Child Care Issues Facing Seattle Families

My two year old told me he is ready to go to preschool. As a M.Ed. in early childhood education, I'm not opposed to finding a quality, part-time ECE program for him to attend; but also due to my education and experience in the field of ECE, I also know some of the drawbacks too. I started looking into a preschool for him, knowing what I had in mind: starting in September, 2-3 days a week, 3-4 hours each day with a quality, developmentally appropriate curriculum.

Being new to the child care scene as a parent, and not very familiar with child care in Seattle, I started investigating. I was disappointed by what I found. There are at least 4 aspects of child care in Seattle that apply to my situation and do not meet the needs of our family. I may be unique, but I expect that there are other families who have similar wants for child care but are not able to find what they are looking for.

First, the majority of the child care centers I have looked into only provide full-time child care (7+ hours a day; 2,3 or 5 days a week). For my child, I am not interested in full-time child care. Instead I am looking for part-time education. I understand that the strong demand for early childhood education services is coming from families who rely on child care to be able to work. But what about the stay at home families who want supplementary educational services for their children? A parent could choose to pay for full-time care and follow a part-time schedule for their child's day but how many families, especially those who take the cut in pay for one parent to stay home, would choose that?

Many people have suggested parent co-ops to me. They have their own drawbacks that make them not useful for our needs. I would love to participate in the curriculum and planning of an ECE program; afterall, that's what I'm trained to do. But I will not participate at the expense of other children. In order to enroll my 2 year old in a preschool co-op, I would have to be willing to put my infant in another child care setting for the times I'm required to be present at the school. I'm not going to do that.

Another option is finding a family childcare home. I know that I'm not the first Seattle parent to discover that there is a surprising derth of family day care providers within the Seattle city limits. The reason for that is that operators of family day care home must own their home. They cannot be renting. With the average housing prices in the city, and the low amounts of pay that is generated by a family day care home, it is not a very good business proposition for those who are interested in becoming a family child care provider. Not only are renters kept from pursuing something that would contribute to their community, they are not allowed to do something that they might enjoy and might assist in supporting their families without having to find childcare for their own children. I could be counted among this group. I might consider starting a family child care out of my apartment, but it is prohibited by state law.

I also encountered child care centers that do not accept state child care subsidies for low income children, making child care less accessible for low-income families. These families are limited in their choices already, due to their lack of resources. Being excluded from upper-scale child care centers cannot help, especially if a low income parent is living in a pocket of the city were only upper-scale child care centers are available. I am surprised that child cares can opt out of accepting state subsidies because that appears to be discrimination based on income level. Is the city of Seattle really that elitist?

Because low-income families are effectively kept out of many childcare centers and they do have very limited access to family day care homes if they live in the city limits, another option available is exempt providers. This category of child care worker is defined as a family member, friend or neighbor who takes care of a child other than their own. Washington state law has a strange addendum to this: the exempt provider much take care of the child in the child's own home if the state is going to provide the family with a child-care subsidy. This is very different from California where exempt providers are able to receive child care subsidies when caring for another family's child in the provider's home. This is an indepensible option for many low-income families and only makes sense to make that option available to Washington families.

I look at these issues from a pragmatic, intellectual viewpoint; one that has been taught to view child care policies as impacting families across a spectrum of needs. If I were to assess these issues on a more personal level, I would say that the child care policies of the area make the decision for me: its best to stay at home with my child and provide educational preschool opportunities at home while interfacing with established informal playgroups around the city.

Availabilty of VBACs in the Seattle area

With the recent report that the Cesarean Section rate has reached an all-time high in the United States (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_12.pdf), women find themselves more and more likely to have to ponder the question, can I have a VBAC with my next baby? One would think that the choice to give birth vaginally would be a matter of personal choice, one that a woman would be free to make without coercion, but evidence indicates otherwise. Some hospitals ban VBACS all together, while others say they allow them on paper, but discourage them in practice (see blog post: Legal Actions Against VBAC Bans and Seattle PI Article).

ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) provides a directory of facilities and their policies regarding VBAC. The following has been taken from their website for local hospitals servicing Seattle families:

Evergreen Healthcare: Kirkland
De Facto Ban

Harborview Medical Center - University Medical Center: Seattle
Allowed

Kindred Hospital: Seattle
Allowed

Northwest Hospital and Medical Center: Seattle
Allowed

Overlake Hospital Medical Center: Bellevue
Allowed


Providence Everett Medical Center: Everett
Allowed

Stevens Healthcare: Edmonds
Allowed

St. Francis Hospital: Federal Way
Banned

Swedish Medical Center - First Hill: Seattle
Allowed

Swedish Medical Center - Ballard: Seattle
Banned

University of Washington Medical Center: Seattle
Allowed

Valley Medical Center:Renton
Allowed

By clicking on each facility from the ICAN directory, you can read more information that can give you an idea of the attitudes of the facility and the staff would attend VBACs.

Some facility level intervention rates are available through the Great Starts Guide to King County Hospitals. Their success rate will be a good indication of how supportive the facility and staff truly are to vaginal birth.

NW Taking Legal Action Against VBAC Bans

Out of the Northwest Women's Law Center and ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network):

I’m a lawyer with the Northwest Women’s Law Center in Seattle. I’m investigating possible legal responses to bans on vaginal birth after cesarean at hospitals in the northwest states - Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon. If you are currently pregnant and want to have a VBAC, but are facing a hospital policy that would require you to have a c-section regardless of whether you want it and whether it is medically necessary, and are willing to consider working with a lawyer on this, we’d like to talk with you. Please email us at vbacbanhelp@ican-online.org. Our services will be provided free of charge.

This appears to be follow-up action to a Seattle PI editorial from September of this year.

Quotes from that article include:

In many parts of this state, having one C-section delivery will require another at a subsequent birth, even over the objection of the pregnant woman and her doctor. Several Washington hospitals refuse to allow doctors to provide labor and delivery services to pregnant women who have had a previous C-section unless those women submit to a second C-section delivery.

Policies and practices that force pregnant women to submit to unnecessary surgery cannot be justified. We would never countenance that practice for any other patient. Pointing to potential risk to the baby does not justify ignoring the mother's decisions about her medical care.

Play It Safe at Laurelhurst Playground

A group of concerned parents and citizens are getting together to replace the aging and outdated play equipment at Laurelhurst playground in North East Seattle.

The City of Seattle is pretty aggressive about yanking out equipment that is past its useful life span, which ours is approaching. They have done this recently in Seward Park and a park in Magnolia. The community members around Laurelhurst would like to prevent this from happening in their neighborhood.

Here is what you can do to be involved:
1) Take the survey to share how you would like to see the playground improved:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=pMaA_2bbu3xjIRYq6MHKM9FQ_3d_3d,
2) Become a committee member.
3) Personally ask businesses to support our project (all donations all tax deductible)
4) Encourage friends/family/neighbors to support the project with a donation
5) Help distribute the letter to people in Laurelhurst, and to people in your neighborhood if you live outside of Laurelhurst. It's illegal to put them in mailboxes, but you can give them to people or put them under their door mat, etc.
6) Help coordinate who is asking who for money. We need to make sure that we don't have several people asking the same individuals or businesses and I would like someone to track all of this.
7) Help with the lemonade stands. Of course most kids will need to be supervised by adults, the materials need to be purchased, signs need to be made, etc. (we are hoping that Metropolitan Market will be donating some things for us to sell at the stand). More matching grant funds are rewarded if kids are involved in the project.
8) Make your own donation. It would be great if all committee members will be the first to make a personal contribution to this project.

Those who donate more than $250 will be recognized at the park. The committee is hoping to raise $20,000 in total for the project and would like to do so in the next month.

For more information, contact:
Wendy Kelley
wendygkelley@hotmail.com

Solace for Mothers: A Online Community for Healing Birth Trauma

I have mentioned before that I suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after what I considered abusive treatment from hospital staff when my child was being born. I struggled with the emotions of anger, blame and hurt for many months. They manifested themselves in intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, difficult functioning and sleeping, avoiding all health care situations and an obsessive need to understand and learn everything I could about my experience--how it went wrong and who was to blame. During that time, I felt utterly alone. I couldn't seem to find anyone who understood or had experienced something like I had, or if they did, they didn't react the same way and didn't understand my reaction.

From that hard place came the power to make a difference and to move forward. I was seeking solace and a community of women who understood. It didn't exist, really, or each group was very small, and not very active. So I set about doing something about it, and that's how the Solace for Mother's Online Community came to be. I'm including more information and announcing it as a new resource for moms in Seattle who may have experienced a traumatizing birth and then experienced post partum depression, PTSD or feelings of hurt and disappointment.

