My 4yo is a Chatty Cathy to the extreme. Her recent "Tell me all about" was for the recipe for water.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Ima, Tell me all about . . . the recipe for water
Monday, August 30, 2010
Inspired by Parent Hacks & Amazon!
My kids are between sizes at the moment. Too skinny for their size, and too tall for the next size down. I had safety pins and belts in my Amazon shopping cart when I came across Smartie Pants cinch belt for adjusting kids' pants/skirts whether there are belt loops or not. Brilliant! And cute colors, I was almost sold until I remembered a little something I had stored away in their sock drawer. Extra mitten clips to the rescue! My mother is forever buying hats, gloves, and mitten clips at a rate exceeding our number of heads, hands, or sleeves.
Isn't a mitten clip the same idea as the cinch belt? So I did a test run.
![]() |
| From iTookThisOnMyPhone |
Success!
Here are some of my fave Parent Hacks from ParentHacks.com:
What to do with onesie snaps during diaper change or potty time?
What to do with extra wipes containers?
How to make slippery finger foods easier to hold
Hack away!
I've found some amazing tips at ParentHacks.com and some amazingly helpful products at Amazon.com (yay free shipping!) but never before has shopping at Amazon collided with Parent hacking!
My kids are between sizes at the moment. Too skinny for their size, and too tall for the next size down. I had safety pins and belts in my Amazon shopping cart when I came across Smartie Pants cinch belt for adjusting kids' pants/skirts whether there are belt loops or not. Brilliant! And cute colors, I was almost sold until I remembered a little something I had stored away in their sock drawer. Extra mitten clips to the rescue! My mother is forever buying hats, gloves, and mitten clips at a rate exceeding our number of heads, hands, or sleeves.
Isn't a mitten clip the same idea as the cinch belt? So I did a test run.
![]() |
| From iTookThisOnMyPhone |
Success!
Here are some of my fave Parent Hacks from ParentHacks.com:
What to do with onesie snaps during diaper change or potty time?
What to do with extra wipes containers?
How to make slippery finger foods easier to hold
Hack away!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
If Amelia Bedelia had shabbos guests
This shabbos proved that when British English meets toddler logic, hilarity ensues. A friend is coming for a meal with his girlfriend. We're meant to meet, greet, impress, provide a comfortable table. This is what happened instead:
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Kids and Guests
We love having guests. We don't have the most spacious accommodations, but we don't mind sharing what we have. My kids have occasionally heard me lament any Shabbos we weren't able to drum up guests. We're lucky enough to have several regulars who make sure this doesn't happen often.
Happy Mother's day!
This year was my first real Mother's Day. The kids learned about it in school a little and made gifts for me.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Toddler Bedelia

Conversations with toddlers often leave both sides rather confused. A confused look from a toddler however shouldn't be mistaken for a lack of understanding or slowness. I'm still boggled at the cleverness my two and a half year old showed this morning once I caught up with him.

Conversations with toddlers often leave both sides rather confused. A confused look from a toddler however shouldn't be mistaken for a lack of understanding or slowness. I'm still boggled at the cleverness my two and a half year old showed this morning once I caught up with him.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Conversations with a Toddler: The one that proves 3yo is FFB*
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Judging favorably: The toddler edition
We have no shortage of night wakenings here even though my "baby" is two years old. Generally it's my three year old with a night terror once or twice and while startling, they don't require any act on my part besides a comforting "shush shush." Last night it was the lil man, screaming with blood curdling effectiveness that a child works to perfect just to keep mommy on her toes and her hair on end. I went in and the poor thing was thrashing about moaning "the butterfly, the butterfly" the same way a horror movie actor would repeat the zombies, the butler, the horror, etc. The idea gave me a chuckle and a pretty funny mental image of Attack of the Killer Butterflies. I calmed him down with a little tummy rubbing and a few good patronizing "Mommy won't let the butterflies hurt you" thrown in for good measure. What an imagination! I thought.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Advice needed: Restless Sleeper Toddler Syndrome
My 3yo spend the first year of her life swaddled. She was a restless sleeper even then and being swaddled helped keep her asleep. Now she is a big 3yo who sleeps on a mattress on the floor. Actually she starts out on a mattress on the floor but can be found almost anywhere in her room as she rolls, scoots, crawls, spins, wiggles, shakes, inchworms in her sleep. She wakes up when she bumps something we haven't figured out how to pad or cushion. She talks, cries, yells, babbles, whimpers, whispers, all with her little baby face screwed up in sleepy confusion. Often when passing by her room after 10pm I see her awake, peering around her door watching and listening to what's going on in the house, the lure of the lights and sounds of her parents partying while she sleeps too much to resist.
