Jenn Morgan
Send Jenn email at: Morganblog@yahoo.com
- With a toddler, finding the best way to spend your time
- Winter brings beautiful snow, short days and blustery winds. This season can be great for romantic snuggling by the fire, but can be a source of cabin fever for toddlers that are too young for lengthy exposure outdoors. Truth be told, befo…
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- A trio of reasons for this family to be happy
- Never two without three — if my daughter could speak in full sentences, I bet that is what she would say. Following that rule of thumb are many well-known fictional figures: The Three Musketeers, Three Little Pigs, Three Blind Mice, The Th…
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- Making music a part of baby's life
- As individuals we may march to the beat of a different drummer, but one trait we all have in common is the desire to have music in our lives. It is intertwined into our day to day activities and is an important part of our culture. Music h…
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- Realizing that all those gotta-haves gotta go
- Excess - it's all around us. There seem to be so many things that we just can't bear to live without. In recent months, I have begun to take a slightly more minimalist approach to living. I don't live in a hut, and I do buy items that I do…
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- Thoughts on when to try for baby No. 2
- There are some necessary activities that you dislike and therefore put off. Like eating vegetables, they are always the last item on my plate, in hopes they will magically disappear. Or doing laundry - I have waited and waited, but the dir…
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- Perspective was the best gift at this dinner party
- Rich red wine aerates in the decorative decanter that sits atop the appetizer table. Soft lighting creates an intimate atmosphere in the dining room. Smooth jazz plays on the stereo, providing a romantic mood for the night. Dinner, consist…
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- When mom's on strike, dad must cook
- I remember when my mom would go on what we referred to as a "strike". Though she had never travelled to Europe, she sure did employ the same work stoppage tactics to express her grievance about an issue. My mother was selfless and spent th…
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- Making New Year's changes for two
- I don't know about you, but though I hate to bid the Christmas season goodbye, I look forward to the fresh beginnings that each New Year brings. For me, it is a time to focus on bringing positivity back into my life and a chance to once ag…
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- A full day spent looking forward to a Christmas nap
- Christmas has always been a holiday filled with joy and excitement. If nothing else, it has always been a day with a full agenda. With blended families and a child in tow, this year was no different.
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- Gifts that a new mom really appreciates
- The other night, as I rocked my fussy daughter, Isabella, to sleep at 3 a.m., I thought about the gifts that I would like most this year. They are last minute gifts that my daughter could give me without a frantic trip to the mall. More im…
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- Romance changes with the times
- Romance means different things to different people. To some, the proverbial chocolate and roses wins their heart. To others, it may be a date to their favorite restaurant followed by a movie. When you are younger, you often have grandiose …
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- Giving the gift of a good example
- Barbies, Tonka trucks and iPods are all splendid presents that I am sure the youth of today will be looking forward to when they creep down the stairs on Christmas morning. With all the money that we spend on our children, there is a gift …
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- Why can't the holidays be more about carols, less about stress?
- There is a fairly new, young gullible co-worker at my day job who I am trying to convince to go caroling around the office in observance of an annual tradition. An initiation of sorts for newbies. I informed her that she could either selec…
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- A new addition requires a new approach to holiday decorations
- Haul out the holly, string up the lights and set up the tree - it's time to decorate for Christmas. This year however, our usual festive house is going to look, well ... different.
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- Starting a new family tradition for the holiday
- The annual tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center has traditionally been the official event to kick off the holidays in the Big Apple. Grammy and Pappy decided that the Morgan household would take a cue from the world-famous tree lig…
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- Is she being too protective, or just reasonably cautious?
- When you first entered parenthood, did you feel apprehension before almost any action that involved caring for your infant? I will be the first to raise my hand and admit that I was nervous that I would take the wrong action or make a poor…
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- Fighting mess, and terror, to get the perfect holiday picture
- Now that Thanksgiving is officially over until next year, it's time to enjoy the sounds of the season. Today while standing in line waiting to see Santa, I hummed along with the holiday music that streamed through the speakers at the mall …
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- Realizing the reasons to be thankful
- Thanksgiving is historically marked as a time to give thanks for the blessings in our lives. Though there are disagreements of the holiday's origins, all accounts still circle back to the main reason for this special day - being grateful, …
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- Getting caught in a one-way food fight
- What is your favorite night of the week? Mine used to be date night. My husband and I would enjoy dinner and a movie. Perhaps a very cliched outing, however it was still a sweet night out. Now that we are blessed with our little lovely dau…
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- The heavy burden of having a light sleeper
- Bedtime is the worst time of the night time for both parents and children. Whilst pregnant, I recall perusing through many articles about how to put your kids to bed, night time rituals, and the like. I also recall brushing these articles …
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- The simple joy of saying 'Yes'
- Have you ever heard people joke that they tell their dog "no" so often that the puppy probably thinks that's his name? Well, I imagine that can be the same with children.
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- Dreaming of a picture-perfect portrait
- Are you one of those families that organizes a yearly holiday shoot so you can later send your closest friends a joyful family holiday card that looks like it was taken from the pages of a 1950's magazine? You know the picture cards that s…
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- Sometimes, reality does really bite
- Biting is good when you are trying to eat a sandwich. Biting is good when you are at the dentist office and they want to take a mold of your teeth. Biting is bad when you are chomping down on a fellow human being, such as your daycare clas…
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- Keeping all members of the pack, err, family, happy
- Dog is a three letter word notoriously known as man's best friend. It also happens to be my daughter's third word, second favorite member of our family and most-spoken phrase. Being a dog lover myself, I actually couldn't be happier that t…
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- This Halloween was a treat for daughter and mother
- Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. It's not only the love of candy that draws me in, but how fun is it to pretend to be someone - or something else - for just one day. When the color of the leaves start turning vibrant …
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- Stung by a gesture of independence
- I was prepared to write my blog for today on toddlers, portraits and smiling or the lack thereof. I have, however, encountered an emergency situation that I must discuss and save the portraits blog for a different day. The emergency situat…
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- Keeping a tight leash on the glowing babysitter in the corner
- Do you view television as your children's favorite babysitter, the evilest of enemies, or somewhere in between? Personally, I like to minimize the use of the brain-sucking boob tube for both my daughter and myself. There are about three sh…
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- Hoping to grow back into her imagination
- Oh where, oh where has my imagination gone?
