A Girl In Boy's Clothes

She's adorable, right? Granted I'm biased, but seriously... Look at that face. I'll say it again: LOOK AT THAT FACE. Does it look like a boy's face to you? Because whether I dress her in pink or blue people always refer to her as a boy... every where we go. It could be her bald head.

Whatever it is, I don't really care. Everyone calls B a girl due to his curly blond locks and tiny little features. It hasn't made me cut his hair and it won't make me stop dressing her in cute blue outfits. I have them, might as well use them, right?

BubbleBum Inflatable Seats Give Away

We're in preschool now. We have friends and play dates and lots of offers to pick up each other's kids. That's what moms do: we pick up each other's kids. We throw them in the back and act like it's no big deal. We pile them in and unload them when we get home. But our kids are still in car seats and boosters, so it can be complicated.

W is just about to transition from his car seat to a booster. We're still keeping him strapped into his Britax for now, but pretty soon he'll be in a booster. This is the age when car seats get weird. They're bulky and expensive and you always seem to need an extra one. It's hard being the mom who doesn't have the extra booster. W can fit into his Britax, but a lot of his friends are bigger than him and cannot.

A while ago I was given the opportunity to try out a BubbleBum. They launched this cool new product at the beginning of 2013 and did a roll out at Target. Cool, huh? I was originally supposed to be part of the launch, but W didn't weigh enough to test the seat and you can see by my lack of posting that the blog has fallen way down on my list. But, this is a call product and I'm true to my word. I only do give aways that I think my readers will like and/or find useful and this one fits the bill.

So, I'm finally giving one away to a lucky reader! I have readers still, right? I kid... I know there are two of you left!

Let me tell you about the BubbleBum... It's the first inflatable booster seat designed to make travel and car pooling safe. It deflates small enough to be kept in a large purse or back pack. It's pretty genius. W doesn't weigh enough to get in one of these yet, but I'm excited to try it out when he does. It already has its spot in our car and when I practiced using it, I found it to be really easy.

Holy crap, is this my future or what?!? Except without the red hair. And perfectly smiling kids.

If you don't have time to run out to your local Target to grab one, you're in luck! Enter to win one here...

Here's how to enter:

1. Comment on this post and share your favorite trick to make carpooling easy. Be sure to include an email address if it doesn't connect back to your blog. (You must comment to be entered!)

2. Follow Hannemaniacs. (Look on the right side bar to follow.) Click on the "Join this Site" button.

3. Like the Hannemaniacs Facebook page.

4. Follow Hannemaniacs on Twitter.

5. Mention this giveaway to your network on Facebook and/or Twitter (one entry for each) by pasting this in your status: Enter to win a BubbleBum inflatable booster at www.hannemaniacs.com. 

6. Like the BubbleBum Facebook page.

7. Follow BubbleBum on Twitter.

Please let me know which of the above actions you have done to be counted. That's a lot of entry opportunities!

Contest ends at 5 pm Friday, April 12th. Enter now!

THE WINNER (chosen on Random.org): Vanessa.

If you did not win, you can purchase your BubbleBum at Target. Find your store with this locator or visit one of these Chicagoland Target locations: Alton, Normal, Rockford, Glendale Heights, Naperville, Gurnee, Moline, Peru, Tinley Park, Broadview, and Bourbonnais.

Disclosure: I received one complimentary BubbleBum and one to give away to a reader. All opinions are my own.

Watching For Dyslexia

Matt is dyslexic. It's a big part of who he is, yet isn't something that most people know. Why? Because his parents hired specialists, tutors, and did everything they could to give him every opportunity to succeed, to ensure he didn't get lost along the way. So, I don't really think of it very often. But, I know it's always on Matt's mind, especially now with three little kids.

It started with W. Matt would admit he was worried about passing on his dyslexia. The common belief that boys are more likely to be dyslexic than girls (though this is not actually true) was his first concern. And then when W started showing that he was right-handed, Matt sighed with relief that his chances of not being dyslexic were that much better (lefties are more likely to be dyslexic than righties). And then B was born... And it started again. Now with A, the wheels are turning again...

Neither of us know what's buried deep in our kids' genes, but the concern is always there that they could inherit some of our traits that we hope were strained out along the way. Yeah, they might be dyslexic, but it could be worse. And, let's face it, special education has come a long way. But to Matt dyslexia will always be the memory of him as a little boy sitting in class, frustrated about being forced to read out loud or recite a multiplication table. For him growing up as a student with dyslexia in a rural school meant being kept inside at recess time with a girl with a lisp and a speech therapist. The school had to offer him services and that was their version. And it's the voice of that little boy inside of him that freaks him out that our kids might feel what he felt for even a second.

I'm no expert on education or teaching, but we all know that schools don't teach in a way that benefits children who aren't mainstream learners. Memorization is one of those things that didn't come easily to Matt. He had a third grade teacher who told him that if he didn't memorize the months in order he would never get out of the third grade. Guess what? He still struggles with reciting the months in order. And he graduated from high school, earned his Bachelor's, then went to film school for grad school and graduated from there as well. Today he works in a job that revolves around television schedules every day.

So, even if our kids struggle, I'm assured they'll have a terrific role model in their dad. They're lucky kids already

This post was inspired by Raising Cubby: A Father and Son’s Adventures with Asperger’s, Trains, Tractors, and High Explosives by John Elder Robison. Parenting is a challenging job, but what challenges does a parent with Asperger's face? Join From Left to Write on March 12 as we discuss Raising Cubby. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.

Swimming Lessons: Should Progress Be More of a Concern?

W has been in swimming lessons since June 2012. We go once a week. Same pool, same lane, same teacher, same routine... Same level. We take him to a swim school. It isn't cheap, but my goal was for him was to be comfortable with water by the summer of 2013 and I was confident that would happen at this place. He didn't need to learn to swim in a year, just develop a comfort level in the water.

He doesn't love swimming lessons. He likes it, but it's often a struggle to get him out the door and there is a lot of whiny questioning of how long he has to take swimming lessons. My answer to him is always the same: "Forever. You will be in swimming lessons until you are a good swimmer, which will seem like forever." 

There are six things he has to master before moving on to the next level and he's done four of those things. While there has been plenty of improvement, he still won't let go of the instructor to try to float on his back for five seconds. Until he does that he'll stay at the level he's at.

His instructor looks at me each week and assures me W is doing better. I tell him that I know, but I can tell he expects me to be more frustrated. I'm a competitive person by nature. But this is one situation when I'm going to focus on the improvements that I see in him every week, rather than what the school uses to determine his progress. Is it wrong that I'm not?