You Put Your Right Foot In...

{I didn't realize how many pairs of shoes he had...

}

For little ones who like to put on their own shoes but who struggle with getting them on the correct feet (read: all toddlers/preschoolers), here is a quick and easy solution that I picked up by reading FamilyFun magazine (June/July 2013, page 112b). Just take a permanent marker (I used a black Sharpie) and draw arrows on the insides of the shoes. Make the left shoe's arrow pointing right and the right shoe's arrow pointing left. Now, when the shoes are correctly laid out in front of the child's feet, the arrows point toward each other. Brilliant, simple, cheap, quick, and absolutely no-skills-necessary = the perfect parent hack! This works for all types of shoes and boots. And, the fact that the you see results right away doesn't hurt either. I only wish I had known about this when Mia was younger.

He's All Boy ... and the Mommyisms Keep Coming

Oh the joys of being the mom of a two-year-old boy! He constantly keeps me on my toes, and makes me say the oddest things that I never dreamed of saying. I laugh at times, but still I overreact more often than I should, making me wonder how in the world God expects me to survive raising a two-year-old boy.

Then, I realized that I have less than one month left of being the mom of a two-year-old boy, and it made me sad. Some day, when he's a "big boy," the crazy things Logan does will actually make me crazy, but for now they crack me up (okay, not always at that moment, but looking back...) I want to always remember these little moments when my baby was still a baby.

Also, you have to laugh along at my attempts to reason with this boy. I honestly used the phrase, "For future reference..." not once, but twice this month. Ha! I'll keep you posted on how well that works...

July 12, 2012
"We don't pour water on our bedroom floor. "We've actually had this conversation before, so obviously it doesn't work to tell him this, but it hasn't stopped me. 

July 17, 2012
"Why'd you put a rock in the toilet?" The funny part isn't really that he put a rock in the toilet, but that I asked WHY he did this. Duh, Mom. If he had given me an explanation it likely would have been along the lines of, "I wanted to see what would happen if I put a rock in the toilet. Guess what? Not much. You asked why and then fished it out."

July 18, 2012

"For future reference, we don't ever, ever lick the peanut butter jar or other food containers."

July 26, 2012

"NO! NO! NO! We don't barrel roll off the sofa!"

July 26, 2012

"Not sure why you have a watering can in here, but we're definitely not going to put blueberries in it."

July 26, 2012

"Don't lick pepper off the table." 

We let the kids pour their own pepper at meals (but not salt) since they tend to use quite a bit. Logan made a pile on the table and then you can guess what he did.

July 30, 2012
"For future reference, please don't wipe your boogers on the wall." (I discovered a section of the wall in the living room where he has apparently been depositing them on a few occasions. When I asked who did it, he was very quick to confess. No guilt, just honesty, which you have to love. Then he offered to help me wash the wall.)

July 31, 2012
The first thing I said to him this morning: "Hi, there. Where's your diaper?"

Mr. Mischief

{Not normally where I like him to wear his diapers...}

{Good thing he's cute.}

{Who me?}

{Yes, you! Tiny pasta everywhere... Did I mention that he's cute?}

{An all-too familiar scene... but at least he's cute!}

{He can tie knots. Who knew? Poor dog didn't know how to deal with this.}

{Speaking of the poor dog, here he is stealing her food yet again.}

{Yes, I let my child eat dog food. What can I say, other than he's cute!}

{"Me a doggy. Woof woof." He'll outgrow this someday, right?}

Is Styrofoam Considered a Carbohydrate?

Recently, it has frustrated me that Logan has become a total "carbivore." I call him that because he is completely enamored with crackers, cereal, and bread, mainly although he loves tortilla chips, pretzels, and even plain tortillas, oddly enough. We try to ration crackers in our house, and even avoid buying them for stretches of time to avoid caving in to our little "cracker fiend," as we like to call him. Really, I am trying to offer him a variety of choices to try to ensure that he is getting a balanced diet, but I think he would subsist entirely on carbohydrates if we allowed him to. Sometimes, it's not worth the battle. Is he eating something? If the answer is yes, I think I can live with that (most of the time). So what if he sometimes makes a small meal/large snack out of croutons? While that would be strange for most people, I think it is within the range of normalcy for a toddler.

