My 18 month old loves the broom.  He loves it so much that I have had to in fact find creative places to hide it.  It fascinates him.  It allures him.  It must call to him or something because whenever I grab it out of the closet, he immediately runs toward me and tries to take it from my hands.

I have actually had to *wait* to sweep the floor until he is down for a nap.  He’s also crazy about our floor shark.  But that doesn’t surprise me.  After all, it does make a cool noise and it rolls on the floor like a car.  But I still can’t figure the broom thing out.

What do you guys think?  Do your kids play with unusual things around the house?

I need a vacation.  It doesn’t have to be anywhere super expensive.  Heck, even a trip to the bathroom uninterrupted would be great.  I just need to go someplace where my kids can’t find me for an hour. And maybe I can find some great weight loss supplements while I am at it. And if you throw in a charm bracelet, I will be your best friend forever.

Thanks a million.

Love,

Me

I’m not going to lie.  I’m not even going to pretend.  I think the Halloween costumes that they have for little girls this day and age are appalling.  I went shopping at a Halloween store in our area, hoping to find something cute and fuzzy for my 2-1/2 year old daughter.  She said she wanted to be a bumble bee.  I had expected to see shelf upon shelf and wall upon wall of choices (from bunny suits to witch costumes and everything in between).  What I found, were skirts that were too short, sleeveless tops, and belly-baring midriffs.

Does your little girl want to be a superhero?  Awesome… have her try on the superwoman costume with the super-short skirt.

What about a maid?  Oh… well… I suppose you can choose from any number of “Naughty French Maid” outfits:

What about a kitty cat?  That should be innocent enough, right?  Sure.  If you are Britney Spears and 17.

How about an army-girl?  Certainly they would dress army-girls in appropriate attire, right?

Sure.  If you an army-girl stripper.

Every costume I found had a skirt that was too short or material that was too thin or a costume containing not enough material.  Whatever happened to the days of full costumes and being covered from head to toe?  Especially for little kids.  I can say that my sons had a plethora of different costumes to choose from and they did not have the same wardrobe malfunctions as most of the girl-costumes.

To the manufacturers of these so-called costumes:

Make no mistake about it.  These costumes with their short skirts and midriff baring tops, that you have made available for little girls (including pre-teens)  are appalling and disgusting!  These costumes paint a picture that all girls are meant to be either princesses or sex symbols.

I want my daughter to have a costume that covers her from head to toe!  If she’s supposed to be an army girl, then make a costume with PANTS!  A construction worker…with PANTS!  Any costume that contains fishnet stockings for a little girl (unless she is going to be the Gorton Fisherman and the fishnet is for FISH), is just plain wrong and disgusting.

In the end, I have a feeling I wasn’t the only parent who felt that way.  Because all of the respectable costumes were picked over and the belly-baring ones with the short skirts seemed to be all that was left.

Next year, I think i’ll make the costumes.

Like many parents, I find myself thinking twice before buying toys. After all, you never know if the toy is defective or filled with lead products, or just plain harmful to your child.   So, I frequent a website that features W.A.T.C.H. (World Against Toys Causing Harm).

They had a list of 10 most dangerous toys for 2008, but I cut the list down to the 6 that I thought could be potentially dangerous.

1. Animal Alley Purse Pet – Harmful because the hair on the toy is not secure. So it could cause aspiration/choking.

2.  TMNT Battle Gear (Michaelangelo Set) -  Harmful because of the potential to harm someone else with blunt force injuries.

3.  Walk’n Sound Digger the Dog – Potential for child to become entangled or strangled

4.  Inflatable Giga Ball -  This rather large ball is comprised of holes that children are able to climb into and tumble and roll all over the grass.  However, the product is not recommended to be used on hills and water as there is a danger for potential impact.

5.  Sportsman Shotgun – This is sold as a toy, but the W.A.T.C.H. group categorizes it as a weapon.  Remember that line in “The Christmas Story” when the child wants a gun and the mother says “No!  You’ll shoot your eye out.”  Same thing applies here.

6.  Extreme Spiral Copters – Another potential eye gouger.  This toy launches little plastic pieces in the air.  It is cautioned not to use other materials to launch (which you know kids will do this with relish) and to aim away from eyes, faces, etc. when launching.

So, there’s the list of potentially dangerous toys.  The question is, are they really dangerous?  What do you think?

luggage isn’t the only thing you should bring on a trip with your family.  Long car rides can be especially trying for younger children.  They get restless… stir crazy if you will.  It is a good idea to pack up the following items if you are looking to take a road trip anytime soon:

1.  Snacks — Arm yourself with snacks or you will hear “mommy!  I’m hungry!” more than once.

2.  Travel games — Choose age-appropriate games for your child to play.  If you have a travel companion (i.e. your spouse), see if he/she would be interested in playing “I Spy” or another fun road game to pass the time.

