I was cracking myself up in the shower yesterday thinking of 5 ways to be a total BE-ATCH to this hubs.  These include girls weekends and taking your mom out to dinner on the early side… and an evening routine that will keep you hubby at bay.  Watch my video for more – and good luck being a BE-ATCH!

I love my hubs dearly and this is a joke!!  I never pull a single one of these tricks, but let me have it, was this too mean?  Anyone else have any tricks of the trade for getting the hubs to pitch in or keeping him at bay?

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This routine is a normal part of being a parent to a young child but last week, the issue of how parents change diapers in public establishments became a national issue when a Seattle couple tussled with Starbucks employees after they changed their baby’s diaper in the restaurants’s seating area.   According to the parents, they were left with no choice since the bathroom lacked a changing table.  The parents also claimed that employees rudely tossed them a rag, telling them to “clean up”.  The situation escalated and ended with the Dad versing his coffee all over the floor and a call to the police!  Sounds relaxing!

Although I almost invariably side with parents on issues involving the challenges of handling babies and children in public, I have to say that I’m a bit baffled by this one.  I have been in countless bathrooms that did not have changing tables, and have changed my baby either on my lap while seated on the toilet (a delicate balancing act) or on the floor on a padded changing pad placed on top of a disposable Chux changing pad.  In a crunch, I’ve laid down paper towels and put my changing pad on top… None of this is too lovely but I’ve just accepted it as a part of life.

Changing a baby on a chair where someone else is about to sit and exposing all the other latte drinkers to the smell does strike me as inconsiderate.  Granted, it’s not as bad as the mom who potty trained her toddlers in a Texas restaurant.  But still.  Why should the other people who have slapped down $5 or more for an overpriced cup of coffee have to bear witness to a diaper change?

Of course, in an ideal situation all public establishments have changing tables for babies… But in this case, where there wasn’t one?  Who is right?  Was the mother correct in using a chair to change her baby?  Do we parents have a RIGHT to change our babies in public in places where others will then sit moments later?

I’m also wondering whether the woman put anything down under the diaper before she changed the baby, such as a diaper changing pad, a crucial fact that the press did not report on.  This clearly impacts how sanitary the whole thing was.  Shame on you, press, for not digging more into the details of the actual diaper changing event!

Mammas, Papas, Agree?  Disagree?  Weigh in below on your thoughts in changing diapers in public.  Also interested to know HOW you change your babies in bathrooms when there is no changing table.

My Cancer Story: How It Felt Being a New Mom

My seven-year-old loves to tell people what happened when they ask about my cancer. She candidly says in her most matter-of-fact voice, “I saved my mommy’s life.” It’s impossible to conceive. How could a baby really save an adult’s life from cancer? Well, for me, it was about believing in the dream that I had to be a mother when times were darkest in the midst of my treatment. I was taken on a journey through the extreme ups and downs, but through it all, I saw that there was a bright day because of my baby girl.

Cameron and I thought about having children at first in our marriage, but we ended up waiting seven years before making the commitment. We wanted to have a lot of things figured out before taking the plunge. I was 35 when we finally decided it was time. I remember finding out later that I was pregnant. It was the most surreal moment. I couldn’t even imagine what was growing inside of me at first. Carrying someone’s life inside of me was an amazing and sometimes uncomfortable experience, but through it all, I just remember feeling excited and ready to embark on a new quest in life. I wanted to be the best mother that I could be.

My pregnancy went very smoothly. It was only on Lily’s birth day that I experienced any trouble. Somehow, Lily was a breech baby. This meant that I couldn’t deliver her the normal way. I had to have an emergency C-section procedure. I didn’t know what was going on at one point, but I figured at least she’ll have a round head. I had to keep my cool. I didn’t want her birth to be stressful, and finally, when she was in my arms, I was completely overjoyed and felt at utter peace. My husband was extremely happy. Together, I knew that we were going to be amazing parents and provide for everything this little bundle of joy needed.

Right after I brought Lily home from the hospital, I wanted to get back to work and start contributing to some of the medical bills that we had to pay off. However, I wasn’t able to. I was exhausted to the point of fatigue each and every day. I felt myself draining even before doing any activities, and I was constantly losing weight, up to seven pounds a week. I had to go see a doctor to see what was wrong. I had bad feelings about all of the tests. It was a long time to wait, but three months later, I received the results.

