Kid’s Meal Fail

July 5, 2010 By 11 Comments

We stopped by Burger King today after a longer-than-planned trip to Target.   I really am not sure what to say about this “toy” that came in Jack’s kid’s meal:

I’m especially amused by the PG-13 stamp on the packaging and the note that this toy is for kids 3 and older.  I asked Jack what he thought about it…he asked, “What is it?”  Two seconds later he was back to playing with his toy spaceship.

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Jack is back (and toys, toys, toys)

June 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I had a pretty fabulous weekend with Jack.  I am *so* glad he is back from Texas.  The nightmares were really getting to me and I just don’t know what to do with myself when I don’t have someone to take care of!  I get bored.

Friday we went to our first company picnic with David’s employer.  The picnic was held at Coyote Point and it was certainly a beautiful day for it.  Jack was all over the jungle gym and completely wore himself out.  He and I left early (for naptime) while David stayed to participate in volleyball and other team sports.

Saturday Jack and I got out the door early and went to Ross to spend my store credit.  I found a good deal on an 8-pack of games (Go Fish, Bingo, Dominoes, etc. – it’s an inexpensive past time, after all) that are decked out with the Toy Story 3 characters.  Jack got totally excited when he spotted an Iron Man toy (how he knew what it was, I don’t know!) so I just had to get it for him (I get indulgent around birthdays…).  We also nabbed a Transformers blanket.

When we got home I was put to work assembling Iron Man; I nearly broke my fingers trying to assemble it!  No wonder it was so cheap…  Jack loves it, though, and it is now included in the group of toys he takes to bed.  We also played our first game of Go Fish.  Jack didn’t quite get it so…I won.  :P

Speaking of bed, he cleared the blankets off his bed to put the new Transformers blanket down for naptime.  The kid is serious about this blanket, folks.  I’ve had to go into his room numerous times to straighten it out after he tosses and turns and it gets “bunched.”  He simply *must* have the blanket flat and smooth so he can see all the details (even in the dark).  The upside is that if I tell him he has to lay really still so as not to mess it up, he falls asleep pretty quickly.  ;)

Sunday was our big adventure to the movie theater to see Toy Story 3 in 3D.  I had never seen a movie in 3D before and I was absolutely dazzled.  We all loved the movie (and there were definitely some tears near the end).  It was the perfect ending to the series and will definitely become part of our collection once it’s on DVD.  The theater sound system was a little loud for Jack and he got scared, but he was totally fine once he crawled into my lap.  It was nice to snuggle with him while watching the movie and afterward he would not acknowledge that the movie was scary at all.  He has not stopped talking about it since.

When I arrived to pick Jack up at daycare today, he was singing the ABCs to a newborn baby.  He proceeded to tell me he wants a little brother AND a little sister.  I told him to give me more weekends like this one and we’ll see what happens!

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Filed Under: 110 in 2010, Adventures Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

While you’re waiting…

March 23, 2010 By 1 Comment

I am busy busy busy this week at work and at home but have some juicy posts brewing for later this week.  While I’m working on those, I’d very much appreciate it if you would check out my new Savings.com blog post and add in your 2 cents on how you keep TV commercials about toys from hijacking your budget.

Filed Under: Parenting 101, Working Mamahood Tagged With: , , ,

Potty Training Milestone

March 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Jack has been doing a great job of using the potty.  Most days he makes it through needing only one change (for #2).  It’s become more of a routine, but I am still reminding him to go to pee quite a bit.  Mostly, though, he completely forgets about getting any money for it.

After spending three hours or so at the car dealership (thank goodness they had a playroom!) Sunday, I thought it was time to reward Jack for all of his good behavior (um, aside from the slightly inappropriate “this looks like a penis” comment he made when inspecting some little rubber piece on the car door).  While our new car was being washed and detailed, we decided to get lunch and head over to Target for a shopping trip.  Jack was jumping and squealing with excitement.  This is the first time I’ve taken him into a store to pick out a toy.  I’m not sure what has taken me so long (other than my abhorrence for shopping with kids)!

After dithering over a few green Transformers (he picked out a Level 2 and I had to locate a level 1), he decided he had

picked out a bad guy and changed his mind completely.  Instead of getting a Transformer, he ended up picking out a Batman motorcycle toy that transforms.

He LOVES his new toy. He has been carrying it around with him and switching it back and forth between the batcycle and the weapon suit over and over. (Don’t try to tell him it’s not a transformer!) 

I was afraid that he would regress on using the potty again once I got him the toy. Luckily, I was ready when he refused to use the potty – I told him he could save up to get Batman’s sidekick and accessories. I’m kinda good at this potty bribery training thing.

Filed Under: Growing Up, Milestones, Shopping Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Stick and Carrot

February 25, 2010 By 8 Comments

The Feminist Breeder wrote recently about how a fish potty trained her child.  Her post really got me thinking.  I’m sure you all remember reading about the issues we’ve been having with Jack only using the potty at daycare.  Potty learning has been going on for about a year now!  And while I don’t really want to get Jack a fish in order to get him potty trained (I have a fish and two cats to take care of already!), I really couldn’t come up with any better solutions…it’s been A YEAR, after all.

