Co-Sleeping; Good, Bad or just plain Ugly?

Thing 2 co-slept for a long time. It was never the plan. As with most parenting, plans have a way of falling down mid-flight. Famous now for childhood sleepwalking, early in life, Thing 2 was also quite famous for sleep vomiting (also projectile vomiting too - we are blessed aren't we?).

It was mainly when there was illness. A fever. A flu. A cough. Concerned about choking; Thing 2 did not sleep alone during an illness. It was tiring. It was messy. It wasn't too comfortable really.

Co-sleeping wasn't the plan. So the plan was altered. A vinyl covered foam mattress unfolds beside the big bed; a welcoming safe haven to any little one with a nightmare or illness. You can be near -- just not that near thank you. It wasn't hard to change the plan. The choice was le matelas or back to your own room. Le matelas has always been chosen.

Co-sleeping is a personal choice. Not my choice. (forget the bonding experience - I need a good night's sleep. We can bond at breakfast).

Tilley seconds sale

The made in Canada biz; Tilley Endurables is having their annual seconds sale. They do make great sun hats for kids!

Runs to Aug. 9 - Aug. 17th. Save up to 80%.
Sat. 9am-6pm, Sun. 11am-5pm, Mon-Fri 9am-8pm


View Larger Map

Parent Club tip: Bug Bites

Calamine lotion and itch medications are easily available at drugs stores for itch relief. However, there are many natural - chemical free - options to help children deal with insect bites. Here are a few good tips...

First off, apparently; Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is a natural bug repellant.

Baking Soda made into a paste will help relieve bee stings.

Rub the inside of a banana skin
to a mosquito bite. However, note - banana scents do attract bees (that's a catch 22 isn't it?!)

Tea Tree oil helps bites, stings, scrapes & cuts and other skin irritations.

Vinegar is also a great natural remedy to insect bites.

Remove a stinger by scraping it out with a finger nail (or a credit card works too). Squeezing the stinger will cause more venom to be released.

Learning a Sense of Urgency

Why are children not born with a sense of urgency?! We need to go. Put down the toy. Seriously - walk AWAY from the toy. We have to go. Any kid under the age of 12 just doesn't get this.

I don't want those shoes. Where's my other hat? I'm hungry. Makes me just want to scoop up those darlings; Thing 1 and Thing 2, like when they were infants in car seats. I didn't know the bliss I had when they were immobile and non-communicative.

It could take hours just to get from front hall to the front door itself. Somehow, the steps between inside and outside are intertwined with a deep black hole - which just sucks time and energy out of you and the situation.

Ever gotten into the car, and realize you are 10 minutes late for that play date?! It was the black hole just inside your front door. SUUUUUCK. There you go - you will be 10 minutes behind everything for the rest of the day.

Back to the sense of urgency. Those sucked 10 minutes of your day -- 10 little minutes - will throw off nap times and snack times, get you stuck in traffic, make you late instead of early for appointments with doctors that overbook, make the grocery store errand just a bit longer because now the choice is to eat well and then rush to Karate -- or drive to Karate but eat crap later.

All due to the fact that the children just didn't understand the sense of urgency TO GO NOW.

Perhaps, someone should take me for a coffee and tell me that I should relax about my parenting style. I'd like that. You - do - know I'll be 10 minutes late though right?!...

Kidzilla

Come to my house at 4 o'clock - any day of the week - and you will see a real - live - kidzilla in captivity. This creature growls and groans. Stomps and stampedes. It's a nasty beast.

As much as you can trust spam being in your inbox, you can trust that every day at 4pm my child becomes kidzilla. One experienced parent called this time "arsenic hour" where the kids blow off steam from their busy days. Perhaps it's a sugar low. Whatever it is - I really don't like it.

I've tried listening. I've tried being patient. I've tried ignoring. I've tried being mad and sending kidzilla to the corner (I sometimes think we should just move her bed to the corner and accept the fact she will, most likely, live in the corner). I've tried having a special sweet treat waiting for her at 4pm. I've tried and tried...

Thankfully, 4pm turns into 5pm. By 6pm - behold - my child has returned; smiling, sharing, and lovely. I am still amazed that everyday at the same darn time Child B transforms into kidzilla. I could set my watch to it.

Funnily, qualities like agressiveness and determination in the toddler world gains the title; kidzilla. The same qualities as a grown up gains the title; CEO.

The Deal on Binder Rings

Here's the Parent Club tip I promised in yesterday's blog.

I have always carried dollar store pads of paper in my bag. It helps curb impatience in doctor's offices and grocery store check-outs.

One day, while lunching with a fellow parent, she pulled out index cards (recipe cards work too), hole punched in one corner and fastened with a binder ring.

