DotMoms

Twittering DotMoms Daily

I'm experimenting with the DotMoms Daily over the holidays. I'm going to begin Twittering parenting headlines as they appear, so you can receive them in a more timely way. If you use Twitter, you can follow DotMoms at http://twitter.com/dotmoms. If you don't use Twitter, the headlines will still appear here at DotMoms, on the top right of the page. Let me know whether this satisfies your need for news or whether there's something you prefer about my previous approach to the DotMoms Daily.

'Twas the Lights Before Christmas

By Anjali

Since our first child came into our lives, and since that first child started noticing the other houses in our neighborhood with all their splendid Christmas lights and giant snow globes and blown up characters with cheesy smiles, our home has experienced a post-Thanksgiving tension every December regarding holiday curb appeal.

Last year, things really came to a head. While Brian and I were looking for random stuff at the The Home Depot, Mira and Leela were stomping their feet and angrily shaking their fists in the holiday aisle, protesting the fact that theirs was the only home that didn't look like a circus in the front yard.

It's not that we didn't do anything. I had what I considered four tasteful bows lined along the front porch railing, a smiling Santa wreath, and a small wooden stand sitting on our porch flanked with three plump snowmen. I thought our house looked simply adorable. Our girls thought our home was the epitome of lame.

We held them off by explaining that we'd buy outdoor lights the following Christmas, after moving to a new house. A few more moments of annoying whining passed, but by the time we reached the check-out counter, the girls were satisfied that for the next holiday, they would get their due.

A few days after Thanksgiving this year, we found ourselves back at The Home Depot. Negotiations began amidst a colorful carnival of inflatables, bulbs, blinking Christmas trees, reindeer, chubby towering snowmen and cheeky Santas. At first the girls pleaded for the most enormous, brightest, blinkiest structures around, but we talked them down. We just couldn't find something fun yet tasteful.

And then what to our wondering eyes did appear, but one small but colorfully lit Santa, and a matching snowman, that would fit perfectly on the inside of our front windows! It was a compromise we could all live with. The kids got a little bit of Vegas-style décor, and Brian and I avoided grazing deer with bobbing heads or giant-sized snow globes on our front lawn.  And, we had a happy ending for our Christmas dilemma.

Happy holidays to you all, and I hope your home lights up with peace, love and joy in the coming year.

Anjali lives near Atlanta with her husband and two young girls. She'll be enjoying her holiday lights until the next electricity bill arrives.

DotMoms Daily: The new Toys 'R Us kids, Letters to Santa, and more

Photo: Deutsche Post AG, Kay Herschelmann

In family-related news:
> Study links abortion and preemies (Time)
> Many kids may not outgrow milk allergy (Reuters)
> Santa to get more than 6 million letters (AP/ABC)
> Keeping an eye on Chinese toymakers (CBS)
> Recall recoil prompts 24% to spend less on toys (Zogby)
> Targeting the next generation of Toys 'R' Us kids (ABC)
> Scholastic plans successor to Harry Potter (NYTimes)
> Mom lobbies for tougher Web harassment laws (AP/MSNBC)
> A district where no two schools are alike (NPR)

DotMoms Daily: Pregnancy tipovers, Kids' vaccine recall, and more

Photo: iStock/NPR

In family-related news:
> Chinese are expecting a new baby boom (WashPost)
> Why pregnant women don't tip over (NYTimes)
> Obesity linked to infertility in women (WebMD)
> Caesarean babies risk more breathing problems (Reuters)
> Merck recalls 1.2 million doses of children's vaccines (AP/ABC)
> Poll: Parents still trust cold meds for kids (NPR)
> Fewer kids outgrowing their food allergies (Reuters/MSNBC)
> TV can raise blood pressure in obese children (Reuters)
> Bush vetoes children's health bill a second time (CNN)
> Season's science readings for kids  (MSNBC)
> 'Harry Potter' kids face adult issues in 6th film (MSNBC)
> Teens & retirement: Grim forecast (AP/CBS)

DotMoms Daily: Sexy families, Leadfree holiday toys, and more

Photo: Sarah L. Voisin, The Washington Post

In family-related news:
> Is attractiveness hereditary? (LiveScience/Yahoo)
> When adoption goes wrong (Newsweek)
> For a few, the more kids the merrier (Time)
> Children's mortality drops to historic lows (AFP/Yahoo)
> Faulty crib case highlights problems with recalls (NPR)
> Creative Consumer: Leadfree toys for the holidays (ABC)
> 'Golden Compass' points to first place at box office (CNN)
> Her heart belongs to daddy, and 'Nutcracker' does, too (WashPost)
> And for sports, kid, put down 'squash' (NYTimes)
> Your child's disorder may be yours, too (NYTimes)

