Toddler Rainy Day Fun

Well it is raining and that leads to an important question....what do I do with Z??? Since the weather has gotten warmer, we spend most of our time outside and this makes rainy days very challenging...he wants to be "ousiiii"!!!!! So on these days, I take a deep breath and try to reintroduce him to toys that he has not seen in a long time or find fun things to do.

Lately one of our favorite things to do is build a fort. We use our parachute (a sheet would work just fine) and the dining room chairs to make the fort and then get lots of pillows and all of Z's puzzles, books and trucks. It is so relaxing and cozy to play with his toys under our fort. It is a nice break for me to lie down and read to him.

Another thing we like to do on a rainy day is play with Play-Doh. I love this duffle bag, it is the perfect combination of tools and dough and it stores nicely in the bag. When I first introduced Play-Doh, Z used if for about 5 minutes. Each time I take it out, he gets a little more into it. Today he played with it for 20 minutes!

Our last favorite rainy day activity is to play with bubbles. These are the best bubbles in the whole world! They have some sort of plastic in them (don't worry they are non-toxic) so they last forever. I have had bubbles last for 3 days :) I am a crazy mom with a carpeted playroom so I don't mind blowing bubbles in the house. If you have hardwood floors....do not use these bubbles inside! It says right on the bottle that they can leave marks on wood so keep it away from your nice wood furniture too.

Well those are some of the activities that we like to do on rainy days :) Please share what you do to keep your tots busy when they are itching to be "ousiiiii"!!!!

It's Done!!!

Well it took about 3 weeks (because of our trip to Lake Placid) but Z's swing set is now complete! I think it was more fun for Z (and us) to have different parts of the set revealed every week. First he had his swing, the next week his slide and now he has his "twee how" (tree house). S and I felt a sense of accomplishment as we put on the roof of the set on Saturday. It was nice to work together to finish something for our Z. We worked as a great team :)

I highly recommend Swing N Slide sets if you are on a budget. For a little over $500 we were able to build the whole set (we have the Wrangler model) and they have other models which are even cheaper! We still need to stain and seal it but other than that it is done! It does take a whole weekend worth of time to build but it his so worth it :)

Happy Swinging!!!

"Momma Had a Baby and....."

So I know it is rare for me to post two times in one day but I had to share this. Let me preface this by saying that we "try" to be an all natural family and don't believe in using pesticides or harsh fertilizers on our lawn. This being said, it does not look like something you would find on Wisteria lane but rather on Old MacDonald's farm. We are fine with this look and as long as it is mowed, nobody can complain (right?).

So Z and I were outside after lunch playing in the grass. He noticed the dandelions and so I explained to him that they were flowers. At that moment a wave of childhood memories came over me and I picked the dandelion and chanted "Momma had a baby and the head popped off" and then I flicked the head of the flower off the dandelion. It went sailing through the air and this threw Z into a fit of laughter. He signed and said "more" and so giggling along with him, we went from flower to flower chanting the very inappropriate rhyme.

Now in Elementary school we were banned from this innocent child's game because it was mean to say that a baby's head popped off. I know it is not the nicest of rhymes to teach my 19 month old but I find it to be fun and innocent. When we ran out of dandelion heads, Z took one of the heads and chanted "momma" "baby" and threw the flower around the yard. It was too cute! What a great afternoon!!!!

Swing Set Update

Well it is pouring rain today and poor Z has to look at his half built swing set from the slider. He keeps saying "ousiii....ousiiii". He then signs "rain" and walks away to find something else to do.

Well the weekend was very busy for us! Between my best friend getting married, a surprise birthday party, a BBQ and the swing set raising party....we were beat come Sunday night. It was a fun weekend (especially the wedding) and pretty productive as well. No, the swing set is not done (we ran into some set backs on Sunday) but S and I were out there working until almost 10:30 Sunday night to make sure that Z could at least swing :) He did get a few moments of swing time on Monday morning before the rain. He giggled and cried out "weeeee". He was so excited. Tonight we hope that the rain will stop long enough for us to install the railings and slide. He will freak out when he sees the slide....I can't wait :)

Thanks to everyone who helped us with the swing set. Congrats to L, J, N and C.....the wedding was perfect and L you were gorgeous :) Thanks for allowing me to be a part of it!!!!

