General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.

[Atticus Grinch]

Mr. Noodle's brother, Mr. Noodle --- RIP

Character actor Michael Jeter, dead at 50
http://www.planetout.com/pno/news/ar...e=2003/04/01/3

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

OH NO, MR. NOODLE!

[viet_mom]

If anyone is interested, PBS is showing the movie Daughter from Danang. It is about a young woman who was adopted from Vietnam during the war and goes back to Vietnam expecting to bond with her birth family. But things turn a bit sour when the culture clash becomes evident. The film won many awards. It's showing 9 pm EST - you can check time in your area.

Viet_Mom

[viet_mom]

Um, the date the film is showing (Daughter from Danang) is this Monday, April 7 (9 pm EST).

(Mommybrain, sorry).

[lawyer_princess]

Our little board seems to have been overlooked in all the moving. I'll try to get things going with a story and poll.

We had two birthday parties this weekend. One was for an 8yo girl and was a sleepover mystery party. All the kids were characters and had to act out their parts to find out who stole some diamond or something. Apprently it was a big hit. The second was for a 6 yo in a park. The rented a moon jump and had snacks and cake, but no other organized activities. I hung out for that one and it was kind of boring.

So, what are some good kids' birthday party themes?

[dtb]

Originally posted by lawyer_princess
So, what are some good kids' birthday party themes?

We gave a birthday party for our dinosaur-crazed boy at the American Museum of Natural History (a dinosaur party), which was a HUGE hit. He still talks about it (and it was 9 months ago!)

The parties that tend to be the biggest hits for kids of his age (about 5) are the "gymnastics" or other running-around-type parties. There's a place called Circus Gym here where they "rock-climb" and swing across the room on a suspended wire (kind of like James Bond), jump on trampolines, etc. that the kids seem to enjoy.

I have heard that a very popular party is one given at the oldest (?) (if not the oldest, a very old) fire station in NYC.

The mystery party sounds cool.

[viet_mom]

Sorry but this thread reminded me of the FUNNIEST birthday party scenes. In Parenthood, Steve Martin promises that Cowboy Gil will attend his 9 year old son's BD party but when he's a no-show, Marin dresses up like the Cowboy, complete with the rubber-bottomed bathroom carpet mat for knee britches.


And then he has to viciously bludgeon the pinata to get the candy out. Oh too funny.

(At least funnier than the BD scene in The Omen].

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by dtb
We gave a birthday party for our dinosaur-crazed boy at the American Museum of Natural History (a dinosaur party), which was a HUGE hit. He still talks about it (and it was 9 months ago!)

You are the coolest parents ever. Would you adopt me?

viet_mom
Marin dresses up like the Cowboy, complete with the rubber-bottomed bathroom carpet mat for knee britches

I think the word you're looking for is "chaps."

I wish I had more to contribute to this thread, but my kids are too young to have a lot of experience with this as a parent, and thinking back to growing up, just about every birthday party I went to was pretty lame. My favorites were the ones at the local water park, FWIW. Especially because it also had go-karts.

Of course, I went to a couple of very interesting birthday parties in college, but those stories are best saved for another board.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

"chaps"

One connotation in Wyoming, quite another in San Francisco. I'm just saying.

Any suggestions for a birthday party for the younger set (e.g., 3)?

Also, the wee one has started talking about his dreams when he wakes up. Anyone know if this is developmentally interesting? (Unfortunately, all I can tell is that there was a green light, and it was scary.)

[tmdiva]

I've always heard that there should be as many child guests as the kid is old. But maybe this is if parents aren't included? One of our neighbors had a birthday party/barbecue for their kid's second birthday last September and invited families. It was kind of open-house-y, which worked well with small children and short attention spans. They had one of those inflatable fenced trampoline thingies, a train table, a few other toys (mostly balls--lots of boys in our neighborhood), and lots of tables and chairs for the parents to sit, talk and eat while the kids amused themselves. Very low-key and very fun.

Don't know if we'll do anything for Magnus' third this summer.

tm

[viet_mom]

Vietbabe has it. She's almost 7 months. Granted she didn't have a lot of contact with others due to the weather and family being away. They say it's from 6-9 months. Does it just magically go away? Thoughts? How to improve the situation? Everyone wants to hold her but she gets all upset. Even people she's seen a few times.

Thanks.

[tmdiva]

Well, Magnus never really had it, at least the panicked screaming clutching of parent variety; he does still get shy when asked direct questions by strangers. From my extensive experience with nephews/nieces/friends' children, I think it does almost always go away within a couple of months. My recommendation is not to push it--your stress about her anxiety, or negative feedback to her, or tough-love "see-that's-not-so-bad" will only intensify her feelings. Just stay calm and try to pass that sense along to her ("It's okay, Mommy's got you," etc.), and take things at her pace. Also, try to avoid stranger-danger situations when she's hungry or tired or already on the verge.

tm

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Like tmdiva, this is not a problem I recall having in spades, but L'il Ty gets shy whenever some new pays attention to him. He basically puts his head down or looks away and waits for them to do something else. Based on dog training, which is more applicable to raising kids than one might think, make sure that experiences with strangers end well. Better to break off early with a positive experience than to go too far and make things negative. And it's harder with a baby than with a dog to tell where that line is.

Anyone have any remedies for morning sickness? - actually All-Day-Sickness. Crackers are disgusting - the only thing that tastes OK is Nature Valley Peanut Butter granola bars which have been my saving grace.

-TL and the parasite

Ugh. My sympathies - it's a tough period. Some people wear the seasickness bracelets and find that helps (supposed to be some pressure point on the wrist and at least is non-pharmacologic).

Other than that - I liked cold macaroni and cheese; and fruit smoothies. Cold rice with stir fried veggies, too. But YMMV.