Category Archives: Tips for the Tinies

Traveling with Small Kids

“Do you have any tips for traveling with small kids?” is probably the question I get asked the most, both on social media and in real life. It’s not that Sona and I are the most well-traveled folks around; it’s just that there aren’t that many families who venture out–especially internationally–with small kiddos. That trend is changing, though, slowly, and that’s thanks to a lot of Insta-famous globe-trotting families.

I’ve joked a lot about how naive Sona and I were pre-kids, promising each other that we wouldn’t let our babies derail our lifestyles–that we’d just strap them on us and bring them along to hip restaurants, long city walks, and international adventures. We had no idea what kind of shit-storm we were heading into, of course, but actually, I think we’ve stayed fairly true to that promise.

As much as we can, we still do the things that make us us, even with a baby and toddler in tow. Of course, we don’t do those things as frequently (hello, expensive daycare costs), as spontaneously, or without a fair share of anticipated stress, but we still do them. And that’s what matters.

I’m no expert when it comes to traveling with kids. Like anyone, even our best laid toddler-baby-travel plans often go up in smoke, but I have learned some tips and tricks along the way. And, since I think it’s so important to keep doing the things that make you you, even with little ones, I thought I’d share.

Here are our tried and true tips for traveling with small kids:

  1. Don’t follow any ubiquitous travel-planning advice. You know your kids better than anyone. Follow their lead. For us, that means that, unlike a lot of parents, we try to avoid red eye flights. Early mornings, allowing us to travel 5-7 hours and still get to our destination in time for an afternoon naps, works best for us. Finn is a great sleeper–when he’s in his crib. He’s never been keen on sleeping anywhere else, including planes. So, we try to avoid all-night flights, as we know he will likely resist sleep with every ounce of his little willful power, and we will all be miserable as a result.
  2. When traveling with an infant, book bulkhead seats and request a bassinet. I feel like this is just one of those tips that most people don’t know about unless another parent tells them. When we flew to Portugal when Elias was 8 weeks old, the bassinet was a life-saver. It hooked to the wall right in front of our seats, and he slept in there most of the flight. (Finn, on the other hand, didn’t sleep at all. See tip #1.) Not all airlines have bassinets, and most don’t let you reserve them ahead of time, but if you get to the airport early enough, scoring one shouldn’t be a problem.
  3. If you can afford it, get the kid their own seat. Yes, having a little one who can travel free-of-charge until they are one years old is a perk, but how much is that perk worth to you? Your sanity? For us, we prefer for our kiddos to have their own seats once they are one. Babies an be easy to hold, pass around, plop in a bassinet, but a wiggly one year old is a whole other story. If it’s affordable, it’s always worth the extra space.
  4. Pack extra carry-on clothes for everyone. Plus some. Every single time we’ve ever traveled, someone has needed an outfit change: spills, blow-outs, dirty airport floors. There are myriad reasons why you’ll need extra clothes. We also learned early-on that parents will need extra clothes, too. Trust us, we know from experience that you don’t want to spend 5 hours on an airplane wearing a puke-stained t-shirt.
  5. Expect that your luggage will, at some point, get lost, and have everything you’d need to survive for 24 hours in a carry-on: extra outfits, swimsuits for warm-weather destinations, formula, diapers, wipes, lovies, blankets for bedtime, etc. The only thing more stressful than traveling with kids is traveling with kids and not having your kid’s survival kit handy.
  6. Ditch the carseat, stroller, and any other big, heavy baby stuff. This is going to be controversial, I know. But honestly, for us, we had to simplify our must-take list. Even without these big ticket items, Sona and I often struggle to carry our luggage and our boys at the same time. There are NO free hands. We rent carseats wherever we go, understanding that it’s a slight risk. We also forgo carseats on airplanes, as our kids hate them anyway. If we are going to a place with a beach, we know we likely won’t use a stroller. So, we opt for baby-wearing. In fact, we almost always opt for baby-wearing whenever possible. If you want to travel regularly with small kids, you will have to make some sacrifices. You’ll have to do some cost-benefits analysis. For us, renting whatever we need (cribs, carseats, etc.) at our destination saves us a lot of stress and headaches.
  7. Stay somewhere with a washer and dryer, and only take half as many clothes. Man, our lives changed when we started doing this. If we are going somewhere for 8 days, we take 4 days worth of clothes and wash mid-way through the week. Think about it: that cuts down on HALF of the clothes you have to take, and it just simplifies packing, too.
  8. Pack an on-the-plane survival kit appropriate to the length of your flight. Whenever we travel, we take a bookbag packed with favorite snacks, small activities (coloring books, stickers, playdoh, window clings, etc.), and new toys. I usually keep a stockpile of stuff in our closet and add to it whenever I see something the boys would like: little action figures, cars, construction trucks, etc. The Dollar Store is a great source for these sorts of goodies! Generally, I plan for one toy or treat for every 20-30 minutes, just in case the plane ride is rough. If you want, you can wrap these treats and call them “plane presents,” which the kids really like. Of course, I never pull out a plane present unless I need one. So, some plane rides require two presents and some require five. It just depends on everyone’s mood. I also try to make sure that the toys are things they can use at our destination, as we usually don’t pack other toys for them. So, I’ll get water-friendly toys for the beach, for example. Those will be the things the kiddos play with while we are out of town.
  9. Save a favorite treat for after landing. For me, the most stressful part of a long travel day is when we’ve landed and have to patiently stand in a customs line or wait for luggage. By that point, everyone is tired and hungry and cranky–and TOTALLY out of patience. So, I’ve found that having a favorite goodie (for Finn, that’s a Kinder egg), helps us get through those long waits.
  10. Build excitement for the trip by talking about it a lot beforehand. This is something we’ve just started doing in the past year or so, now that Finn is older. For the month or so before we travel somewhere new, we show him videos, read books, and talk a lot about where we are going. That way, by departure day, he’s super excited and doesn’t feel like he doesn’t know what he’s getting into.
  11. Stick to sleep schedules as much as possible. You know, kids crave routine, especially when it comes to sleep. When we travel, it’s really easy to get off that routine. We do often let the kids stay up a little later or occasionally skip naps, but as much as possible, we try to keep sleep consistent.
  12. Buy it there. We are just coming around to this one, as it can be anxiety-inducing to head to a foreign place without knowing whether they will have diapers that fit your baby’s chunky thighs. When we first traveled with the kids, we’d take suitcases full of diapers and wipes and formula and baby-friendly snacks. More and more, we are recognizing that EVERYWHERE–even small, nearly uninhabited islands–sells baby stuff. You know why? Because babies are born EVERYWHERE. 😉
  13. Rent a home rather than stay in a hotel. We started doing this even before having kids, as there are SO many advantages to having a home. You get to live like a local. You get more space. You get a kitchen. You get advice from a local/the owner. It’s considerably cheaper. With kids, that list goes on. Everyone can have their own room, just like at home. There are kid-friendly AirBnBs with toys and cribs and baby-proofed spaces. You don’t have to stress about disrupting the peace and quiet of everyone else at the hotel. MORE SPACE for all of the kid crap you’ll inevitably have.
  14. Tell yourself that travel days are going to suck. Sometimes, they don’t, but most of the time, they really do. Travel days often suck when it’s just Sona and I, too. If you don’t expect it to be easy, you won’t be surprised when it is hard. We’ve had some AWFUL travel days, but we’ve never felt like the trip itself wasn’t worth it.
  15. Have reasonable expectations. This is the biggie, and it doesn’t happen in the first trip–or even the first few. I’ll be honest: traveling with the kids is NOTHING like when Sona and I get to travel alone. It’s less relaxing, more exhausting, and requires a lot more work. When we go into a vacation thinking, “We are going to do Portugal the way we would do Portugal by ourselves,” we are just setting ourselves up for failure. Instead, we now think, “We are going to live our everyday lives with kids, just in a different location.” In other words, expect that you will have to do and deal with everything you do and deal with at home–just somewhere prettier and maybe warmer! Have one goal a day: a place you want to see, an excursion you want to try, a restaurant to eat at. Do not over-plan; do not set-up some elaborate itinerary. You’ll just be stressed out and disappointed when you can’t stick to it. When everyone said we were crazy for taking a newborn to Portugal, we would say, “Well, we can be tired in Chicago or we can be tired on the beach in Portugal,” and we were both very glad we chose the latter.
  16. Just go. I promise you won’t regret it. Almost every single one of my most-cherished memories, both as a couple and a family, are from our travels. Pushing your kids to see new places, experience new cultures, and eat new food will make them better, more curious and well-rounded people. Getting away from the responsibilities of home will allow you to hyper-focus on your family and to be present, something that’s so much harder to do when we are caught up in the rat race of our normal lives, unfortunately. Yes, your kid could get sick from something they eat. Yes, they will be tired and cranky at times. Yes, you’ll have to fumble a bit in order to find your stride. But guess what? That’s true of staying put, too–only you miss out on the adventure.


