Ferni's Blog

Guest Blogging on the Firestone Sisters' site!

2009-12-15T23:39:31Z

Two of our friends have their own website and blog that offer travel tips and suggestions based on their own adventures! They have some great ideas, and asked us to write a blog. We were MORE than happy to comply and came up with the topic of family-friendly vacation spots!

There are some great locations and resorts, so please check it out on the Firestone Sisters blog!

A few of my favorite things...

2009-11-25T23:38:58Z

Since Oprah didn't do her annual Favorite Things episode, I thought I would step in with some ideas for you. There is something for everyone, and I have also included some of my favorite back-ups, which I really feel are gifts that anyone would love to get bc they don't really want to spend the money themselves on something so unnecessary (especially in this economic climate).

BROTHER

Under $35

How could you NOT love this?! It calsl for immediate installation & smells of vacation-long, competitive marathons between all the relatives taking over the hosuehold!!

Splurge

Have an athletic sibling? Or, do you want to inspire him to become a bit more healthy after the holiday binging? This watch reads your heartrate and has many more exercise-friendly accessories!

DAD OR GRANDPA

These really DO remind me of my own grandpa! They look comfy and will surely be adored by a tired dad who needs to rest their feet after hours running around after the kids (or grandkids)!

HUBBIE

Yes, another watch. This one is so classic & modern at the same time that I haven't been able to keep my eyes off of it, ever since it debuted in the catalog a couple of months ago! Any guy would love to wear it, and you can even personalize it a bit by purchasing different colored straps.

HOST OR HOSTESS

Under $25

My FAVORITE list for grocery shopping! I know ANY hostess would love to receive this to do list that is categorized by areas of the supermarket.

These tags are a dream come true for foodies who leaf through their cookbooks and/or food magazines and then forget which recipes sound most appealing to them.

MOM OR SISTER

Under $25

These reusable totes are eco-friendly & can be bought in a variety of colors and patterns. A VERY chic way to support taking care of mother earth.

Splurge

Gorgeous earrings that look a LOT more expensive than they cost! They will add just the right amount of bling to any party outfit.

Two bags in ONE!!! This tote can be folded down into a clutch! An amazing buy and VERY cute.

FRIEND

Under $25

Something that may be a bit too racy to give to an acquaintance. These are my all-time favorite pair. They are comfy & not visible. Introduce them to your friends. They will love you for it.

Splurge

A way to give back and also look great, this small cosmetic tote includes 3 lipglosses and also provides 10 disadvantages women with food and job training through the United Nations World Food Program.

BACK-UPS

You can never go wrong with getting anyone in your life one of the following gifts. I see them as my back-ups, but I would always be happy to receive any or all of them:

- Sports/Concert/Event tickets: hard to get tickets will be MUCH appreciated months in advance of that once in a lifetime concert or tennis tournament.

- Starbucks Gift Card: no one likes to admit to spending $4 on coffee, but you all love going in to orde that extra special brew made especially for you...even better when you don't have to hand over the cash to buy it!

- Spa Appointment: who DOESN'T need a massage or manicure? A little R&R never hut anyone!!

- Magazine subscription: doyou know a secret food lover? Or a soon to be mommy or daddy? Subscribe them to a magazine that will help them along the way!

M's new toys

2009-11-11T23:45:22Z

As a second child, M has had the misfortune of hand-me-downs. Her clothes, toys, and even most of her nursery furniture have been hand-me-downs. My motherly guilt made me search for a couple of good toys that I thought she would enjoy as a growing toddler girl. I also wanted to take into account the fact that L would inevitably want to play with those new toys as well...I mean, God forbid there be new toys in the house, and he not be allowed to play with them. I am not sure that concept would sit well with an almost 3 year old boy.

Our friends at All Modern Baby helped me with these feat, and sent me a set of the Rainbow Sound Blocks by Wonderworld that both L & M have truly enjoyed! M is such a ham, that anything to do with music or sound is right up her alley. She carries around different pieces and you can hear her coming from across the house bc of the block that she is carrying! L actually sat down with his dad one afternoon and began building houses with the blocks, using the storage box as part of the structure. Being the neat-freak that I am, the storage part of the toy is what had me sold! To make the house look more neat, I decided to buy some storage units for all the toys laying around, but since the blocks come sorted in their own little 'home' I don't worry about having to pick them all up & finding another place for them!

