Baby Toolkit

Literally Two Seconds: Exergen Temporal Scanner Measures Up

2008-10-01T11:51:00.003-05:00

This might show just a bit of neurosis, but ever since we received an Exergen Temporal Scanner earlier this summer, I've been on watch for someone in our household to have a fever. Fortunately, my insanity cannot conjure actual events, so we've stayed healthy all summer.

That good health hasn't quelled our curiosity or stopped us from playing with the Temporal Scanner.

Upon taking the scanner out of its plastic clamshell packaging, I noticed that the battery door did not have any super-accessible tabs for opening (like most remote controls). With toddlers in the house, that is a huge relief. Ranger has been a dedicated electronics hacker since gaining manual dexterity, and the batteries are always his first target upon disassembly.

The included 9-volt battery also underlines this tool's smart design. A 9-volt is a long lasting battery (actually a series of 6 AAAA batteries under one covering) that doesn't roll off the table, and doesn't look snack sized to most humans.

This amazingly fast thermometer produces a consistent result in seconds. We never had any luck with ear thermometers and our cheap CVS-brand temporal scanner takes FOREVER to determine a temperature (and never offers the same result twice). Unlike oral digital thermometers and ear thermometers (which estimate a real body temperature from a number of samples), the Exergen measures real body temperature from the temporal artery (forehead) and then accounts for heat loss due to room temperature.

The simple one-button design has an elegance that only comes from a passionate and talented expert. This isn't something dreamt up by non-techs and then half-heartedly executed by a team of engineers. This smart device was developed by a Havard research physicist with special interest in medical technology (Francesco Pompei).

Pompei and his wife head this Massachusetts-based company and have made impressive choices for their company: Exergen temporal scanners are made in the United States. How many digital products can make that claim these days?

We love the Exergen temporal scanner. It promises to be fast, accurate, and non-invasive when we're testing a grouchy, sickly family member.

It's recommended retail price is around $50, but will outperform and outlast its cheaper competitors. Currently the Exergen can be found at Amazon (for around $32), Walgreens, both R Us chains, Sam's Club, and Costco (among other brick and mortar and online sellers).

In the future, we'd love to see the option of a hard-sided case (for protection during travel and storage).

Kaboost Me Up Onto the Kabandwagon: Chair Booster

2008-09-22T17:14:00.005-05:00

Earlier this year, I bought a Kaboost at the local Babies R Us so we could look at its construction and stability. Despite glowing reviews from favorite bloggers at Z Recommends and Chief Family Officer, I was sure the gizmo would have tipping problems.

Well, I was so wrong. The Kaboost is surprisingly stable and way more durable in its construction than I ever would have guessed from photos. All my attempts to destabilize the base were futile. Ranger, who was way past liking booster seats, waited impatiently while I desperately tried to tip the seat or rock it out of the base.

As soon as I climbed out of the Kaboosted chair, he gleefully climbed into it and requested food. Pretty surprising behavior for a booster seat resisting, rather indifferent eater.

I was sure this was the effect of novelty. Over 4 months later, he still loves "his chair." Jim and I regularly sit in it too without any fear of collapse. On vacation, I walked downstairs to find my engineer father perched on the Kaboosted seat attempting to rock it. As I toasted some bread, he pulled it off the chair and gave a more thorough examination. "Great design. Clever."

They're on clearance this week at our local Babies R Us for $20 if you want to give one a try.

Win Giggles Baby Nursery Rhymes Software

2008-09-15T09:45:00.003-05:00

Happy Monday, folks!

Last January, I wrote about Giggles Software for Babies at Parent Hacks. We, especially Ranger, really like the software.

Since that time Giggles' maker Leveractive, has issued a great new Giggles offering: Nursery Rhymes.

Nursery Rhymes offers a Toddler setting for more advanced play. Ranger loves it so much that we bought a flexible USB keyboard so he could play on our laptops without handling the whole machine (thanks, Parent Hacks for this smart suggestion!).

Win Nursery Rhymes:
Leveractive generously provided us with a copy of Nursery Rhymes to give to one lucky reader! To enter, please send an email to babytoolkitcontests[at]gmail[dot]com with the subject Nursery Rhymes.

General rules: Entries will be accepted until 5 PM CDT, Friday, Sept. 19. One entry per household. US residents only. Winner will be determined by random number generation. Winner will be notified by email. We're cheap, so shipping will be through the US Postal Media Mail (which puts the snail in snail mail); we'll do our best, but if the software gets lost in the mail, we'll take it as a bad omen and will not provide a replacement. Baby Toolkit family members cannot enter (sorry, Mom).

