Let’s face it, kids are expensive accessories – even more expensive than the 52-inch LCD TV and the Jimmy Choos you and hubs have respectively been lusting after. It’s estimated that within the first year of life alone your darling progeny will cost in the region of $10,000. If you’re anything like me, you’re all for a penny saved and a loonie stretched. After all, every bit adds up, right? And over time that ‘bit’ might just bank roll into a requisite Disney trip or college fund.
Click here to read the top ten penny-pinching tips. Thanks again to Maria at A Mother World for featuring this article celebrating my chronic stinginess!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
An oldie but goodie
Three cheers to Laffy Lady at LOL for featuring a little ditty from the Little Green archive. If you haven't already done so, check it out here and be sure to check out LOL for your daily giggling needs.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
To thrill a mockingbird
OUT! one step. two steps. FEET! go. car. red. colour. wheel. three steps. four. grass. green. LEAF! zoom. sky. plane. cloud. rock. hard. woof. DOG! five steps. six. go. go. go. legs. flower. yelloooo. neeenaaahhh. truck. fire. FENCE! tall. seven steps. eight. squirrel. run. TREE! park. nine steps. ten. go. go. feet. again. AGAIN!
It may not be the age of enlightenment
But it's the age of the exclamation mark, that's for sure. If we discount for a moment the teething and tantruming and sheer bloody-mindedness, the months before a child's second birthday may just be a golden era. It's hard to remember a time when the world was quite so brand spanking new and wondrous. Yet that is exactly what we see if we care to look through a toddler's eyes. Explosive colours, magical movement, glorious sound...
Nothing is dull when you're three feet tall
Every day objects set off fireworks in the littlest pea brains. The world truly is an awesome place. (Take it from me, since the age of 16 or so I use of the term 'awesome' very judiciously.) Every now and then, though, it's good for us jaded adults to be reminded of this golden fact. To be forced to s-l-o-w down and smell the falling jasmine blossom or the passing garbage truck, even. No doubt we could all do with reserving the 3-D glasses -- not for Die Hard 14: Sequels Never Die, but for a walk around our own block every now and then.
LGO's enthusiasm for the world is as contagious as cooties
I love strolling alongside him and trying to see what he sees, watching his world grow with each new step, with each new word and concept he adds to his lexicon daily. There are so many now, I've lost track. Each word is a eureka moment, nothing short of a Nobel triumph for him. He's like a miniature Wordsworth or Thoreau, madly in love with the natural world and all its minutiae. Hearing him copycat the most random expressions -- like capisce, great job, comfy cosy, paddywack, and my new personal favourite: back off, bitches (Gee, I wonder who we have to thank for that one?) -- is as thrilling as it is hilarious. Hearing him connect the dots verbally, mentally -- pointing to cup and rug and fan, and beaming as if he himself patented the stuff -- is one of the great rewards of being a parent. Rue the day when his lexicon plateaus and his eyes cease to really look, to really see what's out there.
The day that happens is the day his world starts to shrink
And this shrinkage, to me at least, is one of the greatest tragedies of adulthood. For now, though, Little Green One is my guide and my braille, shining a torch on what's been dim for so long. And for that I'm grateful. His unblinkered 'sight' is one of the greatest gifts of childhood, and a great gift to me, his adoring fan and ever loving mama.
It may not be the age of enlightenment
But it's the age of the exclamation mark, that's for sure. If we discount for a moment the teething and tantruming and sheer bloody-mindedness, the months before a child's second birthday may just be a golden era. It's hard to remember a time when the world was quite so brand spanking new and wondrous. Yet that is exactly what we see if we care to look through a toddler's eyes. Explosive colours, magical movement, glorious sound...
Nothing is dull when you're three feet tall
Every day objects set off fireworks in the littlest pea brains. The world truly is an awesome place. (Take it from me, since the age of 16 or so I use of the term 'awesome' very judiciously.) Every now and then, though, it's good for us jaded adults to be reminded of this golden fact. To be forced to s-l-o-w down and smell the falling jasmine blossom or the passing garbage truck, even. No doubt we could all do with reserving the 3-D glasses -- not for Die Hard 14: Sequels Never Die, but for a walk around our own block every now and then.
LGO's enthusiasm for the world is as contagious as cooties
I love strolling alongside him and trying to see what he sees, watching his world grow with each new step, with each new word and concept he adds to his lexicon daily. There are so many now, I've lost track. Each word is a eureka moment, nothing short of a Nobel triumph for him. He's like a miniature Wordsworth or Thoreau, madly in love with the natural world and all its minutiae. Hearing him copycat the most random expressions -- like capisce, great job, comfy cosy, paddywack, and my new personal favourite: back off, bitches (Gee, I wonder who we have to thank for that one?) -- is as thrilling as it is hilarious. Hearing him connect the dots verbally, mentally -- pointing to cup and rug and fan, and beaming as if he himself patented the stuff -- is one of the great rewards of being a parent. Rue the day when his lexicon plateaus and his eyes cease to really look, to really see what's out there.
The day that happens is the day his world starts to shrink
And this shrinkage, to me at least, is one of the greatest tragedies of adulthood. For now, though, Little Green One is my guide and my braille, shining a torch on what's been dim for so long. And for that I'm grateful. His unblinkered 'sight' is one of the greatest gifts of childhood, and a great gift to me, his adoring fan and ever loving mama.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Revenge of the lima bean
There was a time not so long ago when my darling son ate what was put in front of him. With his pincers grip he would pinch whole chunks of spinach and gobble them up like Pop-Eye (minus the squint eye and sailor tattoo). But something changed. I swear there is a conspiracy at work among the under two set. Like little Harry surreptitiously nudged my son in the sandpit one day and whispered, 'Hey, don't you know you're not supposed to eat the green stuff, man?'
Feel free to read the full article and share your own tips for getting fussy eaters to tuck in. Big green thanks to Carrie Anne for featuring this piece in Everything Mom...
Feel free to read the full article and share your own tips for getting fussy eaters to tuck in. Big green thanks to Carrie Anne for featuring this piece in Everything Mom...
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Leap of Faith
Thanks to the ever lovely Mama Ash at Everything Mom and Baby for letting me rant and rave about my love of LeapFrog on her fabulous blog. Keep up the good work, Mama A!
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