Toddler Gift Guide

Christmas with toddlers is THE best. Each year, Finn understands the holiday more and more, and this year is the most excited he’s been. He’s been asking “is it Christmas tomorrow?” for a month. He’s also totally caught on to the whole Santa-is-a-guy-who-brings-you-presents thing, because he says “tell Santa I want this” ten times a week.

Last year, Santa went hog-wild. (We’ll blame it on him, anyway.) And between my parents and ourselves, Finn was spoiled rotten. This year, we decided to game-plan early on and make a conscious effort to scale back. Though, in collecting this gift guide of things we’ve purchased for him, I’m beginning to wonder just how successful we were at setting limits.

Still, here are the things that Finn will find under the tree–gifts from Momma and Mommy, Elias, Mimi and Pops, and Santa. I worked to find things that I really think he will play with regularly–and toys that will allow him to have lots of imaginary play, which he loves.

Also, I’m not doing a list for Elias because, if we’re being honest, he will probably get lots of Finn’s old baby toys for Christmas. Sorry, kid. We’ll do better by you next year, once you’re no longer a clueless, drooling (albeit smiley) little blob.

Finn’s Christmas loot:

1. Learning Resources Color Bug Catcher

I saw this on Instagram and thought it was the perfect educational game for a toddler. Finn loves bugs, and I love everything by Learning Resources!

2. Dino Egg Dig Kit

I scored a good deal on this on Amazon. Finn loves dinos, breaking stuff open, and anything hands-on. So, I think these will be fun for him, and we can do 2 or 3 at a time.

3. Melissa & Doug Wooden Blocks

I was worried that Finn was too old for wooden blocks and that we’d missed the boat on that one. However, after asking around, lots of moms said that their block sets were well-loved for many years. This is a great basic set. I saw a friend’s kid playing with it recently, and the blocks are large and sturdy.