To Swing or Not to Swing.....

That is the question around here lately...do we get the swing set this year or wait until next??? Well after playing over at a friends house the other day (who has a swing set) I came home with my answer :) I thought he would be too little but Z loved this swing set. I knew he loved slides but this was ridiculous....he was shaking with delight, giggling every time he went down the gigantic slide. Then there were the swings to which he would say "weeeeeee".

My two friends K and J are in the market for new swing sets as well. K wants an outdoor playland so that her daughter does not have to be trampled at the local park :) She already has a play cottage, see-saw, sandbox and water table (hand-me downs from a generous neighbor). Her husband is now trying to find the perfect swing set. J had to beg her man to get a swing set but with twins.....she needs one most of all! Her daughter O is obsessed with swinging and J swears that her kids will not cry anymore if they are able to swing everyday. I think it will be J who will not have to cry anymore when her twins run off in two different directions at the park!

So I came home and asked S if we could get a swing set. I explained my reasoning and waited for an answer. He asked why not just get Z a Little Tikes Slide or a climbing structure? I explained that for only a few hundred more dollars we could have a swing set that he could use for his entire childhood and one that would be durable and last. I asked on the right night because without too much debate he said "yes!!!". Yippeeee!!!!

So we will be joining our friends in playgroup and getting a swing set. This now means we need to have a swing set raising party! I love parties and I think this one will be fun. We will have the grill out, beers in the cooler and hopefully the sun will be shining! We plan on inviting my sisters and their husbands, my mom and dad and maybe a few manly guy friends over (hey A what are you doing on the 26th??? :)).

I will keep you posted on the progress of our swing set and post pictures of our party! Hopefully Z will only have to wait a few more weeks before he can say "weeee" in his own backyard!

Great Truck Clip for Toddlers

Toddler Outdoor Toys

Okay, so I really have warmer weather on my brain this week…..I can’t wait for my vacation! I have been looking into fun things to do with Z when the weather gets warmer. We try to visit the two parks in our town once or twice a week (this year we may go more now that he is older) but it is nice to have options for him right here at home.

My mom bought him a great Step 2 sandbox last year for his birthday, which he loves! It is very sturdy and we can’t wait until the snow melts so we can play with it again. Z also loves his Step 2 wagon and I am excited to take out the Radio Flyer tricycle he got for Christmas (we need to get a helmet though). I think he is still too young for a swing set (especially the one I want) so this year the plan is to get him a slide, a water table and maybe something to climb on???? I will have to check out craigslist soon ☺

We tried two different pools last year and I didn’t love either one of them. I first got this water park extravaganza! It had a palm tree that sprayed water, a blow up slide and so much more. It was horrible and destroyed our lawn! I then got a spring pool, which was better but it took so much water to fill it up. It was also very difficult to dump out every few days. This year my plan is to go for the old school hard plastic pool. That way I can fill it with a little water and dump it easily at the end of the day!

I can’t wait to be playing outside with Z! I know there will be bugs but I don’t care ☺ I want to take walks with the wagon, go out for runs with the jogging stroller and play in the sandbox. Spring….here we come!!!

Balls to Trucks to Dinosaurs????

I am truly baffled by my little Z :) He seems to be interested in all things marketed for boys and I do not believe that this is my doing or because of television (he doesn't see TV commercials). It is so funny to see him transform from interest to interest. Z was obsessed with balls for months. We played with them, read about them, watched movies about them and he even slept with them. His new love is trucks! He still loves his balls but if you put a real live truck (or truck book) out and a ball.....7 times out of 10 he will go towards the truck.

Z was given a truck book for his 1st birthday and he had no interest in it whatsoever. It sat on his shelf and whenever I took it out to read it to him he would slap it away and say "no". So one day, about a month ago, he went over and picked up the book and he hasn't put it down since! He is obsessed with trucks. We now play with them, read about them, watch movies about them and look for them on the road (he hasn't requested to sleep with one yet). I just don't get it.

