Parent Hacks

Our paper shredder died on us, but we had papers that I didn't want to just toss into the trashcan. What's a mommy to do? Pull out a hack, a Parent Hack, that is! With the torn-up papers wrapped tightly in one of Little Brother's radioactive diapers, I felt much more confident about placing them in the garbage can.

What is Parent Hacks? According to their website,

"Parent Hacks is a collaborative website that collects and publishes parents’ tips, recommendations, workarounds, and bits of wisdom – their hacks – in a single pot so we can all partake. Here’s the stuff that would have been left out of the instruction manual...if there were one. We're not experts in the pediatrician-, psychologist-, or teacher- sense. We’re just out there, raising our kids, finding the little tweaks that make this crazy adventure go a little more smoothly."

This has got to be the BEST free online parenting resource. I'm shocked that I've been doing this blog for three months and haven't mentioned it yet. But, of course, with the gadget in the top corner of my Google homepage, I don't really think of it as something separate anymore. In my mind, suggesting that you check out Parent Hacks is like suggesting that you check your email! But then it occurred to me, maybe someone hasn't discovered Parent Hacks yet. I have had access to this rich source of information since Big Brother was just a few months old. I would browse the archives as I sat there nursing him, gleaning so many ideas and tricks. Now with more than 2,000 posts, there is a hack for nearly anything you need. What issue are you dealing with right now? Potty training, sleep deprivation, picky eaters, planning a birthday party, baby proofing, and more are all covered in depth. Go now and search by keyword or browse a category; the archives are full of information. Have fun!

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

It's the end of an era. A leap into the unknown. Today, we dismantled the crib. Sniff. Our baby isn't a baby anymore. The crib was that final hold-out from admitting that we have two toddlers, now. Of course, Big Brother will be 4 in October, so he's essentially a preschooler!

I look at Little Brother's PJs and discover that they're too short. What do I do? Pull out the hand-me-down clothes in the next size, of course, and pack up the outgrown clothes for my nephew. It would be unreasonable to try to keep him in clothes that are too small!

As I look around our house at the games and toys we have for our boys, I realize that I have kept them in toys that are too "small." We've still got the Classical Stacker, the Rock N Bounce Pony, the counting pal, teething rings, rattle/key chains, and even an activity walker! The "Goodnight Moon" game, Elefun, a bowling set, Gator Golf, and coloring books galore are stored neatly away on a high shelf. Why? Why have I not provided toys that stimulate their creativity and mental development? Not for safety concerns nor a lack of opportunity. Nope, it's all me.

I can't admit that they're ready for new things. I'm not ready for them to be ready for new things! Baby stuff, toddler stuff... that's stuff I know! Preschool, though, that's a scary new world. The toys are more dangerous (those golf clubs are great for hitting your brother). The games are messier (paper butterflies all over the living room). The activities require more supervision (unless you like finding finger paint on the blinds). The interactions require more teaching on my part. Can I handle that? Can I be trusted to accomplish all that?

The answer is neither "yes" or "no." It is, "You Must." When I consider my actions in light of my priorities, I know that in order to serve my children to the best of my ability, I must not only allow, but encourage their growth! But still that fear remains. Can I raise my boys into men of God? And then I remember that it's not about me, but Him, and He can accomplish anything in spite of me. Give thanks for his goodness and mercy! Now, where is that stepladder?

“Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”
- Exodus 4:11-12

No More Monkeys Jumping Out of Bed!

It was inevitable, but I had hoped to avoid the situation for at least 6 more months. Little Brother (also known as "Monkey Boy" and "Mr. Hands") climbed out of his crib. I know many children are already in a toddler bed or twin bed by 23 months, but I kept praying he would be like his Big Brother and love his crib so much he would have to be forced to switch at 30 months or so! I feel somewhat prepared... yes, somewhat. The crib converts to a toddler bed, but I'm not sure where the hardware for the conversion is (the attic, his closet?) We've got a twin bed on the floor already (great for mom or dad when he's sick) but would he sleep any better on it? I've researched options like a crib tent or turning the crib around so that the short side is closest to the wall and the high side is facing out into the room. Though I would barely be able to reach in there to put him in or take him out unless he were standing. Then comes the other decisions. Do we remove his toys so they don't tempt him to leave his bed or do we leave them so that he can (hopefully) play with them when he wakes in the morning and give mommy and daddy a chance for a little extra sleep? Should we invest in a video monitor so we can keep an eye on him if/when he's up and about? Since my Monkey Boy can climb any baby gate faster than you can blink, we will need a way to lock the door so he doesn't get out and fall down the stairs or try to run a bath! We've got a knob cover for now, but Mr. Hands will soon figure out how to remove it. What then?

