I don't usually complain, and I try and see the educational upside to everything, but sometimes....
(OMG)
J has a toy tool bench that came with a hammer, which understandably I hid for awhile. Today I came across it and gave it to him, to see where he's at with that sort of thing.
He immediately started to hammer the wall. Since he had lost another hard plastic toy for several days because he had chipped the wall paint, I quickly put a stop to this new experiment.
"No buddy, NOT the wall. Only soft things, like the carpet."
He started hammering the carpet, and I told him that was fine. Then BANG BANG BANG his hammer found the kitchen lino.
"Noooo!!!! Only SOFT things. The kitchen floor isn't soft, ok? Just SOFT things like the carpet or the couch."
He then went over to the dog, and I caught him just in the nick of time.
"NOOO!! Buddy, come on. We love puppy, and yes he is soft, but we don't want to hurt him!!"
He nodded, and stood and pondered this for a few minutes. He then wandered into the living room, and called me:
"Mama, is the TV soft?"
Needless to say, the hammer has been taken away again.
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11.30.2008
11.27.2008
Getting My Kids To Eat
I've figured out the secret (for my son, anyway). Brace yourself, 'cause it's not, um, palatable...
Add Ketchup!!!
To anything... I just add a squirt on the side of his plate and he dips, or mixes, or whatever. Somehow it ends up in his stomach. I'm amazed his poo isn't tomato coloured.
Tonight, for instance, I served him a plate of pork roast (slow cooked with rosemary, salt and pepper... mmmm!!), with roast potatoes (cooked in the drippings... mmmm!!!) and gravy, and he wanted no part of it. He wanted me to "make the gravy into ketchup".
Ohhhh kay.
I made another plate without gravy, squirted some ketchup on the side, and "mustard too, please Mama", and now he's eating it.
Whatever works!!
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Add Ketchup!!!
To anything... I just add a squirt on the side of his plate and he dips, or mixes, or whatever. Somehow it ends up in his stomach. I'm amazed his poo isn't tomato coloured.
Tonight, for instance, I served him a plate of pork roast (slow cooked with rosemary, salt and pepper... mmmm!!), with roast potatoes (cooked in the drippings... mmmm!!!) and gravy, and he wanted no part of it. He wanted me to "make the gravy into ketchup".
Ohhhh kay.
I made another plate without gravy, squirted some ketchup on the side, and "mustard too, please Mama", and now he's eating it.
Whatever works!!
____________________
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11.26.2008
A Good Diaper Bag Gift Idea
I just thought I'd pass this on while I'm thinking about it... for anyone looking for a gift idea for an expecting family:
When I was pregnant with Alyssa, one of my gifts was an Eddie Bauer diaper bag. It was like any other diaper bag - it came with a changing pad and all the necessary compartments for baby gear.
The thing that separated this bag from others that I've seen is that it is mostly black with tan suede accents - it looks more like a camera bag than a diaper bag. I still use it to this day, and my kids are 4 and 6. It's practical, convenient, and stylish - a great gift that will get used long term, not just for a year or two.
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When I was pregnant with Alyssa, one of my gifts was an Eddie Bauer diaper bag. It was like any other diaper bag - it came with a changing pad and all the necessary compartments for baby gear.
The thing that separated this bag from others that I've seen is that it is mostly black with tan suede accents - it looks more like a camera bag than a diaper bag. I still use it to this day, and my kids are 4 and 6. It's practical, convenient, and stylish - a great gift that will get used long term, not just for a year or two.
____________________
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11.25.2008
5 Easy Ways To Make Reading Fun
I'm lucky that Alyssa loves to read, so getting her to practice is no struggle. Still, the more fun we have, and the more ways I can "sneak it in", the easier it is. Here are some things that have worked for us:
1) Word search puzzles. You can find children's word search books at places such as Chapters, or you can always make your own. This is what I did initially - I used graph paper, filled in simple words to start, and then filled in the blanks with random letters. Making them yourself is actually an ideal way to start because you can customize them to your child's level. Make sure the first few puzzles have only a few words (i.e. 4-6), so that your child has a feeling of accomplishment that comes with finishing the puzzle.
