The Tooth Fairy forgot to visit last night. My son Benjamin is in tears and thinks she forgot about him. His bed was turned upside down this morning, obviously because he was looking for the money. How could the Tooth Fairy forget?! he asked.
In Tooth Fairy's defense:
- she was tired from working all week (probably with all the paperwork involved with gathering teeth)
- her memory's not as good as it used to be since having little Tooth Fairy babies
- she didn't have the right change in her wallet, since she spent all day parking at meters around the city while taking her children from place to place on Saturday
I'm sure she won't forget tonight though!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Announcing book winners
The winner of urbanbaby & toddler's readership survey prize, which we called, "Your Child's 1st Library," courtesy of Raincoast Books, is: Samantha P. Congratulations, Samantha, and thanks for reading urbanbaby & toddler magazine.
And the winner of the Baby Book Pack, for which we accepted entries at the Bellies to Babies Celebration this past May, is: Rachelle B. Congratulations to you, too, Rachelle.
And the winner of the Baby Book Pack, for which we accepted entries at the Bellies to Babies Celebration this past May, is: Rachelle B. Congratulations to you, too, Rachelle.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Peaceful, sleeping children on vacation
We were recently fortunate enough to go to Hawaii (Kona, specifically) for a lovely, relaxing two-week family vacation. We stayed at one of the Hilton properties in a one-bedroom suite. My husband and I slept in the bedroom and our two kids shared the pull-out bed in the livingroom.
The kids' sleeping arrangement is a very big source of stress for me. But I think I have figured out how to make their sharing a bed, as peaceful as possible (getting kicked in the head is a common occurrence, and but if there aren't any tears, I consider that "peaceful"). Through trial and error, I have discovered how to help them (and me) get a decent night's sleep without fighting.
How to fight-proof your children's sleep when sharing a pull-out bed on vacation:
1. Put the kids sideways. The pull-out beds, if they're queen-sized, are always longer than they are wide, so put the kids sideways to give them each more room to move around.
2. Provide a barrier between every possible contact point. In the photo below, you'll see a long cylindrical pillow (that belonged to the master bed) in the middle of bed, and a pillow in between the two pillows where the kids lay their heads.
3. Put up barriers to prevent falling off the bed. My daughter is more likely to fall out of bed than my son, so I make sure I put barriers -- in this case, armchairs -- on the sides off of which she can fall.
4. Fill in the gaps. There is usually a pretty big gap between the mattress of a pull-out bed and the back of the sofa. I usually fill the gap (to prevent a child from rolling in) with the seat cushions.
Le voila! Happy sleeping children.
The kids' sleeping arrangement is a very big source of stress for me. But I think I have figured out how to make their sharing a bed, as peaceful as possible (getting kicked in the head is a common occurrence, and but if there aren't any tears, I consider that "peaceful"). Through trial and error, I have discovered how to help them (and me) get a decent night's sleep without fighting.
How to fight-proof your children's sleep when sharing a pull-out bed on vacation:
1. Put the kids sideways. The pull-out beds, if they're queen-sized, are always longer than they are wide, so put the kids sideways to give them each more room to move around.
2. Provide a barrier between every possible contact point. In the photo below, you'll see a long cylindrical pillow (that belonged to the master bed) in the middle of bed, and a pillow in between the two pillows where the kids lay their heads.
3. Put up barriers to prevent falling off the bed. My daughter is more likely to fall out of bed than my son, so I make sure I put barriers -- in this case, armchairs -- on the sides off of which she can fall.
4. Fill in the gaps. There is usually a pretty big gap between the mattress of a pull-out bed and the back of the sofa. I usually fill the gap (to prevent a child from rolling in) with the seat cushions.
Le voila! Happy sleeping children.
Friday, May 22, 2009
I have finally dug my out of the pile of baby photo entries!
It's been a while since I last posted. Why? Because, it seems, every enthusiastic parent in the Lower Mainland has sent me an entry for our annual Cover Contest. I have, as of 11:36 a.m. today, finally opened every single envelope and looked at every single photo.
Now all I have to do is pick, right? That's the hardest job of all.
