All parents know that it is just no fun when your child is sick. It is particularly difficult when your infant is sick as they cannot communicate with you what is bothering them.  Sometimes you just wish that they could talk so that you could help solve their problems.

My four month old little guy has been suffering a cold that his 3 1/2 year old sister kindly passed along to him with love, of course! I also have contacted this lovely bug. It’s just no fun. The worst part is that my little guy cannot breath properly while he is feeding which makes him frustrated and it breaks my heart.

Here are some suggestions of things that I have done when my children have a cold:

• run a humidifier in or near their bedroom
• boil water in a kettle and pour it into a bowl with a large surface area, place on the floor in their room with a few drops of eucalyptus oil (this obviously isn’t safe if other children are roaming around)
• spray their nose with saline spray (ensure you buy the kind made for infants with an ultra gentle spray)
• wipe their nose with saline spray on a kleenex or with a product like Boogie Wipes so that their skin doesn’t dry out from the mucous or the wiping
• put them to sleep in a semi-upright position in order to allow them to breathe easier, e.g. in a bouncy chair, swing, car seat etc.
• put them in the bathroom with you while you shower, with the door closed, to allow the steam from your shower to loosen up their mucous

I have also found sleeping a major issue with my 4 month old since he has had this cold and he is also teething, which adds another challenge. He basically wants to sleep in our arms 24/7, which is completely understandable. I don’t want to deny him of this, but at the same time I don’t want him to get too used to it as this cannot go on forever. It’s amazing how routines can simply go out the window when a baby is sick or not feeling well.

At the end of the day, being sick sucks. It truly does. We are really looking forward to the spring when there are typically fewer colds floating around. Enough of someone always being sick in our house!

On Tuesday, it was Family Literacy Day in Canada. I took my daughter to an Early Years Centre to participate in a Family Literacy Day program where they read and acted out a number of stories, rhymes and songs. We both had a great time. So did my 4 month old baby!

We were sent home inspired to read every day (something I have always done anyhow) to our children and to engage them in as many literacy related activities as possible.

Later that day, out came the chart paper, newspaper flyers, scissors, glue and markers. We taped the chart paper to the floor, chose a letter of the alphabet to focus on (my daughter chose the letter B) and we brainstormed different words that started with “B”. After we wrote down the words, we also hunted through the flyers for objects that started with “B”. I encouraged her to look for words that started with “B”, but she wasn’t interested in doing that.

As per usual, the activity turned into a child led activity, which was fine by me as it still focused on literacy which was the purpose of the activity in the first place, oh and of course to have fun!

Some other literacy focused activity ideas are:

Letters and words are all around us. Reading is not simply opening a book and reading the words. For children, reading involves exposure to letters and words, looking at pictures and describing what they see and drawing pictures and explaining what they drew.

Try to read with your child each and every day. Every book counts!

When I had my first child, I needed quite a bit of breastfeeding support in order to gain enough confidence to breastfeed properly. I had a public health nurse come visit, I went to numerous breastfeeding clinics, I read and I went to breastfeeding workshops.

The one person who really helped me through was Dr. Jack Newman. He is known by many as the breastfeeding “guru” and in my books, he truly is amazing.

Whenever I had a personal question, I emailed him and he returned my email usually within 24 hours or less. His website is an excellent resource for breastfeeding mothers.

With my second child, I required less support in getting breastfeeding to be successful (although we still do have our challenges), but the one thing that saved my life (or at least it feels that way) was Dr. Newman’s recipe for All Purpose Nipple Ointment. This ointment is like a miracle cream. Seriously! I found this ointment has also helped some other skin issues that I have had since giving birth (at my doctor’s suggestion) and I have learned just how “all purpose” this ointment truly is!

Dr. Newman’s website is a valuable resource for breastfeeding Moms. He includes many helpful handouts on every topic under the sun when it comes to breastfeeding. He also have some videos that are very helpful, especially for first time Moms.

Jack Newman runs a breastfeeding clinic that used to be government funded, but since 2005 has lost that funding altogether. In order to continue running his amazing clinic and his VERY valuable website and services, he requires donations.

I absolutely love the holiday season and all of the decorations that come out in December, but come January 1st, I am always very eager to put these seasonal items away for another year and to get my house in a less cluttered state.

