Naptime Blog

I had the pleasure of chatting with Joan Lunden, as recently launched Joan Lunden Home on QVC on May 12.  Joan shared with me insight on motherhood, being a successful career woman, and so much more.

Mom of Seven
Joan Lunden has seven children, three older daughters and two younger sets of twins.  As we both have multiple children who are close in age (her two sets of twins are only two years apart), Joan and I discussed how the children interact with each other.  She shared how her four little ones are each other’s friends and how it is like a daily play date in her house! 

Joan reminded me (and all moms!) not to be so hard on myself as a mom.  She said as moms, we can’t be everything everywhere.  Her three older daughters now say that their mother is their inspiration, and that they value how she has made a successful career and always managed to be at the important events in their lives.  One of her daughters actually works for her and helped design her new linen line!

Joan says that the topic she often discusses with women is focused around the question: “Now that we have it all, how do we do it all?” She says that women and mothers of today need to be creative and utilize all their skills, and they have to constantly reinvent themselves.  She stressed how it is never too late in life for a new venture; the key is to actually go out and do it!  And that is what Joan is doing with Joan Lunden Home.

Joan Lunden Home
Joan wanted to offer a line of home goods and linens which was affordable yet pretty like designer lines.  Just because we live in a time where ‘many American families are on a tight budget shouldn’t mean that our homes can’t be pretty! How can you get a fresh look without spending a ton of money? The best way is to change your linens or your bath towels or your tabletop.’  Joan wanted to be able to offer a line full of ‘no-brainers’ including: easy care products, machine washable products, linens that won’t bunch up in one place, oversized sheets to fit today’s mattresses, the ability to mix and match in different rooms with interchangeable patterns to suit the mood!  And this is exactly what Joan Lunden Home offers.  Because she’s made her living in television, she finds it fitting to launch the line on television.  QVC will offer Joan Lunden Home, and the bedding sets will be available in retail stores later this summer. 

Joan’s life is an amazing story.  Having been the longest running host in the history of morning television, Joan has covered so many worldwide events in 26 countries.  She has covered five U.S. presidents and five Olympics, as well as countless historical moments.  While she has spoken and written about many of these moments, there have been many private moments that she was unable to take a camera crew to.  For instance, during her interview with the Bushes in The White House, Mrs. Bush invited her into their private living quarters.  While of course she was not able to film in their bedroom, she recognizes that visits such as this is what her fans would have loved to be a part of.  Being in morning television for so long, she was in the homes of millions of Americans every morning, and the relationship with her fans has become such a “familial” one, that she wanted to be able to share more of the private moments from her fascinating life in return.  As each of Joan’s bedding lines tells a story, Joan has been able to share those moments that she was not able to capture on television.

The bright blues and yellows in the Stockholm Collection is reminiscent of Joan’s trip to Sweden and her interview with King Gustaf.  The Kenya Collection is reminiscent of Joan’s travels through Africa. 

What’s Next for Joan Lunden Home?
Joan Lunden Home will be introducing a towel line and throws, more pillows, and then adding tabletop linens.  The throws will be extremely soft and comfortable like baby blankets for adults.  The different printed pillows will be suitable to stand alone or for mixing and matching, and will be great for the bedroom, the living room or the family room. 

What’s Next for Joan Lunden?
Joan’s husband, Jeff Konigsberg, owns and operates summer camps for children.  Joan has spent a number of summers at a camp in Maine.  The rejuvenation she experienced from these summers inspired her to create a weekend getaway for women to take their own “time out” from their hectic lives for themselves.   This year, Joan Lunden’s Camp Reveille will take place Thursday, August 19 – Sunday, August 22.  We will certainly be re-connecting with Joan after the launch of Joan Lunden Home to discuss this amazing women’s retreat more in depth, as every mom can certainly use a weekend for herself!

