I have found a great toy website. The site is http://nmctoys.com/about.html. Absolutely none of the toys on this site are made in China.
The site was created by parents of two small children who decided to make certain that there were good, safe, quality toys that would last available for parents to buy for their children. They even want you to let them know if the toy doesn't last! They're not manufacturers; they simply find good, safe toys that are made in America or Europe. I've posted their link on the side of my blog.
Happy shopping!
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
From Anger to Grateful in Under 60 seconds
To say I was in a bad mood yesterday morning would be an understatement. It all started the night before and carried right over to the next morning.
Monday evening the girls had been sniping at each ever since they got home from school, the baby wouldn't stop fussing as I was trying to cook dinner, I had been trying to fold a pile of laundry on the sofa off and on all day, but every time I started folding something would interrupt me, like the baby crying, the phone ringing, the baby poohing, the cat throwing up, the baby crying, the cat getting into the trash, the baby poohing, the cat throwing up, the phone ringing, etc. In the middle of all the evening chaos, I walked into the living room only to discover that the 4 year old had knocked over the part of the laundry that I had managed to get neatly folded. I lost it. I had one of those, "If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times!" tirades with both of them. I did get an apology from both of the girls, but I was still totally annoyed. I went to bed tired and grumpy, and I woke up tired and grumpy yesterday morning with a full day ahead.
Each year the kids' school has Grandparents' Day, which is a really big deal with performances from each grade, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I woke up, fed, bathed, and dressed the baby, got the 4 year old ready for school in an absolutely gorgeous heirloom dress that her grandmother made for her, woke up the 12 year old, got breakfast for the 4 year old (okay, it was just a pop tart, but I had to hover over her making certain she didn't get blueberry filling all over her pretty dress), and feed the cat all before having a cup of coffee. Usually G. helps out with getting the kids ready on mornings like this, but he had to log in to work instead because of an issue that came up. After he got off the computer and showered, he took the kids to school so I could get ready.
I placed the baby in the infant swing, got in the shower, and as soon as I lathered up, the baby began to scream and scream and scream. So I rinsed as quickly as I could, but apparently not quickly enough, because I ran out of hot water just as I was getting the shampoo out of my hair, dried off, and picked the baby up to comfort him. For some inexplicable reason, he was inconsolable. I checked his diaper; it was still dry. I tried to nurse him; he wasn't interested. I tried feeding him some cereal - no deal. It didn't matter what I did, he just kept crying. I toted him around with me as I tried to get dressed. I went into the bedroom to get into my skirt and top only to discover that the elderly cat who has problems getting everything off her butt had lain on them and messed them up. I hurriedly found a dress that would fit, put the baby down on the bed (still screaming his head off), squeezed into my pantyhose, put the dress on, packed the bottle bag that my 12 year old forgot to pack when I asked her, and frantically searched for dress shoes that would go with my dress but wouldn't kill my feet. Since staying home I've learned the joys of wearing nothing but comfortable shoes 363 days out of the year.
While trying to do all of this, my husband kept calling every 10 minutes to let me know where the cop was shooting radar, where he was sitting in the gym, to ask when I'd get there, etc. Finally my phone rang and luckily I didn't get to it in time, because I probably would've answered without looking at the caller i.d. shouting, "What the he#% do you want now!?! I'm trying to get out the door!" It was my MIL calling to say she wasn't feeling up to coming to Grandparents' Day. Boy was I glad I had to call her back instead of answering the way I almost did! I called G. to let him know his parents weren't coming, found the video camera, took it out to the car, stuffed the screaming baby in his car seat, and left the house. The baby fell asleep just before we got to the school. I carried his car seat into the gym, plopped him down in front of my husband, said, "Here's your demon spawn. Where did they set up the coffee pot?" The theater teacher was within earshot and commented about how he was glad he doesn't have kids when he hears statements like that. I told him it's still worth it and recounted the last cookie story about my 4 year old, but only half-heartedly, and off I went to get my caffeine fix as well as a sugar laden pastry.
By this time I was concerned about my MIL, frustrated with the baby, ticked off at my 12 year old for not doing the one thing I asked her to do to help out that morning, annoyed with G. for constantly interrupting me while I was trying to get out the door, hungry, and feeling not at all in a thankful frame of mind. Admittedly, I felt a little bit better after a hit of caffeine and putting sugary food on my stomach, but only a little. I made small talk with a couple of parents, and a teacher who has an ailing parent in another country. Then I ran into a mom whose child has cystic fibrosis. I asked her how her daughter is doing and found out about the pneumonia that had recently caused her to be hospitalized, the sinus surgery she recently had to have, and some of the other health problems she's battling as a kid with CF.