3.  Music– Even if you don’t want to listen to the latest Dora The Explorer CD the whole way, it is still a good idea to bring some kid music along.  Then, you can take turns putting in their CDs and your CDs.  You can even let them be the “road DJ” if you want.  They’ll get a kick out of it!

4.  Comfy pillows and blankets –  sleeping in a car is not comfortable in the slightest, and kids under a certain age/height are generally stuck in their car seats.  So it is a good idea to bring comfort items from home such as blankets, pillows and even stuffed animals.  Your kids will sleep better on the trip trust me!

5.  And finally, if your children are of the age where they enjoy watching television and you think that it is something they will miss on the car ride, pack up some of their favorite DVDs and a portable DVD player.

These are just a few tips that will make any long car ride a little more headache free!

I have been seeing the so-dubbed “Octuplet mom” on every station at least once a day.  People are fascinated with her to the point of insanity.  It seems to me as though she’s a lady reaching out for help and not just with her 14 children (all of whom are beautiful).  Granted, her situation is overwhelming, i’ll give you that.  Even that may be an understatement.  But what I don’t understand is the public outcry over her decisions.  She’s not a drug addict, she holds a college degree, she’s a good mom (no history of abuse) and likes children.  Yet the world is in ethical debate over this matter.  Granted, she had all of her children via invitro fertalization and has no husband… but does that necessarily maker her unfit to be a good mom to 14 children?

On a side note… I have three and there are days when it feels like I have 100.  So I couldn’t imagine having 14.  Just the thought of it makes me want to hide.

Oh and does anyone else think that the term Octmom or Octomom sounds along the same lines as the villainous doctor octopus from the Spiderman series?  Eh.  Maybe it’s just me…

I am interested to hear opinions on this… so shout it out!

O has been extremely excited about Christmas. He is 4 now so it is expected. He fully understands the tradition of putting up the Christmas tree. Hell, he has been asking us to put up the tree all year round. His philosophy is “If you put it up… he will come (and bring presents).”

So Sunday, we put up our tree, decorated it, listened to Christmas music and when all was said and done… felt really happy and accomplished.

The next morning, O raced into our bedroom and said… “Mommy…. where are the presents?” Poor guy. He figured if we put up the tree that meant that Santa was sure to come and pay him a visit. No wonder he went to bed without complaints the night before.

I explained to him that Christmas is 25 days away. Since he doesn’t yet have a good concept of time, we took the liberty of building a Santa calendar this evening. You know… construction paper, Elmer’s glue, cotton balls, etc. He had a blast and now he knows that all he has to do is count the days without the cotton balls to see how close we are to Christmas!

In other news…. he told Brodykins (the baby… currently going into the 6 month) that he could just dip him (Brodykins) in his coffee. LOL! The kid doesn’t even drink coffee… watered down juice maybe… but not coffee. Ah well.. I suppose that will go up there with his zip lining hobby. You got it– zip lining. A couple of weeks ago he told his preschool teacher that he likes to zip line. Imagine the look on her face when she asked “Does he go zip lining?” I am ashamed to admit that my 4 year old knew what zip lining was. I had no clue. The preschool teacher actually had to define it for me.

So now that I know I can clarify….no… no we do not let our 4 year old hang onto some kind of smallish contraption while soaring on a rope 1,000 feet above land.

So O is keeping us in stitches. I love his personality! He is so funny! When asked what he wants for Christmas, we get different answers. Yesterday it was Transformers, today it is a clock, tomorrow it will probably be something that comes with a turbocharger.

My son, my first born snuggle bear is 4 today!  Where does the time go?  I am excited to see that he is growing into such a neat person.  I love the sparkle of his personality and the fact that he is sensitive, intelligent and witty.

Still… time seems to have slipped by so fast, yet it hasn’t gone unnoticed.  So with a little sadness I say “goodbye” to the baby/toddler part of his life and watch him go into the preschool/schoolage child phase.

Happy birthday little man!  I love you so much and am so proud of you!

Oh my gawd… Owie had me cracking up today! So, he and little sis were playing with toys. Soph found a little purse (one of those McDonalds speed racer purses… ) and started filling it up with little toy cars. She will play with anything that Owie plays with! She adores her big bro!

Anyway, Owie saw that Soph had a neat way of hauling around the cars and also decided (which he usually does) that he wants what she has. So, he tried taking the purse away from her. Husb and I explained that Soph had it first and that he had to wait until she dropped it and got bored with it.

