More Fun At the Farm
Posted by: thoughts4me on: November 26, 2011
I cannot say enough about what a great place Superstition Springs Farm is. It is a great place to visit are real working dairy and the facilities are one of the cleanest that I have seen so far. The staff there is friendly and helpful and it is just an all around good experience.
My boys and I went there during one of their Free farm days about 6 weeks ago…and it was packed! Definitely arrive early if you plan to attend one of these special events.
This time they had horse rides available for the kids at $5 per rides and my boys loved it! They even had a couple horses in the petting zoo corral to feed.
On that note, parents be sure that your are aware of the proper way to feed a horse…fingers together, palm up, i believe. But check with the farm hand to be sure. I happened to witness a little boy, who was bout 1 1/2 or 2 years old that attempted to feed this giant horse without the help of his mother. This horse could have taken the boys entire forearm…no fault of the horse, as I belief the mother should have supervised the feeding. The boy, luckily ended up with just a little nick on his finger and just appeared traumatized by the incident. The people at the farm seemed to be very accommodating and tried to calm the boy and offered to inspect the cut and clean it it, they did the best they could. But I’m sure it was a difficult lesson for the mother.
So please, please be careful and supervise your kids when feeding animals. I’m sure the boys’ mother thought she was paying attention and thought her son would know what to do…but even in the best circumstances animals can be unpredictable.
Fast Food Play Areas – Beware!!!
Posted by: thoughts4me on: October 29, 2011
This week I came upon a local news story about a doctor who went to area fast food restaurants and video taped and swabbed play areas for germs and bacteria.
Now, I expect a reasonable amount of germs and perhaps food in the playareas, however what she found was horrendous!!! Feces, moldy food, areas that look like they haven’t ever been cleaned!
Thank goodness we do not frequently go to these places. Below is a link to the latest news article:
http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/2011/10/26/20111026mcdonalds-bans-asu-instructor-chandler-mom1027.html
One word of advice, if you are going to allow your children to play, be sure they wash/sanitize their hands before they eat. Perhaps even make it a habit for your kids to wash before they eat at home and wash when entering into the house. I often have my boys wash their hands after we return home from a store, school, anywhere, really, because they were touching things that could have germs that they could then carry into our home.
But beware of the play areas!!!
Bountiful Baskets – Part II – Organic
Posted by: thoughts4me on: September 20, 2011
- In: Eating Habits | Recipes
- 1 Comment
I know I promised a while back to try the Bountiful Baskets organic basket and I finally got around to it!
Just in case you are not familiar with Bountiful Baskets, here is a brief intro:
Bountiful Baskets tries to provide local grown produce to participants at a low cost. Since they strive for local grown, the produce can be seasonal. It is a co-operative group, there are no contracts, you may be asked to volunteer,…although I have not yet been asked. You must bring your own bags or baskets to take your produce home and ordering is placed online. For more details you may go to their site at:
I’m sorry that I don’t have any pictures this time, however I was pleasantly surprised to find that my organic basket came prepackaged in a box….note to self, no need to bring those extra bags to transport my produce.
I received 1 head of cabbage, 3 brown onion, 1 bunch of bananas (1 was slightly smashed), a bag of red seedless grapes (approximately 2 lbs), 5 apples, 6 plums, 4 nectarines, 1 bunch of celery, 1 bunch of romaine lettuce, and 5 or 6 what I later discovered to be baby bok choy.
Most of the items were fresh and as expected. However, 1 of the onions was badly bruised and unusable, but all in all everything was great. We even got a bunch of free lemons as they had extra from the conventional baskets and were giving them away to anyone who wanted them. We waited until the last person picked up their basket and took the remainder of the unwanted lemons….SCORE! We love making lemonade 
Yes, I would do it again and yes, it was worth it.
Sorry I don’t have any pictures this time but I promise to post pics next time I purchase.
The pickup time is definitely for the early birds and for me, trying to get the kids out of the house before 7am is a little tough. This is really all that holds me back.
