Time to Review!

Something has come up...

... so The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly will be taking the week off.



Please take this time to browse through my past posts. Or visit my posts about married life at How to Get the Guy.

Mommy Quote of the Week

"I call my mom now and say, 'You know all the dinners you made that I said No to and went off and ate peanut butter? I'm sorry. I get it. I slaved over roasting this, and [my daughter] Violet goes, No, no, no!'"

-- Jennifer Garner

Dinner Table Topics

Set the table! It's time for another Dinner Table Topics, a set of interesting news items that can inspire a lively discussion at dinner.

NEWS FLASH: Children who play sports are healthier and get more exercise! Well, duh. However, the chances of injury are greater in young children. Here are some factors to consider:

1. Growing bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons are more susceptible to injury than those of adults.
2. Growth plates leave weak areas exposed that can cause long-term damage.
3. Children in the same age group may vary greatly in size and ability, which can lead to injuries in contact sports.
4. Competitive children may try to push themselves to play longer and harder than their bodies can physically handle.

On another note, a recent study found that a child's fear of new foods may be hereditary. Dr. Lucy J. Cooke of University College London and her colleagues found that nearly 80 percent of children's tendency to avoid unfamiliar foods was inherited. However, the more frequently children are offered a particular food, the more likely they are to come to like it. So get over your hang-ups and food fears, or it could rub off on your kids.


Lastly, it looks like the new baby shower gift could be a personalized website. It seems that as parents are leaving the hospital with their baby and their birth certificate, they are also insuring their new arrival has his or her very own domain name. "One of the criteria was, if we liked the name, the domain had to be available," one parent said. As if the selection of your child's name isn't difficult enough. (I'll have to see if volcano.com or monkey.org are available.)

Now... talk amongst yourselves!

Mommy Quote of the Week

"If you have never been hated by your child you have never been a parent." -- Bette Davis

The List

Hubby and I were recently discussing an old episode of Friends where the gang creates their "Freebie List." This is a list of five celebrities you are "allowed" to sleep with without getting your significant other upset. In other words, it's a celebrity you can get the warm fuzzies for and your spouse can't get jealous. And no one is allowed to judge you on your choices, because everyone has a little secret crush on a celebrity that others may not agree with.

This list, of course, has changed throughout the past eleven years since this episode first aired. But... I will reveal mine for now (in no particular order):

1. Ashton Kutcher
2. Maksim Chmerkovskiy
3. Ben Affleck
4. Ryan Gosling
5. John Krasinski

Okay, so now that I have humiliated myself and revealed my list, you just have to tell me yours. So, if you are reading this now, consider yourself tagged. Leave a comment with your list, or write about it on your blog and I'll link to it here. And be honest. Remember... no judgement!

Bad Parents of the Month

Thank you to Clemmy for alerting us to September's Bad Parents of the Month.* Seems like another parent has his priorities out of whack.

According to a recent news report, a Bend, Oregon man named Lucien Hoffman left his 2-year-old daughter in a car for more than 2 hours in 95-degree heat. The reason? He just had to visit the Mustang Ranch Brothel in Virginia City, Nevada. Luckily, the security guards at the bordello reported the incident, and the girl was treated for dehydration once the authorities arrived. She is currently in the custody of Nevada child welfare officials, while her dad is in the County Detention Facility on child neglect charges and is awaiting bail.

Congratulations, Mr. Hoffman! You are this month's Bad Parent of the Month!

*I know we skipped August, but I can't do this by myself, people! You are my eyes and ears! So email me a story today of someone you've heard about they can be featured in a future post.

Mommy Quote of the Week

"There is no such thing as fun for the whole family."
-- Jerry Seinfeld

Happy Labor Day!

This day should really be a day of rest and honor for all of us mothers who actually went through labor in delivering our lovely (?) children! So to all of us mothers, HAPPY LABOR DAY!

And to everyone else, have a great day off!