Savvy Toddler Mom

It’s been a busy week!  As my friend and fellow blogger Heather put it, “It’s a lot of work being the mommy!”

How was your Easter weekend?  Ours was fun and freakin’ crazy.  I’ve just been running and running since.  We had a great time with my brother and his family in town — enjoyed an afternoon at Hogle Zoo on Saturday, as well as an Easter egg hunt and dinner at my parents’.  You can’t beat a trip to the zoo for some toddler fun!  They loved the animals, of course, but I think the train took the cake.  SavvyDad got this great shot of us coming down the track:

The toot’s favorite item from the Easter Bunny was a new set of toy golf clubs.  Man, that kid loves to golf!  Funnily enough, the in-laws brought him a toy sword home from England that makes a “ching” sound when you hit it against stuff.  WOW.  In one day, he more than doubled his number of long skinny things designed to hit other things.  Just what we needed! :)  Actually, he’s pretty good about not hitting or breaking anything.  (Famous last words…)

SavvyDad and I celebrated our ninth anniversary on Tuesday.  Nine years.  That’s just crazy.  Couldn’t imagine a better way to spend nine years, though!  I love you, sweetie.

I frantically planted my lily bulbs yesterday after a grueling week of weeding my miserable garden.  It’s done!  Alas, I ran out of time to get the weed preventer stuff (Preen) on, and then, OF COURSE, it snowed this morning.  SNOWED?!?!  So, that will have to wait until another day.  But the bulbs are in the ground!!  The toot was an awesome helper — nothing like dirt and everything that comes with it to bring a smile to a toddler.

I have been working a ton this week and so am going to enjoy today as a day of relaxation and recovery.  Since there is almost three inches of snow outside, I can’t work in the garden — no guilt there!  I don’t have any appointments, so I can stay in my pjs all day if I want.  Probably won’t, but I CAN.  The toot slept great last night and is just a little sweetheart this morning.  It’s looking to be a great day.

Hope you are having a good one too!

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 finally did it.  Yesterday I went the whole day without a Diet Coke.  First time in… a long time.  I woke up with a bad headache today, though, and ran for a can this morning.  Kinda sad.  So, here’s the breakdown:

Sunday: 1 diet coke
Monday: 1 diet coke
Tuesday: 0 diet coke
Wednesday: 1 diet coke

I’m going to try for zero again tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

I’m going in to have my blood drawn for those clotting tests today.  Hopefully we’ll be able to say definitively if that’s a problem or not.

CTM and I went to the gym again last night and I am pretty tired and sore today.  It feels really good. :)  We are going again tonight!

I wanted to touch for a minute on a great Toddler Trip that is a favorite of mine and the toot’s: going to Target.  We went yesterday — an hour of wandering and browsing.  We both had a great time.  The toot LOVES to look at the toy cars, and is actually pretty good about not needing to take all of them home.  (We do bring home a random hot wheels here and there… but they are $1!)  He also loves to identify all the stuff he can, from pineapples to pajamas.

I found a new line of toys that Cranium has put together exclusively for Target, called “Bloom.”  I could only find these six on their web site, but they had a few more at the store.  This cooking set is similar to some of the others I saw, like sandwich stacker sets both for sandwiches and burgers.  They also seemed pretty affordable, with prices ranging between $10-$15.  Very cute.

ChasingToddlerMom and I took our boys to Build A Bear on Tuesday.  Yes, we did.  It was awesome.

We’ve been brainstorming what exciting and fun things we can do with our kids since the weather turned so cold.  This was one of our ideas, although a little on the spendy side.

The toot got a darling bear - the “Curly Teddy” - that he has since given the oh-so-original name of “Teddy.”  The toot adores him.  I’m afraid his stalwart Tigger will be replaced by the new bear — sort of a Woody and Buzz situation.  So far, he’s been sleeping with both of them.  We’ll see how it goes…

The toot was enchanted with the Build A Bear experience: choose your bear, help get it stuffed (although he HATED how loud it was and I had to push the pedal for the machine for him), then choose a heart, kiss it and put it in your bear to be sewn up.  He’s hardly put Teddy down since.  It melts my heart to see him be so affectionate and cute with his teddy bear.  Makes me feel a little better about how he’s going to be with a new baby around.

Like Little Ro, the toot wasn’t too interested in clothes for his bear, although he did insist on some accessories: 1) a football and 2) a skateboard.  I got some CUTE shoes, too, and a little polo shirt so he would have something to wear… but to be honest, he’s hardly worn it.

Due to ChasingToddlerMom’s shopping savvy, we had a $5 off coupon (thanks again, CTM!!!).  They are also having a $5 off promotion on gift cards, which came in handy when I picked one up for my niece’s birthday.

