The Discovery Window…inviting nature into toddlerhood

Thanks to my baby boy, whose whispers about “birdies” hatched my idea for the Discovery Window (pardon the pun).

While toddlers love the great outdoors not every day is suitable for outside play. So how can we can bring a little of the outdoors inside and a little wonder and education to our toddlers at the same time?

The Discovery Window is simple to put together and the possibilities for education and entertainment are as wide as your child’s interests.

The Party Planning Princess

It’s been said that I am the queen of party planning.  I’m not quite ready to take the crown but I will admit that over the years I’ve thrown some pretty awesome parties.  From that first kegger at Techie’s house (back when he was my new boyfriend), to our luau themed wedding, to my sister’s Christmas themed baby shower, I’ve managed to do big with little money.

After a much too long hiatus from party planning I’m back in the saddle with not one, not two, but three big parties in upcoming months!  Coming very soon to this blog: how to plan a Company Picnic, an unbelievable Spring Themed Surprise Birthday Party, and a Red Carpet Reception.  Of course, as I plan each party you can be sure to see many updates on my creative process as well as photos and maybe even video of the big events. 

Below are photos and party planning tips from the party that rocketed me to fame: Our Luau Themed Wedding (not held in Hawaii)

Our entire budget for the wedding including food was $3000. 

If you’re planning a wedding use the same facility for both the ceremony and the reception to save some dough.

To mask very ugly and carpeted walls we unrolled match stick blinds purchased for $3 each at a Big Lots, removed their hardware and tacked them to the walls.  It instantly gave the room the feeling of being inside Tiki hut. 

To mask a coat rack along the entrance wall we used a green grass table skirt, trimmed down and positioned to look like the edge of a roof.  Gift table and receiving line happened below.

Grass skirts gave an island feel and hid feet and ugly tables at our head table.

I made my own bouquet and cake toppers from artificial flowers.  The artificial flowers were not cheap but withstood July heat and looked beautiful. 

Fabric (purchased on clearance at Wal-Mart) hung across the windows helped set the mood, blocked late evening summer sun, and helped hide unattractive shades.

The best part of having a themed wedding is that it instantly relaxes your guests.   Our guests were asked to wear Hawaiian shirts and flip flops.   The Mr. & Mrs. High Heel wedding was one of kind and our families had a blast.  It was extremely DIY and I will be sure to post more about how I orchestrated, while wearing high heels of course, what people are still calling “the best wedding ever!”  

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have parties to plan and a crown to polish! 

Take safety personally

The world is full of weirdos.  Just today I was driving down the street and I saw a guy standing on the sidewalk wearing a motorcycle helmet no motorcycles around but there he stood motionless with a helmet on.  Just a few blocks up I saw another man in an oversized cowboy hat shouting at a mini-van…an empty minivan.  

Mama petri dish and the plauge

I apologize deeply for my lack of bloggyness of late folks but I am a walking petri dish. I came down tonsilaryngitis flumonia at Disney World and have since called in the CDC (just kidding but they did make me wear one of those SARS masks at the doctors office).

My official diagnosis is a flavorful combination of strep and laryngitis on a bed of flu, with touch of pneumonia and a delicate garnish of bacterial pink eye.

Expect the unexpected…and the difficult.

When I left the house this morning I expected chaos.  I expected difficulty checking in for our flight, getting through security, keeping my son quiet on the plane, renting a car, and checking into our hotel.  As is life, I got what I expected and a few things I didn’t. 

Thanks to teething we were all awake at 3:30 AM this morning, mommy and daddy only having gone to bed a few hours earlier and we were all pooped before we even left the house. 

Miraculously we arrived at the airport on time, checked in and went through security with ease (seriously the baby needs to remove his shoes???).  My son was a dream on the plane due in part to my preparation, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

Chibby and I took the window seat with my husband beside us.  My son watched out the window admiring the trucks and other planes and even the scenery as we took off which actually calmed my nerves. He slept through the layover and spent the second flight watching Cars for the 1,000th time.  No screaming – no fits- no way!?

To go with our unexpected baby ease was a good dose of difficult served up by Alamo.  Lines, stupid check-in procedures, the wrong car seats, and a trainee in the exit booth who took 30 minutes to fix a paperwork error (Alamo’s fault)  helped us get our Orlando vacation off to a peachy start.  A special thanks to the a-hole a few cars back who shouted “just give the car back” for adding a little bit of magic to the day!

Being the savvy travel I am I printed directions to the hotel ahead of time via Google maps (who got it completely wrong!) so getting to the hotel was fun.  When we finally made it the hotel did not disappoint (the restaurant is another story). 

