UrbanMommies was given an opportunity to interview and hear advice to new parents from Barbara Coloroso. An internationally-known author of five parenting books, acclaimed speaker and consultant, we discuss her three tenets of parenting, navigating criticism and following your instincts as a parent. More of Barbara Coloroso’s wisdom can be found at Kids Are Worth It.
I have a friend who is famous for foot rubs. Excited to be invited for dinner, I asked his wife permission to ask for a quick foot massage, and she was very graceful in sharing her husband. But when the guru saw my feet he refused to touch them. Come on! I haven’t had time to get a pedicure recently! Dejected and sad I left with sore feet. But I now have no more reason to be embarrassed. This tool might be my new favourite beauty product. The Emjoi Micro Pedi requires 2 AA batteries and eliminates the need for sharp metal callus removers. It enabled me to skip pricy, time-consuming pedicures at the salon. (Some find the spa experience relaxing but it stresses me out.) Seriously. As if I needed another reason to be a hermit at home!
I love my job. But sometimes UrbanMommies gets sent items for review and we don’t actually know how to give them a proper test. Case in point: The Sharp Air Purifier. You see, I’m pretty lucky. I don’t have carpets, don’t smoke, it’s summer when the doors are opened all the time and I’m a spectacular housekeeper. Ha. Ok maybe not, but my air smells pretty fresh. I plugged in this shiny new unit in a large room. It looked a bit like a spaceship with fancy lights and was so quiet I kept forgetting it was there. It even monitors dust. Reading the details, I was convinced it was doing it’s thing, but how could I prove it?
And then I decided to clean out my storage room. Our home is built on a rock and in several places the rock comes into the house. Dampness from the British Columbia rain combined with too-small kids’ shoes tossed into a storage bin can create quite the stench. So when I opened the door, eager to organize the dreaded area, I gagged. Several hours later the space looked shiny. Soccer cleats and rollerblades were catalogued and Christmas decorations grouped (behind Hallowe’en for ease of access of course). Martha would be proud. But the room still smelled like a dog’s breakfast. And then I remembered the silent spaceship in the other room. The Sharp KC-850U Air Purifier is recommended for rooms up to 254 sq. ft. and my storage wasn’t even close to that. I had a hunch that it would work quickly.
I dragged it in. Plugged it in. Turned off the lights, shut the door and came back 3 days later.The angels were singing! Mozart was playing! My air smelled clean. Test complete and products passes with flying colours. It actually inactivates mould, viruses, allergens and odours. It doesn’t just mask the smells like spraying perfume around. It actually removes them.
The details:
· Sharp air purifiers are the world’s only air purifiers with Plasmacluser Ion (PCI) technology that uses both positive and negative ions to shower the room and seek out and inactivate many airborne contaminants.
· Through the use of positive and negative ions, the air purifier is able to inactivate most airborne particles, including viruses and bacteria, mould spores, germs, fungi and other odour causing substances, removing up to 99.7% of airborne particles.
· Sharp’s air purifiers with humidifying function are also the only product line on the market that combine a humidifier and air purifier, meaning one sleek unit is all that’s needed to keep the air in a room clean and comfortable, no matter what the season.
Here’s their fan page. It should be called an air purifier page as opposed to fan. I. am. so. funny.
So now that I don’t have to use my superior housekeeping skills (chuckle) to scrub the storage room, won’t get as many viruses this winter and can skip the allergy medicines, I have a ton of time on my hands. Dinner, anyone?
Forget Instamatch and online gaming. This tangible Marimekko memory game will verse your child in design as well as sharpening their little brain. Putting a new spin on an old classic, this Memory Game by Marimekko is sure to become a family favorite for games night with its beautifully designed circular tile pieces.
This memory game features a selection of Marimekko’s own textile designs, from their iconic Unikot print, to playful Cars. We’re so in love with the patterns, we may just have to practice lots.
It was my tenth wedding anniversary and I was fully surprised as I got whisked off to Los Angeles. The tenth seems to carry more weight than it used to. We were upgraded and treated like royalty everywhere we went and it began with the car rental agency. Noting the special occasion we were given a Ford Mustang convertible. And I happened to have a scarf to tie around my head a la Grace Kelly. (But of course).
The Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang has always held allure for me. Rugged and manly yet powerful with crisp lines, it produces a visceral reaction. I have to stop writing auto reviews. They always sound racy to me. (But to be fair you should read their slogans). Even as an automatic the car is easy to handle and the turning radius was impressive in tiny LA parking garages. Delivering up to 662 HP (V8 Manual Supercharged), I can’t think of a better vehicle in which to see the southern California coast. No longer intimidated by the sunroof, it was fully automated with 2 manual levers that were easily operated.
I happened to be attending the Ford Trends Conference in Detroit for the 50th anniversary of the Mustang. Unlike the image in my mind of the vehicle of 50 years ago (my close friend was given one by his dad), I was taken with the modern design and extras. Trends discussed at the conference about environmental responsibility, technology and the notion of cars making life easier for their drivers were evident in the vehicle. The SYNC® with MyFord Touch® systems allow you to use the RCA connectors to plug in all kinds of video players such as gaming consoles and iPods. You can even turn your smartphone into a wireless router, so your passengers — big and small — can surf the Web! Hold me back – I’m trying to unplug this summer.
It’s in the Detailing
The steering wheel was stitched beautifully through leather and ergonomic to the hands. The square detailing on the dash juxtaposed against the curves of the outside shell made for a ying-yang experience. Our music blared clearly from huge speakers and as we drove through Malibu and Hollywood I played with the dials styled like old-school radio accessories. I may have been singing a bit too.. Capitol Records, are you listening? More a ‘date-night’ vehicle, there were of course carseat latches but you’d be hard-pressed to fit a third person between two carseats. That, of course, isn’t the purpose of this machine. As a date vehicle for fair weather? Perfect.
See also:
As a mom whose children had a slight addition to Lego, I know how difficult it can be to stick to a toy budget when your child covets a certain set. Or ten. Worse still, they assemble it in a day (ok maybe not the Deathstar) and soonafter, the new items get played with and broken. We’ve just discovered Pleygo, a Netflix-like rental service for Lego sets.
Pleygo is a new service which provides kids and adults unlimited access to the world of Lego at a minimal cost. By renting and returning Lego sets, parents save money and kids continue to be excited and long for the new set that comes in the mail. Life skills such as creativity, fine-motor and sequencing are enhanced and I’m willing to bet that my summer tech-timeout challenge will be a tad easier once I subscribe! There are plans for Unlimited Lego sets for 3, 6 or even 12 months.
I heard a story last week about a phenomenal mom who allowed her 7 year-old son on a playdate. While the two boys were innocently searching for Lego on the internet, up popped an x-rated video that wouldn’t close with a simple click. She cried for three days and told me softly that she would never be ab;e to take back the images her son had witnessed. Horrific. Enter Kidoodle.TV. Launched for beta testing in Canada and set to launch across North America this summer, Kidoodle is made just for kids aged 12 and under. With increased parental controls, Kidoodle.TV makes programming safe for kids, with educational and entertaining content, free of nudity, profanity, violence and advertising directed at children.
They are offering a FREE one month trial during their beta test to get feedback from parents like you. Parents can sign up for this beta invitation on their site.
Words like ‘fusion’ and the ‘psychology of the palette’ were tossed around when I experienced the art of coffee at Milano in Gastown. Coffee culture is taken to a new level by Brian Turko whose eyes sparkle as he talks of his history with Milano’s founder and his apprenticeship in coffee roasting. I sit across from Erin Ireland as I scarf down her famous lemon loaf (sold at Milano) and listen to Turko talk counter culture and the delight of blending beans as he serves coffee. I had no idea how complex true Italian roasting was! Real espresso is a blend of fats and flavours – somewhat like a wine. He makes me chuckle at the notion that coffee shouldn’t be a flavour agent for milk-based drinks. I am SO busted. I also had no clue that true espresso loses it’s perfect taste within 40 seconds, which is why the European and Argentine coffe shops have jam-packed counters in the morning.
According to Milano’s website, “From rich to mellow, and from bold to sweet and lively, all our blends are exquisitely balanced for flavour, body, acidity, aroma. We know that our dedication to sourcing, hand roasting and blending 9 espresso blends that contain anywhere from 6 – 12 different origin coffees “. I am no Brian Turko, but I am a tired Mom and I love coffee. I can attest that Milano will be my new special place for experiencing true coffee culture, as I have never tasted anything so good.
It can sometimes be difficult to tell your period apart from early pregnancy signs. I remember with both pregnancies asking myself “am I getting my period or could I be pregnant?” A lot of women confuse the symptoms with each other. Some of the early signs of pregnancy include: fatigue, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, sore breasts, and headaches. These are just a few of the early pregnancy symptoms. However each woman is different and the pregnancy symptoms may vary.
