The Sunday Post ~ Carter's Safari Friends Reclining High Chair

Buy it here

If you read my blog then you'll probably see this chair in half of the photos I post here. It's that integral in our lives.

We originally bought it to match a dining room set we intended to purchase. Of course, we don't own it and the chair doesn't match our current set. But it still looks great and is more dressed up than the plastic high chairs. Here's what we love about it and what we don't:

We love the 2 tray design. Honestly, when I'm really lazy and the top piece isn't clean, it's awesome to have the secondary tray underneath. And I run the top piece through the dishwasher every time I run that machine. So, that function is great. However, a lot of chairs have this feature- not all, but a lot.

We love how heavy and sturdy it is. Now, for some that might not be a plus. But we almost never move the chair, except to clean. And the sturdiness is a major plus with a toddler around. He can hang off of it and not tip it over. This is great because he's often trying to climb into the chair by himself.

We love the small profile. It doesn't collapse, like many of the plastic chairs, but it requires less space when set up than the standard plastic high chair. And let's face it, the high chair is always up. So, the ability to collapse it is not a function we need.

What we don't love: There's not a lot to NOT love about this chair, but there is one major design flaw. The chair pad slips down and falls out. Now, it's not an issue if you strap your child into the chair, but I don't strap him in and haven't since he could properly sit up. I should but I don't. And the straps are the only thing properly holding the pad in place. I reverse engineered the pad and now it works great. I had some bias tape (that's fabric if you don't sew) in an accent color and so I cut some strips and tied them through the velcro loops of the pad and up over the back of the chair. It works great now.

We also didn't love the the reclining feature of the chair. It never worked right for us with our son strapped into the chair and reclined. It was awkward for us and we ended up using a smaller seat until he could properly sit in his high chair.

All in all, we love this chair. It's not for everyone, but if you need a sturdy chair, this is a great one.

August 24, 2012 ~ This Is The Day That Never Ends...

...and it goes on and on my friends...

Yes. It's true. Your day probably ended some time on Friday night. It's Saturday night and my Friday goes on...

It was a brilliant plan, based on past experience and entirely fool-proof. Enter toddler.

Grandpop lives at the beach. And if you're going "downy ocean" (to the ocean) and you're from the area, then you know that summertime traffic is hell headed to the beach, and the worst part is the Bay Bridge. I know this. I'm used to it. Daddy and I used to either eat out in town and then drive down, or wait until late and eat at an Applebees half-way down and get in around midnight. I've even left town at midnight and arrived in the early a.m. just to avoid traffic. It works. Who wants to drive that late? Me.

Enter my fool-hardy  fool-proof plan. Billy sleeps in the car. Easily. I actually plan around it because if it's close to bedtime or naptime he'll pass out in the car. So, I planned for Billy to sleep in the car on the way to Grandpop's. Fool-proof. Really. We left right at bedtime.

I might have over-estimated the fool-proofness a little. Okay. A lot.

He cried for the first two hours. Yep. Cried. "I don't want it/I want it". That old argument with anything I tried to give him. Then he decided he wanted some of his toys that either were not in reach without causing a massive traffic accident or were back at home. Useless! Why didn't I bring ALL of his toys? Mommy fail.

So, in an effort to curb the crying I started to talk up all of the wonderful points about going to visit Grandpop. First, there's Grandpop. And Grandpop has flowers. Well, they're Nana's flowers, but they're at the house. And then there's  the beach and the ocean. Ooh, and puppies.

Well, the crying stopped. Bonus. But, unfortunately, Billy didn't going to sleep. I made a rookie mistake. I got him excited about going to Grandpop's and so, instead of sleeping, he was woofing and meowing in the backseat in anticipation. Damn.

So, at 11:30pm when I pulled into the driveway at Grandpop's, Billy was still awake. Well, okay. At least he got to say hello to Grandpop and meet the dogs. So, we visited to two minutes and then I whisked him off to bed. He went down no problem.

That was great because I could visit for a few minutes before heading off to bed.

Boy did that boy have me fooled. He wasn't sleeping. He was waiting for me. See, here's the problem with sleeping in the same room with him- he can bug me and he's got a captive audience.

He cried and cried.until finally I started giving him some new toys that were my old toys that live at Grandpop's. Specifically bunnies. So, I gave him the bunnies. You would think after making one rookie mistake tonight that I wouldn't repeat the same mistake. And that would be where you're mistaken.

