crazedparent

The WSJ, since you asked...

A few folks have asked me (thank you!) how The Wall Street Journal story turned out (I was interviewed earlier this week.) The story was by Sue Shellenbarger, who is the WSJ's work and family columnist, and it appeared yesterday. Sorry peeps, you have to have a subscription to read it.  So here's a summary...

The article is called "Finding Day Care that Helps Kids Play Well With Others," and Sue offers three signs that parents should pay attention to if their child is in daycare. My quote appears in a section called "Disengaged Parents." During the interview, I told Sue that many parents, especially new parents with a first child in daycare, assume that if their son or daughter misbehaves, the daycare teacher will tell mom or dad. This is not necessarily the case. What is acceptable to the daycare teacher or considered "normal," like rampant potty talk or kids wrestling, won't even register as something to tell a parent picking up a child. Instead, you find out about it at home when your son calls you a "Poo-Poo-Pee-Pee Head." Am I right?

So I basically said that parents need to proactively ask their care providers about their kids on a routine basis. And if your kid is acting up and it seems to be something that was picked up at daycare, nip it. And nip it fast by partnering with the daycare provider and the teacher.

Long story short, our 30-minute conversation was summed up in one little graph:

"Parents also can team up with teachers to curb bad behavior. When Charlene Prince Birkeland's toddler started using "potty talk" picked up in child care, the San Francisco-area mother says, she decided not "to just let it slide." Instead, she met with his teachers and agreed on a plan to stop it."

If I were a PR coach, I'd say that was "on message."

Happy Friday!

Daycare, beef and the lengthening of the crown...

On Daycare...

I was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday for a story that will appear tomorrow about daycare. The interview revolved around my post at Job-Mom. It was really strange being interviewed. I've always been on the other side, being the reporter. Or being the communications consultant telling my clients what to say, what not to say. Now I know how people feel when I'm interviewing them. And the agony of waiting to hear what you sound like in print. The thing about parenting stories is that no matter what, there's always someone who will disagree with your beliefs or strategy. And so be it.

On Beef...
Another study. This one says that "sons born to women who ate a lot of beef during their pregnancy have a 25 percent below-normal sperm count and three times the normal risk of fertility problems." Do you know what was one of my biggest cravings when I was pregnant? Beef. Not just any beef. Bison. Kobe beef. Big fat slabs of honkin' red meat. And oh, by the way, I have two sons.

What have I done? Oh well, that red meat was gooood.

On the lengthening of the crown...
Eight injections of local anesthetic. Two anti-pain medications. One antibiotic. It lasted 40 minutes. I could hear the scraping of the tooth. It was quick and yes, it was painless. Until the meds wore off. My face is swollen and it will likely bruise. The periodontist? Super cute and super sweet.   

Lengthen my crown, baby...

I wasn't joking a few months back when I wrote about my post-partum dental woes at Job-Mom. It's been nearly two years since I had Q. and I'm still dealing with dental issues.

Today I'm paying a visit to my local periodontist for a really fun procedure called "crown lengthening." Ever heard of it? No? Well let me share the details.

After giving me a local anesthetic, the periodontist will pull down the gums around the troubled tooth and then scrape away at the soft tissue. He'll also chisel away some of my jaw bone. And when he's all done with this excavation exercise, he'll sew my gums up all nice n' pretty. Did I mention this is happening under local anesthesia? I'm thinking it'll take about, oh, one million shots to sufficiently numb me up. Or perhaps I should just drink five martinis.

I asked my dentist if they could just pull the freaking tooth out. "Wouldn't it be easier to just extract it? I mean really, major surgery? All this to put a crown on the tooth? There's not much left anyway..."

"It's always better to try to save the existing tooth," she said. I could have sworn I saw a hint of a grin.

This attempt to break my spirit crown lengthening will take about thirty minutes, after which I will need to keep ice packs on my face because it will be swollen like a puffer fish, only without the spikes.  It will take about three months for the entire area to heal, after which I can finally, finally...have this done all over again on a different tooth.

Feel my pain.

Cooking and organizing...

Two activities that other bloggers have caused me to do in full force over the past few weeks. Damn them.

Mary Tsao at Mom Writes just kills me with her to-do lists. How does she do it? (Mary -- I want a tell all post.) I spent every waking moment over the weekend organizing closets and our garage. But here's the thing about organizing. It creates the need to organize more and more. Once I cleared out my scrapbooking gear from one closet, I realized I had yet another project on my hands -- organizing all the photos and gear itself. And the garage...where do I begin? Move this box to that shelf, get rid of this box and fill the empty spot from something in the inside closets.

Spring cleaning on crack, I tell you. And it feels sooooo good.

The impressive bounty at our local farmer's market has also kicked my cooking into high gear. The crazedparent family is really trying to enjoy the produce from our local organic farmers, and we've been impressed with what we've tried so far. The boys are loving beets, Tokyo turnips, parsnips -- all the root veggies. And I am thoroughly having a blast playing test kitchen with recipes from Cottage Living, Sunset, and the other blogger gal whose has some delish meals to share. Her recipe for Broccoli Soup is amazing, but when you swap the broccoli for cauliflower and add some butter and homemade croutons? Divine.

You just knew they'd go there...