It was three days before Thanksgiving when I went to the hospital with Cameron. I couldn’t imagine being there with anyone else. I don’t think I would have made it out of the hospital if I had gone alone. He was my rock through the experience. I found myself sitting there, listening to the doctor say that I had malignant pleural mesothelioma and 15 months to live without treatment. I thought this couldn’t be real. I was supposed to be a new mother. I was supposed to have my whole life ahead of me to take care of my baby girl. I wasn’t supposed to be stuck in a hospital on the verge of death. I couldn’t help my thoughts from clouding everything else. While I pretended to listen, I went off into a terrible thought process and completely lost sight of the next part. I had to choose a treatment. That was when Cameron stepped up. He knew that I had to see a specialist in Boston. It was the only mesothelioma program with a high success rate nearest to us, and we were in Minnesota.

The next few months were tricky. I was going to have to make sacrifices to be there for my daughter. It was going to take time, and I didn’t know if I would make it. However, I just kept thinking that I had to be there for her no matter what. If I was going to do this, I had to be there for her each and every day when I was done with treatment. The first thing that I had to get through was a life threatening surgery that would remove one of my lungs and parts of my chest, heart and diaphragm. The cancer had to come out. It was one of the hardest things that I had to do, but even worse, I had to spend months in the hospital for recovery, although I did spend two weeks in an incredible outpatient facility in Boston.

After my surgery, I needed chemotherapy and radiation. It was going to make me better but at the time, I couldn’t help but feeling like it was killing me slowly. Every day was a difficult experience. I was living but I also felt terrible and sick. The only bright spot of my day was thinking of Lily and remembering those dreams I had when I was pregnant, to remember holding her for the first time. I had to stay strong if I was going to survive, and Lily gave me that strength.

 If anyone else has found the strength through their children to confront a life-threatening illness, please share your story.  Heather, you have touched our hearts and souls… wishing you all good things always.  

My number 1 tip is to forget about everyone else around you and ignore their reactions.  Don’t worry about what they might be saying about you.  Just focus on your child.  When you worry about what other people think, you are going to get more upset and you are going to be more likely to get angry.  Not good.

Watch this video for even some more tips.  Got any advice on how to stop a temper tantrum when you’re in public??  Please share with me and other moms  — we all need help!

Thanks for watching and hang in there!

Xo Melissa

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My kids had them so bad I was like: the terrible 2’s start at age 1 and end when exactly ??

I’ve witnessed a lot of child tantrums at this point and I have gotten better at handling them.

Below are 3 ways to deal with tantrums at home, be sure to watch the video for more tips! 

1)   Number one thing is your state of mind.  Stay calm and don’t react.  When you get upset, it’s gonna get worse.  When you stay cool, it ends quicker. Say to yourself: this is part of having kids, he’s learning, just imagine he’s like a rocket or a feisty animal and let him go go go, sooner or later he’s going to burn out.

2)   Number two – don’t try to actively STOP the tantrum as if you are a fireman putting out a fire!

3)   One other good tip is to cool yourself down by drinking several tall glasses of water.  This comes from parenting expert Julie Ross.

How do you handle tantrums?  Please comment on this vlog with any advice you might have on how to handle tantrums. Thank you so much for watching and keep cool!

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Simple Meal Ideas

When it’s been a really long day, here are simple meal ideas for kids you can do that are “good enough” for a meal, but won’t require prep or cleanup.  These quick and easy dinner meals probably don’t even deserve the title “dinner” but since you’re serving them at the end of the day, what the heck.

Number 1 idea is cereal with milk and fruit on top – no joke.  If he’s still hungry, offer up another bowl.  You might have to cut the fruit, and pour the cereal and milk, but that’s about it.  And watch my video for 4 other really original ideas just like this.

Anyone else have ideas for simple family meals that allow a tired mom to avoid making dinner entirely?   Please share below.  Thank you so much for watching CloudMom.com.

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One-Pot Wonderful Pasta with Broccoli

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2-3 fresh broccoli crowns or 1 full head broccoli, cut into florets (use stem, too – just peel and cut into 1 inch pieces)

2-3 garlic cloves, chopped

3 TBSP good olive oil, with more on reserve

2/3-cup organic chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup or 2 ladlefuls of reserved pasta water, set aside while pasta is cooking

2 TBSP Salted Butter

¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1 lb. pasta (spaghetti, rotelle or bow ties are popular with this dish)

Coarsely ground pepper and salt

Steps

- Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil.

