Fright Night

OK, it's been almost a week since Halloween, and my brave little Kate is still suffering from PTHHS: post-traumatic haunted house syndrome.

This is the kid who answers such questions as "What do you fear?" with an honest "Nothing." She gets on roller coasters, kills spiders, enters dark rooms and performs solos and speeches in front of crowds without hesitation.

But the haunted house at her school last week finally tapped into something. It was so strange and out of character for her that I wasn't sure if she was just having a dramatic moment or needing a little extra attention. Nope. As she shivered in fear in her little bed as I clutched her tight, it was immediately clear that this was pure, undiluted, flat-out trauma from being scared so silly that she couldn't find the reset button in her smart and completely logical 8-year-old brain.

The theme was something along the lines of a haunted cafeteria, where children were, to the believing and impressionable mind, being washed and packaged to become the mystery meat offered up by servers in hair nets.

I'm guessing that I'll be packing lunches for her for the remainder of the school year.

I've Got Mail!

I'm starting a new little section in my blog of cool things I get in the mail. Since I "Don't Have Time for This" or to write about all the cool stuff that comes my way, this will hopefully help me get the word out.

First up: The fabulous if just a bit practical Warner's Elements of BlissWire Underwire Bra ($32). No frilly lace or superfluous bows with this little number. Just good comfort. It won't be the one I wear on a fancy night on the town, but it'll be the one that gets me comfortably through my work day.

Good Parenting!

Have you had a golden parenting moment lately? You know, those fleeting but satisfying exchanges with your child in which you manage to say just the right thing or have that perfect idea that seems to come out of nowhere but makes you feel like the smartest mom or dad ever?

Ronna Mandel, L.A. Parent's editorial assistant, had one recently. Coleman, her 7-year-old son, had charged her with taking Fuzzy, one of his favorite stuffed animals, with her to work everyday. Fuzzy seemed to make everyone feel a bit more connected to each other throughout the day and provided a bit of extra security for Coleman. That is, until the dark day last week when Ronna accidentally left Fuzzy behind.

But in a moment of brilliant mothering, Ronna related to Coleman that Fuzzy was enjoying an adventure at the L.A. Parent offices. Not only did Coleman take to the concept; he fully embraced it and decided to dictate a little story to his mom about Fuzzy's fun overnight excursion:

Fuzzy's Accidental Overnight at L.A. Parent

By Coleman Sokol

Hi. I'm Coleman. This is a story about when my stuffed animal, Fuzzy, got left at L.A. Parent.

I know my mom did not mean to leave him there, but she did. He stayed all night on top of her computer because every day I give him to her so he will not be at home all alone.

At night, he came down from the top of the computer screen and he typed a message on the computer to my mom, but my mom was sleeping. Fuzzy told me in another e-mail where he was and I told my mom when she got up and at the same time he typed me a letter, too. He told me what it said. It said,

"Dear Coleman, I am overnight at LA Parent, but I am fine. No worries. From Fuzzy."

So then after I read the letter, I told my mom he was OK. The next day, after the accident at night, we slept together happily ever after.

The End.

P.S.: I don't let my mom take Fuzzy in to work anymore!

 

Couch Chronicles

Steve and the kids left on Sunday for a week-long camping trip, and last night, it was just me and my other baby, the TV. Just a few short weeks ago when the Kate and Jack went to visit my mom in New Mexico, I really enjoyed sitting on my sinking couch and enjoying some down time.

But thanks to that quality "me" time, the bathroom scale has become my enemy.

So I decided to follow some recent health advice that was in the news about how keeping a food diary increases your chances of shedding a few pounds (you can also read about that and other good health topics on Health Editor Christina's Elston's Health-e blog). 

So here it is: my intake as told to Tweet What You Eat. This site isn't very scientific in its approach to calorie counting (a lot of it uses information provided by other "tweeters"). But it has a communal feel, and I like to browse around and see what everyone else is eating. Plus, I can set it up to tweet my phone, which might be just annoying enough to work.

My goal is to get on my feet with a semi-regular exercise plan and to clean up some bad habits (adios, bottomless chips and salsa at El Torito). It's always been pretty easy for me to stay disciplined when it comes to turning down those obvious gut-growers, but the steady habit of In N Out, dishing up a big scoop of ice cream for myself when I'm serving the kids and gorging on good sourdough have started to show – and it's not as easy to lose as it once was.

So here goes my first officially recorded delve into dieting.