Good luck!

Tipless Tools: Letting Toddlers Help

2008-09-11T09:45:00.002-05:00

When we were assembling 400 pounds of IKEA bookshelves, Ranger desperately wanted to be in the action. He kept absconding with every unattended tool so he could imitate our actions. We weren't exactly thrilled to have a 2 year old running around with pointy tools or ramming them into our brand new furniture.

Eventually, we gave him a special screwdriver of his own (a screwdriver handle without any of the interchangeable magnetic tips). He loved it as it fit over the ends of the IKEA screws. We loved the fact that it couldn't easily gouge him or any of the furniture pieces nor could it actually loosen or tighten any fasteners.

Other posts about entertaining a young assistant:

Avoid Flash Floods: Lidded Snack Bowl as Painting Water Cup

2008-09-10T15:32:00.004-05:00

Ranger wanted to paint today, so I dug through the cabinets for a water container. His old lidded snack cup really minimized splashing and spilling.

Maybe snack traps have some useful purpose after all...

Related posts:

Painting With Water: Tandem Toddler Playtime
Snack Traps: Very Small Money Pits

True Diaper Pail Confessions: A New Champ Enters the Arena

2008-09-10T15:01:00.008-05:00

I guess we should confess; our friend recently spied this box in our entryway.Well, good readers, lest we deceive you any longer, while our DIY diaper pail succeeded in capturing the stink, it was summarily defeated by the squadrons of drain flies zooming through our house.

The metal lid was too flexible to maintain a perfect seal, so the drain flies had a heyday.

We broke down and bought the "New and Improved" Diaper Champ. It's wider throat and the absence of neoprene seals are more promising than the last version, but we remain rather suspect about its ability to resist odors in the long run.

We'll keep you posted.

Not-Quite Homemade: Custom Decorating A Bakery Cake

2008-09-08T15:05:00.002-05:00

We spent a lot of time last month deliberating about Ranger's birthday cake. It was a big issue because we were throwing his first friends and family birthday party ever, and (feeling inclusive) we invited over 40 families (most with toddlers and kids).

In an additional act of insanity, we didn't ask for RSVPs, so we knew we could expect anywhere from 3-100 attendees. That's potentially a lot of cake. While we love and advocate homemade cake, the thought of making and transporting 100 cupcakes or a giant sheet cake was overwhelming.

So we ordered a big sheet cake from a local warehouse club. Ranger chose blue for the trim color, and the bakery employee kind of blinked at me when I said I wanted a blank white top.

"And what words do you want on it?"

"No words. Just the flat white icing and the blue trim."

"Seriously?"

With a raise of the eyebrows, she accepted my request and filed the cake order away.

Jim, either in an act of diplomacy or trying to dissociate himself from the insanity attributed to me said "We're going to put our own robots on it!"

Her look said "I'm sure you will, honey," but her mouth said "That's great," as she BACKED into the employee only area of the store.

So, the Jones master plan was to make robots similar to those on our AWESOME Creative Commons rob ot invitations (thank you, Dot of Dabbled, for being so generous in sharing all your great original images and robot party ideas) to top Ranger's bakery cake.

Dot's beautiful 3D robot cake had been our original inspiration for birthday dessert, but we couldn't envision the fleet of robots we would require successfully making the car trip from our house to the party location. It did however, inspire us to look into fondant.

A cake making friend describes fondant as inedible, so I wasn't in any rush to buy premade. Google offered good recipes and tutorials for marshmallow fondant (which is primarily marshmallow and powdered sugar), so Jim and I spent an evening making and kneading the fondant.

The first steps are much like rice crispy treats- melting marshmallows to hot goo. Then- on very greased surfaces and with downright slippery hands- you mix in colors, then knead in the powdered sugar. The mixture turns into a rather adhesive dough until you really saturate it with powdered sugar.

Ranger wandered into the kitchen soon after we started the kneading process. He found Jim with hands stuck in what looked like a giant yellow glob of chewed bubble gum and me with cerulean mitts closely resembling melting smurf hands.

"What happened?"

His only response is a wave of hysterical laughter. A wide-eyed Ranger BACKS out of the kitchen.

After letting the fondant set up in the fridge overnight, we rolled it out and Jim cut out the robot shapes. We had lots of fondant left, so I grabbed a cookie cutter and cut out a dozen or so stars. We even marbled the two colors together to get some multicolored stars.

The end product was well received (it was cake and sugar, after all).