- Add cut up broccoli and blanch until florets turn Emerald Green (the water will be green, too).  Remove with a spider or slotted spoon and place cooked broccoli in a bowl on the side.

- Reserve your pasta water in a cup.

- Cook pasta in “green water” according to directions, less 1-minute for al dente.

- Drain pasta and let it sit in colander while you finish your recipe.

- Add 2 TBSPs olive oil into same pot and the chopped garlic.  Sauté over medium heat, careful not to burn the garlic.

-Add the broccoli (be careful – if there’s still some water it will splatter a bit) and sauté for a few minutes.

-Add the pasta back to the pot, and carefully stir.  Add the broth, and gradually add the pasta water in, eyeballing to your taste (if you prefer this more liquidly, add more – if you prefer it just glistening, hold back)

-Carefully stir mixture together and add remaining olive oil, butter, cheese and black pepper/salt.

- Can be served hot, lukewarm or cold.

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Do you have any easy one pot meals to share?  Please add them below – I would love to try them.

Turns out that sucking on your child’s pacifier might NOT in fact be so gross.  In fact, this might actually be GOOD for kids.

Why?

A new study out of Sweden adds to recent evidence on kids and bacteria and germs, indicating that some exposure to bacteria and germs benefits children.  The study is reporting that infants whose parents sucked on their childrens’ pacifiers to clean them developed fewer allergies than children whose parents tended to rinse or boil them.  Children of these parents also had lower rates of eczema and fewer signs of asthma.

So for those of you who have wondered “is bacteria good or bad” or is a bit of “clean-dirt” ok, this study seems to say YES, germs, bacteria and dirt are GOOD in some normal amounts.

Interpreting these findings, the New York Times explains why germs and bacteria can be good for kids as follows:

The findings add to growing evidence that some degree of exposure to germs at an early age benefits children, and that microbial deprivation might backfire, preventing the immune system from developing a tolerance to trivial threats.

In other words, back off clean freak mammas and papas and let the kiddies run a bit wild outside and get nice and dirty!  And don’t stress so much about the exchange of saliva, either…

OK, so, WOW.  I’ve always tried to practice good hygiene and have generally avoided sharing bottles with my kids.  On occasion I’m sure I sucked on a pacifier in an emergency situation but generally I did try to rinse them in hot water.  In terms of dirt, my kids do get dirty but I don’t let them STAY dirty for too long.  Seems like I might have been wrong?

One other thing to take note of: The Times points out that the study found that the group with the lowest prevalence of eczema, about 20 percent, were born vaginally and had parents who cleaned their pacifiers in their mouths.

Maybe it’s time some of us germaphobes took a chill pill and got a bit friendlier to good ‘ole dirt?  And that 5 second rule when things fall on the ground is looking pretty good to me right now!  That’s what I’m thinking…You?

Moms, weigh in!  How are germs treated in your house?  Have you tried to keep your kids TOO clean?  

So time’s have changed and here’s the thing. My boys like me to DO their homework with them.  And sometimes I catch myself doing more than just helping.  They’re like leaning back saying “Mom what should I say for a sentence for this word.”  And I saying like “the cow grazed on the pasture.”  And then I’m like.  OOPS!

To me, it’s wrong when I slip into this because helping kids with homework doesn’t mean doing the homework for them, and the whole point is that THEY DO IT that THEY LEARN.   Sometimes I wish I were back in school learning all the stuff I’ve forgotten like fractions and multiplication tables but again, another story.

How to Help Your Kids With Homework

So it’s one thing to check the homework and to point out areas for improvement, and quite another to actually do the work.

So what are good strategies for helping with homework without doing homework?  Maybe pointing out errors and asking your kid himself to fix?

Weigh in parents.  Do you sit with your kid while he does the homework or do you actually DO the homework with or FOR your kid.  Be honest.  Any strategies for helping with homework?  I’d love to see them.

Thanks for weighing in and for watching CloudMom.com.

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I was cracking up thinking about these, I hope you will too.  5 Ways to Get your Husband to Pitch in.

How to Get Husband to Help

Getting your husband to help requires a very smart set of moves.  One is to highly compliment anything he cooks, regardess of whether you like it.  Another is to steer clear of certain duties from Day 1 like taking care of the car, bills, and taxes – stay away from those with a 10 foot pole.  Watch this video for 3 more great ways to convince your husband into pitching in:

LET ME KNOW how it goes.   Anyone else have good tricks?  Please share below.

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