Mommy's Project 52:35 Smelly

Smelly is having a strong or unpleasant odor. My son often complains because taking a bath and brushing his teeth interrupt his play time. He also has a favorite shirt or two that he would wear for days if I would let him. It is important to have good hygiene and smell good. My husband is even more touchy on the subject. We both have memories of suffering we witnessed with fellow classmates in school.

As a teacher and former student, being the "smelly kid" at school is a terrible thing. It may not be fair but it is the truth. We probably all remember someone we went to school with who was smelly. I have never heard of an instant where it was okay and accepted here in the United States. It doesn't matter if you are poor, if you come from a country that doesn't use deodorant, are overweight, have medical issues, or don't take the time to wash properly. If you are smelly, you will have problems fitting in at school.

If you are around a smell for a long time you tend not to notice it anymore. I remember my dad, a farmer, would always ask me if I could smell "pig" on him because it will get into your hair and clothes very quickly. He would ask one of us to smell him before he went into town for an appointment. So it is possible that the person might not realize or notice the odor. In my opinion that is where mom and dad come in and intervene on behalf of their child. Kids needs to know if they smell and that they need to do something about it.

It is a very sensitive subject and I have not really seen efforts made at the schools with individual children to end very well. Parents get offended and children get embarrassed. The intervention is made and things are better but within a few weeks it reverts back to the same smelly problem. It really is better handled within the family.

Navigating through childhood is hard. There are many things that I can not control but I can and will send my kids to school clean and smelling good.

Mommy's Project 52:34 Outdoors

The outdoors is defined as in or into the open air; outside a building or shelter. On a recent health survey I was asked how many minutes my children spent outdoors everyday. And again I was asked by my doctor's office "Do you kids spend at least 30 minutes outdoors everyday?" I guess the part that got me was the everyday part. I realized we didn't and we spent this week trying to get more outdoor time. We still didn't make it outside everyday but we did spend more than 30 minutes the other days of the week.

I was looking into why I don't meet this standard for my children. My children are still young (5 and 2) so when they go outside so do I. Sometimes my schedule or work I think needs to get done gets in the way of taking them outside. Secondly, my son has allergies and if it is too windy or the pollen count is too high outside, it is pretty miserable for him. He prefers to play inside much of the time and although he doesn't voice it, I think he knows that being outside makes him feel bad. But I realized I needed to really step up the outside time because I want my kids to be healthy and active and enjoy being outdoors. Helping me is my two year old daughter. She does not have the same allergy issues as her brother and she will put on her hat and shoes and stand by the door and say, "Play outside!" Her enthusiasm for being outdoors is helping us get outside.

On Friday of last week, my daughter and I went together to the local state park. We bought a Texas State Park Pass which allows us to get free entrance to all the state parks for a year. Since we live only 20 minutes from a great park with a small beach, two playgrounds, and a 2 mile paved bike loop this will be an excellent opportunity for day trips this summer.

On Sunday and Monday evenings, we took the kids for a walk in our neighborhood with my son on his bike and my daughter on her tricycle. Taking a walk/ride with my two kids is a little like herding squirrels. It didn't matter though that we stopped every few seconds to look at a bug or a worm or a smashed bottle cap on the road.

Then after the heavy rain on Tuesday, I put on the kids rain boots and let them play in the 3.5 inches of rain in the backyard. My son told me over and over yesterday how much fun it was to play in the yard after the rain. We didn't make it outside yesterday but my son had gymnastics class and got plenty of exercise. I was happy with the average time spent outside this week but it is early spring and the temperatures are perfect for this kind of activity. I don't know if mom will be willing when it is 100 this summer but what a great time we had this week. Do your kids spend a lot of time outdoors?

Mommy's Project 52:33 Musical

This is the musical one in the family. She seems to enjoy singing, dancing, and playing instruments. I look forward to helping her develop this interest as she grows.

Mommy's Project 52:32 Tradition

When I think of the word tradition I think about family and I think about church. I have mixed emotions about traditions because sometimes I think they hold me back from trying something new and different. Does it matter if we eat turkey or shrimp and fried oysters for Thanksgiving? Do we need to take out the good China or can we just eat on paper plates? (gasp) These things may seem trivial when you read them or you may understand exactly what I am saying if you have a family that celebrates holidays with a certain tradition.

Then there are the traditions in churches... Anyone who has attended a church knows that sometimes traditions can be a source of great debate. Does it matter if you use little plastic cups for Communion or do they have to be glass? Do you make announcements before church or during the service? Do we have to hold hands during The Lord's Prayer? These are real issues in real churches. They may seem trivial but to some people the way it has always has been done is very important.

This type of tradition can that lead some of us to throw out tradition altogether which I think is also a mistake. Traditions can create strong memories that we cherish throughout our lives. The trip to Grandma's house every Thanksgiving, the Easter egg hunt with the cousins, and that annual family vacation can be a meeting point and a shared memory after much time has passed.

So I am all for using paper plates and changing up the menu but I will do my best to make that annual trek to go to that reunion or that family get together because I think tradition is very good for my family.

Mommy's Project 52:31 Singing

I asked both of my children to sing a song for their memory DVD. I don't know that my daughter understood this but she does not shy away from the camera. It is amazing my son song this song for me. He is not usually willing to be filmed. So this is a treasure for me to keep to show them when they are older. My daughter is singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and the ABC song. My son is singing the R-E-D Red from his preschool class.