We also just got M a little walking stroller & her first doll! The stroller was great bc it really encouraged her to start taking her first strides on her own. Now, a few weeks later, she is walking around everywhere on her own, it's amazing!!! She still seems to love the toy, though. I guess bc she feels like she is taking the baby for a walk...something L likes to pretend he is doing sometimes as well! Even though she has these new toys to play with, it still seems like they are always fighting over the smallest, most insignificant little things! I guess that is just the way sibling relationships work, right?! At least I hope so!!

Table for Four.

2009-10-27T19:16:36Z

Our last few times out to eat have been eventful…and I don’t mean in a good way. M’s squealing, which is sometimes endearing and funny, has been annoying to some of the other patrons at our regular cafes. So much so, that I have been scolded TWICE by people telling me that I should not go out to eat if I can’t control my children. While I know that M can sometimes scream, and it can get annoying for everyone around her, I must defend myself as a parent and say that I really cannot control what a 1 year old does with her voice. And, I must point out that we do NOT frequent restaurants that are not kid-friendly!

Given our luck in the past few weeks, and the fact that our weekend rituals usually include at least one meal out with the kids, I thought I would impart some of the lessons we’ve learned about eating out with the tots. Before M was born, going out to eat was pretty easy. L has always been pretty easy to entertain, and we always had tricks up our sleeve to keep him happy, just in case he became antsy. Now, that our party is one person larger, those tricks have had to double. And, given M’s exuberant personality, going out to eat has become a bit more challenging, but we have found places and ways to enjoy some meals out.

With L now being an older toddler, it’s become a lot easier to entertain him. I am always armed with an iPhone or iTouch, so he can watch some of his favorite videos, play games, or even listen to music. He also seems content to doodle on some paper with crayons or play with some toy cars. He is hungry ‘round the clock and M is always happy to munch on ANYTHING, so I always keep extra snacks on hand. I know that seems counterintuitive, especially since we are going OUT to eat, but my kids aren’t especially good at waiting very long.

M is a BIT more difficult. I can usually entertain her with snacks, but if the time at the restaurant lags on too long, she becomes very antsy. My best sort of entertainment is hoping that the waiter or co-patrons pay some attention to her. M feeds off of the coos and awes of people! So, if she finds someone that catches her eye, she is content! But, when this doesn’t happen, I usually have to put her in my lap and eat my food at the same time. Not the most relaxing way to eat, but it keeps M happy & quiet. Whenever possible, especially when the weather is nice, we eat outside. This way, L can run around and M can practice her walking. I can also avoid getting snipped at by others!

This is why I am SUCH an advocate of taking your baby out to eat when they are newborns!! They are so portable, and can fall asleep ANYWHERE! I can still remember the nights when Mr. & I would go out to dinner with a newborn L in his stroller. L would fall asleep on the walk over to our favorite steak place, and he would happily snooze through the entire meal as we ate. So, for those of you who are still expecting…keep that in mind! Enjoy those meals out!! Even though mine are sometimes stressful, I believe that taking them out now will make outings easier as the kids get older, since it won’t be something new to them. Crossing my fingers for this to be true, bc another confrontation may just break me!

Autumn Fun

2009-10-21T17:49:38Z

I love this time of the year! The weather, the leaves changing colors, the holidays kick off with Halloween, AND it's college football season!! Everything about it just makes me want to get out of the house and enjoy it. This past weekend was one of the best, just doing things that celebrated Fall!! So, I have decided to give you some ideas for you to enjoy the cool weather and to prepare for the Tick or Treating.

We ventured out to the park this Saturday. They actually just renovated one near L's school, so he was excited to play around and explore the new area (for those of you in the NoLa area, it's Daneel Park in Uptown). I LOVE this park bc besides all the play structures, there are tons of trees that provide shade from the sun and a huge lawn where dogs can run around and families can pic-nic, which is EXACTLY what we did! L fell in love with this idea, especially bc he got to drink some soda for the first time! But it was a nice change of pace to lunchtime at our house.