Labor Day Brats

2008-09-01T21:35:00.003-05:00

German heritage is strong is our area. On holidays where the rest of the nation grills hot dogs and burgers, here you can find many a grill laden with bratwurst.

Our grill was not one of them. It's sitting in a box in our garage because no one wants to carry the very heavy object up our sloping backyard and assemble it (or assemble it then drag it through the yard).

Faced with the option of spending the holiday morning assembling a grill, I looked toward Google for an answer and found a smart way to cook bratwurst on the stove.

The results were simply amazing and we were able to prepare more than a dozen wursts in a few easy steps.

It gave us a lot of time to relax and enjoy lunch with great guests.

Re-covering the past: The Sentimental Value of Other People's Furniture

2008-08-26T16:00:00.000-05:00

Our house is decorate primarily in OPF (Other People's Furniture). Marrying young and poor, we quickly became magnets for anything that friends or relations were giving away. This set a precedent of a home full of artifacts from those we love. Even when we both had professional jobs, we found we didn't want to part with grandma's couch, mom's childhood dresser, auntie's steamer trunk with all its old shipping labels, or the huge and gracious dining room table that served two generations of Oregon Joneses before us.

Throughout childhood, I could always find the same folding step stool in every house we owned. It was a great toddler seat, so it's a prominently featured element of many family event photos.

After my grandmother died, I inherited her step stool which happens to be identical to the one still in my mom's kitchen. The stool moved into our first house's kitchen, but it was relegated to a closet when we moved here. There are only a few nooks and crannies that we can't access while standing on the floor, so there didn't seem to be much of a point in keeping it out when an already handy chair could serve in a pinch.

That was, until a few weeks ago when I momentarily lost my balance standing on a chair. Fortunately, I caught myself as only Ranger and I were home and he's hardly ready to pick me up off the floor or call 9-1-1.

After a lecture from Jim (which I totally resisted to acknowledge as sensible), I noticed that Ranger's beloved Richard Scarry Busytown videos have a musical segment on kitchen safety for kids which includes NEVER standing on a chair. The fact that Jim's advice was as elementary as the concepts that stoves are hot and knives are sharp tweeked my conscience.

The stool emerged that afternoon from its closet entombment. Ranger immediately found it awesome, and I realized that decades of regular use had left it with more grime and damage than in my memories.

After a good scrubbing, the foot tread was black again, but the top step/seat had faded from cheerful yellow to sad off-white and was tearing at the corners.

So I replaced the vinyl and padding on the seat. For $3, I found some vinyl that matched the cheerful yellow of my childhood and the new padding (low loft polyester quilt batting) cost around $1 more.

I removed the seat pad and cleaned under it (the dark spots in the photo are places where the metal is discolored or scuffed). The seat pad is a thin wooden piece of pressboard topped with batting then covered with vinyl and stapled. I pulled out all the staples and found that the cotton batting was worn flat and stained from spills that seeped under the seat. Using the old vinyl and batting as templates, I cut two layers of fresh batting and one piece of new vinyl. After some stretching and stapling, the seat pad was refreshed and replaced.

Such a small refurbishing project results in sweet flashback of childhood in the kitchen. I'm delighted every time Ranger perches on it.

Pane-less Toddler Craft: "Stained Glass"

2008-08-26T13:14:00.014-05:00

We recently found ourselves in search of a craft that could entertain a crowd of wee folk between ages 18 months and 8 years. Glue, paint, and markers all promised more mess than I wanted to clean up in a borrowed space.

In the GIANT Encyclopedia of Theme Activities for Children 2 to 5 (borrowed from the library), we found a great Stained Glass craft that involves neither glass nor stain. It seemed flexible enough to entertain a crowd of various ages.

With 2 pieces of clear Con-tact paper (available at craft and discount stores in a variety of lengths), a construction paper frame, and small squares of colored tissue paper or cellophane, you can entertain kids (and adults) for a while.

Before introducing toddlers to the scene, pre-cut your frame, 2 slightly larger pieces of Con-tact paper, and tissue paper squares.

Bring on the kids.

Help the kids remove the backing from one sheet of Con-tact paper (even early toddlers can enjoy separating the Con-tact paper and its backing if someone starts a corner for them).

Place the Con-tact paper on the table sticky side up.

If you want to write something on the frame now is the time. Names are a good addition if lots of kids are doing the same craft. Center and place the frame face down on the Con-tact paper.

Now the kids can place colored shapes all over the sticky paper. Overlapping pieces and pieces going over the frame are no problem. Older kids might want to make mosaic-style images or patterns.