I hope that Solace does what its name implies: brings Solace to the hurt and grieving mothers out there.

This message is to announce a new online discussion board called Solace For Mothers, An Online Community For Healing Birth Trauma. It is for women who have experienced trauma around the process of giving birth. For these women, giving birth has left them feeling deeply disappointed, traumatized, or even violated. We want these women to know that they are not alone, that birth trauma is very real, and that other women have had similar experiences and feelings. We have created an online community as a place for women to begin or continue their healing journey.

In the online community, there are different categories and forums, and the topics covered are issues that often come up for women dealing with birth trauma. It is our hope that women can virtually support each other on their healing journeys in this online community, and perhaps eventually connect with each other in the real world if they choose.

There is an introduction page here; http://www.solaceformothers.org/forum.html, and from this page you can register for the discussion board. Due to the very personal nature of this subject, we have made an effort to keep this community private, and women must register before being able to enter or view posts. If you do not fall into the category of a woman suffering from birth trauma, or if you would like to see a preview of the community before joining, you may visit this link to do so; http://www.solaceformothers.org/preview.html. This link is not the actual community and you will not be able to view members' posts from there, it will simply give you an overview of the topics covered.

We are sending this message out via email and posting it to online communities and to lists in order to reach these women. Please send this message to anyone who you feel may benefit from it.

Sincerely,
Jenne Alderks and Jennifer Zimmerman
Creators and Moderators of the discussion board

Supported by Sharon Storton and the Solace For Mothers team

Airlines and Seatbelts

It seems that every time I ride on an airplane the pilot keeps the seat belt sign illuminated for practically the whole flight. It doesn't matter whether it's a 2 hour flight or 5 hour flight, the whole plane maybe gets 10 minutes to use the restroom. On a recent flight to California, the plane was in the air and had adjusted to it's flying altitude and more than several people got up to use the bathroom (I happened to be sitting next to the lavatories), they were told to return to their seat because the seat belt sign was still illuminated. One man ignored the flight attendant and used the restroom anyway. heehee
It didn't bother me so much when I didn't have kids, but when you have a poopy diaper or a toddler who needs to go NOW - what do you do? On Alaska Airlines I hit the call light and the flight attendant said to just be careful - which was nice but I don't think I would have gotten the same response from United.
There is evidence that long-haul flights (flight lasting four hours or more) may increase the risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT). DVT is a condition where a blood clot forms in a deep vein, usually in the leg. DVT can cause pain and may lead to complications such as pulmonary embolism. The risk is mainly the result of prolonged immobility, which can happen during any form of long distance travel, whether by car, bus, train or air. I'm not too worried about developing DVT myself but there are people out there that do.
What about the crying baby. We've all been on the flight where the crying baby needs to be walked down the aisle to be soothed. It not only comforts the baby but the weary parents and the passengers who are tired of hearing it.
So come on airlines, cut us a break and give us more than 10 minutes of non-seat belt time. :)

Baby 3.0 ............. and 4??

My husband and I recently decided to have one more child and wouldn't you believe that I conceived TWINS!! Shocked would be an understatement of how I felt. I cried not out of joy but of pure terror and fear. I already had two toddlers and was mentally prepared for one more not two. Oh, there was a time I wanted twins - before I had my first baby and that went out the window real fast. Twins don't necessarily run in my family unless you want to include a few distant cousins and an Uncle's wife. However, I did find out that women between the age of 35-39 are more likely to have twins than any other age group because the body produces higher levels of gona-dotropin hormones, which causes more eggs to mature and be released from the ovaries.

Now, a few weeks have past and although I'm still kind of dazed, I'm looking forward to it all. Oh, I still have fear and terror but I also have hope and joy.

I asked some mom's of multiples what advice to give a new mom with twins and here's some of what I got.

1. Get help, whether it's your mom, sister, nanny - just get help.

2. Dad's need to help out during the evening feedings. He doesn't get to sleep during the night b/c of work.

3. EAT as much as you can during twin pregnancy (the more food the better) REST as much as you can during twin pregnancy (be horizontal whenever possible) Once the twins are born it's a blur for the first year-embrace your chaos.

4. Keep the babies on the same schedule - sleep, eat, nap

5. Join the local Moms Of Multiples group.

Eastside Mothers of Multiples: http://www.emoms.org/default.aspx They are the largest twin group in the king county area and have many members based in Seattle as well. I think they would be a great resource to find other moms in the same situation. They also maintain an excellent online forum that is a wealth of knowledge about twins.

