Comments (7)

By Mom Unplugged, August 24, 2009 10:55 pm

Today was the first day back to school for my oldest two (9 and 7), and they were VERY excited. OK, OK, so was I (choirs of angels and all that).

The two of them were up early and dressed before I even managed to open an eye. By the time I had dragged myself reluctantly out of the shower (I am NOT a morning person) they had already made their own breakfasts and packed their own lunches.

What?? My heart sank when I heard they had packed their lunches. This was new, and entirely their idea.

Of course I immediately inspected their lunch boxes expecting to see cookies, chips and goldfish crackers, plus perhaps even some candy that had been squirreled away somewhere. What would you have packed in your lunch at that age?

However I was shocked to find that they had actually done a good job! There was leftover pasta (kept warm in thermoses), sugar snap peas, apples, yogurt, and…one Oreo each. I could live with that.

I plan to continue this self-packing of the lunch, and hope it does not fall by the wayside as school becomes less easy to wake up early for.

One less job for me is good. I am a lazy mom.

Comments (24)

By Mom Unplugged, August 19, 2009 11:32 am

Several months ago I saw these cute little polished heart-shaped stones in a local store when I was getting a watch battery replaced, and had an inspiration.

They felt smooth and silky, and soothingly weighty in the palm of the hand. I chose a particularly luminescent one whose soft blue color reminded me of the Arizona sky.

When I pulled out my wallet to pay, the store owner surprisingly gave it to me for free! A very auspicious start for a symbol that I hoped would cure all manner of ills.

Soon after acquiring The Magic Heart, my three year-old had a meltdown and was quite sad about something that I (and she) no longer recall. I gave her the heart and explained to her, and the other children, that The Magic Heart goes to whoever needs it most to remind them that they are loved.

That person must keep the heart in a safe place (I decided that nightstand drawers were where it should go since my children could lose an elephant within minutes). The recipient keeps the heart until another family member is overcome with sadness or anger, then that person passes it along to the new person in need.

As any parent of a toddler would imagine, The Magic Heart ends up most often with my three and a half year-old. I wasn’t sure she really grasped the concept of what it meant until the other night.

I was moderately grumpy after a bad day when I discovered that my children were bathing without soap or shampoo, and most likely had been for some time! I got very annoyed and washed their hair and bodies myself, all the while grumbling about how at their age they should know how to do these things themselves, blah, blah, blah.

My three year-old came to me after her bath and said: “I have something for you” … she handed me The Magic Heart from her nightstand drawer … “because you were grumpy in the bathroom.”

How to melt a Mama’s heart!!!

After overcoming the guilty feeling that even my three year-old had noticed my Mommy Tantrum, I realized that maybe The Magic Heart really was magic.

Comments (3)

By Mom Unplugged, July 3, 2009 1:40 pm

Most parents would agree that dinner preparation is the toughest time of the day. We are worn out and the kids are tired and crabby. The easiest solution for a hard earned bit of peace is to plunk them down in front of the TV or a video in order to cook without “help” or having to play umpire.

On really bad days, I sometimes find myself too easily wanting to resort to the distraction of a video, especially with my 3 year-old who of course wants to “help” with everything, including dinner. So whenever I come across a new trick to happily and easily occupy her, I am eager to share it with others!

Several years ago I picked up some colored plastic threading and counting frogs at a yard sale. I have used them for everything from math homework to French lessons, but I just discovered a new game that my 3 year old loves: “Find the Frog!” This is proof that we don’t need something complicated or expensive (or electronic) to entertain and teach a child.

Our frog friends come in three sizes and six colors. I simply tell my 3 year-old what to thread, for example, “medium blue,” and she does it with joy! Sometimes I get fancy and say “three large orange,” or “one small red and two medium green.”

This is so simple that most of you are probably saying “Umm … what’s so special about this?” But since it never occurred to me that this game could entrance my daughter for an hour at a time, it might not have occurred to a few of you either.

