tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333142012009-11-08T19:59:27.220-05:00For those of us who didn’t get an instruction manual with our babies and for whom parenting hasn’t always gone as planned. On a more serious note this blog is about supporting a woman's ability to make her own choices about parenting including the choice, for whatever reason, not to breastfeed.Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.comBlogger790125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-75912719541229079512009-11-08T19:01:00.006-05:002009-11-08T19:59:27.228-05:00

I know I've written before about how impressed I am with my neti pot. I bought one last spring after it became the focus for more than 30 minutes of a book club meeting that I was hosting. I can't remember why we were discussing them but then again quite frankly I can't remember what book we were discussing either. I had heard of them before, but I had never seen one. The book club members

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-26347706725125751822009-11-07T19:28:00.004-05:002009-11-07T20:02:35.426-05:00

A while ago we converted our guest room into a playroom for the boys. However, we didn't have a place to put their games so most of them sat piled on the floor. We had been meaning to get a low bookcase for them, but we hadn't gotten around to it. Lo and behold today we actually had a day without any commitments! We decided to go to IKEA and take a look at their selection. As we approached, I

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-78743026100657787442009-11-06T19:34:00.002-05:002009-11-06T20:22:29.761-05:00

Right before Halloween my older son (OS) asked if he could get a Halloween toy. He had some money left over on a Target gift card he received for his birthday. I suggested since it was so close to Halloween that we just wait until the after Halloween when everything would be on clearance. I had already planned on going to buy a Winnie the Pooh Halloween video that the kids really liked. Since

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-54621976181513330672009-11-05T17:35:00.002-05:002009-11-05T17:39:45.375-05:00

Just call me Tired Elliot. Daylights Savings+a visit from the Tooth Fairy= too little boys who are beyond tired. My younger son (YS) was up every couple hours last night for unknown reasons. When I got up this morning he was sitting in the chair in his room happily reading a book. Now that the Big Giraffe is home, I think I may just go to bed before the kiddos. Tired Elliot's Lesson Lear...

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-59102138271985364572009-11-04T19:17:00.004-05:002009-11-04T21:06:15.805-05:00

What is a blog if not a way to update family and friends about what's going on with you? In that vane, here is an update about the boys' parent teacher conferences. It's sure to be thrilling if you don't actually know us. Right up there with the new Dan Brown novel. Can you catch the sarcasm?We started out with our older son's (OS) conference and then went to our younger son's (YS) conference

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-76410182168249576842009-11-03T18:12:00.004-05:002009-11-03T19:01:38.330-05:00

Like my initial interest in doing a triathlon, it started as a joke. My training buddy mentioned that she and her neighbor were thinking about doing the New York City triathlon. I asked the obvious question: Where is the swim? When she responded it was in the Hudson River I laughed. However the more she talked about it, the more interesting it sounded. In fact when I got home I looked it up.

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-26110902812023582702009-11-02T17:31:00.002-05:002009-11-02T21:21:51.985-05:00

We just picked a few neighbors' houses for trick or treating. One of them is about 4 houses down. Close, but not that close. You can imagine my surprise when she told me she overhead me the other day. Really? Yes, she did. She heard me yelling at my kids. Rats! She looked at me expectantly like I should know exactly what she was talking about which is good news for me because it means she

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-83028395838509806762009-11-01T16:48:00.004-05:002009-11-01T17:37:22.805-05:00

Costumes, sugar high, glow sticks. What's there not to like about Halloween if you're a kid? Needless to say my kids had a terrific time. Unlike previous years, though we actually went trick or treating outside. Much like the Dodo bird, sidewalks appear to be extinct in the fine Commonwealth of MA. Alright, there are some. Perhaps they are rather rare like the panda bear. While neither

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-84878454280189220502009-10-31T08:42:00.003-05:002009-10-31T08:54:40.556-05:00

Yes I know my blogging has been sporadic at best not to mention my blog reading. For the past few months I haven't had a computer. Alright technically I've had one, but it hasn't been working. The Big Giraffe does have a netbook which I can use during the day however, I'm more of an evening computer user. I have a hard time sitting down for more than a few minutes on the computer during the

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-41246081246651176092009-10-27T12:14:00.003-05:002009-10-27T12:29:15.825-05:00

I have definitely stumbled into a new stage of life: life with kids in school. I really like it. However, there have been some suprising transitions with it. Of course like other areas of parenting, these are areas that no one really seems to talk about. Last week I dropped my younger son (YS) off at preschool. Then I went to go get dog food. As I pulled into the parking I chatted away with

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-53833805787348357652009-10-22T08:19:00.004-05:002009-10-22T08:38:09.762-05:00

Older Son (OS): YS, you're wearing a shirt with buttons!Younger Son (YS): No I'm not! (looks confused)OS: Yes, you are! You just can't see them because they're invisible.YS: (screams and takes off shirt)Me: YS you need to walk down the stairs by yourself in the morning. You're getting too big for me to carry.YS: I not big, Mommy. I still little. I too little to play soccer.(We've been telling him

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-82117097267904816252009-10-16T11:53:00.002-05:002009-10-16T12:02:21.624-05:00

Last night was my older son's (OS) kindergarten curriculum night. At last we were going to find out what he does all day! Apparently he most have taken an oath to never reveal the daily happenings of his classroom because it's rare for him to divulge anything about his day. The Big Giraffe and I went into his classroom and met his teachers. We saw all the artwork that the kids had done. We saw

