2010 January | Theta Mom®

01.13.10

My Seven

Beth from The Confused Homemaker recently tagged my in My Seven. If you haven’t met Beth, you need to go check out her blog! She was one of my very first followers here at Theta Mom and she is such a great bloggy friend.

So here’s the deal with this tag: I must describe seven things about myself (seven things you don’t already know) and then tag seven others to do the same (if they are willing to accept the challenge). So, here goes…

1. My husband and I vacationed in Sicily for a few summers before our kids came along. Most of his family lives in Sicily and his parents still have a house there. This is the view from the top floor of the home. The Sea is about 3 blocks away and it takes about 1 minute to walk to the beach.

Sicily

2. As you probably guessed from #1 above, my Mother-In-Law speaks very limited English…did I mention we have the BEST relationship?

3. Sticking with the Sicilian theme here, I sometimes joke about my husband and there are many days he totally annoys me (what husband doesn’t) but I truly did marry my best friend. When I see pictures of him with our children it not only melts my heart, but it reminds me that I married a good man, even though he sometimes drives me crazy!

Dadandbaby

4. A piece me died in November 2008 when my Nana left this Earth. She was one of the most influential and remarkable women to have ever entered my life. I think of her every single day.

NanaWedding

5. I grew up at the Jersey Shore but my life reflects nothing of that portrayed on MTV’s new show. Almost every cast member is from everywhere except the Jersey Shore (so doesn’t that explain it)? And although it is such a train wreck to watch, I am sucked into it week after week.

6. Right in line with Halloween, Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. NYC is the ultimate place to visit during the holiday season.

7. I am a New York Giants fan. During the football season, I try to get the kids dressed up in their NY Giants gear, especially on Sunday. This season has been terrible for NY but once a fan, always a fan.

Now this is when I am supposed to pass it on to 7 bloggers. But I decided to tag double that number since the following blogs all have one thing in common:

I Don’t Like ‘Mama’

Existential Waitress

Angry Julie Monday

Tales From the Sippy Cup

My Favorite Everything

When Did I Go From Kid to Grown-Up?

Organic Motherhood with Coolwhip

Just Another Mom of 2

They are all new Theta Mom readers! Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know these ladies a little better, so here’s your chance to check them out as well!

{ 87 Comments }

01.12.10

Can You Say Shameless Self-Promotion?

I just found out yesterday that Theta Mom has been nominated as a Top Giveaway Blog at Giveaways 4 Mommy. I would love to know the blogger who nominated me! Anyhow, many of you know how I feel about my blog being considered a “giveaway” blog from this post. I want the content of my blog to speak volumes not the giveaways. However, I have been known as a girl who loves a good giveaway from time to time. And let me just say you ladies will totally freak over the next one I am rolling out this weekend…like, seriously FREAK!

So since this is all in good fun, you can click on the following link to cast your vote for Theta Mom here.

And while I am at this shameless self-promotion, I’m leaving you the link for Top Mommy Blogs. I would love a little boost, so I would totally appreciate a few clicks you can spare here.

So instead of leaving a comment… just click, click, click!

xoxo

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01.11.10

A Stranger In My Closet

I was standing in front of my closet the other day and found myself staring at all of my beautiful clothes carefully draped on hangers. I was looking at the sweaters folded so perfectly, even my shoes aligned by season. Everything has its proper place.

Because it has gone untouched for two years.

Because I can’t wear them since my body doesn’t fit into them.

Because being pregnant for nine months for the second time and then giving birth has put my body in the worst place it has ever been. Ever.

closetcontainerstore

[image: containerstore.com]

Trying to get back into those pre-preggers clothes is still a challenge for me, fifteen months later. And I have no excuse. I can no longer say, “My daughter is four weeks old which is why I am wearing these pants.”

There’s nothing I can say other than, this really sucks.

After I had my son, I was back in my pre-preggers clothes within five months. Did I work at it? Yes. Did it come off pretty easily? Yes. Can I say the same as the result of giving birth to my daughter? Ummm, no. This girl seriously screwed me up.

But this longing to wear the clothes in my closet is more than just a “baby weight” issue. It’s the fact that I work from home and there is no longer a need to get all dressed up…can I get an Amen from all of you stay-at-home moms, too?

