JAK CHAT

"The Mom Stink" Heads South Last month I wrote about my 16 year old daughter's obsession with my smell...yes, I stink!  (Chances are, you stink too!)  I dubbed my scent "The Mom Stink". With the change of the new year, comes reflections of the past year and visions of what the new year will bring.  Said daughter is at the top of my thoughts right now as she, for the very first time, ventured out on her own, on a weeklong trip to Arizona, something that probably would've never happened even a couple of months ago. Packed in her overstuffed pullman was my pillowcase, unlaundered, pulled off of my pillow on the morning of her departure.  Read More... Only a few short years ago, my daughter suffered from a bout of insomnia.  Endless nights were spent in her bed.  My presence gave her comfort through the long dark hours, and here and there she'd catch a few light naps.  What a challenging time for us. Then there were the numerous phone calls when I'd be o

LOST by JAK's Founder, Paula Herrmann Oh geesh, I couldn't believe what I watched, playing out online and in the news on Monday.  A toddler, 2 years old, found wandering in just a diaper less than a mile from my home Read More... A benefit (sometimes a curse) to what I do, as I work, is stay signed into JAK's Facebook and Twitter pages in an effort to keep abreast with what's going on that is relevant to kids and families.  If I miss it, you might miss it.  Then I saw the play by play postings made by Racine Undercovered : the discovery of this under-clothed, unattended to, lost child. Who could this baby belong to?  Where is his mom? his dad? his caregiver? ....the clock continues to tick.  Thank goodness for the woman who "saved" him and contacted the authorities.  I believe there were others that saw him, but didn't respond.  No one seems to know who he is or who he belongs to, even with the door-to-door efforts by the police.  Within a few hours, t

Happy Birthday, Christmas Baby! by JAK's guest mom blogger from Sturtevant, Sheri Gavin I love being a mom. One year has gone by. Not sure where the time has gone. I know that this is a common theme for all moms out there. I never knew how true that statement could be until I became a mom one year ago. I can’t believe she is already one. Over the last year I have learned I could love someone more than I could have ever dreamed. Read More... Over the last few weeks, the first moments of my little girls’ life has played in my mind like a movie. The emotions I am feeling are just as fresh as they were one year ago. I find myself in a weepy mess a lot of the time. The day of her birthday was especially hard and wonderful at the same time. The moment she was born played like it truly was yesterday. I remember how excited and scared I was to bring her home. [caption id="attachment_479" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Welcome, Christmas Baby!"

Living With Peanut Allergies by JAK’s guest mom blogger from Kenosha, Melinda Munro I love peanut butter. Slap it between some white bread with jelly or bananas, slather it on toast, dip apples in it, bake it in a cookie, and don’t forget the all holy peanut butter cup, I love the stuff! Or at least I used to. READ MORE... My love affair with the creamy, goopy, salty sweet, American go-to ended when my son had his first allergic reaction after a tiny bite of a peanut butter sandwich.  He vomited and hives spread all over his body.  It took two days for the hives to completely go away. So I learned that my son, like an increasing number of young children around the country, has a life-threatening allergy to peanuts and tree nuts. Since then, I’ve come to loathe peanuts and tree nuts, which seem to be EVERYWHERE. Most kid-oriented activities seem to include some form of treats with nuts, and there’s almost always a PB&J lurking nearby. A trip to Monkey Joe’s resulted in an outbreak

"Word" is THE Word "Mom, you sound like Julie", is what my kids keep telling me. Is that where I picked it up?  Not sure, but it sure is sticking! Do you ever wonder where and why you start saying some catch phrase?  Well, Julie is my #3 daughter's BFF, and I guess she must say "Oh my word" a lot.  Not even sure if I've consciously noticed it, but obviously I've picked up on it and now I just can't stop!  Read More... I guess I recall the repetitive exclamation start to get blurted out a month or two ago, and again, my kids were the ones that pointed it out to me.  So what did I used to say before I uttered "Oh my word!"?...I think that must've been "Oh my gosh!" Now, of course, you must know that "Oh my gosh" replaced "Oh my God!" and what seems to be more socially accepted written "OMG", which I consciously knew was wrong.  It was/is against my house rules to break the third comman