WELCOME WEDNESDAY BLOG HOP

Happy Hump Day! It's a great time to make some new bloggy friends. I hope you join in on the hop! What better way to get over the midweek hump then to kick off your heels and check out some new blogs!



<center><a href="http://kelleyhautemom.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f301/csulbdelta/welcomewednesday2.jpg"/></a></center> 

Our guest hostess this week is Julie from The Naptime Review.  Be sure to stop and let her know that you are following her as well so that she can follow you back!

Blog Hop Rules: This is a low key hop. After all...it is Welcome Wednesday, here to get the inspirational juices flowing and find other blogs we can stalk! Put those feet up, relax, and join the bloggy fun.

There are a few rules though:

1. Follow the hostess, Haute Mom and the guest hostesses. Be sure to leave a comment so that I can follow you back.

2. Follow one other blog.

3. Link up your blog for all of us to love.

4. Make an attempt to check out at least two new blogs. Don't know where to start? How about the two blogs above you? If you love the blog, become a follower and leave them a comment letting them know.

So link up! You don't have to post about the hop...but you know how we ladies work, the more the merrier. We would love it if you would help us spread the word and help Welcome Wednesday grow! One of you could be next week's spotlight guest hostess!

Facebook: A Place For Our Little Ones?

Facebook is one of my lifelines.

My husband and I have family and friends who live all over the place, including overseas, and Facebook allows us to communicate and stay in touch. Facebook allows us to post photos of Stella (the way I see it is Stella is much cuter than my husband or me, especially since I'm more than eight months pregnant) and see what our friends are posting, too.

I can regularly look at pictures of my other friends' children, and I enjoy feeling connected to all of my long, lost friends out there who also are discovering the joys of parenting. I even enjoy pictures of my friends who are not yet parents because it allows me to live vicariously through their adult-only experiences.

All that is great, but sometimes I question some of the tagged photos I see on Facebook. I often see pictures of friends' kids who are tagged in someone else's photo. I wonder how the parents feel about this.

When someone tags Stella in a picture what that means is that there are hundreds of other people looking at a picture of my daughter. Depending on their security settings, we could be talking about thousands of other people. People I don't know.

I could be having one of my overprotective mom moments, but something about this bugs me. Is there a safety issue with having thousands of people have access to a picture of my daughter? Is there some Facebook etiquette where another adult should ask your permission before posting a picture of your child? Am I committing the same act by posting pictures on my own Facebook page?  Is blogging the same thing?

Like other parental debates - such as whether or not to spank you child or whether or not (and what age) do you let children stay home alone -the camp is divided. Some parents want to protect their children from the dangers that can come with posting pictures of children on the Internet. Others think that photo sharing is a sign of the times that we all must learn to live with.

For me, I just need to follow some rules for now. No pictures of naked Stella, no matter how cute her tush is. I also need to be aware of posting pictures of Stella with other children. A common courtesy would be for one parent to ask another if it is all right to post a picture, especially if those in the photograph are going to be identified with tags.

It is unfortunate that we have to think about things like this, but it is even more unfortunate when a picture that was meant to be shared with friends and family ends up on the wrong hands.

Just wait until Stella is old enough to have her own Facebook - I'm sure that's when the real worrying will begin.

Does this belong on Facebook?

Please and Thank Yous

Mind your manners. This was a phrase that so many of us heard growing up. From behaviors demonstrated in public, many of us question if manners are a thing of the past, especially with children.

We have all watched enough reality TV and gone to places where children run free to have wondered at least once if some parents bother to teach their children manners at all.

A comment from a stranger about Stella's manners prompted my thinking on this topic. It was a positive comment, after her swim lesson, when the desk clerk remarked on how nicely she asked for her snack. Stella had simply used the word "please." I found it curious that use of this word actually earned positive praise. In my mind, it goes with the territory.

However, I have been around enough little ones (and some big ones) to know that many of our youngsters have not been taught manners. They ask for things without so much as a please or thank you; and they get them.

Around our house, Stella does not get anything without saying please.