I made my own binder ring note pad shortly thereafter. My kids love to flip the pages (and take pretend orders as servers do). Yes, one cappuccino please. Since children only ever write on one side of a page - I use the flip side for grocery lists. I have also used the flip side for interview notes (which is probably unprofessional; but since I'm a Mompreneur and the family niche is a big part of my writing biz...it's sort of a business card too).

Plus, I can take out the works of art and put them on my fridge or cork board. Dispose of the used cards. Replenish at will -- at pennies a pad. I'm telling you - you've gotta try this!

My bag - My Treasure Chest

We grew up watching Mr. Dress-up and his glorious tickle-trunk. A wondrous place where you find anything you need - at exactly the moment you need it.

My bag has become a tickle-trunk of sorts...a treasure chest of things you need - at exactly the moment you need it. Children getting restless at the restaurant? - out pops pen and paper for drawing. Children get the munchies in the car? - out pops a healthy granola bar or Tupperware container of fruit loops. Thirsty? - of course, I've got water.

Recently, I amazed myself. Thing 1's new crocs' strap broke (day after they were bought - yes, I will be going back to the store). I dove into my bag and brought out tape from my first aid kit (yes, I carry a travel first aid kit -- many a stranger has thanked me for band aids at the park - let me tell you!). Tape the strap. Nope didn't work. Do I have string? Could my bag fail me?! Wait. This might work...

Out came a binder ring. I'll tell you tomorrow the great Parent Club tip of binder rings. Be sure to check back...it's a goodie.

Anyway, binder ring worked to fix the strap problem. A Parent's bag is truly a treasure chest.
I wonder if I should be called Mrs. McGuyver?!

Tip for Bee Stings

This may be an urban legend...but it might also work.

If you get stung by a bee place a penny on the bite for 15 minutes. Apparently, the copper in the penny counteracts the bite and you should see no swelling and have no pain afterwards. Tape the penny over the bite and remember to keep it on 15 minutes.

I also have heard it is not good to pull out a bee stinger but to use a credit card to scrape the stinger out of your skin.

Would anyone like to comment if this is urban legend or truth?...

Wagon's HO!

When shopping for a kid's wagon (you've seen the little red or green wagons in the parks) there are some things to keep in mind.

Seat belts. Radio flyer and the lower priced walmart wagon have adjustable seat belts. Step 2 and Little Tikes have not.

Cup holder. Two is better - one is good. Some have snack holders on the opposite side of the wagon - that's a good thing.

Handle. Important! Make sure the handle can fold underneath the wagon so that you can get it in the back of your mini-van.

Sturdy wheels. Of course.

Bike lock. Sounds weird but if you attach a bike lock where the handle and the wagon connect you can park n' lock the wagon at the park, at a fair, on the street. So many wagons get stolen and they are also a bit cumbersome to take inside the local store. An inexpensive bike lock is really handy to keep on the wagon.

Birthday Tips - at home

A few tips for the "Location: Our House Birthday Party".

How do you fill the time?

• Combine activities. Have the child make their loot bag item; be it a hand print on an art canvas, a decorated t-shirt, a pot & seeds combo, a painted bird house, or other craft. (e-mail Parent Club if you need more ideas!)


• Make food an activity. Decorate cupcakes, make individual pizzas, bead fruit loop necklaces.


• Update the ol' skool. Enjoy games of "old" like musical chairs (update it by using hoola hoops to stand in), duck, duck, goose (update to Dora, Boots, Swiper), Egg race (use those plastic easter eggs you just bought in April), pass the package (give newspaper or flyers a 2nd life by wrapping layers)


• Set up stations. Have a book nook, a dress-up corner, a lego land...and if possible keep the food to one area.

Keep the time to two hours. If the kids are young; write on the invitations that there will be a tea/coffee bar for the parents (a bit of an incentive to stay). If parents are dropping off their children; have a clipboard near the door for parents to write down their cell phone numbers.

Got Milk? - Parent Club Tip

Do you forget your bottles of milk, juice or water containers when you visit friends? Are you always half a block away when you remember the item is in the fridge.

Here's a handy tip...put your car keys in the fridge with the bottle.

This has also worked well in the past when I have picked up dinner (salmon) while out but then dropped in on a friend. Not wanting to leave without my dinner - but knowing full well I would forget it - I put my car keys in with the fish. On my way out the door, I realized my keys were missing -- then realized my dinner was missing too.

It's a Parent Club tip!

Vinegar tip

Does you child's room smell a bit off in the morning? Pour white vinegar into a spray bottle and spritz the room. The vinegar removes odours beautifully. It's environmentally friendly too.

The vinegar smell disappears quickly leaving the room odourless.