High Maintenance Mom

I am a huge fan of good manners. I am not talking militant manners but the basic good manners many kids and even adults lack. My 4 year old loves to write so with the Make Your Own Thank You Notes she got for her birthday we have been writing thank you notes for some time now. My 2 year old son likes to add his drawings. Here is how I engage my kids in writing thank you cards...

My daughter is old enough now to know all about Santa Claus and presents and while we do not overload the her with toys and she watches very little television (and PBS at that) she still asks when the presents are coming and if she has been a good girl this year. I did some thinking and came up with a few ways I am going to try to make this holiday season less about material things and more about the family traditions I am eager to start. Don't get me wrong, we will still have presents after all we celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas so both kids will see some gifts. Somehow my parents managed to do both gifts and traditions so here is what I learned from them and some of my own ideas.....

It's that time of year again! I know we have posted about traveling with kids before but I am asked about it a lot and thought it was relevant with just a week until Thanksgiving. Traveling can be so much fun but add energy filled kids, traffic and long lines and it can be (as I like to say) like a root canal with no novocaine. I think after all of these years of flying to and from my in laws twice a year I have it down to a science. With my organization & packing skills and my husbands flying expertise, we seem to make these trips relatively unscathed....

Father's Day doesn't have to mean yet another tie or tool. It can be a day of relaxation, fun times with the kids and green gifts. As a child, I gave a lot of simple, homemade gifts like special photographs in papers frames, poems, short stories and once a slide show. My husband has asked to sleep in on Father's Day. May seem simple but it's a huge deal when you have young kids. In addition to these ideas, there are many simple and green gift ideas for Dad.....

I love my birthday so when I became a Mother 3 1/2 years ago, I realized that now I have two birthdays! I am now being celebrated for my day of birth and my children's day of birth. Around here, it is also the real beginning of spring. Comes late on the East Coast. So when I was asked by a new Father what to get his wife for her first Mother's Day, I found myself telling him to give her time. Sounds funny but for me it's true. Time to sleep, time to read a book, time to eat breakfast sitting down and play with my kids with no real agenda. But, sometimes a tangible gift is nice too. A good web site for these types of holidays is www.redenvelope.com. My husband got me a great bracelet with a locket that holds my kids pictures. More ideas for Mother's Day include a family day trip to a farm, to a beach, going hiking or gardening. For me it is a simple day of relaxation, time with the kids and a little relief from cooking & cleaning. I would love to hear all of your special Mother's Day memories....maybe I will ask my Mom and post her thoughts next.

Want to try a new game your kids will love? High Maintenance Mom and WheeGO want to help you entertain your kids this winter with a fun adventure game that reinforces environmental awareness and kindness! Two lucky High Maintenance Mom readers will be chosen randomly from the logs to win a copy of WheeGO...

I'm working a night shift on the big island of Hawaii watching the Halema`uma`u vent and data feeds. My 16 days of working 8pm to 4am are almost over and while I love being here, I miss my family. I have to admit that not being able to talk to the kids because of my hours has been really hard. I've been sending pictures by email and writing postcards but it's not the same. If ever do it again, I will spend more time setting up video calls with our computers for the weekends.

Knowing the night shift was going to be hard, I brought several comfort items from home.

The Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder is the easiest camcorder I've ever used and perfect for catching those adorable kid moments. It comes with two AA batteries so all you have to do is plug them in and you're ready to start recording. There are easy to recognize buttons for turning it on, recording, zooming, and deleting. There is also a USB plug that flips out to connect to your laptop. Once connected, the software loads (on a Mac you have to click on the Flip drive) and you are ready to download movies, edit them, burn them to DVD, or send them to friends and family - and uTube. It's the size of a phone and doesn't weigh very much so it fits into a purse with everything else. Like digital cameras, you can record your kids and then show them the movie - it's really that easy. For $130 from Amazon, the Flip 60 minute digital camcorder is a great Mother's Day gift. I also recommend rechargeable batteries.

If you or your children need surgery or you are going to be giving birth, it's helpful to think about and find the comfort items that will make you feel better. My list includes "chick-flick" movies/tv shows, comfy clothes, food, and ice packs. My favorite items that I brought to my recent gum surgery were bought for a long flight, the Bucky Fuzzy Wuzzy neck pillow and the Bucky Eye Shades with Earplugs. I was allowed to use the neck pillow, eye pillow, and ear plugs during my surgery. They really made me feel comfortable. I also had my iPod with music but due to the sedation, I really didn't care for it...

Do you ever wish someone would hand you the perfect shampoo and conditioner? Are you looking for a more natural solution? High Maintenance Mom and ARCONA want to pamper one lucky High Maintenance Mom member with a set of clarifying and conditioning natural hair products (Green Tea Cleansing Base Shampoo, Essential Nutrients Karite Conditioner, and Essential Nutrients Silk Leave-in Conditioner) for our Mother's Day giveaway.