Teeny Manolo

Inspired by Glinda’s Monday Teeny Poll about traveling with kids, I’ve gone out and rounded up a bunch of online resources to help you organize the paperwork, the finances, AND the logistics of this heroic undertaking.

Because I reside in The Socialist Republic of Canuckistan, Google serves me a ton of .gc.ca websites, all of which are informative enough but somewhat limited. You, because you probably reside elsewhere, are permitted by Mr. Google access to different websites, so if you do find one you’d like to pass along, post it in the comments section. Hopefully, this post will keep growing as more people contribute.

Here are some sites I’ve found so far:

Have Kids, Will Travel from CAA Magazine - a short article with solid, practical advice. The red eye tip is particularly useful. Related article below:

Road Trip Essentials: What to Take With You - the perfect checklist (yes, an actual checklist) to ensure that you, your car, and your kids are ready to take to the road.

TravelWithYourKids.com - a website devoted to answering all of these questions. Annoying “Read More” feature on all articles, but the articles themselves are worthwhile and cover most of the ground.

TSA: Traveling with Children - ah yes, the dreaded TSA. Fortunately their website is not as scary as their reputation, and it is very well-written, giving clear instructions and telling you exactly what to expect when taking small children into or out of the country. Good to know they do not separate parents from kids.

NEVER leave babies in an infant carrier while it goes through the X-ray machine.

Dear god, who would do that anyway? Somebody trying to save a few bucks on the six-months checkup???

TravellingWithChildren.co.uk - not so good. The site appears to be mostly a shopping site: the actual articles are difficult to find, in the sidebar where you’d normally expect advertising. And the articles themselves reference products they sell too often, and are not the most creative. It DOES give a fascinating insight into a culture where travel is not just accepted; it’s almost mandatory. The relentless desire of the British to leave Britain, given three days off, is one of the cultural curiosities of the world; surely it can’t be THAT bad?

DebbiesCaribbeanResortReviews - darn exhaustive, and no punches pulled here. Reader-contributed reviews of pretty much every resort and island between Florida and Mexico, all from the point of view of parents with young kids.

HotelFun4Kids - part of a larger site offering hotel reviews and reservations, this section has tips for ensuring your kids enjoy their stay at a dude ranch, amusement park, traveling with grandparents, and much more. Short, decently-written and informative articles.

How to Travel with Kids Without Going Crazy - always a useful skill, you’d agree. A practical article from Canadian Living magazine with some very good advice on preventing/avoiding/dealing with the inevitable stresses that will come up.

Put your suggestions and links in the comments section: if you have more than one link per comment, it may be held in moderation so be patient. We WILL check and fish you out of the spam queue!

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A friend of mine has a daughter in her late teens who is currently traveling in Europe.  Mind you, she had never been much out of her hometown before this, and had certainly never traveled to another country. Not because they don’t have the means, they just don’t really like traveling all that much.

During the arguments discussions leading up to the decision to allow the daughter to travel such a far distance without her family, at one point the daughter accused the mother of never taking her anywhere, never letting her gain a different perspective on the world other than the one in her hometown.

At first I was taken aback by what the daughter had said, but then wondered if it did indeed have some merit.

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As the Manolo has predicted, spring shoes are fairly bursting with color.

So that poses the dilemma of what to paint your toesies with.  For some reason, I’m not a big fan of the French pedicure, although I have to say it probably goes with everything. But if it isn’t your thing either, it can be tough to choose a nail color that doesn’t clash badly with a vibrant yellow or pink.

Metallic neutrals are a good answer.  They give a bit of shimmer, a bit of color, but allow your shoes to do the real talking.  And let’s face it, if you’ve spent a lot of money on your shoes, you want them to do most of the talking. Dont’ get me wrong, definitely do your nails, just have them be whispering seductively rather than vying for attention.

These polishes will help you get your shine on…

Dior Golden Nugget is a glittery golden bronze.

 OPI India Collection Charmed by a Snake is a shimmery bronze.

Essie Great Expectations is a sheer grey with subtle glimmers.

Essie Body Language is a shimmery grey with pink undertones. 

The other day I read a quote from Matthew Broderick about his son with wife Sarah Jessica Paker, James Wilkie.  James, he said, was a big Barack Obama fan.

And hey, that’s fine.