Monday, November 16, 2009
101 things to feed a toddler
- yogurt drunk through a straw or eaten with cheerios/corn flakes mixed in and a spoon
- peanut butter sandwiches (with or without the crust depending on the direction of the wind, the phase of the moon, and the current adjusted for inflation price of tea in China)
- oatmeal - plain oatmeal with raisins, a dash of cinnamon, a dash of honey, and occasionally a handful of cheerios or cornflakes. There is no accounting for taste when it comes to a toddler.
- yogurt drunk through a straw or eaten with cheerios/corn flakes mixed in and a spoon
- peanut butter sandwiches (with or without the crust depending on the direction of the wind, the phase of the moon, and the current adjusted for inflation price of tea in China)
- oatmeal - plain oatmeal with raisins, a dash of cinnamon, a dash of honey, and occasionally a handful of cheerios or cornflakes. There is no accounting for taste when it comes to a toddler.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Toddler approved packed lunch ideas
tuna & cream cheese filled puffs. The puffs are sold By Athens are come precooked & frozen. - Zucchini muffins (link to my recipe)
- pasta tossed with olive oil, frozen corn, cherry tomatoes, & avocado (Awa doesn't like tomatoes, so she eats around or I leave out) and possibly cheese
- whole wheat tortillas filled with cream cheese & spinach
- Morningstar Farms Chik patties
- leftover pizza
- pizza sandwich (Awa takes off the cheese)
- cream cheese & jelly sandwich
- pancakes
- raisins
- string cheese
- boiled eggs
- cubed melon
- oranges
- jello cups
- apples
- bananas
- plain cream cheese sandwiches
- rice cakes
- baggie of dry cereal
- salmon patties
- tomato sauce sandwich (surprising since it's the same as the pizza one without the cheese and that's what Awa eats when she removes the cheese)
- chummus sandwich, unexpected since they both love to dip into chummus.
I know I am blessed in many ways, one of which is that no matter how annoying & fickle my toddlers can be at meal time, they are still considered amazingly good eaters when measured on the toddler scale from "lives on air" to "eats everything in sight as long as it isn't broken in half or touching anything else."
tuna & cream cheese filled puffs. The puffs are sold By Athens are come precooked & frozen. - Zucchini muffins (link to my recipe)
- pasta tossed with olive oil, frozen corn, cherry tomatoes, & avocado (Awa doesn't like tomatoes, so she eats around or I leave out) and possibly cheese
- whole wheat tortillas filled with cream cheese & spinach
- Morningstar Farms Chik patties
- leftover pizza
- pizza sandwich (Awa takes off the cheese)
- cream cheese & jelly sandwich
- pancakes
- raisins
- string cheese
- boiled eggs
- cubed melon
- oranges
- jello cups
- apples
- bananas
- plain cream cheese sandwiches
- rice cakes
- baggie of dry cereal
- salmon patties
- tomato sauce sandwich (surprising since it's the same as the pizza one without the cheese and that's what Awa eats when she removes the cheese)
- chummus sandwich, unexpected since they both love to dip into chummus.
10 tips for Travelling with Toddlers: Part 1 Packing
- Don't do laundry too close to your departure. You want their blankets, favorite items, etc to still smell familiar.
- If you are shipping things, make sure most of your kids' stuff comes with you, is shipped faster, or is at the front of the truck/container. You want to be able to set them up in the new place with as many familiar items as you possibly can. When we moved countries and had to sell many belongings, I sacrificed a few of my own things (cookbooks, gadgets, etc) to be able to take more kids' stuff. Some beloved items cannot be replaced, but if possibly close substitutes can fill the void.