Stickers, candy, games – none of it was working to entice Jack to use the potty at home.  I tried laying off completely and that didn’t make a difference either.  I bought him awesome underwear with Buzz Lightyear on them and “special” SpongeBob foam soap…no go.  But yesterday, I put a little more thought into it.  I attempted to make it more personal.  I know Jack is a lot like me, you see.  So I asked myself what I would be motivated by…what bribe will get me almost every time?  The answer is money.  Money is like magic.  Money can get things!  Money can get almost anything your heart desires!  Money is power and clearly that is what Jack wants.

I proceeded to tell Jack that I would give him money for using the potty.  I explained that he could save up the money he gets (LOTS of money for using the potty LOTS) and when he had enough, he could buy a Transformer.  He has been rather stuck on Transformers and loves robots in general, so the bribe had an immediate impact.  He started asking questions – what color Transformer?  What would the Transformer’s name be?  And that kid couldn’t get his pants down fast enough!

He’s used the potty twice, so I’m not going to go and call this success just yet…but it’s progress for sure.  Right now Jack gets to put his money in a piggy bank.  After he woke up this morning asking if it was time to get a Transformer, I decided we needed a way for him to see how much money he has.  I plan to get a clear container and pick a decent spot to mark with marker…when he fills it to the marker line, I’ll take him to buy a Transformer.

I just hope I can find somewhere that sells them…any suggestions?

Filed Under: Growing Up, Parenting 101, potty training Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Project: Re-org

January 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Jack’s bedroom is lacking a closet and the older he gets, the more disastrous his room becomes.  I was unsure what to do with the room when we moved to this house back in February, and sadly his room hasn’t improved much since that time.  There is a bookshelf, a small two-drawer unit, and some bins for toys.  Jack’s clothes tend to sit in a large canvas bag I got from Pottery Barn…now you know why “obtain wardrobe storage for Jack’s room” was on my 110 in 2010 list.

Thanks to the wonder that is craigslist, I was able to cross off one of those 110 goals yesterday.  I got a sweet deal on a used Kullen wardrobe from IKEA.  The owner dropped it off and now it’s ours!  David started putting it together last night while I cleared space in Jack’s room for the behemoth piece of furniture.  I’m hoping to get it into his room tonight and start organizing!

I don’t expect this wardrobe is the complete solution for Jack’s room.  It seems like it will take care of the mess that is his clothing, and I may be able to shove a storage bin of toys in there, as well.  I will probably need more storage bins, though.  Ideas?  Suggestions?  I’m definitely not the best at organizing, even though I feel very accomplished when it’s done!  Even if it’s not a complete solution, though it will be a BIG improvement.

Filed Under: Domesticating, Gear, Shopping Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Don't blink

June 23, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Jack’s obsession with monsters has grown exponentially.  A few weeks ago I began using his stuffed monsters to talk to him when he was throwing fits.  He quickly decided to keep those monsters close.  “I have three monsters!” he would proudly proclaim as he walked around the apartment with his arms wrapped around the toys.  Then he would shove one in my direction with a “pleeeeease” and we would make them growl and talk at eachother.

I recently babysat my 7 month old niece Isha.  I had my niece and Jack to myself for about two hours and was quite proud that I came out of it unscathed (with two fed kids with dry butts, no less!).  The evening started off with Jack stealing toys from Isha and making her cry (in his defense, they were his toys) so I ended up distracting him with Monsters, Inc.  Jack is IN LOVE with that movie and, well, so am I (after all, I bought it before Jack was even in the picture).  We ended up watching it twice that night after Jack called for, “More Sully!  More Monsters!”

Most of the drawings on the magnadoodle are monsters now.  Naptime and trips to daycare require accompaniment of at least two monsters.  When denied nursing one day, Jack played out the scenario with his monster: “Want milk,” he growled, and then answered, “No more milk!”

After developing this interest in his stuffed monsters, he started noticing the other stuffed animals hanging around the place.  His elephant and dog beanie babies are now acceptable substitutes for monsters when napping.  He has also taken a liking to what he calls “big mouse” – a hand-stitched stuffed mouse with wool hat, sweater, scarf, shorties, and booties that he received on his first birthday.  He loves the clothes and makes me undress and redress the mouse over and over.  Saturday he even started drawing the mouse on the magnadoodle, so I knew it was real love.

Somehow among all of this he developed an interest in dragons, as well.  When he awoke yesterday morning he requested “Watch teebee, wanna watch dragons.”  I told him I couldn’t promise there were dragons on tv but we turned it on to see what we could see.  Lo and behold, Animalia (which is certainly *my* favorite show but Jack usually shuns it) featured a dragon!  Jack was ecstatic!

Watching Jack’s interests grow and change is exciting.  The simplest of things can propel his mind forward at full speed and the next thing I know, he is in a completely different place than where he started.  Last month he could care less about stuffed animals and now he lines them all up with care, practices conversations with them, and features them in his drawings.  Jack is the most action-packed movie I’ve ever watched and if I blink I will surely miss a miraculous new development!

Filed Under: Babyman, Parenting 101 Tagged With: , ,