DotMoms Daily: Teen births, "Push presents," and more

Photo: Natasha Calzatti, The New York Times

In family-related news:
> Losing virginity early or late tied to health risks (Reuters/MSNBC)
> U.S. teen birth rate rises, reversing 14-year decline (WashPost)
> Depression, anorexia, childbirth affect sex life (Reuters)
> A bundle of joy isn't enough? Gifts for new moms (New York Times)
> Group sounds alarm on infant formula cans (CNN)
> Toys not recalled might still be dangerous (CBS)
> Bedwetting linked with intellectual decline (Reuters)
> Straight A's, With McDonald's burger as a prize (New York Times)
> Heavy kids face hefty heart risks as they age (AP/MSNBC)
   Related: The cost of childhood obesity (Newsweek)
> Nintendo exec predicts strong season for Wii (MSNBC)

DotMoms Daily: "Teddy bear" teacher home, Dinner table deception, and more

Photo: Ray Ng, Time

In family-related news:
> New "fertility diet" gives couples hope (Newsweek)
> Anorexia risk may start before birth (HealthDay/USN&WR)
> More obese women die in childbirth (Reuters/MSNBC)
> Smaller babies grow up to be sadder adults (Reuters/MSNBC)
> The next Attention Deficit Disorder? (Time)
> Fever may improve behavior in autistic kids (ABC)
> Honey may help soothe kids' coughs (CBS/WebMD)
> Peanut allergies striking at earlier age (Reuters/ABC)
> Persistence key to kids eating veggies (CBS/WebMD)
> Does deception belong at the dinner table? (ABC)
> British teacher jailed over teddy bear arrives home (Reuters)
> Is "Golden Compass" selling atheism to kids'? (AP/CNN)
> Hey Santa, think outside the toy box (MSNBC)
> Girls make history by sweeping top honors at a science contest (NYTimes)
> Couples still view husband's career as more important (Reuters)

DotMoms Daily: Toddler tech toys, Autistic brains, and more

Photo: Susan Biddle, The Washington Post

In family-related news:
> Study maps brain abnormalities in autistic children (Reuters)
> For toddlers, toy of choice is tech device (NYTimes)
> TV, game violence threatens public health (MSNBC)
> Program to fight obesity in kids expands  (AP/Yahoo)
> "Girls on the Run" helps build self-esteem (WashPost)
> U.S. students lose ground on reading tests (AP/CBS)
> Teens take bullying to the Internet, study finds (Reuters)
> The strangers in our parents' homes (Newsweek)

Top 10 things I'm thankful for this holiday season

By Amy Heesacker

Research has demonstrated that writing down the things you are grateful for on a daily basis can actually make your life happier. The first entry in my new gratitude journal consists of the top 10 things I'm especially thankful for this year.

10. My son losing his first tooth. Although most of his friends walked into the first day of school like shoddily carved jack-o-lanterns, Javi's Cheshire Cat smile looked as if it might remain intact until spring. I'm not in any hurry to see those bumpy, future-brace-wearing man-teeth replace his tiny little pearl strings, but my son couldn't feel more proud.

9. My daughter's successful transition to preschool. It seemed touch and go for a while but after a school change and the expulsion of a particularly hostile classmate, it appears that she is actually looking forward to school these days. She can't wait to show me how she makes her name on the chalkboard in the morning: I – S – A (I can't make my computer write the S backwards). She glows from the tips of her toes as she smiles and exclaims, "That's MY name." Yes, baby, it is.

8. My last child's successful completion of all that is baby -- breastfeeding and weaning, diapers and potty training -- with a minimum of problem and fuss.

7. My darling husband, for "taking care of things" so that we will never have to go through number 8 again! (Thank you, honey!)

6. The cinnamon sugar cappuccino –- my current reason for getting up every morning.

5. The woman at my 20th high school reunion who nominated me for "Most Improved" which I'm sure was meant as a compliment. Sorry, I don't remember your name.

4. The drought in our region, for providing the perfect excuse to wash fewer dishes, do less laundry, and shower with my husband.

3. Showtime, for airing the show "Weeds" -– and then for putting it out on DVD so that I could see it.

2. Dr. Doom-Minnow for outliving every other fish my son has owned.

And the number one thing that I'm thankful for this year...

...I am able to spend this holiday season with my three favorite people in the whole wide world, wiggling teeth, practicing S's, and conserving water.

What would make your top 10 list this year?

Amy Heesacker is a thirty-something SAHM and part-time psychology professor living in the deep South with her husband and two children.

DotMoms Daily: Pregnancy imaging, Fit families, and more

Photo: Mykhailo Markiv, Reuters

In family-related news:
> Schizophrenia risk may start in womb (WashPost)
> Study sees rise in imaging exams for pregnant women (Reuters)
> Unhealthy habits put kids at bone-breaking risk (AP/MSNBC)
> Does physical activity run in the family? (WebMD/CBS)
> New! Improved! It's school! (Newsweek)
> The blasphemous Teddy Bear (Time)
> Wonder Woman gets a new voice, and it's female (NYTimes)
> Take-Two chairman defends game violence (Reuters)
> Youth rights advocate tries to break down barriers to adulthood (WashPost)
> Learn to be nice to your wife, or pay the price (WashPost)