Last January, I became pregnant and went on a huge purge of items in our overly filled, unfinished basement.  I cleaned out enough junk that we were able to make a small play area for my daughter in the middle of the basement.

This January, I am struggling with the fact that we have a baby in the house again and with that comes a myriad of baby gear, furniture and toys that seem to overtake the whole house.  Once I get my holiday decorations organized and put away in their labeled bins, I look forward to organize all of our baby “stuff”.

The question that remains is, as my son outgrows these baby items, whether it be clothing, gear or toys, what do I do with it?  Do I keep it in case we decide to have another baby or do I purge  again and begin to get rid of our infant items.  I have box after box full of girl things that I kept, in hopes that we would have a second child.  Now that we have that child and he is a boy, what do I do?

Until I decide whether or not we are keeping or giving away items, I will continue to have a basket on my dresser where I dump the clothing that is too small and the infant toys that we no longer need and I will continue to put those items in the basement as they accumulate.

My goal is to keep that small play space in the basement for my daughter and eventually my son, as it is important.  In the mean time, I will have to purge more items so that I can create the space needed to store all of the baby items that are no longer needed right now.

As for the current baby clutter that has over run our house, is there really a solution other than to remember that they are temporary?  We got rid of the playpen with the bassinet in the kitchen and replaced it with our reclining high chair, but eventually we will need that playpen back again once my son becomes mobile.  I have also moved many of my daughter’s toys up to her room in order to create some space for my son’s toys.  Although he doesn’t need them right now, the day is rapidly approaching when he will appreciate having access to baby toys on the main floor.

I never realized that organizing would be so difficult with two children!  Wish me luck.

I have a 3 1/2 year old daughter and 3 month old son.  Life is slightly crazier now than it was a few short months ago.  Before my son was born, going out to get the groceries or even going outside for a walk to the park was simple and fast.  Now, it seems like getting ready to leave the house is a huge ordeal!

First of all, I have found myself having to convince my daughter that it will be fun to go out.  I’m not sure why, but she often states that she would rather stay home than to do anything (shopping, a visit to the library, visit a friend etc.) until we actually get to where we are going when she admits that she is glad that we did leave the house.

Getting ready to leave the house these days involves making sure that everyone is fed (my daughter eats a leisurely breakfast and my son is breastfed), everyone is ready for the day and we are all dressed appropriately for the weather.

Once I get the kids (and myself) ready, it is time to actually venture out of the house.  This often involves multiple trips to the car.  First, I take my daughter out and buckle her into her car seat.  Then I grab my diaper bag and any other luggage and finally I grab my son.

After I get everyone settled in the car, it is time to start it, warm it up and scrape off the snow and ice.  Lately, there have been more than a few times where I have successfully made it to this step only to find out that my son has a poopy diaper and we have to all go back inside, get undressed, change a diaper and start again.  By this point approximately an hour has passed and we are too close to either lunch or dinner to make it worth while making a second attempt at our outing and my daughter ends up getting her way with us staying home.

One day a few weeks ago, I had the kids in the car and while I was attempting to scrape the snow and ice off, I broke off a wind shield wiper.  I tried for a good 10 minutes to get the wiper back on with no success and we all ended back in the house with me soaking wet and frozen, a crying poopy baby and a supportive and sweet preschooler who helped me feel better.  Sometimes, I think my life could be written into a comedy act!

Hopefully with the New Year will bring better luck with my attempted outings and I will actually make it out of the house more than once or twice a week with my kids!

As a Mom of a 3 1/2 year old girl and a newborn boy, it is an understatement to say that I do a lot of laundry. On average, there is one load done per day in our house.

I have become a laundry expert as far as I am concerned.

Do you constantly have laundry piled up in your house?  Do you have a hard time staying on top of your laundry?  Do you forget about stains and wash the items without pre-treating them?

Here are some tips in order to make laundry easier:

Here are some Earth-friendly ways to do laundry as well.

I hope that these tips help you keep your laundry situation organized and more under control!
I’d love to hear some more tips in your comments.

Taking your child to get their photo taken can be quite the challenge at times.? Babies can be very unpredictable, toddlers have a hard time sitting still and preschoolers can be hit or miss with their moods and cooperation.

I have a 3 1/2 year old daughter and a newborn baby boy.? I’ve experienced it all during photo shoots with our children from distractions to inconsolable meltdowns.

