Visit with Friends ... and Some Inspiration!

A good friend of mine brought her two adorable boys over for a visit today. We had such a great time ... great conversation, sharing of good tips, fun for the kiddos, a yummy lunch, and no stress ... everything a playdate should be and more!

Janelle is the mom of two - under the age of two - and she makes it look easy ... or at least not nearly as hard as the idea of it seems to this mom-of-one. I've never really stopped to wonder why our paths crossed (in the big scheme of things), but after the conversation Janelle and I had about writing, I think the reason has been revealed. I am really hoping she's the inspiration I need to get much more serious about publishing someday! Perhaps I'll write more about that in another post ...

But my real reason for posting was this adorable photo ...

Natalie really likes her buddy, Brody; in fact, she's been asking for him since he left! In typical mommybrain fashion, just as they were leaving, I remembered my camera and grabbed a few quick shots. This is the cutest ... notice the addition of text ... I am a little obsessed with this Picasa feature right now!

Nothing Flat About This Smile :)

Aside from the fact that today is my Friday ... and I am really looking forward to spending the day with a healthy and happy Natalie ... something else made me genuinely smile today, and I thought I'd share it with you :)

First of all, I start most of my Tuesdays with a smile because I talk to my dear friend Laurie, aka chitownmommy, on my way to school. She let's me vent about school. We share stories about our little nuggets. And I get to hear the details of her second pregnancy, with a tinge of envy and many memories of sharing our first pregnancies. So, it's only natural that I would be smiling while chatting with Laurie ... but in addition, something happened that put a very funny visual image in my mind.

It was warm and breezy in Chicago today (verses snowy and rainy here in the NW), and Laurie and Benjamin were taking advantage of the chance to be outside. They were taking a walk - with a Flat Stanley sent from Laurie's nephew. All of the sudden, I heard Laurie say, "Oh sh*t!" Never a good expression, especially coming from the mouth of an 8-month pregnant lady!

My first - slightly alarmed and amused - thought was ... perhaps her water broke; you were thinking the same thing, weren't you?

No, nothing quite so wet or dramatic. One of those warm breezes had picked up Flat Stanley and he was blowing and tumbling across the grass. Laurie, with her almost 20-month old, his stroller, and a cute little baby girl bump in tow, took off "running" after him ... all while talking on the phone with me. Hee-hee-hee-larious! The Adventures of Flat Stanley, indeed! That should make quite a story for a 1st grade classroom ... and a mommy blog, too :)

Almost 2!?

Went to BabiesRUs today ... picked up a new umbrella stroller and a few new bibs, joined their rewards program ... all-in-all a successful trip and an excuse to get out of the house, despite snow this morning and then lots of rain.

Checking out, Natalie did her usual, "Hi ... Na-ta-yee," introduction for the cashier. The lady replied, "Oh, she's so cute. How old is she?" (If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that ... or I asked someone else, for that matter ... I'd buy a big ol' Starbucks card.) Anyway ...

I pondered for just a second, trying to remember today's date, and replied, "Oh, it's the 15th; Natalie is 20 months old today." To which the nice lady said, "So almost 2, then," with this sweet smile on her face. I am sure my expression didn't look quite as sweet in return ... as these thoughts were running through my mommybrain ...

Internal dialogue: I was like, what? I said 20-months, didn't I? I didn't say almost 2! How dare you age my sweet baby girl! As if she isn't already growing up so much faster than I would really like. As if the past 8 months since her first birthday haven't flown by in such a blur it makes me a little woosie just to think about it! Wait, two years is 24 months, and she's 20 months old today. (Yes, I did this little word problem in my head!) So ... Oh-my-gosh ... she really is almost 2!

Spelling Bee

Okay, I have a little contest for you. A contest I think is perfectly suited for mommies of toddlers and/or teachers ... which is the majority of my blog audience, so this should work out just fine.

A little background: Natalie continues to point out letters and shapes wherever we go. It's super exciting, but it also really keeps me on my toes. I just can't help but be thrilled by her little discoveries. The way her brain is just soaking it all in. The way she is starting to make sense of her world. So exciting and often times funny :)

So, back to the contest ... we were out-and-about the other day, and Natalie pointed and said, "O." I looked around to find the source of her letter-naming; sure enough there was an "o" sort of. So I prompted her to tell me the next letter and the next letter and the next letter ... until this is what she had "spelled" ... O-T-A-R-C-E-T.

And, so if you want in on the contest, leave a comment to explain what Natalie had spelled and where we were.

I'll mention the prize in my next post. Don't get too excited, but see if you can figure this out. I can't wait to see your ideas!

Shark Skeptic

Is anyone out there really a big fan of a shark? What about the Shark? I'm a fan of neither.

Watched an infomercial yesterday. Ran out to Target to buy the Shark Steam Mop. Just used it, not floored by its performance.

Let me back up and say that I hate mopping. Anyone out there a big fan of mopping? I am guessing not. Not only do I hate the time and work involved in the whole process but I also hate the fact that I am spreading chemicals all over a surface that NHV interacts with constantly. That can't be a good thing, right? I mean, I use the "tough stuff" to clean the toilets without much of a second thought, but Natalie isn't playing in the toilets ... well, okay, on a very rare occasion. But I don't want my wood floors covered in a harsh, mega-chemical cleaner. I want clean, germ-free floors that maybe shine just the tiniest bit. Everything I've tried smells really strong and leaves a film. And the floor takes forever to dry - one major bonus about the steam mop is that your floors are dry almost instantly. But their "proof is in the pad" claim left me a little disappointed. After pushing that darn thing all over my kitchen, breakfast nook, and dining room, I turned it over expecting to see an impressive amount of dirt on the pad, but not so much. I mean it's dirty, but not like filthy ... perhaps that is a good thing; that means my floors weren't as disgusting as I thought they were to begin with? I don't know, I'm just not feeling it. And it was just as much work as mopping - minus filling/dumping the bucket of water/cleaner - I still had to sweep, move chairs and rugs and toys, fill up the little water tank that makes the steam, push and pull that thing all over the place - it didn't glide like on the infomercial. For the money, I expected to be wowed and not so winded.

