Nature Fun With Toddlers: Dandelion Curls

When I was little, I remember spending hours in the backyard with my friends...and one of my favorite activities was making Dandelion Curls. I just adored watching those stems curl up and seeing what cool spirals they made.

So, today, on our way back from the little convenience store across the street, LBB and I found a dandelion that still had all of it it's little floater seeds on it. I showed him how to make them fly (towards the parking lot...we don't need to spread the dandelions any more than they do on their own) and then just as I was about to tell him to put the stem back in the grass, I instantly remembered dandelion curls.

We raced back to the apartment, and LBB got to experience Dandelion Curls for the first time. Now, just in case this would be your first time, here's how to make them:

Start with some lovely dandelion stems:

Pluck the heads off. (Sounds gruesome. Ew.) Then peel the stems. If you want thicker curls, peel the stems in half. If you want thinner, than peel as many times as possible. Thicker curls take a bit longer to curl than their thinner counterparts, but they are still cool nonetheless.

Next step? Simply let your toddler or small child drop the stem peels in a bowl of COLD water, and watch them curl! It is really simple, and yet so fun.

And once they curl? Well, you've got nature's springs...and apparently little toddler guys ADORE this.

Just a note...I knew that our lawn hadn't been sprayed yet for weeds. If by some chance you're unsure, you could always wash the stems before you peel them so your little one doesn't get any nasty chemicals on them. And a quick handwash after nature play is never a bad idea. :)

Sunday Book Review: Not Really a Book Review

The majority of the time, getting LBB to sit long enough to read a book (even a short one) from cover to cover is equivalent to pulling teeth.

He just. Doesn't. Like. It.

Then, today, I stumbled upon the miracle fix.

See that pile of books that the adorable little duck is sitting on? We read those in one sitting. Even Dear Sweet Hubby kept giving me those looks that said "Is that our kid?"

Yes, it was our kid. But the secret trick I discovered today?

LBB loves when Lenny the Duck reads to him. In full-on duck voice with quacks mixed in. :)

(Mommy's can be ever so talented, can't we?)

I just started off casually...making funny duck noises and "Lenny" asked LBB if they could read a book. LBB happily obliged. OK, I thought, this is interesting. They read the book together, then Lenny asked to read another book. And another. And a total of 7 books were read. It's a miracle. That's the best way I can put it. LBB cannot sit still. But somehow, Lenny brought the best bookworm out in him. Lenny talked about rhyming. "He" asked LBB questions. They even counted together.

So, Moms and Dads, if you've got a reluctant toddler who doesn't seem to want to sit still for more than a second during book time, I would seriously give this a try! Just grab the nearest stuffed animal or doll, try out your funniest voice, and see where it takes you!

You may just be pleasantly surprised!

And, if the thought of having your little one sit long enough to read a whole book isn't enough to convince you to give it a shot (which I'm sure is not the case), you may even be rewarded with sudden bursts of affection afterwards...much like this little guy had:

He couldn't stop hugging Lenny. He had so much fun he even wanted to pose with Lenny for a picture...that never happens. :)

His New Obsession

LBB is a boy of obsessions.

He's obessed with trains, tractors, and construction equipment.

He knows what he loves, and he has no problem taking his love to the next level. :)

But we have a new obsession.

Slippers.

He's always been partial to slippers. But, after his trip to the ER (which was accompanied by his puppy slippers), he's been inseparable from his slippers. Thankfully he has 3 pairs, because he does not want to wear shoes. At all.

In the past 3 days, he's worn shoes once...and that was a quick trip to the store, and it was a fight to get him to wear the shoes.

On his guy's night out with Dear Sweet Hubby yesterday, LBB wouldn't even let shoes be an option. So, he wore his Cars slippers out. Dear Sweet Hubby and I have decided that this is not a quirk that we feel is troublesome, so we don't fight him on it.

Sure, we may be giving in. But in the realm of things, him wanting to wear slippers at age 2? Not a big deal. :) So we let him wear them. He wears them in the morning. He wears them out. He wears them in the evening. He wears them to bed. And, if I am stealthy enough when we check on him, I am able to slide them off his little feet.

Do your kids have any quirky little obsessions?

I've Been Watching Too Much TV

Kids TV, that is.

We've been doing a pretty good job of limiting LBB's tv watching to 2 hours or so a day lately. But when he was sick, that is all he did. All. Day. Long.

So that's what I did. All. Day. Long. :)

Some thoughts that passed through my head during our tv-athon:

• Elmo can be sooooooo condescending. Case in point: "Why don"t we ask a baaaaab-y? Baby, how do you get dressed? {Tosses hat on baby's lap. Baby stares at him.} Hahahahahahahaha!" Geez, Elmo. Does it make you feel better to pick on a baby? Bully. 
• Have you seen Color Crew? It's a show about crayons. That color. Pretty simple concept. But the crayons, especially the blue one, are little....creepy. Then there's the eraser...he looks and sounds evil. And don't even get me started on the fact that they don't talk (besides to say the color name.) My LBB has enough issues with not talking...I don't need the little bit of tv he watches to encourage that.
• I have MAJOR issues with Chuck and Friends. I get that it's a show about friendship...and bulldozers. What boy wouldn't love that? But here's the deal. I'm NOT ok with how they portray friendship. Am I the only Mom that has a problem with the fact that Chuck is the worshipped friend while the other trucks fade into the background and praise everything he  does, including the (let's be honest) stupid and misbehaving stuff? To make matters worse, Chuck's mom Haulie totally encourages his behavior. In the most irritating episode I've seen, Chuck gets a new horn. Chuck's other friend gets a new siren and a new voice changer. Pretty cool. Now Chuck arrives to the junk yard as his friend is sharing his new siren and voice changer, and gets royally upset that HE wasn't the center of attention. He goes back to his mom's shop (pouting of course) and she asks him: "What's wrong? Didn't you show your friends your new horn?"  I have a major issue with this. It drives me crazy when Moms thinks it's a-ok to just bring their kids around to other kids and show off their new things. And I have an even bigger problem when they encourage their kids to feel that they are more important than their friends. At the end of that episode, Chuck apologizes to his friend for getting upset that he wasn't the center of attention (and stealing his big brothers wheels to try to show off even more). THEN...for some reason, his friend apologizes to him for showing his friends his siren and voice changer and sharing with their friends. WHAT? It's ok to share new toys, which is what his friend was doing, but it's where it's coming from. If you are showing to share, ok. (That's what his friend did.) If you are showing to show off and make yourself look cool, not ok. (Which is what Chuck was doing.) Ugh. Sorry about that...it's a touchy subject. Haha.
• We love Curious George. I love his curiosity.  I love that he uses great problem solving skills. And I think LBB really relates to him. But. What does The Man in the Yellow Hat do for a living? I am sure it has something to do with the museum, but he never goes to work there for long periods of time. He must have money, because his apartment is pretty awesome, and he's got that country place. The country place is apparently his family's. He makes a reference to his childhood there when George finds his old bike. But, his mom is still alive because he emails her. So...how does that all work? At first I thought he his family was dead or something, but I'm realizing that's probably not the case. Any thoughts?
• And my favorite show to let LBB watch? The Backyardigans. Hands down the best, in my humble opinion. Imagination, friendship (the good kind), and outside play? You can't beat that. I love that not all of them play together in every episode...it teaches little ones that it's ok to make other friends. I love that they use their imagniations to have fun adventures. I love that each character is absolutely unique. And I love that at the end of the show, they go to a different friend's house each time for snack. Such a good good show. There is singing and dancing, and my LBB just adores that. :) 

So, that's that. My random thoughts that have been building up in my brain. :) Thanks for reading, and thanks for going through the whole Chuck & Friends rant. Wowzers. :)

Nerve-wracking

This little guy is a bundle of excitement. You never know what's going to happen.

Sometimes he acts like he is going to happily color a piece of paper (what Mommy doesn't love a new drawing to hang up), and then he ends up coloring all over his face. In 5 seconds.

And then sometimes, the excitement isn't so fun. A few days ago, LBB was having a normal LBB day. Then, he woke up from his nap...and he was just burning up. We took his temp, and he was a very warm 101.3. So, we gave him so tylenol. Got him in just his diaper and some shorts, and worked on getting him cooler. An hour later his fever was up, but not by much, so we waited it out. Bedtime rolled around, and his fever hadn't moved much (just a little upwards), but knowing that our pediatrician isn't concerned until it REALLY spikes, we got him to bed and hoped a good night's sleep would take care of it.

An hour later, we checked on him...and he was laying there. Eyes wide open. Completely in a daze. That is definitely not my LBB. If he is awake, he is moving. I immediately worried. We took his temp...and it had shot up to 103.4. Now, I'm a worrywart. I know that. So we called the pediatrician's triage nurse, and while we  waited (impatiently) for a call back, LBB vomitted ALL. OVER. THE. PLACE.

We went straight to the ER. His fever kept spiking, and once he threw up, I didn't care what the nurse said. I wanted to make sure everything was fine. :)

Thankfully, after 2 1/2 hours in the ER, LBB started feeling better on his own. We have no idea what caused the fever. No idea what caused the vomitting. He rested the whole next day and was uncharacteristically calm. He slept on the couch, but by 5pm, he was back to normal and playing choo-choos and giggling away. :)

Thank goodness.

It is nerve wracking when your little one feels so cruddy. That's the highest his fever has ever gone. Something was just weird about it. But, no matter the cause, I'm just glad that he's a-ok now. All day yesterday he was his normal LBB self, and that makes this Mommy very happy.

I like LBB's excitement, but I could pass on the fevers and trips to the ER. :)

Farm Animal Exhibition

We've been having Farm Animal Exhibitions lately.

Actually, it is just LBB that holds these exhibitions. And they are daily.

The most amusing part...the fact that these exhibitions revolve around one very vital part of being a living being.

Each exhibition focuses on {drumroll please}...

...the fact that each animal has a potty place.

The other day he showed Cat #2 that each animal shares a characteristic. He's shown me. He's shown Dear Sweet Hubby. He's shown his GiGi. He's shown his PaPa. It's kind of a big deal. :)

Now if I could just get to get that excited about going potty himself.

Decorating Vintage-The Entry Way Edition

Another "installment" of my Decorating Vintage Series! Today, I'm focusing on a little bit of our entry way. Our apartment has a lovely little entryway...and without anything in it, it seemed like wasted space. Turns out, it was the perfect spot for an entryway table. We took the IKEA expedit coffee table we had, took the legs off of one side, and installed them onto the other legs, making the table much taller. Then we attached the legless side of the table to the wall using some "L" brackets. It's just the perfect height for the entryway...and as an added bonus the cat's litter box fits perfectly underneath. Score.

Now the top of the table? Well, that can be a problem. After all, what better place for clutter to accumulate. But if you take the time to make it look nice, amazingly you have no desire to get the entryway cluttered. :)

And my favorite part (besides the cute handprints of my LBB):

Some of my vintage books and the lovely Brownie Hawkeye camera a dear friend gave me a few Christmases ago. :)

Vintage can be anywhere in the house. When used just right, it gives just the sweetest touch of character to your home.

Do you go vintage shopping at all? What is one thing you are ALWAYS on the lookout for?