this makes me feel hot

and I don't mean the thermostat is off kilter...I mean I need to go shave my legs now. ---- Yeah, in my dreams. I'm lucky I can spare a teeny break from the toddler when Dadda comes home to come in here and goof around with this stuff. Shaving my legs would take way too long, besides this is way more fun! Oh Sarah, the little toys on your myspace are too much fun! I have to copy you every time now. You crack me up!

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the red velvet lap of doom

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Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, I have just one for this Polaroid. Suck. As in, how much does it suck that my baby cried the first time he saw Santa? Or as in, how much does it suck that I am so bummed out about it? I tried so hard not to get my expectations up. I knew it would happen. So why did I subject my kid to this torture? I just couldn't help myself. I couldn't wait to put him in his cute little overalls and take him out to see the light festival at our local zoo. I reek of first time parent, don't I? Guilty as charged.

Last year was really his first Christmas, but you know, he was 6 months old and even more oblivious. Plus we went out east so there just wasn't time for a Santa visit. Last year we were all so darn sick, Lucian had RSV - it was not a really good holiday anyhow. I guess I'm trying to make this one better so I'm trying to get into the spirit early and often.

Over all, I have to say that the trip to this holiday event was ok. It was time well spent with family since we went with Oma and Opa D. So, I don't want to sound ungrateful for the experience. I'm just perplexed by the whole thing really. My son is normally a happy, cheerful, playful, loving and friendly kiddo. He usually never has a problem with strangers and rarely does he ever become shy. (that's enough to worry me right there for other reasons) So, I was secretly really hoping we might be able to pull the Santa thing off.

Before we left the line area, I made a point to calm him down and then take him back over to watch other kids sitting on Santa's lap so he knew it wasn't all horrible and that I wasn't sadistic for putting him on some stranger's lap. He almost acted like he wanted to go make another try at it but I know he really wanted to dig around the area where Santa was handing out little treats so I redirected him.

I was fully expecting the possibility of him crying and was mentally preparing myself for being ok with it. But now I feel like taking him to see Santa was no different than taking him to get his shots. I mean, what is the difference? You have to wait in a long line and deal with other people's rug rats running around with snotty noses and coughing and being impolite and hoping and praying that your kid isn't going to copy some awful thing the other negligent parent's kid is doing. Then you finally get called up to go do the thang with the kid and then the thang makes him scream and cry and as soon as it's over it's like it never happened in the first place and the kid is back to his normal cheery self.

Ugh! It's experiences like these that make me stay in more and more. I have to echo some of the recent sentiments that so many others are blogging about right now: Tis the Season of I Hate other People's Kids!! What is it about the holidays that brings out the ick in people? I don't hate all other people's kids, just most of them. And I hate to say that because I am an educator, but at least in school, there is some decorum. I enjoy being around other people's kids in school, but the mall or stores, fuh-geh-ti-bout-it! And, the irony about that is that's when the parents are usually with the kids when they are in the malls and other public places and that's when they are at their worst! What gives?

Maybe I need to re-think this. Maybe it's not the kids that are the problem, maybe it's the parents that drive me nuts. And here I am creating and promoting parent resources! Well, I guess that's why I do it. I feel like I see so many parents out there who don't have a clue about their child's development and don't really care. It makes me so sad. I get to hear about it in the upper echelon of the education food chain day in and day out because I'm married to a h.s. teacher which makes me married to the cause for education as well. So, if I think it's bad at this level, it only gets worse as they get older. Is there any hope?

Taking Lucian to see Santa was exhausting because we all had to watch him like a hawk. Not that I don't normally supervise my kid, but there were so many people there and I'm so paranoid about someone snatching him or him wandering off and me ending up in the news. (I watch too much news is my problem. Nancy Grace gives me nightmares, but then I again, I think it's her makeup job that does it to me.) The poor kid just wanted to toddle around and explore everything like he's wired to do. I wanted so badly to just let him run wild and explore like we do at home with supervision but all the other kids misbehaving was just making me nuts. I had to whip out the teacher voice a couple of times to ask some kid to please stop attacking the poor Frosty the Snowman fixture. Lucian saw it and wanted to copy the behavior and that's where I draw the line. One of these days I know some other mom is going to deck me for reprimanding their kid, I just know it.

That's why I seldom go out. That's why I want to put my precious little one in a bubble and just roll him around in it. Why can't they make giant hamster balls for kids?

Ok, I know this is not a realistic way of thinking and I am a naive first time parent and maybe the next one I'll let loose like a wild dog. I know I need to get over it. But, day-am...when other people don't parent their kids, it makes our jobs so much harder, doesn't it?

ok, enough griping. Give me some credit. I let him eat dirt today. Minus the rocks. Because he has enough fiber in his diet.

