Parenting Children

Bored Inc. is run by a mother/daughter team out of Los Angeles and has something for everyone! They have been designing products for over ten years, but just launched their own line. I love that they offer something for everyone in the family, I love the great designs and I especially love their prices!

We tried the monsterDecorama™, (wall stickers) and I was surprised at how easy they were to use. It is a two step process and looks amazing when complete. My son loves the monsters over his bed! Check out the girly skulls and floral designs too.
Bored, Inc. also makes a ton of adorable vinyl coin purses, wallets and belts and nothing is more than $24. I am in love with my nesting doll coin purse but my daughter claimed it as hers! I will have to get one of my own though, that is how cute it is.

They have adorable shirts and onesies for kids. We have the stinky poo onesie for our son and he is adorable in it! I love the save our sushi line. Just look at that crabby cakes tee, perfect for my daughter!

Bored Inc, has so many items at such great prices, you will be forever grateful to me for turning you on to it. It is hard to find anything cuter. Now go and order something for your kids or a gift and don’t forget to pick up a little something, or two, for yourself!

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The official start of summer is just days away and I know how hard it is to keep kids entertained all summer long. I found making a list on my calendar helped me pick a fun thing to do every day. Here are 45 cheap or better yet free, great ideas for summer fun for you and the kids:

Catch firelies

Decorate t-shirts outside with paint or dye

Have a tea party outside

Make a birdhouse

Make your own ice popsBake a pie or cookies

Feed the ducks

Go swimming

Plant a garden or a herb garden

Play with water balloons

Play with water guns

Go on a scavenger hunt in your neighborhood

Play hide and go seek in the dark

Find a new playground

Have a picnic

Make S’mores

Learn how to knit and teach your kids, maybe even take a class

Visit the zoo

Visit a museum or children’s museum

Let your children play outside in the rain

Make a theme day, like a “red day” wear red eat only red foods (tomato, apples, strawberries, polish your nails red) or “dinosaur day” (read about dinosaurs, color dinosaur pictures, eat only veggies that day)

Write a letter to a grandparent or friend

Have a lemonade stand

Pick fruits or veggies at your local farms

Make an indoor sand or (Rice!) box

Find free movies in your town
Play hopscotch

Draw with sidewalk chalk

Play with bubbles, have a biggest bubble contest

Race some bug you find on the ground

Join a reading club for grades 1-6

Have a “day of beauty” paint nails, have masks, give your kids a massage

Go to a free reading time

Buy a hammock and take a nap together

Play with a remote controlled RV or boat

Visit a day fair or carnival

Go for a hike

Can berries for the winter

Grab your sleeping bags and sleep on the floor together

Do some arts & crafts

Grow butterflies (My kids LOVE this!)

Visit a neighbor

Make a bubble pool in your backyard

Make ice cream

Make a trip to a board walk

Bowling!

Just be together

What are your favorite family summer fun ideas?

Now that I have had my third and final child, I have to say I am so enjoying this mother thing more. Not that I didn’t love being a mother before K was born, but that I am feeling more relaxed and comfortable in my new role of mother of three. Having twins with no help was hard. It was the hardest thing my husband and I have ever done. No sleep, my husband worked long hours and we were alone in a new town with no help or friends to turn to.

This time I have more energy, I have 5 year old helpers and I am actually sleeping at night! K is a good baby, a little demanding at times because he would love to be held and talked to all day long, but who wouldn’t?
My other two were a little more patient, it was if someone told them they were twins and they had to wait turns. K knows he is an only child.
Even when I have to wake up in the middle of the night to nurse him, K’s big smiles and grins make the exhaustion disappear. I am happy to have him to myself for an hour in the middle of the night. It is our own time to explore each other’s faces and voices.

Knowing this is my last baby makes me want to savor every second. I want to memorize the lines in his tiny hands, capture his baby smell and recall in a moment the cooing sounds he makes when he is excited.
I love all of my children and I know that the memories I have of all of them will never fade.

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Since we don’t have family that lives near us, my husband and I do not go out much. When we do go out it is when one of our family members is visiting or on the rare occasions, we will hire a sitter. Having a checklist for myself and a information sheet for my babysitter has proven great for both of us and puts my mind at ease. You can use the checklist that follows for your own reference.

-Make sure your sitter has an updated information sheet with parents cell numbers, pediatrician’s number and your street address, what the kids can have for snacks, any allergy information and relatives or neighbors phone numbers

-Be straightforward about discipline and what is okay and not okay for them to do

-Give the baby sitter a schedule to follow

-If you don’t want the sitter to answer the phone have them call you at a specific time

-Talk to your baby sitter in front of the kids about what the kids are allowed to do and what is not allowed. can they go outside? Do they need to wear a bike helmet if they are riding a bike? Can they watch TV? and so on

-Have them write down any information you will need to know when you return, like how many bottles the sitter gave the baby, when was the last time your children ate or what time did they go to sleep.

