Savvy Toddler Mom

Great article as an example of Wondertime fare: 3 Skills a Preschooler Really Needs

The concluding paragraph made me snort my Crystal Light.

I’ve been so busy doing things I want to blog about, I haven’t had a chance to blog about them!  This week the toot and I — and the majority of the in-law clan – made it over to the Discovery Gateway.  Very cool, but expensive.  When I have more time, I will give a more complete review, but for now my overall opinion is that you have to go at least once.  The toot LOVED it and keeps asking to go again.

I also went to the new IKEA this morning — first time since it opened in Draper last summer.  Yes, I thought I was the last person to finally go, but then I realized CTM hasn’t been yet either!  I’ve been to IKEA before in Chicago and California, but not our very own here in Salt Lake.  It was nice to go and not have to think, “Will that fit in my luggage?” with everything I considered purchasing.

They have a great kids’ play area — free for an hour! — but… alas, the toot is not potty trained yet.  Only 100% potty trained children allowed!  He did have some awesome mac & cheese in the restaurant, although I prefer their meatballs.  Yum!

So, I think I’ve mentioned Suze Orman’s book Women & Money before, but I think it deserves another, longer mention.  Or, rather, directive: Get this book!  Even if you think (or know) you are very financially savvy, unless you are a financial planner yourself, you will learn something.  I read it last year after my SIL Anne mentioned it (thanks again!). 

One of my favorite things about it (there are several…) is the money market account offer they provide.  Suze Orman worked out a deal with TD Ameritrade… if you open a money market account there and deposit at least $50/month for one year, they will give you an additional $100!  This month I make my 12th deposit and after I get my extra $100, will have $700 in the account.  And honestly, it’s been painless.

On a totally different train of thought, I spent an hour in the doctor’s office last month cracking up over an issue of Wondertime I picked up in there.  I just sent in for a subscription, I liked it so much.  I found it much more down-to-earth than most parenting magazines, but also more sophisticated.  The article that I was laughing about so hard I was crying was from a woman that blogs for them and was relating her funniest/worst moments of parenting.  I was DYING.  Someone who has had four miscarriages (that would be me…) shouldn’t be laughing so hard in a OBGYN’s waiting room surrounded by extremely pregnant women.  Very sweet medicine for me.

Speaking of which… I am going to a second perinatalogist next week for another opinion.  Since all my tests, etc. have come up negative, I have got to keep trying to find an answer.  Along the lines of when you are at the bottom of the barrel, you find another barrel.  My new barrel is at the U of U Hospital and specializes in recurrent miscarriages, preterm births, and stillborns.  I’ll let you know what I find out (if anything).

The toot has been completely off his napping/eating schedule lately and has been SUCH a monster.  I think we will be laying low the next couple of days so that he (and I) can recover.  I actually found a bare spot on my desk today, so I am not as buried as I have been.  Yay!  Hopefully I will be able to blog about the Discovery Gateway, etc. very soon.

I am very excited for Halloween tomorrow.  I can’t wait to take the toot treat-or-treating.  I’m hoping I can make it magical for him.  I read an article recently that referred to a book called The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness: Five Steps to Help Kids Create and Sustain Lifelong Joy by Edward M. Hallowell.  It’s in my Amazon.com shopping cart right now (waiting for something else to join it before purchase to get the $25 purchase/free shipping deal).

To quote the Amazon.com review, “What children really need, according to the author, are unconditional love from someone (not necessarily a parent) and the opportunity to revel in the magic and play of childhood.” 

What better opportunity than Halloween!  I think the toot and I are going to hit the pavement tomorrow before it gets dark — meaning before SavvyDad gets home.  Just the two of us.  We are going to treat-or-treat all of our fun neighbors before meeting up with SavvyDad for dinner and then piling in the car to make the rounds to grandparents and other Salt Lake City-dwelling friends.  Can’t wait.  An evening of dress-up, candy, family and friends — perfect recipe for magic and fun.

On a side note, Amazon.com redesigned their site this week and I’m not sure I’m happy about it.  I was so used to the old one, that I’m having a hard time making friends with the new one.  Jury is still out.

I emailed Denise & Alan Fields, the authors of Toddler Bargains, the other night when I couldn’t find their review of the Graco Air Booster. To my surprise and delight, they replied this morning. 

To my inquiry about this seat, they said:

“The Graco Air Booster is a new product. The seat itself is the same as the Graco TurboBooster—they’ve changed the fabric to this new cushion for additional comfort. So we’d recommend it if you want to spend the extra $.”

So, folks, there you have it… straight from the expert’s mouth/email.

Thank you, Denise & Alan Fields, for your quick response and helpful information… or, for employing people to do it on your behalf. :)  I like you guys more today than ever.

Get a load of this… Have you ever seen those toy award stickers and wondered what else has won?  Check out this web site for the 2007 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award Winners.  They have them divided into age categories:

• Infants
• Toddlers
• Preschool
• Early School Years
• Later School Years

I have a third birthday coming up (not for me… for the toot, of course) and I need to make that birthday budget stretch!  I got some great ideas for some toys that will give me the biggest bang for my buck.

They also have past winners categorized by toy type, so check that out as well.