He settled for awhile and then started crying again, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" The pitch getting higher and higher until it cracked over and over again. And so I relented and cuddled him into bed with me with all of the bunnies that he refused to put down while screeching loud enough to wake all of the real rabbits in the county.

And there we are lying in bed and he tells me he asks me to sit up and then sits up himself. I remind him we're sleeping. But he sits up and starts bouncing the bunnies up and down "hop, hop, hop!"

And I'm done.

So, I put him back in the crib and climb in the bed, pull the sheet up and close my eyes and pretend to sleep. I laid there listening him howl, pretending to be asleep and silently begging him to go to bed. It was after 2 when he settled enough that I dared to move enough to look at the clock. And much later when his breathing finally calmed and I was sure he was out.

I hate the sun. Well, not usually, but this morning I truly hated the sun. He was up at first light, stirring, hopping bunnies, and crying. I tried futilely again to move him into bed with me to get him to settle, but that hopelessly failed again and I stuck him back into his crib. He cried and cried and cried. And after he settled, it was close to 6:30 but then Grandpop popped his head in to check on us and Billy started screaming again. He didn't go back to sleep until well after seven and by then I was awake.

I think now that Saturday is almost at a close that I'm ready for my Friday to end.

August 23, 2012 ~ A Booboo On Daddy's Heart

Daddy and I have differing views on this subject. He doesn't want me to tell Billy anything. But Daddy is upset and Billy doesn't know why. He's apologizing, thinking Daddy is being short because it's something he did.

So, I explained to Billy that Daddy has a booboo on his heart. Grief and loss. Those are things a toddler can't understand. But he knows what a booboo is. And he knows where his heart is. He gave Daddy a big hug to make it better.

Uncle Charles

After a long battle, may you finally find peace.

Drawn In Thursdays: Things Kids Do #11

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A true story from last week...

August 11, 2012 ~ I Want It I Don't Want It

Billy has a new tantrum. I want it, I don't want it. It goes like this:

I hand him a plate of awfuls (waffles). He takes a few bites.

"Mommy, I don't want it." So I take the plate away.

"Mommy, I want it." So I bring the plate back.

Picking up in whiny-ness, "I don't want it."

And back and forth.

Works with toys too. He has it, he doesn't want it. He can't just sit it down, he has to whine and make me take it from him, only to realize he wants it back, but doesn't really want it back.

I asked around the mommy bloggers and it's official. He's tired. So, even though he barely touched his dinner (I don't want it!) I packed him off to bed early. I got no complaints for the lil guy department. But, I also told him that Puppy Dog and Toby Dog were tired and needed a nap and he had to show them how to nap. So he tucked them into his crib, each with a MeMe and then cuddled up and fell fast asleep.

August 20, 2012 ~ Ode to Enchanted Forest

Once upon a time in a strip mall not far away, was a land full of enchantment and magic. Its impressive gate loomed by a deli and was guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. And deep within its walls the characters straight from storybooks built there homes and lived on in imagination.

Now, that land lives on only in memory. For in that strip mall the gates stand barren and empty, guarding nothing.

This place was called: the Enchanted Forest.

It's funny how the places that inspired us as kids change or disappear. Enchanted Forest was one of those places to inspire kids. Enough so, that locals of my vintage still talk about it with longing. It's too bad our kids will never get to know the joy that was Enchanted Forest (I guess we'll have to take them to Disney...) So, in honor of that memory... here's to the Enchanted Forest.



For S&A...we're not old!

August 19, 2012 ~ Flower Child in Big Boy Pants

UPDATED

It was chilly, but after a long nap I took Billy outside to have some italian ice. It's been awhile since he's had any and he had totally forgotten about it. Just to make things easy I called it "ice cream" (close enough!) He pronounced it "I geam".

But soon enough, the ice started to melt and was dripping everywhere. I snatched it up and whisked it away to the freezer. This prompted a head banging on the floor feet kicking screaming at the top of his lungs tantrum.

Briefly I thought, "you scream, I scream... we all scream for ice cream?" (inward chuckles in the middle of a tantrum).

Okay, this requires breaking out the big guns. How to end the screaming for ice cream tantrum? Distraction!

"Want to go look at the flowers out front?"

Who? What? Flowers? Flowers! Out front? Out front! Walk! Woohoo! (I'm pretty sure this was the thought process).

So we headed out front to check out the only flowers still doing well in my gardens thanks to those damn slugs. Yes. Damn. Slugs.