I know all parents go through this, and it all works out in the end, but I've been dreading this for over a year now. Easy-going Big Brother did not prepare me for this. But now I will stop my chatter, breathe, and remind myself that God has prepared me, and it really WILL all work out in the end.

Easter Eggs with Little Ones

Whew! It's good to be home. I love visiting family, but a week is a long time, and I felt like I needed a vacation once we got back. But finally the laundry pile is back to a manageable size, we have more clean dishes than dirty, and I'm back into my routine. It's good to be home.

Yet, I've suddenly realized that Easter is upon us, along with all of the activities, church services, and food. And I've hardly had time to plan for any of them! I still don't have shirts for the boys to wear under their Easter sweater vests, neither has appropriate dress shoes, and it looks like I'll end up having to wear khakis and a polo shirt to the Easter service! Thanks to CVS and Walgreens, the Easter baskets are done, but we don't have any eggs for the baskets yet. Hmmm... Looking back at my memories of Easter, I think of the egg decorating. Mix the tab with vinegar, hold the egg in the floppy wire contraption, put the egg in the dye, take it out, and put stickers on it. In all honesty, the stickers were the only exciting part. And then they sat in the fridge for weeks and no one really wanted to eat them. Why did we bother?

I picked up two free egg decorating kits from CVS last week, and Kroger has their eggs on sale for $1/dozen. I realized that if I could could make egg decorating fun enough, than that's some pretty cheap entertainment! On recipezaar, I found several different methods for decorating eggs, and I'm looking forward to trying them all when the boys get older, but this one is what we did today... with a few modifications to make it toddler-friendly.

• Mix your dyes in separate cups (store-bought, food coloring, or home-made) though you don't need as much liquid as usual.
• Put three hard-boiled eggs in a colander in the kitchen sink (the mess is contained!)
• Sprinkle the eggs with vinegar so the color soaks in better.
• Stand your child on a sturdy stepladder at the sink and hand him a paintbrush (we used one of the foam ones that soaks up paint/dye very nicely)
• Paint one color at a time, letting the dye sit for a minute or so, then rinse the brush and eggs before doing the next color to avoid mixing them.
• Rinse well and dry on a paper towel. We'll probably add stickers later today.

It makes a lovely tie-dye effect, the child gets to be more creative than with the dip method, and the paint brush makes application easy for children lacking the fine motor skills required for more complex dying techniques. We all had a blast, clean-up was a snap, and our eggs look great. Now, to find out if the boys will eat hard-boiled eggs!

Entertainment While Sick

Six days ago, the boys started coming down with a cold. Just as they started feeling better, I got it! So we've been stuck at home trying to avoid boredom. Here are a few activities to make sick people (toddlers and mommy alike) smile.

Play doctor

• We used a Dixie cup to play, "Does your ___ hurt?" Placing the Dixie stethoscope on big brother's knee, I'd ask, "Does your knee hurt?" Move it to his shoulder. "Does your shoulder hurt?" He thought it was hillarious. I played this with little brother to reinforce the names of body parts. What was really funny was when I was sick a few days later and suddenly felt a toy cup on my head and heard big bro ask, "Does your hair hurt?"

Love on the doggies

• The boys usually don't do much loving on the doggies. They chase them, roll on them, and "brush" them, but just sitting and petting them... it doesn't happen. When the boys were cold and sick, they developed quite the symbiotic relationship. When sitting together on the couch, the boys could steal warmth from the dogs, and the dogs could steal the boys' snacks (not that the boys were very interested in snacks, being sick and all!) There's been a lot more hugging and loving going on since.
  

Rub 'em down

• Nothing puts a smile on a child's face like a good tickle. But when a child is sick, they don't want to roll on the floor and laugh until they cry, so a more subtle form of touch is useful. I pulled out the Vicks Baby Rub, and made a little game of rubbing it on their chests and feet. They liked the smooth touch, and the soothing smell (much nicer than regular Vicks!), but they especially liked the special attention they got as I massaged it into their skin. It tickled enough for a few giggles and smiles, but not enough to annoy them.