I made my way back to the gym. By now the Little G. was wide awake and behaving like a perfect little cherub. A few minutes later the pre-k class marched in wearing adorable turkey headdresses for their musical performance. S. D. looked beautiful and was obviously happy to be there. Suddenly I was no longer irritated with my family; I was thankful to have them and knew I'd rather be there than anywhere else in the world (even the Bahamas with a pina colada in hand).
It turned out to be a wonderful, patriotic program. The school even chose not to hit us up for donations during the program, and that's something to really be grateful for!
Monday evening the girls had been sniping at each ever since they got home from school, the baby wouldn't stop fussing as I was trying to cook dinner, I had been trying to fold a pile of laundry on the sofa off and on all day, but every time I started folding something would interrupt me, like the baby crying, the phone ringing, the baby poohing, the cat throwing up, the baby crying, the cat getting into the trash, the baby poohing, the cat throwing up, the phone ringing, etc. In the middle of all the evening chaos, I walked into the living room only to discover that the 4 year old had knocked over the part of the laundry that I had managed to get neatly folded. I lost it. I had one of those, "If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times!" tirades with both of them. I did get an apology from both of the girls, but I was still totally annoyed. I went to bed tired and grumpy, and I woke up tired and grumpy yesterday morning with a full day ahead.
Each year the kids' school has Grandparents' Day, which is a really big deal with performances from each grade, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I woke up, fed, bathed, and dressed the baby, got the 4 year old ready for school in an absolutely gorgeous heirloom dress that her grandmother made for her, woke up the 12 year old, got breakfast for the 4 year old (okay, it was just a pop tart, but I had to hover over her making certain she didn't get blueberry filling all over her pretty dress), and feed the cat all before having a cup of coffee. Usually G. helps out with getting the kids ready on mornings like this, but he had to log in to work instead because of an issue that came up. After he got off the computer and showered, he took the kids to school so I could get ready.
I placed the baby in the infant swing, got in the shower, and as soon as I lathered up, the baby began to scream and scream and scream. So I rinsed as quickly as I could, but apparently not quickly enough, because I ran out of hot water just as I was getting the shampoo out of my hair, dried off, and picked the baby up to comfort him. For some inexplicable reason, he was inconsolable. I checked his diaper; it was still dry. I tried to nurse him; he wasn't interested. I tried feeding him some cereal - no deal. It didn't matter what I did, he just kept crying. I toted him around with me as I tried to get dressed. I went into the bedroom to get into my skirt and top only to discover that the elderly cat who has problems getting everything off her butt had lain on them and messed them up. I hurriedly found a dress that would fit, put the baby down on the bed (still screaming his head off), squeezed into my pantyhose, put the dress on, packed the bottle bag that my 12 year old forgot to pack when I asked her, and frantically searched for dress shoes that would go with my dress but wouldn't kill my feet. Since staying home I've learned the joys of wearing nothing but comfortable shoes 363 days out of the year.
While trying to do all of this, my husband kept calling every 10 minutes to let me know where the cop was shooting radar, where he was sitting in the gym, to ask when I'd get there, etc. Finally my phone rang and luckily I didn't get to it in time, because I probably would've answered without looking at the caller i.d. shouting, "What the he#% do you want now!?! I'm trying to get out the door!" It was my MIL calling to say she wasn't feeling up to coming to Grandparents' Day. Boy was I glad I had to call her back instead of answering the way I almost did! I called G. to let him know his parents weren't coming, found the video camera, took it out to the car, stuffed the screaming baby in his car seat, and left the house. The baby fell asleep just before we got to the school. I carried his car seat into the gym, plopped him down in front of my husband, said, "Here's your demon spawn. Where did they set up the coffee pot?" The theater teacher was within earshot and commented about how he was glad he doesn't have kids when he hears statements like that. I told him it's still worth it and recounted the last cookie story about my 4 year old, but only half-heartedly, and off I went to get my caffeine fix as well as a sugar laden pastry.
