Product reviews, parenting articles, and advice for first-time moms from the experiences of real-life mommies.

Fashion and Class Pics

So, my 5yo fashionista decided last night what she was going to wear for her class pictures today.  And I hated it.  It’s a cute little seersucker yellow sundress with embroidered flowers on the front.  (And now all my friends know why I hated it.)  I tried desperately to get her to wear her adorable lime green polo and matching flowered skirt, or her cute bohemian-ish brown dress, or even the pink plaid sundress she wore last year in California.  All to no avail.  Her heart was set on the yellow sundress.  Stubbornly.  (I don’t know where she gets THAT from…)

This morning I tried again from a different tactic. Maybe the dress was too small.  It was from last summer after all.  Let’s try it on and see…

Although it was just a wee bit tight, she INSISTED that this was still what she wanted to wear.  Only now, she’s concerned that the front is a bit low and she should wear a shirt underneath the sundress so no one could see her chest.  (Her words.  Not mine.)  So, now we have a little bit tight yellow seersucker sundress WITH a white tshirt on underneath it.  Can this get any worse for me – cuz ya know it’s really all about me, right?

So, I sucked in a deep breath and said, “Go show your Daddy.  I think it looks kinda funny, but go ask him.”  He’s usually great about backing me up in these things, so even though it was a bit of a gamble, I figured I’d risk it.

She comes back with a huge grin on her face. (Oh, no.) “Daddy says I look pretty.”  I’m done.  Outnumbered. The deal is sealed.  There’s no convincing her otherwise once her Daddy has told her she looks pretty.  (Which I’m usually VERY grateful for, just not when I’m trying to convince her to wear something different. ) 

Reluctantly, I picked out the yellow bow to match the dress, fixed her hair (thank God there were no fights about hair styles today), fed her breakfast, made her lunch and sent her out the door to preschool in the yellow sundress.  I have the sinking feeling that this won’t be the last picture day that we will argue over her clothing.  And I’m sure it won’t be long till I’m BEGGING her to put ON a shirt underneath that strappy sundress to try to cover more of her ‘chest’.  So, I should just be happy that the ‘argument’ this morning was what it was.  And I’ll get over myself soon.  She should be able to feel pretty on picture day.  Even if her mommy doesn’t like her choice of dress.

Shawn just walked back in from dropping her off at school.  He told me that her teacher said picture day is this coming Thursday.

Relief washes over me and then is suddenly replaced by dread.  What will she pick out on Thursday???  I give up…

______

So, I know I’m not the only one to face this drama.  What’s your fashionista story???  Please share in the comments below so that we can both laugh about this one day.

Earth Day: Kid-Friendly Ideas

So, Tuesday, April 22nd, is Earth Day.  And, I’m wanting to do SOMETHING with my kids to mark this day as special.  We already do a little bit of recycling at our house and we ‘celebrated’ Earth Hour a few weeks ago by watching the first Indy Race of the season in the dark (see this post about Earth Hour) – btw, we would have gone completely dark, but hello! the FIRST Indy race of the season?  Couldn’t miss that one.  :)  All of that, but I’m still feeling the need to do something more, especially on a day set aside specifically for the purpose of recognizing the earth and our contribution to the environment.

So, I’ve been doing a little googling and have come up with a few ideas that I think we can handle here with a 5yo, 3yo, and 18mo.  Here’s a couple of links for your reading enjoyment…

Tin Can Herb Pots - This looks like lots of fun and I figure we can use the end products as gifts if we want.

Coffee Ground Fossils – I have to admit that this one REALLY appealed to the Earth Science teacher in me…

Rice Krispie Earth -  Okay.  This just looked yummy.  How long HAS it been since I’ve had a Rice Krispie treat anyways??

“Stained Glass” Butterflies – Not sure how this really fits in to the whole Earth Day theme, but it brings back such fun memories of my own childhood, that I HAD to include it. 

There were SO many other ideas out there that it was almost overwhelming!!  I figure we’ve got to save some ideas for next year, though, right?  :)

So, what are YOU doing to celebrate Earth Day this year?  Leave me a comment so I can change my mind again about what I want to do!

English Muffin Personal Pizzas

I don’t know where I first read this idea, but it’s ingenious.  My kids love it, it’s easy, and it’s cheaper than ordering out, too!

Just take an English Muffin and lightly toast it.  Then spread your pizza sauce on it, top with cheese and pepperoni, or whatever else floats your boat.  Put it in the oven on 350 for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

If you get the kiddos to ‘help’ make their own, they’re ALWAYS more apt to eat it when it’s on their plate.  Plus, it’s fun watching them develop the motor skills to put shredded cheese on top of their pizza.  (Be prepared for a little more cleanup than if you did it, though! )

I usually put the finished product on a plate then throw it in the freezer for about a minute or two just to help it cool down a little faster before serving to munchkins.