Sunday, we decided to venture out to a plantation, Oak Alley. They were holding their annual Fall Festival. We had been last year, without M bc she was just a newborn; so we decided to take her along this year. The kids loved petting the animals, L did some moon-bouncing, and we all listened to music & took in the incredible views of the historic plantation. Although it was somewhat cooler than the day before, the kids didn't seem to mind. Fall Fests are great fun! This was our second of the month, and I don't think it will be out last of the season. If you can't find a festival, try searching for a Pumpkin Patch. That is one of our upcoming activities. They usually have hay rides, lots of pumpkins to choose from, and sweet treats!

Once you have those pumpkins, if you are anything like me, you instantly want to decorate them. I learned the hard way last year, that a carved pumpkin does not hold up that long. While we did an AMAZING carving job, they fell in about a week before Halloween. So, this year I decided to try something different. I found some Potato Head kits, that L was SO excited to help with and have drawn in daily visits from all the kids on our street! Then, I did something crafty and painted another pumpkin with a witch face & nailed on a toddler size witch hat.

Now, I am looking forward to our first Halloween bash this Sunday!! Hopefully, these ideas will help you and your tots enjoy the season a little more and create some fun activities for the entire family!

My challenge: picky eater

2009-10-09T03:44:37Z

I must say that there really haven’t been too many challenges with L lately. He has been improving at school – he seems to be making friends, learning to share, & is getting comfortable speaking in English! He has even seemed to become closer to me, which amazes me bc L always seems to search for Mr. whenever he is home. I was even asked to go give him an extra ‘good night’ for the past couple of days, after Mr. had read him his books!! I am moving up!!

Moving onto my little troublemaker, M. She has turned one also, just like Marta’s CC. She is on the same page as her cousin – no talking yet, holding onto things to walk, & LOVING her time at the babysitting service I use at L’s school so I can have a workout. But I must say that she still has some eating issues that I am not very fond of. I am HAPPY to say that my ‘cold turkey’ method has yet again done the trick with M’s bottle, though!!! While I had introduced a sippy cup to M a few times before, she never seemed interested. And, to be honest, I really didn’t want to rock the boat too much with her. I felt like, ok, when she turns one I will do it, just like L. Keeping my own promise, a couple of days after her birthday, we ran out of her formula. The following morning, I offered M a sippy cup with milk. She was NOT happy. She didn’t drink it. At naptime, I offered her another cup…yet ANOTHER failure. I put the same cup in the fridge, and gave it to her after her nap. I guess the thirst beat her stubbornness, bc she guzzled it down! The following day I decided to use the same technique I had used with L when transitioning him. I gave M her sippy cup as often as possible when she was in her car seat. I find that they can’t leave it to play and somehow they tend to ALWAYS finish what I have served them. So, after a couple of days M is drinking from 2 different types of sippy cups and got used to going down for bedtime without her bottle.

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for our solid intake. I had a quiet celebration when M ate eggs for the first time last week. She has now gotten to really liking them a lot! She also loves some mini-burgers that I make & some organic ravioli that I found at the grocery store. But, I must say, that I was a bit spoiled with L. He was SUCH a great feeder, that I am NOT used to M’s manners. She still tends to get turned off by food that is too large and sometimes even chews things and then spits them back out! I can’t really figure out what it is…she must like it bc she keeps on putting it in, but then I am not sure how much she ends up really eating. Now, M is not a small baby, but she is definitely smaller than L. So I am feeling a bit guilty! I really haven’t wanted to cater to her likes or dislikes, so I continue to offer the same variety of foods that I give L. Success is few and far between, but I do not want to create a picky eater. So I am trekking on.

If I have any advice to offer those moms that are suffering the pain of picky eaters, I can tell you this: I make sure that M has a LARGE meal of something that I know is nutritious for her AND that she likes at one point in the day. This way, I feel accomplished. Then, I also give her a few healthy snacks, in case she doesn’t eat too much at lunch or dinner. Most importantly, I make sure she drinks her milk. I am hoping that by continuing to challenge her, she will learn that these are the foods that she will eventually like?! I am keeping my fingers crossed, and hoping that she likes the chicken pot pie I am planning to give her next week!

Potty Training: Take #2

2009-09-29T02:29:10Z

Seeing that Marta had a tough potty training day, and that we have actually turned a BIT of a corner...I thought it would be appropriate to give an update on L's progress. We have had NUMEROUS accidents! Both poop & pipi in the past few weeks. It has NOT been pretty or pleasant. But we kept on going...with the encouragement of L's teachers and Mr's support, I think we are pulling through pretty well.