What preparations or information do you give your babysitter?

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Now that schools are letting out for the year and summer vacations are upon us, I am always looking for some family friendly things to do. At the end of the day when the kids are worn out from their fun, television is a great go to activity for our family. I try to watch TV with my kids and monitor what they watch as well. During the summer, the networks will all have on reruns and reality TV that is not appropriate for little ones, and there is only so many times I am willing to watch Finding Nemo.

Starting this month, TCM is launching TCM Essentials Jr., bringing families together by making moving watching a family experience. TCM Essentials Jr. will have classic must see movies every Sunday night suitable for the whole family. Abigail Breslin and Chris O’Donnell host these great weekly movies. This week don’t miss The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. Check out the web site for the rundown of all the great movies including Meet Me in St. Louis, Mutiny on the Bounty and Yours, Mine and Ours. Remember to also enter to win the American Girl Sweepstakes for a chance to win a private screening of Kit Kittredge: An American Girl!

Also check out this great book for your family movies: The Best Old Movies for Families: A Guide to Watching Together By Ty Burr. A guide to family friendly movies from three years to adult. A great summer read!
What are your family’s favorite movies?

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As I walked into the pediatrician’s office yesterday morning, I didn’t know I was going to have to walk right back out 15 minutes later without my son’s three month exam being completed. I liked my pediatrician, he is a nice man with a quiet voice. I trusted him until yesterday. I didn’t think it would come to this. I didn’t think I would feel so hurt.
I broke up with my pediatrician.

We have had other pediatricians before, we had the one that was in our hometown that was too far to drive to and we had the one that was more like a business then a pediatrician’s office. This one was different, more personal.
Although I do vaccinate my children I do delay some vaccinations and I only give one at a time. Yesterday my pediatrician wanted to give my twelve week old baby two vaccines. I explained I only give one at at time, like I do with my older kids. He said he wouldn’t break from the “standard of care”. He told me he did not want to get sued and I understand. I told him that I couldn’t give my tiny baby that many vaccinations, and he understood.
Then, I started to cry.
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It is exciting to finally get the kids out of the house and into the outdoors during these warm summer months. National statistics show that nearly half of injury related childhood deaths occur during the months of May through August. Today we will talk about keeping kids safe during the summer months.

Don’t let you child go biking or scooting (scootering?) without a helmet. Helmets can reduce the risk of head injuries up to 85 percent. The helmets front should cover the forehead and the chin strap should be tight but you must be able to slip one or two fingers between the strap and chin.

Walk behind your car before you get in and back out of the driveway. Children use driveways as play areas and children are backed over every four hours. Teach your kids to not play around cars that are started and always roll down your window and turn of any music before backing out.

A child can drown in seconds and it is not just underground pools to worry about. A bucket with water, a baby pool or a bath are all places where babies or kids could drown. Take a infant/Child CPR course and make sure everyone who watches your children like Grandparents and babysitters are trained in CPR also.

Limit outdoor time when the sun’s rays are the strongest, between 10am and 2pm. Make sure you apply a sunscreen that is both UVA an UVB blocks and that is at least 30 SPF. Children’s lotion also should not have a lot of fragrance. Apply 30 minutes before you go outside and reapply every two to four hours more if your child is sweating or is in the water. Make sure to apply sunscreen even if your child is in shaded areas.

What tips do you have for keeping kids safe during the summer?

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Herbs can be a great resource for woman who want to become pregnant, are pregnant or are nursing a baby. Of course western medications are great for some situations, like infertility, but don’t let that be the only thing you try. Do your research talk to you doctor and find out what is best for you. I want t discuss a few herbs and what they are good for in woman.

Infertility- tonic herbs can assist in building the reproductive system, such as raspberry leaf (do not take raspberry leaf when you are pregnant, unless under supervision of a doctor) and red clover and drink teas with nettle and alfalfa which both are very high in nutrition, including folic acid.

Pregnancy- Nettle leaves is nutritious with high iron, folic acid and calcium content. For morning sickness drink ginger tea or even ginger ale helped me. You can also take ginger capsules. Drink raspberry and mint tea.

Breastfeeding- Fenugreek is the herb most often recommended by lactation consultants and has been used for generations around the world to increase milk supply. It is what I take and I love it.
Blessed thistle and milk thistle are not only given to increase milk, but they are excellent liver support herbs. There is also a “mothers milk” tea that has both fenugreek and milk thistle in it.

