My girlfriend and I headed over to Joann Fabrics this morning to check out their Pre-Easter sale. Simplicity patterns are on sale for $.99! We even did our homework and checked out Simplicity Patterns Online first, so we didn’t have to try to read pattern books with two toddlers tearing down the store. I spent $3.18 on $45 worth of patterns and Alyson spent $20 on $92 worth of patterns and other sale items in the store. The sale goes on through this Saturday the 3rd. They had some great home decor stuff including this nursery decor pattern pictured above.

]]> http://triplemartinilunch.com/freemasonry-in-training/feed/ 0 http://triplemartinilunch.com/why-diaper-sprayers-rock/ http://triplemartinilunch.com/why-diaper-sprayers-rock/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:40:12 +0000 admin http://triplemartinilunch.com/?p=1473

Its funny how much things change when you have little ones. Things that I thought were important don’t seem to matter much anymore and something as simple as a diaper sprayer makes me elated. Basically it is a small hand held sprayer that hooks up to your toilet. You spray the grossness from the diaper into the toilet, therefore eliminating the old dunk and swish method. This thing is a little slice of heaven! It actually has a really good amount of pressure behind it. I couldn’t imagine using cloth diapers without them (thanks Mom for dunking and swishing!) but use it ALL the time for everything else that we create that is too gross to go directly to the washing machine.

A good friend of mine was using the kitchen sink to wash dog poop off of shoes. She didn’t realize that the germs and bacteria in feces should be separated entirely from the room you cook and wash dishes in.  This sprayer is the perfect solution. I have cleaned my fair share of poop off of shoes and clothes with the sprayer, but am spraying dirt, paint and spaghetti off of clothes and shoes too, they wash so much nicer if I treat them after the high pressure wash with my sprayer.

The cheapest diaper sprayer I could find was on Amazon.com for $35.00.  But you should be able to search online for promotion codes and come up with something cheaper. I also found a link for a DIY Tutorial…this is what we had in our old home. Even if you arent using cloth and are expecting a new baby…wether you are expecting it or not, you are going to have 2-3 outfit changes a day for the first few months and this sprayer will make life much more pleasant.

I’m not sure exactly when the lines became blurred as to when we should start formally teaching kids to read. I belong to the school of thought that reading and writing skills develop, in due time, after a foundation of rich experiences leaves the child open and ready to do so. Some experts say that we should start showing 4 month old babies flash cards so that they can be reading before they are potty trained. Others think its wise to enroll 3 and 4 year olds in specifically designed reading programs so they will be able to tackle reading before 1^st grade. Yet some hold true to the thought that children should be in first grade, equipped with all the cognitive skills before they are “ready” to read.

It wasn’t until Jason was born that I didn’t fast forward through the Your Baby Can Read and BrillKids Little Reader commercials.  I have to say the success stories were intriguing but I couldn’t shell out the money or make payments on the flash card/video systems. I think the cost of these programs play on parent’s anxieties, and they are willing to shell out the money. I can relate to where the anxieties come from, applications to college far outweigh the acceptances, and kids are vying for admission, not forgetting global competition. Students are getting rejected at increasing rates and parents are grasping at ways to give their children a head start…starting with babies.

I too have bought Baby Einstien videos, not because I thought it would make him a child genius, but because he sat still for a few minutes while he watched it.  Once they become mobile, its either full speed ahead or asleep, and those few moments of peace learning shapes and colors to classical music was well worth it. Through playful interaction I can incorporate age appropriate activities that enhance reading, writing, math, music, social skills and self awareness. My plan of attack to achieving educational excellence is having a happy well rounded boy, through lots of playing outside, jumping in puddles, chasing shadows, figuring out what his favorite toys are, and perhaps most importantly figuring out and allowing him to develop his personality.

Here are some of Jason’s favorite books…and their respective links to AbeBooks, my favorite place to buy used books.

• Baby Dolphins it is a bath book that Jason took to once he started sitting well on his own and we moved him into the big tub and he was introduced to it…still one of his favorites.
• Jason could read Brown Bear Brown Bear over and over.  Recently he has discovered From Head to Toe , like all of Eric Carle books, it is brilliantly colored, but it has a parade of animals challenging children to imitate simple actions. Jason beams with accomplishment as he does each activity asked of him.
• Goodnight Moon is a children’s classic that depicts the process of a child saying goodnight to everything around. This is Jason’s current favorite.

I can’t recall ever being told no when I ask Jason if he wants to read a book.  He usually goes to his room picks one out and promptly backs up into my lap, eager to get started. Usually, when I can’t hear Jason playing he is up to no good, every once and a while I check on him and he is in his room reading (pictured above). Im hoping to continue to foster a love of reading and not damage his desire to do so by forcing him to sit during story time or a “study session”. I’m sure there is more that could be done but I think were on the right track.