He loves the bright pink flowers out front. They were mislabeled "impatiens" so I have no idea what they are other than healthy. And he loves them. He immediately picked one. "Ear?" (asking me to put it behind his ear). Then another and another. Mommy needs flowers behind her ears too, apparently. So, we both had a flower behind each ear.

And this brings us to the point where he wanted to go to the playground. So, prettied up with our flowers, we headed over to the pirate ship to play on the slide and gang plank. (amazingly, no swings!) I'm sure we were quite the pair with our flowers.

When we got back home it was time for dinner and Billy wanted to wear some of his new clothes (tax free shopping week!). He wanted to wear his new underwear- on his head.

Excellent choice, but he ended up with it on his butt where it belongs- sans diaper. He walked around all evening after dinner with just underpants and no diaper AND... no mess! Now, he didn't use the potty, but he didn't mess either. Woohoo!

The Sunday Post ~ Little Tykes Spiralin' Seas Water Park Review

But it here

If you don't know much about water tables, they are a great way to keep your kid entertained in the hot months without the effort of going to the swimming pool. There's a huge selection out there, from the most basic to ones shaped like pirate ships. We opted to buy the Spiralin' Seas Water Park.

I'll admit that I partially chose this particular table because it was on sale at the time that I wanted to buy one. But, we've been extremely happy with it.

This table comes with four activities, plus water- which is enough to occupy a toddler for an hour by itself (and make the mess to prove it). It has the large spiral tube, a "merry go round", a funnel with cogs and a spinner. It also comes with 5 balls (to throw into the spiral tube or to put on the merry go round) and a cup with a handle to pour water down the funnel.

First, it is a table on the smaller side, which I consider a bonus because it only takes a few minutes to fill it with a garden hose and doesn't waste too much water. There's not a whole lot of waiting around to start playing.

Next, only three of the activities are fun. The spiral piece, which is intended to create a current in the table, it practically useless. But the other activities are interesting and fun.

I will say that this table requires having plenty of bath toys or water toys on hand to use in it. I keep a box of bath toys ready for water table play. The five balls and one cup are not enough to keep my little one occupied for long. But the table creates the perfect base for play, with added smaller toys to round out the experience.

It's also easy to drain.

On the minus side, it was difficult to assemble the tube and the tube has proven difficult to clean. I find leaving the table upright out in the rain and sun the best method to keep the tube mold free. And we did get mold in it at one point, so be prepared to encounter that. It is, after all, a water table.

All in all, this is a good buy and totally worth it.

August 17, 2012 ~ photos!

August 16, 2012 ~ Up the Down

And the latest fad? The Slide.

Yes. For months he's been telling me, "it's dirty." Not anymore. I hosed it down and dragged it out in the sun and away from the trees where the birds dive-bomb the thing. Nope. Clean. And now the toy du jour.

There we are eating dinner and he says to me, "Mommy, slide? Push!"

This is not him asking me to push him down the slide. This is him asking me to watch him push his toy trucks down the slide. That's right. The toys go down the slide. Then Billy. Rinse. Repeat. I don't play fetch. He has to go get the toys after they careen to the bottom and bring them to me to hold until he climbs to the top again.

Today, the mosquitoes got after me so I had to head for the porch to save my skin. Billy wanted to keep playing, though. And he thought I wasn't watching.

So, he took the opportunity unsupervised (I was right there watching) to try to climb up the slide. To "go up the down." First attempt- no success. He failed midway up and came careening down. No big deal. Try again. Second attempt- score! That called for sliding back down to try it again!

I wonder what else he gets into when I'm not watching...

Drawn In Thursdays: Things Kids Do #10

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A true story...from last week.

August 14, 2012 ~ Tornado Cuddles

So, there I was, sitting on my fabulous porch (best room in the house!) watching the light show nature provided. Suddenly, the phone rang. I knew what this meant before I even picked up the phone. I knew who it was and what it was about. Grandma was calling. She almost never calls that late, and given the storm I was watching to the south it meant WARNING. Specifically: TORNADO WARNING. Sure enough, Grandma was letting me know about the warning. She knows I rarely have the TV on local programming if I'm watching it, so she always lets me know.

Daddy knew immediately too and checked the weather. But he and I have different opinions on what to do in a weather warning. I'm a take no chances gal. He's a worry about it later guy. He said, oh the warning expires in 15 minutes so don't worry about it. But, tornadoes don't need 15 minutes to come get you, so I worry about it.

I scooped up Billy and brought him to the basement and let him sleep on my chest. Last tornado warning I happened to have been washing the Go Crib and got it up in only a minute and put him in that. But, I'm not sure where it is, so he got to sleep on my chest instead.

