Month: April 2013

Becoming Mothers: Having Kids Is Being Thankful for the Unexpected

More often than not, you don’t know why something is happening until later. You can argue, fuss, beg, and plead, but sometimes things just work out like they are supposed to. In my family we often thank God for this. Two weeks before my due date my doctor decided we were going to induce. We didn’t expect, however, that my grandfather would be leaving us. We pushed back the induce date, rather than that Sunday; I would wait and go in on Wednesday after the funeral. My son, however, was the little stinker then that he is today.

Mom Memories: “The Feeling” of Motherhood

Some days it still doesn’t seem real because some days, it seems too good to be true. Me. A mom. My husband and I always knew we wanted to have kids. Even before we were married we would talk about our imaginary family and we even had names picked out for our imaginary kids. Staying up late at night, heads on our pillows, staring at one another just dreaming, laughing, hoping. We were married for 4 years before we felt ready to turn those dreams into a reality. It took us a little over a year before becoming pregnant. That was a very long year. That “time of the month” became a horrible reminder we weren’t having a baby and every month it was harder and harder. Until one day…

Mom Memories: The Santa Reveal & End of an Imaginary Era

Mother’s Day is almost upon us and for the next couple of weeks, Mile High Mamas will be dedicated to all-things moms–from your favorite Mom Memories to some of your great stories about Becoming Mothers from last year. I’ve always believed it’s important to instill magic in my kids’ childhood and my husband and I have played along with the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Santa et al. We’ve been careful to never put too much credence into them but my kids’ overactive imaginations have taken care of that. For Christmas, we’ve kept the Santa presents to a minimum and he only brings them a couple of their requested gifts and stuffs their stockings. Mostly because I want the credit to go to me, not some plump dude sporting fur. Months ago, my 8-year-ol...

Events: Cinco de Mayo Festival, Citywide Baby Shower & More!

Cinco de Mayo Festival. The largest Cinco de Mayo festival in the U.S. fills Civic Center Park May 4-5 with more than 400,000 visitors for food, drink and music. Enjoy mariachi bands and hit international bands from Mexico on three stages, browse through hundreds of exhibitor booths, and fill up on great food and drink, children’s activities, a parade – and the hotly contested green chili cook off! cincodemayodenver.com. Also, head down to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Blue Bonnet, to celebrate Cinco De Mayo. There will be free face painting, mariachi, food samples, and churro bar for children. bluebonnetrestaurant.com World Premiere: Kenji Williams Presents Bella Gaia at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. On Friday, May 3, 8 p.m. and Saturday, May 4, 6 p.m. & 8 p.m., award-wi...

Deals: Free days at Botanic Gardens, Colorado Railroad Museum, spa day package & more!

Free days this week Friday: Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, Littleton, botanicgardens.org; Four Mile Historic Park, noon-4 p.m., fourmilepark.org Saturday: Colorado Railroad Museum, coloradorailroadmuseum.org; Denver Art Museum, denverartmuseum.org May the 4th Be With You Douglas County Libraries Celebrates May the 4th Be With You on May 4, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are going fast for this great event celebrating all things Star Wars–just $5! Join us at Douglas County Fairgrounds for crafts, snacks, photo opportunities with Star Wars characters, and special guest Matthew Reinhart (Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy). Purchase Tickets online (sorry the Light Saber Training is sold out). Belly Bliss Belly Bliss’ celebration for Mother’s Day with everything from spec...

Top 5 Tips for the Dirty Dash (20% Off & ENTER to WIN!)

Um, just about the most epic, cool race to roll through the Rockies this summer…and it’s family friendly too!!! This 3.5 mile competition includes walls, pipes, nets, slip ‘n slides – YES, I said slip ‘n slides!!! – and all kinds of other dirty, muddy challenges to help you prove to yourself *and those around you* that age (and the nearing mid-life spare tire) is not going to deter you from being a champion at your sport!

