Guest Blog

Guest Blog - Would you like to have a blog post on PittsburghMom.com? This is your chance! We feature some of our users-turned-bloggers on this guest blog. If you're interested in submitting a guest blog post, please email Heather at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Crafty Mom - Accountability Clock

Written by Heather Starr Fiedler. Posted in Guest Blog

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Today's guest blog entry comes from a local mom who has some great ideas for fun things to do with our kids. Leslie Lacaria is a stay-at-home-working mama to a very active and imaginative little boy (Landon, 3). She has lived all over the country, but is thankful to have settled in the Pittsburgh area with her highschool sweetheart, Jeremy. She enjoys her morning (okay, and afternoon) coffee, adores being an elementary teacher, thinks sleep is overrated, and loves all things colorful and creative. She started www.funmomonline.com to encourage moms to have messy, silly, crafty, good ol' fashioned fun with their kiddos.

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Accountability Clock

When Landon was a baby, his schedule was somewhat sacred. We stuck to it to the point that friends probably whispered behind our backs...and though it worked well for us at the time, looking back, I can't say that I blame them. As he's gotten older though, and as we've all settled into "summer mode," our day-to-day happenings have become a bit too flexible.

I decided that a happy medium would do us all some good, especially with fall and preschool approaching, but knew that I needed an accountability partner to keep me on track (I've mentioned before that I tend to have time-management issues...). After looking high and low, I realized that a certain little man (who, at the moment was dressed in pirate gear and playing with legos), was probably my best, and let's face it, only

bet for the role.

I looked him up and down for a moment or two, wondering how to make this partnership work. I pondered deeply what might entice a three-year-old towards responsibility, and came up with this....his own giant "watch," as he calls it, something that he an manipulate, bright colors, and pictures of himself. Add in a huge heap of "you're-such-a-big-boy-to-help-your-Mama-know-what-to-do-next-today," and we sealed the deal.

So, my current accountability partner is a preschooler.
And, even crazier...it's working!!

Our (Semi-Flexible) Schedule:
9:00ish- Breakfast, Morning Show
10:00ish- Chores
10:30ish- Play
12:30ish- Lunch
1:30ish- Quiet Time
2:30ish- Nap
4:00ish- Special Time with Mama :)
5:00ish- Daddy's home!
6:00ish- Dinner Time
7:30ish- Bath Time
8:30ish- Bedtime

How to Make the Clock:

*Supplies highlighted*

1. I used a paper plate to trace a circle onto a cheap, thin, flexible cutting board.

2. I used colored Sharpie Markers to draw numbers on the clock.

3. I added tiny pictures of the things Landon does at different points in the day (I just cut, pasted, and printed these off in a Word Document).

4. I used a tiny piece of extra cutting board material to make the spinner (see above), and colored it in with a black Sharpie. I then poked a hole in the spinner and the center of the clock, and attached it with a standard brad.

5. To keep the pictures in good shape, I covered the whole surface with a couple layers of Modge Podge (you could also just paint it with Elmers glue).

Mom wants to know - Boys in the girls' room

Written by Heather Starr Fiedler. Posted in Guest Blog

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Welcome to "Mom Wants to Know". This is a new feature of our guest blog where I take a question that a mom has posed and would like some general feedback for.

Today's question is about...

Boys in the Girls' Room

So...just wondering...after an incident at the pool today..and many that have happened this summer...how old do you think is too old for a boy to be in the girls locker room?
I have 2 young girls and I don't wish for them to be exposed to naked boys....at any age!!

Just wanting some thoughts on this?

Mom Wants to Know - Buying a gift for a sibling

Written by Heather Starr Fiedler. Posted in Guest Blog

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Welcome to "Mom Wants to Know". This is a new feature of our guest blog where I take a question that a mom has posed and would like some general feedback for.

Today's question is about...

Buying a present for a sibling

Opinion? Four-year-old's birthday is this month, he's asked for some specific firefighter dress up items. Two-year-old has asked for the same things... classic monkey see monkey do scenario... I know if we just get them for little guy, fights will ensue.

Do I save myself the stress and just get two?

I hate to give little guy something basically to just keep him quiet. But I also don't want to deal with the constant fights that will surely come if there is only one firefighter costume.

Crafty Mom - Pattern necklaces

Written by Heather Starr Fiedler. Posted in Guest Blog

User Rating:

/ 0

Today's guest blog entry comes from a local mom who has some great ideas for fun things to do with our kids. Leslie Lacaria is a stay-at-home-working mama to a very active and imaginative little boy (Landon, 3). She has lived all over the country, but is thankful to have settled in the Pittsburgh area with her highschool sweetheart, Jeremy. She enjoys her morning (okay, and afternoon) coffee, adores being an elementary teacher, thinks sleep is overrated, and loves all things colorful and creative. She started www.funmoms.org to encourage moms to have messy, silly, crafty, good ol' fashioned fun with their kiddos.

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Pattern Necklaces

Here's a fun craft that you can do with event the youngest kids. Older kids will enjoy making various patterns that they need to follow (Cheerio, green Fruit Loop, Red Fruit Loop, Cheerio, repeat...) and younger kids will just enjoy making (and eating!) their own creation.

An easy, yummy educational spin on the traditional candy necklace.

Materials:

String

Fruit Loops

*Lovey(s) optional*

1. Begin by securing one end of the string by typing a loop around a single piece of cereal.

2. Then, begin a pattern for your child (we, of course, used every color available...).

3. Next, teach your kiddo how to continue the sequence, and, if necessary, how to add a loop to the string.

4. Finally, tie the two ends together, wear, and ENJOY! :)

Mom Wants to Know - Telling your children about the evils of the world

Written by Heather Starr Fiedler. Posted in Guest Blog

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Welcome to "Mom Wants to Know". This is a new feature of our guest blog where I take a question that a mom has posed and would like some general feedback for.

Today's question is about...

Talking to your kids about bad things

Most of the moms here seem to have kids younger than mine (7), but I still wanted to know at what age you willl (or have) discussed touchy subjects.

This year, I very generally told my kid about 9/11--that bad people drove planes into some buildings and people died, but we hope (and don't think) anything like that will ever happen again. I have also told her that there are bad people in the world who do bad things, like steal, hurt people (including shooting), etc.

I also explained, on a high level, drug use to my kid (some drugs are bad and can make you sick or even worse but other drugs are medicine used to make people better) after I stupidly started listening to radio stations that play songs like "Your Love Is My Drug" while in the car with her. Prior to this, she knew that people should drink only when they are 21 and that drinking too much is bad for you and you should not drink and drive.

I kept my kid pretty sheltered for quite some time (up until the last year she thought only old people died), so I have been trying to bring up some things slowly and with little detail, but maybe I should slow down? Or would you be telling your kid more than what I have?

Guest Blog