Christmas Gifts; Quickly Made.

I hope everyone had a happy holiday. We had a ton of fun. Although there has been a little mishap with Santa and his elves, Light gift seems to be not only late but lost. Luckily Light seems fine with it all and doesn't even know the difference. Unfortunately we can’t find a replacement and time is running out.

So in knowing that Santa was not making it in time, I went craft crazy the night before. I just wanted to share. I wish I had more pictures but I was in a hurry.

First was idea I've had for a while. Flower in a flower pot. I’d bought the flowers for about $2 a piece at Michaels months ago and the plastic pot for not much more at Lowe’s. The predicament was how to put the flowers in and out as Dart liked. Beans or Lentils would be the best and he could place the flowers were ever he liked. 

However this seemed, well, an insane idea with Dart. So, I took cardboard and fashioned inside the pot. Covered with green duct tape I had on hand.  Tah Dah! Ok so it took more effort than that. I cut holes and then attached cardboard tube (made from left over cardboard and tape) on the bottom to guide the stems. I did have to trim the stems and I totally forgot about one of the flowers but there is gaps on the sides so it all worked out.  He was even sharing flower with family on Christmas.  

It works his coordination and we can talk about the colors and being gentle. It was a good quiet time activity when he was acting up at the dinner table.

Another gift for Dart was bird and eggs. I was lucky enough to stumble on the bowl at a thrift store for a dollar and the eggs at a craft store. I was planning on a gray bird with a yellow belly but not enough gray. Quick round stitch with the felt. I still like the way it turned out especially for winging the pattern.

Now for Light. We had discussed a house for his gnome peg people before. But I saw a large version of a home made to look like a trunk and fell in love with the idea. Now to do it on a smaller scale. I used two embroidery hoops on either end of a cracker box I had cut up. Make sure to cut the door out before. It takes a little wiggling to get in right. Then I tacky glued the heck out of it, Tacky glue is new to me and let’s just say I love it! 

Round piece of felt glued to the top and a green on the bottom. Sharpie for the ring on the tree, if I’d planned this I would have sewed it all. Still, Light loves it.

Last is a memory game. The round discs are found at the craft store and a thin Sharpie drew the design. It not perfect but it is fun. Plus it shows my geek side. The symbols are from Avatar, The Last Airbender. This is a show Light and I have enjoyed together. 

Overall a pretty successful haul for 3 hours or more of brainstorming and crafting.

Favorite Toys

Alright with the Christmas season I've really been looking at toys. If there's one thing I've learned this year it's  eco friendly and non toxic do not go hand in hand. Almost any plastic in my kids toys has BPA and other potentially harmful chemicals. I've recently discovered talk that recycled materials may even intensify these toxins. No good, especially with toys made from recycled plastic.

Green Toys 

Green Toys is a brand that uses recycled plastic to make their toys. To my relief they are BPA and PVC free. While I can't help but be skeptical of all and any plastic this is great news. They have all sorts of toys from tea sets to trucks and have even branched out into feeding utensils and plates.
If you want to buy amazon.com has a good selection as does abesmarket.com. Personally I'll be hitting a local store Eco Tots.

This truck was beat out for Santa's request from Light. But I think I'll surprise him. I don't think he know he gets a gifts from his parents, just Santa.

I just love how cute this is. 

Plan Toys

Another favorite toy maker of mine. Plan toys is primarily wooden toys. A variety of toys for all ages. Doll houses to intricate play cityscapes. Fun and educational toys. Each toys comes with a booklet of other toys and this use to be Light favorite thing to read. I'm going to have to get him another.

Between the ages of two and three Light collected this entire series. The steam roller was the bribe that got him potty trained. They've held up pretty good although Dart has managed some damage. 

I think these bees are adorable and educational fun is a bonus.

How cool are these for a little drummer.

Honestly the prices are reasonable and these are toys I can feel good about. amazon.com again has these as well as Eco Tots. These are some main brands of eco friendly toys. 

My Boys.

 It's true I am so out numbered. Boys, boys and more boys. Alright so it's 3 versus 1. Plus Loki. Olivia our female cat is about but not in the house much. No, all boys except for me. It's fun. Decorated for Christmas and then the boys had wrestling and play time. Those are the times were everything is bliss.

Flying Dart

Running in circles

Squealing as Daddy approaches

As Dad advances Dart crawl backwards

Hides behind a decoration

Get him. Cause Dad's a jungle gym.

This just makes me happy. 

How Curious George Helps me as a Parent

One of the few shows that can hold my toddlers attention is Curious George. Trust me; this is quite a feat for my very active Dart. A few months ago books started to hold his attention more, but you had to changes pages very quickly. Then we stumbled across Curious George. Even now he’ll watch some other shows like ‘The Fresh Beat Band’ (that’s for the music) and a truck show, Lights favorites. Even then he usually needs something in front of him for when he gets bored. But nothing compares to George, he’ll sit anywhere and it’s comical to see the gaze change and the slack jaw. Such alien sights to see from my child. Although he’s never in complete ‘zombie mode’ he’s very calm. He still looks up at me to laugh or point and or course say “oooh, ahhh” like a little monkey.

