Just Me and The Lil' Man

Am I the only Mom who groans a little bit when I hear a message on my voicemail about arranging a play-date?  Am I the only one who finds the term "play-date" slightly annoying? I suppose this could be my own introvert tendencies coming to the surface but frankly, I think we parents could afford to relax a little bit about having our kids' days scheduled to account for every single minute and worrying that they won't acquire the social skills they need in life if they don't have at least two play-dates per week.    I drop my son off at daycare at 7:30am and I pick him up between 4:30 and 5:00pm most days. That means he gets about 30 minutes of time to play with his daycare buddies before leaving for school, 20ish minutes walking to school with his buddies, 20ish minutes walking back to the daycare centre with his buddies and then at least an hour to play with his pals before I pick him up. That is roughly two hours of playtime with friends outside of school t...

I am well aware that many parents break out into hives at the thought of taking their small children to Disneyland.  They think about dealing with their kids in the crowds and heat, and cringe at the seemingly unlimited potential for meltdowns.  They quickly make the decision to wait until their kids are "old enough to remember it"... could that phrase actually be code for "old enough to not have at least one temper tantrum per day"? But here's the thing, I am here to tell you that if you wait until your children are "older", you may be missing out on a golden opportunity to start teaching your youngens some very valuable life lessons that can be learned navigating noisy, busy, super stimulating places like Disneyland!       I should preface this post by confessing that if it was possible to buy a Mickey shaped condo on Main Street, U.S.A. I would be living there year round.  I would ride Space Mountain every morning before I left for work ...

It has always bothered me that shyness is often treated as a character flaw.  Anyone who knows and loves a shy person, knows that they have a lot to offer in the world!  I wrote this Children's Story hoping that it could help kids understand that there is nothing wrong with being shy. If you enjoy my story, feel free to share it with the awesome shy and not-so-shy munchkins in your life! Yes, I'm Shy! Written By Heather Scharf Everywhere Bobby went, people asked his Mommy if he was shy. They always had a sorry look on their face when they said it. Bobby didn't know what it meant to be shy but he felt like it must be a very bad thing. One day, they went to the Grocery Store and Mommy saw her old friend, Sally. Sally looked at Bobby and said, “Hi Bobby! Wow, look how big you are now!” Bobby did not know what to say back to her, so he hid behind his Mommy's legs. Sally looked sorry for him and said sadly, “Aw, is he shy?” “ Yes,...

My son has developed this interesting habit.  If he is eating a package of Dare "Bear Paws" (I know, you probably don't let your child eat those unhealthy snacks), before he begins eating one, he examines both paws, decides which one has more chocolate chips, asks me for a consultation to confirm the chocolate chip numbers, and then sets aside the paw with the most chocolate chips in order to eat it last.  My first reaction when he started this ritual was a bit of concern.  Was he showing signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder at his young age?  But then some of my own quirky food and eating preferences began popping into my mind. This desire to save the "best" food item for last is something I have done for as long as I can remember!  In fact, if I ate a "Bear Paw" I would likely do EXACTLY what my son does.  If a plate of food has several different items on it, whether it be a meal or a plate of party appetizers, I save my favourite for last! ...