The Graco Air Booster or the Graco Turbo Booster?

I’ve been researching booster seats tonight, since I discovered yesterday that the toot is 39 1/2 inches tall.  39 1/2 inches tall!  He’s going to be 3 in NOVEMBER. 

Anyway, I downloaded the latest version of Toddler Bargains, an ebook, but it didn’t review the seat I’m wondering about, the Graco Air Booster.  Anyone know anything about it?  It looks like it’s new — debuted on Amazon.com in June.  Amazon.com doesn’t even have any reviews for it yet. 

I’m intrigued by the whole “patented FLEX-Comfort suspension seat with flexible micro-adjustable material that adapts to your child’s weight and size, reducing pressure points and providing an exact fit every time. This remarkable material also lets air circulate to help your child stay comfy.”  I know I’m a sucker for marketing sometimes (yes, I’ll admit it, SavvyDad…), but the toot gets so hot in his Britax Marathon, especially in this crazy Utah summer heat, and I do want the safest thing out there.

Side note: I am still thrilled with the Britax Marathon purchase.  I love the product — would recommend it to anyone.  I also shopped around online, found an insane price, then took it to USA Baby and had them match it.  Apparently still feeling smug about it, too…

But back to the point, which is: I don’t know about the Graco Air Booster and I think I’m going to have to go with the Graco Turbo Booster, which IS the Toddler Bargains’ recommendation.  Not to mention, it’s half the price.

Alright… the toot woke up and here is my favorite book for new babies (and parents): Time for Bed.  Each page is a different animal telling their own baby it is time to go to sleep, tucking them in, and saying goodnight.  It’s one of the toot’s favorites, too.

It’s also the only book he’s ever tried to eat.  So, apparently, it’s tasty as well as good reading.

(I really need to get a new copy, the chewed-off corner can be distracting…)

I’ve been slammed with work since last week — even over the weekend (grrr…) — so just a few thoughts for today. 

1) Sunscreen.  It’s freakin’ hot already here in Utah (102 degrees on Friday!), and the toot would be lobster-red without his sunscreen every couple of hours.  Always put sunscreen on your kids when they play outside, whether it’s sunny or cloudy.  Apply, then reapply.  The nuisance is definitely worth not having them get skin cancer.

2) Early Book Review. I just started reading “Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child” by John Gottman.  I’m only 20 or so pages into it, but really, really enjoying it.  Several times today I was able to put Gottman’s theories to the test with positive results.  Recommended by a therapist friend of mine (who said she’s glad Gottman wrote it, because otherwise she would have had to…), it’s all about teaching your children to be comfortable expressing their emotions and having them learn how to cope with emotionally-charged situations.  I’ll let you know my final verdict after I finish reading and some real-world application. 

However, I keep thinking about a childhood experience where my mom and I were shopping for underwear (I think I was seven or eight) and she wouldn’t let me get the kind I wanted.  No explanation, no empathy.  Just “no,” and then got mad at me for being upset about it.  (I think I wanted Strawberry Shortcake or something…)  I’m sure there was a reason: cost, quality, etc., but she didn’t try to explain it.  I just remember her being MEAN because she wouldn’t let me get whatever it was.  A mean mom.

Gottman argues that parents should validate their children’s feelings, let them express them, give them a name (sad, angry, disappointed), and then learn to cope with those feelings and move on.  I wish my mom had put her arm around me and said, “I know you want to get those.  They would be really fun, wouldn’t they?  Unfortunately, [her reason here] and I’m so sorry we can’t.”

It would have made all the difference in the world. 

3) Potty Training.  This is the one I’m the most excited about.  The toot has shown little interest so far in the little potty we placed in “his” bathroom several months ago.  It might as well just be a step stool. 

Some days I’ll get ambitious and ask him if he wants to sit on it.  The answer is usually “no.”  Sometimes he’ll actually do it for a minute to humor me… first, fully clothed, then he would actually let me take his clothes and diaper off.  Lately, we have been asking him before his bath if he wants to sit on it — just to keep it on his radar.  He usually says, “no.”  My pediatrician said not to even bother potty training until he’s three — he’ll just do it when he’s ready, she says. 

Well, tonight I was getting him ready for his bath and asked him if he’d like to sit on the potty.  I nonchalantly added that if he went “tinkle” (the word I have chosen for this bodily function) in the potty, I would give him a car.  He’s really been into doing anything for a Matchbox-sized character from Cars.  Would you believe that the kid sat down and tinkled like a pro?  I couldn’t.  I absolutely could not believe it.  What a big boy!

Unfortunately, I don’t think I can afford to keep up the potty training program with cars as a reward, so I’m going to have to try another tactic pretty quick.  I am just thrilled to know that he “gets it” and can do it on command, if he so chooses.  Wow.

4) Funny words.  I have to share a couple of funny things the toot said to me today:

• When I asked him if we should get him some chocolate milk: “Good idea, Mommy!”
• To a couple of things I said today: “Okie dokie”
• When we were calling SavvyDad on the phone: “I can’t wait!”

What a crack-up.

Back to the salt mines for me… I’d love to know about any potty training stories or tips that anyone has.  It’s a whole new adventure waiting for us, I’m sure.