Jennifer Nevadomski
Paul’s Wife
Mom to: Juliana, 8 – Louis and Anthony, 22 months – Joseph, 8 months
www.nevaland.com

Do you ever wish you knew how to do something that someone else knows how to do? I have always wanted to learn how to sew and how to crochet. I missed my window of opportunity to learn to crochet as a young girl. My grandmother crocheted beautiful Afghans, but I didn’t ever learn. What a waste.

I always thought it would be neat for stay at home moms or others on a budget to do a co-op of sorts. Women could teach mini-classes to their friends and vice versa. For example, if one mom knows how to bake a mean chocolate cake, but her newlywed friend burns pancakes, she could get several friends together and have a little baking class. In exchange, maybe her friend can knit beautiful scarves and might give her (and other friends) a little lesson in knitting. I think it would be cool for a group of six or eight friends to pool their talents and teach each other. Wouldn’t that be fun? Not only would it be free, but it would be wonderful to have some “me” time with friends. During the “classes”, everyone could chat about their day and just relax and unwind.

Maybe this is something others already do, but I was just brainstorming ways to learn new things without forking over money to the community college or paying for a babysitter (the kids can have a mini-play date while we learn or put the dads to work).

I know I’d love one of my organized friends to teach me her tricks! I’d be glad to teach my talent of changing two diapers in no time flat.

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/

This should be an interesting summer. Our oldest son is turning 10 soon, and we are looking into local and sleep away camps (OMG). There is a huge gap between my boys in age so I want him to still feel as if there are certain things out there just for him and it’s not all about the baby.

He is pretty athletic “All” around. He likes everything, not just 1 sport but all of them. He has played a little AYSO (soccer), Babe Ruth League (baseball) & our local Parks & Rec basketball league. My husband who is a HUGE basketball fan is insisting on a basketball camp. I really don’t want to sway him in any direction. But WE all know how fathers can be when it comes to their boys and sports…

Well, I will keep researching the safest and affordable camp for our family.

~Shanta

Okay, so sometimes I draw a blank when trying to think of ways to entertain my two little boys.

We go to the park where they swing and slide and pick up leaves and feed the turtles. They run and play and dig in the mulch. They get dirty and sweaty and come home happy, hungry and exhausted. In their world, that is a fun time and a great way to spend an afternoon. If they’re happy, I’m happy. Of course, I love the park as it is full of fun photo ops.

Another activity we are involved in is growing an herb garden on our porch. They love helping me water it and watching the birds and squirrels fly and scamper across the yard. They like riding their tricycles down the sidewalk and having picnics on the porch. They also enjoy swinging on our porch swing.

It’s starting to get warmer though. I wonder what we’ll do when it’s too hot to spend much time outdoors. Of course, we’ll go to the local swimming pool and spend time in our backyard blowup pool. We’ll also drag out the sprinklers.

All in all, though, I think I’m not all that creative with these things and would love some advice. What are your favorite things to do with toddlers when it’s hot outside and they want to do something new all of the time?

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/

I am SO very glad we decided to take Shaughn to Disney On Ice: Worlds of Fantasy. It was a fun experience and by his attitude, I think he enjoyed it. He behaved very well and was watching everything going on.

A little bit into the performance he would clap with everyone and sometimes belt out screams of enjoyment and laughter. There were so many children of all ages there, running around in their different costumes. Almost every little girl was wearing their princess outfits, or Tinkerbell costumes and they all looked so beautiful! Shaughn had his Mickey Mouse shirt, and a Finding Nemo jacket which he didn’t get to wear because surprisingly it was not cold in the arena. I figured with the ice, it would be.

Also, we went there for a hockey game and it was rather cool in there and needed a light sweater, but we didn’t need it this time. With the tickets, Ticketmaster gave a voucher for a free Disney On Ice disposable camera which we used for some candid shots. Using a disposable camera was very awkward since I am so used to digital cameras. After I would take a self portrait of the 3 of us to get in a photo together, I would turn the camera around to try and review the finished photo…only to realize there is no screen back there and I would have to wait for the pictures to develop!

