Backyard Reconstruction: Go Outside

Yesterday, Uncle Punk helped Jim reinstall the slide on our remaining playset turret. About half of our magnificent swingset (including the part with the swings) was destroyed by falling trees in a 2005 tornado long before Ranger was big enough to play on it. The well-built remainder is a single tower, stairs, and a sandbox which we're hoping to convert to a platform because neighborhood cats and snakes.

Ranger already loved sitting in the tower, but him playing there alone left me with a lonely feeling. After the slide was installed he got to play on it last night in the limited glow of our small worklight, but today was the true inaugural run. And it was lovely. He took Cheerios and water up in the tower and laid down on the platform when he was too tired to play any more.

I got to lay in the greening grass and enjoy Ranger's play and the Spring sunlight. It was a revelation to savor the yard when before it triggered memories of loss and anguish. Toddler enthusiasm and Springtime both offer renewal and hope.

Thanks Uncle Punk and Jim for fixing the slide- and thanks to all our family, friends, and neighbors who helped us clear that nightmare tangle of smashed trees.

To quote my mother (circa 1980) "Go outside and play."

So, What Happened to the Diaper Valet?

In January 2007, Jim's aunt and I launched an online business selling a compact diaper bag of our own design. We greatly appreciated positive responses from our customers and other blogs.

Well, we just added ourselves to the 50% of new business that close doors in the first year.

We love our product, had great experiences with customers, and had regular (and repeat customers).

The problem is that Monica and I both have a lot of commitments. She's a splendid tailor with a burgeoning custom sewing business, a dedicated grandma who provides a lot of care for two very active grandsons, a great cook, and a sort of cruise director for her siblings, parents, children, and extended family. There's nothing more fun than Halloween hayrides, chili stirred with an oar, and a pumpkin pinata at Mo's farm.

But we're a greedy family. We wanted Mo's time for ourselves. We'd rather have her sitting at the table telling jokes and kicking our butts at Scrabble than working behind her sewing machine extra hours.

We discussed having the bags made by subcontractors, but if you bought one, you know that Mo's quality standards are high. We really couldn't have found a good replacement.

So we have officially shut our web doors. Thanks for your past business and praise for a our product. It really was a lovely experience.

Birthday Banner: Making a Pennant Name Banner for a Young Friend

There has been a load of guilt expressed in my moms' group about the differences in the treatment of birthdays for first children versus later offspring. It seems that many second and third children at young ages are perfectly content to use their older sibling's old (and current toys). This makes it harder to find presents that aren't redundant or unnecessary.

Personally, I think my friends are being too hard on themselves. It's not like the babies attended their older sibs' parties and have the power to compare. I'm also a pretty happy second child who was always thrilled to receive my brother's cast-offs (toys and some clothes- in particular a yellow ringer t-shirt with a dragon in a girl scout uniform with a toothpick captioned "The cookies weren't bad either.")

Personalized gifts were mentioned as an alternative, so I spent the wee hours of Sunday night making a name pennant banner for a sweet girl turning one on Monday.

The banner is made from cotton fabrics (each triangle is 11" wide and 10" high). I cut the triangles with pinking shears to prevent fraying. The bias tape across the top is double-fold made from 3" wide strips of fabric (end width 3/4"). I allowed 12" of bias tape for each letter and an additional foot on either end.

I used freezer paper stencils and acrylic paints to add the name (in retrospect I would have chosen a bolder letter color, but as I started the project after 10 PM- I had to use what I already had on hand).

With pinking shears and pre-made bias tape this could be a great project for even a novice sewer. If you want to try your hand at one, check out my tutorial for sewing name buntings.

What kinds of gifts do you like to give (or receive) for those babies and toddlers who already have everything?

Behold, the Wonderous Future of Baby Cereal: Beechnut's Packaging (Win some!)

When I opened the box of samples from Beech-Nut, I muttered a slightly amazed "oh, yeah." Beech-Nut's new Easy Pour packaging for infant cereal makes so much sense you wonder why no one thought of it sooner.

As Ranger's beyond the baby cereal years, we handed the samples over to our our good friends for real world testing. As advertised, the Easy Pour cartons create far less mess than the cellophane covered cardboard they aim to replace.

The cartons' superior durability and compact 8 ounce size made it ideal to toss in a diaper bag for meals about town and more extended travels.

The used packaging is great for making durable cardboard building blocks!

Beech-Nut offers many varieties in this handy packaging: rice, barley, oatmeal, DHA+ multigrain with apples & yogurt, and DHA+ rice with bananas & raspberries.

Beech-Nut regularly offers parents great coupons via their email newsletter.

WIN A PACK FULL OF BEECH-NUT PRODUCTS
Beech-Nut is offering three great prizes for Baby Toolkit readers with U.S. mailing addresses. Email your entry to: babytoolkitcontests[at]gmail[dot]com with the subject EasyPour to enter a drawing for one of THREE great Beech-Nut prize packs (estimated value $25). It will include 3 boxes of the great EasyPour cereal, 10 jars of Beech-Nut DHA+ baby food, a copy of How to Get Your Kids to Eat Great and Love It by Dr. Christine Wood, and a few other fun prizes selected by Beech-Nut.

One entry per household. Entries must be received by 11:59 PM Central Time March 19, 2008.

General disclaimers regarding contests on Baby Toolkit: we'll do our best but we can't guarantee the same efforts from the postal system. If a prize item were to be lost or damaged in the mail, we would take it as a message from a higher power that the situation was simply not meant to be (no compensation or replacement will be issued). One entry per household. We will use a random integer generator at random.org to determine winners. Jim, Adrienne, their parents, and Ranger are not eligible for this contest. We respect your privacy and will not use your personal information for any purpose beyond determining a winner and sending prizes. Winners will be emailed with notification and first name/state will be announced on Baby Toolkit. Estimated prize value: $25.

Good luck, and happy eating!

***Disclosure: we accepted from Beech-Nut 3 8-ounce cereal samples to evaluate. Beech-Nut is providing 3 prize packages and shipping them directly to winners. This review is independent opinion of the geek parents at Baby Toolkit, (c) 2006-2008. We have no undisclosed relationship with Beech-Nut or their subsidiaries/affiliates.