Cure for Stubborn Toddlers

I recently heard that reverse psychology works wonders with toddlers, especially 2 yr olds. So I know a bunch of my regular readers are August 06 mommas like me.. I say let's try it out.

Here are some examples of daily activities at my house..

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Happens often during the day

Me: Logan, share with the baby. He wants to play too.

Logan: No, No share (while frantically running from the baby and dragging along the toy he wants me to hide from the 9 month old who drags himself rather then crawl)

Me: You have to share, he is your brother.

Logan: No No No share (now jumping up and down at my legs while ramming the toy into my shins in hope that I will save the toy at the last minute from the gripes of that threatening baby)

********What I should have said was, Ok, no share with the baby**************
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Dinner Time

Me: Try one bite of (insert any healthy food here)

Logan: NOOOOOOO!!! (Louder then a riffle at close range, while squirming in his chair and twisting his face as far away from the food as he can get without snapping his neck)

Me: Just one bite, please

Logan: (Repeats the above scene, but also now shoves his food, and drink across the table)

Me: Ok, fine then, sit there

Logan: All done, wanna play, all done

Me: one bite first

Logan: Swipes all his food and anything near him to the ground.

Me: (I normally want to hurt him at this point so instead I breath deep)
This repeats for a while till normally "the adults" give in.

********What I should have said was, Ok, no more bites of beans for you**************

So you might be thinking; does she really think this is going to work. The answer is nope, but it might make the whole scene more amusing.

I totally expect that when I say Ok no sharing with the baby he will continue to react the same.

and when I say ok no more bites for you. Logan will smile and way all done waiting to get down

But it is still worth a try and I bet some of us it will work for.

Stroller Strides Special!!

Happy Birthday Stroller Strides:
This week is National Stroller Strides Birthday! To celebrate, Stroller Strides of Wilmington as well as many others across the country will offer a one week only Aug. special. This special will end for Wilmington on aug. 31st.

The registration fee is ONLY $7.00 for this week only with a three month commitment. What a deal! strollerstrides.net/northwilmington

Misbehaving: An Olympic Event for Toddlers

We get used to the outbursts and curiosity for everything around. They are awfully cute while learning to walk and balance that unusually large head on their shoulders. I never wanted my son to get any older then 1. I thought 6 months - 1 year was great! Oh man but then he started to walk and learned some words, while still signing with his hands. It was so fun to watch him grow.

Then all of the sudden at about 16 months....... things started to change. He got a bit more stubborn and had a huge opinion about EVERYTHING!! He never wanted to snuggle and he stopped eating anything other then cheese and fruits. Lucky for him he had a new phrase or accomplishment that made up laugh or smile, so I decided it would be ok to keep him ;)

Now he is officially 2 and truly, watch out. He doesn't want to share. He hates to listen and do what I say. He is sneaky and often caught doing what I have asked him not to. He checks if we see him, and if he thinks the coast is clear, he knocks over the baby, sits on him, hits him in the head with toys, smothers him with pillows and bites his toes.

A few examples from today:

I had changed the babies diaper and put him on the rug while I went to toss the diaper bag. Logan had followed us in the room and was on the floor playing. I come in the door from throwing out the diaper and I hear crying, then muffled crying, crying, muffled crying, wailing, muffled wailing. I run down the hall to find Logan sitting on the baby's back on the floor and shoving his face down into the run repeatedly.

I put the baby in the playroom while I am picking up and walk around the corner sweeping. I hear "NO NO NO SHARE EEEEEEEHHHHH!" Logan come running out of the playroom with a book in hand saying "hideit" (all one word to him). I tell him "no" and to share. He cries. WE both go in the room together and I give the baby a tuck. Logan looks at it runs over and takes it away from the baby. I tell him, "You need to share with the baby too! he can play with the toys." Logan screams "NO!" he gets on his Thomas ride on toy and scoots away. The baby scootches ( he drags himself in commando minus the knees. using one toe to propel himself forward) after him. Logan screams again adn rams the ride on into my legs telling my again "hideit!"

Later after dinner, Logan is playing at his train table and the baby pulls up to his knees to it grabbing one of the trains not on the track. Logan flips out, like his world had ended, and throws a cast iron train off the baby's head. Everyone cries.

I do not like this stage much and my guess is this is only the very very beginning. I was a terrible horrible teen.

Intentional Broom Tapping

Intentional Broom Tapping is what happens when Rob is asked (told) to sweep up the Cheerios, after he laughed and watched them get tossed all over the floor from two children at dinner.

Here is how it went down, let me set the scene.

Logan (2 yr old): swiping food all over the floor.

Landon (9 month old with two bottom tooth grin): tossing, swiping and banging food off the table.

Me (angry, stressed out mom): ripping my hair out, clenching teeth.

Rob (out of work late finds it funny): smiling and a little chuckle as he hands Landon a cheerio and it goes over board.


Here is the dialogue to go along with that scene.

Rob: he he

Me: you won't be laughing when you are sweeping that up in a minute.