When the young artist feels their work is completed, help them remove the backing from the second piece of Con-tact paper. Place the Con-tact paper face down on the completed mosaic. Don't worry about lining up the edges exactly- you can trim away the surplus for a neat edge.

If you want, you can use a hole-punch and yarn to make a hanger, but we just taped our finished project to the window.

Clean up is easy (throw out Con-tact backings and sweeping up tissue squares), and even very young children have the satisfaction of completing a craft.

Extra-Thirsty and Other Warning Signs

2008-08-21T08:26:00.000-05:00

Pop quiz (in honor of the return to school season):

Do you know the warning signs for Type 1 diabetes? How about Type 2?

Mom blogger Leeanthro recently reminded me that diabetes can strike even preschoolers, and the symptoms can elude watchful parents because we're not on the lookout for this specific condition. Two of the hardest moments in my mom's teaching career have been informing families that their child's classroom behavior merits diabetes screening.

Jim and I lost a friend to Type 1 diabetes in the 90s not long after his college graduation. Half a decade later one of our closest friends was hospitalized with life-threatening symptoms of undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes.

While we can (and should) seek a cure for diabetes and support those already diagnosed (as Leeantrho is currently doing in her Blog to Fight Diabetes campaign), please familiarize yourself with the common symptoms of diabetes for the health of your family and your community. Don't be afraid to speak up if you notice diabetic symptoms in someone else's child.

And, if you want to talk about gestational diabetes, feel free to send us an email. We learned about that firsthand when pregnant with Ranger.

Terrific Twos: Tandem Toddler Playtime

2008-08-20T08:58:00.007-05:00

Last week we were thrilled to have a favorite young guest make a morning visit. Our sweet-tempered guest is about 6 months younger than Ranger, so they're both making the transition from parallel to interactive play.

Before our guest's arrival, some of Ranger's most beloved objects were placed in his room to prevent crises in sharing. We tend to play only in the public areas of the house to prevent triggering his sometimes territorial behavior.

He and our guest had a lovely time playing together with Colorforms on the fridge. The big blank space gave them lots of freedom and it was really sweet to hear them identifying shapes and colors to each other.

The big hit of the morning though had to be PAINTING (it even outranked Cheerios). A few months ago I lucked across an unopened Buddah Board at a local thrift shop (50 cents, normally ~$22). It's simple, reusable paint with water surface is great for two toddlers to share and it dries fast enough that there's always some white space available for painting.

They had a great time painting, and I loved watching them in this charming new age of (periodic) cooperation.

Bowling With Recyclables

2008-08-18T19:17:00.003-05:00

Growing up on military bases, Jim had easy access to bowling alleys. Jim's dad bowled in military leagues and (coincidentally) now works for a bowling ball manufacturer.

Around two and half, we took Ranger bowling for the first time. He loved it. We've gone a few times since.

Last night Ranger kept mentioning bowling, so we dug through the recycle bin for some impromptu pins.

Our Simply Lemonade containers are ideal choices. We all prefer them upside-down because it improves the chain reactions and delivers a very satisfying clatter when they fall. The lids are heavy enough that Ranger has no problem setting them up on our own.

Other bottles that worked well are water bottles, shampoo bottles, and half gallon juice bottles. Milk gallons will work, but don't provide much satisfaction in sound or tumbling action when hit.

We used a foam ball, a spherical soccer ball pillow, and a rubber ball. All the balls worked well, so it looks like you could use any ball that fits your toddler's hands well and isn't too heavy.

We think soda bottles would work well, but didn't have any on hand to test.

These impromptu bowling sets can make an easy and cheap activity for entire herds of toddlers.

It's always fun to find toys in the recycling bin: check out our homemade milk-carton building blocks. (They'll also do substitute bowling pins in a pinch.)

Letter-Perfect: DIY Toddler-Friendly Custom Storage Labels

2008-08-06T15:47:00.000-05:00

Whenever we buy a warehouse box of wipes, we get another pop-up dispenser box. This isn't a real boon since we're still using our original wipes box at the changing table and our second wipes box downstairs.

A friend's brother uses some of our surplus boxes to organize and store auto parts and hardware bits in his garage.

Ranger's been pretty obsessed with his magnetic letters lately. Late last year he explored the house for new magnetic surfaces, so now magnetic letters, shapes, and potholders can be found hanging on many doors and appliances around the house.

The bulk of the letters used to travel together around the house in a lidless cardboard Clementine box. In the last week, that box has been deemed perfect for marble play, so the letters would be randomly heaped in front of doors.

The wipes box was perfect for holding his letter collection. At least until Ranger decided to use it to hold two marbles and the alphabet heaps began reappearing around the house. A label seemed like it might help as long as Ranger could read it.

