:30 am) or late (2:30 pm) meal aboard the ship starting at $64.90. Kids are 40% off adult price and moms will love the complimentary champagne, rose and rooftop lounge.
  • Susan G Komen Race for the Cure – What better way to spend Mother’s Day than for walking in support of breast cancer? This year, the race starts in Butler Field at Grant Park and includes a 10K or 5K race. Registration is still open tomorrow on site starting at 6:30 am. The Daley family will serve as Honorary Chairs of the race to celebrate the life of Chicago’s former first lady Maggie C. Daley and the passion and energy she displayed as a mom and breast cancer survivor. Registration starts at $35.

But if you want to sleep in or want to give something more tangible I have some cool ideas for last minute gifts, too.mom-wine-water-bottle

  • Psychobaby Happy Hour Water Bottle, $18 - This is a great and practical gift for the mom who has a sense of humor – you can get a customized aluminum water bottle made for you at Psychobaby in Bucktown overnight to surprise and delight mom for a Sunday happy hour. Wine not included!
  • Lill Studio customized bags – Isabel Messenger bag in Blue Ikat Dots $92 and Lilli Tote in Baltic Blue, $169. I got the idea of Lill Studio bags from a friend who goes to the store every year with her mom to design a bag for Mother’s Day. I love the messenger, hands-free style for a busy mom on the go (who wants a shoulder bag at the park), and the carryall tote for those big outings. Plus, they have hundreds of fabrics and patterns to choose from. Also Lill is running a promotion that if you design a full price bag with your aunt/ sister/ mother/ daughter through tomorrow you get 30% off your purchase.
  • KLUTCHclub/KLUTCHmom - KLUTCHclub is a monthly subscription service that sends a hand-picked and “themed” box of holistic health, fitness and wellness products – organic protein bars, workout wear, skincare products, teas, etc. – right to your doorstep every month, making it a no brainer to incorporate healthier choices with ease. Price ranges around $17 per month; subscriptions are 1, 3 and 12 months.
  • Rachel Barton Pine - lullabies CD – Our editor at Chicago Parent loves this CD so much that I had to share it. Pine, who has released more than 20 albums, including CDs of heavy metal violin music, has added a softer selection to her collection — a CD of instrumental lullabies recorded with pianist Matthew Hagle. She ended up finding 150 classical lullabies from various parts of the world, then set about the task of narrowing it down to 25. You can download it on iTunes!
  • Me Smooth –  Perfect for the busy mom who doesn’t have time to get her beauty treatments, the me Smooth removes unwanted hair safely and effectively and is pain free! Costs husband a fraction of what it would in the doctor’s office… and makes the morning shaving routine so much easier and quicker.  Plus you can pick it up at Sephora, Ulta, Bloomies, Nordstrom and Nieman Marcus! Costs $395
  • Lush “Cream of the Crop” Flower Soaps - a selection of innovative re-usable bubble bar wands especially for mom – all are on sticks, so they are easy to tuliopswish around the bathtub creating masses of skin softening, beautifully-scented bubbles.  Then place on the side of the tub and allow it to dry, so it’s ready to use again and again (you can get up to six baths out of each).  We suggest giving mom all three to make a gorgeous bubble bouquet. Some are vegan and start at $8.95 each.  Lush stores are at Macy’s, Bucktown, Lincoln Park, and Old Orchard.
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Leaning In and Loving It; Or, WWSD?

April 18, 2013 By 1 Comment

pirat-games-3I just wrapped up reading Sheryl Sandberg’s hotly contested book, Lean In.  Lean In is the latest book about working motherhood to hit the shelves and it’s causing quite a stir. If you haven’t heard of it by now, well, let’s just leave it at that. You probably have heard of it by now.

And it seems like everyone has an opinion or take on the book, or maybe worse, Sandberg herself. I don’t really want to re-hash all the opinions or arguments the book has caused. I’m not being cowardly, (maybe lazy and tired), but really I just am not sure I’m going to add too much insight to the discussion of the biggest book on women working that’s come out since, well, I’m not sure when.

What I’d rather focus on is the positive I gained by reading the book. Because I gained a lot. Really and truly! Sandberg has an informative and pretty inspirational point of view. She was extremely lucky in her career, but also, clearly, she was very hardworking. She didn’t just get there because of favors that were called in. And hey, if you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably had a favor called in for you once along the way — is that such a bad thing?