It seems like all boys go through this rite of passage and companies know it and so they market to it. All boys things are trucks, sports and dinosaurs....which makes me think that dinosaurs will be next on Z's list. Who knows???

I am sure there is research out there that explains this strange phenomenon and it is my plan to look into it. For now I will just be baffled by Z's stereotypical boyish interests. I do have to say that we were at a friend's house one day and he did pick up her dolly and give it a big hug! This made me so happy....it shows his little sensitive side :)

Baseballs, Basketballs, Footballs, Soccerballs....

It does not matter what kind of ball it is (although lately he prefers basketballs) Z is obsessed with toy balls! He has a ball pit filled with different types of balls that he has been given. He sleeps with a baseball, takes a football where ever we go, plays basketball morning, noon and night and even prefers to read books that have balls featured in the story!

Last week at the library I was looking through their DVD collection and found the jackpot of all movies. It is a movie all about balls! I showed it to Z in the library and he carried it all over the place with a great big smile on his face. The movie is one of the Baby Pro Sports videos called Let's Play Baseball-Basketball-Soccer Sports. These videos, according to their website, are designed to "inspire physically active lifestyles for young children". At first my husband and I thought this was ridiculous. Z requests this movie all of the time by signing ball and bringing us the DVD case. He sits there mesmerized as the classical music plays and the narrators beautiful voice explains what is happening on the screen. We both thought that watching this movie did nothing more than encourage our son to be a couch potato.

That was until we turned the movie off....he then runs to his basketball hoop to shoot baskets or he goes to find his soft baseball and throws it around the room. This video even taught him how to kick a soccer ball! We had been trying for a long time and now he imitates the children in the video and can not only recognize his soccer ball but knows what to do with it :) I really do like this movie for many reasons. First, Z loves it and it makes him so happy to watch it. He gets so excited about the video and loves to imitate the kids after. Second, it shows not only babies and children playing the sport but also youth and then pros playing as well. It is a very nice progression through each of the three sports. Third, it is a very calming video. The music and the woman's voice are very soothing and nice to listen to. At a party last weekend we had more than one adult get sucked into the movie because they enjoyed listening to the woman's voice. And finally, I love it because the baseball segment is just long enough for me to take a shower ;)

Thank you Baby Pro Sports! We have to return this video to the library today (sad day) but we are going to check out one of the other Baby Pro DVDs that they have. We also plan to check it out again for Z's plane trip coming up soon. On second thought, we might have to convince Daddy to let us buy our own copy for the trip....it seems like it will be well worth the money!

"Time-In"

A friend shared the following link with the moms in our playgroup last week. She wanted to help us stay on our A game :) It is called the 50 best parenting tips ever. Most of these happen automatically everyday but it was nice to review them and think about the ones that we do not do as often as we should.

The 1st on the list is one that we strive to do as much as we can. It says, "Grant a wish. Take an hour or two each week to do exactly what your child desires without interruptions or distractions -- even if she wants to play a game you hate or build block towers and then knock them all down." Well in the toddler world these few hours of Z time are broken up into small 5-20 minute segments throughout the week. We love to use "Time-In's" from Harvey Karp's book, The Happiest Toddler on the Block. "Time-In's" are uninterrupted time to play whatever Z wants (he's in charge). There are no phone calls taken during this time, no chores to be done, no adult conversations...it is all about Z. We say "Time-In" and he gets so excited and chooses the activity (or activities) to play....we have so much fun!

Z has always been pretty good at independent play (we are very fortunate for this). He loves to play with his toys, read books to himself or explore different objects in the home. Since starting "Time-Ins", Z has become even better at independent play. I think it is because he knows that he plays by himself for a bit (while mommy watches from a far or does a few chores) and then soon it will be time to play together.

