Don't forget your "big boy!"

Here is a fantastic deal we just put up on mylittleclothesline!! Get it while we still have it!

Speedo Size: 8

Coloring!!

I was so excited when I remembered that I had a whole bag of crayons in my drawer. Easton is getting to the age where he will actually use them, so I thought I would get them out and let him explore his creative side! Who knows? maybe I have a budding artist on my hands and I've been stifling him by making him go play at Dad's muffler shop or playing out in the sandbox. Maybe he's been dreaming of the day when he can at last express the creativity that's been bursting inside him.

So...

I got him the bag of crayons.

And put him up in the highchair with the paper taped to his tray.

Looks excited doesn't he? (maybe this should have been my first clue)


I came back to get the artwork so I could hang it up. I would probably date it on the back and save it since he would want his very first piece of art in the future. Who knows? maybe it would be worth a lot of money!

um....yah. It's hard to save scraps of torn up paper. Perhaps the yawn says it all? I think maybe I'll put the crayons away for Reagan and send Easton back to the hammer he carries with him at all times.


(but I haven't given up total hope! maybe the artist inside was already sleeping!) :)

What a fun activity for the tub!

This activity is brought to you by:

www.acaringnanny.com

bathtub finger paints

What you will need

1/3 cup baby shampoo or baby bath soap

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Food coloring

Ice Cube tray or muffin tin

Paint brushes

Wash cloth

Mix shampoo or bath soap with the cornstarch in a small bowl until incorporated.

Divide mixture into equal parts into the tin or tray.

Add 1-2 drops of food coloring into the different sections of the tray or tin and mix with a spoon.

Jack played with the Finger Paints for about ½ hour and asked if he could still paint, I emptied the tub twice to keep him warm.

Want your child to stimulate their brain while they play?

Play that WORKS

1. Board Games/ card games: (Sorry, Risk, Yatzee, Othello, Trouble, Monopoly, concentration, war, Uno, hang-man, tick-tac-toe)
 Skills: math skill, interpersonal skills, critical thinking skills, executive functions

2. Sports: (soccer, biking, baseball, running, swimming, dance, skiing, martial arts)Skills: sensory input, gross motor skills, interpersonal skills, critical thinking skills, executive functioning

3. Art (playdough, clay, paint, crayons, shaving cream, beads, cutting)
Skills: sensory input, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, interpersonal skills
(sometimes), critical thinking skills

4. Music (piano, singing, guitar, spoons, pots & pans)
Skills: math skills, sensory input, fine motor skills, gross motor skills,
interpersonal skills

5. Building (legos, blocks,trains, puzzles)
Skills: math skills, sensory input, fine motor skills, gross motor skills,
interpersonal skills (sometimes), critical thinking skills

6. Make-believe (figures, dolls, stuffed animals, dress-up, boxes)
Skills: language skills, math skills, sensory input, interpersonal skills
(sometimes), critical thinking skills, executive functioning

7. Word games (rhyming, make-up words, puns, categories)
Skills: language skills, math skills, sensory input, interpersonal skills
(sometimes), critical thinking skills, executive functioning

8. Playground equipment: (slides, swings, see-saw, jungle gym, monkey bars)
Skills: language skills, critical thinking skills, interpersonal skills, sensory input)

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

This may not be the most fun post I've done, but it's timely. Since RSV is going around and it's so easy to spread  (and can be very stressful, not to mention dangerous) I thought I would give a run-down on it. Please read the following information to try keep your kids (specially infants) safe AND to keep others safe if your family already encountered it.


Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a very common virus that leads to mild, cold-like symptoms in adults and older healthy children. It can be more serious in young babies, especially to those in certain high-risk groups.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

RSV is the most common germ that causes lung and airway infections in infants and young children. Most infants have had this infection by age 2. Outbreaks of RSV infections most often begin in the fall and run into the spring.

