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Toddler Lying: When Does It Begin?

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:55:48 +0000

I’m teaching my daughter how to lie. Inadvertently, of course. But I’m doing it just the same. Bet you are too. Wanna know how?

According to the excellent book NurtureShock toddlers can’t tell the difference between intentional lying and being wrong or forgetting. Like the other day, my girl wanted to use the hair drier (we use it after a bath and she sort of likes it). What, I thought? Her hair was already dry, it being morning and all and she had her bath the night before. But, to her, she hadn’t made the connection between WET hair and using the hair drier to DRY her hair.

So, I said no honey, we’ll use it tonight after your bath. That seemed to be an OK plan so we went about our day.

Cut to night time – it’s late, dinner has run past a reasonable hour, Sophie has been swimming with her grandmother and taken a shower so we decide no bath. No bath means no wet hair. No wet hair means no hair drier.

I didn’t think anything of it. But, in her eyes, I lied that morning because we never did use the hair drier like I said. For toddlers there is no difference between forgetting, changing plans without acknowledging it and lying, again at least according to the research cited in NurtureShock.

So now, I’ve noticed, she has started lying. Small lies that actually crack me up, but they are lies just the same. She doesn’t quite know how to do it yet but she’s giving it a try.

Scary.

Oh, I should mention that lying is a form of intelligence but that’s a different post!

Kellan Lutz’s Advice on What To Wear On A Date

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:53:12 +0000

Twilight’s Kellan Lutz has some good advice for you vixens out there who want to impress a guy on a date. What he recommends for date attire will, in fact, raise eyebrows.

When asked by a writer from Glamour Magazine what he thought would “wow” him, his answer was hilarious!

Socks, he said. Just plain old socks. Well, maybe not plain old socks…

“Like, cute animal printed socks or something like that,” he said. “Because nobody knows she’s wearing them except her, and then she takes off her thigh-high boots and has those bunny socks under there and it’s just like oh man. It makes the mood lighter, it just gets you guys laughing. And then..”

I can’t say I know him from Adam, but I love his attitude…just goes to show you, sexy is all in the attitude.

[via: Glamour Magazine]

New Twist On Van der Rohe’s Barcelona Chair: The Butaca Chair

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:59:20 +0000

I have a thing for Mies Van der Rohe and his Barcelona chair. Every so often, I go on to eBay and see who is selling one and for how much. Not that I ever have bought one, but a girl can dream.

Imagine my surprise when I found this more natural, more (dare I say it) green version, called the Butaca chair from the Melange Collection. You can jump on the “new” texture trend and still have a classic in your home.

This fabulous chair was designed and hand crafted by young apprentice cabinetmakers in a small shop in Guatemala City. The beautiful hand tufted seat and back cushions are supported by hand cut leather straps with snaps to hold them in place.

The hardwood frame is made of manchiche (Lonchocarpus castilloi), a tropical hardwood from a certified managed forest in the Petén region of Guatemala. I don’t know what that is but it sounds beautiful! It comes in either recycled burlap coffee sacks (too cool!) or organic natural colored cotton. I think the cotton is my fave.

You can always contact the Melange Collection if you want the specs. If you decide you want one, then tell them you heard it from us (in the memo section of the order form) and they’ll give you 20% off the $1600 prince tag. Pretty nifty, huh?!??

Oh, and just to make you feel good, all Melange products are created under Fair Trade guidelines, meaning that by purchasing Fair Trade products you are helping the talented artisans who make them create sustainable incomes for themselves and their families. Much better than buying something mass manufactured in China!

Green Boudreaux’s Butt Paste

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:55:44 +0000

Boudreaux’s Butt Paste has gone green. Ya’ll know I’m a fan of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste, right? Well, for one, I’m from Louisiana so anything with the name Boudreaux in it is near and dear to my heart.

And two, they call it butt paste because that’s what it is – how honest is that? Anyway, I’d be using it regardless of what color it is, but they’ve now jumped on the green bandwagon. This special environmentally friendly version is made from beeswax and other natural ingredients. Same great baby butt, different paste.

Pregnancy Piercing

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:55:38 +0000

Pregnant and have a navel ring? Are you worried about what will happen as your belly expands? Well, have no fear, an enterprising entrepreneur has come up with Pregnancy Piercings – a long shaft with end balls that lets you keep the “look” while your belly grows.

It is made of biocompatible medical grade plastic that is already in use in the medical field. It is very flexible and adjusts with an expanding belly.

Not exactly my cup of tea but I applaud their ingenuity.

Adorable Baby Faces

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:51:23 +0000

You know what cracks me up? You know that face a baby makes when she’s hungry and looking for the boobie? She opens her mouth, wiggles her head as if to ready herself to catch a boob as it flies by her. That head jiggle, that searching tongue. So cute!

Of course, that’s before all hell breaks loose and the fists clench and the face turns red and the wailing starts. Oh, that wailing.

But right before that point, right when the baby is thinking, “where is it, where is it? I know it’s around here somewhere! I can catch it. I know I can.”

Just a random thought during breatfeeding…

photo credit: Tim & Selena Middleton

Purgood Organics Baby Wash, Shampoo & Lotion

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:52:45 +0000

Have you seen PurGood Organic Baby products? One of the sweetest things about Purgood Organics isn’t their commitment to being organic (you know some pesky products claim to be organic and actually aren’t!), or their lovely smell. It’s the home page of their website where they thank you for visiting their site before they try to sell you something.

PurGood uses strictly organic ingredients – no parabens, pthalates or other harsh chemicals. Good thing, to,o as I’ve been reading about the link between pthalates and obesity in children! Not that I’m all that worried about my child becoming obese all of a sudden but I do worry about what chemicals we are exposing our children to and what the long term effects will be.

