Mish Mash Momma

Paci Fairy update

FREE! WE'RE FREE! From the paci, that is. Finally.

It actually didn't take long after that last Paci Fairy post that we were finally rid of all of them for good. - Mostly. Let's just say 99.5% free. As long as no more appear in the house. They're hiding everywhere. 

We had an incident that turned into a fortunate stroke of luck, as far as sealing the deal with the Paci Fairy. As you all may recall, S found another paci somewhere in the house, and still tried to use it at bedtime. That turned into sneaking it during the day too. It only lasted a few days, though, Somehow S lost her beloved Dream Lites Butterfly. We said the Paci Fairy must have come back to reclaim her gift. S immediately ran to put that paci under her pillow in hopes the Paci Fairy would return the Dream Lites. - I should note that I actually had NO idea where this thing went to. It was truly lost. Luckily it was located by big sister under the train table. I was able to sneak it under the pillow and remove the paci. There was much joy when it was discovered at bedtime, and from that moment on, there was no more crying for the paci. Well, almost. When she's hurt or upset I still hear her cry, "I need my paci to help me feel better!" but we get through it and everything is fine. 

Every so often, a new paci appears. I think they breed under her bed. When that happens she spends a few minutes of enjoying it,  but that's becoming a rare occasion, as the longer S goes without, the less she really wants it in her mouth. Now, there are objects like her blanket or lovie, or a stuffed bunny that she's extra attached to at times, but that's okay. Those don't earn me a lecture from the dentist. 

Attack of the pink room

We actually have two VERY pink rooms in our house. Both are a complete disaster right now, but my oldest's room, well, it's downright dangerous. If I'm not stepping on something painful or tripping over something else, then it means I haven't been in the room yet that day. In other words, usually I've managed to injure myself in that room before 8:00 in the morning. Don't even get me started on the dirty (and sometimes clean) clothes strewn about.

We have shelves and bins and storage galore in that room, but none of it does any good if the toys and trinkets don't end up back where they belong. I don't know why it's so hard to maintain. I go through every so often and give it a good cleaning - a day long process - but in a matter of days it's back to disorder and chaos. I try to get Z to help me clean up, but often, it's so much easier for me to go through with a giant garbage bag and handle it myself. It's way faster too. I thought by first grade my child would be able to keep her own room tidy, but so far it hasn't worked out that way. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong, or if that's just the nature of a 6 year old girl. 

I know I'm not the only one struggling with keeping a child's bedroom from becoming a trash heap. Readers, what tips do you have for keeping things tidy? 

 

Here's the other side of the room. If I ever get it clean I'll post after photos.

No longer waiting for the Paci Fairy

She came. The Paci Fairy came. It was ugly. 

Not long after the Paci Fairy absconded with an armload of pacis, I looked at the video monitor and saw Sabrina playing with the super awsome gift she left behind. She thought the Dream Lites Butterfly was pretty neat, until she realized her pacis were gone. All gone. I have never seen my baby girl cry like that before. She was inconsolable. 

Not to be deterred, that stinker scoured the house, all while sobbing uncontrollably, and somehow managed to find a little newborn paci that the Paci Fairy must have overlooked. D'oh! - And you know what, we let her have it. It's so small that it looks uncomfortable in her mouth, and as soon as her eyes closed (around 3 AM), it fell out. Normally, that girl has better suction than a Dyson when it comes to keeping a paci in all night long. I plan to do some additional sabotage with a hole poked into it, and hopefully we can have a smooth(er) transition out of the paci addiction. In all our parenting milestones, we've always ended up with slow and smooth transitions, whether it be moving from our room to their own cribs, weaning, potty training, or even ditching the paci (in big sister's case). Cold turkey has never worked with our style and it's just not in our hearts to cause that much distress to our children. 

In the back of my mind, I sort of knew it would go this way. Hopefully in the next week or so we can complete the transition and be rid of that paci forever. We'll see. Sabrina got her revenge on the Paci Fairy me, by peeing on me at 5:30 in the morning as she slept in our bed. Figures.

Oh, Canada. Your shows blow

As I'm typing this I'm watching Max and Ruby with my 2 year old. It's one of the most obnoxious shows on Nick Jr. Where are Max and Ruby's parents anyway? Then there's a newer show called Dino Dan; apparently the kid has some sort of mental problem where he hallucinates that there are dinosaurs all over the place. I want to gouge out my eyes every time it comes on. Even my kids hate it. Franklin is just boring and slow - like most turtles ought to be, I suppose, and watching Little Bear is like being on a really slow acid trip.

