Little fun fact of the day, Elmo turns 3 1/2, tomorrow February 3rd. Now supposedly he never gets older than 3 1/2 years old, but since he was first introduced in 1979 he is probably a lot closer to being 32 years old.

When my husband and I debate whether to go out or not to a restaurant the question always arise, what do we need to bring.  Most restaurants provide customers with some sort of high chair, but in my experiences, they are always in poor filthy condition and are not very comfortable. Personally, sometimes it is better to bring your own gear with you so you and your baby can be comfortable while eating out.  Hear are some ideas of items to make the experience great for everyone.

Portable Booster

Portable boosters are great in the fact that they can fit universally on any restaurant chair and most of them are so compact that you can fit them underneath a stroller or some come with a carrying handle.

Other Accessories to Bring

Travel Placement: Great to put on top of the table and can fit very easily into a diaper bag. With one of these you do not have to worry about your baby’s food touching the table. Also these are usually great because they are made from no slip material that will help keep the plates on the table.

Summer Infant Tiny Diner

Toys, Toys & More Toys: While most babies and toddlers can now navigate their parents smart phones better than their parents themselves, sometimes you just don’t want to have your toddler use your phone all of the time as a “toy”.  Some great things to bring with you are a quiet time activity book or highchair toy.

Bathroom Breaks: If you are potty training your child a portable potty seat is a good idea to slip into your bag so your little one can take a potty break during the meal.

Snacks and Drinks: Crackers can be your savior when dining in a restaurant waiting for your food.  I usually try to wait to bust out the cracker card until I really need to use it.  Also, most restaurants do not have proper cups for kids to drink out of, and if they do have ones with straws, the cups are so flimsy that they usually end up spilling all over the place.  A great solution to this is take and toss straw cups.  I love these, they are inexpensive so if you leave it behind it is not a big deal, they hardly leak and most importantly they are easy for little hands to use.

With an increase of active Moms and Dads a jogging stroller can be a great way to introduce exercise into your daily routine.  With so many jogging strollers on the market it can be a daunting task to find the right stroller that meets your needs.  One important thing to remember is that it is a piece of exercise equipment, so you definitely get what you pay for.

Here are some important things to consider when purchasing a jogging stroller:

Wheel Size:

Jogging strollers come in a variety of wheel sizes, here is a breakdown of the different wheels sizes and their functions:

Fixed Versus Swivel Wheel

Depending on your usage you will want to consider whether you want your stroller to have a swivel wheel or a fixed wheel. Also, if this is going to be your main stroller, you will definitely want it to have a swivel wheel.

Wheel Type & Rims

Pneumatic Tires: These are air filled tires that will give you a much smoother ride over a multitude of terrain than traditional solid tires.

Shocks and Suspension

Shocks and absorbers will give your child a smoother more even ride when using the stroller.  This is important to consider if you want your child to nap while strolling in the stroller, also, if you plan on using it with small infants. (some manufactures do not recommend using these strollers for infants under 6 months of age).

Other Things to Consider:

Cup Holders and Trays: Very important to some people, some strollers do not come with this, some you must purchase as an additional accessory, which adds to the cost of the stroller.  Also, some strollers do not come with the tray for a child, not a big deal to me (none of the strollers I have owned had one), but if your child is dependent on one, this is something to consider.

Washable Seats: If you plan on using your stroller in a variety of conditions, for example, the beach, the woods, muddy terrain, snow, you will want a stroller that you can take the seat off and wash in a washing machine.

Brakes: More advanced jogging strollers will have a hand brake that is very similar to a bicycle brake in addition to a traditional stroller break.  This is a great safety feature to keep in mind when looking for a stroller if you plan on using it for heavy duty running.

Extra Accessories: Manufactures make a variety of accessories to maximize the use of your stroller such as bug shields, wind guards,  sun shields, stroller liners, and cup holders which you can add to increase the usefulness of your stroller.

We wake up pretty early in my house having a toddler and a puppy too.  You never know which one is going to wake you up.  Today on the Today show they had an interesting segment on “Princess Culture.” Having a daughter myself, it is something that I have been concerned about for sometime.  Luckily, my daughter is a little over two, so princess culture has not hit her yet, although when she starts preschool next year I am sure that we she will want to explore it.  Author Peggy Orenstein in her book Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture discusses how media and culture are influencing  girls at an early age that appearance and being “saved” by their prince charming take precedence over values such as hard work and intelligence.  I really think that this is an interesting read since girls at an earlier age seem t o be growing up so quickly. The message that I liked from the interview is not to forbid your daughter from seeing or liking princesses, but instead to expose them and immerse them in other things as well.  I think that is the best thing you can do as a parent is to expose your child to all different experiences relevant to their age.