When I was an elementary school teacher, I had to and wanted to look professional. I actually enjoyed putting my outfits together, pairing each one with perfect jewelry and accessories. My students always thought I was the “young, cool teacher” which was total incentive for me to sport the latest trends and keep up with my fabulous fashionista reputation.

Now, as I arrive at work after walking down the stairs to open my laptop, there is no real need to wear an adorable skirt with tights, boots and accessories because my daily outing is basically dropping my son off at pre-school (and if I’m lucky, a quick stop at the supermarket or Target with my daughter). That is just not a solid reason for me to put on my smashing dangle earrings and designer boots. Furthermore, not being able to fit into anything that resembles total cuteness makes this even harder to become a fashion plate like I once was…

Don’t get me wrong, I feel so blessed to be able to work from home while raising my kids. I wouldn’t trade that decision for anything and I know many women would love to be in my shoes. However, I am having some serious issues with my closet and what I find myself wearing these days. It’s typically the same black shirt and pants ensemble, yoga pants or anything super comfortable. I lack the sheer motivation to really get “dressed.”

So aside from some hard-core dieting to get back into those clothes hanging in my closet, I’m thinking a call into Stacey and Clinton may be in order. You think they’ll take on a mommy blogger?

{ 99 Comments }

01.8.10

Little Billies Review and Giveaway

***This contest is now closed. Congratulations Dana! An email has been sent.***

Little Billies is a company created by mother of 2, Sarah Dawson. When Sarah gave birth to her first child, she was an avid reader of many different positive parenting books. However, she thought these books lacked the real tools needed for a parent to implement some of the suggested strategies, which caused her to think about how she could create a product that would fill this void. In 2006 when her son was only 18 months old, Little Billies was born. When Sarah contacted me about reviewing a Little Billies Rewards Chart, I can’t tell how perfect the timing was…

My husband and I had agreed that the “big” Christmas gift for our 4 year-old son was going to be the Wii. We also knew there would have to be some limits set in order to play. Otherwise, it would be an everyday Wii marathon. So playing the Wii had to be earned, so my husband and I needed a way to document his progress and success. This is when I knew a Little Billies Reward Chart was the perfect answer!

Although you may find variations of reward charts on the market, the Little Billies chart is different because it is magnetic. As a former elementary school teacher, I am a huge fan of the reward chart but was always stuck using sticker related charts. The problem though, was that the stickers were hard to peel if they needed to be removed and it was inconvenient to find a place to hang this type of chart in my home. The beauty about the Little Billies Reward Chart is that it can be placed with ease on any magnetic surface. We found the refrigerator to be the best spot to keep the chart because it’s a daily reminder of the behavior our son has to display in order to play the Wii. Then once he reaches his goal, we remove all the magnets and we start the process again. So easy!

The Reward Chart that I reviewed is Stage 2 for children 4+ years. You can find all the details for this chart here. However, be sure to check out the entire website here for all age appropriate products that would best fit the needs of your child. I chose the soccer theme personalized with my son’s name. However, there are many other adorable themes to choose from. The chart also comes with 48 magnets and many of the behaviors are found more than once. This is great especially if you are trying to focus on one behavior. For example, there is a “good toilet” magnet, so if you are in the midst of potty training your little one this would be excellent motivation! Using the magnets, there are multiple ways to use the chart effectively.

Here is a picture of my son’s Little Billies Chart hung on the side of our refrigerator. I cropped it so his name was not shown, so it looks a bit awkward but I wanted you to see some of the magnets on the chart.

LittleBillies

I also liked the fact that my son was excited about this chart. The magnets fit perfectly in his little hands and he loves to place them on the chart himself. He then counts how many boxes are left before he can play the Wii! I would recommend this chart to any parent who would like to implement positive reinforcement.

You can purchase this personalized magnetic reward chart for $24.95 here OR you can enter to win because Little Billies is giving one lucky Theta Mom reader a $25 e-voucher to use for any Little Billies product!

How to Enter The Little Billies Giveaway:

Required Entry: Follow my blog publicly and tell me you are.