North Seattle Mothers of Multiples: http://www.orgsites.com/wa/nsfom/They are a much smaller group, but nice because most of the moms are close by.

The UW offers a great class on expecting multiples (sorry the link is so long!): http://uwmedicine.washington.edu/uwmed/Templates/content/uwmedicine_clinicsNoContact.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRNODEGUID=%7bAEA88FEA-AFA8-4072-9D95-20C6835FAFDC%7d&NRORIGINALURL=%2fPatientCare%2fMedicalSpecialties%2fSpecialtyCare%2fUWMEDICALCENTER%2fMICC%2fSpecialtyServices%2fmiccclasses%2ehtm&NRCACHEHINT=Guest#6

6. Read some books.

Great books to read: http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Expecting-Twins-Triplets-Quads/dp/B000VYX8X6/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

This book to was a godsend...and my twins are now incredible sleepers: http://www.babycoach.net/store/product_info.php/products_id/28

Posted by Sylvia

Patient and Family Centered Care at UW

The University of Washington is launching a new program that seeks to improve the quality of care for patients needing medicial assistance. They are forming Patient Advisory committees where patients and their family members can volunteer to add their insights into improving care. The intended result is to change hospital policy in these areas:

Inpatient Cancer
Perinatal/Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Rehabilitation
Emergency Department

The program is currently recruiting volunteers to join the advisory committees. Orientation meetings are being held throughout the summer months. Each committee is intended to have a 2:1 ratio advisors to hospital staff personnel.

Persons interested in finding out more information can visit the Patient and Family Centered Care page or contact:

Patient and Family Education Services
Phone: 206-598-2697
E-mail: pfcc@u.washington.edu
Hours: Monday through Friday
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Address: 1959 N.E. Pacific St.
Box 358126
Seattle, WA 98195-8126

I Love You Through and Through

I had been looking for a children's book appropriate for toddlers, and young preschoolers that portrayed how parents love their children at all times, totally and completely, even when children are acting ways that parents don't particularly love. I thought I'd be looking for a book like that for a while as I didn't find one like it at Barnes and Noble or any of the independent children's books shop where I was looking. Until I found the book "I Love You Through and Through" at Walmart.

With rhymes like:

I love your inside, your outside.
I love your happy side, your sad side, your silly side and your mad side"

Its a book that shows children that parents love them completely at all times, with all the cute and silly, even obnoxious and annoying things they do. From the tops of their heads to the tips of their toes, parents truly do love their children through and through and as the book concludes "Yesterday today and tomorrow too."

I highly recommend this book for babies, toddlers and young children. Its a fun sit down, cuddle and tickle with your child book.

Naturopathic Medicine: A Good Bet in Seattle

Almost all parents are familiar with the conventional medical system: with pediatricians, antibiotics, medications, immunizations, etc. The most common form of medical treatment in the United States, conventional medicine (also called allopathic medicine) aims to treat disease and diagnose pathology, but often do not address the root causes of the pathology or how to treat those root causes. Instead symptoms are treated as they arise, often without regard to what is causing them or attempting to prevent their reoccurence.

Some parents are disatisfied with this form of medicine for themselves and their children, and instead of turn to alternative healing methods (often called holistic): including chiropractors, massage therapists, accupunturists and naturopathic doctors.

Seattle is a great place to be if you are a parent seeking a more holistic approach to medical care. It doesn't take long to realize that, as a newcomer drives around the city streets of Seattle and sees many, many offices and signs for chiropractors, massage, accupunture and naturopathic doctors.

As an introduction to naturopathic medicine, the five aims of naturopathy (nature cures) are:

1. First, do no harm
2. To co-operate with the healing power of nature
3. To address the fundamental cause of disease
4. To heal to whole person through individualized treatment
5. To teach the principles of healthy living and preventative medicine

Dr Anca Martalog describes naturopathy this way, " Naturopathic Medicine IS holistic care; it integrates the physical, mental and emotional aspects of the body in order to find the root cause of disease and its symptoms and treat them using natural, safe and effective methods such as acupunvture&chinese medicine, botanical medicine, homeopathy, diet, nutrition&supplements, amongst other tools."

Recently, I started seeking out naturopathic health care in Seattle and was suprised at how many options I found!