Every time he sees the face of that curious little monkey he’s all grins and monkey noises. I love it. Honestly I can’t lie it’s nice to have some calm. While I don’t really like using an electronic babysitter I do enjoy clean dishes and a swept floor without correcting him a million times or without someone screaming or breaking something.

It’s an educational show so I feel comfortable with it and the original books are such a joy. Light has seen all the episodes so much he’s sick of them but he’s practically memorized them, which is a great skill. He also enjoys the counting they do on the show.

Of course I watch them with them. Light and I can talk about the problem George is solving. But also I get to listen to the shows. The Man in the Yellow Hat never yells or gets angry. Sure you can tell there is some frustration but I can’t blame him. He’s so patient. Of course on most preschool shows parents are nearly perfect. But I don’t think The Man in the Yellow Hat is. He struggles with understanding George and often he leaves him unattended. Seriously with all the shenanigans this little monkey gets into I would get a babysitter or something. Still he is patient and lovely which is all a little monkey can ask for, right?

What I love most about the show is the narration. Often the narrator explain how hard it is to be a little monkey and so curious. How he doesn't mean to make trouble and easily he forgets. Sound like a kid, definitely. As time progressed I found this voice in my head reasoning my children actions out.

Dart throw food on the floor. Narrator explains; ‘It’s hard for a little guy to keep food next to him that he really does want. Pushing it away seemed like the best idea but he didn't think about the mess it would make and he forgot that Mommy had told him not to.’

After the zillionth time telling Light to wash his hand after using the bathroom. Narrator voice explains; ‘Playing with toys is so very excite especially when building firetrucks. Taking time to use the bathroom was hard enough but the urge was not going let him forget. However, forgetting to wash hands was much easier to do.’

I hope this doesn't sound too crazy to have a voice in my head. But overall it’s good to take time and think from a child’s perspective and Curious George reminded me of that. Every book starts with explain how George is a very good little monkey but very curious. Without a doubt children are the most curious people out there. Often we get frustrated and don’t understand why they do what they do when it seems to make no sense. Next time I’ll be sure take a breather and think about George. A very good, very curious little monkey, very, very much like my own two little monkeys.  

Falls Ending

Every year I want to go to the neighboring town of Ashland and its wondrous Lithia Park during the fall but generally I miss it. It’s a bit out of the way so the hour drive isn't very appealing at all. But it’s so beautiful and honestly I love Ashland. This year we made it with both boys and my new camera luckily before all the foliage was gone. I was so happy. Have to share. 

Even brown crumbling leaves held beauty

Got to love the Duck pond

The Boys certainly did.

Narnia Lampposts Everywhere.

Dart’s Room Makeover

Little Dart has becoming increasingly more agile. So ‘Trouble’ as my grandmother has nicknamed him, has figured out the crib. He can no longer be contained! After flopping on the ground and getting hung up on the crib once I was done with it. The mattress was on the floor next to the empty crib. Rearrange time!

After reading about Montessori info on baby/toddlers rooms the mattress is on the floor. Clumsy little guy doesn't need anything to get hung up on climbing in and out of bed.

Dresser had to be moved as well. Shelves were hung above. Dart climbed up on top and started emptying them. No good, fragile items. I love this adjusted kitchen cabinet turned dresser, however, it’s huge. Good for not tipping when toddler climbs up, not very well for space utilization. 

Also I have a corner area with the book at the end for the bed. All cardboard books are down low. Paper books are up a little higher on the dresser. He CAN still get up on top but it's not easy so he doesn't do it much...for now. It takes time for him to get up there so I have a chance to catch him.

The recliner has stayed. I need it for the night. And Dart now knows it as his nursing chair. He's gotten very good at asking too "narse?peas." before he tugs, not so gently on my shirt. I tried a nice pretty glider but the mauve recliner won. Many hours of nursing as well as sleeping of both mother and child spend in this chair. And no one has ever fallen out, I totally recommend it, I would have lost a ton more sleep without it.

In the middle of the room I added the old beat up 3rd hand-me-down baby mattress. What for? To jump and wrestle on. I saw something similar in Montessori inspired bedroom for babies. My boys love to wrestle and if I could I'd just plaster the rooms with wrestling mats but this will do. Plus they get to jump on the bed, really, how cool is that. At the end of the night it fit right in the closet. 

Last thing I add was in the corner behind the recliner. This was kind of a void space when again I saw a Montessori inspired bedroom and with a potty in it. This seemed like a possibility  Dart still has no interest in it and honestly I don't want to push it especially with this room change. But it's there and I added a box of activity for when we do attempt to sit with Mr. Dart and his very short attention span. 