Anyway, back to PurGood. They are pure and they are good, just like their catchy name. You can get their products on their site. They have baby wash, baby shampoo and baby lotion.

Buy Breast Milk Online

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:42:02 +0000

I recently read about moms buying and selling breast milk online…can you imagine, buying someone ELSE’S breast milk? I know it’s filled with all sorts of good stuff – great stuff in fact – but that’s when it comes out of YOUR OWN BOOB. How do you know what the lactating woman who sold/donated her milk eats or what diseases she may carry? Since breast milk is a bodily fluid it naturally carries all those nasty things as well.

Not to mention, can you really trust a “milk bank”? And, isn’t that what formula is for?

Now, if you’ve got some weird fetish, then what the hell, be my guest and buy some one’s extra breast milk. I’ve also heard that people with compromised immune systems and those with cancer could derive great benefits from drinking breast milk

But, just think about that for a second…someone who doesn’t have a functioning immune system taking a fluid that may carry Hepatitis B or even HIV…not smart.

photo credit: mararie

Pulled In 10 Different Directions At Once?

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:29:00 +0000

Is the “urgent” taking over your life? I was just reading about the Tyranny of the Urgent, a great piece on the difference between the urgent and the important on Simplemom.com. I was reminded of an “ah-ha” moment I had in business school when I learned what the phrase management by exception meant.

It means putting out fires takes precedence over everything, to the detriment of your organized to-do list. It means you become a crazy, anxiety ridden stress ball. It means you don’t ever feel like you’ve accomplished anything, just that you’ve managed to not lose it.

Effective management is making a plan and sticking to it. It’s prioritizing. Sure, you have to put out the fires: answer the phone, open e-mail, avert disasters or deal with them. But let it run your day? Not effective.

Sound like motherhood?

All kidding aside, motherhood can quickly spin out of control if you forget the difference between urgent and important, between fires and plans.

Urgent is an exploding diaper, kissing a bobo after your toddler takes a spill, cleaning off the kitchen counters so you can have room to cook dinner.

Important is playing ring around the rosie with your toddler, making time for friends (old AND new), having a quiet dinner with your spouse.

Sometimes it’s difficult to tell the difference. But they are different. And, as my favorite professor used to say, “that’s a difference that makes a difference.”

And make no mistake, running a household takes very savvy management skills. For me, I crave a sense of peace in my day and every now and then I get it. Mostly it comes when I’ve been the captain of my ship, steering us all clear of obstacles and moving us forward. When I can stick to my plan.

When I’m bouncing from fire to fire, by the end of my day I’m cooked – no energy for me or my family. That doesn’t make me very happy…and when mama ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy!

So, today, after reading about urgent and important tasks, I’m inspired to prioritize. To carve out time each day (maybe I should commit to a week first?) to do something truly important. Time for ring around the rosie, anyone?

photo credit: Ana Santos

Felt Party Crowns: A Green Birthday Must Have

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:26:48 +0000

Something fun for the birthday girl or boy that keeps giving – a felt crown. These are so cute and while I’m not a huge party hat kind of person, I think these are adorable.

I got my daughter a felt birthday hat on her first birthday and while she HATED IT then, when her second birthday came around she LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It helped that it is pink.

And, when the birthday is all over, these crowns will be perfect for a good game of dress up! Or Halloween! Or just going to the grocery!

Update: you can get them at Green Planet Parties. Should have mentioned that in the first place.

Toddler Holding On To Poop

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:16:48 +0000

Our 3-day potty training went remarkably well and, for the most part, our daughter is using the big girl potty like a champ. Peeing that is. When it comes to poop, she’s decided to hold on to it. We’re all frustrated and, I must confess, getting a little freaked out.

It started when the new wee one arrived. At the end of last year I gave birth to a beautiful little girl. Sophie (the older one) has welcomed her into our home with open arms and is more loving and caring that I thought a 2 year old could be. It’s truly adorable to see. But make no mistake, it’s very traumatic for her to have a new sibling.

Unfortunately Sophie’s emotional upheaval is causing her to hold on to her poop.

At first I thought she was constipated, so we started giving her prunes and more fiber. Not so easy getting a toddler to eat fiber. AND drink enough water.

Holding on to poop looks something like this:

Sophie: “I go potty”

Nothing happens. She jumps off the potty. (She’s all about the “big girl potty”, meaning the audlt toilet, not her small potty).

10 seconds later, Sophie says “I gotta go potty!” and back on the potty she goes. Nothing. We urge her to sit and relax but she tenses up and jumps off the potty.

This keeps happening for at least a half an hour if not much much longer. Lots of potty talk, lots of lifting on to the potty, no action.

Finally she shrieks, her little body goes rigid and she clenches her butt cheeks with all she’s got, forcing her body to keep it all inside. It’s so painful to watch, I can only imagine how painful it is to be her.

We got her the Everyone Poops book by Taro Gomi, we talk about poop (man do we talk about poop!), we even sing about poop. Nothing seems to ease her mind. There are lots of home remedies, like over the counter laxatives, flax seed oil, psyllium husks. Dr. Sears has an informative post on it as well as constipation.

For now we’re trying to relax and see if we can’t get things moving on our own. Diapers seem to help so we put her back in diapers when she has to poop. Kind of confusing if you ask me, but she prefers it.

Of course we, as parents, cannot control Sophie’s poop, only Sophie can do that. I’m hoping that we can nip this in the bud as I’ve read some very scary stories about this type of thing going on for years. Plus, it can cause serious physical problems with a body’s “plumbing” and I don’t want to see that happen!

I’m open to any suggestions if you’ve got ‘em…I’m at a loss on this one!

photo credit: abardwell