Here are some tricks that I have learned along the way for taking picture of baby:

Infants

Toddlers

Preschoolers

If you have more than one child and you are getting a group shot done along with individual portraits, make sure you speak up with regards to the order in which the photos will be taken.? Aim for the group shot to be taken first and then individuals in order of priority according to moods, cooperativeness and age.? Remember to remind the children to not worry about themselves and to focus on the camera, not each other.? Too often, children worry about their siblings and then get caught not looking at the camera while they are trying to help out.

Before my son was born, I watched Dr. Harvey Karp’s dvd called The Happiest Baby on the Block. I had read the Happiest Toddler on the Block and I thought that Dr. Karp had a lot of interesting ideas and philosophies. I had heard of the 5 S’s (techniques for having a happy baby) and wanted to learn more about them in hopes to gain some good tricks to put under my belt for my new baby.

We have tried all five S’s in one form or another. Here is how they have worked for us:

• Swaddling – It is said that tight swaddling provides an environment similar to the tight space in the mother’s womb. Our son enjoyed being swaddled for the first couple of weeks. I believe that it did help him settle and sleep more, however, once he was a few weeks old, he would struggle every single time he was swaddled to get his arms out. We no longer swaddle him at 7 weeks.
• Side/stomach position – While holding your baby in your lap, place them either on their left side to assist in digestion, or on their stomach to provide reassuring support. My son continues to enjoy being held with him lying sideways with his back against my stomach. I put some pressure on his stomach with my arm. This is a position that tends to soothe him when he is fussy.
• Shushing Sounds – Basically what is meant by “shushing sounds” is white noise. Babies are soothed by sounds similar to those that they heard while in the womb. From the moment my son was born, if we do a loud, long “sushhhhhhhhh” (not “sh sh sh sh” the way we instinctively sush a baby) sound in his ear, it calms him down almost immediately. This has been one of the most helpful tricks that we learned. We also have a white noise machine in his bedroom. I’m not convinced yet if this works to keep him asleep, but it will help later on when his ears are more sensitive to noise and becomes more easily disturbed during his sleep.
• Swinging – This is another step that is said to mimic what the newborn was used to inside the mother’s uterus. My son enjoys his automatic swing. He also enjoys us rocking him to help him settle. One trick that I learned was to swaddle a newborn prior to placing them in the swing. You can still strap them in, and they feel more secure.
• Sucking – Sucking triggers the calming reflex. Babies are born with the need to suck. Some more than others. Both of my children have been “suckers”. Even though it is often considered a “no no”, we gave my son a pacifier when he was in the hospital to help him stay calm in his incubator during his photo therapy treatments. If it hadn’t been for his pacifier, he would have had to stay under the lights much longer as he cried every time we put him in the incubator.

I am very glad that I watched Dr. Karp’s video before my son was born. Although most of the five S’s are common sense or instinctive, he definitely had some unique spins to them that have certainly helped us have a happier baby!

Planning meals can be a challenge at the best of times. Add picky eaters to the mix and it can sometimes become even more difficult.

Making a menu plan for the week can really help you become organized in the kitchen. Not only does it take the pressure off each day from deciding what you will serve, but it also helps you keep organized with grocery shopping and time management too.

If you decide to menu plan, you will find a groove that works best for you. I tend to plan on the weekend for the following week and do my groceries at the beginning of the week in order to have all of the ingredients in the house needed to cook each meal. I also do a 5 day plan instead of 7 days. I do this in order to maintain some flexibility in our schedule for leftovers, eating out and choosing weekend meals as a family (or to allow the opportunity for my husband to cook–lucky me!).

One idea to help picky eaters in your family is to dedicate one night each week for them to be in charge of the meal. Depending on their age, they can either choose the meal, assist in food preparation or take over all together. This will teach the children how to work in the kitchen, become more independent and give them life skills that are important later on. It will also allow them to have control of one meal and will in turn teach them about healthy eating (as you will guide them to include healthy choices in every meal).

Another suggestion to include children in meal planning and preparation is to allow children to make a healthy choice at the grocery store, perhaps in the fruits and vegetable section. When it comes time to prepare their choice, allow them to help either by washing it or giving them a butter knife or a small spreader knife to “cut” the food in preparation for a meal. Children love to help in the kitchen and when you give them control over a food item, it will often increase the changes of them consuming the food.