I scanned some letters for a label (our scanner has a glass bed so all voids show as black space) and printed the resulting image. It easily attached to the box with two strips of packaging tape. Ranger now understands that the box has specific purpose.

How do you help toddlers learn to put stuff away?

Feel the Burn: When Hot Peppers Fight Back

2008-08-05T09:43:00.005-05:00

Last night, Ranger's grandparents tangled with some peppers of unknown origin they received at church. The very bright green peppers turned out not to be sweet peppers but instead held within them the very seeds of fire.

My parents tend to like very hot foods. My dad's been accused of attempted assassination for serving his rather spicy spaghetti sauce, and the family chili recipe has made people ask "What keeps the pot from melting?" as they gobble down seconds and thirds to stave off the inevitable burn.

Mom called this morning because her hands were still burning from cutting the peppers barehanded last night. Popular wisdom (via Google) unwisely suggests lots of caustics and/or drying agents (ranging from undiluted bleach to ethyl alcohol to 100 proof vodka); all bad ideas. I cannot imagine that these remedies do much more than dry the skin and make it more irritable.

Our own experience and a rather colorful story about friend's hot pepper connoisseur father and poorly timed trip to the urinal (along with wikipedia) point toward oily compounds to quickly remove the pepper's burn agent (capsaicin). We've found that whole milk or yogurt (preferably a non-low-fat variety) work best internally and humble fatty mayonnaise is great topically (store brands often have the highest fat content).

Grandma just called back after trip to the store for cheap mayo, and reports "immediately relief" for her burning hands.

Mastering the Stink: Our DIY Diaper Pail

2008-08-05T08:13:00.010-05:00

Earlier this year, our once-revived Diaper Champ went down for the final count. Though replacing the seals extended the useful life of the Champ, there was nothing we could to do to stop the stink from moving into the porous plastic parts.

The Diaper Champ perpetually smelled like a convention of port-a-potties on a hot day. I didn't want to deal with this reality, but when I opened it one day to find a dozen staggering drain flies circling inside, I knew its useful life was over. I bagged the Champ, diapers, drain flies, and all. When Jim dropped it in the compactor at our local waste disposal station, he ran back to the car.

"Hurry, they've firing up the compactor!"

I started the engine just in time to hear the Champ's plastic sides blow out, popping the bag.

"Mosquitos!" Ranger proclaimed as a cloud of drain flies blackened out the sky over the facility. With slow deliberation, I drove nonchalantly away from the creeping smell.

We talked about buying another Diaper Champ to see if the next generation is indeed improved, but decided such stink free plastic pails to be mere pipe dreams. Plus, there's not much sustainability in recycling one of those giant plastic stinkholes for each child we raise.

So we went with an earlier plan involving a metal pail with a tightly locking lid. We got a small steel can at Lowe's for $13.98 and (this time) a brand new tube of caulk (learning from our previous curing problems).

On the underside of the lid, Jim put two beads of caulk on the handle bases and three concentric circles of caulk around the outer edges. After a few days off-gassing on our porch, the pail was ready for use.

We just use a kitchen trash bag inside of it and twist it closed after each diaper. The inside of the pail reeks, but when closed exudes no olfactory offense to bystanders. It's not a 1-handed disposal, but it's easier than carrying every single diaper downstairs and out to the main trash in the garage and it uses far less plastic than individually bagging each stinkbomb (we really don't like plastic bags) and putting them in indoor trashcans.

After a few weeks of field testing, we've found that the diaper pail doesn't retain a smell when not in use- and the drain fly population seems to be nearing extinction in our household.

How do you keep the air fresh during the diapering years?

Update (9/10/08): The pail kept the stink under control, but couldn't win against the drain flies. We've since purchased a different version of the Diaper Champ.

Sign of the Times: Kid's Name Signs from a Recycled Origami Calendar

2008-08-04T12:03:00.005-05:00

Mimi & Moe's Mom found a great use for some origami paper from one of those page-a-day calendars. She's made some really cute kid's name signs for Moe and many friends (Mimi already had a super-deluxe sign for her room from an earlier project). I know it's just an excuse to use a power drill and glitter, but the end products are fabulous.

While you're visiting her site- check out these awesome crocheted watches she made for the kids!

Does anyone have an idea where she could find more clock buttons?

Power Lines: Indoor Clotheslines Cut Consumption

2008-08-04T11:50:00.000-05:00

Jim and I heard an awesome segment on NPR about Juneau, Alaska's amazing power conservation efforts after an avalanche destroyed their connection to hydro-electric power. The resulting dependence on gas-powered generators caused their electricity rates to raise 400 to 500%.