And so, I am a Shark skeptic, and I am looking for floor cleaning alternatives. I'd love to be looking for a house cleaner, too ... but that's not going to happen :)

Pillow for Toddler?

Last night was the first time in a week that Natalie slept through the night. I had to go in once because she lost her binky, but otherwise she didn't need me.

Between this virus-deal and a ridiculous amount of teeth coming through - including molars on the top and bottom - we have been spending A LOT of time together in the wee hours of the night/morning, and well, it hasn't been all that delightful. Most times I would hear her crying, go to her room, and find her sitting up clutching her lovey and chanting "Rak me, rak me." Can't really deny that request, right? I rocked and soothed and put her back in her crib. Sometimes that worked, other times she changed her chant to "Bed. Bed. Bed," and she was referring to the bed in the guest room. I took her in there Monday night when her fever was really high because we keep the vent closed and it's cooler in there than any other room. We even slept in there for a few hours. She slept on her belly with about half of her body on the pillow beside me. This happened a few times this week because she was so insistent about sleeping in the guest bed, and I was so completely exhausted. But this isn't a habit I want her to get into. She does great sleeping in her own bed - always has - until this recent bout with illness/teeth.

Anyway, seeing her so peacefully sleeping with her head elevated on a pillow got me to thinking perhaps she is ready for a toddler pillow. Perhaps that will help her sleep better. I remember reading something about increased pressure in the ears and jaw when a baby lies flat in a crib.

And so here's my question, Does your toddler sleep with a pillow? Would you recommend it? Do you know of a reason that it's not a good idea? Where did you get your toddler pillow? Any other suggestions for making sure she's comfortable while sleeping? Insights, please :)

Indoor Playgrounds: Safe or Germ Fest?

I did something this evening that I never thought I'd do. I did something tonight out of desperation. I did something tonight that probably exposed NHV to a gazillion different kinds of yuckiness. Yes, dear friends, I took my child to an indoor playground at McDonalds.

Now, if you've ever visited - or hey, are even a big fan of - these types of establishments, please don't let the first few sentences of this post seem like a judgement. I am totally not judging. It's just that I was naive enough to think that I would be able to avoid such a place. But the truth of the matter is that after a week of being on "Natalie-has-some-random-virus-lockdown," I needed to get out. She needed to get out. We needed to be in the company of other people ... like before I lost my mind completely. And so we headed out to Costo - on a Saturday night - only to find that it closes at 6:00. This totally baffles me; I know that place would be packed with people - desperate moms and dads, little kids, you name it - until at least 8:00 pm (the weeknight closing time) if not 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But whatever, we arrived, it was closed, and we found ourselves sitting an empty parking lot, staring through our rain-soaked windshield in disbelief.

This was our "outing" for the day, and now that plan was foiled. That hour of entertainment had been taken away from me, and I was not happy about it. Chad suggested that we just head back home, but I wouldn't hear of it. I started driving aimlessly, kiddie music playing through the radio. A few miles and a turn or two later, and I spotted our oasis from both boredom and dismal weather. The golden arches ... not just any McDonald's but one with the huge indoor playground protruding from the bowels of it's fast-food producing innards. Ah, quite the visual, no?!

I made a snap decision and turned into the parking lot. I turned to Chad and said, "Do you have any really strong feelings about indoor playgrounds?" He uttered, what I believe to be, a pretty typical male response, "Ummm, no, should I?" My mind raced remembering some scary article I had read once about the traces of fecal matter and hypodermic needles and myriad of other disgusting stuff found at indoor fast-food playgrounds. I thought about mentioning all of this to Chad ... to see if perhaps an opinion would form in that oblivious male mind of his. But I knew that if I said those things out loud, I wouldn't be able to go through with it. So instead, I said, "Well, I was thinking that Natalie could play for a few minutes and you could get a sundae." His eyes lit up. He had his car door open and was walking around to get Natalie from her carseat, in a matter of seconds. My sweet husband is not one to walk away from a hot fudge sundae.

Once inside, Natalie was so happy to see other "kids and babies." (Bigger than her, she points and says, "Kid." Smaller or the same size, she calls out, "Baby.") And I was relieved to know that I wouldn't have to be her source of entertainment for the next 20 minutes. I reluctantly pulled off her pink knock-off Uggs and turned her loose on the giant plastic - not entirely clean-looking - structure. She had a blast. I couldn't help but notice how gray the bottom of her white socks looked as she came zooming down the slide. Chad, of course, remained oblivious to my uneasiness as he savored every last bite of his sundae!

But it was my sundae-eating, sensible hubby that ultimately made me feel better about the whole ordeal. After commenting to him about it seeming so dirty and disgusting in "here," he shared his little insight ... he did have an opinion after all ... It's really no different than an outdoor playground. It's all the same dirt and grime no matter if it's in a McDonalds or at the park. At least here the kids take their shoes off and someone probably wipes down this stuff every once in a while. Now, that last part is probably a little wishful, but I can see his point. I don't have any qualms about letting Natalie play at our neighborhood parks; somehow outdoor play areas seem cleaner to me ... the wind blows the germs around and the rain washes them away. The indoor places just seem so stagnant, and don't germs like stagnant?

Okay, I need your help ... Am I being irrational about my feelings toward the indoor playgrounds at fast food restaurants? Do you have similar feelings? Is this a warranted concern or just some misplaced germ phobia?