But, James Wilkie is a few months younger than my own son, and yet he has an opinion about a presidential candidate?  And not even one who has clinched his party’s nomination?  It sounds to me like someone is picking up on some dinner conversation.

I think it is imperative that parents be politically active and aware.  That they vote.  That they take their kids with them when they vote.  In fact, I would say that if you don’t do these things, then you are short-changing your child out of a valuable education.

However, I have purposely not spoken to my son about any of the presidential election goings-on because I think it is still a wee bit too complicated.  He knows that we have a president and a (supposedly) representative government.  He knows about laws to protect people and animals and property, and I figure that since I have shown him “I’m Just a Bill” on YouTube, he is way ahead of the average American in terms of knowledge of the political process.

But super-delegates, gas tax cuts, healthcare reform, education reform, the historical candidacies of the two Democrats, I think that there is time enough for all that.  Let my five year old cut open a box and pretend it’s a boat, not worry if the Republican candidate is too old. 

Besides, I think if you asked the Munchkin who should be president, I’m afraid he would wholeheartedly cast his vote for Scooby-Doo.

Hmmm, maybe he’s got something there.

(And, apologies to all who suffered through the technical problems! It’s all better now!)

Last week’s poll addressed attitudes toward homeschooling and people who choose that option.  Multiple choices were allowed, and the category with the largest percentage of votes was the “imparting religious instruction not given in public school” with almost sixty percent.  Now, that may or may not be true, but I had a feeling that was a perception among most people.  The next category with the most votes with fifty one percent was, “their views differ from the mainstream.”  I thought it was a really interesting poll, and I thank you all for your honesty.

Now, doing my normal thing of zooming into an entirely different subject, I’ve got one about candy and how much candy kids get during holidays and celebrations. This weekend, my son got more candy than he could ever eat. Now, what to do with it?

more at twiigs.com…

Ahhh, who doesn’t love art?

Certainly not this museum-loving gal, who has been known to just sit and stare at paintings and sculptures in complete awe.

As any mother of a preschool-aged child can tell you, your exposure to art increases tenfold once the kid learns how to hold any type of writing/coloring instrument. It starts first with adorable little squiggles, which you praise highly in order to reinforce the idea that creating art is a good thing.  And also to encourage the perfection of that grip upon the writing instrument.

So then your child gets the idea that everything they do is this fantabulous piece de resistance that needs to be displayed on the wall or the refrigerator.  Well, at least mine did.

Therein lies the quandry. Whither all that art?

I know some moms who have kept practically everything their child has created, whether it took 30 seconds or 20 minutes.

And those moms have also seriously thought about renting extra storage space to hold it all.

Would it be so bad to tell the child that the hastily scribbled “rainbow” does not even compare with the very detailed treasure map and that they are indeed not equal in execution or result?

After some heavy pondering and surreptitious dumping of artwork while the Munchkin was asleep, I decided to involve him in the process. This was for two reasons, the first being that I felt horribly guilty putting his drawings in the trash as well as the desire for my vacuum to not get crowded out of the hallway closet.

The other day we were cleaning out the car, which becomes an involuntary repository of all the school art projects, and I allowed him to pick the items he wanted me to keep and which ones were not worthy of immortality.

And wouldn’t you know, for the most part he chose the projects that were thematic and time-consuming to produce.

Now, if only I could get his permission to ditch the highly unflattering portrait he made of me for Mother’s Day last year in which he proclaimed I was 100 years old, all would be good.

Many of us would like to “go green” but aren’t really sure where to start.  Well, there are lots of places to start, and that might be part of the problem.  Too many choices lead to a general throwing up of the hands and a proclamation of defeat.  Here are some products to help you get on a greener path. 

 Seventh Generation Diapers and Wipes  If cloth diapering is not for you, products from Seventh Generation are free of chlorine and all sorts of other chemicals and are comparably priced to regular diapers when bought in bulk.   So, you can do good for the environment and good for your baby at the same time.

 Compact Flourescent Light Bulbs I know a lot of you already have these, and most of the complaints I hear from people are that they can’t find the type of bulb they need.  Well, I’ve got them for you.  Dimmable, floodlight, chandelier light, reading light, anywhere light, I’ve got your back.

  Energy Monitor  Talk about a useful item!  You can go around your house and test everything that has a plug to find out exactly how much energy it uses.  I was intrigued by the high customer rating on this device, and the combination of their delight and disgust at finding out how much energy the items actually used.  I think this could easily make back the purchase price in energy savings.

