Fun Friday: Slugs & Bugs Videos!

In honor of our drawing today, I wanted to give you a little taste of the great music on "Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies." So here are three videos to show off the music and fun that are in store for you and your kiddos! Don't forget--if you don't win the drawing today, you can still purchase the CD on www.slugsandbugs.com or from The Rabbit Room. Today's winner will be announced at 4:30 p.m., so check back!

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Going to the Bathroom by Ourselves

Mamas, you know what I'm talking about. It truly is unbelievable how rare it is that we can accomplish this one simple task. I am convinced that there is a hidden button somewhere on the toilet that alerts all children to come running to the bathroom door so that Mama may not have a moment's peace. It's kind-of ridiculous, really. I mean, it's not like we're sneaking off to take a nap or eat some chocolate (well, not every time); we just need to take care of business. Preferably alone. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so. Because the times in the past nine years that I've been a Mama and have been able to be in the bathroom without hearing knocks on the door, listening to apparently urgent requests and tattles, or seeing little fingers or notes or toys slip under the door, etc. . . . have been few and far between.

So when people come to my house and ask where the restroom is, I laugh at the irony.

Question for you: Is this true in your house, too? I know it can't just be me.

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Veggies with Cartoons on the Labels

It's not always easy to get little ones to eat their veggies. But the odds of them taking a few bites are greatly increased if a cartoon character's face is plastered across the label. Once in the grocery story, my son was begging me to buy a bag of baby bananas because Lightning McQueen and Mater's pictures were on it. I said no a few times, because they were a little more expensive than regular bananas. Then I stopped and listened to myself telling my son we weren't going to buy bananas. There are plenty of "no's" to be dealt out when perusing the grocery store with your kids, but one of these probably shouldn't be used on bananas.


We Mamas aren't above using tricks on our kids--especially if it gets them to eat healthy things. So, Disney, I'd actually like to thank you for the endorsements. And, Popeye, you've been at this a long time. Kudos to you for being strong to the finach!

Do I wish kids would just eat good things without resorting to bribery? Sure. But am I going to boycott healthy foods my kids request just because of a cartooned cameo on the package? Nope.

I yam what I yam.

Question for you: Do you buy Disney food? And do your kids eat it?

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Being Prepared

From the moment we find out we're going to be Mamas, we start reading up on what to expect. We browse books, magazines, and websites; we poll our friends and family; we make plans and schedules and know exactly how we will do things once the baby arrives. We will be wonderfully prepared and adept parents. We will know how to handle anything thrown at us.

Heh. Heh. Heh.

Then the baby actually arrives.

What was that we read? What was our plan in this situation? WHY ISN'T THIS WORKING?!

The truth, as any Mama will tell you, is that no one can really be fully prepared for Mamahood. It is something that we have to, in many ways, figure out for ourselves. Every baby is different; every parent is different; and every day is different. We are all constantly in training, I'm afraid.

Don't get me wrong. It's a very good thing to read the books and talk to your friends and make plans and schedules. Just know that babies are particularly good at not doing things by the book, which isn't surprising, since they can't read.

The Stuff Mamas Like Motto: Be prepared to improvise.

Question for you: Did you feel prepared for your first baby? What surprises were thrown at you once he/she arrived?

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Watching Home Movies

Mamas absolutely love watching home movies, and so do Daddies and kiddos. It's especially great if it's been a while since you've watched them. The kids are all intrigued by how they looked, talked, and acted when they were babies and toddlers, and the parents are all intrigued by how quickly the time has passed. The kids poke fun at each other; Mama and Daddy look at each other with loving but somewhat sad eyes. It's a bittersweet time, for sure.

I think it's interesting to see how we've grown and
changed over the years, even in our parenting skills. There's almost always a difference in how it was done with the first child as compared to the third, whether we like it or not. But that's okay. It makes them who they are. It's also great to see how each child has developed over the years and to see what signs they gave as babies that would indicate how they would be as older kids. (My firstborn has always been so intense and focused!)

Word of warning: If you feel like you've had all the little ones you're going to have, be careful about watching videos of your children as babies. It will be difficult to fight the urge to have more!

Question for you: How often do you pull out the home movies? Who enjoys it more--the parents or the kids?

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Fun Friday Giveaway!

This week on Fun Friday, I'll be giving away the "Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies" CD by Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame! Want to win it? All you have to do is stop by my blog each day this week and leave a comment. For every comment you leave between now and Friday, you'll be entered into the drawing for the CD. I'll announce the winner on Friday afternoon at 4:30. Woo-hoo! Free stuff!

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Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies

In "Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies," Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame have created a wonderful collection of fun-filled songs that evoke giggles, toe-tapping, head nodding (both in keeping with the beat and in understanding of the songs' contents), quickly singing along, and dancing with your kiddos. The lullabies at the end of the album are sweet, soothing, thoughtful, and prayerful. Beautiful, beautiful songs that make you want to hold your babies close and never let them grow up.

Swirled into each of these songs is a dose of the messy reality of parenting babies and toddlers. You can tell that these two guys have had the experiences of playing with, entertaining, burping ("Chicken Wiggle"--so funny!), feeding ("Beans"--also hilarious), and changing their own little ones. The evidence points to the fact that these guys have lived the dailyness of parenthood and wrote these songs to help them get through it. Fun dads!

My personal favorites on the album are "Piggy Little Toes," which will have you square dancing; "Who's Got the Ball?," which will have you wanting to play a game with your kids; "Tractor, Tractor," which will have you laughing; and "You Can Always Come Home," which will have you feeling all sentimental about your babies.

It's hard to tell if these guys' target audience was intended to be young kids or the parents who love those young kids, but they succeed at hitting both. I've been a fan of Andrew's and Randall's music for quite a while, so I wasn't surprised that I loved this album. Your kids will be begging to hear this music over and over again . . . and you'll actually be happy to oblige.

Now if you don't already own this music yourself, you can get it a few ways:

1. You can buy it from www.slugsandbugs.com.
2. You can buy it from The Rabbit Room.
3. You can win it this week on my blog! (Stay tuned.)

Either way, just get it!

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*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this CD free from The Rabbit Room in exchange for posting a review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”