Very, very fun — although, I can’t imagine Build A Bear gets a lot of repeat business from kids who aren’t interested in clothes for their bear (or other animal).  How many best friend stuffed animals is really reasonable?  One is good for me.  They had TONS of girl clothing, so maybe it’s different for little girls; loving dress-up and all that. 

The toot just wants Teddy to skateboard.

10am-3pm on Saturdays in October, kids can create a scarecrow at Wheeler Farm (6351 S. 900 E.).  You supply the clothes, the farm supplies the stuffing.  Bring pants, shirt, hat and a pillowcase.  Children also get to pick a pumpkin out of the farm’s patch and decorate it.  A wagon ride is included in the $6 per person admission fee.  There will also be crafts for kids and Indian corn decorations for adults.

I am definitely taking the toot!  He’s got a scarecrow fetish.  I was going to take him down to Thanksgiving Point for their Scarecrow Festival (Oct. 11, 12, 13 & 15, 10am-9pm) this weekend, but scheduling is not going to allow it.  Also, get this crazy pricing: Adults: $5, Children 6-18: $12, Children 1-5: $6, Babies 0-1 are free.

According to their web site, “The Scarecrow Festival is a fun event for the entire family. Small children can play over 30 games, ride in the peddle cars of Spider Speedway, visit the friendly Petting Zoo in Boo Country where there is a pony ride, Fish Ponds with fabulous prizes, test your skills on the Obstacle Courses, plenty of fun Bounce Houses, and tons of inflatable slides. The Junior Haunted House is not too scary, but plenty of fun. Have your face painted in your favorite spooky theme. Don’t forget to climb aboard our train ride.”

Huh.

Find out Saturday, October 13th from 9:30am-5:00pm.

The Museum has thousands of artifacts housed in its special storage in the basement. Once per year, the Museum hauls out hundreds of its rarest and hardly seen artifacts for the public to view.  They are calling it “What’s in the Basement?”

Each fall, the Museum offers a chance for the public to go behind the scenes of the Museum. Over 100 curators, researchers, education specialists and volunteers are on-hand to show the collections, give the background stories and the science that is at work.

Regular Museum admission applies.

Click here for more info.

STM Reader Sunny, thanks for sending this over!

I have a list of “to dos” for this blog.  The list is actually pretty long.  Things I want to talk about, programmatical things I want to fix (like getting rid of those bullets on the right sidebar - grrrr…), and reference materials to incorporate to help you, the reader, navigate the antics of my wandering brain and typing fingers.

So, it is with great happiness in crossing a thing off my list, that I announce the Toddler Trip Index.  Found in the previously mentioned pesky right sidebar under “Pages,” you will find a list of Toddler Trips — things to do and see along the Wasatch Front.  It’s definitely a work in progress and will hopefully grow to the point where I will need to actually have categories.

Each is linked to its appropriate web site with additional info, as well as my review (if I’ve been diligent enough to have written one already).

Suggestions and comments are welcome!  Thanks for reading.

Alright, so this post is a bit late… it’s been a busy week!

The Utah State Fair didn’t disappoint this year–and SavvyDad got a third place ribbon!  Yay!

The toot had a great time… he saw/petted all the animals (sheep, cows, horses, pigs, chickens, rabbits, etc.), rode a pony ($3.50), went through the “Little Hands on the Farm” interactive exhibit, and shared a funnel cake with mom and dad (yum, but $5.50).

“Little Hands on the Farm” was really quite clever.  It takes your little farmhand through the farming process and bringing grocery items to market.  When we were there, it was pretty crowded and getting dark, so I didn’t get many good pics. 

To give you an idea, though, the kids start out with putting on an apron and picking up a basket.  They move through several stations where they perform different activities: picking an apple from a tree, getting an egg from a chicken, planting a seed and harvesting a crop, feeding corn to a cow, milking the cow, etc., etc.  There are quite a few! (All fake, of course.)

The little farmers then take their basket of goods to the market, sell their wares, and get money!  They can then use their money to buy a treat at the general store.

It is all very, very cute and the toot (at almost 3-years-old) was able to perform most of the tasks on his own.  Although he did need a little reigning-in after he got his hands on the trowel!  I think kids get a kick out of the “process” and most of the children around us were having a great time and following the program.

There was a considerable back-up where they were supposed to put a mini bale of hay on a tricycle and ride it around in a circle… we skipped that part entirely.  I think that was the hardest part and the toot (and certainly younger children) hasn’t quite mastered pedaling a bike yet.

