Ok, so this is a geeky clip of my hands...BUT it's a really great idea and we use this activity often.

It is good for pre-writing, tactile memory and fine motor skills. You can be very simple and basic and allow your child to dig and scoop or you can use it to teach:

• letter formation
• sounds
• shapes
• numbers
• patterns
• adjectives
• name-writing
• phone number
• address etc.

Directions:
get pan
get salt
get busy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tZhLl7wxGk

Ok, so I have tivo and I use it!

Monday: The Bachelor
We've been taping the Bachelor forever . I mean literally, we would use a VHS every monday when I was in night classes...and I'm not kidding. Hubby and I are hooked- and I'm totally digging this year's british chap...charming, dashing and witty- he's the whole British adjective enchilada. Did that make sense? Sorry.

Tuesday: Idol
Hey, this guys rocks...they cheese him out on the show but when he sings, shazzzzaaaaaammmm!



Watch him sing the best song ever on Idol: Billie Jean!


WHAT do you think???? DO TELL!!

There are a handful of issues that naturally come with having kids. One of those is clutter, aka junk, stuff, crap, toys, papers, gadgets, art supplies, trinkets, whatnots, legos, cars, bits, parts, pieces and everything else. You get what I'm saying, though, so here are my three favorite  ways to keep kids clutter at bay.


1. Easy-reach Shelf
Put a small wooden shelf in the kitchen, bedroom and/or nearby area. Choose between 6-8 items, games, activities and puzzles that your child can choose from. Rotate them regularly. Work together to keep items on trays, in boxes, in canisters, etc. Eventually, the kids will put things back themselves if they know to take out one activity at a time. NOTE: if you have a two year old or younger, they love do dump the buckets and baskets (like you don't know that already, I know!!) so be sure to choose items with few pieces.


Here's a pic  (I couldn't get a really good one to load- sorry)from a montessori classroom- this layout works at home...use old trays, bowls, cans, and dishes to display/hold cards, blocks, cars or educational activities like matching, letter sounds, etc.





2. Plastic Drawers
These things run about $20-30 at target/kmart. BUT they are easy to label and keep clean. Buy a few and find clever hiding spots for them such as under counters, in larger cabinets and in closets.

Label

art drawers:

• paper
• art supplies
• crayons
• collage stuff
• etc.

Or accessories:

• hats
  
• socks
• gloves
• sports stuff (shin pads, cleats, etc.)

Then, you'll know where to find what you are looking for...I have 5 of these around the house.



3.Storage Baskets

These work wonders for little parts and small collections of cars, trains, blocks, books, farm toys, and legos. They also hold tapes, cds, small stuffed animals, blankies, baby items and everything else. Find funky ones or earthy toned baskets at hardware stores, ikea, christmas tree shop, cost plus- wherever. Then, sitd own and sort all the toys by type or theme.



4.  Wall-Mounts & Metal Magnet Strips
These are awesome and you can put them by the front door, office space, kitchen walls, etc.  Get one wall strip for each kid and use them to keep VIP (papers) readily at hand. Here's an AWESOME DIY idea...

Here's a great article for a "wall-mounted command center," which can easily be used for kid papers, items, folders, artwork, etc.  Wall mounting manila folders can be used to keep things like schedules, menus, newsletters, etc. organized. See this AWESOME list in the article:

OPTIONS FOR WALL MOUNTED ORGANIZERS
...............................................................................

• Staples sells mesh in boxes in all shapes and sizes. (http://www.staples.com)
• The mesh wall bureau from City Living is more compact than a rail system. (http://www.citylivingstores.com)
• Living Comforts - wooden in boxes have two sections, clear dividers and a key holder. (http://www.livingcomforts.com)
• Ergo's ultra-modern wall mounted system includes a mail sorter and a hanging file folder. (http://www.ergoindemand.com)
• Pottery Barn's stylish daily system offers white boards, calendars, corkboards and file holders that can be mixed and matched. (http://www.potterybarn.com)
• The pocket-strip wall organizer by See Jane Work holds everything from calculators to clipboards. (http://www.seejanework.com)
• The Container Store's silver mesh mail sorter works like an in box. (http://www.containerstore.com)
• Don't limit yourself to office organization products: Organize.com's wall mounted kitchen products can be used for office supplies, as can IKEA's Forjoha cabinets and Bygel cutlery caddy. (http://www.ikea.com)
  

 

5.  Letterboxes

You can also find these at marshals, tj maxx, etc. These are great for smaller puzzle storage (see labels on outside, so you can stack them!), school work, paperwork, games, activities (stamps, cards, photos, magazine clippings, etc.), and just about anything else you want to keep organized and within reach. There are also larger art storage boxes that hold those pesky puzzles...

