Parenting Children

Sometimes it is hard to get kids to wash their hands. I know I up the “wash time” in my house during thsi time of year where we are all in the house more and so are the germs.

Squid soap maybe my ticket to better and more willing washers. The pump lets a little ink onto your child’s hands but will be washed away after 20 seconds of good washing. This way your child washes longer and better to get that ink of their hands.

Not to mention it is a cute design. A conversation piece to say the least.

squid soap, washing hands, flu season, colds, parenting, kids

We all have heard about it, seen it on the news or read about it in the newspapers. You can see evidence of it at your child’s own school.

Children who are obese.

Children who have overweight mothers are more likely to be overweight themselves, now researchers say that Latino children are more prone to being overweight then African American or Caucasian children. These studies were taken over a two year period in low income, urban areas. Out of 2,000 three year old children 44 percent of the Latino preschoolers were obese.

Of course if you are on a fixed income, buying groceries for your household is a problem and fruits, veggies and healthy choices don’t come cheap. I know that I struggle with the weekly food bill and the cost of organic food that I choose to feed my family.

The fact is though, that obese children are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes (which is on the rise for children), cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol. Not to mention that obese children have a 70% chance of being an obese adult.
Not a fun statistic.

We need to fix the programs set to aid poorer families with food and medical costs. We also need to fix the school lunch programs which offer our children chicken nuggets, pizza and soda on a daily basis.
I just don’t know how to start.

What do you think the solution is?

obese children, childhood obesity, parenting, overweight kids

I could have kept my kids in a crib forever, I loved knowing that they were safe in their cribs and couldn’t hurt themselves or each other when they were supposed to be napping. I was lucky, they were in their cribs for ovr two years before I had to move them into beds.
R climbed out of her crib one day and that was it, beds it was.

When we bought our house they were only 18 months old so we kept their cribs (taking apart, moving and reassembling two cribs in one day was another nightmare alltogether!) but we bought them each a full bed. It was for later use but also for company to spend the night.
I also didn’t want to send them into anew bed when just getting used to the new house was enough for them.

I bought them each toddler beds, which are adorable and to see them in it makde me realize how fast they do grow up.
the new found freedom they discovered wasn’t so great. Now they could get up and take apart their room or play instead of napping.
And they did, one time when e was away on business they took every piece of clothing, shoes, hanger and toy from R’s closet. The mess was enough to make me fall on the floor and cry out of frustration and anger.

For awhile I would have to lay on the floor betwen their two beds and read while they fell asleep, and I had plenty to do around the house I couldn’t let them give up their naps because they needed them.

If they were smaller I would have gated off their room, but I did have a gate at the top of the stairs and I closed all the doors off before they napped.
We put all the stuffed animals and aquarium in their beds so they would adjust to the new sleeping arrangements.
They did great.

How did you do moving your kids from the crib into a “big kid” bed?

sleeping, toddlers, kids, toddler beds, crib to a bed, parenting struggles, parenting

This was a big hit in our house.

Barbie calls you throughout the day to chat about your favorite color, animal or your brothers and sisters. You connect the phone to your computer and input your child’s name and information, then Barbie calls. If you are too busy to get to the phone, don’t worry Barbie will leave you a voice mail.

My son, L, loved this gift.
The dinosaur moves his head and neck and roars. It is adorable and he loves it.
Of course they loved their new puzzle,board game, dancing princess, pajamas, book and clothes.

What were your kid’s favorite gifts of this year?

gifts, presents, toys,

The gifts have been opened, breakfast has been eaten, toys have been assembled and kids are now napping.

Life is good. I hope everyone has a most beautiful Christmas!

Peace

Christmas Day, Christmas, love, family, joy

Christmas Eve was even more anticipated for me as a child then Christmas was. I loved everythign about it, the feeling in teh air, church mass, the party my family had after church.

Now I get to celebrate and carry on these traditions with my own family. My kids are so excited to dress up and go to church with Grandma and go see their cousins at a family party.

What is better then that as a parent?

I hope each of you has a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas, traditions, family, kids, parenting

My friend is having her first baby in February. She doesn’t want to have a baby shower so she i buying her own stuff and doesn’t know what she needs in the begining and how many of each.
I decided to make a list for all new moms of what you will want on hand when you bring your baby home from the hospital.

3-4 crib sheets

3-4 bassinet sheets

1 pack n play sheet

diapers in size newborn and size 1

diaper rash cream

cotton balls, cotton swabs, tiny nail file and nail clippers

6 onesies

4 footsie pajamas4 gowns

2 booties

2 sets of hand covers

6 onesie t-shirts

3-4 gowns

a bundle me since she is having the baby in the winter

8 swaddling blankets

8-10 burp cloths

4-5 hats in newborn and 0-3 months

5-6 hooded towels

5-6 soft washclothes

6-8 bibs with velcro

baby wipes

baby soap for body and hair

Dreft or All baby detergent

bottles if you are going to formula feed or pump your breastmilk

2-3 pacifiers

Of course a carseat, a swing, stroller and a bath tub.

Is there anything else you couldn’t live without in the beginning?

baby gear, babies, infants, pregnancy, new moms, baby registry, baby gear, parenting, new parents, moms

The worst thing for a parent is when their child decided s/he doesn’t want to nap anymore.
The parents decided they do need a nap.
The kids refuse and throw a party in their bedroom instead.
The parent begs, pleads, threatens and bribes.
The kid does not back down.
Sleep requirements will not be met.
Sleep is the devil.
Sleep is the enemy.
Will. Not. Sleep.