What do all these horrible shows have in common? Besides being boring, obnoxious, slow paced and mind-blowingly terrible, they're all from Canada. What gives Canada? Are the shows so bad you had to send them into exile here? Please tell me you kicked those programs out of your country because you couldn't stand them yourselves. - But then I have a bone to pick with you for sending them here. Is this some kind of Canadian style warfare against us? You're trying to bore us to death, aren't you? Then, you're going to invade and steal our slightly-more-tolerable shows. I see what's happening here. Canada, I've got your number.

I don't totally want to tear down Canada in case I survive the invasion, because it is full of nice things and nice people, and not all the shows are terrible. I really liked Kids in the Hall. But seriously, I can spot a Canadian children's program a mile away. Just like I can spot a Canadian a mile away - all nice and mannerly with your aboots and ehs. I'd totally hate you all for sending us your crappy shows (and Justin Bieber) but you're just too darn nice to hate. Do us a favor and work on those shows, eh?

Better food choices and your rights: a lesson in comprehension

I'm jumping right in with a ranty post today. Partly inspired by the lovely Queen of Spain's more eloquent take on the issue, and mostly inspired by the number of people who apparently lack basic reading and listening comprehension skills. And maybe logical reasoning. That's apparently missing too.

In an effort to help combat the serious problem of childhood obesity, restaurants have been making the move toward healthier options for kids lately. This week the attention was focused on Darden Restaurants Inc, which includes Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Longhorn, and probably a couple more I'm forgetting. A lot of fast food restaurants are on the bandwagon too, and I see this as a good thing.  Many consumers have been asking for this, but there are actually people who are angry about it.

Yes, you read that correctly. There are people who don't want healthier food options for their children. I can only guess they want fat, sickly children? That's the only explanation I can come up with, because becoming red-in-the-face livid about healthier food choices makes no sense to most rational human beings. Unless you're two. My two year old does actually become red-in-the-face livid when she sees a powdered donut and instead gets a banana.

You know what causes people to act like two year olds? Politics. How does politics come into play? Well, First Lady Michelle Obama is behind the Let's Move! campaign which encourages healthier lifestyle choices; more physical activity, healthier school lunches, cutting sodium, etc. Mrs. Obama was on hand when Darden Restaurants made their announcement about lowering calories and sodium in their food as well as automatically providing a fruit or vegetable and 1% milk with all kids meals. Sarah Palin certainly didn't like the idea of Mrs. Obama encouraging healthier food in schools and there are people who are equally against restaurants providing healthier choices with their meals. - Did I just type that sentence? I did. How does this make sense? - Well, it makes sense in the way that all politics makes sense. People who hate the current administration are so polarized in their hate that they are bound and determined to shoot down completely logical ideas. They would rather have fat, sick kids than agree with any ideas associated with the Obamas. Or, they would rather openly imply they want fat, sick kids before agreeing this is a good idea. Neither make those commenters look good. Think it would be the same if a white, Republican First Lady started this initiative? I think not. - And before anyone assumes this is a liberal rant, I'm an Independent who did NOT vote for Barack Obama (and yes, I did vote). So there you go. I have no dog in this fight except that I'm a mom who wants healthy kids. Who doesn't want healthy kids?

So, here's where the lack of comprehension comes in. See all the words above that I have in bold? Choices and options. Those are the words. Not forced, mandated, or required. No, the words are choices and options. There are people out there who are so blinded by their politics that they can't fully comprehend that this isn't Big Brother telling them what to feed their kids. They'll say it loud and proud on every blog post and Facebook status update out there, but they're wrong. Absolutely wrong.

Here's an example of one comment I read on a Facebook page today:

"It's just pressure from some government hack trying to impose their will on our lives. We don't need MORE government intervention...it's government that causes problems and puts us deeper in economic ruin. We can run our own lives without some mamby-pamby pantywaist making decisions for us."

Alrighty then. No one is forcing McDonald's to change their policy to automatically including apples in their Happy Meals and no one is mandating that Darden Restaurants automatically provide milk and veggies. And, most importantly, no one is forcing parents to get these options. This is completely voluntary for everyone involved. Sometimes I order fries for my kids, and I still can. The only difference is that I have to let the person taking my order know what I want. I know, it's so difficult. It's ridiculous to ask a customer to speak additional words when ordering.

I'd also like to point out a little something. - You people who make these comments, do you have any idea what sane people think of you? You're on every message board, Facebook page or blog you can find telling people, in writing, these things:

• I have no reading comprehension skills
  
• I don't understand spoken words
• I want fat kids who will probably die at at early age
• I don't like healthy food for anyone
• I don't like MORE choices, just the same junk
• It's all about me, so screw you and your kids

Is that really the impression you want to give? That you're an idiot? Try actually reading about the topic you plan to comment on, and if you don't understand it, don't start typing. And really? I mean, REALLY?! You don't want healthy options at restaurants? Please, explain yourself. And no, the "government interference" argument doesn't apply. These are all voluntary actions, with no repercussions for businesses that opt out. So go ahead. Explain.

