Really Awesome Books

These are just too cool.

Babywearing

I had a question from a reader about local resources for babywearing and I found this web site by local 'Midwifery Assistant and Birth Attendent, Amber Morrissey. I have asked her to contribute something on this topic and when she sends it to me I will post.

Also Coo Chi Coo carries great babywearing gear.

If you have expertise or services and products you'd like to share, send me an email.

Mommy Bloggers Best of 2010

I know we all have a lot of spare time to be reading dozens of Mommy Blogs everyday. Ahem... but anyway here are some links to comprehensive lists of the best 'mommy bloggers' out there.

Babble's Top 50
Bad Moms Club Canadian Blogger List

Make your own Mermaid

From the Rooms web site:

Family Fun: Make Your Own Mermaid
Drop by and decorate one of our favourite sea monsters - she can be as scary as you like, or as beautiful as you can make her. Sunday, February 27, 2 – 4 pm

Small World

I have always had a sneaking suspicion that Newfoundland is the centre of the universe. Two recent internet incidents struck that chord again for me. One was the accidental discovery that woman behind the Space Ships and Laser Beams is an expatriate Newfoundlander and the other was when I clicked on a random Babyccino link to a muffin recipe and saw that it orignially came from this Newfoundland Recipe Blog. Pretty neat.

Snow Day Crafts

Here are some fun snow-day (or any day) activities to try, below are my favourites, click this link for more and to see pictures.

Frosty Pictures
Mix Epsom salt with water to create a frosty scene.As toddlers gain some small motor coordination, they are ready to create some art to decorate the classroom or home. Family Play and Learn suggests creating a mixture of half Epsom salts and half water, and providing paintbrushes so the children can apply the mixture on large pieces of paper. Once the project dries, toddlers will find a crystallized winter scene that they created.

Cotton Puff Snow Scene
Toddlers can glue cotton balls to make a snowy picture.To create another snow masterpiece, give each child a piece of paper with a picture of a house on it. Let toddlers use brushes to paint white glue on the roof and ground, and then cover the glue with cotton puffs to make a soft, snowy scene.

So many books... so little time

Once you start looking for children's books there are really just too many good ones for one child's bookshelf (and one mommy's bank account!).

I recently posted a Babyccino link to one of the best children's book lists I have ever found and as I noted before we ordered some of them and they proved to be as good as they sounded. Iggy Peck Architect, Spoon and Who's Driving? for example. These books are quite modern in their style of writing and illustration, but we have also been digging some really old classics lately, the kind you can still find in your Doctor's office next to the hardcover Bible Stories and Highlights.
Curious George, Little Golden Books, and Riki Tiki Tembo (which I remember from my own childhood) to name a few. Some of them contain things which in today's era of political correctness might make you cringe, but their innocence is also appealing. There is also a quirkiness and often outright strangeness in some of them that I find compelling. Scuppers the Sailor Dog in the Little Golden Books Animal Tales Collection is one such story. I challenge anyone to read that story without stumbling over the awkward rhyme scheme; however our child loves poor Scupper so we persevere. Don't even get me started on Crispin's Crispian... another dog with poor pentameter! I have added all these books to the Amazon Booklist in the right hand column if you wish to learn more, or you can check your library. If you have some old favourites or strange but endearing children's book titles to share let me know. Leave a comment or send an email.

Here be Monsters!

From the Rooms web site:

Family Performance: Here Be Monsters!
In the ocean's depths lurk rarely seen horrors. From giant squid and turtles the size of a house, to mind-reading mermaids and the most angry sea-horse you'd ever want to meet, the seas off the shore of Newfoundland and Labrador have seen it all! Join storyteller Dale Jarvis for tales of creatures of the deep. You may never want to dip your toe in the water again.
Tickets just $5 and free for Rooms Members.
Sunday, February 27 at 2 pm

I think this might be a little spooky for little kids... but it sounds like a great idea for kids who enjoy a little 'thrill.'

New Look

I am thinking of expanding the blog, offering more contests and other promotions. So bear with me as I try a few new things with the look and layout. It might take a while to get it to where it is pretty and functional.

Moving Tale

I came across this moving story the other day and felt it was worth sharing. This is a courageously honest woman and I think her message is worth spreading.