Until next time…..
Be a Label Reader – Part II
Posted by: thoughts4me on: July 8, 2011
I just read an article this morning about scary food additives via Yahoo, and although most are chemicals that are difficult to pronounce, and I will be making a list until I learn to look out for these additives, the one additive that I forgot about was Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT).
I remember hearing about BHT when I was pregnant, although the doctors didn’t say I should avoid it, like avoiding deli meats. But BHT is surprisingly in alot of cereals, Life, certain varieties of Cheerios, and even crackers. According to the article, both additives resulted or lead to cancer and what is more surprising is that these additives are not even necessary and can be replaced with Vitamin E.
Check out the entire article below, it definitely helps to be informed:
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/top-10-scariest-food-additives
Missing Children – Petition for Caylee’s Law
Posted by: thoughts4me on: July 7, 2011
It is a sad, sad day for all of us parents when the government has to actually pass a law to ensure missing children are reported missing by their parents or caregivers within a reasonable amount of time. At this rate, the government will be looking into making people get licenses before having kids at all!
I remember when I first heard about the missing Caylee Anthony and I felt so sad for her family. As a mother, I could only imagine the distress Caylee’s mother must be going through, the wondering, the waiting….little did I know that Caylee was not reported missing immediately.
What reasonable person would wait 30 days to report his/her child missing? How could other family members not notice a child missing? Think about it 30 days….do you go 30 days without any type of contact to your family, relatives, siblings, even close friends?
No parent is perfect, but I try to use my best judgement whenever possible, especially when it involves the kids. I grew up during the time of the nightstalker. I remember we were afraid to go to sleep at night, fearing that he might break into our house.
I’ve watched too many news reports of kids being taken from their homes or after school. I teach my kids to stay close to me, so I can protect them, I teach them to wear their seat belts, put on sunscreen and wear helmets while riding their bikes. Am I an overprotective mother? I think not. I think I am a reasonable paretn.
The day will come when they have to think for themselves, know how to avoid strangers, how to protect themselves and know what to do in the case of an emergency, but until that day I will protect them and teach them how to be safe, as much as possible. And if one of them should ever go missing, God forbid, I will report it right away, because that’s what reasonable mothers do.
Birthday Parties – Bash or No Bash
Posted by: thoughts4me on: June 20, 2011
I was watching an episode of “The Talk” and they were discussing kids’ birthday parties.
Now, granted these moms are celebrities, but it was good to hear that they think about the impact of the big birthday bash on their kids and ask the question “who is this really for?”
One mom acknowledged that her big birthday bashes for her kids were more for her and a way for her to impress her friends. Another mom said that she plans the big birthday parties for her daughter, that she is her only daughter and that her daughter enjoys it. A third mom chimed in and said she noticed that most of the kids at those big birthday parties get overwhelmed.
Growing up I don’t really remember having a “birthday party”. I do remember being able to invite a few friends over for a slumber party for my birthday once. Mostly we celebrated birthdays with my parents and sisters. My mom would cook the birthday person’s favorite dinner and then we would invite our cousins over for cake (luckily our cousins lived close by). We didn’t have big birthday parties.
My boys have had their big 1st year birthday party, and by big I mean 35-40 people including kids and we basically invite my husbands friends and family/close relatives, occasionally a relative of mine might join us, but they are all out of state so it would be pretty rare.
So the question is what do you think of big birthday parties?
I think they are fine if well managed. I heard a story of a mother attending a birthday party for her son’s classmate and there wasn’t any seating or food for the parents and there were just kids running around like crazy. I’ve went to a party where the host provided a comfortable atmosphere for a handful of kids and their parents.
Sometimes I wonder who is this all for? Is there an age cutoff for those big parties?
Now that my kids are getting older, we have tried to focus mostly on celebrating with family and paring down the big birthday bash extravaganza. I’m sure as they get older, they will want to invite friends and I’m sure I will be questioning whether or not I want to do a “friends” party or not. But for now, I’m going to try to keep it as simple as possible and try to remember its about the kids and 1 party really is enough.