Rob: Why me?

Me: Because you laughed and gave him more while he was throwing.

Rob: Naa Haaa.

Me: Yaaa Haaa, you gave more to the baby while they were both throwing them and laughed about it with a stupid grin on your face.

Rob: It was funny.

{A few minutes later Rob goes to get the broom}

Rob: (after looking at me for like 30 seconds..like I read minds) ahh a littel help?

Me: ahhh, open the cellar door it has been there for over a year!!!

Rob: well I don't know if it made its way into the other room.

Me: What???

{Rob starts sweeping and hits my foot with the boom}

Me: You did that intentionally!

Rob: you always think I am out to get you.

Me: Cause you are!

Rob: You are crazy!

Me: I'm depressed

Rob: Ha HA, you might be delusional but definantly not depressed!

Does Anyone Really Enjoy Yogurt?

Eating a French Vanilla Yogurt this morning, that is what I was wondering? I mean, the flavor of some of them is pretty good, but the texture???

Do we buy them for variety?

Do we buy them for convenience and a quick meal?

Or do we feel healthy, somehow when we eat them?

I am pretty sure I only buy them to switch it up in the morning. I do not particularly like most breakfast food and I don't drink milk. SO cereal is rare for me, cereal bars are too sweet to eat often and I get bored with toast. I feel like a fat ass for one reason or another when I eat a bagel, I don't like the after taste of eggs, and not a huge fan of waffles and pancakes.

Back to the yogurt. Do you like it? Really? What about oatmeal? that makes me gagg!!! It's like gritty baby food that gets stuck all over your mouth trying to just get it down..

So my real question I guess is why the hell did Sonia write a book of recipes for it? Honestly?

Going to dinner with young kids!

We went out last night for my mother-in-law's birthday.

Watch out China Blossom!! Here we are; 6 adults, 2 toddlers and a baby.
Watch out me; Where did I have to sit: Across from toddler, beside another toddler and on the other side the baby.

So ok two of those are mine. I made them. I guess I need to deal with them at dinner.

Here is what it looked like. Everyone went to the buffet to get there plates.
I stayed to watch 1 baby and 1 toddler. I am feeding the baby on my left and picking up crayons, mini trucks and cars and randomly a hippo off the ground to my right.

When I got my food it was worse. Crayon and noddles flying on my right, spoons, glasses, place mats, rattles and my plate all being shifted and tossed on my left. GOD....why does anyone try to go out and eat with babies? That is what I was thinking the entire time.

I turn to my left and try to feed the baby his bottle who is taking a sip and swatting the bottle away and when I look back toward the right....There is MY insane toddler spooning fried rice onto his sippy cup (and how the heck did he get the car back?..The one that is driving through the plate of sweet sauce and chicken fingers!!!!) In a matter of seconds he had turned his dinner plate into a mountain high mess of milk, rice and other slop all the while driving around in it blissfully.

The horrified waitress luckily had a sense of humor and was friendly with the boys.

It got worse with ice cream but I am stressed out just thinking about it now :)

I used to be funny!

While driving home from Maine the other day with my family I turned to my husband and said "I used to be funny, then I had kids." It is sooo true. My mind once was always full of funny ways to say things or a great come back one or two liner. Now I have NOTHING. Often I can barely complete a thought never mind find something funny to say.

Can labor steal your funny? I think I was still funny while pregnant. I know it may have been mostly out of boredom and anger and depression (because I was fat and bored)but I still had funny things to say.

That is all I got.

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Learning How to Give and Take.

So after 3+ years of marriage I am trying to learn how to give and take. After a family party yesterday we had to rush home so Rob could get to his buddy's bachelor party. I got the kids sorted out and unpacked from our day trip while he got ready to go to drink, play games and go off to a strip club. I asked him to sleep on the couch if he was super drunk.

Here is the first give and take:
I stayed up way too late sewing but that is another story. Rob got home at 2:00 AM. I heard him hit up the fridge and I fell asleep. He slept on the couch like a good boy. No trying to cop-a-feel. Because he had respected what I asked him to do I kept the baby at bay in the bedroom till 7:00 rather then let him get up at 6:00.

After getting the baby up to get him a bottle Rob got off the couch, got some Advil and went into the bedroom. I had both boys and tried to keep them as quiet as possible till 11:00 when I finally had enough. Rob rolls out of bed then.

Here is the second give and take:
Since I had let him sleep in till 11:00 and work off his hang over, keeping the kids out of his way and the house quiet, I asked him to do the food shopping. I did say "You owe me". And guess what, HE DID IT!

SCORE~~for me. It is not that I hate food shopping but I really hate one store that we shop at because it is old and small and crowded and hard to navigate with or without kids.I would so much prefer to go to Shaws or Stop and Shop because they are larger and way less crowded. But the other place is soo soo soo much cheaper. We are budgeting.

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Logan is 24 months old!

Ok, I know I can count in years now.