Ok, I felt crappy it enough when I woke up this morning...dang it! After two martinis at parents' night out and then a 2am attack of three kids taking over my bed so I slept halfway on my bedside table, I awoke to find this LINK.


Come on, what is a mom to do? These ladies drive me mad! Look at Salma Hayek!! What the F? (Fat?) Where did it go? Who are these women and when can I get in to see their "specialists?"


Going to have some coffee...

My nine year old is addicted to the History Channel, whose target audience is slightly older.

When he was watching "toilet tech" (an informational show about the history of toilets), an erectile dysfunction commercial came on. While he was looking at the tv, he curiously looked at me. I smirked because I knew what he was about to ask me...

what's "erctile, eretile, erc dys, dys...what? what is that?"

I just looked at him and said, don't worry about it. When he asked me why (again), I picked up the phone and pretended to make a phone call. You, know so I could hold up my "wait a minute, I'm on the phone" finger (not the middle one).

He knew it was one of those subjects...I should have said something like, ask your father, he knows all about it...or something to really add some humor to the joke.

The day he figures out that google search can be used to find these things out, I'm in trouble...until that day comes, I'm enjoying his last days of innocence :).

Ok, I'm what you would call a non-ossieur.  I don't know my a$$ from my elbow when it comes to vino.

Here's what I do know:

I know I don't like it too sweet, too dry, too expensive. I'm not a fan of reisling and that's pretty much where I draw the perameters.

Don't get me wrong, I'm learning because this is important stuff, right?
Anyway, if you are buying wine for the table this weekend (or this afternoon), here are my go-to wines and why I like them:

Barefoot Chardonnay - high taste points (it says on the bottle)  and inexpensive. Great with chicken and sauces...or so they say: Barefoot Chardonnay is perfect with seafood, poultry, fresh fruits, white sauce pastas and mild cheeses.

Twin Fin Pino Grigio- Who doesn't like the surfer lifestyle? This is crisp and light. It makes a yummy spritzer too (add club soda & fruit). Listen to the website waves and pretend you are relaxing...they sell it in the grocery store. Get some today.

Fleming Jenkins Victories Rose -on sale for the magnum bottle...big bang for the buck. SUPER tasty, not sweet, great with everything (even breakfast). This is a guy's surprise favorite...if he likes wine, he will love this...AND it benefits breast cancer research!

Mommy's Time Out- This is another Pino Grigio...I read about it here on mybaby and I tried it...it's super delicious and it lives up to its label. It's fruity but not sweet..high ratings and all around yummy.

Firestone Cablahblah Saviblahblah...lol.
Anyway, it's made by that old ABC favorite bachelor-hunk, Andrew Firestone...he's getting married ladies, just an fyi...and not to Jen. Anyone still with me on this post?

Jerry Garcia Merlot - Ok, I can't remember which of these, if not all of them I've tried...anwyay, this one's for the hippies. The label's cool, the wine's not bad and it's marginally more interesting than the wine selection next to it, right?

Big House Red- Great red table blend...it passed a morning-after-mommy-drank-wine headache test..lol. I didn't have too much, just so you know...what's the old saying, ladies & gents?

Got a squirrely toddler? Need a quick redirection activity to get you through prenap meltdown? I have one right here!

You'll see in the video...you need:

WATER in a shallow dish
1 Sponge (use a new one, cut it in half for extended use)
1 tall clear cup
1 towel or handcloth to catch spills.

STEPS:

Demonstrate how a sponge works in the shallow water.
Then show how to squeeze the water over the cup, filling it higher with each squeeze.

Help your 2-4 year old squeeze and absorb until the water is gone from the dish.
Pour the water back in th dish and do it again.

Step away and get dinner/lunch/phone call started in peace...

Watch my son in the video...notice the concentration, even with all the background noise.

Great for hand-eye and fine motor skills, which are necessary for writing. Also, it's relaxing to feel the water and listen to it fill the cup. Plus it helps with developing concentration.

Feel free to ask questions or simply leave your child to an intense focus session. :)

My son did this at least five times before he was finished.


 Cheap, easy, educational & fun. What's not to like?

Ok, so I feel like a nerd but I did it!

I posted my mug up on mybaby - I thought it might be fun to see some of the tips and activities live in action. If you would like to see more ideas, let me know...if you are like me, sometimes you need a visual in order to wing it.

So, hit the cupboards and see if your kids like using a RICE TRAY.

Spitzer's feeling pretty bad...check out Colbert's "lip bite index" to learn just how bad!


Funny:)

According to the Vatican, pollution is a new, modern day sin.