After a few nights of waking up in a panic he seems to have adjusted fairly well. We've gone back to waking up at nights at least once, a major bummer. A lot of adjustments lately. The largest problem is that he won't stay in bed at bedtime. It's been almost 6 weeks and every night he pops up repeatedly. Bedtime routine has not effect and neither doesn't a mean or nice voice, or even not saying anything at all. We have made progress he usually goes down after 4 or 5 replacing instead of an uncountable amount. I wait until he's really tired then call Daddy upstairs, this usually gets him to stay. It's been interesting but then again, that's just Dart.

A Montessori School

So I've enlisted in some help. I broke down and signed up for Light for school. I found a Montessori school in the area. Just down the street area. I feel slightly odd about the whole thing. I’m still working out if this feeling is just simply sending my little man to school or if my mommy sense is going off. The ‘mommy sense’ has been awesome to me since I learned how to listen to it. That’s the really trick, I suppose, learning when to trust that little voice or alarm inside. So when I get a weird feeling it’s hard to shake it.

It’s been two weeks and we've been really happy. I admit it’s been an adjustment. He’s gone 3 and half hours in the morning and I feel like I’m missing something the whole time. Often Dart and I run some errors. It’s really nice because it’s just one kid I feel like I can do stuff outside the home again. Add the Beco Butterfly to the mix has made my error running a breeze. I love strapping the little guy to my back it’s awesome. Mostly I get comments on how happy he seem. Alright, I have a happy kid, the Beco shouldn't be judged on that. I think he still likes it better than the stroller, he can actually see.

This is all in good timing too, for Christmas. Since I actually have a bit of money this year I’ve been happy take some pressure off in the creative department. Not that I’ll not make anything, nope, habit are hard to break. Plus crafting makes me happy and the receivers seem to enjoy it too, which only adds to my pleasure of giving.  

To top off the benefits to going to school I get one on one with little Dart. The teacher at the school lends books on Montessori as well. This was pretty exciting to me as we were on tour she handed the book to me and said I could borrow it. Titled “Teaching Montessori in the the Home. The Pre-School Years”  by Elizabeth G Hainstock. I have finally finished it and it’s terrific. It lays out Practical Life Exercises and Early Sensory Exercises. Most of the exercises are for ages from ages 2.5 to 5. Right about were my children are.  

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

or

http://www.amazon.com/

So I’m by no means, not long homeschooling. Because children learn so much while at home that I think everyone home schools a bit. I've just got some help and that makes us all happy I think. 

Clothes Gnomes

The other morning I realized Light had scattered his clothes all over his room and even had trail to the hallway. I asked him to pick them up and make a pile; this was met with much resistance. Instantly my mouth open and I was pleasantly surprised by what came out. As my mouth has opened of its own accord before without pleasant results I was extremely happy with myself. I told him about clothes gnomes. They hide under discarded clothes and that if he picked them up he might find one. Of course I had to detour the urge to simply throw cloth up and about. He searched and picked up. Unfortunately it turns out there was none to be found.  I told him to try tomorrow because he hadn't picked up everything and we were leaving.

That night I made him a gnome, two in fact. A couple. Easily painted to torso and used hot glue on the hat, trimmed off the extra.

I think they’re sweet

Then I hid her under a discarded shirt, I choose one that was behind the door because I knew it would be last. Sure enough he totally overlooked it.

When he did find it he was all smiles. To my delight he even played with her. She rode cars and motorcycles all day and even got to ‘live’ in one of his buildings.

To add to it I told him if he keeps his cloth picked up they will just appear on his dresser, in an effort to keep it tidy. Also, that the same ones may be prone to hide again, so I don’t have to make them all the time.   

DIY Crinkle Tree

Babies love the noise plastic bags makes. Obviously letting your kid play with plastic bags is unsafe, well at least according to the warning on every bag you can find, and I tend to agree. So I have found that baby toys are having more and more of the crinkle noise to them. Feels like plastic inside the toy. Well that's easy enough.

While on my craft store trip I found this fantastic paper that matched the colors of the owl ribbon I found for the baby shower. So I just had to do another project.

I wanted to use felt to make one of the trees but a stuffed tree lacked appeal. The crinkle-ness would be a perfect touch.

I can’t figure out my sewing machine but felt works just as well with blanket or round stitch. However the only problem with that is that if I sewed plastic with it, it would show on the edges. Solution! Looking at the paper you can see that the trees have a line on the side of the top part. If I made this I would be using colored thread for the accent. This was the perfect place to sew in the plastic discreet and secure. 

Just cut a piece of plastic wrapper, so nice to re-purpose, slightly small then the tree.

Sew in on the one side. On the left you can see the stitch.

Sew side together. Ta-Da. I actually slapped this together pretty fast. I don't thinks it's all that shabby.

Then on the diaper cake it goes. I think it matches nicely. And I used the paper as a card at the top of the cake.