It is never too early to start teaching your little one manners. As soon as they can ask for things, they should be taught how to ask for them. It shouldn't stop there. "Excuse me", "God Bless You", "I'm sorry" and "Your welcome" are also part of Stella's vocabulary. As is my personal favorite, "May I be excused, please?"

I realize I am bragging about something that I cannot take full credit for. Stella's day care provider deserves much of the credit for Stella being a polite child. They are taught manners in that environment and those manners are imposed. However, the hubby and I have to do our parts as well. We have to enforce and more importantly, we have to model.

There are so many times during the day when I come into contact with rude adults. Times that would prove to be much more pleasant if accompanied with a "Thank you" or a simple "Excuse me." I wonder if anyone ever taught those people manners.

And I remember my role as a parent. Society will thank me later.

Mommy is a sucker for manners...and she knows it.

WELCOME WEDNESDAY BLOG HOP

Happy Hump Day! It's a great time to make some new bloggy friends. I hope you join in on the hop! What better way to get over the midweek hump then to kick off your heels and check out some new blogs!


<center><a href="http://kelleyhautemom.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f301/csulbdelta/welcomewednesday2.jpg"/></a></center> 

Blog Hop Rules: This is a low key hop. After all...it is Welcome Wednesday, here to get the inspirational juices flowing and find other blogs we can stalk! Put those feet up, relax, and join the bloggy fun.

There are a few rules though:

1. Follow the hostess, Haute Mom and the guest hostesses. Be sure to leave a comment so that I can follow you back.

2. Follow one other blog.

3. Link up your blog for all of us to love.

4. Make an attempt to check out at least two new blogs. Don't know where to start? How about the two blogs above you? If you love the blog, become a follower and leave them a comment letting them know.

So link up! You don't have to post about the hop...but you know how we ladies work, the more the merrier. We would love it if you would help us spread the word and help Welcome Wednesday grow! One of you could be next week's spotlight guest hostess!

WELCOME WEDNESDAY BLOG HOP

Happy Hump Day! It's a great time to make some new bloggy friends. I hope you join in on the hop! What better way to get over the midweek hump then to kick off your heels and check out some new blogs!


<center><a href="http://kelleyhautemom.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f301/csulbdelta/welcomewednesday2.jpg"/></a></center> 

Blog Hop Rules: This is a low key hop. After all...it is Welcome Wednesday, here to get the inspirational juices flowing and find other blogs we can stalk! Put those feet up, relax, and join the bloggy fun.

There are a few rules though:

1. Follow the hostess, Haute Mom and the guest hostesses. Be sure to leave a comment so that I can follow you back.

2. Follow one other blog.

3. Link up your blog for all of us to love.

4. Make an attempt to check out at least two new blogs. Don't know where to start? How about the two blogs above you? If you love the blog, become a follower and leave them a comment letting them know.

So link up! You don't have to post about the hop...but you know how we ladies work, the more the merrier. We would love it if you would help us spread the word and help Welcome Wednesday grow! One of you could be next week's spotlight guest hostess!

Too Itsy Bitsy?

I am officially in countdown mode with my due date just 9 short weeks away. Being pregnant, as I am sure you remember, increases your awareness of other pregnant women. Yesterday, we took a "quick" trip to Ikea where I noticed dozens of fellow preggies, of all shape and size, wandering around.

There have been other sightings of pregnant women which I have noticed, and that is in the gossip mags. Yes, I read that smut. If you haven't noticed, many of our favorite gossip magazine have begun to capture the "pregnant styles" and watching "baby bumps" of celebrities. Is this a new things that I am becoming aware of, or has it always been this way. I love a cute pregnant lady. One thing I have not enjoyed so much, are all of the pictures of these pregnant celebs rockin' the bathing suits.

Maybe bathing suits are not the right word choice here. I know it gets hot, and yes, pregnant women enjoy to splash around too. Lord knows I will be doing the same as my last weeks of pregnancy will be in some of the hottest months Southern California sees. I'm talking bikinis and thanks to Tori Spelling, the now famous preggie in a monokini. I would expect someone like myself to appreciate these women, for standing up for those of us with swollen tummies and wearing swimsuits that many non-pregnant woman wouldn't go near. But for some reason, I just think it's inappropriate.