On the other hand, while I am trying to be tolerant of his taste preferences, I still cannot figure out why he is so quick to eat non-food items. In the past he has eaten everything from toilet paper and board books to sand, and that's not even counting the things I have caught him gnawing on (rocks, shoes, my hard glasses case, etc.) but not actually ingesting. Tonight, he added Styrofoam to his list of toddler taste-tested items. Ack!

We got a new programmable slow cooker delivered today. (Yeah!) So, of course, the kids were playing with the two boxes, one from the slow cooker and a larger one from Amazon. No big deal, I thought; that will keep them safely entertained while I flip through a magazine trying to find a how-to article I had read awhile back... Then, I looked up and saw bits of Styrofoam all over the floor. My first thought was that someone was tearing it apart just to be naughty, but when I started picking the pieces up I noticed they were wet. Then, Logan started gagging like he was going to throw up and I quickly realized that they had been in his mouth. He didn't get sick, and he seemed well enough for the moment, so I scooped up all the Styrofoam and ran it outside to the trash can.

After coming back in, I was trying not to worry, but I couldn't help but wonder if he had actually eaten any of the Styrofoam. And then, I wondered if he had eaten it, would it be harmful? I texted Brett, but didn't hear back from him, which didn't surprise me because I knew he was in a meeting at church. A quick Google search didn't yield satisfying results. Then, I thought about calling the pediatrician, but at 7:30 at night I knew I would get a message service that wouldn't be able to answer any questions. It didn't seem fair to the doctor to have her paged when I knew it wasn't an emergency.

My gut told me he was going to be fine, but still, there was the guilt-induced fear that something could happen and I would never forgive myself if I hadn't done whatever was necessary to avoid it if possible. He wasn't the most reliable source of information considering our conversation went something like this:

Me: "Logan, did you swallow the pieces? Did you chew them up so they went to your tummy?"
Logan: "Yes."
Me: {Thinking he may just be saying "yes" to be agreeable, I tried it the other way.} "Logan, did you spit out all the Styrofoam?"
Logan: "Yes."

So, not knowing for sure if he had actually ingested any Styrofoam, I did what seemed like the most logical thing to do: I called Poison Control. (Admittedly, this is not my first time calling them. Last summer, Logan had gotten a hold of the spray sunscreen, and possibly gotten some in his mouth, so I called them just to reassure myself.) Tonight, I spoke to a woman named Rita who assured me that Styrofoam is not considered toxic and that I didn't need to induce vomiting. (In fact, she said, they rarely tell people to do that anymore. The recommendation she said was to dilute the item of concern.) That said, if you are concerned about something your child may have ingested, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. I have a magnet with the number on our refrigerator. I also have the number programmed into my cell phone just in case. I promise that they are really nice, and don't interrogate you or otherwise make you feel like you are an awful parent.

Rita assured me repeatedly that Logan would be fine and that she had heard of kids eating just about anything. The only thing to possibly worry about, according to Rita, is that Styrofoam can cause bowel obstructions if large chunks are consumed. Fantastic. I don't know what is considered "large chunks." The pieces I picked up that had evidently been in his mouth were bigger than a quarter in diameter, and far, far bigger than I would feel comfortable with him eating if it were food. Rita told me that if he was eating and drinking now, then he was probably fine. So after hanging up the phone, I called the kids to the table for a snack. Mia was actually a bit suspicious, probably since it was so close to bedtime, and she asked, "Why are you being so nice to us and giving us crackers and lemonade?" I wasn't about to tell her that those were the quickest items that came to mind that he would be sure to eat and drink. After all, a mom needs to know her trump cards any play them at the right time.

The good news, is that he scarfed down the first 5 crackers I gave him, and immediately asked for more. Most likely, the little cracker fiend probably did not consume "large chunks" of Styrofoam. After he devoured the next 3 crackers, I decided let him have just 2 more. I thought 10 crackers was plenty to see if he had an appetite. Even guilt-ridden moms have to set limits, right? It was obvious that my little carbivore had no problem eating his beloved crackers. Now, only one question remains: Is Styrofoam considered a carbohydrate?

