Pink Power

Janae loves pink. What three year old girl doesn't? She loves pink so much she has to wear the color everyday. Recently she added purple to her palette of on demand colors. It's maddening. Especially because I don't like pink. At all. Her Grandma bought her the book Pinkalicious by Elizabeth Kahn for Christmas and it has only confirmed her love for pink. We also found Purplalicious at the library last month. The gift that keeps giving. All said, the books are funny, cute, memorable and I love reading them to her. Pinkalicious is about a girl who eats so many pink cupcakes she wakes up the next day and she is pink all over - her hair, face and legs. "I was beautiful, " Pinkalicious says. "Even my tears were pink." There is also a Musical showing in select cities. I am waiting for Kahn to write about my favorite color - Orangalicious. Happy reading.

Cut it out

Veggies and fruit pieces get you excited? My hand is up. If you love them, your children will too and if they don't, just keep trying. Opt for fresh produce (organic and freshly picked if you can) instead of canned and frozen. The latter usually has unnecessary syrups and sodium added. The other night I gave the girls a tomato based meat sauce over these cute Heartland Mickey Mouse pasta shapes and I served cut up cucumbers sprinkled with salt on the side. Now, I wasn't raised with dessert after dinner but I love something sweet after a meal so I cut oranges and Fuji apples. The girls loved it and there was enough for their last snack of the night. Excited yet?

poopy shoes

Little Belle stepped in dog poo the other day. I found this out when I picked her up to place her in her car seat. The stench was like a bad child hood flashback and a raging wave of nausea hit me. The lazy in me wanted to throw the shoe in the garbage and walk away. But I had paid too much for these cute knock off baby Ugss. Hold your breath and wash off the poo right away if you can with paper towels, newspapers and water. I waited to long and it dried up. Next step is to clean off the pop by using an old toothbrush with baking soda, some dish soap and have at it. The baking soda also will remove the stench. Or you can create an eco-friendly baking soda paste (just add water), let it dry and then rinse off. Watch your step.

Belly Bug

My little Belle got the stomach flu. For a glorious week. All of sudden signs - vomiting, dry heaving, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and fever. Watch out it's contagious. My three old caught it and combined with the tonsillectomy it was not so good. My hubby caught it and a host of other friends and relatives who had the pleasure of being around us. True to being a mom, I managed to avoid the bug. My tips - take your vitamins, mix and sip on Airborne, keep washing your hands, do not share drinks or food, clorox down your counters, door knobs, faucets, and toilets. Feed the sick: water, broths, bread, bananas, pasta, Gatorade, crackers, and sugar free Popsicles. Do not serve (I learned) peaches, grapes, apples (if vomiting), fruit juice, or dairy. Keep it bland and un-sexy. Let the flu ride it's course by sleeping as much as possible and avoid taking any anti-diarrhea medicine. Bien Suerte.

Say Ahhhh...

Snoring. Always tired. Sore throats. Ear infections. Sleep apnea. All signs your kid may need a tonsillectomy. Janae, my energetic three year old had her tonsils and adenoids taken out last Saturday. I couldn't of read enough blogs and articles to be prepared for what happened to her. She just wasn't herself for the first three days. My tips if your wee one gets them removed...talk about what will happen, there will be some pain, they can eat Popsicles and drink juice all the time. After the surgery your baby will return tired, cranky, filled with pain and whining. Get ready. Pamper them, cuddle, kiss and tell them how brave they are. Then keep the liquids going. The throat needs to stay wet otherwise it could bleed. Once home we battled it out about this time and time again and threatened a trip back to the hospital if water was not consumed. Here is a blog site and another site that helped me prepare. Foods to keep on hand - applesauce, jello, soup, gatorade, and oatmeal. So she could feel better, Janae did request a return to get her tonsils hours after the surgery. And stay on top of the meds for pain. Good luck.

Dinner then lunch

Give yourself some extra time in the morning and make your kid's lunch while you make dinner. I know. One more thing to do. But why not? I timed it and it takes me 15 minutes to make lunches in the morning. Here are some tips on speeding up the process: give everybody dinner left overs for lunch in pyrex glass containers, cut up a veggie for the week and place into a container, and place small snacks in a small reusable containers for easy refill and grab n go. If you are using plastic containers, avoid the ones with a 3, 6 or 7 on the bottom and don't microwave them. Here's why. Want reusable eco-friendly containers? Click here.

Silly Teeth

Tom's of Maine has a silly strawberry Children's toothpaste. I saw it and bought it. My daughters now REALLY enjoy brushing their teeth. There was joy before when we received a free tube of Crest's kiddie glitter blue toothpaste but now...forget it. I get squeals of delight when I announce it's time to brush. If you didn't know, Tom's of Maine creates natural, sustainable and responsible health care products. And hey, get the most from your toothpaste with this reusable handy squeeze it tool. Happy brushing.