Plus, consider these benefits:

• I can work in the kitchen while playing this game with her (or be lazy and sit on the sofa and read a magazine).
• The game teaches colors, numbers, and sizes.
• Children practice remembering and following increasingly complicated instructions.
• The threading is an excellent exercise of fine motor skills.
• You could play this with almost anything that threads: beads, thread spools, colored pasta, or buttons for example. (Great for creatively repurposing household items!)
• Variation for non-threadable items: have your child place certain items in an egg carton, container, or selection of dishware. For example: “Two blue buttons in the glass” or “One large seashell in the red bowl.”
• Make this an activity for your “Mommy I’m Bored Box!”

For more easy ideas, please read these posts about other very simple toddler pastimes that have worked for me:

• Beans - The Perfect Toy?

• How to get by Without the Electronic Babysitting Box

• Great Resource for Keeping Young Toddlers Busy!

++++++++++

Comments (3)

By Mom Unplugged, December 3, 2008 8:03 pm

This is a post I should have written about two months ago. Two months ago when all the cheap plastic decorations first made their way into the supermarkets, Walmarts, Kmarts and Any-Other-Marts in the United States. Here in the U.S., shoppers have been regaled with muzak versions of The Little Drummer Boy and Silent Night since well before Halloween (October 31st) this year.

Now that we have finally gotten that pesky little Thanksgiving holiday over with, the commercial Christmas onslaught can begin in earnest.

On my Thanksgiving cross-country trip, I realized what I have been missing without TV for all these years. Ads. Hundreds and thousands of ads promising me the best Christmas ever (what is that anyway?) if only I purchase a new Best Buy flat screen TV, or Macy’s cashmere sweater, or Zales diamond necklace, or _______ (insert advertised product in blank) for my loved one.

I had forgotten what it was like. Although I had a fabulous trip, I was quite relieved when I was finally home and able to retreat to the refuge of my quiet house to end the commercial attack on my psyche.

And here comes the part that I should have written about three months ago when I first detected the initial stirrings of faux holiday jolliness in the stores:

Since many readers are probably new to Unplug Your Kids, I should let you all know that last year while suffering a holiday existential crisis, I wrote a series of posts entitled Christmas/Holidays Unplugged in which I explored alternatives to the traditional American commercial holiday experience.

I know it is a bit late now that December is already here, but if anyone is in need of a bit of inspiration, or encouragement, or alternative holiday ideas, then hopefully you might enjoy some of these posts.

I have listed them all here and linked to them so you can click on what sounds interesting to you. I hope that someone will find this helpful!

(Also: If you find a topic interesting, be sure to read the comments too since readers often left their own wonderful insights and suggestions.)

1) Merry Christmas

2) Unplug The Christmas Machine (a book review - very inspirational book if you are disillusioned with Christmas/Hanukkah)

3) Making a List and Checking it Twice (what does your holiday really mean to you?)

4) Holiday Prep - Part 1 (Introduction)

5) Holiday Prep - Part 2: Help! Holiday Prep Makes Me Miserable!!

6) Holiday Prep - Part 3: Help! I Love Doing it All, But How Can I Find Time to Do it?

7) Celebrating Advent

8) Commercialism in Your Mailbox?

9) A Holiday Linky Assortment

10) The Great Christmas Tree Dilemma (Real? Fake? Living? What else?)

11) Buy Handmade

12) Donate this Year Instead of Gifts

13) Santa Lists and Sponge Bob (dealing with kids’ gift requests)

14) Combating Commercials (fighting the effects of toy ads)

15) Help! Too Much Stuff!! (ideas for cutting down on the amount of “stuff”)

16) A Post as Small as a Stocking Stuffer (“nice toy” stocking stuffer ideas)

(Thanks to Everystockphoto and phtographer”tandemracer” for this photo. View license terms here.)

Comments (2)

By Mom Unplugged, October 31, 2008 3:28 pm

Wondering what to do with all that candy?

Check out my Candy Fairy and Candy Bank posts for some alternatives to eating it!

++++++