watch them break down

How about a chemical diaper burn so bad, it's eating your baby's skin? This has been the tale for too many parents and little wee ones including my sis-in-law. Not fair. The culprit? DryMax in Pampers diapers. These bad boys have been on the market for two months and claim to be thinner and "the brand's driest diaper ever". Horrible. My new niece Ivy (pic right) now sports a gDiaper. Biodegradable and flushable. Nice diaper. Here's the recipe: Little gPants are cotton, with a hint of elastene for stretch. Snap-in liners are made of breathable polyurethane-coated nylon, similar to what's used in sports clothing. gCloth inserts are four layers of soft microfleece and hemp/cotton. And yes, they encourage you to flush them. Watch the biodegradable video. And like them on Facebook. Happy planet. Happy baby.

thred up - kid tips

Speaking of consuming less...here's a fab way to swap your kiddie's gently worn, too small clothes with another kid's. And you don't even have to host a playdate. My friend Darlene referred me to this site Thredup a month ago. I'm hooked. Forget consignment stores, this is the new way to shop. Create your log in and grab some of your kid's clothes they refuse to wear or have outgrown. Do not, I repeat, do not take pictures. Post basic info on the clothes, like sizes, what season they are, click on three color themes of the set of clothes, and sit back and wait. If you find a box you like, pick it and pay $13. I got lucky and picked a box with 11 dresses, size 7/8. Yep. Just got them today and Janae about fainted with joy. This was cheaper than going to a garage sale! If someone picks your box, they will pay Thredup by paypal, and you will get a link to print out a free shipping label. Just throw the digs in a USPS medium flat rate box and the postwoman will pick it up from your casa. Check them out on FB and their parent site Shirts.Thredup where you can swap adult designer shirts online.

Reading Step 1 - Kid Tips

So we are still on step 1 of "How to Teach Your Baby to Read". Each week I show the girls 25 new words a week. Here's what's working the best: I show a set of 5 words on Monday three times a day. Usually once before they go to school and daycare and then two more times when we all get home. On Tuesday, I add 10 new words and thrown in 10 more new words on Wednesday. Thursday and Fridays are just showing all 25 words again. By Friday the girls have seen the first set of words 15 times. I can tell it's working. Janae begins reading the first set of words as I hold them up by Wednesday. If you have tried to teach your kid and stopped, try again! If you are thinking about doing it, try! Ages 0-5 are the best ages for kids to learn. Be patient and positive. Do not give up. Keep it fun! Keep it short. Do not test your baby, just show them the words.

Reading babies - kid tips

I'll admit it. I was curious when I saw some infomercials with 13 month old babies reading. I mean really! So I whipped out my library card and checked out (gotta heart free) How to Teach your Baby to Read. The book explains for example, a 3 year old who is missing part of his brain who learns how to crawl, then walk, then read! When he enters 1st grade he is reading at a 7th grade level. Our kids have so much potential and we wait so long to give them the opportunity to learn! So never one to not pursue some kiddie opps, I am officially teaching my toddlers how to read.

Here's the skinny on step 1: create 100 flash cards of words your child loves, show them in sets of five, one at a time, 3 x a day for a week. Each day add another set of five cards. You show them for one second each, don't test them, just say the word and move to the next. Keep it fun, painless and make sure you give them mad props with a big hug after wards and let them know how proud you are! Step 2 info is coming. Too tired to make the cards? Order some here.