Remember to buy herb products from a reputable company who uses high quality herbs. Make sure you check with your doctor if you are taking other medication along with herbs.

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My kids love to bake with me. I love to bake as much as they do and even though letting them help me makes the process much longer then just doing it myself, it creates great memories for all of us. I even have a favorite cooking with kids web site I visit all the time for ideas. When they were born I promised them they would always have their own birthday cake. Sometimes I order them a cake and sometimes I make one, but they always get to pick what kind of cake they get.

I received a new book Cakes For Kids by Matthew Mead and it is a perfect fit for my kids and I. This book is designed for the novice or the baking expert. It includes basic cake and frosting recipes for thirty five cakes as well as guidelines for baking, assembling, and decorating these great 3-D works of art. There are three levels of difficulty: easy cakes, medium, and trickier cakes.

Even if the baking is too hard for your young children you can still let them help you by decorating these great cakes. Not only that, my kids have been fascinated by this book and sit and look at it no less than once a day! They tell me which cake they want for what birthday and pour over the pages of great, unique cakes. The book alone has given me peace and quiet around the house!
Cake and keeping kids entertained, what more can any mother ask for?

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I grew up 15 minutes outside of New York City, so we visited the city very often while I was growing up. We visited Rockefeller Center in the winter, took class trips to the museums and went to lots of Yankee games. Now we live about an hour from NYC and when we go home for visits my kids always ask to go and visit New York. I guess visiting Philadelphia (where we live outside of now) isn’t good enough for them.
If you are lucky enough to be taking a vacation to a city this summer, here are some great things to do, that don’t cost a lot of money in the big city with kids:

Take public transportation. To kids this is the greatest thing. Take an outing by train, bus or subway.
Go high. Usually the tallest building in a city has an observation deck. Take your child to the top and get a better look at the city, plus you will get great pictures. This is great at night too with all the twinkling lights.
Picnic. Enjoy the parks the city has to have a picnic from home. Better yet take the opportunity to try new restaurants or foods that your town doesn’t have.
Enjoy the show. Most cities have street performers. Stop and enjoy them with your child. If you can afford it bring them to an off broadway show. It is a great experience for adults as well as kids.

What tips do you have for visiting a city with kids?

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When I was pregnant with my twins about 6 years ago, the gray hairs on my head started to multiply-fast! I couldn’t stand looking at them, so after I had the babies I had to get my hair dyed. I highlight my hair, to disguise the grays until I have to go for the whole head process. Four years later when I got pregnant again, I wondered how safe is it to dye your hair when you are pregnant? Would I harm my unborn baby just because I was vain?

As far as I can tell nobody has really proven that hair color is bad for an unborn baby. Sure chemicals are not the best for anyone, but they are in everything we eat, clean with and paint with.
If you don’t feel like coloring your hair is an option for you then highlight your hair like moi. They color doesn’t touch the scalp which is the way chemical can get into your system. You really only need a touch up on highlights every ten to twelve weeks so that can be only twice during your pregnancy.
You can always find a green salon like I am lucky enough to go to. My salon uses 80% naturally derived organic products whose packaging is completely biodegradable and reusable as food containers!

You can always try a hair mascara or Color Mark (colormarkpro.com) for ammonia-free touch-ups. Or try switching up your styling to a jagged part or go wavy to diminish the appearance of your roots.

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I always knew I was going to breastfeed this baby. When a breastfeeding mom asked me if I would breastfeed or bottle feed and I told them I would nurse, they would get so excited and tell me all the pros of breastfeeding. the one that was on everyone’s list was “It is so easy you can do it anywhere”. Indeed you can, but how? I am no a prude but I want to be discreet and comfortable at the same time.
Here are some ideas on how to nurse your baby in public.

Buy a . There are so many out there now and they come in great patterns and colors. They are inexpensive and are great to keep in the diaper bag or car. If you don’t want a cover try a breastfeeding bonnet for baby. It will keep baby’s little head out of the sun and cover your up as well.
Join a Nursing Support group. They have lactation consultants on hand to help you breastfeed properly and you can meet some other moms with little ones as well.
Get some great nursing wear. Nursing clothing has come a long way in the last few years. There are many great choices now and a few key pieces can go alone way.
Just do it. I was nervous the first time I nursed in public and I kept looking around making sure nobody was staring or nothing was showing. Silly, I know because I am just feeding a baby. Practice nursing in public. You are more aware of your nursing than anyone else.
Find a comfortable area (this has been my hardest task. You should be able to rent breastfeeding pillows when you are out!) and just go for it.
the more you do it, the more confident you will be and the easier it will be for you and the baby!

Do you have any tips for breastfeeding in public?