]]> http://triplemartinilunch.com/your-baby-can-read/feed/ 3 http://triplemartinilunch.com/end-of-an-era/ http://triplemartinilunch.com/end-of-an-era/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:56:08 +0000 admin http://triplemartinilunch.com/?p=534

I used picnik.com to mat and frame my pictures of me sleeping and studying while I fed Jason, I also very clearly remember spilling salsa on his head at some point.  I have fond memories of him grabbing his foot, or stopping to smile at me and my heart completely melting.

The week after Jason was born, I was in so much pain from trying to breastfeed, that I pumped and wasn’t planning on trying again.  I actually asked my Mom if I could pump for a year..you hear so much about the benefits of breast milk, she reminded me just how much work that would be.  Come to think of it, I read a lot of literature stating that it was “okay” if I “couldn’t” do it.  Im thinking  to myself this is how women have fed thier infants since the dawn of man, why wouldn’t I be able to do it?  My Mom convinced me to go to a support group, once I arrived, I had no intention of waking my sound baby to try and see if we could do it.  The lactation consultant made it twice around the circle, before asking me for the second time if I would like to try.  I did, and Jason did and it was like we had been doing it all along.  The support group was amazing, it got me out of the house and around other Moms with newborns around Jason’s age.  I met my Tallahassee play group there and formed some amazing friendships (Hi Tally friends, I miss you!!!)  For the next eleven months I nursed him every two hours.  It wasn’t until he was fifteen months old that I “night weaned” him. Which was much less of a battle than I was prepared for.  He was weaning on his own, until we moved from Tallahassee to Land O’ Lakes to be near family, and Dad returned to work after a four month vacation, and he decided that he would like more.

All of the plans of attack that I’ve read in an effort to get your baby off the breast are similar: eliminate feedings by distracting the child, replace feeding with quality time snuggling, let your husband do the night time comforting. All of which seemed a lot harder than they sounded. I decided one night to ask for my good night kiss before I nursed him, and he gave it to me and that was it.  Next thing I knew it had been 30 hours since his last nursing session.  I said if we can go a day, we can go two.  Waking up was actually harder than going to sleep.  I had to put him in a stroller and go for a walk and let him wake up in a peaceful way, trying to snuggle up to his “show” as he calls it, wasn’t doing the trick.  My boobs were there taunting him.  He also knew that I didn’t want him to anymore, so he had stopped asking, which made both him and I sad.  Since we had come this far, the cuddle/replacement theory worked.  I held him more and we cuddled more and it seemed to do the trick.

Quite simply breastfeeding is the healthiest option for your baby, and I don’t mean purely nutritional benefits(oh and not having to make a bottle in the middle of the night…or ever) There is a sense of security that a breast fed baby has, knowing that mom can provide comfort and food, his only two needs. This special bond is enough for any mother to choose to breastfeed her baby….and not sweat the weaning process…there is a natural progression away from it that doesnt have to be heartbreaking for your little one. Its not like I can take away his pacifier and say the pacifier fairy came and gave them to babies in need.  Its just a little bit tougher to take away Mommy’s comfort. I had a doctor in Tallahassee tell me at Jason’s one year check up that if I didn’t wean him, he would NEVER wean.  Im thinking really? Never?  Well all I can think of is a big fat so there!

I have visions of being able to do things differently with my second child.  We’ll see if I have the strength to make him or her figure it out sooner on their own. The truth is that I enjoyed my night time parenting.  It felt like him and I were the only people in the entire universe and from the moment I held him in my arms we were communicating…and I quite enjoyed those late night talks. It was usually the next day when it hit me that my child-led parenting approach had led to a two ring circus that Jason was leading.

Below is a reminder of our futile attempts to wake Jason from his nap and get him on a more suitable routine for us.  It was just before dinner and I was hoping that he would go to bed before 11:30 p.m.  We picked him up and passed him around a bit, tried changing his diaper and undressed him completely with no avail. It just goes to show that sometimes kids have needs that are not exactly as we had hoped or planned for.  Hold on tight, it wont be like this for long.

I’m off to catch some sleep myself.  Do check out the links from my previous posts, who knew they needed to be activated? Im learning.  They are all worth looking at, which is actually why I posted them.

Often enough, before I can figure out the current challenge with Jason, a new one has made itself present and the old one is left in the dust.  The current task at hand is to get him eating more and nursing less.  Preferably eating healthy, but if I were to ask him he would ask for “cookies” aka Doritos.  Karen Cicero wrote an article for Parenting magazine called Teach Healthy Eating at Home and points out that kids are more likely to eat more if they can participate in the preparation.  I’ve noticed this with Jason – he is a GREAT cook! He has a fantastic Kitchen Helper from Guidecraft…and he absolutely loves being involved. Here he is using it:

Here is a pic from Jason’s first meal, reminding me just how far we’ve come…

Thats all for now, goodnight!