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By Mom Unplugged, October 6, 2007 4:36 pm

Winter is coming and it is time to think about snuggy clothing. This may not be one of my most exciting posts, but perhaps it will be of interest to more people than I might imagine.

This great hat is made in Egypt by Under The Nile. I bought the multi-striped version of this organic, Egyptian cotton hat for my littlest one last winter and it was, in my mind, truly flawless.

It is cute, very soft, warm, and cozy.

But best of all, it snaps under the chin so that unwilling wearers can’t rip it off. Two snaps allow for an adjustable fit and the sides are long enough to cover little ears. There is even a small loop on top for easy hanging on a hook. I do believe that this is absolutely the perfect winter baby hat.It is available in multi-colored stripes or natural, is Fair Trade Certified and totally adorable!

Ours came from A Toy Garden at this link: Organic Sherpa Baby Hat. While you are there, be sure to check out A Toy Garden’s other offerings. It is a wonderful sto

re and the owner, Sonya, seems very nice!

(I just found a pink striped version of this hat at the Under The Nile website, it is really cute too!)

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By Mom Unplugged, September 14, 2007 10:13 pm

Tonight we had our Friday Kids Cook Night which has fallen a bit by the wayside over the summer. My post today is not about Kids Cook Night however, but about the music that accompanies it.

I found the cassette version of Wee Sing Around the World (Wee Sing) for $2.99 last year in our grocery store bargain book bin, which, incidentally, has really yielded a surprising wealth of wonderful books! Unfortunately it is a tape and I have recently decided that we will definitely need a CD version due to all the use the poor old cassette gets.

I just found out that at Amazon, the CD and accompanying 64 page book is only $9.99, and is even eligible for the 4-for-3 promotion. I love that promotion. What a great excuse to by more fun books that I didn’t even know we needed! OK. So I am not exactly “simplifying my life” with this attitude, but it is all for my children’s sake really!

This collection consists of children’s songs from around the world. I count 40 countries on the list, most with one song, but the US has three (Native American, Native Hawaiian, and basic, classic kids’ song - “Eentsy Weentsy Spider”), India has two. When the songs are in a language other than English (as most are), then it is sung once in the native language and once in an English translation so we English-speakers can understand what it is about.

One of the things I like most about this collection are the introductions. Before each song the singer introduces him or herself by saying “Hello, my name is ____ and I am from___.” They first make their introduction in their native language, and then in English. So fascinating! I love hearing all the different languages, and so do my children. They often end up sitting on the kitchen counter top next to the speaker of our little counter top stereo so as not to miss a thing.

What a rare find, children’s music that I actually LIKE to listen to as much as they do. This is a very good thing since it is my 5 and 7 year-olds‘ favorite music, and has become our Kids Cook Night background music, and background music for many other moments as well.

The songs are all brief enough to accommodate short attention spans (even when sung in two languages). Since they hail from a wide range of different countries (Jamaica, Ghana, Iran, and Ukraine for example), they illustrate a variety of different musical styles.

One of the things that I hope to instill in my children is a sense of the beauty and variety of life around the world, yet the realization of how similar we all really are. I want them to understand for example, that while people from other countries might have different languages and different types of music, we all enjoy music and singing and dancing! I think that this collection is a great first step toward that very ambitious goal.

Photo thanks to morguefile.com and photographer clarita.

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By Mom Unplugged, July 3, 2007 8:07 am

How did I ever live without this until now? I guess I have just been trying to forget about how gross restaurant tables must really be. Not that I am germphobic, however I am so happy to have found this portable placemat.

The really great thing about it is that it has suction cups on the bottom so that your little cherub can’t rip it off the table and fling it on the floor (like a regular placemat, napkin, or horror of horrors…a china plate). There is a little pocket that hangs over the edge of the table to hopefully catch some of the mess (does not work when food is flung sideways). After the meal, the whole thing rolls up, debris and all, and tucks into a diaper bag for cleaning at home. Available in pink, blue, yellow and green.

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By Mom Unplugged, April 4, 2007 11:03 am

How ironic that my first “Works For Me Wednesday” would be about the car. If you could see my car there is no way you would consider me an authority on car-organization. However there is one cool little invention that I just discovered with baby number three, that I really feel has changed our travel life. Drumroll please! Allow me to present to you, THE NO-SPILL CHEERIO DISPENSER!!!

Hopefully this is not yet another example of how “oh so behind- the-times” I am. Hopefully you are not all saying to yourselves “Why, that has been around for as long as the sippy cup! What rock is she living under??” But, even if it is as ubiquitous as the sippy cup, it is MY “Works For Me Wednesday” post and the No-Spill Cheerio Dispenser works for me!

For those of you who are equally as behind-the-times as me, it consists of a little cup with a soft plastic lid. The plastic lid has slits in it. Baby pushes her chubby little hand through the slits to get the Cheerios, when hand comes out - slits shut to prevent spillage. A determined baby can still manage to lose a few, however it is usually not as dramatic as the Flying Cheerios Game that can occur with an ordinary cup.

Available at Babies-R-Us: Currently 3 for $10.99. Please visit Shannon at Rocks In My Drier for more great car ideas!