 Wood Blocks  Worried about all those nasty things that can be present in plastic toys?  Go with classic wood toys and never worry again!

  Reusable Shopping Bags  Those ubiquitous plastic grocery bags are simply a bad deal for the environment, and reusable bags can be fashionable and hip, too! This 6-pack from Baggu has great colors and even better, they are machine washable.

Reusable Lunch Bags  I think most people are already using these, but if you are in the market for a new one, you might want to consider something like this one from Built NY. The reviews say that it does a good job at maintaining temperatures and is also machine washable.

  How about something as simple as a refillable pen?  Instead of throwing them away, just refill it and keep using!  This Quad-Function Space Pen allows you to write at any angle with two colors of ink, a pencil, and a stylus in one! 

  If you are a big water drinker, stop buying those plastic bottles!  Instead, buy a water filter for your tap if you don’t like the taste of regular tap, and take your water with you in a reusable bottle.  This one by Camelbak is spillproof and comes with a flip cap and a straw for ease of use.  It may seem like a lot of money at first, but I promise you will be saving in the long run.

  And last but not least, buy a book!  Wake Up and Smell the Planet: The Non-Pompous, Non-Preachy Grist Guide to Greening Your Day is exactly what it says it is.  It even manages to be funny!

Anyone else have any favorite products or tips?

The other day, the Munchkin read yet another label on something that said “Made in China.” He then turned and asked me, “Why is everything made in China?”

OK, I’ve got this one covered. “Well you see, son, China is a very big country that is able to produce many things.”

All right, that should be good enough for a five year old, he’ll move onto something else, I’m sure.

No such luck.

“But why do they make so much?”

“Well, there are many reasons why. Uhhhh, they have a large population, which means they are able to pay people less money to work because it is easy to find workers who will work for less money than someone else.”

“That sounds bad.”

Hoo boy.

“It isn’t necessarily bad, although some people do think it is bad. But it works for China and so they do it that way.”

By this time I am sweating bullets because I accepted the assignment, but I’m afraid something is going to self-destruct.  Probably me.  Does my son really need to know about the yen being artifically low, labor abuses, trade agreements, and all the many factors that enable China to produce so much stuff?

Q&A sessions like this are the hardest part of parenting for me because I know that younger children tend to see things in a very compartmentalized way. This is how they make sense of such an overwhelming world, often by placing things in  “good” and “bad” categories.

But it is the nuance of a situation, the various shades of gray, that children need to understand the most. The world is just not that simple.  However, too much information can be just that,  a Charlie Brown teacher ”waa-waaa-waaa-waaa” for a kid with no frame of reference about geopolitics, economics, or world powers.

On the other hand, giving an oversimplified, sugarcoated explanation is just as bad, if not worse.

Striking that balance is one of the most important things a parent can do to make sure that their children develop critical thinking skills.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go crawl through some air ducts, descend into a motion-sensitive room on a wire, and hack into a computer. 

Because that’s my other job. 

And it’s a lot easier.

Oh, I’ll have a double helping of this.

Recall, if you will, Glinda’s thoughtful post on the concept of the “Alpha Mom.” The Alpha Mom would be described by those who aspire to Alpha-dom as a woman who has it all and runs it with aplomb. She would be described by pretty much everyone else as an insufferable snob, an undermining, competitive bitch, and a complete pain in the ass.

You know the type.

Well, the type, it seems, has a regular column in the Times of London (Mother’s Little Helper is the tagline; you can’t make this stuff up!) and we (as highly professional parenting bloggers) do cast a narrowed eye over the gilded ghetto of the Alpha Mummy column from time to time, holding our noses against the clouds of Coco Mademoiselle (Mademoiselle? Really? I thought you were 40, darling?) and squinting through the glare coming off all that lamé. You’ve no idea the sacrifices we endure for you.

Or the joys.

For lo, in the land of the TeenyManolo there was great joy last night at about 3am, when we saw the comments that regular readers had made on the Alpha Mummy blog. Possessed as we are of commenters both witty and supportive, we could only chuckle malevolently to ourselves as the delightful waves of Schadenfreude washed over us.

The post:

What to do this weekend. Kids.Modern fair.