Become a Label Reader
Posted by: thoughts4me on: June 5, 2011
I’ve always been a label reader. I like to know what is in the drinks and food I buy, whenever possible, or what kind of fabric my clothes are made from…it’s even nice to know where things I buy are made.
I’ve become more of a label reader now that I have kids and am responsible for their health/welfare and try to be conscious about what they are consuming.
I have to say that it is rare that I find a label to be “misleading”. Capri Sun Roaring Waters, made by Kraft Foods, has mislead me.
My sister-in-law brought it over one day, contributing to our little get together. I saw the box and it stated “No artifical colors or flavors”. Naturally, I assumed it was just flavored water, like Vitamin water or something, but then I tasted it, and it tasted weird to me….a funny little after taste. That prompted to to scour the recycle bin for the box to read the ingredients, and there it was ……”sucralose (Splenda brand sweetner)”. How could they label their product as “non-artificial…” when it includes Splenda….an artificial sweetner?!?! Perhaps Kraft felt that since Splenda is not a “flavor” or a “color”, that they need not include it in the packaging…but is that truly responsible? I say “no”.
The original Capri Sun drinks are attractive to me not only due to their flavor but because they do not contain artificial sweetners.
Lucky for me, I now know and so are my boys. I understand that some people need artificial sweetners for health reasons, and some people prefer them to avoid calories. I’ve known people and doctors who recommend avoiding Splenda because if you look it up, it is basically chlorine.
For me and my kids, I rather they have less real sugar than loads of artificial sugar and avoid the potential risk of cancer or allergic reaction. I prefer them to consume foods with ingredients we can pronounce, I strive to provide them as much fresh, organic produce as possible, for me its important and the right thing to do.
I am a label reader and I encourage you all to be too…be aware, be a label reader.
Chocolate Milk Ban – Yay or Nay?
Posted by: thoughts4me on: May 11, 2011
First of all let me say that I am a HUGE chocoloate lover and I am not a believer in “fake” sugar (ie Splenda, aspartame, Truvia, etc). I believe that people just need to eat/use less sugar/sweeteners.
However, I have always found chocolate milk to be too sweet for me.
I just read an article about school districts starting to ban chocolate milk in an effort to combat childhood obesity and I think there are really 2 solutions to the issue. Either 1 remove chocolate milk from the schools or 2 get the milk companies to revise their formulas and reduce the amount of sugar/chocolate in their chocolate milk.
We, my boys and I, are not soda drinkers. I do not like soda, the carbonation hurts my throat and I have taught that to my boys so, so far neither of them like soda. So when we go out to eat, we typically drink lemonade or milk. On occasion, I will let them have chocolate milk but what I do is order 1 regular milk and 1 chocolate milk and then mix them to reduce the sweetness in the chocolate milk. My boys don’t complain and they enjoy their chocolate milk treat.
I don’t think that the Milk companies should modify the recipes by adding artificial sweetners but I think they just need to reduce the sugar content by using less.
If they do so I think they can avoid a ban and still allow children who are used to drinking chocolate milk to take in less sugar and stilll get the calcium and vitamin D they need.
Here is the link to the article I read:
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/05/09/nations-second-largest-school-district-ban-chocolate-milk/
What do you think?
Potty Training – Part II
Posted by: thoughts4me on: February 28, 2011
Yes, we still have little accidents.
Sometimes I cannot run fast enough to the restroom at the mall or I am too far away from my son for him to notify me in time or sometimes he gets too distracted to recognize that he needs to go.
It happens.