Early pregnancy symptoms are also similar to those of side effects of getting your period. But how do you tell if you’re pregnant and it’s not just your period? If your period is a few days late I wouldn’t get too worried just yet. While your period can be on time for many years, it can also regulate now and then. If your period is 7 or more days late, you can always try a pregnancy test. It’s usually difficult to even catch a pregnancy with a test at the very early weeks, so if it’s negative your first time and your period still hasn’t come, I would wait a week or so then try the test again. Cramping, hot flashes, headaches, and light spotting can very well just be your period.
Some pregnant women do notice a little light spotting around the time of their period, however you can also experience light spotting during the time of your period even when you are not pregnant. If you have more than a few of these symptoms, I would take a pregnancy test right away.
– Sore breasts
– Fatigue
– Nausea
– Lack of energy
– 5-7 days or later period
– Backaches
– Cramping
– Cravings or food aversions
– Mood swings
– Bloating
– Elevated body temperature
– Sensitivity to smells
– Dizziness or fainting
All of these signs can point to pregnancy. (We also have some ‘Very Early Pregnancy Signs‘ if you are interested). If you feel other symptoms such as pelvic or abdominal pain, or lightheadedness, call your practitioner immediately. These can be signs of ectopic pregnancy.
There’s a joke now about me as I test drive vehicles. Unlike other auto journalists, it takes about an hour for me to take all of the kid stuff out of my own car and transfer it to the tester. Car seats, sporting equipment, groceries, garbage, dried cheerios and dirty coffee mugs make their way into the clean new car as everyone around me chuckles. Luckily whenever I drive an Acura, I feel so much like a princess that I don’t mind the extra work. I drove the Acura ILX Hybrid (MSRP $35,050) and ILX Technology (MSRP$32,350) back to back and was delighted by what I found.
Though they are different to drive (and a tad distracting if you watch the dials as much as I do), hybrids are winning my love at the moment. Typically it’s all about the environment and the time and money you save at the gas pumps, but as an under-appreciated mom, I have other reasons. I feel like I’m in control; of how I use the fuel, how I drive, and the noise level within the car. I also feel good about myself for simply driving a hybrid (and am able to park in hybrid-only parking spots). That’s nice too.
That aside, here’s what I loved about both vehicles:
1. The Valet key is genius. The removable key portion ensures that the valet or a burglar can’t get into trunk if the ‘valet’ option is switched off. For this reason there is no passthru on the trunk on hybrid. (Skiiers beware).
2. Flat tire seal repair kit for the hybrid ensures you have no need to change a tire on the side of road. Perfect safety for women!
3. There’s a hard drive in the vehicle so that when you insert a cd it will copy your music and store it on the hard drive (150 cd capacity).
4. Like in Hondas, there is a flat back floor which gives backseat passengers more room – especially if someone is sitting between two carseats.
5. Pant protector and the double seal on doors ensures that you don’t get oil and grease on your new designer jeans.
6. Seat warmers remember last setting so nobody can play a joke on you by making your backside too hot.. Ditto for the navigation system with voice recognition.
7. The push button start, while leaving the key in your purse is a must for moms.
8. The look is super sporty with a low profile and great viz.
9. Rear windows are nice and low so that the kids can see out (hopefully avoiding some car screaming time).
10. The SMS text message function reads you texts as you drive, and you are also able to respond with a few stock responses such as ‘I’ll text later, I’m driving’. Much fun can be had with passengers in the back seat depending on the propriety of incoming text messages.
11. There is a “feedback” system in the Hybrid that lets a driver know how well they are performing. A big green ball grows larger if you drive sensibly and shrinks if you don’t. So try to limit the shrinkage.
Drawbacks:
1. I thought the trunk of the hybrid was small, as the battery is behind the back seat (or perhaps I carry around too much junk…)
2. Totally not a drawback with the vehicles but either with my kids or my ineptitude as a Mom. Where does all of the kid-dirt come from? I am SO glad I don’t have to clean the car after a week of driving. What’s with the blue playdoh?
The Verdict?
Loved both of these vehicles and for the extra couple of thousand dollars, I’d choose the Acura ILX Hybrid. The savings in fuel, the rear spoiler and the self-love you’ll receive make it a slam dunk.
Check out the Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Acura RDX too.