4. Hape Wooden Railway Busy City Set

Finn got a train table and lots of accessories for his birthday a year ago, and he plays with his trains every single day. Lately, he spends at least an hour every evening playing with his tracks. This set is the exact same one they have for kids to play with at the toy store in our ‘hood, and Finn loves it. He said “I don’t have bridges like this!” So, kiddo, you’re getting your bridges.

5. Thomas Mini Train Case

We got him the Thomas mini train advent calendar this year, which means he will acquire 25 new trains and need somewhere to store them. This case is cute and cheap–win, win! Mommas like anything that keeps toys organized.

6. Little Pretender Karaoke Machine

If you follow us on Insta, you know how much Finn loves music–and always has. He sings and dances every night before bed. I think he will get a kick out of being able to ham it up, singing his favorite tunes, with this toddler-friendly karaoke set.

7. Bruder Tow Truck

It just wouldn’t be Christmas if Finn didn’t get something with wheels. Honestly, every time I’ve asked him what Santa should bring him, he’s said some sort of truck. When we saw Santa at the mall this past weekend, Finn told him he wanted a “crane,” by which I’m pretty sure he meant a tow truck. Last Christmas, he got the Bruder fire truck, and it’s one of his favorite toys. Despite the fact that he needs another truck like he needs a hole in the head, we want to give him something that we know he will be uber excited about, and Bruder trucks are really well made. He is going to lose his little toddler mind when he sees this under the tree, and isn’t that the point?

 

 

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Let’s Potty Like It’s 1999

As I’ve talked about a few times on here, and a lot of times via our other social media platforms (Instagram, mostly), we’ve taken a pretty lax approach to potty training. It’s not that we want Finn to be in diapers forever. It’s just that on our list of priorities, making sure Finn is potty trained sooner rather than later has ranked pretty low.

Our pediatrician encouraged this approach, saying that there’s no rush, and that allowing him to potty train socially–by copying what everyone else in his daycare class is doing–would be easier on him than having to do some sort of boot-camp method, which we’ve wanted to avoid.

So, about 6 weeks ago, daycare asked us to start bringing some “big boy underwear” to school, and they said they were going to encourage him to begin wearing them during the day and using the potty, at least to go pee pee. A few days into that, his teachers told us he’d been doing so well and picking it up really quickly. So, we felt pressured to keep it up at home.

But, of course, we really didn’t. We kept his potty out and asked regularly whether or not he wanted to use it, but that was about it.

Then, earlier this week, he came home in his big boy underwear, and we just decided not to put a diaper on him. A few minutes later, he told us he needed to use the potty, and just like that, we got up on his stool, pulled his pants down, and peed on the potty–just like he’d always done it.

We made a big deal of it, celebrating his achievement, and Mimi and Pops sent him a “pee pee present.” I also gave him a little piece of chocolate, which he loved, and that motivated him to pee on the potty 3 more times that night. Each time, I gave him a little piece of chocolate.

The next day, I ran out and got him a jar of M&Ms, which is what my mom used to potty train me. I told him he gets 1 M&M when he pees and 3 M&Ms when he poops. This is him, sitting for a long time on the toilet, trying to poop. (He didn’t, actually, but he tried.) He’s counting out how many chocolates he’s going to get, trying to hold up 3 fingers.

He still hasn’t pooped on the potty, and we still are being pretty casual about it, but when he’s home, he’s in big boy underwear (unless he’s sleeping), and we’re letting him lead the way. Our plan all along was to let Finn potty train when he’s ready, and he seems to be doing just that.

The Great Snowy Shut-In of 2018

This past weekend was, well, rather uneventful. Midway through last week, it became clear and Finn and I were working our way through a pretty nasty stomach virus. So, we canceled all of our weekend plans and decided to stay put.

Couple the sickness with a good bit of snow, and you have two mommies and a toddler who didn’t leave the house–or get out of our pajamas–for 2.5 days.

While we did get a bit stir crazy–and took a pilgrimage to Target on Saturday evening to get out some of our wiggles–it was actually pretty nice to have a completely obligation-free weekend, something we haven’t had in months.

We did our best to try to keep Finn entertained, although he’s generally pretty good at playing independently.  We cuddled, watched movies, did puzzles, made art, started some Valentine’s crafts, made cookies, made snow cones, and spent a lot of time just sitting on the couch.

Here are some photos from our weekend, which was almost not even worth mentioning, but which was pretty great all the same.

When I was a little girl, my father used to draw pictures for me, and I would color them. It’s one of my favorite childhood memories. So, I’ve started doing the same with Finn.

Of course, my dad drew elaborate tropical scenes, seascapes, and exotic birds. I drew firetrucks (barely) and Peppa Pig. Same thing, right?

We’ve gotten back into the smoothie habit, and a house full of upset tummies meant we drank a lot of them, this weekend. (Nothing more appetizing than a pea-green smoothie when you’e had trouble stomaching food.)

Whenever it snows, Finn and I usually make “chocolate snow ice cream,” which is really just chocolate milk mixed with questionable city snow, scraped from our porch or back parking lot. (Don’t worry, I scrape around the pee and soot. #momoftheyear)

On Sunday, we decided to try something new: snow cones! I simmered 1 cup of fresh blueberries, 1/3 cup of water, and 2 tbsp sugar on the stove for 5-10 minutes. Then, I strained it and let the liquid cool. (The reserved blueberry pulp makes great jam for toast or a topping for oatmeal!) Then, I poured it over a bowl of snow.