Skating- Mile One

We tried the Family Skate on Sunday at Mile One, but the crowds, loud music, new skates and hokey helmut was just too much new stuff all at once. Out toddler was overwhelmed. Thankfully he got to see the Zamboni, otherwise it would have been a complete bust. That said, the staff were all very nice and tried to be helpful making suggestions to us about other sessions we could try, equipment that might help him learn, and other ideas. So we'll try skating again, but hopefully at the Parents and Tot skate or my preference - on a pond!

Vintage Car Birthday- Space Ships and Laserbeams

Okay, my son is a car freak so this might just have to be the theme for this year's party! How cool is that tire cake! As I have said before Space Ships and Laserbeams is a great site for birthday inspiration and you can purchase the kits from their etsy shop.

I think I'll be posting links to this site often.

Family activities indoors and out for Sunday, February 20

The Rooms
Wet-on-Wet Water Colour Explore the world of water colour and see how the wet-on-wet technique makes a powerful first impression, then head to the gallery and see how Canada’s newest province made a unique impression on post confederate Canadian painter, Campbell Tinning.
Sunday, February 20, 2 – 4 pm

Winterlude Reminder
Barring another storm, February 20th is the rescheduled date for the Aliant Family Winterlude at Bowering Park from1:00PM to 4:00PM

Dining with Toddlers - Must have accessories

Spotted these cool items at Posie Row yesterday. They are paper bibs and place mats from Dwell Studio. Very clever and very pretty.

They are like pads of paper; however each page is a stylish disposable (and presumably recyclable) bib and place mat. The place mats are particularly cool because they offer designs that can be used to help occupy your toddler with things such as 'eye spy' and counting games. They come in under $15 each.
LOVE.

Call out to readers: Skating for toddlers?

I can only find skating for parents and toddlers at Mile One and Jack Byrne Arena and nothing on Saturdays, which for working parents like me is a drag. Any hot tips?

Update: Here is the Mount Pearl Glacier schedule  (but still nothing on Saturdays), but at least they something every weekday and really cheap! Good on ya Mount Pearl!:
Parents & Tots Skating
Monday to Friday 1:30 - 2:30 pm
Cost $1 adult, $.50 child

Babble.com Childcare Guide

Babble.com is, as you know by now, one of my go-to web sites, well I found this awesome Childcare Guide I thought I would share. Keep in mind Babble is a US site so there will be differences, but there is some good information. Here are the topics covered:

• Types of child care: The basics
• Budgeting for child care
• Nannies
• How to look for a good nanny
• Questions to ask when interviewing nannies
• Managing your relationship with your nanny
• Daycare
• What to look for in a good daycare center
• Family child care
• How to know if something is wrong

And if you like this Guide - here are some others they offer:

Baby Feeding Guide

Bedwetting Guide

Diapering Guide

Babble's Back to School Guide

Newborn Care Guide: Week 1

Newborn Care Guide: Week 2

Newborn Care Guide: Weeks 3 & 4

Newborn Care Guide: Month 2

Newborn Care Guide: Month 3

Pregnancy Week-by-Week Guide

Summer Style Guide

Travel Safety Guide

Bathing Guide

Ear Infection Guide

Pinkeye Guide

Childproofing Guide

Digital Photography Guide

 

Inspired Parenting - The Book

I heard an interview on CBC radio yesterday morning with St. John’s child psychiatrist, Dr. Barbara Maddigan who is launching her first book at The Rooms on February 19th from 7:00 - 9:00PM.  
The book is called Inspired Parenting and you can read more about it here on her web page.

It is nice to see a parenting book from a local author and the timing is good for me as I am just about to finish the Happiest Toddler on the Block.  More on that book in a future blog post.   Have you read a good parenting book lately? Send me an email or leave a comment.

Stuff for grown ups: Tunes

Some of my favourite tunes which I never have time to listen to anymore:

• Iron and Wine
• The Shins
• Amos Lee
• Uncle Tupelo
• Damien Rice
• Green Day
• Loretta Lynn
• White Stripes

New Contest - Discovery Toys!

I have a new contest with a prize perfect for those long, winter, house-bound days:  Maria with Discovery Toys has offered a great prize. To enter:

1. Sign up as a Follower
2. Send me an email with "Discovery Toys" in the subject line

If you are already a Follower, just send the email. Contest closes March 14, 2011.

Now, read on to find out more from Maria herself.