In a month, the citizens of Juneau have made amazing personal and community conservation efforts and now use less than 70% of their prior consumption.

Since hearing their story we've been looking for more ways to cut our own power use.

One obvious point of energy waste in our house is the dryer. Dryers are innately inefficient (they're just big boxes of hot), especially in an air conditioned home; they are so equally inefficient that they aren't ever Energy Star certified. But our dryer is even worse than usual: When we experienced basement flooding after the tornado, one of our many solutions was to replace the cracked and tilted back patio in hopes of diverting water away from the foundation and basement walls. The new patio sits 14 inches higher than our previous one which comes right up to the bottom flapper of our dryer vent. Now our dryer vent door has a hard time opening consistently or fully. Laundry loads can take twice as long some days. This extended drying time is pretty annoying. It results in a lot of forgotten damp clothes and rewashing.

We're working on a better solution for the outside vent, but in the meantime Jim hung an indoor clothesline that is making our lives a lot simpler. If the clothes in the dryer are damp, they go right to the line and laundry progress marches on. This save us on dryer time and rewashing. Plus, it means far fewer trips up and down the Alpinist-designed stairs (more on stairs).

Now, most people would advocate an outdoor clothesline for the sunshine, but I'm allergic to most of Southern Indiana's greenery. Hanging my clothes out for the fresh air smell is a recipe for ongoing respiratory misery and seepage. The outdoor pollens on the clothes rapidly make me a weepy-eyed sneezer whenever I wear them.

We chose a retractable clothesline (so we can move it when we're working in the utility room) and used a couple of extra wallhooks to use its full 30' length.

The clothesline is great for dryer-unfriendly gear like swimsuits. As an added bonus, it lessens the amount of embarrassing laundry hanging to dry in household showers.

How do you cut power consumption in your home?

The Day the Circus Came (Back) To Town

2008-07-29T13:02:00.007-05:00

This weekend, the Circus Train rolled back into town after over a quarter of a century on tour.

This train was my first birthday present from my parents. The pieces traveled around the country as my family moved. I can remember the train tooling across our arid Texas driveway and stalling on the thick lime green shag of our Indiana home.

As I got older, the train rolled on to my younger cousin. When we visited, he and I would play with it on their brick hearth or shady back patio. After it was cast aside for other toys, my wise aunt kept it (along with an airport, a parking garage, a farm, and a house) for the quiet years until an older cousin's children brought fanfare back to the center ring.

At least 5 children and two decades later, the train (and airport) arrived at my house. Even considering the monkey's decision to become an ape (he apparently opted for tail removal surgery), it's in amazingly good condition for being 30+ years old.

Ranger, Jim, and I are really enjoying these great vintage toys. It's exhilarating to simultaneously connect to my own childhood memories while playing with Ranger.

Thanks, Aunt Carol, for years of storage and sharing the toys with us now!

Did you or your family save any childhood toys for intergenerational reuse? Are there any toys you plan to save for the next generation?

A Showing of Hands: Pre-Literacy Notes

2008-07-28T15:14:00.000-05:00

When a student leaves my mom's fifth grade classroom, they take with them a lot of experience in writing thank you notes.

Though I'd like to say her fine influence has made me an exemplary written correspondent, that would be a disturbingly egregious lie.

Thank you notes have been particularly problematic for me. I spent many years trying to write a perfect note to express appreciation for truly generous acts.

A good friend (who also happens to be a fine writer) counseled me that a perfect thank you note is any appreciative one written in a timely manner.

Since that conversation, I've been a lot better about offering thanks.

Jim and I wanted a way for Ranger to engage in pro-correspondence environment even while pre-literate. Friends and family have been wonderful about sending him mail- especially post cards, so he knows firsthand the pleasure of receiving mail.

For Father's Day, he let us trace his hand onto a homemade card for my dad. A few weeks later Jim was sending a birthday card to our favorite primatologist and Ranger kept circling him- asking insistently for paper and crayons. Jim gave him coloring sheets and crayons, but he kept asking for more. Finally he brought a coloring sheet to me, handed me a crayon, and placed his hand at the center of the paper to be traced.

"Jim, I think he wants to sign the card." So Jim traced Ranger's hand inside the card. Ranger was proud and satisfied. He handed the crayons and paper back to me and went in the other room to play.

With Ranger's handprint contribution, he's an active part of our all family thank you notes and written greetings. And honestly, it gives me even more motivation to write. This morning he and I caught up on our correspondence with 6 thank you notes.

