A Blog for Busy Moms - MOMania

I’m trying to figure out if Martin Luther King Jr.’s children fight more than other siblings or is just more public? Do you fight with your adult siblings? How do you handle conflict now?

It seems like MLK’s kids are constantly feuding. The latest fight is over the film rights to their father’s story.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

“DreamWorks Studios’ announcement Tuesday that it plans a big-screen epic on the life of Martin Luther King Jr. quickly sparked a new battle among his three feuding children.”

“Dexter King, who lives in California, negotiated the sale of rights by the King estate for what he hopes will be ‘the definitive film’ on his father’s life and legacy, he said in a press release.”

“But his brother and sister, Atlantans Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, said they only learned of the deal in an e-mail from him Tuesday morning as DreamWorks announced the film project.”

“They don’t consider the deal valid and plan to fight it, Bernice King said …

Continue reading Do the King siblings feud more than other sibs? »

School’s out! Hooray! It’s SUMMER! (Gwinnett County gets out today, but the rest of Georgia will soon follow.)

There are very few sentiments that parents feel as excited about as kids but I think summer is one of them. (Christmas and Disney World are others.)

We love our teachers and we love our school, but I am so thrilled to have three months off from our regimented schedule. I am excited that the kids can sleep in. I am happy they can go back outside to play after dinner. And it’s such a relief not to have to say “Ok, it’s time to do your homework!” (Not to mention no more extra-curricular activities to drag three kids to.)

So I’m looking forward to having all this special unstructured time with them, but then the reality sets in. I have three children, 8,6 and 2, at home with now 24 hours a day for three months. What in the heck am I going to do with them?

My boss recently asked me this very question and I told her: “I plan to wear them out. Tired children are good …

Continue reading SCHOOL’S OUT! Oh no, now what? »

We don’t actually know if Jon cheated on Kate but people sure have been outraged about him talking in several bars with a young woman and driving off with her. (US Weekly has a whole photo gallery devoted to their interaction.)

All the uproar has made me wonder: What types of behavior with the opposite sex are acceptable after marriage?

Is it OK for a husband to hang out at a bar with friends that are women?

Is it OK for women to talk on the phone to other men? What about to old boyfriends?

Is it OK to have dinner alone with a co-worker or friend who is the opposite sex? (Or does it depend on the person?)

Is it OK to visit the hotel room of the opposite sex on a business trip? (I’m thinking no on this one. It’s called the lobby - go to it!)

Is it OK to be alone in your house with a person of the opposite sex? Be in the office late alone?

Which social scenarios are acceptable and which are taboo?

A few months back a friend got a call from another woman asking her to come over …

Continue reading Is it OK to hang out alone with opposite sex after marriage? »

We have three days of school left this year, and my kids already know who their teachers will be for next year. In fact, they are meeting them at school today.

I love how parents at our public elementary school have so much input into which teachers their children will have next year. We are not allowed to request a specific teacher, but our principal really makes an effort to match the personality and learning style of each student with a teacher.

Here’s the process (partially pulled from our principal’s letter that was sent home explaining):

1. Parents fill out a form toward the end of the year answering questions about the best learning environment for your child, any concerns that you have about your child and any children you do not want in your child’s class. This form is taken very seriously.

2. Then they talk to each classroom teacher about what they feel like the child needs from a teacher and a class - ie. Firm teacher, lots of choices, work sheets VS free form …

Continue reading Pick next year’s teacher — How much say do you get? »

Editor’s Note: The vote was tight (I think at 8 p.m. only one vote separated Pet Peeves from Six Flags), but you guys have chosen to talk about spousal pet peeves today! (Don’t worry JG we’ll hear your make-out stories from Six Flags next week!!) So here is the topic:

I was talking with a friend recently about house cleaning, and he started telling me all the things that irritate him about the way his wife cleans. (He usually cleans because he finds her job to be sub par.) He had a lot of similar complaints to what I think Michael would say about me. (I need to meet his wife. I think we would be fast friends!)

So I thought it would be fun to talk about your Top 5 Pet Peeves about your spouse!

Since I frequently pick on Michael, I thought I would write what I think HIS top pet peeves would be about ME, instead of vice versa.

