JAK CHAT

Doctor, Doctor! by JAK’s guest mom blogger from Racine, Denise Predny When my first football player, I mean son, came along, I was at ease and confident in all of my mothering skills.  I never had a question for the doctors. Everything was perfect.  SO WHAT HAPPENED? I am now having my fourth. Yes, fourth!  And I find my doctor appointments take longer these days.  How in the world can I have more questions with already having three kids? Doesn’t it get easier?  Did I mention I have 3 boys ages, 6, 3, and 1?  See what I mean with the questions?! Read More… So the increase in questions really started with the second child.  This is when I realized I was in trouble. One of my first memories would be when the oldest decided to pick his baby brother’s nose and make him eat it.  GAG!  There I began finding myself saying all of these crazy things I never thought I would utter. “Please stop pulling on it before you pull it off!”  I am sure you know what that one was about.  And asking my doct...

Take Your "SexyBack" I am admittedly square. In one of my past commentaries, " Let's Kick Some...Buttocks " I discussed the word a** and it's nonchalant usage by the masses. Well, not me, of course.  I don't carelessly drop the "a" bomb, and according to the poll we took on Just Add Kids back then, most of the participants, 84%, considered it cursing. So I guess, at least at the time I was in the majority, and laid out the rule in my home, that we don't use the word a**, or sh%#, or f@?%.  I think you get the picture. So where does the word "sexy" fall?  Great question. Read More... "Mom, Max is calling me sexy!" rats my 9 year old daughter, on her 8 year old brother. "Hello? Come again?" That's right, my son is casually describing his sister as "sexy".  Yup, that does sound a bit weird, disgusting, whatever.  I really don't think he knows exactly what he's saying, or what it means, thou...

Electronically Addicted I put my foot down on Sunday night about too much TV and electronics with my kids. I suggested to my 8 year old son, Max, that he go grab a book and work on his Racine Reads and Six Flags reading logs/contests.  He started a Diary of a Whimpy Kid book that he received as a birthday present and in one night, just a couple of hours, nearly finished it.  Read more... On Monday, as we were getting in the car to go pick up his sister, he asked me if he could bring his book and then asked if he could turn the light on in the car, so that he could continuing reading.....He is hooked!  And I am excited. Rewind back just a couple of weeks, you find my husband and I Christmas shopping on the eve of Christmas Eve at Toys R Us , racking our brains, trying to come up with something to buy Max for Christmas. The clock was ticking and the pressure was on.  This wasn't easy.  He just had his family birthday party earlier in the month, and his friend party was scheduled a...

All For One and All Will Poop by JAK’s guest mom blogger from Racine, Shannon Barsch A few Sundays ago my son Kadyn was complaining that his tummy hurts and within record breaking speed he ran from the couch to the bathroom.  Seconds later, noises of puking, groaning and diarrhea creep out from behind the closed door.  Then I hear “Mommy?”… at this point I am afraid to enter, unsure of what I may find and not to mention smell. So I put on my “mommy badge”, take a deep breath,  and head on in. Read More… Wheew!  Everything made it into the toilet and the only evidence left behind is the unforgiving smell that will linger in the air the rest of the day. Move ahead a few days and every parent’s nightmare is unfolding without my knowledge... Upstairs my youngest son is napping, or should I say supposed to be napping.   All of the sudden, I hear a loud THUMP!   I think to myself “Oh great, I guess he is up from his nap already.”  So I march upstairs and open his door, observe there in disb...

"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!...