I have been looking all over for a toy washing machine for my daughters play kitchen area.  It seems that no one makes a decent quality one anymore. I came across this one when looking for one for my daughter and I think that this one may do the trick.  Step2 now makes the Deluxe Nursery Center which includes a mini washing machine, changing table, sink and highchair all in one unit. The unit is nice in the fact that it has multiple play areas so your child can use it for many different uses other than just a mini washer. For parents it is also great because it can be easily wiped off with soap and water.

I must say that these are the cutest set of ice cream cones that I have ever seen.  My daughter received the Smart Snacks Rainbow Cones by Learning Resources for Christmas and they are an excellent edition to her play kitchen.  The colors are nice and bright- and they are the true ROYGBIV colors which makes them easy for small children to identity. The scoops easily attach to the 2 cones that come with the set and stack neatly one on top of the other, which is great for young children to do to practice their motor skills.  The thing I like about this toy the best it that it is multifunctional- it is educational yet it can also be used in a play kitchen as well.

The other night me, my husband and daughter went and picked up ice cream.  We got her favorite strawberry, which I must say is the best strawberry ice cream that I have ever had.  The place that we goes to makes their own flavors of ice cream and the strawberry has huge pieces of strawberry ice cream in it.  We get home we start eating our ice cream and all of a sudden a tantrum breaks out.  Immediately I wonder, did she bite her tongue, does she not like strawberry ice cream any more, what is wrong.  Then she said I want Mama’s ice cream.  I figured that  perhaps she like my flavors better.  I had apple pie (big pieces of apple) and rocky road, which she ate around.  Well she finished all of my apple ice cream, and then when she was done, she signed said “Mama’s ice cream all done.” and then ate her small cup of strawberry.  When I think about the story it makes me laugh but at the same time it brings to light how much children are masters of their emotions.  I say to myself I will not fall for this one again, but most likely who I am kidding I probably will.

So with the beginning of the new year, I have decided that I am going to take the plunge and dive in head first into the world of potty training.  I should actually clarify, my daughter was using the potty to go pee pee for about a year now, but we have never been successful in achieving diaper independence.  I credit this to myself, not transitioning her into training pants and not sticking to a schedule of following up with her.  The other thing I think is that we did not use training pants we were still using diapers, and honestly diapers just do too good of a job keeping kids dry.  I am going to try the cloth ones so she “feels” the wetness.

As I prepare to start the new year off right I am going through the list of things I need to start this journey.

Potty- Check

Potty Seats- Check

Timer To Remind about going- Check will use my phone

Training Pants- Check

In the past we used stickers as rewards for using the bathroom.  While the stickers worked initially, it just really did not excite her that much as a reward.  I tried offering her a quarter for each time she went.  That didn’t work either.   My daughter is a very spirited toddler.  Whenever I ask her if she has to go, she says emphatically “No!”, which is a very common toddler answer to any question that is asked.  We have poop corner in our house- the corner of the living room between the bookcase and the couch.   She walks behind there and you can hear the little grunts which signals that the pooping has commenced.   Then it is off to change the diaper, which has always been a battle with her.  You would think great she doesn’t like her diaper changed then perhaps she would like to use the bathroom then.  No she just likes to be very independent.

In the bathroom, she knows how to use the bathroom- dump the potty, close the lid, flush, & wash hands.   I just think at this point we need to dive, be persistent and begin the journey.

Potty training can be very challenging.  Lets face it, diapers do a great job at what they do, keeping your child dry.  This is often the major challenge that parents face when trying to potty train children.  The diapers work so good that children do not feel wet and often do not realize that they have wet themselves.  The Gerber Training Pants are a great solution to this diaper issue.  Made of a soft cotton blend the diapers have extra padding in the middle to catch the wet messes, but are made of cloth so your child can feel that they went to the bathroom.  The Gerber Training Pants are also an environmentally friendly training pant solution since all you will have to do is wash the soiled pants.   The reusable training pants are also more cost effective than continuously purchasing training pants.

Potty Chair in Red

Who says that little ones can not make their own New Year’s resolutions?  Why not start out the new year with trying to get off diapers and starting potty training?  An essential to potty training is a good potty.  The Baby Bjorn Potty chair hands down is the most functional potty chair around.  The potty is a very basic potty, which makes it very easy for toddlers and parents to use.  For toddlers it is low to the ground which makes it easy for them to get on and off of- which is essential for potty training success.  The aspect that I like about this potty chair is that there are not a lot of pieces to clean.  The chair has only 2 pieces, which can be washed off and wiped down very easily.  The chair comes in a lot of different colors so your child can pick their favorite color.  The chair is also small enough that you could bring it with you on long trips or vacations.