I was not sad at 1 but 2 is totally and completely different. he is no longer that adorable tiny little baby or toddler. He has morphed into this tantrum throwing, handsome, limit testing, smarty pants! He is a boy!!! He loves the work "no" and says it loudly. His gibberish is quickly turning to sentences. While standing and moving he only seems to fall now when he is spinning in circles endlessly. He makes choices. He demands what he wants to eat and when! He sneaks out of time outs. He hits and then gives hugs. He knocks over the baby and then asks to play. He knows how to use the telephone and clicker. He wants to help with everything. His dinner is a funny game to him! He sings real songs and fake ones. He mimics books and shows with his toys. he loves playing with other toddlers and is fairly good with sharing.

Today we celebrated his 2nd birthday! Rob took the day off and we went to the Aquarium. It was great to watch him discover all the sea life! he had a blast. He saw penguins, sharks, turtles and fishies. he even got to touch a star fish. There was much more but those were his favorites. He ate french fries for lunch and had an ice cream cake after dinner. Now his big party is this Saturday. i will share pictures after the weekend.

I sure will miss that wobbly little new toddler.

Scary foods with babies (including toddlers)

I might be slightly neurotic but I am nervous of a bunch of food with my kids. I even get nervous when other people feed their own kids this list of foods. I almost end up holding my breath waiting for something bad to happen when I see any of these food not diced up or in tiny tiny pieces and fed to babies and toddlers. Here in an article I just found which proves my point!!! Here is my list. I am aware I may need help lol but add to my list if I mess anything you know of.

Hot dogs ~ need to be sliced the long way and cut up because they are around the exact size of a baby/ toddlers airway.

Grapes ~ need to be sliced the long way and cut up because they are around the exact size of a baby/ toddlers airway.

Apples ~ bite sizes are solid and can easily lodge in throats.

Oranges ~ They may not chew the piece apart enough and the the stringy pulp does not let loose while one part stays in the mouth and the rest is trapped only part way down the pipe.

Steak ~ tough to chew and often not chewed enough while swallowing and talking/ laughing at meals.

Round Cheese sticks ~ need to be sliced the long way and cut up because they are around the exact size of a baby/ toddlers airway.

Cheese chunks (sold in squares) They are too large for little mouths and when chewed a little stay as a lump, which can also get caught.

Carrots ~ need to be sliced the long way and cut up because they are around the exact size of a baby/ toddlers airway.

Ice of all types ~ for obvious reasons and it does not melt fast enough to prevent choking.

Tortilla chips and nacho chips like Doritos ~ they can chew them well enough and not only choking they can stab tops of mouths and gums!!

Popcorn ~ not sure why yet but dogs should not have it either. I have to go read why.

Another tidbit I found on consumer reports


POTENTIAL HAZARDS

Here are some foods to watch out for:

Rounded, small, or slippery foods. They can slip right down the throat and lodge at a narrowed spot. Such foods include baby carrots, grapes, and raisins.

Firm, but pliable, foods. Items like hot dogs, sausages, and frozen banana pieces can conform to the shape of the throat and lodge there.

Light, dry foods. Snacks such as popcorn, tortilla chips, potato chips, and pretzels can get stuck in the throat, as can hard produce (including those with tough or dry skins), such as raw apples and carrots.

Chewy, sticky foods. These might not be manageable for very young children. They include caramels, gum, gummy bears, fruit "leather" (such as Roll-Ups), dollops of peanut butter, and cheese slices or cubes.

Stringy foods, like celery or spaghetti, may also be hard for little ones to manage.

If a food is tough to chew, like steak or bagels, children might try to swallow pieces whole--an obvious hazard. Steak, chicken, or other meats with bones are also hazardous.

Some medications, including those for teething pain, can numb the mouth and throat muscles, so talk to your child's pediatrician about the safest way to feed your child.


TIPS FOR PARENTS

These easy steps can help prevent choking:

* Don't put cereal in a baby's bottle.
* Place children upright in a comfortable high chair or booster seat with a table surface that provides support.
* Keep portions small. Give your child more if he or she wants it. For spoon-fed babies, wait until the mouth is clear before giving the child more food.
* For children ages 4 or younger, make sure solid food is cut into pieces smaller than half an inch. Round foods like hot dogs and grapes should be cut in half.
* Cook foods such as pasta, rice, beans, and hard vegetables until soft.
* Avoid feeding small foods like nuts to young children. They have few (if any) molars to grind them, and could choke if they unexpectedly laugh or take a deep breath and inhale them.
* Watch for "chipmunking"--when a child fills his cheeks with food and doesn't swallow it.
* Keep older children from handing easy-to-choke-on foods or small objects to younger children.
* Limit distractions during meal time, such as TV, pets, and game-playing, so children can focus on their food.
* Never leave a child alone while eating.
* Don't feed a child in a car or bus. It will be hard for a driver to pull to the side of the road fast enough to help a choking child.'
You can find the rest of the article here

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This is not just a walking class, if that is what you first thought. We do cardio, abs, arm and leg work with resistance bands and have a bunch of fun. All the while we are entertaining the kids when we can.




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