 

Battle plan

It was months in the planning, took weeks of preparation, and now we're down to the wire. We're going to Disney World. Soon. Really soon.

The entire process really is like preparing for battle. It's what happens when you have kids. One must to plan and prepare. We planned the best time to go, planned where to stay, planned all of our really awesome character meals, planned what to do with the dog, planned what to pack, and planned the 1,000 mile, 15 hour drive down. I think maybe more planning went into that drive than the entire vacation, though.
We plan to take two days, so we booked hotels for the drive down and the drive back up. We shopped; buying enough snacks, books, activities and DVDs to make sure there isn't a mutiny from the backseat.

My husband and I actually love the road trip. We leave when we leave and we take our time. It's not uncommon for us to stop at every rest area or every couple hours; whatever comes first. We learned this was the way to go when Zoe went on her first roadtrip at 4-months old. It was the only way to save her car seat from diaper blowouts and she needed to nurse every two hours anyway. Now, it's the only way to save her car seat from a potty emergency. Plus, we don't think it's really fair to keep the girls strapped into their seats for extended periods of time.

So, in a mere three days we're off to Disney World. Zoe spent the night before last barfing, so we're really hoping that within those three days no one else starts barfing. Or even worse, after those three days. I've never hoped so hard for my kid to have food poisoning. (Instead of a virus, I mean!) There's no way to plan to get sick while going on vacation, but we are prepared. Last year at Disney World Sabrina ended up with a 103˚ fever along with an ear and throat infection. Then she was allergic to the antibiotic. Fun times. But now, we know where a good urgent care is. I'm also bringing the entire medicine cabinet along.

We've planned and prepared as much as we can. Let's hope no one gets sick, pees in her car seat, has a diaper blowout, or we have a tire blowout. Let's also hope Disney World is still there when we arrive. If it's not, that's really going to screw up all those other plans.

Keeping kids safe: Often overlooked safety traps

 

This article came to me in an email with a request to republish it. I think it's with the purpose of selling cord free Roman shades, but despite that, the overall message was worth sharing. And if you have Roman shades, it wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure they're cord free anyway. -File that under free publicity.

 

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Author: Melissa Kay of Kenney Manufacturing

 

Each year in the U.S., more than 2,000 children under the age of 14 die as a result of a home injury, according to Safe Kids USA, a non-profit organization.

“Parents often underestimate their kids’ abilities and overestimate their intelligence,” says Chrissy Cianflone, Director of Program Operations at Safe Kids USA. “They think, my child’s too smart to do X and they often don’t realize how strong their kids are.”

 

There are so many things to think about as you safe-proof your home to protect small children that it’s easy to overlook important risks.

 

Most people are aware of common safety measures like covering your electrical outlets, keeping your child away from hot stoves and watching them like a hawk as they bathe, but there are other dangers that don’t readily come to mind.

 

1)      Cords from window treatments – According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, one child a month between the ages of 7 months and 10 years dies from strangulation or is severely injured by near strangulation from the loose strings or cords on window blinds and shades. A window covering advertised as cord-less does not mean that it is truly cord-free. Kenney Manufacturing’s new Truly CordFree^TM Roman Shades use a twist wand to raise and lower the shade and inner mechanisms to eliminate all strings and cords. www.kenney.com

 

2)      Dressers and other tall furniture – Dressers are dangerous because they are heavy, not always well balanced and can be pulled over if a child tries to climb them. An unsteady toddler trying to climb doesn’t understand that a heavy object can topple.  Invest in brackets found at home improvement stores or baby stores like Babies R Us to anchor dressers, TVs and wall units. Keep heavier items on lower shelves or in lower drawers, and don’t keep remote controls or temptations like candy or toys on top of furniture. www.BabiesRUs.com

 

3)      Window screens – Never rely on a window screen to keep children safe from an open window.  Screens are for keeping insects out, not for keeping kids in. Invest in heavier child-proof window screens, which cost under $30.  Don’t place furniture by a window, potentially creating a climbing opportunity and the associated risk. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml00/00126.html 

 

4)      Open medication containers – Be vigilant about your child’s safety away from home.  A risky situation can exist when a child visits a grandparents’ home where pills may be left within their reach. Vitamins and OTC medications can be extremely dangerous to children. Remind family members and caretakers to buy pill bottles with child safety caps and keep all medicines and pills out of your child’s reach, preferably locked up.