I’m hoping to get to heaven, or at the very least, not make hell on earth for future generations. If you’re like me or are in need of some redemption, check out green this! greening your cleaning by dierdre imus. This book is a simple and straightforward resource for anyone looking to cut chemicals. A domestic halo, however, is not guaranteed :).

The types of toxins we are exposed to are nearly as alarming as the sheer number of pollutants we have in our houses. It’s hard to put my brain around the information—the book breaks the information overload into pieces that can be better understood.

 

According to the book, “the EPA has classified many chemicals found in household cleaning products as persistent bioaccumulative toxins, or PBTs.” These chemicals are persistent and accumulate vs. disappear and continue to transfer from air to water, bodies, to food sources, etc. They are basically really bad…and we should avoid them as much as possible!

 

Here are some types of mean chemicals we’re up against everyday:

 

Neurotoxins

Poisonous, affect nervous system. Found in some: disinfectants, permanent press fabrics, air fresheners & mercury.

 

Carcinogens

Cause or aggravate cancer cells. Found in many popular products like: cleaners, dishwashing liquids and spot removers.

 

Mutagens

Cause permanent genetic change in cells. Found in some of these: spray starches, cleaners, detergents, polishes (known as phenol).

 

Endocrine Disruptors

Interfere with hormonal and/or reproductive systems. Found in some of these: detergents and polishes.

 

Teratogens

Interfere with fetal development. Found in some of these: glass cleaners, all purpose cleaners and spray starches.

 

 

Nasty, right? If it were only so easy to want to follow the all the other commandments…

Ok. Here's a quick funny story:

We have been transitioning into life with a new au pair from mexico. She's super nice, sweet, cool and all that. She just doesn't speak much english-- and my spanish is pretty basic So, to be sure I get the most across, I've been writng lists and schedules and importing them into bablefish.com.

I have notes all over the place...I asked if they were understandable and she said, well...."what this? this animal..." I looked at the list and realized throughout my notes and instructions I used the word "kids" and everytime bable fish translated the word into "baby goats!"

No wonder why she was confused! It seemed I was asking her to read stories to the baby goats or play games with the goats or get the goats dressed.

We both had quite a laugh as we worked to clear that up.

If you live in the cold-weather-nether regions (like me) you've been stuck in the house with kids and pets for way too long.  Vacations are over, everyone's exhausted and nobody can play another indoor time-killing game.  Mix things up with 15 simple ideas for distracting, wasting time and having a little old fashioned fun.

1. Crank it up and have a dance party.
2. Eat breakfast for dinner.
3. Make ice cream sundaes and let the kids do all the work.
4. Get out the sheets, pillows and cushions- make a fort.
5. Watch old home videos or look at photo albums.
6. Paint a wall or room a happy, warm color- let the kids choose the color and help with the project.
7. Make a happy-songs-only imix for your friends and family members.
8. Host an indoor picnic, wear plaid.
9. Bake a cake, let the kids decorate it.
10. Act out a book, assign parts and make a set.
11. Play store...with paper bags, fake cash, cash box and a car made from an old box (how else will you drive to and from the store?)
12. Why not make a margarita for you, frozen fruit smoothies for the rest of the bunch!
13. Make a cute video for the grandparents, upload it on youtube and send it on over via the internet. 
14. Watch a movie during dinner, popcorn is a sidedish.
    
15. Have a treasure hunt- get creative and stash money, tickets, gift certificates (you make them up- what are you willing to pay for :)), snacks, chore coupons and whatever else you can think of!
    

 

If you've ever imagined going on vacation and taking a family-friendly safari at disney's animal kingdom, you probably never imagined you'd see pee wee herman, [paul ruebens] while enjoying the serengeti.

 

Well, neither did I until I sat down and realized my goofiest and giggly childhood hero was sitting two feet from me. I missed the entire nature-loving experience because I was trying to get a good look:) no joke. I tried to get a pic through the sideview mirror, in through the front window at his well-hidden under-floppy-hat face. I tried to snag a good shot (I got a few crappy ones!) but my battery died (of course it did).

I tried to stop my brain from saying things like "I know you are but what I am I?" or "I meant to do that" or "let's talk about your big but" or "I'm a loner,  a rebel, dotty."

On and on...the funniest part? There's a huge dinosaur you can walk under at Animal Kingdom.

I had literally said, before seeing him, "This is like that dinosaur in pw's b adventure." My kids didn't even really get the comment and we went on our way...Like, seriously, when was the last time I referenced pee wee?lol?

 

I just wonder what it was like for him to walk by the huge dinosaur...after all, he is pee wee herman...he lived it. Did he think the same things I did...except that he was on the set and I was a kid who remembers every blasted line from the movie? This was a deep moment in my life...it can be be described in the link below:

meka leka hi meka hiney ho!