5. Load the dishwasher incorrectly - I don’t sort the silverware into separate compartments while the silverware is in the washer. I like to sort after …

Continue reading Top Pet Peeves about your spouse? »

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I know some of you guys don’t want to talk about Jon & Kate, but there are just too many articles floating around about them right now to ignore the topic.

Entertainment Weekly has a big sit down interview with both Jon and Kate and they act like things are fine.

But then People online has published on the same date an article that says “Kate Gosselin Admits to Struggling with Her Marriage.” (The print magazine with more comments comes out on Friday.)

People online reports:

” ‘I don’t know that we’re in the same place anymore, that we want the same thing,’ she says quietly. ‘I’ve been struggling with the question of ‘Who is this person?’ for a while.’ ”

“Kate does have …

Continue reading Jon & Kate may split; Aunt Jodi says marriage is over »

A reader shared with me that she had some young neighborhood kids talking about sex to her 8-year-old son! Some little 2nd-grade girl told him she wanted him to rip off her clothes and have sex all over her.

(Where has this kid been hanging out?? Who is she hearing this from - older sibling, TV? Is she watching “Dynasty!”)

Later, some other boys in the neighborhood started describing to her little guy the actual act. This poor kid is just trying to ride his bike! He’s not the least bit interested in all this!

I really think this mom handled it well.

She talked to her son about what it meant and told him the act was only part of it. She also had her husband talk to the boys. He told them he didn’t want them talking to their son about sex anymore, and they said OK.  She said she’ll say something to the little girl as soon as she sees her.

She told the big group of neighborhood kids that when they were playing at their house there was to be no touching anywhere a bathing suit …

Continue reading How to handle kids telling your kids about sex? »

If your school’s schedule is anything like ours, Teacher Appreciation Week should be popping up any time now.

Our school had it last week, and I know lots of other districts did too. Our school goes all out for our teachers. The PTA puts out a schedule of events that the whole school follows. (I heard they had to start mandating what was done because room moms went crazy trying to outdo each other. Another friend said that wasn’t true. They weren’t competing. They just felt bad if their teacher didn’t get treated as well as another.)

This year:

Monday was thank you notes sent in by the kids and put into a decorative presentation by the room moms. (My co-room mom went crazy and had the thank yous interspersed into floral arrangements for the teacher and para-pro.)

Tuesday was wear your teacher’s favorite color day. (We had wanted to order our teacher personalized M&Ms and thought this was a good chance to do it. We ordered them in her favorite color and wrote “We love you!” and …

Continue reading Teacher appreciation — Too much or too little? »

This family of Asian small-clawed otters love to co-sleep. Here they are waking up. Photo by Michael McClellan of Designs In Motion, Inc. — One of the dads on our class zoo trip!

Every time I visit Zoo Atlanta, I am always amazed by the wonderful mothering going on there. Not by the zookeepers, but by the animals themselves.

They’re not reading any books, attending classes or incessantly Googling their fears on the Internet. They’re just instinctively good caregivers.

I’m sure they don’t know it, but many of the animals practice the Dr. Sears Attachment Parenting theory. All the mammals usually nurse their babies. Many “wear” their babies. And co-sleeping is all the rage. From the savanna grasslands to the jungle habitats, mommies and babies cuddle up together - keeping warm and giving comfort to their young.

Two weeks ago, I chaperoned an overnight trip to the zoo with my daughter’s second-grade class. I loved spending time with my little girl and all her friends, and I …

Continue reading Some of the best moms live at Zoo Atlanta! »

Dads, time is almost up to think of a lovely gift for the hardworking mother of your children. It’s a little more difficult this year because many families can’t afford to pick up the phone and order an expensive bouquet of flowers or pop over to the jewelry store for a little bling. But don’t give up, there are plenty of inexpensive ideas that will make Mom very happy that aren’t a big pain to pull off.

Here are my Top 10 Mother’s Day Gifts in a recession. Many are free and all are easy to come by.

10.  Personalized video naming you “Mother of the Year!” -- A friend sent me this video the other day, and I love it! It’s a fictitious news report naming you “Mother of the Year.” A fake anchorwoman interviews people about you, and your name is filled in throughout the video . It is so cute and it really made me feel good. I think I’ll watch it when I’m having a hard day.

9. Flowers — I love flowers, but often florists gouge during major holidays. So head on over to the DeKalb …

Continue reading Top 10 Mother’s Day Gifts in a recession »