Going Organic  by Vanessa Rinaldi 

I’ve decided on buying only organic foods for my family including organic baby food.  My daughter is nine and a half months old now and I tried her with the “regular” baby foods for a while and then switched her onto organic baby foods to see if she would differentiate between the two. To my surprise, she did. She loved the organic foods and would eat more of it at a sitting.  It can be expensive but I think I’d rather give her organic over the “regular” stuff any day.  I tried both for myself and clearly the organic baby foods (mostly the fruits) were a lot less sugary than the other ones.  My favorite and Ella’s (my daughter) favorite is the Pear and wild blueberry by Gerber. Although I have chosen to go organic, during my research for which choice would be better I came across an article written by pediatrician Jay Hoecker of the Mayo clinic about whether or not organic is better than regular baby food. In the article he states that “Organic baby food can limit your baby's exposure to pesticides and other potential contaminants in foods. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says organic foods are no safer or more nutritious than other foods.”  I’ve made my decision not only because it doesn’t have pesticides, but because she likes it and it is environmentally friendly.

About me:  Sharon MacGregor

No, this has nothing to do with your physical self, but, children do see you in every hat you wear:  mother, sister, friend, aunt, wife and, yes, employee.  I never thought of myself as a role model in this regard for my children until recently and now I wonder how I will influence them as adults.  My children have above average attendance in school and work and this is in part due to vigorous, “If you are sick enough to stay home, I may also need to schedule a doctor’s appointment,” and, “If you are too sick to go to school, you must also be too sick to attend…”  My husband and I stay home when we are ill, but if we need time off for something else, we request personal time.  It’s not that we are work robots or too dedicated to our employers, but we honor our commitments.  My sons have seen me work, go to college, go to the gym, maintain friendships and hobbies which includes a monthly book club meeting and know they can have a full schedule and still work in a lazy, pajama morning once a week.  They see the balance.  The Stay At Home Mom (SAHM) also teaches a child the number of demands involved in running and maintaining a home, caring for the family and a myriad of life lessons as they directly reflect the family.  Do you mirror the image you want your growing child to give the world?

 Sharon MacGregor

It was late Sunday morning when I next saw my teen son at the home of the sleepover.  I pulled into the drive and was greeted by the father, who after hello, shook his head and said, “They were up ALL night.”  In a way, I was relieved.  I went in the house through the kitchen and while I spoke to the mom, teen girls said thank you and goodbye – no other mother’s came in to speak to the hosts.  Am I overprotective?  Paranoid?  Behind the times?  Why is it that people are typically more sympathetic to mother’s of teen girls, they nod their heads and tsk, tsk?  Why weren’t the parents coming inside?  But, I digress…

The host mom showed me digital pictures she took of the teen activities throughout the night that included watching movies, playing “Dance, Dance, Revolution” and sitting and talking in small groups, listening to music.  I never went to a coed sleep away camp, but if you added a campfire, I would imagine it would be very similar.  She was tired, but aware.  Aware that my son told her his knee was bothering him, aware that a few of the girls were not getting along, aware of what had and was going on under her roof. 

Since the ratio of boys to girls was about 1 to 5, my son did tell me he did not realize how dramatic girls can be and since he does not have a sister, he may have inadvertently learned something from this experience. 

I would not let my son attend this event if the host was not someone I met in elementary school.  I was surprised by the number of parents who waited in the driveway for their child to come outside.  I have called the homes of people who are hosting a birthday party to ensure they will be home to supervise the party.  I do call the parents of my child’s new friends and have told my son he cannot go to a house until I have met the parents.  Every parent must find a level of trust and responsibility that is comfortable for both them and their child. 

I had heard of one or two coed sleepover parties when I was a teen, but whether by luck or misfortune, I was not invited so I never had to present my parents with this social situation.  However, my 15 year-old son is currently at a coed sleepover after some trepidation, research, surveying and discussion with the young lady’s mother.  I happen to know the hostess mom from my own school days and do find a bit of comfort and security in this fact, but am still nervous about the responsibility and temptation placed on my son.  I also worry about the children I do not know and the behaviors they can add to the equation.

So, what is the exact set-up?  After pizza, 6’ subs, birthday cake and dancing, the party will eventually wind down and the genders will separate.  Boys will be downstairs and girls upstairs in a dormitory fashion.  Will this be a supervised rehearsal for some who will go away to college in two-three short years?  And who will actually benefit from this mock exercise, the parent or the child? 

I know I could never be the one to host an event of this type.  I would not be able to sleep and the hostess mom has also stated, she may not rest either.  To be continued…

  Recently the most commonly asked question among our social crowd morphed from “when are you due?” to “are you done?” With four children under the age of 6, my husband and I get asked this question by almost everyone who is meeting us, often in the first five minutes of conversation. And it’s not asked with curiosity but with incredulity, as if we’d be either crazy or irresponsible to go on to having children. I find this line of thinking sad. I couldn’t imagine not having Molly (2) or Jack (4 months) in the family. True, life might be a bit less crazy without trying to potty train and breastfeed at the same time, but that would simply mean that I’d have less laundry more time to clean. All that is going to change someday anyway, but I will always have my children in my life. I hope my children never overhear me saying that I don’t want anymore of them. God forbid they somehow get the idea then that their existence makes me anything but happy. My oldest, Rose (6), is already talking with enthusiasm about the next baby so I don’t think that she feels forgotten or overwhelmed by being one of many. In fact, I think it is helping all of us in the family learn the hard but valuable lesson that peace and happiness reign where charity and love prevail, and isn’t learning this lesson what life is all about?

By:  Jessica Winum, shown above with Jarret (husband) and sons Riley and Jack and daughters Rose and Molly.