Even if this doesn't give him a lifelong interest in thank you notes, maybe he'll simply become a fan of the Peter Lorre horror classic Beast With Five Fingers.

I also try to keep a pack of blank cards in the car for quick access and unexpected delays. These great instructions (and thougtful post on thank you writing) at Soule Mama show how to make a lovely and practical portable correspondence kit.

Think Twice About Renting Car Seats from Advantage: More Problems Reported

2008-07-28T08:55:00.005-05:00

When travel and food writer, Debbie Dubrow, found unsafe, dirty, broken, and expired car seats at the San Diego airport Advantage Rent a Car, she worked to change the system.

And it looked like she, through media exposure and direct communications with Advantage, had made great changes.

Less than a year later, Barbara takes her 6 months old into the LAX Advantage and finds that the all the policy changes Advantage made in response to Debbie have resulted in are the plastic bagging of the same unclean and defunct seats.

Read all about it on Debbie's Delicious Baby blog and avoid Advantage unless you're toting your own seat.

Thanks, Zrecs for the update- and the great post on Advantage's corporate policy.

The Right Kind of Scrub: My First Scrubs

2008-07-23T18:40:00.006-05:00

Ranger and I got up early this morning to visit my Dad in pre-op before orthopedic surgery.

Yellow medical case in hand, Ranger garnered a lot of attention from surgical staff in a lab green set of scrubs.

Dad couldn't help but laugh to see toddler Ranger all decked out for surgery.

Ranger's scrubs are My First Scrubs from Princess Linens ($28). We see them as having quite a bit of utility as dress clothes and a Halloween costume. The positive attention from medical staff seems perfect for keeping older siblings in focus when a new baby is born.

The scrub sizes seem to run a little smaller than average. Ranger is currently on the upper end of 2T in most clothing, so we ordered a 3T. The 3T turned out to be a close fit now. I think a 4T would have been the best choice to allow for growth and easy playtime use. Sizes range from infant to children's 8.

Princess Linens, who also makes the Doodlebugz Crayola holders, is currently offering a 15% discount if you use the coupon code babytoolkit.

The Blazer that Traveled Through Time: Whirpool's Fabric Freshener

2008-07-22T14:00:00.000-05:00

This, according to Jim, is our portable time machine:I think he's watched Primer too many times. I refer to it as the egg:Last fall, Whirlpool sent us their Fabric Freshener (MSRP $199) for a real life trial. As clean corduroys and a sweater tend to define our family's standard of formality, it took some time for us give it a substantive test.

The idea behind the Fabric Freshener is pretty basic. Insert clothing which is typically dry-cleaned, fill with appropriate level of distilled water, and close. The water is transformed to steam and circulated throughout the bag. Then interior sensors deploy the fans and gently dry items.

While this can't entirely replace dry-cleaning, it does extend the time between visits to the dry cleaners by removing wrinkles and odors. It's also chemical-free (which I really like).

A smoker friend gave me a wool jacket. I was pretty nervous about using wool because I know it shrinks and felts in the wrong conditions, but after a full cycle the jacket emerged exactly the same size and texture. The smell of smoke was gone and the jacket's colors looked more vibrant.

I've used it to successfully dry woven rugs and take the chlorine smell out of swimsuits. Someone with Martha Stewart style creativity could probably use it for everything from drapery freshening to bagel making (but we lack such domestic ingenuity).

The machine seems to have promise for families who dry clean often and want to reduce their chemical use/exposure, but in our typically permanent press household it's more of a conversation piece or home video prop.

Funtainer and Foogo: The Next Generation of Straw Cups

2008-07-17T04:00:00.000-05:00

A little over a year ago, we compared our beloved FUNtainer straw cups with Thermos' Foogo straw cups.

While the FUNtainer and Foogo look much the same and both function well in daily use, their inner assemblies were really different. In the spring a new generation of FUNtainers started appearing on the shelves. These new FUNtainers can be easily identified by their oval push-buttons.

We picked up a new Hello Kitty model at Target for around $15. All the Target offerings were licensed characters (Dark Knight Batman, Pirates of the Caribbean, Speed Racer, and Barbie). We're not that into licensed characters here, so we chose one we could give to our niece who needs (straw cups for school) after testing.

It turns out that these new FUNtainers innards are more like the Foogo on the inside. The old short straw on top of the lid has been replaced by a through-the-lid straw assembly that I absolutely love. The two new silicone pieces are so much harder to lose in the dishwasher. There's also no chance of top straw removal by a very persistent young infant or toddler (unless they manage to take off the entire screw-on lid which would be quite a feat).