Finn loved it so much that he ate TWO whole bowls!

I love his little bird mouth.

Time to Own Up: Parenting Fails

Let’s get real, folks. We’re not perfect parents, and we’re far from a perfect family. It ain’t all Caribbean vacations and homemade muffins and Sunday selfies over here, even though maybe it seems that way sometimes.

The truth is, there are a lot of ways in which Sona and I readily acknowledge that we have been less-than-stellar parents. We’ve dropped so many balls at this point that it is nearly impossible to catalogue them.  Sometimes, our parenting fails are unintentional, accidental trip-ups that are the result of an oversight. Most of the time, though, we’ve made the conscious decision to just say, well, “*&#! it.”

As women with full-time careers, lives to juggle, a toddler, and now a baby on the way, it is important for us to admit that we can only take on so much. We all have a limited amount of stuff we can care about, worry about, toil over–and we have have to make decisions about what, in the end, just can’t be on that list. So, while I’m airing our dirty laundry as a way to appease whatever guilt we have and as a way to ease your own, the real point is this: if you don’t allow yourself some parenting fails, you won’t be able to stay sane.

Here are our big ones:

1. Yeah, we have a shelf full of highly-rated parenting books. No, we’ve never read them. I can’t tell you how many parenting books we purchased when Sona was pregnant with Finn. Everything from the ones everyone knows about, like this one, to ones our doctor suggested we have handy.  We probably have at least a dozen. In the end, we didn’t actually read any of them. Sure, we skimmed through them a couple times, but we never read them the way we’d intended when we compulsively exercised our Amazon Prime privileges on a regularly basis. In fact, this one is the only book we actually finished, and it’s just a bougie indulgence for Francophiles (though we did put some of the advice to good use).

2. Tummy time? What tummy time? Despite all the advice from doctors, blogs, and the aforementioned parenting books, we rarely practiced tummy time with Finn in the early days. In fact, it wasn’t until he was like 12 weeks old–and showing no interest in rolling over–that we decided we’d better be a little more deliberate in our attempts to acquaint him with a belly-sided worldview.

3. Finn’s first foods were champagne, parmesan, and proscuitto. That’s not a joke. To say we didn’t start him off with the traditional food choices would be an understatement. I gave that kid everything–and very, very early: vinegar, peanut butter, and even–go ahead, shame me–honey!

4. Take your bottle to college, kid, if you want. We are, generally, terrible enforcers. I think we could spin this by saying that our parenting philosophy is to let Finn lead and self-wean, but the reality is that we’re just lazy, and I, especially, am known for saying, “It’ll happen when he wants it to happen.” That was our approach to letting go of the bottle, which he used regularly until he was around 22 months old.

5. And bring the diapers with you, while you’re at it. This goes for potty-training, too. Finn is nearly 2.5, and we really haven’t actively tried potty training, yet. We ask him whether he’d like to use the potty all of the time. The potty is always there. We bring it out before shower time, and we encourage him to sit on it. But that’s about it. We haven’t done any boot-camp style potty-training, and I’m not sure we plan to. Honestly, I’m just not that worried about it. I worry about him being a kind kid. I worry about whether or not he is happy and intellectually stimulated and healthy. I do not worry about when he is going to start taking a poop in a toilet. I’m sure daycare is frustrated with us about this, as most of the kids in his class are well on their way to being potty-trained, but our pediatrician made the mistake of validating our rather lackadaisical approach and, well, we let that be the validation we needed to put on the brakes, much to the chagrin of his teachers, our parents, and others.

6. Baby proofing? That’s a thing? Okay, we did put a baby gate on the stairs–which has long since been gone–and we do have those plug covers, but that’s it. We never did any other baby proofing: no cabinet locks, no covers on door handles, nothing. Honestly, I think this has really worked to our benefit, as Finn has NEVER tried to mess with anything he shouldn’t mess with, and we have a rather adult-friendly, not kid-friendly home. We attribute this completely to reverse psychology. Since we never had child locks on things, he never saw those things as forbidden, and therefore tempting, points of interest. He just could care less about cabinets and drawers and anything other than his own toys, really.

7. Bribe or die. This is mostly my fault, as Sona is definitely the parent who is more willing to say “no” to Finn than I am. Early on, I kind of decided that I would pick my battles. Generally speaking, Finn is a really good kid. He does what he should do 90% of the time, and he is more mature than I suspect most 2-year-olds to be (but that’s just my mom bias talking, I know). So, I decided that my hard “no” would be saved for times when he was either putting himself in danger, hurting someone else, being unkind, or being intentionally destructive. Beyond that, I’ve let him do his thing, mostly. Because of that, I tend to rely on bribes of suckers or peppermints to get small things done–like get shoes on for daycare or change his diaper when he realllllly don’t want to do it. He gets a bribe once a day or so, and I’m sure we’re doing some long-term psychological damage, but sometimes Momma just needs to get on with it.

