Crikey! It's the Australian Mutant Ninja Mamas!
Just For Moms, Safety, In The News, Weird But True, Amazing Parents
Fed up with street crime, Australian mothers are taking up jujitsu and getting ready to kick some serious butt. Credit: Getty Images
"M" is for the multiple contusions she gave you.
"U" is for all the food you'll have to gum.
Because "M" is for how she'll mess you up, and all your crying will not save you.
Put them all together, they spell MUM.
OK, so it's not exactly the same ode to motherhood Eddy Arnold sang back in the days of June Cleaver. But they're singing a different tune these days in Australia.
Mothers Down Under are baking brownies, knitting baby booties, kicking butts and taking names.
Liev Schreiber Saving the Planet, One Hand-Me-Down at a Time
Toddlers, Celeb Parenting, In The News, Weird But True, Environment, That's Entertainment, Amazing Parents, Fashion & Clothing
Liev Schrieber makes his kid wear hand-me-downs? Stars really are just like us! Credit: IGNAT / Bauer-Griffin
Nobody said saving the planet was easy, but actors Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts know certain sacrifices must be made.
Rather than buying new clothes, they sometimes have their 19-month-old son wear things previously worn by their 2-year-old.
CBS News is not making this stuff up. "Kai wears Sasha's clothes," Schreiber tells the network point blank.
There will be a slight pause now so you can all catch your breaths.
CBS News reports Schreiber made this revelation while taking part in "The Darker Side of Green," a debate on climate change issues, held July 27 in New York City.
Front Seat Storage Bag Yields Safer Car Trips
Babies, Toddlers, Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Safety, Baby Essentials, Shopping
Park it up front for a safer ride. Credit: The Silly Wagon
The Wisey Car Bag helps minimize distractions while driving alone with the kids, so you can keep your eyes on the road, where they belong.
Designed to hang on the front passenger seat, this innovative bag keeps all your little one's essentials within easy reach, with lots of pockets for holding bottles, diapers, pacifier, books, toys, snacks and more. It even has a special holder for your water bottle and a removable pouch that dispenses wipes.
It folds up or moves aside easily to make room for a passenger, and can be turned around when your child is old enough to grab their own stuff.
Available at The Silly Wagon for $29.66.
Mom Imagines Baby's Dream World in Mila's Daydreams Blog
What new parents haven't wondered what their precious little bundle was dreaming about when in the kind of deep slumber only a baby can sleep?
The seriously creative Adele Enerson, an advertising copywriter and concept designer, decided to create imagined scenes of her daughter Mila's dreams, which she conceptualizes and photographs during Mila's naps and posts on her blog, Mila's Daydreams. Adele, we know you probably need a nap, too, but keep the adorable photos coming!
Should I Choose a Name My Husband Hates?
I have loved the name Sloan since I heard it about three years ago and immediately knew that's what I would name my daughter. My husband has never liked the name. We have disagreed on it since. He has recently told me that if it is that important to me, he was fine with it. Is it really OK?
- Sloan Dreamer
Oh, what a happy problem! I know it doesn't look that way from where you sit, agonizing over a name that has held a special place in your heart for years. But trust me, this is the best kind of naming conflict you can have.
Mom With Liver Transplant To Defend Her Medal in U.S. Games
Lauren Donkar, right, with her daughter Allie and her husband Nick. Courtesy of the National Kidney Foundation
When Lauren delivered her daughter Allie, now nearly 4, she began violently coughing up blood only 12 hours after laying eyes on her beautiful firstborn's perfect little toes. Four weeks later, she awoke from a coma to learn that she had undergone not one, but two liver transplants.
Due to a complication from pre-eclampsia, Donkar's liver failed and the situation was so desperate, they transplanted a liver from a donor with the wrong blood type. That one lasted two weeks until a compatible match was found -- a liver that's been standing the test of time, so far.
Donkar recognizes that she experienced a complete medical miracle due to someone else's sacrifice, but in her opinion, having a transplant "doesn't make you special ... it's how you cope with the challenges that are thrown your way that counts and what you do with the second chance at life you've been granted."
Schedule an Art Appreciation Date With Your Child
Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Teens & Tweens, Fun & Activities, Places To Go
Open your child's mind with art. Credit: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images
Want to spend some quality time with your kids, but can't spend a lot of cash? Schedule a two-part "date" for art appreciation.
Many art museums and galleries have one weekday, or a specific time period, during which admission is free. For example, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago offers free admission every Tuesday. The Museum of Modern Art in New York City has "Target Free Friday Nights" every Friday from 4 to 8 p.m., sponsored by Target.
The Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC both have free admission every day. Even museums that don't provide a time slot for complimentary admission often permit children under the age of 12 to enter at no cost, or have a "recommended" price for tickets, but allow you to pay what you can.
Exploring an art gallery or museum together will encourage you and your child to talk about topics that deviate from everyday issues, such as school or home. This diversion from daily life will increase the bonding impact of your adventure. Discussions about color, shape and dimension will expand both your horizons.
Watermelon Baby Video is a Slice of Juicy Fun
We've eaten our way through a bag of Ruffles on more than one occasion. A pint of Ben & Jerry's? Please. That's child's play. But gnawing through an entire watermelon? Well, that's new.
We couldn't help but laugh -- and acquire a major hankering for a juicy slice of fruit -- at this baby who appears to have been dropped into a scooped-out melon. And notice how the child's just pleased as watermelon punch, chewing away with abandon.
We're assuming the melon was seedless and, while we give this kid's parents credit for braving a potentially messy experiment on their unprotected furniture, we have two words for those of you who want to try this at home: drop cloth.
Related: Affirmation Girl Has a Past
How to Play: Cup Stack Relay Knock Down
Stack 'em up! Credit: John Loo, Flickr
What you need: For each team, you need eight to 10 plastic cups and paper plates and a ball (a standard kick ball, soccer ball or volleyball).
How to play: Divide the players into teams of eight to 10 players. Line them up facing away from the middle of a circle. Inside the circle will be each team's pile of cups and plates to stack. Each team is given one ball.
The rules: At the starting signal, the first player on each team will run to his pile of cups and plates and begin to stack them, alternating them with the cups face down. He will then run back to his team and tag the next player who will unstack the cups and plates and restack them. Each team has the option of using its ball to knock down another team's stack of cups and plates. If a team's cups and plates get knocked down, the player who stacked them must go back into the circle and redo them.
Fight Childhood Obesity ... With Pole Dancing
Kids 8-11, Teens & Tweens, Weird But True, Sex
Students perform a routine at a pole-dancing school in Colombia. Credit: Raul Arboleda, AFP / Getty Images
Scotland's Up Yer Pole (no, really), "an established pole-dancing school since 2002," announced it will soon be offering classes for kids ages 9 to 16. For about $8 per 60-minute class, kids can take a class that focuses on "strength, balance, flexibility and gymnastic based moves in a safe and fun environment," according to its website.
Also, Up Yer Pole wants you to know that it is a serious school.
"This is not just wiggling around a pole, this is fitness & specifically body conditioning & strength training," the website states.
And there's even more good news, parents. Kids can leave their bikinis and Lucite platform heels at home, since sneakers are perfectly acceptable, which really makes all the difference when you're drawing the line between adult behavior and children's behavior.
Related: Is This 'Single Ladies' Video Too Hot for Tots?
