Messy Marvin

How many times did I forget to bring a bib for my little ones? And, then, I ended up with ketchup stains on my kids’ favorite outfits. Snapt Bib Clips solve the problem of being out and not having a bib. This clip can turn a napkin, towel or cloth into a bib in seconds. This is a must-have for every diaper bag.

Girl Scout Meeting

Last week, my daughter had her first Girl Scout meeting where she made a “sit upon” A “sit upon” is a mat that the girls lace up with yarn and they use it for circle time, camping or at any other Girl Scout function. Anyway, my daughter had leftover yarn which she started to wrap around her finger… until her finger was completely covered and the tip started to turn blue! I noticed it and quickly unwrapped her finger. Thankfully, she was fine but that wasn’t exactly how I thought her Girl Scout experience would start… with a First Aid lesson.

Lunch Date

This week, I took my newborn to the mall for his 3 month old pictures. My 3 year old son was also in tow. So, I told my 3 year old that if he was good during the baby’s pictures, we’d have a special lunch date! He was excellent, even trying to make the baby smile! So, off we went to the Food Court for our special lunch. Unfortunately, I was so preoccupied with getting the pictures taken; I had forgotten to pack one of life’s necessities-The Table Topper. The Table Topper is a disposable placemat that covers the table when you are eating out. I did wipe the table with anti-bacterial wipes, but with it being cold and flu season and all the germs out there, I wish I would have had the Table Topper.

A Solution for the Child that Wanders

The fear of losing your child while out running errands is terrifying to me and likely every mom out there. So, when I heard about Joan Lunden’s Kinderkord, I was interested to say the least. Joan, with her husband Jeff, has 2 sets of twins. (And, I thought I had my hands full!) They found it difficult to keep track of the children when out in public places. So, they invented Kinderkord.

Kinderkord does not have the stigma that traditional leashes and harnesses do. Kinderkord is a nearly invisible, wrist to wrist connection which keeps your child within 2 feet of you. It doesn’t tangle so it can be used with multiple children and can attach to a stroller, belt or wrist. This is a must-have product for moms with young toddlers, moms with multiples or moms planning a trip to Disney (or anywhere for that matter.)

Real World

A teacher friend was amazed at an incident that happened at her school. At recess recently, she picked two kids to be captains and told them to choose teams. Can you believe that the kids didn’t know how to choose teams? These kids are your typical suburban kids that were involved with organized sports teams. But, when asked to play on their own, they didn't know how.

It is important for us, as parents, to remember we can’t protect our kids from everything. No one wants to be the last to be picked. But, if we are picked last one time, couldn’t it make us work harder to be better? Or could it remind us that we need to be nicer to our classmates? We can’t all be the “winner.” But, should we let everyone get a trophy just for showing up? Does this give our kids a false sense of entitlement? Will they expect that everyone that interviews for the big job will get one just because they participated? Opportunities like choosing teams give our kids the chance to learn social skills, negotiation skills and life skills. And, this will help them get ready for the “Real World.”

BPA Free?

When my sister in law asked me to help her register for baby products, I was more than happy to help. Certainly, a mom of three could give some advice on products you can’t live without, products that were a waste of money and products that were “nice-to-have’s” not “need-to-have’s.” But, as we started in the bottle aisle, I realized that things had changed since I had registered. Everything was being advertised as “BPA free.” What is that?

BPA stands for Bisphenol A which is an organic compound and considered, potentially, a hormone-disrupting chemical used to make some plastic products including baby bottles. This compound has been linked causing obesity, breast cancer, thyroid disorders and neurological issues. Recently, it has been noted that baby girls exposed to BPA while in the womb could have an increase in behavior problems. Therefore, it is important to check the plastics you use to make sure they are BPA free. Plastics that are recyclable #3 and #7 may not but could have BPA in them. Plastics 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 do not have BPA. For more information, check out www.bisphenolafree.org and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A.

Choking Hazards

Do you know what the #1 choking hazard is for babies in the home? I didn’t- until I had a professional babyproofer come to my house and give me a home evaluation. Believe it or not, it is the small plastic tip of the doorstoppers that attach to your baseboards. It was so surprising to me. My children didn’t bother with them but when our nephew was over, he seemed to enjoy batting at them. He giggled when they made a “boing” sound. Fortunately, he didn’t pull the plastic top off but he certainly could have. Thankfully, there are one-piece doorstoppers that can replace the old doorstoppers to avoid this problem. Check them out!

Time Out

“I’m sitting in the Time Out chair, because my mother put me there.” This is the first sentence of the book, “If I were a Lion” by Sarah Weeks and is a family favorite in our house. When I read this book to my kids, it makes me smile. The main character is a little girl who gets in trouble and compares herself with animals in a zoo. Sometimes I feel like I live in the zoo and I am the zoo keeper, yet the “animals” don’t listen… which leads me to a product that I recently saw at Kidproteq.

It is a “Time Out” mat to use when the children haven’t listened. It is a thin, bendable mat that has the words “Time Out” printed directly on it. The mat is easily transportable to a playdate or grandma’s house. And, you could even take it with you on vacation! What a great solution for the misbehaving “animals” in your life.

Flu Shots

So, I got a phone call from our pediatrician’s office. I thought they were calling to confirm the kids’ flu shot appointments on Monday afternoon. However, they were calling to say that they are out of flu shots. Out of flu shots? Are you kidding? It is the first week of October and they are out of flu shots? I had this appointment scheduled for weeks! Evidently, the shipment is delayed and will be sent sometime in November. No one is quite sure but the delay could be related to the swine flu vaccine that is being distributed. What are we to do? There is a flu mist that is available if your child meets the requirements. In the meantime, we are trying to stay healthy, wash hands, cover our mouths and nose in our elbows, take vitamins and get enough rest. And, we are keeping our fingers crossed that the flu shot shipment arrives!

Oh, No!

My son broke the DVD player. I knew one day this would happen. My oldest knows how to work the DVD player and this has come in handy when I need her help because I am occupied with our newborn. But, because my daughter does it, now my 3 year old son thinks he can do it too! And, he could if he wasn’t so fast and rough. Unfortunately, though, he broke it and it can’t be fixed. This is the type of situation that is tricky to handle- I had cabinet locks on the DVD cabinet but needed something easy enough for my 6 year old to open but complex enough to keep out my 3 year old. Somehow he figured out the lock. Perhaps we have another engineer in the family!

Just Another Day at the Park

My nephews are the cutest little boys ever- at 15 months and almost 4 years old- they both are spunky and full of energy! My mother is their nanny two days a week so on the days she has them, she likes to tire them out in order to get them to nap in the afternoon! This past Monday, we took my nephews along with my three to the playground. They had a blast. Running around, shouting, laughing… it’s great to be a kid! But, as I looked around, I noticed danger lurking. It was a windy day so there were large branches on the ground which easily turned into light-sabers. The monkey bars were slick from the previous night’s rain. There were some puddles that could have turned into a messy situation. Tree bark nearly took out my father who was sitting on a park bench. An innocent trip to the park could have ended with a trip to the ER. Thankfully, for our crew, it was just another day at the park.