Entertainment Weekly
September 10, 2010

I love this quote from Ben Affleck, from an interview with Chris Nashawaty:

“My wife is a world-class mom. We understand that being parents is the most important job we have. And she still manages to be beautiful and sexy, and I don’t know how she does it, and I’m not going to ask questions.”

Now, I think there’s a mistake here, because it was actually my husband who said that, and Ben must just have heard it somewhere and repeated it. Regardless, it’s still very sweet.
(For anyone who knows us, couldn’t this be a picture of my husband and I at the supermarket?
More or less? We always snuggle while carrying out the groceries, don’t you?)

Just as a sidebar, EW is by far the best entertainment magazine out there (and by entertainment, I don’t mean “Angie tells Jen to back off!”, and “Guess Whose Cellulite?”, I mean actual entertainment news.)

Today’s Parent
October 2010

I really enjoyed an article by Randi Chapnik Myers called “Alone At Last: The joy – and challenges – of bonding one-on-one with your kids”. It talks about the importance of each parent having alone time with each child, which is something I know we should do more often. It seems like our circumstances are either: 1. the whole family together
2. girls at daycare/with sitter, or
3. one parent with both girls

We often run errands, etc. together, forgetting that divide-and-conquer could not only be more efficient, but give the girls some special mommy or daddy time.

The author points out that kids are more comfortable talking openly in a one-on-one situation, and I can remember that as a child. A drive or walk with Dad (who practices the sort of therapy where he remains silent, prompting you to talk more and more) would often lead to a heart-to-heart, and I always jumped at the chance to run an errand with my mom, in order to get her undivided attention. As Frannie and Maggie get older, we’re going to have to make this more of a priority. Also, it seems like attention shifts depending on the phase: a breastfeeding newborn trumps everything in terms of mommy’s attention (followed closely by the “I have to go!” potty-training preschooler).

Bake sale treatsParents
October 2010
“Rock The Bake Sale” by Karen Cicero, shares tips from New York City event planner Amy Atlas, whose treats involve simple recipes, sensible portions, a nut-free policy and good prices. The photos in the magazine are yummy, and can be found with the complete recipes on the website.

(Photo from http://www.parents.com/)

I also took something away from “Remedies For The Witching Hour” by Beth Howard, where she shares tips for that awful time period before dinner. My favourites? “Put on your own oxygen mask first”. Usually I do the drop-off, and hubby does the pick-up, so I can often make it home before them to change my clothes and get dinner started. I then feel so much fresher and able to focus on the girls when they arrive home. Another great tip? (Not rocket science here): “Give kids what they want – you”. It’s so very hard to do when you want to start supper and sort the mail and empty the backpacks, but I know from experience that when I do it (read a quick story or just give a cuddle sitting right there on the kitchen floor), the investment pays off.
I’m trying to encourage magazine-reading here, but really by bringing you highlights on a regular basis, I am eliminating your need to ever pick up a magazine again. You’re welcome?
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1 comment on “Power of Print Recap # 2”

  1. Thanks for following my blog! I'm following you too now. 🙂

    Also, I'll be posting a Barefoot Books giveaway on Friday, so feel free to stop over and enter!

    KC @ One + One = Four

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