Helpful hints & tips Archives – Page 2 of 2

Turning 2 at The Zoo. A Birthday Party For My Little Monkey

Posted by Pinparent — 15 Comments

Has it really been 2 years already? The past 24 months seem almost a blur. You are no longer a baby. I will no longer have to refer to your age in months. You are 2. I still can’t believe it.

One of the disadvantages of having a winter baby, is having to be confined to the indoors. I have a fairly good sized family. I would love to be able to include everyone, but unless I want to throw 3-4 separate parties, it just isn’t possible. Summer babies have it made, outdoor BBQ’s are ideal for large get-togethers. We wanted to keep it simple. We kept a small guest list, with only 16 attendees including the birthday girl.

Mai is an animal lover, so we chose a zoo themed party. Our party was a little last minute due to work, the holidays & an upcoming vacation. I still wanted to give her a great party ,but was limited on time & did not want to spend a ton. I think we pulled off a lovely party for our little tot, without too much stress, planning or breaking the bank.

Simple pink garland & a couple of paper lanterns were hung from the ceiling. I hand cut two number 2s out of heavy scrapbook paper & used a hole punch to dangle from the lanterns.

I loved these zebra print plates & napkins. They were perfect for our party, but they are over priced & come so few in a package. I mixed & matched the zebra party supplies with lesser priced pink plates & napkins. I alternated the napkin stacks in pink, then zebra prints.

This simple party prop was made out of old cardboard boxes & scrapbook paper.

The letters used to spell out Mai’s name were a wall hanging we received at my baby shower. They came in handy today.

This is a singing Happy Birthday elephant that we received on Mai’s 1st birthday. It was a perfect addition to our zoo themed day.

Our cheese, cracker & salami platter was supposed to be a lion, but looks a little more like a mouse. It looked differently in my head, but it was still cute & tasted good.

A tiger made out of taco cheese ball with Doritos & Blue tortilla chips.

A monkey cupcake cake

2? I thought I was 1. Hmmm.

She is only interested in her ice cream & cake.

Who gave her Doritos?

Yes, more tissue paper.

Precious moments!

Happy Birthday, my sweet girl.

If You Give Your Toddler A Cookie…

Posted by Pinparent — 18 Comments

If you give your toddler a cookie…they will probably want another cookie. Just like in the popular children’s book, there are consequences when you give your child a cookie.

I hate to sound like a broken record but my daughter really is a horrible eater. It is very difficult making meals that she will actually eat more than two bites of. Of course one thing that she will never turn down is dessert. Not that I blame her. Who doesn’t love sweets?

I don’t want to be one of those mothers that deprive their children from cookies & cake. I think long term it is better to let them have a little bit of sweets every once in a while, so that they don’t overdose on it when they get older because it was forbidden. It still does not mean I want her eating them every day.

This is a hot debate topic in our house. My husband likes to indulge our daughter’s sweet tooth way more than I would like & I have to admit I did as well over the holidays. There are many reasons I try not to make sugary treats a regular thing in our home.

1. Nutrition. While she is filling up on yummy sugar filled snacks, she is not leaving room for nutritious meals. Not only is she not leaving room for those meals, she is developing a preference for sweets over substance.

2. Tooth Decay. I don’t know about your toddler but my daughter doesn’t have the best relationship with her toothbrush. I brush her teeth every day, but it is a battle. She will brush her own, but she only really chews on it. I have heard horror stories of children developing tooth decay & that is not anything I want my daughter to go through.

3. Hyperactivity. Mai is hyper enough on her own, she does not need the sugar assist.

4. Belly Aches. Have you ever overindulged on chocolate or ice cream? I have. It is not a good feeling. It is not fun having a sick toddler, especially when you could have prevented it.

5. Obesity. Just like us, if your child digests too much junk food, they will gain weight. Childhood obesity is on the rise & that is greatly in part of poor diet and more sedentary life styles.

Things we as parents can do:

1. Introduce a wide variety of foods to your child. Use whole grains instead of enriched whenever possible. Serve fruits and vegetables daily. Get creative. I often sneak vegetables into everyday meals by grinding them up in meat or adding veggies to our morning omelets. My daughter also loves veggie burger.

2. Moderate portions. If you are enjoying the occasional slice of birthday cake or an ice cream cone, remember the size of your little one’s bellies. They need far less to be satisfied than we do. Sugary beverages count as well. Even juice has a lot of sugar. My daughter loves juice. We only pick 100% fruit juice & vegetable blends & cut it with water.

3. Give them healthy, natural sweets. Fruits are a great alternative to a cookie or a piece of cake. When baking, substitute honey or apple sauce instead of sugar to your recipes.

4. Assist with the tooth brushing. They may hold the brush & put it in their mouth but most toddlers are not really brushing well enough on their own to remove food debris from their teeth.

5. Do not use sweets to reward bad behavior. It is easy when your child is having a meltdown to throw a piece of candy at them. Not only is this bad for all of the above reasons, it also teaches your toddler that bad behavior results in receiving junk food.

The greatest thing we can do for our children is to lead by example. We could all learn to eat a bit better ourselves.

Be Careful What You Say. My Daughter Is A Parrot.

Posted by Pinparent — 10 Comments

There is a new phenomenon brewing in our home lately. A constant echo can be heard behind our four walls. This echo has the sweet voice of a lovely little girl whose vocabulary is growing daily.

Since she was born, I have tried to curb the foul language. In general, I try not to curse but every once in a while, it just slips out. This can be dangerous when you have a parrot that lives in your midst.

The first time I realized how dangerous this could be was during a diaper change. Mai kept grabbing at my breast. I told her to stop. “Mai Mai, please stop grabbing mommy’s boob.”. “BOOB!”, she replied! Uh oh! For the next few days, she would point at my chest & yell “Boob, boob, boob.”

It was bad enough that some of her regular words already sound like cursing. One day while shopping at Target, Mai kept pointing & screaming the “F’ word. “F@*k!! F@*k!!” Oh my goodness! I was mortified. I then had to respond to her in an equally loud voice so others could hear. “Yes Mai, it is a frog.” As you have probably guessed her pronunciation of the word frog sounds striking similar to the worst offending of the swear words.

My husband and I try to be so careful about what we say in front of our little girl. We really do try but then one of us stubs a toe & …. Mommy: “Oh crap!” Mai: “Ahahahaha, Crap, crap, crap, crap , crap”. Mommy: “No Mai, mommy said crab. CRAB.” Mai: “CRAP!” Crap is right. Shame on you, mommy.

We have tried to get creative when using bad language. My husband in a moment of frustration the other day, spelled out a naughty word to try to drive the point home about how aggravated he was. You can’t outsmart our little parrot. “S. H. I…”,she repeated. “No baby girl, A.B.C.” At least she is learning to spell.

How do I keep my little angel from getting a potty mouth?

Over the course of their childhood, chances are your child will be subjected to swearing. Here are some things that you can do to try to keep your toddler from cursing.

1. Monkey see, monkey do. Set a good example. Don’t use foul language in front of your toddler & ask your friends and family to follow suit when in their presence. Start a swear jar & add money to it when ever you curse. This will help teach mommy & daddy to clean up their language, as well.

2. If they do swear, don’t let it get a reaction out of you. Do not laugh or engage your child’s naughty language. This will only encourage them to say it again.

3. Divert them with another word to use instead of the offensive word.

4. Be mindful of what you watch & listen too. Movies & songs often contain offensive language.

5. Depending on the child’s age & understanding, simply explain to them calmly that what they are saying is inappropriate.

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