Thanks to all of you for sending in your photos. And thanks for the little notes that some parents enclosed to further express how special their child is to them, or to explain a scratch on their child's face, or to even supply a caption for the picture. Vancouver parents get an A+ for enthusiasm!
I won't announce the winner until June 15, 2009. If your child wins, I'll contact you via phone or email. Then the cover that will feature the winning child's face will be the Winter 2009 - 2010 cover.
In the meantime, don't forget to pick up a copy of the Summer 2009 issue, which is due out on the streets the first weekend of June.
Now all I have to do is pick, right? That's the hardest job of all.
Thanks to all of you for sending in your photos. And thanks for the little notes that some parents enclosed to further express how special their child is to them, or to explain a scratch on their child's face, or to even supply a caption for the picture. Vancouver parents get an A+ for enthusiasm!
I won't announce the winner until June 15, 2009. If your child wins, I'll contact you via phone or email. Then the cover that will feature the winning child's face will be the Winter 2009 - 2010 cover.
In the meantime, don't forget to pick up a copy of the Summer 2009 issue, which is due out on the streets the first weekend of June.
Monday, May 11, 2009
The best Mother's Day ever
My kids made me super-special cards for Mother's Day.
My 4-year-old daughter Lauren drew me a field of flowers and flying worm. She also wrote "Happy Mother's Day" in block letters, completely backwards (from right to left). Love it when kids do that!
My 6-year-old son Benjamin made me a card that was a template (provided to him by his school) with the beginnings of sentences and blanks so he could fill them in. The one sentence that really made my heart swell? "The most important thing about my mother is: that she will always love me."
It really is worth it all!
Tell me what special things you did or received for Mother's Day.
My 4-year-old daughter Lauren drew me a field of flowers and flying worm. She also wrote "Happy Mother's Day" in block letters, completely backwards (from right to left). Love it when kids do that!
My 6-year-old son Benjamin made me a card that was a template (provided to him by his school) with the beginnings of sentences and blanks so he could fill them in. The one sentence that really made my heart swell? "The most important thing about my mother is: that she will always love me."
It really is worth it all!
Tell me what special things you did or received for Mother's Day.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Happy Mother's Day
Have a wonderful Mother's Day everyone! Treasure your macaroni necklaces, coffee-filter flowers and pinch-pots. :)
As for what I asked for my special day... just time to do my own thing. I get Sunday afternoon to do what I want.
Here's to us!
As for what I asked for my special day... just time to do my own thing. I get Sunday afternoon to do what I want.
Here's to us!
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Let's talk baby sign language
By now, everyone knows about baby sign language. It's based on the idea that babies can learn how to communicate before they learn to utter a single word. And parents can teach their little ones how to use sign language to 'tell' them certain things, like "more" or "milk."
I never tried it with my children. I had heard of it when my son was born--and certainly didn't argue that it could work--but I could not fathom adding one more 'to-do' to my already seemingly infinite new-parent list of tasks. I didn't have the time. Plus, I'm kind of old-fashioned and slow to jump onto new trends (I am still trying to figure out Twitter!). And when my daughter was born, well, I had even less time.
So even though I didn't do baby sign language, does that mean my babies were silently suffering in a black hole with no way to tell me anything? I don't think so. They 'told' me what they needed to through different-sounding cries for different needs and certain facial expressions.
But because I've never tried baby sign language, I can't really say whether it's good or bad, necessary or not. Have you tried it? Tell me if it worked for you and how.
I never tried it with my children. I had heard of it when my son was born--and certainly didn't argue that it could work--but I could not fathom adding one more 'to-do' to my already seemingly infinite new-parent list of tasks. I didn't have the time. Plus, I'm kind of old-fashioned and slow to jump onto new trends (I am still trying to figure out Twitter!). And when my daughter was born, well, I had even less time.
So even though I didn't do baby sign language, does that mean my babies were silently suffering in a black hole with no way to tell me anything? I don't think so. They 'told' me what they needed to through different-sounding cries for different needs and certain facial expressions.
But because I've never tried baby sign language, I can't really say whether it's good or bad, necessary or not. Have you tried it? Tell me if it worked for you and how.
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