Sure enough, the storm I was watching was heading straight for us. It wasn't like I was terribly worried, but I'd rather be safe than sorry and have Billy downstairs with me. The warning expired, but the storm still hadn't made it to us and the local weathermen were still seeing the "hook" pattern in the storm very close to our location, so I decided to keep Billy downstairs with me.

He got to cuddle with me for 2 hours. He woke up towards the end, startled awake by the sound of hail slamming against our front door and the lightning getting closer. This storm was producing over 2000 strikes per hour- so a lot of thunder. Some so close you could hear the crack of the lightning prior to the earth-shattering thunder. So rattling, that it knocked our framed art askew on the walls.

But the best part were the cuddles. Billy has not cuddled with me like that since before he could crawl. As an itty bitty he used to sleep on my chest, but once he could move, he wanted to MOVE, not to cuddle. But he cuddled with me the whole time, even awake, scared of the storm but safe in Mommy's arms.

August 13, 2012 ~ The Random Toddler Tantrum

I have proof that a toddler can have a tantrum over just about anything.

Daddy decided to give Billy chocolate milk with dinner instead of plain milk.

"I don't want it!" he screamed.

We tried to convince him that he would like it but the more we tried to convince him the more he screamed. Eventually, we just tried to calm him down so he would eat rather than scream. He had epic meltdown over the milk.

But then, randomly, he tried it.

Wait! What's this? Chocolate milk tastes... wait for it... good??? Why didn't someone tell me this tasted good? Can I have more?

Yes, it's true. Chocolate milk does taste good. Oh, and Billy likes it now. Yep. When I gave him regular milk he handed it back, "Mommy, yucky. Chocolate?"

Proof that toddlers will throw a tantrum over even the good stuff.

August 12, 2012 ~ Sleeping With the Fishes

Daddy took Billy to the National Aquarium to look at the fish. I was out of town, so I didn't get  to go, but I heard all about it. There were shacks, towdulls and lots of fishes. (sharks, turtles and fish).

(If you haven't been, you should check out the National Aquarium. They have a fabulous collection of fish, sting rays, sharks, dolphins, jellyfish and a whole host of other sea creatures. They even include a trip to the rainforest and another down under. It's my favorite non-art museum in town. Check it out.)

I got home right at the beginning of nap time, but Billy and Daddy weren't home yet. Then, it was wake up time, and still Daddy and Billy weren't home yet. But finally, they came home raving about the fishes.

Daddy had bought Billy a collection of sharks and a sea turtle with a diver- it was a "diving" set. He's working on learning the different kinds of sharks. The set came with 3- a hammerhead, a whale shark and a generic shark that I am telling him is a lemon shark- close enough. He calls them "hamhah shack, whale shack and lemon shack." The whale shack is boo and white. The hamhah and lemon shacks are gay. That's what he tells me, anyway.

"Mommy, shack is a fish."  He learned ALL about them.

Well, after lots of big hugs it was clear that Lil Man was waaaaaay beyond tired. So, I sent him off to take a nap. But, he refused to go unless the sharks and turtle could join him, because, the sharks needed to take a nap too. So, the sharks went off to bed. He snuggled up with his sharp little plastic sharks and the turtle and fell sound asleep.

He was sleeping with the fishes.

The Sunday Post ~ City Squirtees Review

We love these. It is a set of four bath toys, all squirtees, and each one shaped like a BeepBeep. (Car, motorcycle, airplane and helicopter). Our lil guy plays with them in the tub and out. They are colorful and fun and so far, with constant use for year, yet to develop mold on the inside, a major issue with squirtees. Some of his other bath toys of the same vintage are already discolored, but these, even with water sometimes left in them seem to resist the mold.

This bath toy set is definitely a winner.

Unfortunately, since this toy was a gift, I don't know where to find it, but if you see it, it's a win win.

August 10, 2012 ~ Winter Coat in August

Every morning Billy helps me get him dressed. Sometimes he picks out his outfit for me. Well, it was raining this morning. Usually, he takes either his rain hat or his raincoat with him to school on rainy mornings.

Is that what he wanted?

"Nooooo!"

What did he want?

He found a flannel pullover that we used as a coat in the winter. It was too big last winter and he rarely wore it. But, today, in the middle of August he decided to wear his winter coat.

Now, the trip out the door and down the street to daycare might be one thing. But he insisted on wearing it from the moment of dressing, all through breakfast and me getting ready and all the way to daycare. Only after he had been at daycare for awhile did he decide that flannel might be too hot for a summer day.

