Toddler mealtime

Eating time with toddlers can be a real mess. After all, they are just starting to learn how to eat by themselves and are entitled to have a little food everywhere. Food gets all over their lap, their sleeves, and all over their face (of course)!

There are so many kinds of bibs available, it's easy to get lost in the sea of bibs. We tried the long sleeved bibs like Bumkins. We figured that in cold weather, it would keep them warmer, but it was a nightmare to clean and the pocket never stayed open to catch anything. Also since it was all non-breathable vinyl, we found it made the kids sweaty. Some bibs don't have a catch-all pocket, some are so tiny we don't know what it's for, and some are just cute and don't serve the purpose.

When we found the Dex Dura Bib, it was the best thing since sliced bread! It could fold flat when we needed to transport it. It was vinyl on one side and comfortable cotton on the other side. And more importantly, the pocket stayed open and caught all the food and drinks! In the winter, we take off any long sleeved sweatshirts and shirts to avoid the mess on the sleeves. Then put on a fleece vest over the short sleeved onesie and the Dex Dura Bib over that. The kid stays warm, arms and hands are easy to wash and no mess on the lap. It's machine washable. Perfect! If you are interested in this bib, go for the large size. The size is just referring to how big the bib is; The neck hole sizes are the same for small and large.

Check out Rocks in My Dryer for more great Works for Me Wednesday tips.

Shipping rates increase

The US Postal Service has just raised their rates, effective 05/12/08. We have just updated our shipping rates to keep them aligned. Thank you for understanding.

That crumby mess

Now that hot weather is here, it's especially important to clean up those crumbs on the floor before the ants decide to help out! When you have kids around the house, there seems to be an endless supply of those little bits of food.

Get yourself a cordless stick vacuum for the dining table area and your clean up will be a breeze. The keyword here is "cordless". For some reason, dragging out the big corded canister vacuum seems such a huge task that I'd just rather go down on my hands and knees and clean up with a paper towel instead.

I love my vacuum and can't live without it! I use it after every meal. It's cordless and has a stick so that my back stays happy. Eureka 96 B Quick Up Upright Cordless Stick Vacuum.

Another bonus is that my kids can help vacuum! It's so light, anyone can push it. That makes me happy and my kids proud.

For other great ideas, be sure to visit Works for me Wednesday!

No bedtime stories here

In our house, we don't read books as a bedtime ritual. It requires that the lights stay on, and there are just too many books that HAVE to be included. Reading books in bed also gets me yawning by the second page, that doesn't make for a good story. It just doesn't work for me!

Instead, we turn out the lights and spend that quality time telling about our day. It's not always easy getting a preschooler to talk about his school day, but this works for us.

Every night, I lie down with my preschooler and we tell something good and something sad that happened that day. We take turns and he loves it because he finally has my undivided attention away from all the hoopla and craziness of the day. After we do our "goods" and "sads", we each sing a short song to each other. I treasure every moment of it! This also works with a young toddler too, except that I do most of the talking.

Don’t miss this special edition of What (Doesn’t) Work for Me Wednesdays over at Rocks in My Dryer!