8. Our kid can work YouTube better than I can do just about anything. This is the one for which we really do harbor the most legitimate mom guilt. Finn had virtually NO screen time until about 17 months. Since we live in a two-story home, and have no TV upstairs in the main living space, he just was never accustomed to having a TV on. He still doesn’t care very much about the TV, to be honest. But at around 17 months, we started showing him YouTube music videos that were, we thought, totally harmless. He’d dance, we’d all laugh, it was adorable. Or so we thought. Little did we know, seemingly harmless YouTube music videos are a gateway drug in the realest sense, and that began a slippery slope of iPhone–and then iPad–engagement that, in hindsight, I think we should’ve better monitored. Fast forward a year, and Finn has a full-on iPad addiction. He LOVES YouTube, which he calls “Stompy,” because Stompy the Bear is the first music video we ever showed him. (You should look it up and let your kid watch it, but consider yourself warned.) When he’s sick or super cranky, we sometimes give in, and he is on the iPad for an hour or so a day. Most days, though, he only uses it in the morning. He likes to chill in our bed, drink his milk, and watch other kids play with toys on YouTube for 20-30 minutes when he wakes up. After that, the iPad “goes to sleep,” and he usually doesn’t see it again for the rest of the day. But the fact that our 2.5 year old asks for “Pad?” as soon as he wakes up in the morning is, I know, nothing to brag about.

So, here they are, our parenting fails. I’m sure there are many I’ve left of this list–and many more, still, to come. And just to underscore the content of this post, here are a bunch of photos of last Saturday, when Finn and I stayed in bed for half the day–diaper full-to-bursting, drinking chocolate milk, watching bad YouTube videos, and my just being delightfully, willfully, a pretty bad–but also good–momma.

What Finn’s Getting From Santa This Year

I think it’s time for a not-so-heavy post, and this is it! We have 18 days left until Christmas (!!!!!), and we are in full holiday mode over here. Now that Finn is a little older, he seems to better understand all of this Christmas stuff. Last year was fun, but I think this year is going to be a riot. He’s just at a really fun age for all things Santa.

“What’s Santa say, Finn?” “Ho, ho, hoooooooo.” You know, he kind of gets it.

It goes without saying: Christmas shopping has been really fun, this year. Of course, Finn has pretty much every single thing any 2-year-old could ever want. So, the challenge is finding gifts that will be useful, exciting, and won’t just sit around, collecting dust and adding to the clutter.

We also tried to choose things that really align with his current interests: anything with wheels, art/creativity, and stuff that allows him to burn some energy, especially during the winter.

Here’s what will be under the tree Christmas morning, some from us, some from Mimi and Pops, and some from Santa:

1. ALEX Toys Active Play Monkey Balance Board

I think he’ll like this. He’s started taking an interest in balance-oriented things at the local play rooms.

2. JellyDog Inertia Toy Early Engineering Vehicles Friction Powered Kids Dumper, Bulldozers, Forklift, Tank Truck, Asphalt Car And Excavator Toy For Children Kids Boys And Girls, Set of 6

It is no secret that Finn is absolutely gaga for all things with wheels, especially construction trucks. He can literally name them all. And we don’t know enough to discern whether or not he’s right.

3. The Pigeon Wants a Match

The pigeon books are his favorite, especially Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (surprise, surprise). I think he’ll be really excited to have a little pigeon of his own.

4. Blue Horse Hopper, Pump Included (Inflatable Space Hopper, Jumping Horse, Ride-on Bouncy Animal)

A few of the YouTube videos he watches feature this thing, which gets rave reviews, and he LOVES watching other kids jump on it.

5. GP – NextX Magnetic Drawing Board For Kids – Erasable Colorful Magna Doodle Drawing Board Toys for Kids Writing Sketching Pad – Gift set with 5 Shape Stamps and Lovely Sticker

This is a good toy to take in the car, to restaurants, etc. I think it’ll come in handy.

6. Hape All-in-One Wooden Kid’s Art Easel with Paper Roll and Accessories

This is the primary gift from Mimi and Pops. Finn really, really loves it when we set up an art project for him, which we don’t do nearly enough. Hopefully, this will encourage more of that.

7. Play-Doh 24-Pack of Colors (Amazon Exclusive)

He has been SO into Play-Doh, lately. We feared it at first because, well, MESS. But he’s actually really good at only playing with it on his little table in the kitchen, and it keeps him busy for extended periods of time.

8. Play-Doh Classic Tools Playset

See above. I love this these tools are simple, wooden, and easy to use.

9. Step2 Thomas the Tank Engine Up & Down Roller Coaster

This is the gift that, once I saw it, I just couldn’t pass up. I texted it to Sona early one morning, and she responded with something like “No way in hell!” I ordered it like 5 minutes later, returning another bigger gift we had purchased for him. I just couldn’t resist. He is going to go BANANAS. I–I mean Santa–will definitely win Christmas morning with this sucker, even if it is a little impractical.

Friday Meal Planning :: What Are We Eating Next Week?

Fridays are, usually, my days to myself. (Except for days like today, when Finn wakes up, pukes all over me, and must stay home.) I don’t ever teach on Fridays and, while I sometimes have work-related meetings, I usually have a free calendar. I think that any working parent will tell you that having a day off while your child is lovingly cared for at daycare is an unrivaled luxury. (In fact, we’ve already decided that next year, we’ll make sure Sona’s schedule allows for one Friday together each month.)

On Fridays, I usually do a few things: enjoy a quiet breakfast to myself while catching up on some DVR’d daytime TV (like The Chew), clean the house, edit some photos from the week, and meal plan for the following week, which enables me to put together a grocery list or order groceries over the weekend. (I do more of the latter during the school year.)

