ReadySetMom

All good things must come to an end

Or we could say: "A conclusion is simply the place where someone got tired of thinking." (Unknown)

I kind of like this one: "If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story." (Orson Welles)

And my personal favorite: "Consciousness. That annoying time between naps." (Steven Wright)

Okay, that last one has nothing to do with endings, but it does concern one of my favorite subjects. Endings, however, are somewhat more bittersweet. Renee and I will no longer be blogging on ReadySetMom, and it is bittersweet. For the past 2.5 years we've enjoyed building up this community and learning, sharing and laughing along with all of you. But trying to juggle two blogs turned out to be a wee bit more than we could handle, so we'll be focusing our attention on EnviroMom and working on projects that will enable us to spread the green love further afield. We hope you'll come visit us!

ReadySetMom will continue to live in cyberspace and moms will continue to comment on old posts (particularly that breastfeeding one!). We will actively maintain and update the Portland Metro Preschool & Childcare Directory, so please check back when you are ready to seek out preschools and providers.

Thanks everyone -- you all helped us create a very supportive and respectful environment here, and we've truly enjoyed getting to 'know' you. And a big thanks to our sponsors, many who advertised here for months and months. Thank you!

Need a preschool? Childcare? Use the ReadySetMom Preschool & Childcare Directory

The start of the new calendar year is the ideal time to start looking for a preschool or childcare program for your child. ReadySetMom has the most comprehensive and up-to-date preschool and childcare directory in the Portland Metro area. Many preschools hold open houses events in the new year, continuing into spring. Additionally, local moms clubs will host preschool informational events featuring nearby preschool and childcare providers (the Hillsdale Library is hosting a preschool fair on February 7).

Use the ReadySetMom Preschool & Childcare Directory to research the wealth of options offered in our area: cooperative, Montessori, Waldorf, language immersion, faith-based, and teacher-led, as well as for full-time, part-time and flex-time daycare.

We update the directory on a regular basis. If you know of a program that is not currently listed, we are glad to add it to our directory at any time. Any preschool or childcare facility in the Portland Metro area can be listed in the ReadySetMom Preschool & Childcare directory free of charge. For schools looking to share more information about their programs, we offer an expanded listing option for a one-time fee.

Media Think survey on kids and media

Media Think, a media literacy organization SW Portland'd Rick Seifert helped start in 2000, is conducting an online survey. They'd like parents to respond to a brief questionnaire about how their families use media. Can you help? Click to give your input to the Media Think Survey. I just took it, and was done in 3 minutes.

Back to school shopping @ Schoolhouse Supplies!

Yesterday my daughter found out who her first grade teacher will be...so I guess it's time to start thinking about heading back to school. Last year we ordered all of our school supplies through Schoolhouse Supplies, which I strongly encourage you to do if your kids go to Ainsworth, Alameda, All Saints, Irvington, Laurelhurst, Rieke or Stephenson elementary schools. Instead of going to a bunch of different stores searching for supplies (and our list is pretty long this year), you just go to the Schoolhouse Supplies Web site, find your child's school (from the above list) and grade, then place your order. The supplies are delivered directly to the school! The cost is competitive with big box stores, plus you are supporting a fantastic organization that provides additional supplies to teachers at no cost to them (since most teachers pay as much as $300 out-of-pocket for supplies). Hopefully if more and more parents use this convenient online service, Schoolhouse Supplies can keep adding more schools to the mix!

I know that shopping for back to school supplies used to be this big, special outing when I was growing up, but now the schools just put all of the supplies together and dole them out to students. They don't get to pick their own folder or pencils; everyone uses the same supplies. Frankly, I'd rather spend my time shopping for pants with reinforced knees for my kids (because they seem to blow out after a couple of months!) than shopping for school supplies.

Post your own community announcements on ReadySetMom

Do you spend your life looking for community bulletin boards to post fliers for preschools, non-profits, family-friendly events, etc.? I feel like I do. Well, we've created a new online place for you to post this type of listing: the ReadySetMom Community Announcements page. Here's how to do it:

• Log in to TypePad using "readysetmom" as the username and password (Note: Typepad prefers Firefox and IE).
• Click the "Community Announcement" link, then click "Begin a New Post".
• Title it, select a category and enter your text in the Post Body. Please include contact info, such as email address or phone. Use the link button to link to a URL if needed.
• Review, spell check and "Save" your post, then we'll review and publish it as soon as we can. Note that we only publish submissions we feel are appropriate to our community. Thanks!

It's really easy to post. If you have problems, you can also send us an email and we'll post the info for you. Please note this is primarily for non-profit type announcements, and we have different annoucement options for local businesses and preschools/childcare centers.

• Log in to TypePad using "readysetmom" as the username and password (Note: Typepad prefers Firefox and IE).
• Click the "Community Announcement" link, then click "Begin a New Post".
• Title it, select a category and enter your text in the Post Body. Please include contact info, such as email address or phone. Use the link button to link to a URL if needed.
• Review, spell check and "Save" your post, then we'll review and publish it as soon as we can. Note that we only publish submissions we feel are appropriate to our community. Thanks!

