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.