Link-worthy

I was just going to write a post on Douglass Park, but in googling for a link to its website I came across another site of interest. I Saw Your Nanny is a site where you can anonymously post accounts about nannies providing care you find to be questionable. As both a parent (who has used several different types of childcare for my own children) and a childcare provider, I am not sure how I feel about this site. On the one hand it leaves an impression of some kind of spy or anonymous big brother looking over your shoulder, but on the other hand, if someone who is supposed to be watching, engaging, and nurturing my children is not doing any of those things — or worse — I would certainly like to know. Even so, the site’s content is entirely hearsay which leaves plenty of room for rumors, miscommunication, misunderstanding, and even defamation.

Ideally we could all find childcare providers with whom we could establish trusting relationships and who would provide stellar care for our kids 100% of the time. Until that happens — and if you believe that the ends justify the means — I Saw Your Nanny is there for you. (Also, if you enjoy internet drama, be sure to peruse some comments.)

SuperNoVa Mom seems to have a lot in common with Active Family Services, LCC. Her blog is full of tips for local moms on places to go and things to do, but covers a wider region than ours. She publishes a weekend line up of DC Metro Area family events, has a separate blog listing kids eat free promotions by county and day, another listing summer concerts, and — to top it all off — her site has a great name and features a really cool turtle. Be sure to stop by and check it out.

My family and I are preparing for the end of a ten year relationship with a well-loved station wagon. In replacing it we are saying goodbye to the vehicle that carried us through our twenties and are embracing a new type of family adventure vehicle for our thirties, which we hope will facilitate carpools, daycare field trips — 5 carseats (ack!) — and an evolved version of the road trips of past years.

Like many others out there, we are trying to do the impossible: minimize the price and fuel usage and maximize the passenger capacity and durability of the vehicle. We also want to make sure we have space inside for dogs and room on top for boats, skis and large pieces of furniture bought via craigslist. In a perfect world, maybe we could even find a way to not give up the all-wheel drive…. It goes without saying that we require a safe and dependable vehicle.

I googled and googled and couldn’t find a great online solution to appease our obsessive need to analyze and research without pressure from a salesperson. When I didn’t find what I wanted I went to the wise women of the local moms clubs and was given a list of useful websites. The one that seemed to be exactly what I could not find on my own was motherproof.com. It is an excellent resource for researching a mommy car that combines the raw numbers with readable narrative from actual moms.

I would still like to find a database or spreadsheet listing what carseat combinations fit in what vehicles…. if anyone knows of one I would appreciate a tip. Until I find one I would love to use the comments feature on this post to collect your impressive carseat combinations. Please include make, model, year, order of carseats, and any tips you have for fitting them in there.

Active Family Services, LLC is proud to announce our new Loudoun Family Calendar. This is the resource I dreamed of when I new to the area, new to staying at home with my children, and new to mothering two children. I hope it will help other parents and childcare providers to easily find places & events to share with their favorite little ones on days when they feel the need to get out of the house and connect with others.

We make every effort to ensure that the information on our calendar is up to date and easy to use; however, we recommend that you double-check event details with the location. If you would like to suggest an addition to the calendar or notice an error, please contact us. As with our other informational services this calendar is made possible by our local sponsors. Thank you for your support!

This new blog, written by a local mom, is full of interviews of entrepreneurial women.

Fun Finds for Mom is another mom crafted blog. This one is full of unique products. The author, Elena, got my attention by reviewing my favorite kid’s sunhat before I got around to it…

Uncle Adam’s candids rock! And his landscapes are even better. After years of requests to make his work available to the public he has finally done it.

Check out his site for amazing pictures of the SF Bay Area, the Rockies, and more! Here are a couple samples to whet your appetite. (Click for larger versions.)

Just as I was mourning the waste created by our seasonal gift giving and receiving and my own increased impact during visits to homes that don’t recycle or compost I was forwarded a link to a story about a man who saved his trash for an entire year.

I was inspired, so I now have a stash of recycling to bring home from our holiday travels in my suitcase just as Ari Derfel brought home his 16 pounds of trash from Hawaii.

Becoming a parent has had a huge impact of my material footprint. Convenience is tempting when you add juggling a kid (or two or more) to your life, and I choose it more often than I’d like - sometimes it is in the form of disposable diapers, other times it is in choosing a prepackaged food, or driving somewhere instead of walking. I try to walk a line that allows me to reconcile my idealism and intentions with cultural norms and reality, but the idea of saving one’s trash for a year is humbling. It reminds me that I probably err on the side of practical moderation more often than I succeed in modeling true ecological responsibility (whatever that is!).

Our roles as parents bind us to the next generation though, and they will be left sharing this earth with the trash our generation creates - including all those dirty diapers we are changing. I’m not advocating that anyone actually save the dirty diapers, but the idea sure makes a strong case for considering alternatives like cloth diapers, elimination communication, or g-diapers. If you have been considering trying one of these it’s not too late to make it a New Year’s resolution…