- During travel have accessible (carry-on if possible):
- a change of clothes for everyone (including parent as I once discovered, ick)
- diapers & wipes, 2 baggies for garbage or soiled clothing
- snacks - baggies of cheerios/small cereal, cheese, any non-messy filling food.
- toys & books that require imaginative play or discovery so they keep small attentions longer. Our faves are magnadoodles, stickers, pretend cameras, crayons & paper
I know the title of this blog (even with it's nifty alliteration) might seem like it could easily lend itself to a horror novel, I know it gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it! Yet I managed to survive moving cities, moving countries, moving states (by myself no less!), and visiting family overseas, plus frequent bus rides where it's just me, my two toddlers, a stroller, a diaperbag and a small scrap of sanity.
- Don't do laundry too close to your departure. You want their blankets, favorite items, etc to still smell familiar.
- If you are shipping things, make sure most of your kids' stuff comes with you, is shipped faster, or is at the front of the truck/container. You want to be able to set them up in the new place with as many familiar items as you possibly can. When we moved countries and had to sell many belongings, I sacrificed a few of my own things (cookbooks, gadgets, etc) to be able to take more kids' stuff. Some beloved items cannot be replaced, but if possibly close substitutes can fill the void.
- During travel have accessible (carry-on if possible):
- a change of clothes for everyone (including parent as I once discovered, ick)
- diapers & wipes, 2 baggies for garbage or soiled clothing
- snacks - baggies of cheerios/small cereal, cheese, any non-messy filling food.
- toys & books that require imaginative play or discovery so they keep small attentions longer. Our faves are magnadoodles, stickers, pretend cameras, crayons & paper
Monday, June 22, 2009
What's mine is mine & what's yours is mine: Struggling with toddler sharing

I keep telling myself that sharing will get easier and better once Awa and RE are older, but things have gotten only worse and more complicated lately. Awa is usually the culprit. If RE has something she wants it, no matter what it is.

I keep telling myself that sharing will get easier and better once Awa and RE are older, but things have gotten only worse and more complicated lately. Awa is usually the culprit. If RE has something she wants it, no matter what it is.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
I love toddlers because:
- They will nod along while you are talking to them and when you ask they say they understood, but they really had no idea what you are talking about.
- You will talk while they look at you blankly or ignore you, but they heard every word and can repeat it back to you later!
- Full diapers make them walk like John Wayne.
- Getting the giggles is a common occurrence.
- You never know what the next thing to come out of their mouth will be. Belabela = peanut butter, asses = glasses, Blow bubbles = lovable, wheels on the bus go wound & wound
- They put so much energy into hugging and kissing they grunt with the effort.
- They never, ever get bored of pointing out airplanes, trucks, dogs, cars, leaves, anything they find interesting, even if it's the 100th one that day
- The same kid who is digging in the dirt will later come up to you, hands outstretched, horrified that they got dirty
- Wearing mommy's shoes & being able to walk around in them is a badge of pride
- "Wight, I'm a big giwl?" Wight!
- Choosing nursing over a cookie, or with a cookie, or in between bites of a cookie, or while covered in cookie crumbs.
- All it takes is a little song to get them in the mood to do something they didn't want to do a second ago.
- Mommy is still a superhero!
- They will nod along while you are talking to them and when you ask they say they understood, but they really had no idea what you are talking about.
- You will talk while they look at you blankly or ignore you, but they heard every word and can repeat it back to you later!
- Full diapers make them walk like John Wayne.
- Getting the giggles is a common occurrence.
- You never know what the next thing to come out of their mouth will be. Belabela = peanut butter, asses = glasses, Blow bubbles = lovable, wheels on the bus go wound & wound
- They put so much energy into hugging and kissing they grunt with the effort.
- They never, ever get bored of pointing out airplanes, trucks, dogs, cars, leaves, anything they find interesting, even if it's the 100th one that day
- The same kid who is digging in the dirt will later come up to you, hands outstretched, horrified that they got dirty
- Wearing mommy's shoes & being able to walk around in them is a badge of pride
- "Wight, I'm a big giwl?" Wight!
- Choosing nursing over a cookie, or with a cookie, or in between bites of a cookie, or while covered in cookie crumbs.
- All it takes is a little song to get them in the mood to do something they didn't want to do a second ago.
- Mommy is still a superhero!