We had a GREAT weekend. It started all of a sudden, really. Friday he went #2 in the big potty when I asked if he needed to go while I was getting M ready for bed. M & I patiently waited outside the bathroom while he did his 'duty' and I was VERY pleasantly surprised to find that he had actually gone!! I was SO enthusiastic that I even gave in & handed him three M&M's. When Mr. got home, he was excited to report the incident. So, when Saturday rolled around, I was HOPING for the best but expecting the worst.

L surprised us BOTH yet again! He actually said the words, "Papa, pupu". Words that seem so meaningless and really not exciting to anyone who is not a parent, but a HUGE leap for us! He went AGAIN! And was very excited to receive his reward...again. More of the same on Sunday, except for the fact that I noticed a trend. L doesn't like to do #2 while in the company of others! He actually told ME (he tends to pay more attention to his dad on the weekends, so I was surprised the demand came to me this time) that he wanted to go potty, but when he saw that Mr. was already there, he no longer felt a need to go. A few minutes later, SUCCESS!! I guess privacy comes early in age sometimes...I am NOT complaining as long as I don't have to clean any more pupu.

Now, don't get me wrong. We did have an accident today. I must say, it was more MY fault than his. I had forgotten to remind him to go after a couple of hours AND a meal. So, after completing his dinner, he said (from across the room), "Mama, pipi." By the time I got over there, he had already created a puddle in front of the TV. Argh...another mess to clean up.

So, here are my tips so far. 1. Reminding them to go is how it works in the beginning. If you don't remind them, they won't go. So make sure to do this at least every our or so, depending also on how much they have had to drink. 2. Don't go negative on the poop issue. Every time I found myself getting mad, I told myself he is still learning, so I discouraged accidents by letting him 'sit' in the poop for a little while and THEN changing him. 3. Rewards have worked for us! They may not work for everyone, but trying never hurt. 4. It really DOES just happen all of a sudden. I NEVER expected to have L doing so well by now. Truth be told, I was hoping he would be doing this well by December! So, don't underestimate your kids!

Lessons on raising a bi-lingual tot

2009-09-17T19:11:50Z

Not sure what was in the air this week, but L had a rocky start at school for the first time. Upon picking him up on Tuesday, his teacher informed me that he had gotten frustrated with his friends and resorted to grabbing toys from them. My first instinct was that L had felt left out bc his friends were not paying attention to him, and in order to get their attention he resorted to bad tactics. His teacher suggested speaking to L in English more at home, but I was not too keen on this idea. I knew that the language barrier was a problem, but I felt that if most of my family was able to learn English through school, L could do the same thing. Mr. seemed to agree with my assessment when I recounted the story to him later that night.

While I probed L a little deeper in the car on the way home, I realized that my initial reaction was not correct, as well as that of his teacher's. While I did go over a lot of sharing, taking turns and wanting to play words in English, I also spoke to him further about the REAL reason that he had gotten frustrated. This all came back to visiting our family this past weekend. L had been trying to tell his friends that he had been on an airplane & had met the pilot! When his friends hadn’t understood what he was saying, I can just imagine that they went back to playing with their toys. Thus, L took them away so they would listen to his all too cool tail. My solution: provide L with the correct words in English in order for him to recount our plane adventure to his friends.

I was SO happy to see a smiling face on Wednesday’s pick up! L told me that his friends had listened to his story and he was content at school again. While there are many ways to raise a bi-lingual child, I am intent on setting the precedent that Spanish is spoken at home & English is spoken at school. I will continue to coach L along the way with words or phrases that he needs, but I think that switching over to English completely may just confuse him more. The most surprising detail about all of this is L’s realization that he is different from his friends at school. While he has friends that speak Spanish at home also, he doesn’t get why most of them just speak English. He seemed to accept the reasons that I gave him, but it seems that my little guy’s questions are becoming more and more complicated as the days go on.

I am just happy to have a giggling kid getting in the car at pick-up time, and am happy to hear him say, “yeah, mama” once in a while! Shows me that he is going to be ok in the end, the English will come along in a few months, and in the meantime I will be here to fill in the blanks.