 

Discovery Toys offers plenty of great products, but to avoid the feeling of "too much choice" take my advice on two home-run favourites: Measure Up Cups and the Go Go Caterpillar. Both of these are great buys alone or together. The cups are fun for classic stacking up or nesting in one another. And if something stationary isn't what you're after, the caterpillar can zoom about 15 feet across the room (endlessly exciting for wee ones!).

 

As a fun idea to use them together, I'll share what my 9-year-old godson came up with: a game we like to call "baby bowling" that we still play weekly. He uses the Measure Up Cups to build a tower, then brings the Go Go Caterpillar across the room and pushes down on it to send it into the stack. When the caterpillar makes contact, the tower crashes to the ground (much to my toddler's delight). Sound like fun? How would you like to win the cups and the caterpillar? Sign up to Follow this blog and send an email with "Discovery Toys" in the subject line to stjohnstoddler at hotmail dot come.

 

The play possibilities are endless with Discovery Toys! Teach. Play. Inspire.

 

Interested customers can buy online through my website or can contact me by phone 579-9005 or email mariacallahansw@gmail.com
My personal website. 
I also have a facebook group.

And the Winner of the Sharkey's basket is...

The winner of the prize basket has been drawn, it is Follower Lisa I.

Lisa, I will be sending you an email today with the details on how to collect your prize. Thanks to everyone who entered and watch the blog for another contest beginning tomorrow.

Adult-friendly kids music

My toddler is a huge fan of Rascal Flatts, well actually just one song, the Tom Cochrane song 'Life is a Highway.' This is thanks to the Pixar Cars movie. I downloaded the song on the IPod and it is on heavy rotation in the car. He can sing pretty much the entire song until they get to the musical interlude and then he asks me to start it all over again. He also likes the Sheryl Crow song and one called 'Sh-Boom'.

I am always on the hunt for kids music that doesn't want to make me pull my hair out. So far Medeski Martin and Wood's Lets Go Everywhere and They Might be Giants Here Come the 123's are my favourite kid albums, but what about adult albums that are kid-friendly? When I was a kid I remember Simon and Garfunkel songs being great kid music and these days I think a bunch of Great Big Sea songs are perfect for kids, like Lukey's Boat and What are Ya at?

 I found these links the other day with some other suggestions:

CBC News Kid Rock

Nutsie Play List of Kid-Friendly Adult Songs

Momversation Adult Music for Kids

Geek Dad Kids Music that doesn't suck

Do you have any favourites to share?

Create and Celebrate with Valentines! at The Rooms

Tomorrow at the Rooms: Family Fun - Create and Celebrate with Valentines!
Make a Valentine’s Day card for someone special or make a valentine paper chain to decorate your home.
Sunday, February 13, 2pm  – 4 pm

City of St. John's Winter Spring Guide

The City's recreation guide is now available online. It used to be delivered too, but I haven't gotten a hard copy lately. Looks like there are lots of options and the swim schedules for the various pools are included too.

Dining with Toddlers Part Three - Mama Soula's

Last Saturday night we took our toddler to Mama Soula's to try round three of 'Dining out with a Toddler'. We didn't have a reservation and arrived around 5:00 PM. It wasn' crowded when we got there, but before we left it had filled up, so I suggest making a reservation or getting there early. 

Our waitress, Angie, was wonderful. She brought us a high chair which she suggested pushing up to the table rather than attaching the tray. There is a good selection on the kids menu including grilled cheese sandwiches and spaghetti along with some Greek items and the usual fries etc.  We chose the spaghetti and when it arrived it was big enough for two toddlers or maybe three! In fact all the portions are ginormous so keep that in mind as you order. If you think Mama Soula's only serves Greek food, think again, the grown-up menu has a wide varitey of choices including some occasional exotic meats like Ostrich and pub standards like fish and chips.

At Mama Soula's the meal always starts with fresh, soft bread sticks HOT out of the oven. Once they cooled down a little they were the perfect toddler-friendly food. But be careful, your toddler won't be the only one to fill up on these before supper comes.

Angie found a take-out cup with a lid and straw for us which was a great alternative to a sippy cup and kept us spill-free. She also brought crayons and a colouring sheet to help us occupy our child while we waited. Admittedly we wouldn't have made it through the meal without some videos on the IPhone, but this wasn't because the service was slow, it was just the mood our child was in that night. Angie also took our child over to the 'Toy Box' and let him pick out a toy to play with. This is a fabulous idea. Although putting the toy back might tough for some.