One website that I have found to be very helpful with regards to meal planning is Menus 4 Moms. You can sign up for their weekly newsletter where they will send you a meal plan for the following week along with recipes. If anything, it gives you some good meal ideas to add to your repertoire.

Multi-Tasking Mommy is back on the scene!

I’ve been busy this past month making the adjustment of being a Mommy to a 3 1/2 year old girl to including a newborn boy to the mix. My priorities have definitely shifted and I’m having to manage my time even more than I was before.

My son was born at 8:58am on October 1st via c-section. This was a repeat c-section and I look forward to sharing my story with you in a future post.

This past month, I’ve been busy recovering, breastfeeding, trying to sleep and entertaining a preschooler all the while trying maintain my sanity. It’s definitely a challenge, but one that I’m thoroughly enjoying. I look forward to sharing my stories and experiences as a Mommy of two.

In one short month, I have:

Becoming a Mommy to two children has been a huge transition in some ways and in other ways, I feel like it hardly changed my life at all. I am loving having two children to love and care for and although we are busier now than we were before, life is fun and always full of surprises.

Before my son was born, I didn’t understand how it was possible to find a place in my heart for even more love. As soon as he was born, I just got it. My heart grew larger the moment I saw him and now I understand just how easy it is to love two children just the same.

You can read more Multi-Tasking Mommy at Circle of Life.

When preparing for a new baby, one of the most important preparations, if applicable, is that of your other children. Life can become very confusing when a new baby is added to the mix. Children can feel out of place, less loved and sometimes even ignored. It is important for parents to take some preemptive steps in order to help their children feel a part of the whole process.

Pregnant mothers can involve their children in the pregnancy and pre-birth activities in order for the child to feel connected to the changes that are taking place in their house. The child can take an active role in helping the Mom have a healthy pregnancy by simple things such as eating healthy foods with them, going for walks with them and taking daily vitamins along side their Mom.

Here are some more suggestions for how to involve your child in the events leading up to as well as after the birth of your baby:

• take your child to the hospital prior to the birth of the baby to meet the nurses and get acquainted with where you will be when you are having the baby so that it is not an unknown place
• have your child buy the baby a gift that is just from them, let them wrap it, potentially decorate the gift bag and make them a card
• include your child in decisions like what sheets to put on the crib and what outfits to pack for the hospital
• make a list of how they can help out once the baby is born (e.g. pass tissues, wipes, diapers, get a receiving blanket or wash cloth, help burp the baby etc.)
• make a ?Helping Record? for your child (with your assistance) to record all of the things they do each day to help with the baby
• make a chart of all of the things a baby does so that you can check off how many times they occur in a day
• go online and print off activities for your child to do while you are busy tending to the baby in the first days (coloring sheets, dot to dots, paper dolls, puppets etc.)
• make up zip lock baggies with new activities for child to do when they are feeling a bit out of sorts and are in need of a good distraction
• have your child choose some special toys and books that they want to share with the baby when the baby comes home
• have your child decorate a onesie for the baby
• help your child make a book for the baby all about your family, your home, etc., try including photos!

By involving your child in as many choices, decisions and activities as possible leading up to the birth of your baby, you will hopefully make them feel more a part of the entire process. There will always be some bumps along the road, but that is to be expected, after all, a whole new person is joining your family!

There is a lot to be done in preparation for a new baby. This post, followed by one more will discuss the preparations focused around older siblings and how to prepare them as well as their caregivers (for when parents are in the hospital or caring for the new baby) for the arrival of a new baby in the family.

The first step in preparation, with regards to older siblings is to make a plan for who is going to watch them when you go into labor. It may be a family member who lives close by, or maybe a good friend. Ideally, it should be someone that your child trusts and is close with as well as someone that is very close by.

In the weeks leading up to your due date, schedule small visits or periods of time where this caregiver can come and be responsible for your child in order to maximize your child’s level of comfort and to assist the caregiver in your daily routines. It would be great if you could schedule weekly visits, possibly corresponding with your weekly OB visits.