So, one piece of advice for my lil man: flannel is too hot for August.

August 9, 2012 ~ Candy

I've tried. I keep him away from sugary foods (minus fruit loops and awfuls, okay and cookies.) I limit his sugar intake.

But there we are in the grocery store going down the aisle and he spots "THE CANDY". I'm not talking the packs of gum at the register. I'm talking about the baking aisle/Willy Wonka Factory. Yes. "THE CANDY."

"Mommy, candy! I want!"

Of course, he wants it. It's candy. He's a kid. So, I relent and buy one piece of candy. Total. Epic. Meltdown.

"No, you may not have any candy until we get home and if you don't behave I won't give you any."

Harsh? Maybe. But he was the perfect little angel the whole way through the store and check out and getting in the car.

Did he forget by the time we got home? No.

"Mommy, I want candy!"

Just for kicks I ask, "What kind of candy is it?"

"Choc-il".

Damn. He already knows different kinds of candy.

So, I gave him one little square of the Hershey bar and let him eat it before dinner. He gobbled it all up and then gave me a big hug.

"Thank you, Mommy."

Aw, he's so sweet. Then...

"More candy?"

Drawn In Thursdays: Boy's Best Friend #3

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All Drawn In Thursdays are based on true events.

August 7, 2012 ~ War of the Rose (Garden)

I'm a Mom. I don't have time to garden. I try to get Billy to help, but he just likes to weed- by pulling ALL of the plants out. But, I do it anyway because I love flowers. And I'm only getting started. I created three new flower beds at our house and am adding several more come fall planting season. But, I am waging a war.

3 invasive vines. Yes, not 1, but 3! Ivy. The dreaded ivy. It looks so pretty- on someone else's house. But I turn my back and it starts climbing the walls. It's so maddening that... it makes me want to climb the walls!

Then, there's the periwinkle. So pretty. But will it leave the other plants alone? No! It wants to choke the living daylights out of the ornamental grasses and ground cover. It thinks the grass in the yard is there to be taken over. At least it doesn't grow up the walls and try to tear the house down brick by brick.

Wild strawberry... well, at least when the apocalypse doesn't happen we'll have some fruit to eat. It gets into everything, behind the shutters, between the slats on the porch, trying to pry my house apart and choke all of the other plants too. It's enough to want to launch a nuclear war at all of these terrible weeds...

But, that wouldn't stop the most dreaded and awful enemy of my garden... the lowly slug. I have a city of them. No. Scratch that. An entire metropolis of slugs. They have already killed 4 of my begonias- flowers that I have lovingly watered, pruned and nurtured all summer long. And for what? A few juicy noms on the stem and the whole plant dies. I'd rather have deer and rabbits. At least I would get to look at the cute and cuddly deer and rabbits. No one would ever say that about a slug.

I'm with Ron Weasley on this. Damn those slugs.

(okay, I've finished venting. Carry on, carry on...)

August 6, 2012 ~ Big Pool Little Pool

I decided to torture myself take Billy to the pool after school today. We immediately came home and had epic meltdown put our swimsuits on and headed over to the pool.

First we hopped in the baby pool. He's not a baby, so I call it the "Little Pool". He reminds me that he's a "big boy" so we refrain from calling him "baby". So, we went to the Little Pool. He was terrified. Remember that fearless swimmer at the river? Billy doesn't. The mild current of the Little Pool had him clinging to me like white on rice. He wouldn't let go of my hand.

Well, I got tired of standing ankle-deep in the Little Pool, so I picked him up and took him over to the Big Pool. Now, the Big Pool starts at 3 feet deep, so he can only stand on the steps despite being a beanpole 3 feet tall.

He was nervous at first, but when he saw all of the other kids splashing around he decided that he belonged in the Big Pool. He was kicking and splashing, jumping from the steps into my arms, sticking his face in the water and coming up laughing.

"Do you want to go back to the Little Pool?"

"No, Big Pool."

Big boys swim in the Big Pool. It's true, so long as Mommy is holding on to him.

Explain to me how the Little Pool is terrifying and the Big Pool is awesome? Makes no sense to me. I was with him both times. Go figure.

Well, we had to go back to the Little Pool to get our stuff so we could go home for dinner. But, Billy didn't want to go home for dinner. He wanted back in the Little Pool. I calmly explained while he had another epic meltdown that it was time to go.

So, after a stressful lovely time at the pool, we headed home for dinner.