I get a lot of questions–both from friends in real life and online friends–about what we are cooking, recipes, how I cook so much, etc. So, I thought it’d be fun to do a post that walks through the method to my meal-planning madness.

I should start here, though: I love food. I love to cook. This is a central part of my character, and it is a passion that I’ve fed (I crack myself up) since I was little. I think it’s important to recognize that not everyone cries over a barrel of fresh olives (something I have actually done). And it’s okay if making dinner for your family doesn’t get you all fired up. But know that, because it DOES get me all fired up, this whole meal-planning thing is a lot less burdensome.

Because weekdays are crazy busy for us, and we often buzz like drugged-up bees until Finn’s bedtime, it is absolutely essential that we have a game-plan for dinner. If I haven’t already decided what to cook–and purchased the stuff necessary to cook it–we will end up ordering take-out, which is never as yummy as we expect it to be and which is much more expensive. That hardly ever happens, anymore.

When trying to figure out what to cook the following week, here are the questions I ask myself:

What’s next week’s schedule like? For instance, I know that I have a work meeting this coming Monday, and I likely won’t be home until 5:00. So, I’m going to need a quick meal. On Tuesday, Finn has swim lessons from 5:30-6:00. He’s STARVING by the time he is done. For several weeks, we’ve been going out to eat afterwards, but we are kind of sick of eating junk and spending money on junk. That means, on Tuesday, I need to make something before swim–something that I can easily feed him in the car and that will stay good long enough for Sona and I to eat after we put him to bed.

What recipes did I flag during the week? I follow A LOT of food bloggers. My favorites are What’s Gaby Cooking?, How Sweet Eats, Half Baked Harvest, Smitten Kitchen, and Pinch of Yum. They’re all on social media: Insta, FB, Twitter, etc. So, throughout the week, I usually come across 2-3 recipes that spark my interest, and I just flag them. On Fridays, I look back on the stuff I pinned on Pinterest or saved on Instagram, and I add a couple to my must-cook list.

What’s something easy? Something fast? Something basic (roasted chicken and green beans)? Something healthy? Something meat-free? Something a little exotic? Variety is key.

What do I have in the fridge or pantry that I need to use up? I used to SUCK at this, and we’d have 27 cans of garbanzo beans in the pantry. I’ve been really good at using up stuff we have on-hand, lately.

What’s in season? I plan for farmers markets in summer and fall, as we usually go once or twice a week. If I know that I want to buy some fresh corn, I plan a meal that will incorporate that ingredient.

Considering all of those questions, here is the meal plan for this coming week:

SUNDAY: breakfast–burrito bowls (everything in a typical breakfast burrito, minus the tortilla); dinner–matzo ball soup (we’ve entered soup-every-Sunday season)

MONDAY: this fish dish, but we may use a white fish instead of salmon, depending on what looks good at the market, green beans, cous cous

TUESDAY: penne with fresh corn, zucchini, basil, and parmesan–inspired by a pasta dish they made on The Chew this week

WEDNESDAY: quick chicken parmesan (will make the marinara on Sunday) with zucchini noodles

THURSDAY: this summertime curry recipe over sweet potato noodles (I just got a spiralizer, and I want to play with it a bit next week, obviously)

FRIDAY: homemade pizza (our usual)

Ikea Hacking a Train Table

Last week, I posted about Finn’s 2nd birthday. His big surprise was a homemade train table, which I was beyond excited to give him. I’m not generally a crafter. I mean, I love to create–I write, I take photos, I cook. But, as much as I love spending hours roaming the aisles at craft stores, imagining what I could do with feathers and wooden cut-outs and puffy paint, craft projects aren’t really in my wheelhouse. I just don’t have the patience for them.

Yet, when we decided pretty early on that we wanted to give Finn a train table for his birthday, I became adamant that I wanted to make it for him myself. There were a few reasons why I wanted to take the (relatively easy) project on: 1. After looking at all of the well-rated train tables available on the market, I was totally put off by how ugly they were. I know this sounds so petty, but we love our little home, take pride in how it looks, and are pretty design-conscious. So, having some factory-issued, laminate play table right in the center of our family room was really unappealing. 2. The marketed ones were also really large and bulky, and the space we had in mind for the table required one that was much more streamlined. 3. I wanted it to have some sentimental value. I knew Finn wouldn’t care whether he had a gleaming store-bought version or a hacked Momma-made table. So, I opted for the latter.

Since I’m about as experienced at building furniture as I am at running marathons–which is to say, not at all–I knew I needed to start with a solid base. Of course, IKEA came through for me! I found the LACK coffee table online, and I’d seen it hacked for several different projects. It was the right size, was only $24.99, and was a great blank slate. So, I drove out to the ‘burbs and picked one up. (Note: this coffee table comes in two sizes. We got the smaller of the two.)

Luckily, unlike most IKEA furniture, the table was pretty easy to put together. I started by screwing together everything except for the shelf, as I figured it’d be easier to paint it all without the shelf attached.

First, I had to sand the heck out of the thing. Again, like most stuff from IKEA, the table isn’t solid wood. It’s MDF, covered in laminate, and the surface wouldn’t have been receptive to paint had I not sanded it quite a bit.

I chose to go with a spray chalk paint. If I did this project again, I’d either go with a brushable chalk paint or a more forgiving spray paint. I think I’d get a smoother surface that way.

I did start with a spray primer. Again, I wish I would’ve bought something that could’ve been applied with a brush. You live and you learn. Still, a primer that is specifically intended for laminate surfaces is absolutely necessary.