Because so much is unknown with regards to how long your hospital stay will be, it is a good idea to have lists and/or written instructions for daily routines printed out so that there can be as much consistency in your home as possible while you are gone.
Here are some lists/instructions that you may consider writing up for your caregiver:

• nap time and bed time routines – be specific in order to maintain as much consistency for this potentially difficult time for your child depending on their age
• meal and snack suggestions as well as any specific instructions regarding allergies and food dislikes/preferences
• activities to entertain your child, places to visit, friends they like to play with etc.
• a list of simple house rules, for consistency and to maintain normalcy as much as possible

The second topic to address is what you as parents can do in order to help your child ease into this transition of having a new baby in the house. It might be helpful to purchase a gift on your baby’s behalf to give to the older sibling. This gift can be either waiting for them at the hospital for the first visit or it can be given when you arrive back home. Either way, your older child may feel like a bigger part of the celebration this way, as the new baby will be receiving many gifts over the first few weeks.

Your house is going to soon become baby central with playpens, high chairs, infant swings, bouncy chairs etc. Your older child may feel like their current territory is being taken over, which will cause them to feel out of place in their own home.

Try introducing a new item into the mix on a regular basis in order to get used to these new necessities long before the baby arrives. One example would be to install the infant car seat early and place a doll inside to have the child “practice” being a big brother or sister while riding in the car.

Stay tuned for Part Two where I discuss what activities you can involve your child in to help them feel a part of the whole process.

Where I live, whenever a new store is built and the parking lot is paved, there are always a few parking spots designated for “Expectant Mothers”, “Mothers with Young Children” or “New Moms” beside the traditional “Handicapped/Disabilities” parking spots.

I think that this concept is one of the best inventions ever. It makes complete sense. Whether you are pregnant, a new Mom or a Mom with young children, getting in and out of stores is difficult, let alone having to hike all the way from the back of a busy parking lot!

I do have a few issues and suggestions, however, with regards to these parking spots:

• These spots are usually right beside a handicapped spot, which makes things easier because there is always more room to get your child out and safely into a stroller or a grocery cart. Why not make these “Mommy spots” extra wide too? It’s difficult when you do have to park your stroller or grocery cart at the back of your car and cross your fingers that it doesn’t roll away as you load your child(ren) into the vehicle. It makes so much sense to make these parking spots wider so that you can walk right up to your vehicle door, unload your child(ren) and watch the cart or stroller at the same time.
• I will often see people using these spots that really don’t need to! I need those spots these days! Being 36 weeks pregnant and measuring as big as 40 weeks with a 3 year old in tow is a challenge. There are times where I can barely walk due to how this HUGE baby inside of me is positioned. I am truly grateful when I am lucky enough to get one of these spots, but it really makes me frustrated when I see someone who has absolutely no reason to use them. There are no fines to park “illegally” in a “Mommy spot”, so people don’t feel threatened, however, they should feel badly for taking the spot away from someone who legitimately could use it!
• I take issue with how most of these parking spots are labeled. While only women can be an expectant mother, men are new fathers just the same as women are, yet almost every single designated parking spot for new parents is labeled for women. I have seen the occasional “family” parking spots (like at Ikea, for example), but the rest are either “Expectant Mother” or “New Mom” or “Mother with Young Children”. What about the Daddies out there?

All in all, I am so thankful that these special parking spots exist. If they didn’t, I would probably second guess going out to shop these days due to how I am feeling. And that is the truth!

We took our daughter for her first dental visit when she was just over two years old. We talked to her about the appointment and we took her to a dentist where she knew the dental assistant (one of her friend’s grandmothers) to help her feel comfortable with the situation. She seemed to be comfortable until it was her turn to sit in the chair. The doctor had her sit sideways in the chair and leaned her back into my lap without verbally prepping her for what he was going to do. This naturally terrified her and she screamed throughout the entire appointment while he counted her teeth.

I was so upset with this first experience that I put off taking her to the dentist again until she was three years old. That was 6 months ago. We read her stories, played dentist and brought her to every single dental appointment that either my husband or I had in hopes to make her feel more comfortable with the atmosphere.

At her last appointment, after coaxing her into the chair, the first thing they tried to do were take xrays (which as we all know involves sticking funny cardboard films into your mouth). This was not a big success. The appointment ended with me sitting in the chair, holding my daughter as the dentist counted her teeth in between uncontrollable sobs.

We talked to my daughter about the experience and learned that she didn’t want an x ray taken and she was scared of the masks that the dentist and assistants wore. We brought home masks to play with which really helped her get over that fear. We also made the decision that she would not receive x rays at her next visit in order to rid her of that anxiety. Again, she accompanied my husband and me to our appointments and became quite familiar and confident with our amazing hygienist.