Blanket Buddies

• The boys love each other so much, but it seems that when one is in a hugging mood, the other is in a "don't touch me" mood. When they were both at the height of their cold, both were in a "don't touch me" mood, but they both had fevers, too. I put them on the couch side-by-side and covered them up with a big, fluffy blanket. They sat there cuddled together for at least 30 minutes, heads resting on each other.
  

Pull out the Essential Oils

• I keep a few EOs on hand for cleaning and to use in a diffuser. I pulled out the rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, and orange, all good scents for sickness. Both boys enjoyed getting to smell them, and it certainly helped the overall mood of the room to have the diffuser going.

Pull out something new

• Pull out a new DVD, book, game, or toy. I always try to have a few things put back (items secretly removed from the overflowing Christmas or birthday present pile) for an "emergency." Another option would be to send someone (DH, a good friend) to the library to check out a book or DVD. My boys loved the Baby Einstein DVDs that they hadn't seen in forever!
  

Cool-mist Humidifier "sprinkler"

• Pull out the cool-mist humidifier, aim the mist out into the middle of the room, and watch them go! It was like a sprinkler or bubbles in the house. They were running through it, trying to catch it, and just having a blast. It was a positive side to while trying to help them breate better!

What other ideas do you have for making sickness less miserable?

Dealing with tantrums

Books are scattered across the living room floor. Somehow, in the 2 minutes I was in the bathroom, they had gotten the bookcase open and nearly emptied it out! "NOOOO!" I noticed my favorite book, one my grandmother had given me, The Secret Garden, lying open on the floor with a page half torn. At my feet was DH's Dune Messiah with the front cover torn off. I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, I wanted to hit something, and I wanted to run away. What did I do? What any sane, rational person would do, of course! I found the nearest empty receptacle (a toy bin, of course) and started throwing books into it as fast as I could, with no regard for the books, children, or other innocent bystanders. I knew that the boys could empty the bookcase faster than I could fill it, so I scrambled around with the books looking for a "safe" place. While looking for an empty high shelf, a dog got underfoot, tripped me, and I bumped into DS, knocking him to the floor. "NO, dog! Not now!" To my crying DS, "You're okay. Here. Have some milk. Here's a boo-boo-duck." After placing the sippy and the cold pack in his hands, I turn away from him so I can deal with the dog. "How many times do you have to go out in one day?! Fine. Fine. Out! I'll let you back in at bedtime. I said, 'OUT,' dog!!" I slam the door, brush past DS, throw the book bin on my bed, and sit on the floor. I can't handle this. I'm a horrible mother. I was so upset about the books that I blew up at the kids, at the dogs, ignored their needs, and proved to be a horrible example. Sure, I didn't use any language that was improper, but my tone of voice, my attitude, and my actions were far from agreeable. I could have damaged the books even more throwing them about like that. I probably hurt DS's feelings by ignoring him when I hurt him, even if it was an accident. I was ready to get rid of the dog just because she asked to go out at the wrong time. What else can I do to mess things up? Then I go back out to prepare for the next battle.

An incident this morning got me thinking. As adults, we don't have the throw-yourself-on-the-floor, scream, kick, and threaten-to-hold-your-breath kind of tantrums. But we still have tantrums. Our human nature tends to take over in times of stress if we allow it. We need to seek out God's peace in order to face difficult situations with wisdom and dignity. Whenever my children are exhibiting signs of stress, or going into temper-mode, I have them go to timeout. I tell them they are there to calm down, and as soon as they're calm and ready to play nice, they can get up and go back to playing. Why don't I do that myself? Why, as adults, do we put higher expectations on our kids than we do on our own selves? We all need a chance to calm down. Instead of hiding in the bedroom or resting my head on the kitchen counter top as I await the next crisis, I could put myself in time out to calm down and perhaps avert the next crisis! In addition to a more positive outlook, I would have provided my children a positive example of behavior and attitude in times of frustration. How much different... how much better would my perspective be if I were willing to put myself in time out? Hmm. How weird would it be to add "Put myself in time out" to my weekly To-Do list?