The Dictionary According to Mama

Today, I have coined a new term, my latest "mommyism," if you will. I give you "fedorable," and photos of the adorable little guy who inspired my newest dictionary entry.

Fe·dor·a·ble

[fuh-dawr-uh-buhl] 

adjective

1. to be cute and charming while wearing a fedora: My child is fedorable!

2. worthy of being adored while wearing a fedora.

Origin:

2012;  mommyism. See also Logan.

{Looking fedorable, Little Man!}

{He is so rocking that hat! Move over, big sis. This boy has his own sense of style.}

Love Those Curls!

When I was pregnant with Mia, I imagined this curly haired little girl with Brett's eyes. I was right about the blue eyes, but it turns out that her hair is pin straight, not at all like mine. Then, while I was pregnant with Logan, I didn't know what to expect, although I thought he might get my eye color. Now, I am so happy to see a bit of myself in those unruly curls (and the hazel eyes, too).

When he first started getting "big boy" haircuts, I couldn't get used to seeing him with close-cropped hair, and when I realized that he was getting curls a few months back, I decided not to fight them. I am much happier with this curly tow headed look. He reminds me more of an angelic baby boy. After all, since he'll always be my baby, I want him to look that way for as long as possible.

Another advantage of the curls is that people rarely comment about the blond color anymore. This always bugged me. ("Where'd he get the blond hair from?" sounds kind of accusatory, don't you think?) Thankfully, people have started to give more and more compliments along the lines of "I love his hair!" or "His hair is so pretty!" I couldn't agree more.

 {His hair really is beautiful, and yes, it's okay to say that about a boy.}

{Love my sweet curly-haired boy!}

{Oh, yes, one more bonus of letting his hair grow: fun bathtub hairdos!}

My Quest for Toddler Winter Boots

After searching through all of the brick and mortar stores in the known universe (or at least what seemed like it) and doing a fair amount of internet searching, I have determined that winter boots do NOT come in a toddler size 3. The closest I came to finding them was at The Children's Place, where I was told that their smallest size is a toddler 4. While the sales clerk checked the stock room, I debated about whether or not to buy these in a 4 and just have Logan wear extra socks... Then she returned and told me they didn't have any in stock. She did offer to call the next closest store. When I told her that I probably wouldn't make it that way any time soon, she offered me a voucher for free shipping, which I gladly accepted. While I was pleased to receive great customer service, I decided to continue my search for the elusive toddler size 3 boots, convinced that they are out there somewhere, and I just haven't looked in the right place yet. (Plus, I knew that if I didn't find them anywhere, I had my free shipping of size 4 boots to fall back on.)

Recently, I explained to my sister-in-law about the challenge I was having with finding boots in a toddler size 3, and asked what she had done when her boys were Logan's age. (Apparently, I had some form of amnesia and couldn't remember what we did with Mia during the first winter that she was walking.) Jill was quick to point out that none of her kids really liked playing in the snow at that age because it was too deep for them to easily walk in. That's when I recalled a vision of Mia all bundled up in her snow gear, looking like a little lavender Michelin Man, awkwardly toddling for a teensy bit and then plopping into the snow. I then realized that perhaps there are no toddler size 3 boots for a reason. Still I continued on my quest, rationalizing that Logan is much more active than Mia was at that age, and figuring that I would go stark raving mad if I had to keep him inside all winter!

I am happy to report that I have found a boot in a toddler size 3! It's not a true winter boot, but I think it will get the job done. It's pretty cute, too, a sort of cross between a camouflage design and a cowboy boot. I am hoping that these boots from Walmart, (which cost a mere $12!), will hold up to a midwestern winter because we will definitely be spending some time outside. By the way, I used the money I would have spent on those size 4 boots (plus an additional $2) to buy Logan some new sneakers, which he needed, and some black dress shoes for the holidays (which were on clearance)!