Today, my daughter had another appointment. This time we were ready. I had my appointment yesterday and my daughter was not only comfortable with the hygienist, but she was genuinely excited to come for her visit the next day. We read her stories, talked and played dentist.

She was ready.

However, when the time came for her to be the one, the only one in the chair, the uncertainty all came rushing back. I ended up sitting in the chair with her in between my legs, resting her head on my 35 week pregnant belly (the things we Moms do for our children). With much convincing, she allowed the hygienist to check her teeth and give them a very quick clean.

When her visit was over, the look of accomplishment and pride that came over her face was absolutely priceless! She was so excited and I have never been so proud of her.

Here’s to hoping her next visit will be even better.

What fears do your children have and how do you help them conquer them?

Now that you have done the great purge (please see Part One), you are ready to move onto the next step: Sorting, Placing and Labeling.

• Sorting – When thinking about how to sort your child’s toys, you must try to think about sorting them in a manner that makes sense to your child. You also have to think about what kind of a space you are working with. This job is much easier when you are dealing with an entire playroom, as the sky is the limit about how many “categories” you may have. However, when working in a smaller space, for example, your child’s room or part of a common room, this can be slightly more challenging.We use a bin system in every room that has toys for my three year old daughter.

  We have sorted her toys into the following categories: kitchen toys (dishes), play food, friends (dolls and animals), Little People (and their accompanying structures), imagination box (dress up, jewellery, etc.), small toys bin (more of a miscellaneous bin for smaller items), musical instruments, train set, play dough, arts and crafts, doll clothing, tools, puzzles and books.Obviously, each child is different according to their age and interests. You may have less space to deal with, in which case you may choose to sort into two simple categories: small toys and large toys.

• Placing – When thinking about placement, your child’s age and height (along with other children in your family) should come into consideration. In an ideal world, you want their toys to be at their height or below so that they have access to them.You also must decide what kind of organization system you will be using. Will you have shelving units, a unit with slide out bins, baskets, large plastic tubs or a bookshelf or perhaps a different, more unique system all together?

  Some toys are suited better for simply placing on a shelf, whereas others require a confined space like a bin or a box. Clean, large coffee cans with lids (making sure there are no sharp metal edges, of course) make great storage containers for smaller items. You can use decorative contact paper to jazz them up if you wish.If you are placing larger toy items on a shelf and you wish to have that shelf look somewhat organized, you can trace an outline of each toy using a black permanent marker to help your child remember where to place each item.

• Labeling – You are on the last stage before your child’s toys are completely organized! This hasn’t been that bad, has it?It is very helpful to label the bins, boxes and shelves where your child’s toys are placed. This will not only help you and other caregivers remember where everything goes, but it also helps to create a print rich environment for your child which will help them with their literacy skills. If your child is older, they can help you make the labels. If you are on your own, consider using your computer and possibly clip art to accompany your labels. You can also use a label maker. Photos will help young children remember where everything belongs.Fasten your labels onto the containers or shelves using clear tape or clear contact paper.

And, voila! The toys are organized.

Now, don’t expect your child to remember how this new system works. It will take a bit of consistency and assistance on your part for a week or so, but the outcome is well worth the initial effort!

What a better time than right before school starts to reorganize your child’s play space. Whether you are the organized type or if you are slightly challenged when it comes to organization, a play space can always use a good over haul!

First things first:

PURGE!
This is a perfect time to sort through all of your child’s toys and decide which ones they are no longer interested in. This can be a step where you include your child in the process as you know that the second you donate that toy that they haven’t touched in six months, they will inquire about it.

It is very difficult for children to say goodbye to toys, however, getting rid of personal items is a part of life and now is a good time for them to start. Of course, we aren’t talking about their lovies or their favorite toys. I’m talking about all of the smaller things that accumulate over time; the ones that you don’t even know where they came from.

Let’s get started, shall we?