Guilty pleasure Web sites

A friend quietly confessed the other day that she visits the Us Magazine Web site daily. Like that's something to be embarrassed of? One of the highlights of my day is realizing that I've yet to check People.com. I get to slouch down in my desk chair and spend a whole three minutes mindlessly ogling celebrities and catching up on mostly untrue gossip. (Half of these celebrities I don't even know -- are they all reality show stars? Just who is this Heidi Montag anyways? Actually, I don't even care.) Usually from there I head over to the Go Fug Yourself blog where I spend considerably more time because the writers are so freakin' hilarious. There is nothing like laughing out loud at insane celebrity outfits to make you feel better about your comparatively bland existence. (Though Bai Ling scares me a little.)

So what are some of your favorite sites that you visit for pure entertainment? You know, when you need a mental escape from mom-dom, where do you head? Shopping, beauty, gossip, or, ahem, a little naughty-naughty perhaps? (Not that anyone would admit that.) But what are some of the sites or blogs you WILL admit to?

Opting out of Google phone number, address and personal info listing

OK. I have to file this under "potentially creepy uses of the Internet." Thanks Jenifer for sending me this info:

"Well, don't get alarmed, but this creeped me out so I thought I would share. Especially for those of us that live in Portland where Google maps has completed its roadside views of about 80% of our private roads. My poor friend Kristin had her front door wide open when they did her street, so it looks EXTRA inviting. great. Might want to block your number."

Here's the deal. If you type your phone number into a Google search, chances are your name, address and even a picture of your house will be the result of the search. Personally, I decided to block it. You can opt out. It takes a few days for it to become "unlisted." If you want to be removed from this "reverse telephone book," click on your phone number and then click on the removal form.

When I first tried this, our phone number came up, with my husband's name (I guess the phone bill comes in his name), our address, and oddly a picture of our next-door neighbor's house. So I guess there are some small flaws in the mapping. In any case, I decided to remove ours since our kindergartner has just been memorizing our home phone number for a school assignment. I'm not comfortable with the idea that some stranger could overhear her or out-and-out ask her (despite our efforts to educate about stranger-danger).

Resource for seeking out non-toxic toys

If there's any bright side to all the toy recalls of 2007, I'd say it is a growing awareness of the high costs on safety (of both workers and kids) to cheap toys. It seemed as if there was a lot of media coverage during the holiday shopping season that suggested many Americans were making more careful choices about the toys they buy for their kids. Quality over quantity, if you will.

So here is a resource for you if you want to know more about the safety of toys: HealthyToys.org. This website, developed by the same people behind Healthycar.org, lists chemical test results for over 1,200 toys. You can search by name, brand or type of toy to find out if any of your children's toys were tested. You can also learn why these findings are important, and what you can do about toxic chemicals in children's products.

Let's hope that toy manufacturers pay attention to consumer demand for healthier toys -- so use the HealthyToys website to search before you shop, and tell manufacturers how you feel.

Several nights before Christmas...

Over on EnviroMom, I struggled with trying to reduce the impact of sending a traditional holiday greeting card, so our family ended up by making an iMovie that we broadcast over YouTube to family and friends both far and near. We had a few requests on EnviroMom to make it public, so I thought I'd link to it here as well (given how many of our readers enjoyed the Bedtime song to end all bedtime songs a while back...)

Prepare to laugh or else be very disturbed by our family's rendition of that holiday classic: The Night before Christmas.

Happy holidays to you and yours! Thanks for being a part of the ReadySetMom community!!

Hooray for Holly Hobbie

Remember Holly Hobbie? Big blue bonnet? Innocent country charm?

Well, she's back and modern and still cute as ever. I know this because my 4-year-old is crazy for the Holly Hobbie website. Loves the games, the songs, the stories.

The new Holly Hobbie is supposedly the great-granddaughter of the original late '60s version, the one I remember. I had a little white pillow with Holly on it. A friend recently told me she had Holly Hobbie kneesocks. There were Holly Hobbie greeting cards, clothes and figurines.

Today's Holly pals around with her two best friends, Carrie and Amy, plays with her dog Doodles and makes muffins with her Aunt Jessie. She's still in blue, but instead of a blue bonnet she wears a hip blue denim cap with her wavy hair down. Instead of calico dresses she wears cute tops with hearts sewn on and jeans. She goes on fun adventures and often has a lesson to impart.

Call me old-fashioned (my husband does, daily) but in this age of Hannah Montana, Cheetah Girls and Bratz dolls, I'm loving the idea of a 10-year-old who sings "Think of Something Nice" when she's scared, dresses like we would want a grade-schooler to dress and belongs to the Hey Girls Club. Of course, there is the merchandise - DVDs, books and stuffed animals. But my daughter seems content for now to make virtual Holly snow globes to email to her friends. (Check it out, you can even shake them up.)

Don't you agree a little Holly Hobbie is a good thing in our grow-up-too-fast world?