So before I slip into what will hopefully be a full night of sleep here are a few of my toddler tested travel trips from today:

• Pack Cheez-its, or some favorite snack…snacks are perfect for those confine and wait periods like waiting to takeoff or waiting to rent a car.  Plus they get Dad of his low-blood sugar funk.
• Compare maps and print them out ahead of time.  Cross check Google and mapquest to make sure directions are accurate.  Get your bearings before you leave the airport.  Am I supposed to go right or north?
• No neglecting naps…seek out sleep spots, on the plane, maybe in the car, or a quiet corner at the airport to get your little on to sleep.  Try to keep as much of their going-to-sleep routine as possible.  We always read a story before a nap or bedtime so I brought along the story we’ve been reading at home.
• Movies for when you’re not moving.  We brought along a Disney fav and played it on my laptop.
• Put the diaper bag under the seat in front of you on the plane so you can access those snacks, activities and drinks with ease.
• Pack a many little things to do.  I had a few touch and feel books which are interactive for my hyperactive kiddo, a pocket-sized sticker book, and a play cell phone which kept my son happy throughout the flight.
• Choose well balanced flying times.  Don’t pick a 1 hour flight with a connecting flight that is 4 hours if you can help it.  Try to get an even split.
• If you’re taking electronics pack them all in one carry-on and let dad go through security with that bag while you take the kiddos through.  Electronics all have to be unpacked and placed in trays and removing shoes, juggling a baby, and a stroller is enough for one person.  Let the other person take all the have-to-be unpacked items through security.
• Dress everyone in slide on shoes it makes getting through security slick and easy.
• Finally, get good sleep before you leave, keep hydrated, and kiss your spouse.  All of which will make you feel better, even if you rented a car from Alamo.   

Toddler Boredom Buster

So occasionally Chibby comes to me butt stuck out, shoulders slumped, starring up at me like “mom i’m bored”.  So because I love to hear him laugh histarically, we play a little game I call go go blankie (it’s not poetry but he knows what it means).

• place a throw on the floor
• place toddler or baby in the middle of the blanket
• grab the blanket by the front two edges and pull
• zoom around the room, curving around furniture, whipping around corner
• shout out “yahooooo!”
• watch baby laugh histarically

 Once you do this they’ll want you to do it again and again but it’s good for you.  I’ve never tried this on carpet as I have wood floors…if it works on carpet post a comment and let us know.  Of course always be sure not to do this near open stairs and be careful etc.  At some point they almost always fall over from the Gs! 

Search me!? High heels and health.

So this morning I was checking my blog stats and down at the very bottom of the page I found this something that had me rolling!

I’ve had 42 visitors to my blog this month that searched for the phrase “the effects of wearing high heels on your uterus”.  Apparently using words like: high heels, fetus, effect, uterus, and boob are earning my wee blog a ranking of 51^st for searches about uterine health and heels. 

Bra-a-phobia

For the last two years I’ve been suffering from Victorias-secretaphobia. I have been buying cheap bras in hopes of avoiding the PTS caused by a panty shopping encounter at Victoria’s’ Secret. When I graduated from high school 9 years ago I weighed a whopping 103 lbs. At 5’8″ I was a very skinny girl…my ribs and hip bones were clearly visible, and though I had no boobs I shopped religiously at Victorias Secret. Through the years I added some weight, inching, quite literally up to a healthy weight, then just slightly heavier, all the while stilling buying all my bras and panties at VS. Finally, I hit the average size of women in America, a 14, for my body just a bit beyond a healthy weight.

Toddler Travel

In February Techie, Chibby, and I are heading to Florida for a long weekend.  Techie will attend a conference while me and the little guy see the sights.  While I’m looking foward to a break from artic weather I’m definately not looking forward to our first flight with a toddler.   My worst fear is that I’ll be booted from the plane mid-runway because a hostile flight attendant thinks my kid is being too disruptive (which is why i’m not flying Continental). 

I spent all day searching the web for ways to keep toddlers happy during a flight and I’m 80% sure that there will still be some sort of feet kicking, back arching, screaming meltdown at some point.   Though most of the advice was fairly useless (and some even harmful i.e. drug your baby) I did find a few gems in the bunch. 

Dirty Trick #2: Closet Can-Do

Dirty Trick #2 for Keeping Your Home Clean: Closet Can-Do, a tidy closet system on a budget.

Organizing a clothing closet is simple and can be done in just a few hours. You don’t need a world-class closet organizer to put a workable system in place.

• Before you put anything back into the closet wipe down shelves with warm soapy water and vac the walls, baseboards, tops of doorways, and the floor.
• Use hooks along the back or sides of the closet for scarves, hats, or belts. If you’re on a tight budget a box of cup hooks will do fine for just a few dollars.
• All clothes items (except those in seasonal storage) must be visible and easy to reach or you’ll never wear them.