As anticipated, John and Elizabeth Edwards announced yesterday that her cancer had returned. During the press conference, they -- and especially Elizabeth -- appeared strong, optimistic and at peace. Reporters asked if John Edwards would continue in his presidential bid and he said, without a doubt "yes."

And of course, political pundits are going there. As SF Chronicle columnist CW Nevius writes today, "You wouldn't think having cancer would be controversial." He adds, "Some radio talk show hosts speculated that the move was "political,'' and Internet bloggers and commentators basically accused Edwards of using his wife's illness for a political boost."

Seriously folks. These two people have survived the death of their son. They survived Elizabeth's first battle with breast cancer. Some couples wouldn't have even lasted the first challenge. But this husband and wife, this family, is as tight as a steel vault.  As CityMama pointed out yesterday, Elizabeth Edwards is a fighter. And if you met her for two minutes, or read her book, you'd never question for a second  this decision to move forward with their lives.

The world has never stopped for them. It only moves forward. And so will they.

That's not political. That's courage.

Elizabeth Edwards...weighing heavy on the brain...and heart...

It's been a busy week and I'm so thrilled Friday is near.

But right now, Thursday is on the brain. I just read that John Edwards will be holding a press conference Thursday to discuss the health of his wife, the amazing Elizabeth Edwards.

I had the pleasure of meeting Elizabeth (and yes, I can call her Elizabeth because she said so) in October 2007 during her book tour for her memoir, Saving Graces, which details her battle with breast cancer. A battle that as of that meeting, she had won. She had a routine check up with her doctor today, and with the planned news conference tomorrow, those of us met her, who were profoundly affected by her words and her life, are praying she's healthy.

But it can't be good. A source quoted in the New York Times said the announcement "would affect,  at least temporarily,  the future of the campaign." 

By the time you read this post the news conference may have already occurred and we'll know if Elizabeth has had a setback. Let's hope it's truly temporary.

And let's be the saving graces she may need to help her along the way.

Giveaway on Scrapgasm...

So Scrapgasm was on hold for a bit as we transferred to a new platform. It's back up and we're kicking it off with a giveaway...Check it Out!

And the winners are...

These green fingers...

Picked three names from this hat...

These two ladies win travel Packs of CleanWell products (valued at $17.99):

And the grand pooba winner of the Sample Pack of CleanWell products (valued at $36.99) is ... drum roll, please...

Leslie (who entered on crazedparent), AlltheWayHome and Kiki36 (who entered on Maya's Mom), congratulations!! Email your address to me at charlene AT crazedparent DOT org and I'll have the folks at CleanWell ship you your winnings!!

Thanks to everyone for entering!! And Happy St. Paddy's Day.

Giveaway...don't forget! And some other random riffs...

Don't forget! I'm taking entries for my CleanWell Natural Hand Sanitizer giveaway until 12 am on March 17th. Then it's winner time. Don't leave your entry here...go HERE or if you're a Maya's Mom member go HERE.

Okay. Now on to some good reads and riffs from the week:

-I woke up this morning to find this headline in my morning paper: "California: Deep flaws found in school system." No, really?

-Also in today's paper, it appears attempts to make the cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, mandatory for girls in junior high will continue to meet serious resistance. The key sticking points? Parental rights and the long-term efficacy of the vaccine.

-Check out this reading nook idea from Wondertime. It's moments when I read these stories that I wish we had just a wee bit more space in our house. Five would love having his own little reading nook, especially as Q. seems to venture more into his big brother's turf. I'm almost willing to give up a closet in the office for it. Just maybe.

-He wasn't in shorts today. Or his silver running suit. It was some other outfit. Creative-Type Dad thinks the youthful look and change in digs is Botox-related. I believe my exact response was, "Dude. That's so cold. But funny."

What are you riffin' on this week?

He was in shorts today...

He always wears a silver, vinyl-looking running suit. The kind that you used to see on infomercials touting incredible weight-loss in 3 days if you wear the super suit because it makes you sweat like a post-partum mom dealing with hot flashes.

I see him every day at the same time, as I walk Five to school. Man in silver is underneath the monkey bars doing pull ups almost obsessively. He's working out. The playground is his personal gym.

He lives in a pale blue beat up VW stationwagon. From the 70's. It's filled with his life. So much so that nothing is descerinable. The car is always parked in the lot when he's doing his pull ups on the monkey bars.

I've never seen him up close. It's always at a distance of at least 75 feet. He wears a black beanie, a "robber's cap." His hands are sometimes taped. He has black high-top work boots on his feet. His hair looks as if it's graying, shiny, like his running suit.  I imagine he's in his fifties, perhaps older. From a distance, his skin looks weathered and old from the sun.

I walked Five to school today. I saw him over by the jungle gym getting ready to go across the monkey bars.  I almost didn't recognize him. He was in black shorts and a white t-shirt. His hair peeked out under the black skull cap. And he still wore the black boots. I dropped Five off and walked back home. I slowed as I passed the playground and watched him from the corner of my eye. Where did his silver running suit go? I've seen him wear it in 90 degree weather. On the chilliest of winter days with a black coat over it. What's so different about today?

I walked and I watched.  He began shadowboxing on the wooden mulch. He turned and I caught a glimpse of his face. He looked so youthful. He looked different. Perhaps Spring brought him a fresh start.

Perhaps not. The life-filled, pale blue VW station wagon sits parked in the lot.