Instead of spending the whole day in our pyjamas or doing the grocery shopping, this Sunday we’re heading to Dulwich for the Kids.Modern fair. This is the first fair, run by the folks who do the Midcentury Modern fair, but focussed on vintage and new design for kids. Children will be able to make t-shirts, make trays, play with toys, interact with digital wallpaper and more…

Okay, this is more of a post than I’d normally steal and re-post, but I just have to say: that, is, too, many, commas. And when I say that, you gotta know it’s true. Don’t they have copy editors at the Times Online? But the very cockles of our shriveled and dried hearts were warmed by tears of joy when we read the comments, which we are also going to steal and re-post. Behold and cheer:

ps am I alone in wondering if Jennifer’s kids will come home and start to interact with analogue wallpaper, otherwise known as scribbling on the walls….

Posted by: J | 24 Feb 2008 11:51:51

Actually I am spending all day in my PJs AND doing the grocery shopping, thanks to tesco online.

The younger ones appear to be playing in a cardboard box, whatever, I dont really care

Posted by: J | 24 Feb 2008 11:50:31

Is interacting with digital wallpaper as criminally dull as it sounds?

Posted by: Annamac | 22 Feb 2008 18:22:35

One can only assume so. And no doubt the budding Wallpaper editors will be thrilled to the very core at the chance to colour pictures of old Eames chairs and the like. Except, it seems that even the vast resources of the most respected newspaper in the world couldn’t get a picture of children doing this. I wonder how much they had to pay the two grups in the shot?

I mean, seriously, people (there go those commas again!) when the best you can think of to do for the weekend is to take your kids to a cunningly-disguised trade show, it’s time to stop breeding.

The utterly fabulous Mrs. Hall asks:

 Dear Glinda:
 
I was wondering if you had any tips for dark under eye circles. Mine are hereditary, i.e. not caused by lack of sleep. Although, I have a five year old daughter, a 14 month old son and a husband in Iraq. So, they are darker and more zombie like than usual.
 
Do you have any suggestions for some nice concealer? 
 
Thank you for any suggestion you might have with my zombie problem,
 
Mrs. Hall

Ayyyyy!  The Glinda knows exactly what the Mrs. Hall is describing, as she is the sufferer of the hereditary dark circles as well!  The Glinda had become very used to people asking her if she had allergies, or if she had gotten enough sleep, or needed a cure for her hangover, or any other half-dozen bordering upon rude comments.  The Glinda merely brushed them away like the annoying flies that they were.  She hoped, though, that one day she would discover the product that would help her.

After many years of searching for the perfect under-eye concealer, she has found it! 

The major trick to the correcting of the under eye circles is to resist the temptation to overcompensate. Often, instead of looking like the zombie, an even more jarring look is produced with colors that are too light.  This produces the unfortunate result of looking like the squirrel instead.

So what is this miracle product?  Look no further than Bare Escentuals.  The Glinda has good news and bad news about this.  The bad news is that these products are not cheap.  But the good news is that they are not horridly expensive, either.  Only mildly expensive.  More than worth skipping four lattes or so to have perfect looking skin, however.

You can simply dip your toe into the shallow end of Bare Escentuals and purchase only their concealer.  The Glinda herself uses Summer Bisque. This is an excellent all-around concealer that is applied with a brush, preferably one like this.   To those that are concerned with looking overly powdery or that it will settle into lines and creases, the Glinda will assure them not to worry. 

Or, if jumping into the deep end of the pool is more your style, you can purchase an entire starter kit, which comes in more shades than the one that is linked.  It also includes brushes, a lotion, and multiple powders for your entire face.  The kits do not include any of the concealers, which is the Glinda’s one complaint.

The powders come in many different shades, for women of all colors.  They are much more forgiving than liquids, which are harder to blend and often look like, well, like you have makeup on.   The powders appear fresher and more natural than any liquid could ever hope to look.  The Glinda has tried more than her fair share of foundations and concealers, including custom-blended ones, and Bare Escentuals is the hands-down winner.

The Glinda will be honest, the initial mucking about with pots of powders and different brushes can be a bit overwhelming when one is used to simply pouring some liquid out of a bottle and smearing it on.  After a while though, it becomes routine. The Glinda is of the humble opinion that having a flawless face to present to the world is a key element for being superfantastic!

And, the Glinda would also like to wish your husband a safe and speedy return home.