In the 1st Disney On Ice blog, I mentioned the seats would probably not be so great but they were, in fact, very AWESOME seats. We were close and could see everything. I got some great pictures of the characters, and we were very pleased with our first Disney experience as a family.

If they are coming to your town, I highly recommend you pack up your kids and check it out! Just remember to eat dinner before you go, otherwise you may have to pay $10 for a chicken fingers basket! Check out the website, and hopefully they will be coming to a city near you! (http://disney.go.com/disneyonice/#/search/?country=United%20States)

-Krystle

If you ever visit my home you will see all the semi-pro art hangings on the walls. That semi-pro photographer is me!!! I love pictures/photography of faces, portraits and I REALLY love black & white photography. I have donated an entire hallway in my house to it. Even though this can be a very pricey hobby, I recently decided to pursue it more seriously. I researched feverously the best digital SLR camera. Boy did that give me a headache.

In my findings it appeared that Nikon ® and Canon ® took the lead in most of the reviews that I found. They are both awesome cameras with tons of awesome features. I decided to go with the Canon ® model. Now all I need is for my family to agree to be my muse so I can get some practice. My husband already refers to me affectionately as the “Mommy Paparazzi”

I have been looking for an outlet outside of work and being a wife & mom. I am so excited to explore a more creative side to see where it leads. I am taking a few photography workshops soon and hope to see the hobby grow into something more.

Wish me luck!

~Shanta

“I got my kid this great toy but she is playing with the box it came in instead of the toy!”  That’s something we hear quite regularly.  When I go out with my children and need to keep them occupied, I often resort to giving them what I find in my purse or whatever is around me to make them happy:  Keys, a box of Tic Tacs, my cell phone, a piece of paper, a paper cup with a straw…  and my kids can stay occupied for hours.  One of my sons absolutely loves brooms and vacuums and loves to push the switch on and off to hear the vacuum run.  It is amazing how the simple things can make little children so fascinated!  But why?

I was offered a pair of tickets to see STOMP on Broadway recently.  My husband had seen the show in Las Vegas years ago and enjoyed it, but I had never seen it.  I agreed to see the show and write about it.  I wasn’t sure that I would enjoy it, but as a mom with four little ones, I am always up for date night!

STOMP opens with a skit with brooms.  I immediately thought of my son Anthony, who would have loved to see the eight actors sweeping and dancing and making music with the bristles and handles of brooms!  I am not a fan of sweeping, especially since I do it so often (our house is full of crumbs after my children eat!), but I must say that brooms do have a ‘fun side’ to them!  I have made the decision that from now on, I am going to sweep my floors with a pep in my step and a beat for making music!

The remainder of the show was filled with the actors taking simple items and making music out of them.  I forgot how much fun clapping in sync and in a pattern was!  Memories of games I used to play with my friends in grammar school…  such as repeating the rhythm of the clap.  My one and a half year old twins’ favorite song is “If You’re Happy and You Know It”.  CLAP! CLAP!  Clapping hands, stomping feet…  can actually be quite fun!  Crumpling and snapping newspaper, shaking a Tic Tac box, pulling a straw in and out of a cup, rubbing a comb across a coffee can, making anything a drum or a cymbal, blowing up a paper or plastic bag and listening to the different sounds each can make.  And while watching the show I was brought back to when I was a child and how simple things fascinated me.  I am always doing “Mommy” things…  cooking, cleaning, laundry, working, trying to keep things to a dull roar in my always noisy house…  trying to keep things neat and clean, and getting frustrated when I remember that the reality is that kids will be kids and my home will never stay clean for too long.  There is always something serious to handle, always something boring to tackle.  I so often forget that the simple things in life, the things that fascinate my kids, are the things that are so easy to give them!  Yes, although my children love all their toys and games, they are just as happy (maybe happier!) with making “music” with everyday items.