RSV is spread easily by physical contact. Touching, kissing, and shaking hands with an infected person can spread RSV. The disease spreads from person to person through contact with contaminated tiny droplets or objects that the droplets have touched.

RSV can live for a half an hour or more on hands. The virus can also live for up to 5 hours on countertops and for several hours on used tissues. RSV often spreads very rapidly in crowded households and day care centers.

The infection can occur in people of all ages.

Risks include:

• Attending day care
• Being exposed to tobacco smoke
• Having school-aged siblings
• Living in crowded conditions

Symptoms

• Bluish skin color due to a lack of oxygen (cyanosis)
• Breathing difficulty or labored breathing
• Cough
• Croupy cough (often described as a "seal bark" cough)
• Fever
• Nasal flaring
• Rapid breathing (tachypnea)
• Shortness of breath
• Stuffy nose
• Wheezing

Note: Symptoms vary and differ with age. Infants under age 1 are most severely affected and often have the most trouble breathing. Older children usually have only mild, cold-like symptoms. Symptoms usually appear 4 - 6 days after coming in contact with the virus.

Signs and tests

Rapid tests for this virus can be done on a fluid sample taken from the nose at many hospitals and clinics.

Treatment

Antibiotics do not treat RSV. Mild infections go away without treatment. Infants and children with a severe RSV infection may be admitted to the hospital so they can receive oxygen, humidified air, and fluids by IV.

A breathing machine (ventilator) may be needed.

Expectations (prognosis)

RSV infection can, in rare cases, cause death in infants. However, this is unlikely if the child is seen by a health care provider early in the course of the illness.

More severe RSV disease may be seen in:

• Premature infants
• Infants with chronic lung disease
• Infants whose immune system does not work well
• Infants with certain forms of heart disease

In older children and adults, the disease will usually be mild.

Some evidence suggests that children who have had RSV bronchiolitis are at increased risk for asthma.

Complications

In young children, RSV can cause:

• Bronchiolitis
• Croup
• Ear infections
• Lung failure
• Pneumonia

Calling your health care provider

Call your health care provider if breathing difficulties or other symptoms of this disorder appear. Any breathing difficulties in an infant are an emergency. Seek medical attention right away.

Prevention

A simple way to help prevent RSV infection is to wash your hands often, especially before touching your baby. It is important to make certain that other people, especially caregivers, take precautions to avoid giving RSV to your baby. The following simple steps can help protect your baby:

• Insist that others wash their hands with warm water and soap before touching your baby.
• Have others avoid contact with the baby if they have a cold or fever. If necessary, have them wear a mask.
• Be aware that kissing the baby can spread RSV infection.
• Try to keep young children away from your baby. RSV is very common among young children and easily spreads from child to child.
• Do not smoke inside your house, car, or anywhere near your baby. Exposure to tobacco smoke increases the risk of RSV illness.

Parents of high-risk young infants should avoid crowds during outbreaks of RSV. Moderate-to-large outbreaks are often reported in the local news and newspapers to provide parents with an opportunity to avoid exposure.

The drug Synagis (palivizumab) is approved for the prevention of RSV disease in children younger than 24 months who are at high risk for serious RSV disease. Ask your doctor if your child is at high risk for RSV and whether this medicine should be given.

Graphic Tees on mylittleclothesline

Just $3!

What to do on a beautiful Saturday? (oh yah, and make that FREE)

1. Go to the park. Not the one down the street that you go to every day. Find a park that you don't normally go to with playground equipment that your kids are bored with. Pack snacks and stay a while.

2. Walk by the water. Any body of water will do. Is there a beach close enough? A pond with ducks? (Bring bread!) A creek or waterfall near a hiking trail? Do you have an old remote control boat that's been forgotten about in the corner of the closet for years? Is it time to teach your kids to skip rocks? Does the lake rent out paddle boats for a buck?

3. Go hiking. You don't have to be a teenage Boy Scout with backpacking experience. Pick a hike that fits the abilities of your family. Maybe it's hike in the less tame areas of a local park. Maybe it's parking half a mile from Grandma's house and walking the rest of the way.