 

 5)     Under the Kitchen Sink – More than 100 children ages 14 and under die each year from unintentional poisoning, according to Safe Kids USA. In addition to household cleaning supplies, pesticides, cosmetics, art supplies, paint products and alcohol are dangerous to children. To avoid accidental poisoning, store these products up high in locked cabinets.  It is a good idea to install a safety latch to keep the doors to under the kitchen sink secured at all times.

 

Birthday baby!

I can't believe how time flies! Two years ago today my sweet little Sabrina was born.
 

After three days of false labor, one 8+ hour stay in Labor and Delivery, real labor - that I was told WASN'T labor (believe me, it WAS! My water even broke.) - and finally a C-section, my little Sabrina came into the world at 4:20 pm. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 10 oz and was 19" long.

Today, she's maybe 23 lbs soaking wet, but knows how to throw her weight around. Sabrina can hold her own with her big sister and is hell on wheels. She can count to "tir-teen" (but always forgets number five!), and knows all about the color blue. She's also obsessed with Dora the Explorer. Did I mention she talks in full sentences? Yep, a genuis child if I do say so myself! Just like her sister. -Not that I'm biased or anything.

             This child looks nothing like me. She's awfully cute, though.

Today is my day to brag a little and to wish my sweet Sabrina happy birthday. Unfortunately her big sister, Zoe, is so jealous she can't see straight. She has no problem letting us know the attention should be on her all the time. Sabrina's birthday has ruined her whole day. *Sigh* Another fun issue of parenthood.

A promise kept

After reading about the tragic death of a little boy who is Sabrina's age, I made a pledge in my last post that I wouldn't let another day go by without securing our largest, heaviest piece of furniture to the wall. I kept that promise and now our girls are a little bit safer.

I expected it would be relatively easy, but for some odd reason I couldn't find a single stud in the wall behind the hutch. I even had a stud finder! I think our house was built lopsided or something. Nothing makes sense here. -And before I have to slap anyone for asking why my husband wasn't doing this, I'll have you know that almost all the tools in our garage belong to me. I know how to wield a drill and hammer.

So, I did eventually locate the studs (after moving the hutch and finding some tale-tell nail pops to guide my way), and things went smoothly from there. Not after I left the wall looking like swiss cheese, though. Luckily it's not where anyone can see.

This is what I don't want to fall on Sabrina. We have our silverware in the drawer, and she's always pulling it open.

(Yes, I realize fake greenery is a cliche and design faux pas, but it hides the crap I store on top of the hutch.)

 

 

This is the furniture strap on the wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the strap on the china hutch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It's now strapped to the wall. Ignore the extra holes I made. Those are just shameful!
After I moved the hutch back, I tightened the straps.

 

 

 

Now, don't be fooled that this replaces parental supervision. It's still entirely possible that one of the girls could end up with the contents of the hutch on her head, but at least a couple hundred pounds of wood won't follow behind it.

It's absolutely worth a few extra dollars and the time it takes to keep our kids safe. Don't wait another day. Read this article while you're at it.

The worst thing that could happen

I can't think of anything worse than the loss of a child. The thought of it stops my heart and takes my breath away. I sometimes have dreams about it and I wake up sobbing. No matter how crazy my girls can make me, I don't think I could survive without either of them. How could a mother possibly go on?

 

Unfortunately, a fellow blogger is finding that out right now. Her little boy, Mattias (nicknamed Tiggy) died a few days ago after a piece of furniture tipped over on him. It was a horrible accident that no one could have predicted.

This really hits close to home, because Sabrina is almost exactly the same age as Tiggy. She's a daredevil and a climber, and there is this once piece of furniture that I KNOW is a potential tipping hazard. - That's maybe the worst part. I'm more or less predicting this giant china hutch is going to fall over on her, and I've done nothing about it. I've actually had some furniture straps for quite a while, with the intention of securing it. I've even mentioned it to my husband several times in passing. 

I will not wait another day.

I suggest you do the same. Look around your house and if you think it might tip over, secure it to the wall. I also plan to strap our dresser to the wall. Especially since our flatscreen TV sits on it. The dresser is wide and not terribly tall and doesn't look like a tipping hazard, but Dana didn't think their old sturdy dresser was a tipping hazard either. It turned out it was, and she lost her baby boy.

It's sad that it takes a tragedy like this to learn about some common household dangers, but I'm certain little Tiggy is saving lives this very moment as people spread the word about what happened to him.

Please spread the word, and please check your furniture.
You can purchase furniture straps pretty much anywhere that sells baby proofing supplies. Oddly enough, they're tricky to find online, but Amazon.com has a good selection. Here's one example.