So check out the 50 best parenting tips and remember to spend time following your child's lead and granting their wishes. It is so important for their growth and development to have time to control the play. After all, some of the games they come up with are a lot more fun and interesting than the games we come up with ;)

A Great Free Outing

Today Z and I went to our public library. It is one of his favorite places to go and I love it because it does not cost a thing! Our library has a wonderful kids section with lots of fun things for him to do. They have puzzles, cars, puppets, trains etc. He also loves to look through all of the board books and sit down to read them. We go once every two weeks and I pick out a few books and a movie for him. They have a great kids DVD selection and this week we got a short movie all about balls! Zachary is obsessed with balls (like most other toddlers his age) and was carrying the DVD case all over the house saying, "ball".

The one downfall of our trips to the library is getting Z to leave. He cries when it is time to go and usually has to be bribed with milk or his toy football. The librarians think it is great that he loves the library so much.

Many libraries have lots of free programs for kids. Ours has a toddler story time which Z will be ready for in a few months. I highly recommend checking out your public library. It is one free and fun activity you can do with your kids for their entire childhood!

Thank God For Playgroup!!!

My son was born in the fall of '06 and when winter hit I was going stir crazy!!!! I needed to get out of the house and meet people but what could I do with my four month old lump? All of my friends with children were an hour drive and I needed something..... someone closer to my new town.

So I signed up for a Kindermusik class in January which was great! It gave me a reason to shower, got me out of the house once a week and most importantly gave me 45 minutes of "adult" interaction :) As much as I loved the class it just wasn't enough...I needed something to do the other 4 days of the week...money was an issue so I couldn't sign up for more classes....so I kept searching for other things in my community.

I was very excited to find my local MOMS Club advertising in the paper last February. I clipped the ad and called the president the next day. She was very nice and it turned out that she was in my Kindermusik class :) Small world!!! I joined on the spot and was eager to get involved.

Well my journey with the MOMs Club has been a bit of a roller coaster. I did not really feel welcome at the few events I went to and my playgroup disbanded before it ever got started. Just when I was about to give up and look for something new, one of the girls from the club called me and asked me if I wanted to meet up at the park the next week. I was so excited that someone had reached out to me and so I quickly agreed to meet her and a few of the other moms that she had called.

Well it was one of the best thing I have ever done! At the park that day, I met 2 wonderful people who have become close friends. I am so fortunate to have met them and to have them in my life today. They have been very supportive and have helped me to meet and create the wonderful playgroup I am part of today.

I love playgroup!!!! Z and I look forward to it every week. We get together, the kids play and the adults chat :) We chat about the kids, answer each others questions and vent about our lives. It is so nice to be part of a nice group of women who I can count on and also have so much fun with. So my advice to all of you SAHM's....get out there and meet people. Join a MOMs club, find a playgroup, find a class for you and your child.....find people who you can connect with! It is essential for you and your child, because after all....It takes a village to raise a child!

Peace

Indoor Snow Play

Here is a picture of our snowmen ;)

Snowy Monday

Well we are all cozy inside on this very snowy day. S decided to work from home and is busy at work upstairs. It is so nice to have him around but a new challenge has been added to our day...how to keep Z distracted so that he does not go and bother daddy :)

So what does one do on a snowy day when it's too cold to go out and play? Bring the snow indoors!!! I went out on our deck, got a container full of snow and brought it inside. I put his mittens on him and we built snowman and dug in the snow with one of his spoons. I had a ball...Z wasn't sure what to make of it but he did like the snowmen we made. It was nice to "play" in the snow without getting cold and wet :)

We also built an obstacle course to pass the time (note to self.....15 month olds do not really know what to do with an obstacle course, they get caught up on one thing and don't want to move onto the next :)). Once again, I had a ball!!! I set up his ball pit, tunnel, my step from step-aerobics and a bunch of other fun things (toy drum, stacking cups, balls etc.). I set up the course to do a loop around the playroom. It was a lot of fun and Z did enjoy climbing on and playing with each piece of the course....he is just too young to understand that you are suppose to do it all in order. Who really cares, we had a lot of fun setting it up and playing with it anyway!

Well Z is asleep so I am off to do my FIRM workout of the day. I love these workouts...they are time efficient, work you really hard and are perfect for when you can't run outside :)