Anyway, I digress. I’m thinking about this book a lot lately. It’s like “What Would Sheryl Do” in my head every time I’m on a call, in a meeting, trying to write a new business proposal. I sort of know WWSD, but here are some changes and observations about myself that I’ve made in just the short time since I’ve read the book. My own WWSD (See we even have the same initials!):

  • I don’t aspire to move all the way up the corporate ladder; I just want to be on one of the rungs. Even though Sandberg clearly speaks to women in executive positions, I was empowered by her message to continually go after your goals and to not settle.
  • I also have decided to speak up more. I used to constantly just keep my mouth shut because I was afraid I was being impolite or talking out of turn or because I was just nervous. So I loved the part of the book where Sandberg talks about how women never interrupt in meetings as compared with men. Now, I’m not advocating interrupting, but I am advocating being honest and speaking your mind appropriately and assertively. You cannot go wrong being true to yourself.
  • I’m not as nervous or resistant to asking my husband to pitch in and help when I need it for work. He’s most definitely the breadwinner, but I’ve been pulling in my share of the pie lately and if I need to work, he needs to adjust his schedule if he can. My kids generally like him better anyway.
  • I also know it was one of the lightest parts of her book, but I appreciated Sandberg’s examples of forgetting to dress her kids for school theme days, leaving work at 5:30 and logging on after bed, and generally feeling torn about where to be and when. Part of me knows that it is very anecdotal and meant to appeal to more of the masses, but that even someone with more help and resources than I can ever imagine still f’s up once in awhile with her kids.
  • The part that really resonated with me was how Sandberg identifies so many examples of how women screw over other women trying to get ahead in careers. It happened to me, I’m sure it happened to you, and I really want to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone I manage, work with, or other. Easily implementable for me as my own business owner.

 

Did you read it? What was your key takeaway?

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My busy week… Cookbook party and children’s theater!

April 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Sometimes having this blog has its perks. As much as I complain about blogging at times, this blog is part of me, and something that feels like an extension of my personality. So I chug along, blogging when I can. Somehow I still stay on people’s radars and they continue to invite me to some neat events. This week I got to go to two different blogging events which were right up my alley.

homemade-with-loveThe first was a luncheon for the launch of Jennifer Perillo’s new cookbook, “Homemade with Love,” about her devotion to food and family. I’ve been following Jennie’s blog for a little while and find her writing to be powerful and inspiring. She was the same in person. What a beautiful soul! So sweet and energized, and truly devoted to her craft. The food we tasted was delicious (I could sample a few of the items), and I really enjoyed listening to how the book came to be. I can’t wait to look through and hopefully try some of her work.

The second event I ended up at was Friday night at the Chicago Children’s Theatre to see the world premiere of the original play “The Elephant and the Whale.”  Written and created in association with Redmoon Theater, The Elephant and the Whale aptly tells a story of friendship between two proposed circus animals caught adrift in a 1900′s-era sideshow. The show, which differed greatly from other children’s theater experiences I’ve ever been too (no silly looking costumes, minimal slapstick humor), captured my kids’ attention from start to one hour finish. And mind you, my youngest is three. The visuals were stirring and creative and the story told not literally, but so imaginatively that you could feel the rush of water around the whale and the elephants footsteps. The water scenes were brilliant. I loved it and would highly recommend it.

What a week! What did you all do?

CCT RM E&W_5

Photo courtesy of Chicago Children’s Theatre.

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Hockey is for girls, too!

March 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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Move over Mattel being the king of toy stereotyping; Oriental Trading Company’s got one up on you… We’re playing spring hockey over here (gah!). So my eldest son is reeeallly into hockey. Truly. He’s pop out of bed on Sunday mornings for a 7 am ice time into it. So you can imagine that only a hockey party [...]

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Massive March Holidays… my latest for Chicago Parent

March 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment
march2013

The month is so packed with holidays it makes my head spin. Easter, Passover both the same week and well, we barely survived the traffic during St. Patrick’s Day over here. I did put together a few tips, though, on what to do in the city with your kiddos for these two major religious and [...]

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Surviving my life, or, surviving spring break in Chicago – as seen on CBS 2 Chicago!

March 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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This year so far has been no short of hectic, intense and exhausting. All in a good way. Being busy is a good problem in my household. But being busy means finding a way to survive as well – not to be too dramatic, but I haven’t cooked a fresh meal in over a week [...]

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My kids need a dose of overprogramming

January 23, 2013 By 3 Comments
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I’ve always tried not to be that helicopter parent. I adhere to lots of my own rules like kids should have time to play at home, be creative, be bored. Some experts even say it’s good for kids. (Apparently mine don’t adhere to the rules of this story – they lunged for the iPads all [...]

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Best New Workouts for Busy Moms

January 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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If your New Year’s Resolution is to go get in shape, and not gain 5 lbs. in the buffet line in Boca Raton, FL like I did last week, then you should read my latest story for Chicago Parent on the best workouts for busy moms… I need to heed my own advice here! I’d [...]

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We NEED a change of rhetoric- Gun control is the new abortion rights movement

December 16, 2012 By 4 Comments
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I’m MAD. I’m so MAD that this happened. It was so unnecessary, so unthinkable. SO CRUEL. No need to go into the details. What I want to discuss is how we can get people to change the talk, the discussion that leads to such madness. I’m tired of the rhetoric our country has adopted on [...]

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