Overwhelmed by all the plastics your kids are exposed to? Check out these products!
Do you ever feel like your house is actually a plastic factory because of all the plastic toys, sippie cups, and utensils you have for your kids? I do. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed at all the plastic that has invaded every room in my house. Especially when I read things that remind me that every piece of plastic ever invented is still on the earth and hasn’t decomposed. Or that animals are dying because plastic toys, bags and other products end up in the oceans, rivers, lakes, forests and animals eat them. Or when I read about how there are harmful plastics in plastic forks, cups, plates, spoons that my kids use everyday. I know that I don’t want to contribute to further global damage any more than I have to but it is truly impossible to avoid ALL plastics. Even though I aspire to reduce, reuse, recycle everything, I know that I will not be able to do that. My kids see things that interest them and 90% of the time they are made of plastic. I could simply institute a rule where we only buy used toys (nothing wrong with that) or wooden toys. Again, an unlikely solution. If I knew what I know now when I first started having kids, I would have stuck closer to cloth and wooden toys. I have already replaced or discarded several plastic eating items–they are much easier to replace.
I have begun to think more about the toys I get for my kids and to be a little more choosy when purchasing something new. I can’t control what grandparents get for the kids but I have encouraged them to think a little more green when it comes to toy buying.
There are lots of options for non-plastic toys and dinnerware so I thought I’d pass them along in case you have one of those moments where you contemplate throwing away every small piece of plastic that you have stepped on one too many times and need some replacement items. Or maybe you are tired of replacing batteries or hearing that obnoxious toy song for the umteenth time.
A word about wooden toys: one thing that attracts me to wooden toys is that they tend to open the mind for more creation and imaginative play. Instead of having plastic superheroes and movie characters that have already been created for you, wooden toys are more generic so that the imagination can take over. They also are more geared for educational learning. Wooden toys are not only durable but they have a “classic” look to them and are easier to pass on to the next generation.
Even though I could probably open my own store full of plastic toys, (we have a whole plastic bin full of “characters” that the boys play with all the time!) I keep my eye on earth friendly, natural, fun toys too. I don’t mean to communicate that all plastic superheroes, barbies, or Polly Pockets are evil–it is just nice to know that there are other options out there than the mainstream toys we are bombarded with everyday.
Toys:
Water bottles, plates, spoons etc:
The Snack Sack (a portable cloth sack that includes a stainless steel bowl–used instead of a ziplock bag)
Stainless Steel bowls, plates, cups from Lifewithoutplastic.com
More bottles, cups, spoons at thesoftlanding.com
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The physical reaction to the MMR vaccination may be old news to parents who have children over the age of 1 but I hope that my daughter’s experience will help all those who are coming up on their little one’s 1-year check up. I don’t intend to give any medical advice here; I am only sharing what happened to my daughter, Annabelle.
In the bigger picture I would rather my daughter get a fever and rash that goes away, than the more serious risks of measles, mumps, or rubella. 
The reading program I was working on with Darah is still in pilot mode and it was getting difficult to progress past the point we had made it to. I loved the program, but needed something that was a little more complete. I began a new reading program with Darah a few weeks ago. I wrote 
This program is geared toward the visual learner. Children with Down syndrome, autism, dyslexia, and an “overwhelming percentage of the population” are often visual learners. While many parents of children with special needs have embraced this program, they have a series for typical developing children as well. It does take some time to get it all set up, but once you set up the program you are good to go. I should be completely set for 178 days and then I will purchase Book 2. You can purchase the program with the flashcards preprinted. I saved a little money by writing them out myself. I keep the flashcards in order in a basket on my refrigerator and look at my daily schedule of what flashcards to present that day. I then show Darah the flashcards three times a day. As simplistic as it sounds, it works! By presenting these gigantic flashcards in groups of 5 over a cumulative 10 minutes a day, Darah has learned about 13 sight words! We are currently working on learning single words, but we will soon progress to learning to read sentences. The best part of this program is it has improved her speech! When she sees the flashcard with the word on it, she is articulating so much better than she did before. Her little voice is just way too cute when she says “pancake.” I am seeing results MUCH FASTER than with the other program we were doing. It requires much less energy and time on my part as well, and Darah seems to engage very well to this program.
Now that summer is here, all three boys are home all day, and the weather is nice I have felt the urge to beat the summer doldrums. I don’t want every day to feel the same, day in and day out. I notice that the kids get a look on their faces when they are bored and are looking for something to do. It is easy for me to get caught up in doing the morning chores around the house while they play and not think proactively about fun activities they can do. So, I had an idea to come up with a list of activities so that we can do at least one fun activity every day. I tend to be a planner but I don’t always practice it. I know that I usually feel less stressed when I do have some activities planned and it’s kind of fun to tell the boys in the morning what our fun “thing” is that day.
“Yo Gabba Gabba!” 