Ever the literal person (so much like me it’s scary!) he decided to devise his own plan to get the purse. I was in the kitchen cleaning it up and heard the following exchange between the two of them…

Owie: “Sophie can I have it?”
Soph: “Nooo”
Owie: “Puleeease can I have it?”
Soph: “No Owie. No see.”
Owie: “Come on! My turn!”
Soph: “No mine!”
Owie: “Drop it Sophie, Drop it! You can do it!”
Soph: Silence… and then a thunk
Owie: “You dropped it! Good job!”

Then two seconds later….

Owie: “She dropped it mommy!”
Me: “Dropped what, Owie?”
Owie: “She dropped the purse with the cars in it!”
Me: *laughing* “My you are devious O!”

My son the negotiator. He tried everything to get her to give him that little purse. He even offered to trade her some of his less-than-precious-cars just to get it. She of course declined until he told her to drop it. Soph loves dropping things… food on the floor, her sippy cup, toys…. etc. You name it, she’s dropped it.

The best part about the exchange between the two of them is that she didn’t throw a tantrum after seeing Owie snatch up the prized purse. That was a definite gullible moment for her. Hee!

It is during times like these where I wish I could split myself in half, grow 2 more sets of arms, or move like the flash.  OR something.

Promptly at noon all three kids were crying.  Baby bear was nearing the 3-hour mark from his last feeding, Sophie-kat wasn’t being fed fast enough and so of course went into crisis tantrum meltdown mode and Owie-bear was upset because his police car was missing.  The crying in unison was enough to make this stay at home mom want to purchase a one-way ticket on the Calgon bus.  This wasn’t a single-handed occurrence… this is my life now.

I never fully realized that having 3 kids would be so utterly mind-boggling at times.  Truth be told, I didn’t have any expectations as I really didn’t know what to expect.  Now my life has gone from an organized mess to unorganized chaos.

I love my kids.  They are my three little angels and the apples of my sleep deprived eyes.  But… right now… I need a nap.  Know what I mean?

When I first came upon the site, I found a black ball bouncing on a white screen.  Then, the words Mutsy came up in huge black letters. I chose my language option and entered the site. Once inside, I found many different products for infants and toddlers! For instance, the "Urban Rider" is a frame with a seat in it that can be used for strollers of all kinds so that your child has a much smoother ride! It can also be placed on the floor and comes with a feeding tray so that you can feed your child directly from the seat without worrying about putting him/her in the highchair.

This site has seats designed especially with your baby/toddler in mind. Its ergonomic designs and adjustable nature make it the perfect seat that can grow with your child and accommodate any situation where a chair is needed!  This is the perfect site to buy a stroller for your baby!

I meant to share this story straight after it happened last week, but it totally slipped my mind in the end.  

On Thursday morning of last week, my son was kicking butt on the potty training.  I had him in underwear for three full days without any mess and not only did he go potty when I requested, he actually TOLD ME that he had to go potty!  I couldn't have been more proud.  That Thursday morning ended our three-day streak.  

I was cleaning the house and heading for the bathroom when I walked in on my son going poop (YAY!). 

Our conversation and the situation that followed went like this:

O:  "I'm going poop mommy!"

Me:  "That's great baby!  Mommy didn't mean to interrupt.  Let me know when you are finished and i'll help you wipe."

O:  "Okay!"

3 minutes later, he came running out of the bathroom

O:  "I went poop on the toilet!  I went poop on the toilet!"

Me:  "YAAAAY!  Good job buddy!  Now for a treat!"

O:  "I want the yellow one."

His words for saying that he wanted the little box of milk duds.  

Me:  "Make sure you eat them and don't let Sophie get ahold of them!"

O:  "Okaay!"  as he ran down the hallway to play in his room.

15 minutes later….  (I was in the kitchen and O in his bedroom playing with Sophie)…

O: "Mommy!  Sophie is eating Pooop!"

Me:  "What the…?"  (while running down the hall).

So there was Soph, lying on her back, munching on something dark brown.  At first, I thought it was a milk dud.  Milk duds kind of look like poop nuggets when you think about it. 

I took it out of her mouth and smelled it.  It smelled… like… poop.  UGH! 

Me:  Owen!!!!

It turns out he had pooped his pants AFTER claiming that he went poop on the potty.  Then dug in and threw some nuggets out because it felt (in his words)… "UCKY".

Thus ended our three-day streak of doing extremely well on potty training.  I hear that going poop on the potty is usually the last thing mastered. In O's case, we now have a story to tell all unsuspecting girlfriends.