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-52734465007671258152009-10-14T10:41:00.002-05:002009-10-14T11:15:09.557-05:00

Last week I received a phone call from Suzanne. I swear it sounded like she was calling me from a toilet stall in a public bathroom. After asking her to repeat what she had just said, I realized that she was in fact calling me from Barnes and Nobles. She had picked up a copy of Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? The Essential Guide to Loving Your Body Before and After Baby by Claire Mysko

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-68624380411834027622009-09-25T15:13:00.003-05:002009-09-25T15:30:29.901-05:00

I knew this day was coming. I just thought that he would be about 16. Not 3. How could my little 3 year old outsmart me? After being surprised by my 3 year old a couple times this summer when out in public, I instituted the underwear laws in our household. Underwear has to be worn with shorts and to camp. When school started, the law was amended: underwear needs to be worn at school. Yes,

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-86616971470799031262009-09-24T08:58:00.004-05:002009-09-24T09:10:41.705-05:00

I know I've basically disappeared from the blogosphere the past couple weeks. Everything is going really well, it's just been incredibly busy here not helped by the fact the Big Giraffe needed to strip my computer since it basically bit the dust. Yes, I know it's busy for all parents, but seriously I didn't expect my life to be this busy. Alright, foolishly I thought that having a child in

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-32715323513952147942009-09-16T10:58:00.003-05:002009-09-16T11:27:15.708-05:00

This past weekend was FIRMMAN, the half Ironman that I relayed. Perhaps I should say the weekend I had my near death experience. I'm kidding. Well sort of anyway. I arrived in Narragansett, RI late on Saturday night. Right away hotel patrons starting talking about how the waves were 12 feet high. What?! Tell me again why I was doing this?The next morning my relay team and I arrived

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-41306442153478772572009-09-11T18:13:00.012-05:002009-09-11T20:22:50.962-05:00

My real life friends have heard this story. Wednesday was a truly terrible day right out of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. Well, the version where he's grown up and is a stay at home parent. Of course yes in the grand scheme of things compared to illness, death and destruction it was a great day! However, this is my blog and I can cry if I want to!

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-31276697064097880202009-09-09T07:08:00.004-05:002009-09-09T07:37:48.661-05:00

A couple days ago Sally HP asked me if I would like to come over and make raspberry jam. After my success with the strawberry jam I had taken the boys raspberry picking, by which I mean that they filled their bellies with raspberries while I ended up filling their containers. In the end they I had picked 3 quarts of raspberries and I paid a dollar extra a container to get two additional quarts

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-67741931405728474322009-09-05T13:00:00.002-05:002009-09-05T14:15:30.709-05:00

This week my older son (OS) started kindergarten. In our town, all the kindergartners attend one big kindergarten only school meaning that all the school buses only have kindergartners on them. I have been surprised this summer to find that parents have such strong reactions to school buses both for and against. As I wrote over at the New England Mamas, it reminds me of the whole formula

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-92190640743346505782009-09-02T20:42:00.004-05:002009-09-03T06:45:55.975-05:00

Happy 6th birthday, OS! I know it was a big day for you. It was your first day of kindergarten as well as your birthday not to mention your first bus ride and first experience with a school cafeteria. It's also the longest you've been away from me in a day.I was impressed with the way you bounced right out of bed eager to start your day. You opened your presents, played for a while and then

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-27356807368435488632009-08-30T08:31:00.003-05:002009-08-30T18:30:45.465-05:00

Last month I found out about an open water swim race to benefit a local swim team. It looked like a lot of fun so I decided to register. Unfortunately because of the date, I couldn't find anyone to do it with me. I joked that I was going to be the oldest person in the race.The official told me that there were older people there. I don't believe it; I think I had a good twenty years on most of

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-61511775761578996862009-08-28T17:42:00.003-05:002009-08-28T18:06:26.524-05:00

The boys and I were both very excited to spend the day in Boston with Suzanne today! Before heading into the city, we stopped by a coffee house to catch up with my poor triathlon training buddy who has the shingles and Sally HP. Since we were going to be spending about 40 minutes in the car, the boys and I visited the bathroom before we left. I'll confess that I was the one who really needed

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-25390829892496420442009-08-28T06:15:00.002-05:002009-08-28T06:48:27.328-05:00

Sally HP was shocked to learn that not only had I never made jam, but I also had never seen jam been made nor knew anyone who had ever made jam growing up. "What about canning?" she asked.My experience with canning has been eating the occasional can of Jolly Green Giant vegetables growing up. She was so surprised by what I said I had a second of doubt where I wondered if maybe I had misspoken

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-58520610556543886522009-08-26T08:53:00.003-05:002009-08-26T09:17:55.571-05:00

Last Friday our older son (OS) had surgery to remove the ear tube in his left ear. The right one fell out about a year ago. This remaining tube had been in for four years now. Normally tubes are in between 6 months and 2 years before they fall out on their own. After a lot of hoopla, we decided to switch OS's ENT. The short version of it was that the tube had been in for four years. The new

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33314201.post-6837232515464682822009-08-19T19:31:00.003-05:002009-08-19T20:25:57.941-05:00

After my first race involving an ocean swim, I realized that I needed a new wetsuit. That was the bad news since wetsuits are expensive, particularly the full body kind which is what is recommended for ocean swims. The good news is that my experience swimming through many "warm spots" in the water made me more open to the idea of buying a slightly used wetsuit. After all, I used to believe

Alex Elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567976812466320977alexelliot@flexibleparenting.com4