1. Find three good sized plastic bins. If you don’t have bins, you could use garbage bags (but it is nice to be able to see the items). I have also used little throw rugs to designate these spaces in order to outline the space for each pile. Label each bin with either: Keep, Give Away or Unsure. Another label system that is more wordy, but may help the younger children with this activity would be
   a) I play with this often
   b) I hardly play with this at all
   c) I am not sure if I’m ready to get rid of this, but I don’t use it much.
2. Item by item, help your child sort their toys into the three piles/bins. Note: You may want to start this process over for each type of toy depending on how many toys your child has.
3. At the end, put all of the items in the giveaway bin into a garbage bag, so they are no longer visible and your child will be less likely to change their mind about giving them away. Then, revisit the “Unsure” or “I am not sure if I am ready to get rid of this” pile and see if you can agree to get rid of more. If not, that is alright, however, take note of what items are in this pile and keep an eye as to whether or not they get used. Perhaps you could revisit these items in a few weeks (one by one).

Again, it is very difficult for children to part with their toys. Try explaining to them that in order to make room for new toys, it is important that you give away the ones that you are no longer interested in otherwise your house will become a place that no one enjoys living in as it will be taken over by toys.

Stay tuned for the next step: Organizing Your Child’s Toys: Part Two – Sorting, Placing and Labeling

What do you have posted on your fridge? Notes? Lists? Photos? ABC magnets?

We’ve always enjoyed having family photos on our fridge. When my daughter became old enough to stand up at the fridge, this became an issue because she wanted to play with them. I didn’t feel that it was fair to simply place them out of her reach, after all, they are her family to look at as well.

I went to our local dollar store and purchased magnetic photo holders and after placing the family photos inside them, I taped around the edge to secure the photo inside (we all know that babies enjoy chewing on paper). Then, I used my electronic label maker to make labels for each family member’s name and stuck those labels at the bottom of each photo.

In my opinion, it is never too early to start labeling items around your home with their given names (toy bins, photos etc.). When children are exposed to these literacy tools at an early age, they will also begin to learn how to read and eventually spell those familiar words.

At three years old, my daughter now pulls down the photos of myself and my husband (and now our ultrasound photo of our baby to be born in October) to copy the names of her closest family members when she is drawing pictures of us. She is becoming more and more eager to learn how to print certain words and having them readily available to her on the fridge has helped her learn without becoming frustrated.
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Another item that we have on our fridge is our Fridge Phonics Magnetic Set. As an aside, I put masking tape on all of our toys that make noise, as I feel that they are made to be much too loud for little ones’ ears.

My daughter has enjoyed playing with this ABC set, again, since she was old enough to stand at the fridge. I truly believe that this toy played an enormous part in her learning her letters and letter sounds so early on in life. The songs that this toy plays are very catchy (when not played too loud) and repetitious which is important in early learning.
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Once my daughter turned three, we added the Fridge Words Magnetic Word Builder. At first, she wasn’t too interested in learning what it could do, but after a month or so, she learned the different features that were available to her and she now enjoys building words and hearing how they sound.

The Word Builder has helped my daughter learn how to spell many three letter words and I believe, has played a part in motivating her to want to learn how to print.

Since having this toy up on our fridge, my daughter has been pretending to write stories, spell words and has actually written words beside many of her drawings.
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What do you have on your fridge? I’d love to hear more ideas of magnetic activities that children love!

Seeing as though the Summer Olympics comes around every four years, I believe it is important to watch them actively each time. Admittedly, I haven’t watched as much as I have in the past, but this is due to the fact that I have a child now and don’t want to sit glued to the television all day long, which is topic for another post in itself!

This is my daughter’s first exposure to the Olympics and I am very excited to share the experience with her. I remember being so excited to watch the Olympics as a child. I always felt so inspired by the commitment of the athletes. The Olympians truly are role models to children and adults alike. We can learn so much from their dedication, commitment, focus, strength and personal goals.

I am enjoying watching my daughter during her exposure to the Olympics. Her little mind is learning so many new concepts like the different countries and flags, exposure to sports and competition and winning medals.

What I am finding most interesting is how she is soaking in all of the information. This afternoon, we were outside playing and she wanted to enter a “skipping competition”. I was to be the judge and hand out the “prizes” when SHE won–every.single.time! Then she did mention the word participation, but she still expected a prize. Clearly, we still have a far way to go when explaining games, sports, sportsmanship and playing for more reasons than to win! Time and more exposure will certainly help her in this area of understanding.

It is fun watching the Olympics with a three year old, but it can be frustrating at times as well.

