Another One of Mom’s Favorite Crazy Toys

We keep getting unique and slightly strange gifts from the Manhattan Toy Company but every single one is a hit in this family. One of these is a “flying saucer” toy, which although I am really not sure the purpose of, still keeps entertaining our toddler. It is either the color, texture, or shape, but this is a great toy to pull out of your purse or diaper bag when you just need to “borrow” a bit more time (and possibly quiet) from your child. Anything that stands the test of time, rough handling, and grubby hands, is a winner & favorite in this family!

“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

I have to admit, sometimes Mister Rogers scared me. I dont’ know why – maybe it was his seriousness, or maybe it was the puppets in the “make-believe” section. But I did love the catchy “Won’t you be my neighbor” song.  At any rate this mom believes that we need more of that philosophy in this day in age. Do you know your neighbor?  When we build fences & gated communities around us, it sometimes is difficult to get to know your neighbor. I recently read an article in the NY Times, entitled “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” which was about an author getting to know his neighbors and actually asking to stay over at their house for a night to do so. Though slightly unconventional in this day in age, this mom thinks that “getting to know” your neighbors is an important lesson to instill in children. I hope to teach my family to keep building bridges between our neighbors and not walls, because there are enough of those around us already.

Waste Not Want Not

Today, I caught a segment on NBC that was a great reminder for our family which was about not wasting food. This mom knows there is nothing worse then throwing away food that was carefully picked out, prepared, and bought for the family. This clip offered some good advice for families -which was if possible, shop less, buy less, and throw less. Is this common sense? Yes? Is this always possible? No. But when you see all the food that the average family throws away in a week it might be that extra little reminder you need to go ahead and warm up the left-overs instead of heading to the trash.

Drum Baby Drum

Yesterday we spent some time at a friend’s house. We always love visiting their house because they have three kids, so everything is very “kid friendly.” I am always amazed at the wonderful toys they have and last night by far the favorite for both babies, children, and adults was the LeapFrog Learning Drum which they just received. It is a “counting drum” which lights up, speaks, and plays music. It is always difficult to get the family to leave after a full day of play. But last night was especially difficult, as all of us wanted to take this toy with us!

Saving Strategies

Sunday grocery shopping is not our favorite event. As discussed in the Healthy Lifestyle section we try not to shop at busy times. However, what we do try to do on a Sunday (besides going to church) is collect coupons. A lot of us out there are trying to pinch pennies where we can, but sometimes this takes work. Recently, I caught a feature on ABC from the “Coupon Mom” reminding us all how to save money when grocery shopping. In a nutshell, she reminded shoppers to buy generic items, plan your shopping (and eating) around what is on sale at stores, check receipts, and use coupons (which she has available online).

This mom has a few other favorite ways to save money at the grocery store, and some might seem a bit counter-intuitive:

Let things run out. We found that if we have a lot of something we use more of it and usually gratuitously. Think of how you get when your toothpaste is finished but you just need a teeny bit more. Well you get it by rolling over the tube 4-5 times, cutting off the end, or pushing hard at the top because you need that little bit to get your teeth clean. Whereas, if you have 2-3 in the closet you might just throw out the toothpaste when the cap gets too messy or it is almost gone. So as the saying goes “waste not, want not.”

Keep your cans. At our grocery store we get charged a deposit just for the possibility that we might bring our cans back. On a 12 pack that is 60 cents. If we don’t take the cans back we loose 60 cents. So keep them, collect them, and get your money back.

Drink water from the tap. Call me crazy, but we have a good friend that works for a public water company and he can’t believe people drink bottled water due to rigorous State and Federal water testing. If you just can’t stomach that buy a filter that attaches to the faucet.

Yes, I admit it, I am an Old-Fashioned Mom

Over the last month, something keeps niggling at me – and I think I might have been too ashamed to admit it – but I am becoming an “old-fashioned” mom. I do think of myself as a “modern woman.” I am a full-time professional and a full-time mom. Like most parents in this day and age, I juggle too many balls and I acknowledge that I drop quite a few. But the more I reflect on motherhood, the more I see myself in my true colors – I am at heart an old-fashioned person, who is desperately trying to raise her family in an old-fashioned way. Maybe a few years ago I would have cringed as such a thought, but the more I look around me, the more I think this is a good thing. Why? Because we keep seeing the need for community, for manners, for niceties, for patience, for calm. I think back to my childhood, and I try to replicate some of the ways I was raised:

DO: smile at those that pass, say please and thank you, read books, play with the neighborhood kids, plant seeds and watch them grow, reuse what is the house, make crafts, jump rope, play jacks, play outside, clean your room, grow vegetables, eat  vegetables, honor mom and dad, respect adults, sit at the table until you are excused, walk with the family, start a piggy bank, make cards, say prayers, go to church.

DON’T: sass mouth, beg for new toys, watch too much television, waste food, play too many video games, eat too many sweets, litter, swear, chew with your mouth open, put your elbows on the table, stay out after dark, stay up too late, get up too late, whine, stare, point, punch, pinch, fidget, or smirk.

I never thought of any of these things as old-fashioned, but increasingly I see that they are. Even more increasingly I find myself drawn to the merits of these activities. So yes, I realize I am old-fashioned, and yes, I aspire to instilling these things in my family (even as a modern woman). And no, I am now not ashamed of it.

Great Books for Inquiring Little Minds

We are always on the look-out for great kids books. As I have explained elsewhere, books are one treat that we all can’t live without. As all of our friends know this, we recently received two great kid books as gifts that are fast becoming new family favorites. The first is a picture book from Priddy called First 100 Words. This book has so far proven durable, colorful, educational and very entertaining for our toddler.
The other set of books is Baby Einstein Alphabooks which are 26 individual little books for each letter of the alphabet. Hopefully, both of these will stand the test of time, as we love the lessons they teach for inquiring little minds.

Swimwear that Protects from the Sun

As the heat sets in this summer many families will head to the beach and the pool. We intend to hit the water as well, but I know that I am not the only mom that worries about exposing little delicate skin to the harsh sun. Yes, we will arm ourselves with suntan lotion (SPF 60), big hats, and umbrellas for shade, but we will also put our child in a new type of UPF 50 swimming suit from the Gap that will also fight those harsh sun-rays. We like having that little bit of added protection, so that if the suntan lotion washes off, our little one will still be protected. So bring on the water, beach, and fun, this mom knows the summer has just begun (and now she feels better about it).