The parent cries at the loss of free time to shower, eat in peace of maybe sit down. Activities that were taken for granted for so long. Basic physical needs that cannot be met while children are awake.

It is bad enough when Children go from the two nap a day down to one. I, for one, remember mourning that loss. I loved that free time in the morning and afternoon to actually, I don’t know, do something productive, but now I had to cram it all into the hour or hour and a half in the afternoon.
It was a hard adjustment.
For me. The kids were fine.

Every house has to end the reign of naps sometimes, I hope my kids nap at least for a small amount of time until they enter school for a full day.
Is that so much to ask?

Yeah. But a Mom can hope can’t she?

naps, nap time, parenting, moms, toddlers, kids, babies, no naps

Kids can have all the toys in the world and still get bored. Are you tired of them complaining they have nothing to do, especially now that winter break from school is coming?

Make a bored jar.
Use a cotton ball container or an old jar and place cards with things to do on them. Make up games, have an arts & craft idea or even a recipe for something simple but will keep them occupied.
Whenever someone cries “bored” take out the jar and have them pick something.

Or you can just tell them to get a job.

rainy day activities, kids, toddlers, teens, parenting, SAHM

Cold and flu season are here again. Everyone I know here in NJ is sick or has kids that are sick. I am trying to prevent that in this house, especially because R has had a bad cold the last two Decembers.
That is not something I would like to repeat.

Here is what you can do to try and prevent those pesky germs to invade your body:

Make sure you wash your hands and your kids hands. Warm water, lots of soap, you know the drill!

Try and get an HEPA air filter. They range in price from $40-$120.00 but they can and do remove a lot of dust, pollen and dander from the air.

Open your windows and air out the house if you can. Here in NJ it has been so warm, I try to air the house out as much as I can.

Wipe down those toys and disinfect yoru phones, keyboards, remotes and light switches. Those are things you touch many, many times a day. Germs love them.

Try and limit playdates with your kids during this season, they might not be sick but their siblings or parents very well could be.

If you get sick change your toothbrush. I change my toothbrush head very often because those germs gross me out!

Wash your hands. Did I say that already? Because it is worth repeating.
Go!
Wash them right now.

germs, colds, flu, flu season, parenting, sick kids, preventing colds

I have been scouring the toy store shelves for gifts for my kids for weeks now. What I have come across is very exciting for me. All my old toys are new again. Some are the same and some have undergone some changes.
Take holly Hobby for instances. I had a great sheet set emblazoned with her image when I was little. Now she is a hip teen. Gone are her little house on the prairie skirts and hats. Now she has a cool cap and flared jeans. Still cute, but just not the same. (more…)

Being a Mom has changed me in a million ways just like any other mother. I have always loved to decorate for the holidays but now I decorate for them. The look on their faces was priceless when they woke up and saw the house decorated. Then I let them help me with the rest, the unbreakable things.
they placed everything just so, and then adjusted it and adjusted it again. In fact I am not sure they will ever be done adjusting.

they place this game where one of them is Santa and the other brings Santa around the house and shows him each and every bow, light, wreath or candle we have. It is adorable.

I can’t wait to see their face on Christmas morning. I have looked forward to it for a whole year. The festivities of the season, the innocence the belief in something magical is amazing.

There is nothing like it.

christmas, decorating,

This is a cool site that isn’t just for kids. I found myself addicted to it and making snowflake after snowflake without all the scraps of paper to clean up.

snowflake maker, kid fun

I went to the mall today ( I know! I like to live on the edge.) with my twins (are you laughing at me?) and I thought I could get some shopping done.
HAHHAHHSHHSHHAAAAAAAAAAAHHAAAA!

Yes, I am crazy. This post isn’t about how crazy in the head I am, well yes it is, but what I really want to talk about is stores.
And by talk, I mean complain.

I get that I have a twins stroller and not everything is meant to accommodate me and my brood but if I could just navigate one store I would be happy. The clothes racks are squeezed together and clothes always hit my kids in the face.

I always have to remember where the special doors are for the handiapped in each mall so i can try to park by that door so I don’t have to open the door with one hand, stretch my body like a cartoon character and try to push the stroller in with the other hand. All the while people come in and out and seldom offer to help.

Some stores I don’t think you can navigate a single stroller and who shops at malls besides women with kids??

Maybe stores will wise up and make it more stroller friendly and maybe people will wise up and just move over slightly when you see I am coming or maybe spare 4 seconds of your life and hold the door for me.
If you don’t I won’t care, I will just run you over with my stroller.
Double wide, baby.

strollers, twins, twin strollers, parenting, shopping, malls, Moms, life with twins, rude people

I have found through my travels on the internets something that is fascinating to me. Some people don’t wrap the gifts for their kids that are from “santa”. Those are left under the tree unwrapped and the gifts from friends and family are wrapped.

I know, I had no idea either.

This is so interesting to me, because growing up all of our gifts were wrapped and some tags said from “santa” and some said “mom & dad”. All of them were wrapped though.

I will continue to wrap all the gifts for my kids because I think unwrapping gifts one at at time is all the fun of Christmas.

So does Santa wrap your child’s gifts?

Christmas, Santa, gifts, wrapping, wrapping gifts, holidays, parenting