After two coats of primer, I spent a few days applying several thin coats of the chalk paint. This is the one I chose, though. It took three cans and a few days to finish this step. Impatient Me struggled with that wait time a bit.

The next step was to figure out the layout for the tracks and map out how I’d paint the landscape on top. One of the other reasons we wanted to make a relatively inexpensive table is so that we could instead invest in high-quality tracks and accessories. We went with BRIO, which really is the best, and I had a little too much fun figuring out which accessories to order and which configurations would maximize the table space. I also sourced a few things for cheap on eBay–like the trees and signs, which are really difficult to find without having to purchase a full set.

Sona and I spent an hour one evening laying the tracks out, and then I made the biggest error–a rookie error–in the project: I outlined it all in pen. I couldn’t find a pencil and was being lazy. “I’ll just paint over it, anyway, I thought.”

Important Fact of the Day: most pens use oil-based ink. Paint cannot cover oil. No matter how many coats of paint–and, eventually, more primer–you put over pen marks, they will still show through.

This little mishap cost me a new can of oil-specific primer, a couple of extra days worth of painting, and a few tears. For what it’s worth, I’ve read that pencil lines can have the same effect. So, choose a paint-friendly pencil to outline.

Anyway, I did eventually get it worked out, and I painted the table using four colors of acrylic craft paint: green, light green, blue, and grey. I also used a Sharpie paint pen for the dashes on the roadways.

We made the decision not to glue/nail down the tracks, as we have lots more and want Finn to be able to change it up as time goes on. We’ve already shifted things around a bit, actually. Even still, the painted landscape is really what makes the table feel special, and it was the part I had the most fun doing.

After the landscape dried, I did three coats of polyacrylic sealer on the whole table, screwed on the bottom shelf, and added a couple of baskets–one with extra tracks and one with trains. (If you follow us on Insta, you know that I hit the jackpot, scoring around 60 high-quality trains for like $50 in an online sale. Now that I know the trains run $15-$25 each, I realize how lucky we got.)

Also, in the category of “things I never would have known before having kids,” BRIO tracks are compatible with most trains, including the larger, wooden Thomas the Train ones. The only trains that don’t work are the smaller, metal die-cast Thomas trains, which only work with Thomas tracks.

Here is the resulting table:

Of course, it isn’t perfect. You can still KINDA see a few pen marks on top, I could’ve put an extra coat of paint on the bottom shelf, and the edges of the landscape are a little uneven, but Finn LOVES it. He has literally played with it every single day since we gave it to him, and he doesn’t really care about the imperfections, which is really all that matters.

How much did it end up costing for just the table, anyway?

LACK coffee table: $25

3 cans of chalk spray paint: $18

primer: $6

brushes and acrylic paint: $12

polyacrylic sealer: $10

baskets: $12/each

TOTAL: $95

(The tracks and accessories were purchased separately. If you’re interested in exactly which BRIO sets we got, just let me know.)

Trip Report: Washington D.C.

A few weeks ago, we flew to D.C. for a family wedding. Since I’d never been, we decided to make a week-long trip of it. It was also the first vacation-ish trip that we’ve taken with Finn without our parents tagging along for support. (We took him to Virgin Gorda, last year, but the rents were there to help.)

It was also the first time that he’s been on an airplane since he was 7 months old, as last year’s big move prevented a lot of traveling aside from Italy, which Sona and I did by ourselves.

I was a little nervous about it. As I’ve mentioned before, Finn is the world’s most energetic child. He moves CONSTANTLY. Like, he really never, ever sits still. Also, three days before we left, he was diagnosed with a double ear infection.

The plane ride to D.C. was a bit of a challenge. He did okay, but we had to wrestle him into his seat more than a dozen times, and he totally lost his shit at baggage claim in D.C. It was past nap-time, he needed desperately to get out some energy, and we were asking him to sit still and wait.  On the way back, though, he was a perfect angel. So, I think some ear discomfort might have contributed to his behavior on the first flight. Or not. You never really know. Complete 180s are a pretty common occurrences with toddlers, and I always prep myself for the fact that it could go either way.

Either way, we had a good time in D.C., after we got past the first day or so of general out-of-sortedness. We rented an AirBnB in a great neighborhood, which was within walking distance of the main highlights, but we didn’t realize that the bedroom didn’t have a door. So, Finn slept in a pack-n-play in the living room and had a clear view of our bedroom. It wasn’t ideal, and it interfered with sleeping just a bit. He took forever to go down for naps, which is super unusual, and we had to hide out in the bedroom the entire time he slept. (It was WAY too bright in the bedroom for naps.) As a result, he was a little bit of a crank that first 24-36 hours.

Sona and I also had a few “Oh, so this is what traveling with kids is going to be like” moments. We needed to adjust our expectations quite a bit, as we are so accustomed to globe-trotting on our own, but once we did, everything was a lot better.

Things really improved once: 1. We recognized that Finn should lead the way, most of the time. 2. We gave up on walking miles and miles in the heat and Ubered to a lot of places, allowing more time to explore and less time spent in transit. 3. We honored nap time. 4. We gave up on trying to do a lot of indoor dining with Finn, opting for picnics and outdoor options, instead. 5. We let him walk/run more than he was in the stroller. 6. We found a playground and a splash-pad near our apartment, which gave Finn a sense of normalcy, as we do those things at home a lot. 7. We had a babysitter come after he went to bed in the evenings, giving Sona and I a chance to have adult time and explore some of the good eats D.C. has to offer.

