Losing Nap Time

My 2-year-old has started trying to avoid his nap times. Today I put him down for his nap at 1:15 and he didn't fall asleep until 2:30. When he did fall asleep he slept until 4:15, so he needs the nap, but I don't understand why it is taking him so long to fall asleep. Today he was calling me saying "I awake, please come get me." I didn't get him because I knew he was tired, I just told him to lay down and rest. I don't know what I am going to do if he stops taking a nap. I think I might just make an afternoon quiet time where he has to play by himself and I do my own thing. I need his nap time so I can get things done around the house.

Christmas is Coming

Yesterday I received my first batch of Christmas catalogs in the mail from LL Bean and the Right Start. Sunday I was looking through the advertisements and they are already showing Christmas stuff. It seems like they are skipping Halloween and Thanksgiving completely this year.

My new website

I am working on a new website for parents who are researching things before they buy them online. The site is still in development, but if you have any input, I would love to hear it. What is great about this new site is that all of the reviews include video of the products. You can view it here: www.baby-product-video-reviews.com and the accompanying blog here: blog.baby-product-video-reviews.com

Toddler Activities

Found this website when I was looking for some activites / crafts for Matthew: http://www.preschoolexpress.com/toddler_station.shtml. Lots of good ideas!

I am also a HUGE fan of this book.  It has a lot of great activities for toddlers and preschoolers that you can do with stuff you already have around your house.  It also teaches you how this "play time" is actually "learning time."



On another site I found an idea to fill up a container with rice and let him play with it. I had an old oatmeal container that I filled 1/4 full with rice and then gave him some small tupperwarelike bowls. He had a blast! He was very excited to show it to daddy when he came home. The only problem is that he took the new oatmeal container (still filled with oatmeal) and kept saying "rice mama rice" :-)

One Year Later (+8 days) and I am back

I am back and ready to start blogging again. Since I last posted, we had another baby girl, Maria on July 4th -- the same day as her brother -- only two years later. Life is busy (but very good) with 2 kids. She is making it easy on us because she is already sleeping through the night. She was a good sleeper to begin with and when I swaddle her, she becomes even better (Yeah!!)

Less is More

We hear "less is more" all the time, but I was thinking about it yesterday as I was cleaning. Now that my son is walking, our coffee table has been disassembled and put under our couch, our side tables have been completely cleared of everything except the lamp....and now dusting downstairs hardly takes any time at all. And this is when I thought, less is more. Because I have less things to clean, I have more time to spend with my family and work on our business. Yeah!! Maybe I won't ever put it back?

My Reading List

I decided to start posting my media list online.

You can find the link on the side of my blog or click http://jmagro.googlepages.com/home to see what I am reading, listening to, or watching.

Getting to Work On time

I started going to bed earlier and getting up earlier. It has made a huge difference in my day. Getting up at 6AM before anyone else in the house is up (including our dog who just looks at me and falls back asleep) has given me a head start on my day.

My shower is peaceful, my breakfast is enjoyable, my coffee is enjoyed while reading a good book. I am able to greet my son and husband with a smile instead of a half awake face. I started doing it because I was thinking that when I was working, no matter how late I went to bed the night before I still had to get up at the same time. I knew that being a mom is a job (every mom does), but I decided to apply the same "get to work on time" principal to my day. And I love it. Just like I used to when I was the first one in the office at work.

Garage Sales - Little Tikes

Yesterday I went to one of the best neighborhood garage sales I have ever been to. All the houses in the brand-new neighborhood cost at least $800,000+. I couldn't believe some of the stuff I saw. People were selling stuff that was still in the stores. And most of the people with garage sales were selling baby/kid stuff. I got my son a Little Tikes Workshop for $8. My sister and I had the kitchen version when we were growing up and loved it. I brought it home and washed it (Lysol Sanitizing wipes are the best!) and the he really likes it. I had to take away some of the parts because he is still too small for them, but he likes what is left to play with a lot.

I couldn't get some of the crayon off of it so I went the Little Tikes website and found the following advice on Little Tikes products...

On if they offer a parts catalog: Sorry, we do not have a parts catalog. Due to the ever-changing products we manufacture, it would be difficult to maintain an accurate printed parts listing. For parts ordering assistance: * E-mail us using the contact form found on our website. * Fax us at (330) 650-3875. * Write to The Little Tikes Company, P.O. Box 2277, Hudson, OH 44236-0877 ATTN: Consumer Service. *MasterCard, Discover, and Visa accepted.

On cleaning Little Tikes Products: The best method of cleaning plastic is to use hot water and a detergent solution with a soft bristled brush. We do not recommend one brand of cleaning product over another....I haven't tried this yet, but when I do, I will let you know what detergent(s) I use and which works.

I also discovered that you can buy things directly from their website and for usually cheaper than on Amazon or other places....www.LittleTikes.com

Almost forgot...

Here is the webpage that goes with the book from my post yesterday. www.flylady.net
you can find most of the info in the book on the website for free. The book just has it in a more logical format.