I've established a relationship with Seattle Natural Family Medicine at 15th and 80th NE for pediatric care for my 15 month old little boy, as well as well woman care for myself. Being disatisfied with conventional pediatric care, I found the atmosphere of the office, as well as the philosophy of the Naturopathic Doctors refreshing. An additional bonus of their practice is they offer a sliding fee scale to low income families, making their care even more afforable out of pocket than costs covered by some health insurance companies.

Other Naturopathic Medicine offices with pediatric services in Seattle include:
Seattle Healing Arts on 9th Ave NE
One Sky Wellness located on 9th Ave NE
Or you can go directly to the source at the Basytr Center for Natural Health.

Many of the NDs (Naturopathic Doctors) in Seattle received their medical degree from Basytr University located in Kenmore, just north of Seattle off Lake City Way. Many NDs use a sliding fee scale that makes naturopathic care available to low-income families, and many NDs are covered by local insurance companies including Group Health, Aetna, Primera, Regence, etc.

Not only is this form of care plentiful in the Seattle area, its also becoming more and more accessible to families of all income levels.

*Note: DSHS Healthy Options Medicaid for children's health insurance does not currently cover any naturopathic doctors.

Passport to Play at the Seattle Children's Museum

The Seattle Children's Museum is a wonderful place for exploration, discovery, play and learning from children ages 0-10 years old. Its over 22,000 square feet of hands on, interactive activities. All of that combines for much fun for parents and children.

Unfortunately, the entrance fee can be prohibitive for many families. A walking one year old costs the same as an adult-- $7.50, making one trip for one parent and one child cost over $20.00 including the cost of parking. Memberships are available ranging from $55.00 for a year (grandparents only) to $75.00 for a whole family.

However, I recently learned of a new option that makes the Children's Museum more accessible to families who cannot afford the costs to enter. Parents receiving some form of public assistance you can get a free Seattle Children's museum membership, called the Passport to Play.

For more information and the application, call Jeanne Stevens 206.441.1768 ext 2334.

Buy Your Copy of the Business of Being Born

In March of this early, the Seattle International Film Festival did a series of screenings of Ricki Lake's documentary The Business of Being Born. The film depicts the way the current maternity care system in working in the United States and compares it to what researchers say birth ought to be treatment. A history of maternity care is also presented, as well as intimate birth stories and the available options for women when preparing to birth their babies.

If you missed the screenings at the SIFF, the DVD of the movie is now available for sale.

Reviews of the documentary state:
Village Voice

"… an absorbing, thought-provoking inquiry …"

Film Journal International

"Every expectant mother should see this …"

New York Times

"… a passionate ground-level examination of home childbirth …"

Almost everyone I have talked to about this movie, or read their thoughts on it say that its highly recommended for every expectant mother to watch. Fathers also benefit from watching the documentary as they are involved in the process of birth and the choices associated with it as well.

Decrease the Chance of Having a Cesarean Section

Last week while on the Seattle Metro bus, I saw a print advertisement that caught my attention. No its not the one that advertises a chance to change the world between finishing college and getting a job--but I am working on doing that. The headline of this ad of which I'm speaking said:

Pregnant? Reduce your chance of a C-section from 1 in 3 to less than 1 in 10.

That was enough to catch my attention.

I'm well aware that the current US Cesarean rate is 30% translating that about every one in three women who give birth in the United States will have a cesarean to birth their baby. This statistic has been condemned by many organizations, including the WHO (World Health Organization) that states that even in high risk populations, the C-section rate should be between 10% and 15%.

So of course, the first question on my mind after reading the headline was, How? I agree that it is uneccesary that every one in three women need a procedure that should only be performed through neccesity or medical emergency, so then how can I avoid a uneccesary C-section?

I then read that the ad was for a homebirth midwifery practice in the Seattle area; Elemental Birth Midwivery. I thought their advertisement was brilliant in its concept and placement. The Metro bus system is heavily traveled by many people each day, making it an excellent place to advertise to not only low income people, but also business professionals using the transit system to commute.

However, I was struck that the statistic cited a 1 in 10 or a 10% chance of Cesarean section, using out of hospital midwifes. It seemed high to me, so I did some homework. The national rate for out of hospital, midwife attended births requiring a hospital transport for a C-section is around 10%. Surprisingly, in accordance with the WHO recommendation.