So, what is the skinny if there are any other second or more-time parents out there reading this? Is it like the lottery when it comes to kids crying on Santa? Is it something about the color red that sets them off? I feel so bad for Santa, really. The Santa we took him to see seemed like the perfect Santa I would want for my kid to meet for the first time. He had a great Santa voice with a polite and gentle demeanor. And then I put my precious child on his lap and he whales. I apologized up and down to the dude but he just gave me that knowing look, cuz, you know, he's Santa and all.

I feel bad that he cried, but I have to admit it is kinda cute in a way. Something about the way his nose wrinkled up. My MIL convinced me to get the Polaroid picture they were selling. I wasn't going to, but I'm glad I did. She's right. It's still a special moment to cherish even if it wasn't the most desirable outcome. I've learned that the moments he cries are just as special as the moments he's smiling because it means he is feeling and learning and that's a lot to be thankful for. At least I got the joy in rescuing him and making him feel all better, cuz, you know, I'm Mom and all.

kreative kid stuff

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I am bursting at the seams to blog about some kid and craft related topics but it's already getting so late so I'm just going to put up a quick post to remind me later about all the stuff I want to blog about.

First off, I am excited about Lucian's new interest in crayons and paints. He is only 17 months old, but already he is showing signs of being ready to get into crafts and I couldn't be more excited.

We went out grocery shopping this evening and I had to stop off in the office supplies section and look for crayons and finger paints. I bought a box of crayons because they were under a buck and truth be told, I bought them for MYSELF! I Looooooove the smell of Crayola crayons. It is one of the best smells on Earth to me. I'm going to tuck these crayons away for the time being because I think they are too small for him yet. I got an 8-pack of the big fat crayons for him instead.

I also go him one of these toddler type scribble markers. I'll go look at the package later and add in the details. I plan on editing this post to include links and other resources. Anyhow, it's called "Bob the Barking Bulldog" and it barks when you put the cap back on! So cool.

Ok, so here is a topic that is burning on my brain right now. Kid software. I have heard TuxPaint mentioned now several times on the Jumping Monkeys and TWIT podcasts and it makes me giddy listening to them talk about it. If only they knew the intimate experiences I've had with this software! Oh, I so badly want to share and talk about how much I love this little application and how it's better than KidPix and possibly better than Beautiful Dorina.

I just read the history of KidPix and I was thoroughly impressed. I'm still a bit confused as to why the OS X version of KidPix was not as well adopted. I wonder if it's because Broderbund took it over?

I also want to elaborate more on a cute story about a time when I was upgrading the school from OS 9 to OS X and how I had to practically pry KidPix away from a lot of really addicted kids.

Have you ever sat in one of those tiny little kid sized chairs? Your knees end up close to your chest. Ok, now try doing that while 8 months pregnant.

Yeah, those were fun times.

Have you ever had a face off in software with a determined first grader? I have. I once went to toe to toe with a first grader who was trying to convince me to keep KidPix in the lab while I was trying to convince him that TuxPaint was just as cool if not cooler.

Bill, if you ever read this...all you need to do is add in sound recording capability and it will be golden!

What I really want to do is write in to Jumping Monkeys and give them a full review of TuxPaint and what it's like to manage it in a lab with 30 computers and kids from ages 5 to 10 using it - ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I want to talk about all the details of what teachers need to know in order to be prepared to use this successfully in a class environment.

Last year, I helped a kindergarten teacher use TuxPaint in a morning and afternoon class where they used it to make self portraits. We then printed out the pictures on the color printer and I made a huge mural with them that covered the walls in the bland computer lab. Let me just say that trying to organize 20 five year olds is no easy task and I think the teacher may have bit off more than she could chew when embarking on this journey. I have seen so many frustrated teachers over the past several years and it's really sad because they just don't have the tools, resources and training needed to be able to teach kids how to use technology. Even if they did, where would they have the time?

I would love to be the equivalent of the art teacher or the music teacher or the gym teacher – a specialist – except I would want to be the technology teacher. It's such a shame that technology is not a specialized area given the same amount of weight as the other subjects. Instead, teachers are forced to take on the role and it adds so much more frustration to their already full plates.

Anyhow, I can't wait to start discussing more in depth on the software I like to use with little ones. My focus in the next coming blogs will be on: TuxPaint, AlphaBaby, Beautiful Dorina and KidPix. I already know how to tweak and "hack" TuxPaint and AlphaBaby and configure them to be really educational for really little kids and I can't wait to share this information.

For example, now is the perfect time of year to show kids how to use TuxPaint to create a holiday card. This has worked well in a lab full of mixed faiths because the stamps in the stamp selection include Christmas icons as well as Jewish icons like the Menorah. One of the things kids LOVE to do is pick out cool fonts. Unfortunately, TuxPaint only comes with standard set of fonts. I found a really neat font called "Brrrrr" that looks like letters with snow on them. You can alter the package contents of the application and install additional fonts, but it's just a little tricky in that they have to be TTF files and you can't install too many or your system may crash.

Kids also LOVE cursive. This is true for girls AND boys which surprised me that boys like to type in cursive as well. 1st and 2nd graders absolutely love it when you show them a cursive font.