2) Leave the close captioning on the TV. We did this by accident once and Alyssa actually learned how to spell a few words by watching and reading along. Since then we've left it on.
3) Play Hang Man. This is another favourite of A's. You can use short phrases as well, and whenever your child is ready, he/she can create the puzzles for you to solve. Humour takes the work out and turns it into play: Alyssa made a puzzle for me to solve, the answer to which was "do not fart". She was pretty amused, let me tell you ;-)
4) Communicate with notes. I leave notes for A in her lunch, and taped to her bedroom door. You can take this a step further and play "treasure hunt" with notes - so much fun :-)
5) Make books with your child. I use coil bound notebooks from the dollar store and write short stories in them, and Alyssa will illustrate them after she's read them. The nice thing about writing them yourself is that you can tailor them to your child's level and interests.
Happy reading!
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1) Word search puzzles. You can find children's word search books at places such as Chapters, or you can always make your own. This is what I did initially - I used graph paper, filled in simple words to start, and then filled in the blanks with random letters. Making them yourself is actually an ideal way to start because you can customize them to your child's level. Make sure the first few puzzles have only a few words (i.e. 4-6), so that your child has a feeling of accomplishment that comes with finishing the puzzle.
2) Leave the close captioning on the TV. We did this by accident once and Alyssa actually learned how to spell a few words by watching and reading along. Since then we've left it on.
3) Play Hang Man. This is another favourite of A's. You can use short phrases as well, and whenever your child is ready, he/she can create the puzzles for you to solve. Humour takes the work out and turns it into play: Alyssa made a puzzle for me to solve, the answer to which was "do not fart". She was pretty amused, let me tell you ;-)
4) Communicate with notes. I leave notes for A in her lunch, and taped to her bedroom door. You can take this a step further and play "treasure hunt" with notes - so much fun :-)
5) Make books with your child. I use coil bound notebooks from the dollar store and write short stories in them, and Alyssa will illustrate them after she's read them. The nice thing about writing them yourself is that you can tailor them to your child's level and interests.
Happy reading!
____________________
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11.22.2008
Toy Packaging Woes
Seriously...
I'd like to, um, find and give my two cents to the person who came up with those little metal twisty things that hold toys captive in their plastic and carboard packaging. C'mon. Quit spoiling their fun. How are they supposed to have their "middle of the night in the deserted store toy parties" when they're tied down like that?
Then there's those little bitty need a microscope to see 'em elastics (not that my eyes have sustained laptop damage or anything). If the metal twisties and elastics aren't bad enough, to add more stupidity to the mix, there's tape as well.
I wonder if the toy packaging people have young children, and have heard of something called "getting things done" time. As in, by the time my daughter is bored with birthday gift #1, all my "getting things done" time has been used up trying to extract toy #2 from its plastic prison and then recycle the packing.
What ever happened to the days when you opened the box and the stuff just fell out?
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I'd like to, um, find and give my two cents to the person who came up with those little metal twisty things that hold toys captive in their plastic and carboard packaging. C'mon. Quit spoiling their fun. How are they supposed to have their "middle of the night in the deserted store toy parties" when they're tied down like that?
Then there's those little bitty need a microscope to see 'em elastics (not that my eyes have sustained laptop damage or anything). If the metal twisties and elastics aren't bad enough, to add more stupidity to the mix, there's tape as well.
I wonder if the toy packaging people have young children, and have heard of something called "getting things done" time. As in, by the time my daughter is bored with birthday gift #1, all my "getting things done" time has been used up trying to extract toy #2 from its plastic prison and then recycle the packing.
What ever happened to the days when you opened the box and the stuff just fell out?
____________________
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