Truth be told, I have reacted that way to my son’s temper tantrums. Just not in public. While “Mother of the Year” may be expressing how you feel when your child’s temper erupts, child expert, author, speaker and educational consultant Dr. Michelle Borba has some better solutions. Here are a few from her book Parents Do Make A Difference! How to Raise Kids with Solid Character, Strong Minds and Caring Hearts:

1. Model calmness. Parents who stay calm in heated situations pass that train on to their children.

2. Develop a feeling vocabulary. Give your child another way to express his frustrations than by hitting or throwing things. Encourage him to use words to express his anger.

3. Teach your child to establish a “calm down” activity. Take a deep breath, go for a walk, sing – whatever it takes, help your child to return to that activity when his temper begins to flare up.

4. Identify early warning signs. We all have signs that warn us when we’re getting upset – raised voices, stomping, red face. When your child starts to exhibit these signs, point them out to him. This is the best time for him to get control of his anger before it gets out of control.

Video, YouTube, timetravelmachine

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Tips for dealing with temper tantrums

I love a scene like that. I can remember a couple of my favorite wedding or proposal TV episodes, you know the kind that really stay with you. The first one that I really loved was back on that show A Different World, where Whitney is supposed to marry Byron, but she is confused because she still really cares for Dwayne. At her wedding to Byron, as they begin to say their vows, Dwayne walks down the aisle and he’s making the vows to Whitney instead. A romantic twist – I loved that!

Another favorite was on Wings when Joe proposed to Helen. Joe and Helen were involved earlier in the show, but they broke up and Helen fell for another guy named Davis. She accepts Davis’s proposal, but Joe sweeps her off her feet with a story about a couple of rocking chairs and how he always believed that they were meant to be together. I tried to find a clip of it, but I couldn’t. I think I remember it happening in an elevator.

Sometimes there’s this perfect storm of writers and actors and timing and romance – it’s TV magic.  It’s silly, but watching something like that makes me want more romance in my own life.  Do you have a favorite romantic scene like that? Did you watch Jim and Pam’s big night?

Image credit: Sxc.hu

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The Magic of TV Romance

Frankly, I’m a bit jealous. I’m not sure my son has ever been able to entertain himself that well!

Video, YouTube, Francis Vachon

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Why Can’t My Kid Self-Play Like This?

A few minutes passed and my son called out to me. “Mommy,” he said, “ where’s the shovel?” I said, “Why do you need a shovel?” He said, “I’m making a hot tub and I need a shovel to dig the hole where the water will go.” This got me out of the kitchen and I looked down on him from the deck. “What? You’re doing what?”

“A hot tub. I told you that a million times! I need a shovel. Please get me Daddy’s shovel.”

I said no, and that’s when he started to lose his cool, doing that wailing and whining thing and it was several minutes before I could sit him down and explain that hot tubs require a little more than a shovel to make. They require heavy equipment and, well, professionals who know what they’re doing. This didn’t sit well with him. He wanted to make it himself and though that hot tub tantrum was several months ago, my son still insists he will one day put a hot tub in our backyard.

Truman’s do-it-yourself attitude was the first thing I thought of when someone shared this funny New Zealand Do-It-Yourself video with me. Take look. It just may bring a smile to your face as well.

Video, YouTube, YepitsCharlie

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Kids Who Like To Do It Themselves

Video, YouTube.com, funnyvideos7
Source: Suite101

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Think Texting and Driving OK? Think Again

The Everyday Dish is a cooking show that can be viewed at YouTube. All the meals are plant-based and are prepared by a variety of chefs including Brian P. McCarthy, Julie Hasson, and Sarah Kramer. There are videos covering everyday cooking, appetizers, Asian cooking, Raw dishes, cookies, gadgets, and Gluten-free dishes. 

Dreena Burton has a great Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

Or try Wheeler Del Toro’s vegan Peanut Butter Ice Cream. 

Sometimes I have a hard time understanding the videos, but it’s a problem with my connection, not the videos. For more information, take a look at EverydayDish.tv.

Image credit: Michelle Smith

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Everyday Dish.tv

If you haven’t had the pleasure of having it E-mailed to you, then you can enjoy it here:

Video and screenshot, YouTube, Pregnant Women are Smug by Garfunkel and Oates

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Pregnant Women are Smug

Video, YouTube, kyleandginger

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Getting Motivation from the Dancing Baby

Just moments before I was able to escape the house – leaving Rick and Truman vegging in front of The Sandlot – I got an e-mail from Wendi telling me I HAD to see this YouTube video, which I did. I knew right then I had found my female soul mate. I’ve never met Jen Lancaster, but I am so in tune with that woman, we even share a name.

Jen’s pushing her new book, Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist’s Quest To Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, Or Why Pie is Not The Answer and my respect for her goes beyond appreciating that she’s larger than me (I like most people who are), but she has such a pleasant way of laughing at herself that makes me feel – dare I write the word – normal.

So instead of grabbing Color of Water, like a responsible person would, I nabbed all of Jen Landcaster’s books I could get my hands on – Such a Pretty Fat (mentioned earlier); Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office; Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl’s Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me?; and Pretty in Plaid: A Life, a Witch, and a Wardrobe, or, the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egoman… Self-Centered Smart Ass Phase.

With any luck, I’ll actually finish a book. And then I’ll tell you if I still love Jen. But if I don’t even crack a cover, it doesn’t really matter. Because I’ll be living the laid-back easy life at the beach with my best gal pals … at least until Sunday.

Bon voyage! (God, that literally means “Good Journey” in French!)

Image, Amazon
Video, YouTube, BookVideos.tv

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Loving ‘Such a Pretty Fat’

In case you were wondering, this is not the same swine flu of three-plus decades ago, according to MSNBC. If you had that vaccine – or even your annual flu shot just months ago – you should not consider yourself immune. Check the MSNBC story for for more FAQs on the swine flu. 

Video & screenshot, Fandome Dude

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Swine Flu PSA – 1970s Revisited?