We thoroughly enjoyed or meal and we all left very full. Too full to even have dessert. I'd highly recommend Mama Soula's as a family night out.

I think we'll be staying home for supper this weekend before we all put on 10 pounds! So if you are dining out with your toddler and want to share your thoughts leave a comment or send in an email I'd love to hear about some more great places to eat out with kids.

Fantastic Sea Monsters

Thursday, February 10, 7:00 pm is the Opening Reception for the Fantastic Sea Monsters Exhibit at the Rooms:

Stories of ocean and lake ‘monsters’ have fascinated us since the dawn of time; seafarers were convinced that the oceans were the devil’s kingdom – a place of terrifying monsters eager for shipwrecks, the home of sirens, krakens, whales, sea serpents, and giant sharks. Join us as we celebrate the opening of this new exhibition.
This exhibition is produced by the Musée du Fjord, in partnership with The Rooms Provincial Museum Division, the Maritime Museum of British Columbia, and Océanopolis (France).

The Exhibit will run until June 19th.

Valentine's treats

A Valentine's treat that even a toddler can make: Chocolate dipped pretzels!
And here's another valentine treat that is pretty, but not as simple: heart-shaped Linzer cookies (for this one you need special cookie cutters, likely available at Bulk Barn or Paderno store.)

For something on the healthier side try using a heart shaped cookie cutter on pancakes, waffles, toast, eggs, ham, sandwiches or even make heart-shaped piles of rice and pasta. Hmmm... maybe you could even pop a little red or pink food colouring into the mix and really create a Valentine's themed meal. Pink Eggs and Ham?

DIY Dinosaur Birthday Party

Check out this link for some cute Dinosaur themed party ideas for your little Cave-toddler.

The Rooms and Bowring Park today

Reminder:

Feed the Birds
We’ll show you how to make a bird feeder from a milk carton so the birds in your backyard won’t go hungry this winter.
Sunday, February 6 from  2 to 4 pm

City of St. John's

Bring the family for hot chocolate, s’mores and cookies at the St. John’s Bell Aliant Winterlude at Bowring Park,
Sunday, February 6 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Birthday Cakes

Here are some awesome birthday cake designs like this shark  - with the step by step how to's you need to make them. My toddler is REALLY into sharks these days.

Winterlude at Bowring Park

City of St. John's invites you to bring the family for hot chocolate, s’mores and cookies at the St. John’s Bell Aliant Winterlude at Bowring Park, Feb. 6 from 1 to 4 p.m.

The Best Book List

This has got to be one of the best book lists for toddlers and preschoolers I have seen in a long time.
I have also added many of these books to the Amazon.ca 'Bedside Stack' (right hand column) to make it easy to find and purchase them if you are interested. I ordered Iggy Peck Architect and a couple of others that we are really enjoying.

Ice Ornaments

This weeks cold temperatures are perfect for making these easy awesome things!

And if you are crafty you'll love the Babyccino web site where I found this so have a poke around while you are there.

Got a cool craft or snow-day activity to share? Send an email or leave a comment!

Valentine Scratch Cards

DIY Valentines with a suprise hidden message. Check out the tutorial here.

Dining with Toddlers Part Two

I got lots of great feedback from the Toddler-Friendly Sushi post last week so I thought I would provide an update. This week's excursion was Boston Pizza. There were lots of options on the kids menu. We ordered hamburgers and fries all-around as they had toddler-sized burgers and we thought that might appeal to our child since he is big on imitation these days.

The service was good and pretty quick too. Our son's milk came in a plastic cup with a lid and a straw, but it looked like a big-kid glass so he was happy. The server was  friendly and helpful and brought us a high chair when we asked. The burgers were decent (but I later discovered however that they have 77g of fat! How is this even possible!) Our child only ate his bun and licked ketchup off the fries and then proceeded to fill up on an ice cream sundae. We had kind of promised ice cream for dessert so I couldn't renege, but after seeing the fat content in the burger I think the ice cream was probably better for him!

One reader suggested Mama Soula's which we really enjoy so I think that will be out next family night out. Keep the stories about dining out with your kids coming and the good tips too!