Wednesday Links: Veggie Love, God Questions, Me Time and the Old Work-Life Balance with a Cool Band Alert to Boot

11/2/10 - By heather

In the effort of full disclosure, we have more computers in our apartment than we have living beings. That count includes Bubbles, our fish. Like most moms and dads these days, we get the latest news online (the TV is usually turned to a reality show or Team Umizoomi). Checking the headlines often turns to surfing the latest sales at jcrew.com or, more than likely, reading parenting sites and parenting blogs. I’ve gathered a few gems for you. Halloween may be over, people, but feel free to bust out those leftover candies while perusing these goodies from around the web.

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Getting Kids to Eat Love Veggies: My mom tells me her greatest mothering worries came at mealtime — not teaching us to drive or watching us go off on our first dates. Apparently, she’s not alone. Case in point: the bountiful array of hints for parents on how to get kids to eat better. Dina Rose teaches us how to make kids want to eat more veggies using, in our own homes, research for redesigning school cafeterias; a new view of the evils (or lack thereof) of candy is explored by NYTimes writer Julia Moskin; and Larissa Kosmos gives an Everymom rundown of some fantastic mind games to play that get your kids to eat artichokes.

Talking to Kids About God: Maybe it’s residual withdrawal issues from the “Lost” finale or because the holidays are around the corner, but there’s been a lot of discussion about The Big Guy. Not Santa, not Hanukkah Harry, but God. Kicked off by Bruce Feiler in the NYTimes here,  a load of bloggers and parents chimed in on their own questions on what to say to our kids about God, what happens when we die, and the actual locale of Heaven. I found thought-provoking riffs on this subject at Babble.com, as well as from Lisa Belkin at Motherlode, who offered KJ Dell’Antonia a forum to discuss her perspective on the topic.  

Me Time: So glad I stumbled across this little tidbit at Parenting.com. It was a nudge, a push, a loud megaphone next to my ear reminding me to take time for myself and offering good tips as how to do just that. My ideal day off: I'm solo, going to the 10:40 a.m. showing of a rom-com (preferably starring Kate Hudson or Josh Duhamel), large popcorn and Twizzlers in hand with a Diet Coke chaser. Can't even remember what you like to do for yourself? Trying taking this simple and fun advice from the Rookie Moms.

Marriage by Email? Loved this one from Paula Szuchman at the Juggle over at wsj.com. Did it strike a chord in my life? Yes. Have I sent 21 emails to my spouse in one day? Are you kidding? 21 is for wimps. Think 34. My question: do texts count? 

Work Life Balance? Lisa Belkin (um, yeah, okay, I like her…a lot) kicked off a new discussion on an old topic: WOHMs and the work-life balance. She offers an interesting view as to why women still aren’t earning as much as men and are doing more housework and child care than their spouses. In these modern times -- hard times for many -- how do we redefine our roles?

Super(hero) Kid Band: Move over Laurie (Berkner) and Elizabeth (Mitchell), there’s a new band in town and they are outta this world. Already a fan, I loved the low-down on Tim and the Space Cadets  from TONY Kids. Yes, their debut album is on my iPod…and yes, Mama has a new crush. Check out their first video, "Super Hero":