But I still had another question, what is Elemental Birth Midwivery Cesarean rate? I called and asked and found out that their C-section rate currently stands at 0. That's right ZERO. They have only been in practice for a year, but with all the births they have attended, no mothers have needed to be transferred to the hospital to have a Cesarean.

I will let that statistic speak for itself and make the recommendation to any parents in the Seattle area planning a pregnancy or expecting a baby to look into the option of midwife attended homebirth to avoid the associated risks of an uneccesary C-section.

Bedtime Book

I thought that I would share one of my toddlers favorite books. I was inspired to share this by my mother. On her recent visit, she saw the book for the first time. She was surprised that I would read my son poetry. Then, she looked through the book and wanted a copy for herself.  The book is Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost Illustrated by Susan Jeffers. The illustrations are perfect. My son likes to search for the animals hidden in the woods. It is a lovely way to introduce poetry to a child. I am curious if there are any surprising treasures on your child's book shelf?

Patricia

They Say the Darndest Things

I just wanted to share this..................as I was putting my three year old to bed last night, I told her that she could be or do anything she wanted to when she got older. Here's how the conversation went:

Mom: You know when you get older you can do or be anything when you grow up. If you want to be a ballerina or doctor or president - you can do it. You just have to set your mind to it.

My daughter: I want to be a elephant.

Mom: Okay anything except an elephant. :)

Fun with Food- a retrospective

Mealtimes are something that I never thought much about when I thought about what being a parent was going to be like. What I never considered was just how often infants and toddlers eat. My son and I have a lot of fun in the kitchen. He helps me cook, he sneaks bites of cheese, he tries to bite holes in the middle of the bread that I am trying to use to make his PBJ. It is a happy place. I hope that he remembers all the fun we had someday.

Here are some of our funniest food moments so far:

1. During the early days of learning to use a spoon, my little guy would cover himself in yogurt at lunch. The best time, I stripped him down to his diaper so that I could more easily hose him down. He was so covered in yogurt that it was even under his arm pits. You just can't have more fun than that at a meal.

2. When learning to use a cup without a lid my husband said, "Wow, those lids aren't just for keeping stuff in the cup. They keep stuff out too." While the little guy started dipping kidney beans that he had pulled out of his chili in his milk. (He then drank his "chili-milk" before we could stop him). He went on to dip many things in his milk including: eggs, grapes, chicken, and oranges.

3. The first time that the little guy realized he could open his PBJ and try to eat out the Peanut butter and Jelly without eating the bread. That was a fun mess.

4. His excitement when I showed him how to snap asparagus and throw them in a pot. Not to messy, but super fun!

I hope that toddlers everywhere are having so much fun with their food!

Patricia

Ravenna Playground is almost ready!

The parents living in the University Park, Ravenna/Bryant, U-Village and Blakely areas have been anxiously awaiting the new playground at Ravenna Park on 54th and Ravenna. The new playground has had a fence up around it now for months, but from a distance it looks completed. Every parent I've talked to is asking "What's Up? When is it going to be open?"

I don't know when the official "opening" is, however, I did walk past today and saw families playing on it. The fence was still up, so my husband and I were intrigued. How did they get in there? We saw the gaps in the fence, looked at each other and shrugged. I guess the less than moral choice won out, as even other parents can provide just the right amount of peer pressure for us to go check it out.

Its a great playground. After playing on it for a few minutes, we started seeing what was still incomplete. The bathrooms and community center are still under contruction. A pole topper is missing from one support of the playground. A section of fence needs to be installed (but better ideas include, another entrance to the playground or a shorter slides for littler people).

But the swings are great! The slides even gave me a bit of a tummy tickle on the way down. And the spinning things (don't know the name, but you'll know what I mean when you see them) are awesome! My husband got going on one too fast and experience some real motion sickness. Think a Tilt-A-Whirl meets Disneyland Tea Cup with more centrifical force, and you've got the recipe for some major dizziness.

So there's your sneak peek into North Seattle's newest playground. There a quite a few parents in the area looking forward to it. Cowan park on 15th and Ravenna is a long walk for many, and the Kids Club playgroun at UVillage is frequently very busy. Yay for a new playground alternative!

Now if only we could play on it legitmately.

Carrots Sneak In

Food. Food. Food. Meal planning for the week. Trips to the grocery. Time to cook. I am pretty sure that meals take up about 90% of my wakeful hours. I need good healthy family friendly food. I want every one in my house to have eaten a balanced and healthy diet at the end of the day. Except on Fridays. We order pizza and ice cream on Friday.