Hats off to the fair for having a fun, interactive activity for children that is FREE, educational and doesn’t involve going round-and-round, up-and-down.  If you get a chance, take your little farmhand!  The fair runs through September 16th.  You can get $6 fair tickets (regular adult price is $8) at Smith’s.  Children 5 and under are free.

Hats off also to Questar… they subsidized the opening day entrance fee down to $2, BUT as we approached the ticket booth, Therm, the Energy Wise Guy was there to hand us some free tickets!!!  Thanks, Therm!  As a marketer, I got a real kick out of their web site and marketing campaign… www.thermwise.com.  By the way, he’s a lot taller than we thought he was.

And a final hats off to SavvyDad for another awesome year in the photo contest.  Way to go, hon!  I’m so proud of you.

Believe it or not, I am so excited to go to the Utah State Fair today.

Not only does SavvyDad have some entries in the photography contest and I can’t wait to see if he ribboned (my fingers are crossed!), but they also have a exhibit called “Little Hands on the Farm” that I want to take the toot to.  Apparently, it is an interactive experience to help kids gain a better understanding of the farm and grocery store process.  I’ll review it tomorrow.

Since today is opening day, admission to the fair is $2 for those 6 and up; 5 and under are free.

I’m also looking forward to getting my hands on a funnel cake.

Aren’t you thrilled that I finally made the move to www.savvytoddlermom.com?  I am.  It’s always hard to tell people about my blog when the url is so long, you HAVE to write it down or email it to them.  Not that “savvytoddlermom” is easy to remember either, but at least there isn’t an extra “dot wordpress dot com” in there as well.

Hopefully it will now be easier for all of us.

I have two fun finds to share today — both are places I visited last Friday.  Yes, it’s taken me almost a week to sit down and blog!  

Cookie Cutters
Have you heard of Cookie Cutters hair salon — the hair salon specifically for kids?  If not, I am not surprised.  Until about a month ago, they only had one location in Utah, and that was in Draper.  The fun find I have to share is that they’ve opened a location in Brickyard (across the street to the east, actually) and I took the toot there on Friday.

Cookie Cutters is amazing… it caters to those little people in our lives that hate getting their hair cut!  Each station has a car, plane, motorcycle, firetruck, etc. that the kids get to ride while they get their hair cut.  Each station also has a television and DVD player to play your little mop-head’s movie of choice.  They have a wide selection to choose from.  On top of that, they also have toys and bubbles (!) to distract the kids from what is really going on.  After it’s all said and done, they get a balloon with a cookie cutter attached AND a lollipop.  What is not to like?

I took the toot to Cookie Cutters for his first haircut… and every one after that.  (They have a cute kit for 1st hair cuts — collect a lock of hair, take a photo, etc.)  The toot LOVES it.  After his appointment on Friday, I hauled him out of there while he wailed, “More haircut! More haircut, please, Mommy?!”  He was loving the motorcycle he got to ride… as well as the slide set up in the waiting room.

Cookie Cutters is more expensive than most for a children’s haircut - $12 - but is worth every penny.  I received a coupon in the mail for the Brickyard location (because I was a Draper customer) and my mom gave me another one she received via bulk mail.  They also mail frequent coupons to their existing customers, and if you schedule your next appointment while you are in, they will take $2 off.

Check them out…

Draper Location
1223 East Draper Parkway #B
Draper, Utah 84020
(801) 501-0386

Brickyard Location
1301 East Miller Avenue #4
Salt Lake City, Utah 84106
(801) 466-4643

The Tutoring Toy Shoppe
After the toot’s haircut, I dropped him off at Grandma’s for some “me” time and I went wandering for a bit.  (Always nice to do some mindless wandering…)  My wandering took me to Foothill Village where I discovered The Tutoring Toy Shoppe.  What a fabulous toy store!  Full of unique and different toys, I was delighted to browse for quite a while.  They have a lot of educational toys, wooden train sets, and lots of other toys and games for all ages.  I was impressed by the variety and just the… uniqueness.  I spend a lot of time browsing online and in stores for new and fun things for children and this store STILL managed to surprise me.  I picked up an adorable honey bee tree game similar to Jenga, except you pull out the leaves one at a time until the bees all spill down the tree — so cute!

I spoke with one of the owners for a few minutes — they are an independent store, only one location.  They don’t have a web site yet, but are planning to launch one early next year, after the coming Christmas season.

Definitely worth a look for parents and grandparents:

The Tutoring Toy Shoppe
1400 S. Foothill Blvd.
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
(801) 581-1060

They are in Foothill Village, just north of the Basket Loft. 

Their slogan is “Toys that Spark Imagination and Growth.”  I would say that summarizes them quite nicely.