4. Play in the sprinklers. This requires a warm day, but what a blast. Even more fun that predictable sprinklers is parents with a hose. Who knows where the water will go next? If it's warm and raining at the same time, playing in the rain is hilarious! Or try the water balloon variation of playing in the water.

5. Go on a scavenger hunt. This takes some prep time on the parents' part. Put together a list of items to get and let the kids go door to door. Make it simple and all the neighbors will want to help. Have them get items like a Q-Tip, a gum wrapper or a piece of unpopped popcorn.

6. Go on a bike ride. If the kids are too young to ride on the street, get one of those trailers or a kid seat for your bike.

7. Go to the library. Apply for a library card if you don't have one. Get library cards for your kids if they're old enough. Get a book for everyone, including parents.

8. Invite friends over for a play date. Better yet, do the whole dinner thing with the kids and they can invite one or two friends for each. Let the kids play together, then serve a fancy meal of pizza or macaroni and cheese.Maybe the friends' parents will reciprocate and you can sneak off for a dinner sans kids sometime.

9. Play ball in the street or at the local park. By this I mean parents play too. Baseball, basketball, soccer, anything. It's just for fun, though. Don't get too serious or competitive. And don't forget the girls. They need to get out there too.

10. Bake cookies. Kids love to make something yummy. Just resign yourself to the fact that the kitchen is going to get messy. It's worth it.

...and short sleeve tops!

Baby Gap 18-24 months

Puma 12-18 months

Carters 18-24 months

Baby Gap 18-24 months

Baby Gap 18-24 months

Swimsuits!

For all those who live in the colder part of our great country, you must think I'm out of my mind! "Why is she putting up swimwear already!? It's FREEZING outside!" That is may be, but in some parts of the US of A warm weather is coming! and with that warm weather comes swimming! Here are a few I've gotten up on the site:

Eddie Bauer Baby 18 months

Baby Gap 18-24 months

Baby Gap 18-24 months

Spongbob 18 months

Most popular names of 2010

Thought you'd find this interesting! I'm always curious what people are naming their kids. Here are the first 20 names on the list.

Girls' Names

1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Olivia
4. Emma
5. Chloe
6. Ava
7. Lily
8. Madison
9. Addison
10. Abigail
11. Madelyn
12. Emily
13. Zoe
14. Hailey
15. Riley
16. Ella
17. Mia
18. Kaitlyn
19. Kaylee
20. Peyton

Boys' Names

1. Aiden
2. Jacob
3. Jackson
4. Ethan
5. Jayden
6. Noah
7. Logan
8. Caden
9. Lucas
10. Liam
11. Mason
12. Caleb
13. Jack
14. Brayden
15. Connor
16. Ryan
17. Matthew
18. Michael
19. Alexander
20. Landon

Clothing prices to rise 10 pct starting in spring

This article indicates a noticeable jump in the prices of clothing. Read it and then visit www.mylittleclothesline.com. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are a few suggestions for some tough Valentine's Day situations :)

If you have been arguing with your husband for the past week and perhaps even threw knives at him, scribble this:

When love is not madness, it is not love.  ~Pedro Calderon de la Barca 

If you are struggling to balance parenthood and romance, scribble this:

I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon.  ~Author Unknown

If you just lost your job scribble this:

Who, being loved, is poor?  ~Oscar Wilde

If you noticed you have gray hair and your husband suggested some hair dye, scribble this:

Grow old with me! The best is yet to be.  ~Robert Browning

If you are afraid of muttering the words I love you, scribble this:

The eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love.  ~Margaret Atwood

For the same situation above:

The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them.  ~Stephen King

If you make your own Valentine's Day gifts that really look like your toddler crafted it, scribble this:

Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination.  ~Voltaire

If you are way too much of a jokester and your partner rarely finds you funny anymore, scribble this:

Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly.  ~Rose Franken