Musical Hand Wash Timers

I have always been a big advocate for handwashing.  As an elementary school teacher.  As the mom of a toddler.  As a person who prefers being healthy over being sick.

I am not a germaphobe, but I am very germ conscious, especially since bringing a newborn into my house.  

I insist (politely, of  course) that NHV wash her hands as soon as we get home from where ever we've been ... eventhough I've already doused her with hand sanitizer when we get in the car.

As she climbs up on her stool, I even explain to her that we are washing the germs off our hands.  When she asks, "What are germs?"  I tell her they are things that can make you sick and they get on our hand when we touch things that a lot of other people have also touched.  (I sure hope I don't give her some huge complex!)

While we're at the sink, we pick a song and sing together ... a good distraction for making sure we've scrubbed long enough.

Recently, I saw this advertised in a magazine ... and further "researched" it online ...

http://gethealthyhands.com/index.html

It's a little timer that attaches to the top of your soap dispenser.  The music plays for about 25 seconds, the recommended time for effective hand washing.  For the reasonable price of $3.99, I think I've gotta try this.

Perhaps this will make hand washing more fun, and it may even encourage a bit of independence.

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What do you think?  Worth the money?  Necessary?


Do you have tricks you use to make hand washing fun and effective?  Please share!

Question of the Day - Naps

As moms (and dads), we are suppose to have ALL the answers, right?! The big ones like the hows and whys. And the more mundane wheres - like my shoes? I tell ya, Alex Trebek's got nothing on the parents of the world!

It's a good thing we have each other to rely on. To share what works and what doesn't. To suggest a new approach. To tell about the latest and greatest and the oldies-but-goodies. To speak from experience. To learn from mistakes. To impart wisdom. To provide ah-ha moments :)

Right around the holiday season, my husband composed this little ditty to the tune of "Oh, Christmas Tree."  It has since become a daily ritual ... we sing it on our way up the stairs at naptime.

Oh nappy-poo
Oh nappy-poo
It is that time in the afternoon

Oh nappy-poo
Oh nappy-poo
What would we do without you?

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Now, there's a question.  What would we do without our naptimes?

At our house, I so look forward to 1:00 ... when I know that I won't be entertaining my toddler for a few hours.  And I may even manage to accomplish something around the house .... or, gasp, take a nap myself!

NHV (2.5 years old) naps for about three hours every day.  I put her down around 1:00 and never let her sleep past 4:30.  However, in the past few weeks, she has thrown her fair share of nap rebellions.  At least once a week, she completely refuses to nap.  I insist that she rest for two hours.  And when NHV doesn't nap, she's a cranky mess, so I know she NEEDS a good nap everyday.

So here's my question for you ...

Is your toddler still napping?  For how long?  At what time of the day?  Are you having any nap struggles?  Be sure to include your toddler's age in your comment.

Try It: Foam Paint

Love to paint with your toddler?

Or at least love the idea of painting with your toddler?

Hate the mess?

Hate all the wasted paint?

Hate the time it takes to dry?

Hate the thought of toxins or allergens?

If you're head's a-nodding ... 

You've gotta get some FOAM PAINT.

I stumbled upon this fantastic art supply while at a recent preschool open house (a big decision process I'll save for another post).  Based on a quick search, I think you have to order it online - wish a local store carried it.  I did find foam paint at this school supply site for about $5 per bottle. I think it would be completely worth it to order a few bottles and pay for the shipping, especially when you consider ...

• Foam paint does not spill ... or drip!  
• A quick squirt - right out of the can - is all it takes to get your toddler painting with fingers or brushes or any kind of painting tool.
  
• The product overview claims that "an 8 oz. can equals 14 full cups of awesome art activities," and 14 cups is a lot of paint!
• Also, foam paint is completely allergen free ... the description says that it does not contain latex, dairy, casein, egg, gluten, peanut, tree nut, or soy.
• It dries very quickly ... and you can even wipe it with a paper towel to dry it instantly!

Art projects just got a whole lot more fun with FOAM PAINT!

Return of the Brain

It's been an exhausting and wonderful eight weeks.  My brain has been mostly occupied with nursing (or pumping) around the clock, sleep deprivation, and changing lots of diapers.  But now I've got plans to revive ToddlerBrain.

Maternity Leave is Over!

ToddlerBrain will be back starting February 1st!

Lots of fun ideas to share!

Big News

Charlotte Jane was born on December 2nd ...

I'm on maternity leave ... but hoping to return soon :)

Hasbro Rebate at Toys R Us

File this one under crazy. fabulous rebate!  I just heard about this on my mom's group message board - thanks, Shelly, and thought you'd appreciate the heads-up.

Hasbro and Toys R Us has teamed up to offer classic board games (like Memory, Candy Land, Cooties, Chutes and Ladders) at a HUGE (and dare I say, exciting) discount!

Most of the preschool games cost about $3.99 plus you get a $2.00 rebate on each game.  Are you doing the math?  That's about $1.99 per game, right?

It gets better ... no way, you say?!  Way ...

In addition, Toys R Us is offering a $10 gift card for purchases over $25.00.

Yep, you can buy 6 or 7 games (give them as gifts, donate to a toy drive, play them yourself), get the rebate and the gift card, and end up spending less than a dollar per game!

Here's the link to the official rebate information.

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File this under side note :)  There's also been a mass "recall" of Baby Einstein DVDs and books.  This has been out there for a while, but I mentioned it to someone yesterday who didn't know about it ... so just in case, here's the story.

Oh, and Maclaren is doing a massive stroller recall, too - something about fingertip amputations - yikes!  Here's that story.

Today's Toddler Breakfast: Mini Frittata

I mentioned awhile back that we are in a breakfast rut, which led me to morning smoothies.  But I've also been making a very concerted effort to pack a good protein punch into our morning meal.  Which means we've been eating a lot of scrambled eggs.  That's the only way I know how to make eggs ... scrambled.  Don't know how to fry them or poach them or even turn them green.  But now I do know how to frittata them, and I will be frittata-ing again very soon. 

This recipe was so simple and quick and delicious - that's pretty much my checklist when cooking anything.  Throw in there, toddler-pleasing, and you've got yourself one happy mama!

What?  Your mouth is watering?  You want mini frittatas for breakfast tomorrow morning?  Oh, you want the recipe?  Sure, no problem ... just so you know, I halved the recipe and it was plenty for me and NHV; the leftovers are good, too!

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped turkey pepperoni
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper and parsley. Stir in pepperoni.  This is a great chance for your toddler to help :)
   
3. Divide cheddar cheese among 24 mini muffin cups. (Again, I only made 12 - with three eggs.)
   
4. Pour egg mixture into a measuring cup with a spout. Pour egg mixture over cheese, filling cups to the top.
5. Bake 10-14 minutes until mini frittatas are puffed and golden brown on top.  (We snuggled up and read a book while we waited for our "egg muffins" to bake.)
   

Original recipe (no, not the Colonel's) can be found here.