So be prepared! I always carry an extra pair of pants and underwear in my purse. It’s really not that much considering I don’t have to carry wipes or diapers anymore. And I always have a roll of plastic bags in my purse. Not only for those soiled clothes, should an accident occur, but you never know when those plastic bags will come in handy…leaky cup, trash bag, wet swim clothes, etc. I really love those pre-rolled Munchkin brand bags. I didn’t buy the dispenser, I just buy the bags and use a rubber band to keep the bags from unrolling. You can find them in Target in the baby aisle.
Pull-ups, pro or con? I really like pull-ups. Now we are only using the night-time pull-ups at bedtime. But even when he wasn’t fully potty trained, I did use them and reuse the ones that didn’t get wet. My son did not have trouble identifying when he peed or not. I know that some parents are concerned that their children will not “feel” the wetness, however they also do make special pull-ups that have a cooling sensation when it gets wet. I’m not sure how that works but I guess it must help some people.
Be attentive to your child, you will be able to recognize their cues,…,maybe even sooner than your child recognizes them. My older son would change his body language when he had to poop. He would all of a sudden “freeze” and make a kind of “thinking” face, that’s when I knew to whisk him away to the toilet.
Keep your sense of humor, accidents will happen and as much as you’d like to blame yourself as a parent, it’s not your fault and it is part of the process. Try not to blame your child as they are just learning and may not be ready to recognize all the signs hisher body is trying to communicate.
Most of all be patient! For some parents, like me, it is a long process. For others, they train their kids over the weekend. Every child is different and we just need to be patient and guide them.
Do your best and hang in there! I hope this helped some of you
Potty Training – Part I
Posted by: thoughts4me on: February 16, 2011
Oh the lovely world of potty training!
So I have two boys, 5 and 3. My 5 year old is completely potty trained (yay!) and my 3 year old is 99% there. He still has the occasional accident and cannot go through the night without a pull-up…although he refuses, but for all intensive purposes, he is trained.
Even though they are both boys, they had their differences and I learned from my past mistakes and took different approaches, as necessary, with my younger one.
I started them both at around 18 months when, coincidentally, they both came down with a stomach bug at about the same age (probably due to new foods entering into their diets). At any rate, the stomach bug caused the runs which leads to diaper rash, as we all know. So I started putting them on the toilet to help relieve and prevent some of the rash, which naturally took us into the lovely world of potty training.
So what have I learned?
Lesson number 1 : You don’t need gimmicks or fancy gadgets to potty train.
With my first son, I tried using the potty, for which he only used it to pee in. I would then dump the urine into the toilet so he knew where it went and taught him how to flush. My second son I just put him onto the toilet right away, skipped to potty all together and everything was just fine. During my first experience of potty training, I always thought my son would “fall in” the toilet….never happened, and it didn’t happen with my second son. I think the fear was in my lack of confidence.
Lesson 2 – Look for your child’s cues, emotional maturity, physical development, muscle control.
Don’t start too early or too late. For my first son, 18 months was probably a little too early. He got the peeing in the toilet down but refused to poop in the toilet. He always asked for his pull-up whenever he needed to poop. Looking back on it now, as much as I tried to force him to use the toilet, he just wasn’t mentally ready and he wasn’t mature enough, in that way. Sure, he kept dry through the night and was in underwear day and night by the time he was 2 1/2 but he continued to use a pull up for pooping until he a little over 3. Boy, I was ecstatic when he finally gave up the pull up! I could have saved myself a lot of time and anguish worrying about something that would come to him naturally.
My boys are very different in their motor skills, which I believe is also an indicator as to why one was able to sleep through the night and stay dry by 2 1/2 yet, my younger son who is now 3 cannot seem to do it. My 5 year old has always been good with fine motor skills. Drawing, writing, putting items together, but struggled when it came to pedalling a bike or running or kicking ball. Observe your child’s strengths and weaknesses as they might also play into the way they are able to recognize the signals and control their bladder muscles.
What do you think so far? Am I way off base? Does any of this help you so far? I hope so.
Love to hear your comments and I will post more on the subject next week.
Teaser: Pull-ups pro or con, bed pad vs mattress pad, peer pressure