Potty Training: 101

2009-09-09T12:24:38Z

My big boy, L, has been going through lots of changes- a new school, new swim classes, & we decided to add to that, new underpants. L has been peeing in his potty for a couple of months now. Sometimes more than others, but we tried to make it something that he would at LEAST do before getting into the bath in the afternoon. He has also been wearing Pull-Ups to encourage him to go alone. While he was SOMEWHAT successful, it wasn't really working. Since a lot of the kids in his class are in the process of potty training, I took a cue from a cousin of mine who suggested going cold turkey with the Pull-Ups and buying him big boy underwear that he would be excited to put on. So, off I went to get some underwear from Target! I was SO happy to find a pack filled with designs from all his favorite Pixar movies!!

This past Saturday, although we planned to leave the house, we put his big boy underpants on and reminded him to let us know when he had to go pee-pee. He went with Mr. before leaving the house, so we knew we had at least an hour or so before he would have to go again. I tried to convince him to go with me when we arrived at our second location, but he wasn't having it. About 5 minutes later, he came up to me and said, "Mama, pee-pee!" Then I realized his shorts were wet, and he hadn't let us know in time! I was calm, and quickly took him to the restroom to change him into the first set of extra clothes that we had (we took 2 in case of this). I out the wet clothes in the plastic baggie I had on hand, and put on another set of underpants. I also told L to try and go pee-pee a little more, so this wouldn't happen. He actually still had some left in him! I congratulated him for doing that, and reminded him kindly to tell Mama or Papa when he had to go to the potty.

I think the trauma of having an accident in public worked, bc that was his only incident that entire day!! He was great about letting us know when he had to pee. The only hitch was getting him to do pu-pu. He hadn't gone all day, and right after bathing him we put him in his diapers for the night. After a few minutes of playing we realized that he had gone pu-pu in his diaper. We changed it, while reminding him that he could go in the potty. We showed him where the pu-pu went by dumping it in the toilet and flushing it down, like it would when he went alone. The rest of the weekend was very similar. We had maybe one more accident, and pu-pu in the diaper (whenever he would have it on for his nap or for his evening sleep).

When school came along yesterday, both Mr. & I reminded him about telling his teacher when he had to go potty. I was hesitant to send him in underpants bc I wasn't sure if he would feel comfortable to let them know, but I didn't want to go backwards. So, off we went. Upon picking him up at school, I was SO happy to see him in the same clothes he had arrived in that morning! He had gone potty twice! No accidents. We celebrated by giving him a treat after lunch. But, there was a hitch. While M was drinking her milk before nap time, he did pu-pu in his Pull-Up again!

This problem has yet to be resolved. We are trying to put him on the potty when we think he will go pu-pu, but haven't been successful with it yet. I am SO happy that we are doing well with the pee-pee. All I have to say is sometimes cold turkey is the best way to go!

That time of the month

2009-09-03T22:48:02Z

It seems like every time M reaches her next month of life, her naps become non-existent for a few days. Granted, there have been a lot of changes for her this month. She just started going back to "daycare" for an hour a day in the morning, so I can do SOME exercise & take advantage of the gym that is INSIDE L's new school. So, she takes her morning nap a bit later than she used to and it is usually cut short bc she wakes up hungry. Then, she is going down for her midday nap a bit later, since we don't get back from L's school til about 1230pm. After changing her & giving her some milk, she is down by about 100pm.

She usually just talks for a little bit, and then eventually falls asleep. But the past two days have been no nap at ALL! She had a slight fever on Tuesday, so thought this could have been the issue yesterday. But she was healthy today, and STILL no nap. It's not even that she was crying...she was actually just talking away in her crib. After about 45 minutes, I decided to go check on her. to my UTTER surprise, I found my 11 month old daughter diaperless sitting up in her crib laughing!!! I wanted to crack up laughing, but didn't want to encourage her behaviour. So I quickly put the diaper back on, and added her shorts, so she couldn't re-do what she had accomplished already! Thank goodness she had peed BEFORE the diaper came off...if not, that would have been a mess.

Hoping for some answers...well, all I have to offer is a theory Judi offered me some time ago when M was having the same nap-time issues. Usually around her monthly birthday she tends to get disruptive. I am not sure what the correlation is, but of course today is that time of the month. All I am hoping is that by this time next week she is back to her 2 hour naps, which I relish & enjoy!!!