Books are scattered across the living room floor. Somehow, in the 2 minutes I was in the bathroom, they had gotten the bookcase open and nearly emptied it out! "NOOOO!" I notice my favorite book, one my grandmother had given me, The Secret Garden, lying open on the floor with a page half torn. At my feet was DH's Dune Messiah with the front cover torn off. I want to cry, I want to scream, I want to hit something, and I want to run away. What do I do? Set a good example, of course! I gather the boys and herd them upstairs. "It's time to play puzzles!" As they dump pieces onto the floor, I sit in the hallway and pray for peace, wisdom, and understanding. I pray for my children, that they would know that I love them no matter what. I pray for DH to have a good day at work so he's in a good mood when he finds out his book is now missing the cover. DS comes over and asks why I'm not playing, and I say, "I need to calm down in time out. Mama was really sad, so I'm sitting in time out to pray. I'll come play in just a few minutes after I'm calm and happy. You go play with your brother." After a few more moments, I go in and start playing with them. After a few minutes, the dogs start barking to go out. We all head back downstairs. Younger DS helps direct the dogs out the door while older DS gets their food ready. Once the dogs are back in, we all sit on the couch. I explain that I'm sad that some of my books are broken, and daddy will be sad to find his books broken. I suggest we try to clean them up and see which ones we can fix. With help, the boys fill the nearest empty recepticle (a toy bin, of course) with the unharmed books. The "broken" books go up on the bookshelf so that I can do the repairs once the boys are in bed. We move to the kitchen table so the boys can color. I stand in the doorway watching them, thinking about what a blessing they are to me.

Counting my blessings

I am so thankful to be past the baby stage. I love, love, love my full-night's sleep, and I love, love, love having children that can (to some degree) let me know what is wrong. Toddlers can be such a blessing. God uses bad times to remind us of our blessings.

Last night was a bad time. My 21-month-old son woke up crying, and after a few moments, I realized he wasn't going to roll over and fall back asleep. It sounded like an "I lost my teddy" cry, so I was just going to search the floor by his bed, put it in his hand, pat his back, and go back to bed. Nope. When I opened the door to his room, the smell overwhelmed me. He had thrown up. I had this fleeting thought that I should close the door and keep him quarantined to keep any stomach bug from infecting the rest of us, then I wondered if I could get through the clean-up without getting sick myself! Knowing my responsibility had to be stronger than my revulsion, I turned on the light and went in to survey the damage. Yes, teddy was nearly invisible, "bee-ket" was in bad shape, and my son was covered head-to-toe. Ugh. Time to yell into the baby monitor to wake up DH. Together we were able to get DS back to bed as quickly and calmly as possible.

Yes, last night was a bad time. But today, DS is running, jumping, and laughing with his brother. Yesterday he was running, jumping, and laughing with his brother. Was he sick? Did he eat something that didn't agree with him? Did he get choked on something? The mystery remains. But instead of lamenting over the bookcase that he just emptied out on the floor, today I am able to rejoice that he is feeling well enough to make a horrific mess. Yes, God most certainly does use bad times to remind us of our blessings.

Get a FREE subscription to Focus on the Family Magazine!

I was just glancing at some deals on Thrifty Mama's blog, and became so excited when I saw this. You can get a FREE subscription to Focus on the Family Magazine and/or Dr. Dobson's newsletter. I went ahead and signed up for mine, but I know several of you would probably enjoy this magazine as well. Being Family-Focus Friday, it seemed like a perfect time to mention it! If you don't know about them, here is their Mission Statement from their website:

"To cooperate with the Holy Spirit in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible by nurturing and defending the God-ordained institution of the family and promoting biblical truths worldwide."

Sign up HERE and enjoy!

The Toddler's Mite

My 3-year-old found a nickel on the floor this morning. With excitement and anticipation, he held up his prize for me to see. "Mommy, I found some money!" Now, we have not discussed money with him. He knows his piggy bank clinks when he shakes it, and clinks louder when you add a coin, but as for the purpose, he's clueless. Or so I thought. I suggested to him that we should go put it in his piggy bank, and then he shocked me. He started to cry. Baffled, I tried to decipher what the problem was through his sobs and howls. Finally, I got it. "N-o-o-o-o. That's for c-h-u-r-c-h!!"

My immediate and humored thoughts went something like this:
"Easy for him to say! He doesn't know what else he could do with that money. I bet if I gave him a choice of putting that nickel in the offering plate or buying a lollipop at the store, he wouldn't have to think long on that one!"

How jaded we become. How selfish. Instead of a desperate desire to give and help others, we try to hoard it for ourselves. When giving to church or a charity, we consider "what else [we] could do with that money" before determining how much we will give. No wonder Jesus says we must come to him as little children. Oh, to return to that simple joy at being able to put a coin in the plate. My toddler will put his precious mite in the plate this Sunday. Perhaps we adults should follow the lead of a child after all.

And he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3)