My daughter hasn’t grasped the concept that when other people are in the room, she should be careful where she stands to see the television. She usually chooses her spot right in front of the television every time she stops to take a look. Her constant questions also make it is difficult to enjoy or focus on the events as an adult. I have learned that my personal enjoyment from the Olympics comes at night after she goes to bed and any daytime viewing that we may do together is purely for her, her enjoyment and her “education”. Since the Olympics started, I don’t think there has been a night where I have made it to bed at my usual bedtime.

Please don’t get me wrong, I do love watching the Olympics with my daughter. I am very happy that she is interested in watching them me.

Are your children interested in watching the Olympics?

When I was pregnant with my daughter (now three years old), my hubby did all of the household cleaning that used poisons and toxic cleaners as I didn’t want to inhale the fumes and potentially harm my unborn child.

Once my daughter started eating solids and using her highchair and booster seat trays, I struggled with finding a way to clean the trays without using harmful chemicals, but ensuring that they were disinfected at the same time. In the end, I used vinegar (my new best friend) by diluting it slightly and putting it into a spray bottle. I felt good knowing that her tray was being sanitized and continued to be a clean and safe surface for her food–as we all know, babies and toddlers don’t exactly love to use the dishes that their food arrives in.

As my daughter continued to grow, I decided that I would try switching to more natural cleaning products in the house, as she was always around when I was cleaning and was therefore being exposed to all of the harmful fumes from the chemicals that I was using.

I switched to using hydrogen peroxide and vinegar solutions (in individual spray bottles) to disinfect all of our counter tops, vinegar on our hardwood and ceramic tiles and baking soda sprayed with vinegar in the toilets. Baking soda also works as a great abrasive for cleaning showers and bathtubs.

I have also been experimenting with some of the natural and green lines of cleaners that are on the market, but truthfully, I am slightly skeptical as to how well some of them work or if in fact they are truly non toxic!

I do feel much better that my daughter nor I are inhaling toxic chemicals every time I clean, especially now that I am pregnant again.

Some other natural cleaning substances include lemon juice, certain essential oils and salt (as an abrasive).

Vinegar is by far my favorite, though, it has so many uses! I have even sprayed fruit with my vinegar spray bottle in order to remove germs and wax residue. Soaking lettuce in a vinegar and water mix can help clean the lettuce as well as crisp up the leaves prior to using them in a salad.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas and opinions on using natural cleaners. As well, if you do choose the natural route, what do you use?

Hello my dear reader, you can call me Multi-Tasking Mommy or MTM for short. I am a 32 year old woman, wife (to SciFi Dad) and mother. I enjoy blogging on my personal blogs (I have 3) and enjoy contributing to the internet community of parents. My daughter is almost 3 1/2 and I am pregnant with a boy, due on October 1st. I taught Kindergarten for 5 years prior to taking leave when I had my daughter and am extremely fortunate to continue being a stay at home mom (SAHM). I spend the majority of my free time on the computer, but I also love to bake, read, organize and do crafts. I used to love gardening, but since I’m pregnant this summer, I am not loving it to much–hopefully that will resume next growing season!

And now for my post:

When I first became a Mom, I received so much advice from others, it was overwhelming.
Some of the advice, I took and some of it I tossed into that section of my brain where things get lost (which these days, being pregnant is getting filled up quite quickly).

One of the pieces of advice that I listened to and have tried really hard to maintain is that as a Mom, it is so important to take care yourself–do things for yourself, pamper yourself, have “me time” regularly.

Lately, my favorite way of taking care of myself is by going for a monthly prenatal massage. It is something that I look forward to from the day after my last one. You don’t realize just how much your body is affected by pregnancy until you lie on a massage table and therapist “goes to town”. I find that massage helps you become more aware of your body and this is very important during pregnancy.

My usual routine is to get my back, neck and shoulders done. Since I’ve become pregnant, I added legs into the mix (to decrease swelling) and my sciatic nerve area as it has really been acting up.

I went for a massage this week and had to give up most of my “regular routine” so that my amazing therapist could address the important issues like my sciatic nerve (which has been flaring up every day now), my carpal tunnel in my arms and my leg cramps. She spent an entire hour on my arms and legs, I never knew there were so many spots to tend to in arms and legs alone.

I’m curious as to what other pregnant women feel is most important to them when pampering themselves? Please share!