Eating healthy is not as easy as it sounds. Since having a baby, my husband has realized a need to eat healthier in order to not succumb to a genetic predisposition to diabetes and heart disease. I have a toddler who, once upon a time, love spinach and broccoli. Now, he barely tolerates the presence of veggies on his plate. I am pretty sure that he would eat grapes and PBJ three times a day if I allowed it.

I have no idea how to make everyone happy and healthy all of the time, but I feel that I must take some action. I decided that I needed to start with the veggies. My family, every single one of us, needs to eat more of them. After reviewing some deceptive methods of getting veggies into everyday food, I was very disappointed that many of the recipes I looked at snuck in only an extra 2 tablespoons of veggie per serving (1/2 cup veggie divided by 4 servings). While that is better than nothing, I wanted to see if I could pack in more. If I am going to make this effort, it better be worth my time.

This past month I have decided that I am sneaking in some  carrots. I decided that I was not going all the way back to purees for baby food. Grating would have to do. It turns out that I can mix in a LOT of carrots with ground meat dishes, and neither my toddler nor my husband noticed at all. I successfully mixed in a whole cup of finely grated carrots with a pound of ground meat in several different dishes including: stuffed peppers, meatloaf, and chili. Let's say that a 1/4 pound of meat is 1 serving. Then, everyone just got  an extra 1/4 cup of veggies. That is worth my effort! I should stress that the carrots be very finely grated. My toddler will try to pick out regular grated carrots from his food. While that is fun to watch for a few minutes, is gets old and messy. I am excited to try to add carrots to meatballs and hamburger.

I still serve carrots and other veggies as side dishes with dinner in the hopes that my son will someday decide that he likes veggies again. Tonight, he pointed at his carrots, shook his head "no" and returned to eating his meatloaf.

I would love to know if any one else has a way to sneak larger quantities of veggies into their everyday cooking.

Contributed by Patricia

Some Adults Must Have Been Perfect Children...

The Following was Posted on Starbucks new Idea Site:

My Starbucks Idea

Note: this was not written by me, just cut and pasted by me.


More kid friendly? Please, no.
Sorry to sound like a Scrooge, but I do not go to Starbucks to listen to other people's children. When I have seen children there they are usually crumbling cake all over the floor or walking around touching things while their parents igore them. There are plenty of kid-friendly places (think fast food restaurants with play lands) where you can take your kids. I think it would take away from the coffee house atmosphere to gear it more towards children.
Comments [35] | Posted by starbaby to Atmosphere & Locations , 3/19/2008 4:19 PM

Another one:

mepabove
3/21/2008 12:14 PM

Sarah357 - and any one else out there who CAN NOT seperate a child from an adult - If you had the ability to communicate on an Adult level and not feel intimidated by other Adults, you would not need to hide behind your kids. Thus you would be free to enjoy a place where adults can relax and fraternize with other adults. And leave the kids at home. The only reason so many parents need to take their kids every place they go is because of a severe insecurity & low selfesteem issue they(the parents) don't want to deal with. Stop hiding behind your kids. We see right thru this scenario and are sick of it. Deal with your personal issues and then return to public society.

Comments like this really needle me. What do you think about this?

Please share your thoughts.

The Challenges of Motherhood

It’s funny but I have run a successful business for 15 years, but have never found myself presented with anything quite as challenging as motherhood. Never before have I fretted as much whether or not I was doing the right thing. I also have never been so acutely aware of my actions having such lasting effects. I heard that for some becoming parents can hurt their relationships with their own, but for me, it has made me appreciate my parents so much more fully. I now can see the sacrifices they made firsthand. I would characterize myself as the more laid back type, but it amazing how much more paranoid I have become regarding my 11 month old twins. It is so easy for me to fall into the trap of making sure they are in the right classes, that they are developing in the appropriate manner, eating the right foods ( I feed them better than myself), and it is a constant struggle for me to just chill out. I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that I am also working 3 days a week. When I am at home with them I get completely exhausted and actually welcome my job as a break (I am imagining some of you are a bit horrified at my saying this), but when I am at work, I miss them and start feeling a bit guilty. I can only imagine it getting more difficult once they have a voice.
I am trying so hard to be a super mom, employer, friend and wife that I never have time for myself. Something has got to give! Are any of you experiencing the same things? I would love to get ideas on how you are coping.


Contributed by Kristy P.