We saw STOMP on a Sunday.  Mondays are always days I spend plenty of hours on the phone and answering emails for work, doing laundry from the weekend and getting things in order for the rest of the week.  That Monday, I decided to take out some pots, pans and serving spoons and let my sons go to town.  I think I enjoyed making music with the kitchen items more than they did!  And after lunch, I took the kids outside, blew some bubbles and sang “If You’re Happy and You Know It” in the yard.  Work and laundry will still be there tomorrow.  My four children will be older tomorrow.  I am going to Stomp along with them while they still think it is fascinating!

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (7), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (4 months)www.nevaland.com

Is it wrong to take a child of my son’s age to see Disney on Ice?

Ok “wrong” was not the word I was really looking for but some people have told me that its best for us to wait since he is so young, 18 months, and that he wouldn’t really remember it. Well, I look at it as he’s not going to remember anything we do during this age but it doesn’t stop us from doing things. He just received from his “aunt” (my mom’s best friend) this neat buggy ride that you push around the neighborhood while he sits in it and maneuvers the steering wheel. He LOVES it and sits in it even indoors, so we take him out and walk around with him. He’s not going to remember that but if he enjoys it for the present time being, why not, right?

The tickets were only $15 and I’m sure we didn’t get excellent seats but I figured it would be a nice family outing. If its something he, for some reason, does not enjoy, which is highly unlike him, then who’s going to hear him pitch a fit? It will be loud and full of other toddlers and children, so it will drown him out haha. Well we are going tonight and I’ll let you know how it goes!

Have any of you been to an Ice show like this one? I went when I was 6 and enjoyed it, but have not seen what they have done since!

-Krystle

Well Feb 28, 2010 celebrated two years married to my wonderful husband! The night before, we went down to Dave & Busters to dine and game which was really fun. Of course the picture booth they had there was broken so we could not get one of those silly pictures done but besides that we had a good time. My mom took Shaughn for the night and on Sunday Brent and I just relaxed for a little bit until Shaughn came home. Doesn’t sound like a super fancy anniversary, but it was still wonderful and gave us time to ourselves. Before we had actually married, we would of course talk about it and think of what it would be like.

While in Missouri, during the last 10 months of his 6 year enlistment with the Air Force we had talked about having kids one day. His preference was to be a father before the age of 30, and while in the military our health care would be completely covered. We decided to give it a try and 4 weeks later, a pregnancy test was positive! (Ok, I used 6 different pregnancy tests lol) The marriage process was definitely sped up because of it but would have happened soon anyway! Nine months later, our beautiful boy blessed our lives and it has certainly been an adventure. Every day is a gift that we appreciate and here’s to many more anniversaries to come! What are things that you like to do to celebrate your anniversary with your loved one?

-Krystle

Oh, GOODNESS. At the South Florida Fair, they had a “Beautiful Baby” pageant that my friend told me about. She has a daughter a little bit younger than Shaughn and suggested we go up there and give it a try. What an experience! We got there at 10am, all registered and ready to go. I think we actually walked up on the stage for our age category at like 11:30am. Now sitting in the heat, with at least 100 kids walking around, screaming, becoming restless, it starts to take it’s toll on my friend’s daughter and my son. Let the meltdowns begin. Shaughn & Ava definitely were not like the other kids who were in full out combatant mode, but they weren’t so pleasant either. We think since we are in the last group of 8 contestants to go, that perhaps we will have the lasting impression with the judges. Right, not so much. We go up there and it’s chaos. Other parents are letting their toddlers walk all in front of us, then instead of grabbing their kid and perhaps going to their place, the parents just stop right in front of us completely blocking us and our kids who are standing in the correct position. Needless to say, I don’t think the judges even saw our children. I’m not just saying this because I’m favoring them…. but we have some pretty good looking children! Anyhow, here’s to a future of pageant mom-ing. NOT.

-Krystle