Want to get pregnant? There’s an app for that

Will Sacks couldn’t believe what his wife was claiming: She knew of a form of birth control that was more than 99 percent effective, totally natural, free and with no negative side effects. Sure. Then why, at age 29, had he never heard of it? Why didn’t everyone use it? His cynical questions quickly turned rhetorical — and last spring, they turned into a business. Sacks and his wife Kati Bicknell, of Boulder, Colo., launched a free app called Kindara, designed to help spread the word about the Fertility Awareness Method. The premise is simple: Know your body’s predictable rhythms, and you can prevent unwanted pregnancies — and also help increase your odds of getting pregnant when you’re ready. “I can’t believe I lived 29 years before I knew t...

Summer Movie Guide 2013: Flicks you’ll be lining up for this season

As we head into popcorn movie season, there’s reason for moviegoers to hope this summer. Yes, there will be retreads, reboots and sequels. Sometimes they’ll be inexplicable, that is until you check the predecessor’s global box-office numbers. (“Smurfs 2?!”) But many promise deeper theater pleasures, because the talent behind them is nimble. J.J. Abrams leads the pack in that regard but the director of the “Star Trek” sequel is not alone. Director Christopher Nolan, the guy who made Batman relevant, helps rethink Superman. There’s even Guillermo Del Toro, wise to the more tender lures of the popular, at the helm of “Pacific Rim.” Who says you can’t find kernels of truth in that big ol’ tub of popcorn? CLICK TO READ ON

A family garden plan that will get, keep kids enchanted

Carving out time for a family vegetable garden is challenging when little ones are around. Between cooing over worms and keeping mud pies from being eaten, you’re likely to spend more time running after the kids than gathering salad. But we’ve come up with a plan to keep the tykes happy while you putter around the garden, so while they’re discovering nature, you’re harvesting dinner. First things first: Make a special place for tots to play underneath a bamboo-trellis tepee of pole beans and Jack Be Little pumpkins. This tall structure should be placed in the north corner of the garden, where it won’t keep the sun from reaching lower plants. Space the tepee’s poles wide enough for an entryway underneath, then plant a circle of climbing pole beans and tin...

LiveWell Challenges Colorado to Be Healthy for Just Four Days!

I’m sure you’ve heard all the euphemisms – “don’t bite off more than you can chew,” “start little,” “baby steps”…There has to be some sort of truth in that idea that if you want to get something done the best way to do it is to start with an achievable (small) goal. That is exactly the tactic that LiveWell Colorado kept in mind when they prepared seven challenges that are just four days each.  They all seem really simple and easy to accomplish (which means a big WIN in my head – I CAN do it!) LiveWell Colorado’s Rally Man (aka Super-trainer Jamie Atlas) helped to brainchild the seven challenges. The seven challenges include: Refresher (drinking water); Healthy Start (eating breakfast); Color Your Plate (add a fru...

The New J-O-B: Defined by Innovative Denver Moms

There is something about your youngest heading off to kindergarten. It makes you feel as if you will suddenly have time on your hands. It fills your head with ideas about working out again, reading again, taking up a hobby, and of course, going back to work. We too once wore lipstick and shoes with heels that click-clicked down long marble hallways. We used to close our office door when we needed to think. We had lunch meetings. We strategized and launched businesses, wrote white papers and crunched numbers for annual reports. We hired and fired people who did our bidding. Despite the high heels, we climbed corporate ladders… some to glass ceilings, which we sometimes broke. We put in hours and hours at the office, with our next promotion always top of mind. Then we took time off while our...

Mom Memories: Soothing a Daughter’s Pain

I pulled her 47 pounds onto my lap and rocked. Beatrix had strep throat with a fever and terrible headache. Because she couldn’t keep medicine, food, or water down, the doctor felt she needed an antibiotic injection. Unfortunately, it needed to be given in a large muscle. She was cheery, despite, until the moment the silly-long needle was plunged into her hip. She screamed, then wept. “It really, really hurt!” I told her how brave she was and that it was over. She’d feel better soon now because the medicine was already working. And then I shut up and held her. She was heavy. When was the last time I pulled her up into my overstuffed chair of a body? I sit by her on the couch. I hug her and cup her face near mine. She is my baby girl. But I haven’t cradled her ...

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