I also learned that kissing kangaroos are cool and cause squeals of delight when shown to kindergarteners. But, show this same exercise in stamping to 1st graders and you'll get booed and hear "ewww gross!" Fascinating how so much changes in the course of one school year.

Well, that's all for now. I need to gather my thoughts and go document some ideas with screen shots and then maybe I'll shoot off the email to Jumping Monkeys and see if they are interested in my review.

widgets are little pleasures in life

A snapshot of my desktop dashboard with widgets. I love my Christmas lights and my Twitter widgets. Those are my favorites right now.

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website is up

http://www.themacmommy.com

Yay! Finally, my website is live and at least it's something to look at other than a 404 error. I think I like the logo I've designed. I think it's grown on me now. I'm not crazy about the whole red and green color scheme though. I like it in the logo but I'm not liking it on the blog. I need to play around with the color scheme some more and try to find some better eye-friendly colors. I figured out how to change the font to Comic Sans but I don't want everything in that font so I have to go back and see where to fix it where I messed up.

I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about what to put on my site in the contact area.

I've discovered it's really hard to write a simple bio with less than 1200 characters. I'm tring to decide where to put the more detailed bio. It's not like I'm that much of an interesting person, but I like to spell everything out for my own personal reflection later.

well, I did twitter that I was going to bed, but I wanted to at least put a website update out here in case anyone decides to check it out.

website domain and hosting blues

ugh, so frustrating! I just hung up with customer support from godaddy...again. Luckily they are nice to talk to and available 24/7 which really works out with my crazy schedule. Who else can you call at 1 am in the morning? (when the kid is asleep and my cell long distance minutes are free.)

Well, as you'll see – if my wesbite ever gets posted under the domain name I registered – I take a quilting approach to website design. And, believe me, I don't know how to quilt either. I'm making this stuff up as I go. What I mean is that I just use whatever I have availble and feel like tinkering around with. Right now, I'm trying to learn how to use iWeb for the design but I want to avoid using dot mac. Of course, I'm an Apple cheerleader, but dot mac is just too expensive for me.

TheMacMommy philosophy is that whatever I do with technology (or show YOU how to do) should be free, cheap and easy and all three whenever possible.

So, right now, if you go to www.themacmommy.com, you get a 404 error. The reason is because I have my domain name forwarded to my free ISP hosted space which I pay for even though they call it "free" space. Here is where the quilting comes in. They only give you 10MB of web space which really isn't all that much when it comes down to it. So what I'll be doing is "stitching" my pages and sites together using hyperlinks that redirect to my other ISP hosted mailboxes.

I have Cox and they give you 7 email boxes. Each of those boxes contain 10MB. So basically, I'll string all 7 of those 10MB chunks together. I did it this way before with our DavisPlace website which is still up but it's so old and broken and in need of repair so I won't even post the link to it. Plus, I'm not sure how I feel about broadcasting to the blogger world where I live yet. It's kind of inevitable since I'm trying to get a home grown business going and I suppose I'll have to put my mailing address out there. Anyhow, it's one of the parts of my old website that I should probably revise.

I registered this domain name through google and apparently, the tech from godaddy told me it has something to do with that and when they (apparantly the buck has been passed to google) did whatever magic it is that they do with DNS, they don't put the "www" in front of the site name. If you try it right now and just type in 'themacmommy.com' into your browser URL, bam, it takes you right to the site. If you go the long way and type in 'members.cox.net/themacmommy/themacmommy/Introduction.html' it also takes you to the site. The problem seems to be the 'www' part.

I explained to the tech on the phone that I need for my site to display with www because many of my clients are senior citizens. Believe it or not, there are still people out there who use pencils with erasers and they also still type in the 'http://' part. Not everyone and their uncle knows that you don't even need to use www most of the time.

So, he did some magic and told me to check it again in a few hours. Man! (whine) This has been about 3 days now of waiting. I'm not a very patient person by nature.

Well, anyhow, my site will eventually be more easily accessible once this whole forwarding and masking and server nesting thing is resolved.

I have a plan for my site to tie it into my blog here so I can maximize the free hosting and space. My plan is to start posting more technology based blogs instead of always ranting about the trials and tribulations of motherhood. Nothing at all against other bloggers who do that and I enjoy reading it, it's just that I would like to focus more on my experiences of being a mom in the technology age and how it relates to my parenting and how I can help others. I still like to post rants and raves about being a mother in general but I will most likely flavor it with some form of geekdom.

Well, I hear pots and pans banging and smell wonderful aromas so that means that Hubby is cooking and having to deal with the boy dismantling the kitchen while he does it. Now I just heard a grunt and I think that sound means that Hubby has probably redirected the boy for the umpteenth time so he can get something accomplished. And now I feel guilty for blogging when all I meant to do was come in here while they were snoozing and check my page and make a few updates.

Ah, ADHD strikes again!

and the screeching continues!