By this time I was concerned about my MIL, frustrated with the baby, ticked off at my 12 year old for not doing the one thing I asked her to do to help out that morning, annoyed with G. for constantly interrupting me while I was trying to get out the door, hungry, and feeling not at all in a thankful frame of mind. Admittedly, I felt a little bit better after a hit of caffeine and putting sugary food on my stomach, but only a little. I made small talk with a couple of parents, and a teacher who has an ailing parent in another country. Then I ran into a mom whose child has cystic fibrosis. I asked her how her daughter is doing and found out about the pneumonia that had recently caused her to be hospitalized, the sinus surgery she recently had to have, and some of the other health problems she's battling as a kid with CF.
I made my way back to the gym. By now the Little G. was wide awake and behaving like a perfect little cherub. A few minutes later the pre-k class marched in wearing adorable turkey headdresses for their musical performance. S. D. looked beautiful and was obviously happy to be there. Suddenly I was no longer irritated with my family; I was thankful to have them and knew I'd rather be there than anywhere else in the world (even the Bahamas with a pina colada in hand).
It turned out to be a wonderful, patriotic program. The school even chose not to hit us up for donations during the program, and that's something to really be grateful for!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Yea! The Baby Has an Ear Infection!
I know it sounds odd that I would sound happy that the baby has an ear infection, but let me put it in perspective for you. I'm not at all happy that he's not feeling well, but when you have one child with an ASD (autism spectrum disorder), you watch your others like a hawk for any early signs that they, too, might have an ASD.
So when the baby started to refuse any care from anyone but me like his oldest sister did, started crying at the sight of anyone else but me like his sister with the ASD did as an infant, started to show signs of regression by absolutely refusing to eat "solid" baby food and screamed at the sight of the spoon, you can see where I would start to get a bit worried. He also stopped rolling over on the floor, but instead just laid there looking around, and after a few minutes he would fuss and cry for me. I was actually relieved when he started to run a fever and would pull off screaming from nursing. I thought, "Aha! Teething or ears!" I was relieved when yesterday the doctor confirmed that he has an ear infection.
The one thing that does concern me greatly, however, is that like his oldest sister, he became very cranky days before he had any other symptoms. Prior to this ear infection, he had no cold symptoms or anything else. S. F. always becomes a beast days before she shows any symptom of an illness. If G. and I look at each other after a few days of absolute, total frustration with her, and start saying things to each other like, "Has she been driving you as crazy as she has been me?" or "Have you been fantasizing about sending S. F. off to boarding school?" or "Gee, I can't wait until she's in college," we then know that she's going to be sick soon. Our NT (neurotypical) child, S. D. just gets sick. She might get cranky the day before she gets sick, but not 3 - 5 days beforehand.
So, I'm still watching him like a hawk, and toying with the idea of scheduling him for an evaluation with our developmental pediatrician at 15 or 16 months. But for now, I'm happy that he's letting me put him down again, playing with toys, rolling over, smiling at Daddy, and letting Daddy hold him occasionally, without screaming, now that the antibiotics are starting to work.
So when the baby started to refuse any care from anyone but me like his oldest sister did, started crying at the sight of anyone else but me like his sister with the ASD did as an infant, started to show signs of regression by absolutely refusing to eat "solid" baby food and screamed at the sight of the spoon, you can see where I would start to get a bit worried. He also stopped rolling over on the floor, but instead just laid there looking around, and after a few minutes he would fuss and cry for me. I was actually relieved when he started to run a fever and would pull off screaming from nursing. I thought, "Aha! Teething or ears!" I was relieved when yesterday the doctor confirmed that he has an ear infection.
The one thing that does concern me greatly, however, is that like his oldest sister, he became very cranky days before he had any other symptoms. Prior to this ear infection, he had no cold symptoms or anything else. S. F. always becomes a beast days before she shows any symptom of an illness. If G. and I look at each other after a few days of absolute, total frustration with her, and start saying things to each other like, "Has she been driving you as crazy as she has been me?" or "Have you been fantasizing about sending S. F. off to boarding school?" or "Gee, I can't wait until she's in college," we then know that she's going to be sick soon. Our NT (neurotypical) child, S. D. just gets sick. She might get cranky the day before she gets sick, but not 3 - 5 days beforehand.
So, I'm still watching him like a hawk, and toying with the idea of scheduling him for an evaluation with our developmental pediatrician at 15 or 16 months. But for now, I'm happy that he's letting me put him down again, playing with toys, rolling over, smiling at Daddy, and letting Daddy hold him occasionally, without screaming, now that the antibiotics are starting to work.
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