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- From fashionista to bag lady
- What's in your wallet? Had you asked me that a few years ago, I would have told you my license, credit card, and perhaps a few bucks. That wallet would have been kept inside of a nice leather purse that went with my coordinated outfit. Alo…
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- Trying to raise the belle of the ball
- How social is socially acceptable when you are a toddler? Are the standards any different when you are 14 months old, 14 years old or 44 years old? Your inclination may be to answer yes, but I am not so sure about how different the expecta…
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- Of dads and their beloved daughters
- Fess up - who's spell are you under? As much as we would like to think that we are all wild creatures that could travel at whim and wander any where the wind blows, there is almost always someone, somewhere in this world that keeps us grou…
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- The trouble with teething
- What is the cruelest joke that your baby has ever played on you? You read that right. I want to know how your baby had you fooled.
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- Learning a lesson about brand-name products
- When it comes to your baby, what brands do you trust? Johnson & Johnson? Similac? Fisher-Price? These top-performing, time-tested brands are all wildly popular among parents, yet all three have recently issued massive recalls involving…
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- Trying to adjust to toddler time
- There are many different time zones in our country. There is Pacific Standard Time (PST), Central Standard Time (CST) and Eastern Standard Time (EST), to name a few. Technically there are nine documented time zones, but if you ask me, I wi…
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- Can you say 'frustrated' in baby talk?
- Whenever us old folks sit around and reminisce about the good ol' days, I often tell the story of my trip to France and the first time I ordered fast food abroad.
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- The real struggle when it comes to working out
- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week as a component of good health. Do you meet the mark with your religious power walks and Pilates classes or do you fail miserably and consider …
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- She's already thinking of Christmas and the joy of giving
- ‘Tis the season to be jolly. OK, well not quite yet, but almost. For me, as well as a few other anxious early birds and real-life elves, Christmas really does start in July. Usually by August or September I have already purchased my first …
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- She's willing to fight for her daughter's benefit
- "Let's get ready to rumble!" This is the catchphrase that plays in my head each time I am about to change my daughter's diaper, outfit ... you name it. Isabella is beginning to assert her independence and will let you know in no uncertain …
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- A mom suffers when E.R. is more than a T.V. show
- You thought about what your first kiss would be like before it happened. You imagined what your wedding day would be like before you even met the man of your dreams. But did you ever think about your first trip to the Emergency Room with y…
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- A sick baby and a worried mom
- Hy·po·chon·dri·ac - a person who worries too much about his or her health; neurotic
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- She's raising a Dr. Jekyill and Ms. Hyde
- Move over Snooki, J-Woww and Sammi Sweetheart. You think you're all that with your big hair, fake nails and your jersey attitude. You talk tough, but guess what? My little bossy daughter will have you crying uncle and cowering in the corne…
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- Protecting her child from 'The Situations' of the world
- I hate to admit it, but I took the bait. I fell for it hook, line and sinker. I am not alone though. In fact, along with my husband, I fall into the ranks with about 4.8 million other hypnotized people. We have gotten sucked into the train…
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- The baby, the football and packing for a trip
- We are like a fine-oiled machine, functioning fast. Our movements are fluid, like a seasoned pit crew who has a pit strategy down pat and can get the car on the road in under 10 seconds.
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- It's vacation time, let's head to the doctor's office
- Now that summer is nearing its' end and making way for a new school year, let's take a moment to reflect on how you spent it. Where did you venture to during the dog days of summer? Oh, where have I been, you ask?
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- Dealing with the mystery of the crying baby
- Are you the kind of supermom that comes to the rescue when her baby cries and knows exactly what to do to halt the flood of tears in their tracks? Or like me, do you fumble across the few causes (tired, hunger...) that may be the culprit a…
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- Appreciating - and missing - a mom
- Now that Mother's Day was almost 4 months ago, and the next official day of celebration for mom is 8 months away, have you forgotten this Hallmark holiday?
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- This contest of wills was a losing battle
- What does the word "no" mean to you? To my daughter, it means "no", "maybe", or "okay."
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- Keeping up during the Great Race
- What do you feel is your biggest accomplishment in life? For me, it is successfully guiding my daughter through her first year in life without any major mishaps. For my daughter, it is running in the Amazing Race ... through my house.
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- A love letter to my daughter
- Dear Daughter,
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- The joy of just having fun
- What makes you get up each day and start anew? What makes some days more fun to you?
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- It's not always pretty when parental promises meet reality
- Did you ever say, "My kid is never going to act like that!" And did you ever realize that once you had a child that, yes, sometimes your child does act like that?
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- What's in a nickname? In this case, love
- What names have you been called?
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- Surviving baby's first birthday party
- What is your secret to surviving your children's birthday parties? Hire an event coordinator? Seek out the help of a therapist? Take a Zanex? All of the above?
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- It takes a small village to raise a child
- How many people does it take to raise a child?
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- Baby's presence has brought major change to her life over the past year
- As I begin to ready my house for our daughter's first birthday party, I can't help but reminisce about the past year that has gone by in what feels like the blink of an eye. I cannot believe that my baby is going to be a year old. In fact,…
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