All in all, it ended up being a really great little trip, and I’m glad we worked out the kinks of traveling with a toddler before we take a bigger trip later this year.

Here are a ton of pics:

We were super ambitious and walked to the White House pretty much as soon as we got off the plane.

We were kind of surprised that, despite a lot of greenspace, D.C. didn’t actually have a lot of parks or playgrounds that were for little kids. In Chicago, we are spoiled by a plethora of playgrounds! But we did find Stead Park, which was just a few blocks from our AirBnB, and it was a total hit!

We did the National Mall on our second day.

Finn really enjoyed our picnic by the water, watching the ducks.

The morning ceremony was at a Hindu temple about 30 minutes outside of the city. Finn didn’t do so well there, but he did enjoy the music. (Another lesson: don’t take a toddler to a wedding!)

It was nice to get dressed up–and have my BFF babysit–for the evening wedding ceremony.

The fried chicken, honey butter, hot sauce, and donut sandwich at Astro Donuts is what dreams are made of! We went three times. Don’t judge us!

Someone at the wedding recommended the paddleboats on the Potomac, and it was SO much fun!

 

We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary with dinner at Le Diplomate. SO yum!

We had a babysitter 4 of the nights we were in town, and it allowed us to enjoy the nightlife a bit.

   

Our D.C. Faves and Recommendations:

  • Eat at Astro Donuts–like 10 times, at least
  • Rent a paddleboat from Tidal Basin
  • Have pina coladas and empandas at Colada Shop
  • Have dinner (or brunch) at Le Diplomate–get the gougeres and seafood tower
  • Get ice cream at Ice Cream Jubilee
  • Make the most of the toddler-friendly main attractions: White House, National Mall, Smithsonian Natural History Museum
  • Eat at Compass Rose
  • Visit Stead Park for the playground and splash pad

 

Toddler Tantrums: How Do YOU Respond?

No, really. That isn’t a rhetorical question. I need to know–my sanity depends on knowing: how do you respond to tantrums?

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Finn is 14.5 months old. That’s a very specific age, I know. This week, a student asked how old Finn was and, when I said he was 14.5 months, my student rolled his eyes and scoffed, “Why can’t you just say that he is one?”

“Because, at this age, one week can mean the difference between a demon and a kitten,” I replied.

And it’s true. We read–and talked–a lot about Wonder Weeks and the various developmental stages during the first year. Finn followed most of the predicted patterns; we’d have weeks that were blissful and weeks where it took every ounce of restraint not to throw myself out of a very high window. Mostly, we survived the latter.

Still, though, Finn is experiencing a lot of mood swings. He’s had a lot of change in his life, lately, and some of the change can be attributed to those shifts.

When he started daycare, we experienced a couple weeks of serious separation anxiety, accompanied by a significant uptick in the quantity and intensity of tantrums. We’re talking full-on, body-goes-limp, dragging-himself-on-the-floor, head-banging tantrums.

“This cannot be happening so soon,” I thought. Don’t tantrums generally start when toddlers turn two? Isn’t that why they are called the “terrible twos,” after all? Is Finn just so intellectually advanced that he’s displaying two-year-old behaviors at one? (Yeah, okay, so I was trying to make lemonade out of lemons.)

So, of course, I became obsessed with trying to figure out how we should react. And, of course, there are approximately 1, 872, 098 theories about this. Ignore him. Don’t ignore him. Smother him with hugs and affection, letting him know he’s safe. Stick his ass in a closet and close the door. Put him in a corner. Put him on the couch. Put him in his crib. Talk to him. Don’t talk to him. Laugh it off. Don’t show any emotion. Don’t make eye contact. Call a priest.

If you can name it, there’s a book about it.

Mostly, we’ve decided to try and ignore his behavior as much as possible, unless he’s banging his head on a hard surface. Then, we move him to a less-hard surface and let him go to town. Surprisingly, this has been pretty effective.

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See what we have, there? We have Finn getting over a tantrum, just as I’m grabbing my camera. Minutes earlier, he’d thrown himself face-down on the carpet, protesting something ridiculous. I can’t remember what, exactly. His truck probably looked at him the wrong way. Or I said “kitty” instead of “cat.” One can only imagine.

Anyway, there he was, banging his head on the carpet, when he realized it didn’t have quite the dramatic effect he’d intended. So, he does what any maniacal toddler would do: he scooted out jussssssst enough so that his head would pound against the wood floor, instead.

Then, he got over it. Until he saw I was photographing him. At which point, he threw himself down all over again in truly award-worthy performance, peeking up to make sure that I was catching it all. (I was.)

His tantrums have waned quite a bit since he’s gotten accustomed to daycare, but he still has them. And I’m sure there are a lot more coming. This is possible the least patient, most independent and willful child I’ve ever met.

He’s also starting to really challenge our authority.

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He’ll knowingly do something we’ve just told him he can’t do, all while looking us straight in the eye, waiting for a reaction. We can only say “no” so many times. And then remove him from the situation. And then, guiltily, give him a little smack on the hand when he’s really not listening. We both feel pretty icky about that last one, and we’re not sure it’s effective, anyway, but sometimes we go there.

I’d love to hear tips from more experienced parents. What do you all do to respond to tantrums and mischievous behavior at such a young age? Other than down bottles of wine in the pantry, of course.