The new version has a silicone disk with an integrated straw that pushes up through the screw-on lid. The lower straw attaches to the silicone disk rather than the plastic screw on lid. Left images show the straw assemblies on the old (blue) FUNtainer versus the new (pink) one. Right image shows the assembled FUNtainers from below. One of the best aspects of the new assembly is not having to clean the very small opening where the straws attach to the screw-on lid.

I really like this new FUNtainer design, but the plastic seems to have changed. We didn't have any problems with breakage on our old FUNtainer lids at all despite over a year's worth of regular (rough) toddler use, but the Hello Kitty lid was already cracked (though I didn't notice) when I took these comparison pictures.

After pre-washing the Hello Kitty FUNtainer, I filled it and heard a sharp snap when screwing on the lid. The new lid seemed to close normally even though hinges was visibly cracked. Unfortunately any sideways pressure on the lid now allows it to pop open. So, I called Thermos (1-800-831-9242) and they're sending us a replacement lid. Others have reported similar problems with cracking FUNtainer lids in 2008, so I'm not sure the new screw-top lids are as strong as their predecessors. With Thermos' prompt customer service response, I suspect that they will soon remedy this if it is a manufacturing defect or shipping introduced problem. If you want to avoid the potential lid hassle though, the Foogo appears to have no changes in the plastic screw-top lid.

Like the first generation Funtainers, the new versions come with a bagged replacement upper and lower straw assembly tucked inside. Additional replacement straws can also be purchased for a nominal fee through Thermos' toll free number.

Foogo Changes:
The only change I can find in the Foogo since its introduction in 2007 is cosmetic. As far as I can see, the current Foogo (pink) is identical to the original version (blue) except the plastic disk inside the upper straw assembly is now clear rather than the color of the screw-on lid. This makes the disk slightly harder to find in soap suds. The Foogo's lid remains a 4 part straw assembly (upper straw, inner disk, lower straw, & screw top) opposed to the 3 part assembly of the FUNtainer (upper/lower straws, & screw top). For dishwashing simplicity I prefer the new FUNtainer straw cups.

The lower straws of the FUNtainers and the Foogo seem to be identical- which simplifies assembly when you own a variety.

It doesn't look like many of the new style FUNtainer straw cups are available online at this point. Amazon presently shows no lids with oval buttons nor does Thermos' own site. Friends have reported seeing the new styles in big box retailers like Target, but their online stores aren't showing any offerings. Keep watching though, I suspect the next generation will soon be widely available online as old stock sells out.

All in all, when the lid issues get straightened out, this new Funtainer promises to be a great retooling of an old favorite.

Not So Tiny Bubbles: Cheap Wands and DIY Solution

2008-07-14T14:30:00.000-05:00

If you're not reading Mom Advice, you're probably missing out on some great ideas. I don't know how Amy does it all, but her frugal living site has a great breadth of coverage. I particularly look forward to her Thursday Amy's Notebook posts that highlight lots of great ideas from around the web.

Her post on bubble wands from Target's Dollar Spot and link to a DIY bubble solution recipe inspired a lot of fun here.

After a trip to Target's Dollar Spot for some giant bubble wands and glycerin ($2.69 for 4 ounces; they hold it behind the pharmacy counter at our Target so you have to ask for it; CVS puts it with the scar treatment ointments), we mixed up a gallon of Sparkle Power's homemade bubbles in an empty milk jug (tip to avoid a frothy mess while filling: first fill the jug with warm water; then add the dish soap and glycerin; roll or shake sealed jug gently to mix. Label the jug lest your family mistake the substance for beverages).

For our playgroup at the local spray park, Ranger and I loaded the car with two Target bubble wands ($1/each), a gallon of bubble mix, and a third giant SuperBubble wand from Toys R Us ($3, and don't bother- it's awful). The bubble wands were so easy to use that the toddlers (2 & 3 year olds) spent as much time playing with the bubbles as running through the water sprayers.

The glycerin makes the bubbles rather easy to produce and resilient. The wands have many openings, so they produce many bubbles with one swipe of the arm. We found that the yellow flower wand tended to produce a single giant cluster bubble, while the orange wand with the hearts and star border made lots of small to mid-sized individual bubbles.

The bubble solution has easily won the admiration of playgroup families and Ranger's grandparents.

I can't wait to try it with our Klutz Giant Bubble Maker. It might inspire us to make Mentor Mom's DIY mega bubble wand.

Thanks, Amy, for the great recommendations!