I have thought long and hard to my feelings on this matter to try to pin down exactly what bothers me. I think pregnant women are beautiful and being pregnant is something that we should be proud of. However, I have to say that we just seem to look better covered up. While I appreciate the fact the pregnant Kourtney Kardashian and Tori Spelling do us proud by looking fantastic in skimpy swim wear, I wonder if anyone really wants to see their big bellies. Photos of expecting celebs look much more attractive when wearing a one-piece or a cute, short sundress. And hello, you are mothers. Last time I checked, frolicking in a pool or beach with Stella was no activity fit for an itsy-bitsy bikini.

Do I have it all wrong here?

As I pull on my maternity tankini tight over by 31 week swollen tummy and head out to the beach, I think that most will appreciate the fact that I have chosen to keep the tummy under wraps. I guess in the long run, it doesn't really matter. If they look good and are comfortable sporting the skimpy gear, then more power to them. I just feel like I must be missing something by fostering less than positive feelings about the pictures of the pregnant beach babes.

Is there a line that we draw with what pregnant women should wear much like we do with young girls, or maybe women who are carrying a few extra pounds. Does that "She should not be wearing that" thought count here (we all have those, admit it.) At the end of the day, just like everyone else, they have the right to wear whatever they want but honestly, I am wondering if anyone really wants to see it.

Sexy or not?

WELCOME WEDNESDAY BLOG HOP

Happy Hump Day! It's a great time to make some new bloggy friends. I hope you join in on the hop! What better way to get over the midweek hump then to kick off your heels and check out some new blogs!



<center><a href="http://kelleyhautemom.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f301/csulbdelta/welcomewednesday2.jpg"/></a></center> 

Blog Hop Rules: This is a low key hop. After all...it is Welcome Wednesday, here to get the inspirational juices flowing and find other blogs we can stalk! Put those feet up, relax, and join the bloggy fun.

There are a few rules though:

1. Follow the hostess, Haute Mom and the guest hostesses. Be sure to leave a comment so that I can follow you back.

2. Follow one other blog.

3. Link up your blog for all of us to love.

4. Make an attempt to check out at least two new blogs. Don't know where to start? How about the two blogs above you? If you love the blog, become a follower and leave them a comment letting them know.

So link up! You don't have to post about the hop...but you know how we ladies work, the more the merrier. We would love it if you would help us spread the word and help Welcome Wednesday grow! One of you could be next week's spotlight guest hostess!

Summer Is Upon Us

Now that we are officially in June, summer is upon us.

As a teacher, I am fortunate enough to have summers off, but I do understand the toll that having kids out of school can take. Some families may look forward to summer because it means relaxed schedules and spending time with the kids. Others families may view it as my parents did: A stressful couple of months of summer camps (which can be costly and difficult to plan around) to make sure the kids are safe while they are out of school.

The signs of summer have reminded me how lucky I am to live in a city where there are so many different summer camp, day camp and recreation activities available on a daily basis to occupy youngsters. With the city's recreation programs alone, kids of all ages have plenty of things to do at relatively inexpensive prices.

That goes for families too. Once the work day is through, our city has tons of ways to spend the remaining daylight hours as a family. We will have options like weekly concerts and movies in the park. There are also some evening nature walks at the local nature center. Our aquarium has just started their late night summer option as well. It is a discounted ticket to be used after 6 pm. We have passes to Disneyland but will soon be facing being blocked out for the summer - this is a good thing with high temps and even larger crowds!

Since I am now 30 weeks pregnant, we won't be taking any family vacations this summer. I also have to keep Stella enrolled in her day care so that we don't lose our spot in the fall. Although I will more than likely keep Stella home once a week,I still want to be sure that we are not sitting at home all summer long. Let's not forget about the fact that we have no air conditioning either. I may sleeping outside in a hammock as my pregnancy progresses if the weather gets too warm.

My parents never let me sit around over the summer. Of course, they had to find us a place to go since they both worked. I appreciate the fact that I never felt bored over the summers and only now do I realize the hassle that was probably involved with finding a place for us.

What are your plans this summer? Aside from vacations, what are some activities that you do to keep the kiddos entertained through those long summer days?

Stella will be continuing Saturday swim lessons.