Kids and Electronics Don't Mix

Ok, so it wasn't wine, it was actually iced tea, but you get the picture.

While the baby was distracting me, the two year old decided to climb up in my chair and knock over half a glass of tea. of course most of it went straight onto the keyboard. Lovely.

Thankfully, hubby was able to clean it up and dry it out. It actually is in better shape now than it was before the tea incident. I had no clue how much ick could collect inside a keyboard. Who knew...

However, this wasn't our only child/computer fiasco of the day. The baby decided to shove my printer off its shelf and onto the floor. I'm hoping its ok, but am a bit nervous of checking it out. Keep your fingers crossed that he didn't do any major damage.

As I just posted on my other blog, I am finally out from under a huge pile of work and deadlines, so I can get back to doing some things for me and not just things that pay. I still have plenty of paying work, but should have some time to blog and get to work on my professional website.

This week I'll be coming up with a plan for the baby's birthday. He's turning one on the 29th. I'm thinking we'll wait until the weekend after to have a small party. Weeknights aren't good for anyone around here. Anyone have any clue if they still sell Toy Story party supplies? He's really into Buzz, for some reason.

Image: Flickr - Siobhan Curran

Is There Anything Better Than Free Toys?!

Once again, the ladies of 5 Minutes For Mom have outdone themselves with another great promotion. Over the next two weeks, they will be giving away loads of amazing toys from well known retailers. So far, they have offered prizes from Playskool and Lego, and there is much more to come.

The competition is stiff, but it only takes a minute to enter and who knows, you might just get lucky! Swing by 5 Minutes For Mom, through the button above and find out how you can enter, too!

Kids Do The Strangest Things

My kids are very smart for their ages. This may just be a biased mom talking, but they impress me on a daily basis with their newfound capabilities and understanding. That said, even with their budding intelligence, sometimes I wonder what ARE they thinking...

Now my oldest struggled with ADHD when he was young, but has since outgrown it and developed into a very mature and responsible young man. One of my favorite stories of the funny and strange things he did is the day he decided he wanted to water the lawn, but didn't feel like being outside. It was a warm, early spring day and I had the windows open. So he closed his door, pushed out the screen, hung the ladder from his bunk bed out the window(first story), climbed out and turned on the hose. By the time I noticed the door was closed, he was climbing back through the window, hose in hand and spraying water all over his room. I believe this was right around his fourth birthday.

The middle baby, who turned two in February, hasn't quite matched his big brother in the scheming and plotting department as yet, but I have a feeling his day is coming. His current obsession is with spices, particularly pepper. This morning's adventure took place while I was changing and dressing his brother. In about 5 minutes, while he was supposed to be watching the Wonder Pets, he managed to pepper half my house. He dragged a kitchen chair to the counter to get the pepper shaker, somehow quietly enough that I didn't hear the chair scraping the linoleum. He then peppered all the couches, and headed to the bedroom. He opened my bedroom door, which he had never managed to do before today, and peppered our bed and the pillows. I came out as he was coming back into the living room and when he saw me coming, he took off and jumped on his own bed. I knew he was up to something, and by the time I figured it out, most of the almost-full pepper was gone. I'm now washing all the sheets...And there's quite a bit of sneezing going on around here now.

The littlest has yet to do anything strange or mischievous, but I know it is only a matter of time. He has two very talented big brothers to learn from!

So what are your favorite "strange things that kids do" stories? I know mine can't be the only ones who find so many adventures!

We're Off And Running...Sort of...

My littlest has been working his way up to toddlerhood over the past few weeks. He's been cruising the furniture for awhile now and finally decided it's time to let go. He's still takes the occasional spill, but would rather walk than crawl now!

He seemed to get really brave, very quickly and has even figured out how to climb up onto the smaller pieces of furniture. I'm starting to see the baby slip away and the curious toddler emerging.


He'll be turning one on April 29th...where has the last year gone...

Happy Easter

The kids are in bed and the Easter Bunny has made his visit. We have baskets full of small toys and a bit of candy and plastic eggs full of M&Ms hidden throughout the living room.

My work for the week is done and I have all of tomorrow free to spend with the kids. Life is good, sometimes.

I'm keeping things brief tonight, as I would love to see the backside of my eyelids before 3 A.M. for once.

Hope all of you have a very Happy Easter!

Sick Kids? Alternatives To Cough And Cold Meds

As the mom of 2 children under preschool age, my heart was broken when the FDA announced their new recommendations regarding cough and cold medicines for children under 2. The findings suggested that children under 2 should not take any over the counter cold medicine, as there is a laundry list of serious side effects that could result. Many of these come from giving a child the incorrect dosage, as there is no actual recommended dosage for children of this age range.

First, I was a bit afraid, as the older of the pair of babies is just turning 2 and last year I gave him cough and cold meds on a couple of occasions. Once I read the study and realized that I had obviously done now harm, I began to wonder what I would do for the inevitable next cold. Nothing is more miserable than a coughing, stuffed up baby who can get no relief, so I started hunting for alternatives to medication. Here are a few treatments that I have tried or am going to try.

• Steam treatments - My mother always swore by a humidifier in our room when we were sick as kids. While I haven't made the purchase yet, I figure I can try the approach of turning on a hot shower and steaming up the bathroom to help to relieve the congestion of the next cold.

• Saline and Suction - Saline drops are supposed to loosen the mucus in the nose, and the suction bulb will help remove it. This does work, but boy do my kids scream whenever they see me coming with the bulb!

• Extra Liquids - Replacing fluids is said to keep any mucus from becoming too thick. While my kids aren't big water drinkers, if there is just enough juice added to give it some flavor, they'll take it. Oh, by the way, chicken soup counts, too!

• Vapor Rub - Many do not suggest using rubs on babies' chests, but I've read that you can put a little on their feet and it will give them some relief. There are also infant versions that are a bit less intense.

• Raise The Bed - Putting a rolled up towel or blanket under the head of the mattress might help them sleep a bit better and breathe easier. Just make sure you never put anything in a crib with an infant, under the mattress is much safer. This suggestion wouldn't work with my crew, but might work for someone else. My kids sleep all over the mattress, upside down, sideways...wild little sleepers!

If anyone else has some tried-and-true cold remedies for babies, please share them in the comments. I hope none of us will need them, but they will certainly be welcome if we do!