Extra Entries: (You must leave a separate entry for each extra entry to count and extra entries won’t count unless the required entry is done)

1. Follow Theta Mom on Twitter here and leave me your twitter name. (1 entry)

2. Become a fan of Theta Mom on Facebook here and leave me your FB name. (1 entry)

3. Subscribe to Theta Mom via email. You must activate the subscription for this entry to count. (2 entries)

4. Subscribe to Theta Mom any other way. (1 entry)

5. Grab one of my cute buttons and add it to your website. (2 entries per button)

6. Click to vote for me at Top Mommy Blogs. Just click the banner on the right side bar and tell me you clicked. (1 entry)

7. Tweet this giveaway! Just copy/paste the following: Enter to win a $25 e-voucher from Little Billies #giveaway @ThetaMom http://tinyurl.com/ykgcpsw Please RT (1 entry per daily tweet)

8. Post about this giveaway on your blog and link back to me. Leave me your link to show the post. (2 entries)

9. Add Theta Mom to your blogroll. (2 entries)

Giveaway Rules:

This giveaway is open to US and Australian residents. It begins on January 8, 2010 and will end on January 21, 2010 at 9 pm. One winner with a valid entry will be selected at random using random.org. The winner will be announced and must respond with a current email address within 48 hours to claim. Otherwise, another eligible entry will be chosen. Enter as many extra entries as you would like Theta Moms and good luck!

I was provided a Little Billies “My Rewards Chart” in the soccer theme to review. I was not compensated for this review. These are my own honest opinions and experience with the product.

{ 184 Comments }

01.6.10

Organization Madness Turned Into a Teachable Moment

We all know the beginning of January marks a brand new year in which many resolutions are attempted. Some are met with great success and others seem to fail quickly.

For me, this time of year also reflects the sudden urge to clean…like the whole the house. I feel the need to open every drawer, closet door and kitchen cabinet in my home. I get the cleaning bug for some de-cluttering and reorganization. Especially since the holidays have come and gone, our entire basement has been consumed with toys. Not only did Santa swing by with his bundle, I have a very large family and every single one of them bought gifts for my children which they happen to do every year.

Every single year.

You can imagine how quickly the toy shop has engulfed every corner and space in my home. Coincidently, I received an email from author Lea Schneider who inquired about my interest in checking out her book Growing-Up Organized. Not only is she a working mother of 3, she’s a professional organizer so of course I wanted to gain some perspective and add some more tips to my de-cluttering and reorganization mission!

Her book is a hands-on guide where she provides practical application especially for busy moms. She even explains how to get your children involved in the process. There is a plethora of knowledge and advice throughout this book from a time management perspective all the way to understanding why we have clutter in the first place. She also suggests how we can implement change by including worksheets, goal setting tasks, planning materials and other resources in the book to get you started. Her website Organize Right Now is also a great place to begin the organization mission. After reading Chapter 7: Staying Tidy, I was totally inspired to begin my own clean-up mission.

After taking a good look at our basement, I grabbed my 4 year-old son with a plan. We talked about the fact that he has so many toys that he’s out-grown. He’s either too big for them or he just doesn’t play with them any longer. And since they are not a good fit for his baby sister, there really is no need to keep them. As we were discussing this toy drive, my son began to show interest and was ready to take on this clean-up challenge with me. Although he clearly expressed his need for being the person in charge of choosing the toys that would be donated (under my supervision of course), after some real heart-to-heart talking, he got it.

He really got it.

He liked the idea that another child who doesn’t have as many toys as him would have fun playing with them. I saw his eyes light up when he realized he would be doing something good. This quickly became much more than just a simple clean-up effort. My son was actually taking note that he was part of a process that would pass a little joy onto another child and I could tell this made him proud.

And so it began. He started cleaning up his stacks of books and games…

Xmasclean3

And then he moved toward the buckets and shelves…to three other areas in our basement where he made piles of toys to donate.

Xmasclean1

When we were finished, we had three full garbage bags of toys ready to get into the hands of other children (and my basement never looked better)!

I can’t believe my madness for keeping a clean and clutter-free home turned into a real teachable moment for my son.

So thank you Lea Schneider, for giving me the motivation to jump-start some organization in my home and involving my 4 year-old in the process. This experience has led to something much bigger, something my son will remember for years to come.

{ 73 Comments }