So, what about you?  Do you have any easy, kid-friendly edible ideas?  I’d LOVE to hear them!  Comment below….

Product Review: Graco TurboBooster SafeSeat Youth Booster

We just recently moved Karis into a car seat out of her infant seat which meant Ethan got kicked out of his seat. Since he’s over the weight requirements for a booster, we opted to just move him straight into this Graco TurboBooster instead of buying ANOTHER car seat that would only last another year or so and also cost an arm and a leg.

• I LOVE how easy this booster is to move from car to car. Basically unthread the seatbelt from the shoulder belt positioner and you’re good to go!
• Ethan loves the race car color scheme (as does his daddy!) and the fact that he now feels like a ‘big boy’.
• Kate loves that she’s not getting hit in the face with the side of a huge car seat. (She sits in the middle of the back seat between her two siblings. Not something she’ll be able to do much longer as her hips and shoulders grow and become wider than the opening between the two seats. Hopefully we’ll be able to purchase a larger vehicle by the time that becomes an issue. And when we do, we’ll probably get Kate the pink princess version of this same seat.)
• Shawn loves that the price didn’t strain our pocket book too much. I think we got ours on sale for around $40.
• Karis loves the fact that she’s not stuck in that rear-facing infant seat anymore. She loves being able to see out the windows! 

OrgJunkie’s Dining Room Organization Round-Up

So, I finally finished and am writing the promised follow-up post!  I told you that I was participating in Org Junkie’s Monthly Organizing Round-Up and cleaning up my dining area of the kitchen.  (click here to see my previous post on the subject) Since my 5-year-old, Kate, is a budding artist like her daddy all of her art supplies and drawings wind up on our kitchen table and floor, as well as the window seat behind it.  After a while, it all starts to mushroom and take over the room as you can see in this before pic…  The piles of crayons, and pictures and more pictures, and cards, and table cloth for when we paint, and flipflops (the windowseat is by the back door), and everything else just seemed to always collect here.  And even when it’s organized, it’s still just not very pretty to look at.  In fact, my husband complains about it frequently.

I decided that not only did all the mess need to be contained better, but it also needed to move out of my kitchen completely.  The ‘formal dining room’ in our house is right off of the kitchen and we’ve turned it into a playroom – perfect spot for all of Kate’s art supplies.  But before I could move everything, I had to clean out a space on the tall table (away from siblings’ hands) to move everything.  (Don’t you love when one project requires a second and third project to happen first to be able to make the first one happen???  Blah.)

Finally, I got the table ready and then moved all the ‘stuff’ to the table.  Then, I cleaned up the rest of the ‘outdoor stuff’ that sits on the windowseat and found a big bin to hide it all in.  So, all the flipflops, sunscreen, bug spray, water guns, and sidewalk chalk are now out of sight!  And look how clean my windowseat looks now!!

Of course, by the time I got all of that done, I was exhausted and the kiddos were screaming for my attention (quite literally, I’m afraid.  Yes, I tend to be a tad “focused” when it comes to organizing projects! )  So, I stopped for the day and decided to come back to the art supply/artwork mess another day.  I think that’s actually a key – knowing when it’s okay to stop and come back to a project another day and not feeling like it all HAS to be finished immediately.  Especially when you have three little ones under foot.  :)

So, a few days later, I decided to tackle all her art stuff.  Luckily, I had already put some amount of organizing mojo into this area of our lives and had containers already in use.  So, all it took was a little re-thinking of how everything was working and what would make it even better.

She now has 3 magazine holders that are specifically designated for 3 different kinds of things.  One for workbooks, one for sketchbooks and CURRENT artwork (I’ll have to write another post about what I do with all her artwork that accumulates at such a FAST pace), and one for stationary (my daughter LOVES to write cards to people).  She has an art kit box (thank you, Tiffany, for that birthday present!) that houses all of her stamps, markers, map pencils, glue sticks, and scissors in neat little organized trays.  Then she has a stack of art projects like beading, mosaics, and stamping that require adult supervision. And the last box next to the bookcase is full of all her painting supplies, including smock and table cloth.  All of the crayons and coloring books moved to another section of the playroom in a three-drawer rolling cart where the youngest two could also access them.

When I was done, I called her over to the table and explained the system to her. (Lucky for me, she takes after her parents and actually enjoys systems!) She got it almost immediately and then called her daddy in to show him and explain each section to him.  Best way to learn is to teach it to someone else, right?

So, now, I just owe a huge debt of gratitude to Laura over at OrgJunkie for encouraging all of us to tackle this project.  And I’m SO in for the rest of the year, so keep your eyes tuned for my next project!  What’s YOUR next project?