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By Mom Unplugged, July 9, 2007 11:31 am

Yesterday my 5 year-old son reached an exciting milestone: riding a two-wheel bicycle! We had been for a bike ride (early-to avoid the heat), and one of his training wheels was so worn down that it was splitting. Riding behind him, I noticed that he wasn’t using them much anyhow. So, ignoring his protests and dramatic cries that he would “never ride a bike again,” we took the training wheels off.

Half an hour later, the lure of the bicycle was simply too great, so he got on and tried. He fell once or twice, but by the third time he had it! He still can’t get on and started by himself yet, and he can only turn left, but he goes about 100 mph with a giant grin on his face. I fear an orthopaedic consultation in our future.

Another excitement is my $10 garage sale old 3-speed bicycle and $70 little bike-trailer (Walmart). The bike is simple, comfortable (at least after the addition of a new gel seat), and works fine. Plus it is a cool classic old bike with character. Perfect for a non-jock, ride around the neighborhood type like me!

The bike trailer is awesome! Why didn’t I ever get one of these before? My 18 month-old speed demon, daredevil girl (the next Danica Patrick perhaps?) rides along in her chariot saying “Whee!!!”

Perhaps I am the only one behind the times enough to have just discovered the wonder of a bike-trailer. Is blogging about a bike trailer kind of like blogging about water? (Oops, I’ve done that too!) “Hey world! I just discovered this wonderful new stuff that tastes good and makes you not thirsty anymore. You can even SWIM in it! It is called water!” Hopefully I am not boring the blogosphere into a deep, deep sleep.

But if you are still awake after reading this far in my post, you have probably never tried a bike trailer (or had a drink of water?). I highly recommend that you do! The trailer doesn’t upset your balance like a child seat mounted directly on the bicycle can, and seems safer too. Some of the trailers I have seen online can be hundreds of dollars. Perhaps these have additional features that some may want. For us however, this most basic little one is perfect.

Family bike rides are a wonderful way to unplug your kids and get them outside. The trailer allows even the littlest riders to tag along and have fun! So go get one…and a drink of water too.

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By Mom Unplugged, July 3, 2007 8:07 am

How did I ever live without this until now? I guess I have just been trying to forget about how gross restaurant tables must really be. Not that I am germphobic, however I am so happy to have found this portable placemat.

The really great thing about it is that it has suction cups on the bottom so that your little cherub can’t rip it off the table and fling it on the floor (like a regular placemat, napkin, or horror of horrors…a china plate). There is a little pocket that hangs over the edge of the table to hopefully catch some of the mess (does not work when food is flung sideways). After the meal, the whole thing rolls up, debris and all, and tucks into a diaper bag for cleaning at home. Available in pink, blue, yellow and green.

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By Mom Unplugged, June 16, 2007 4:46 pm

Since I am in “poetry mode” right now, let me tell you about a friend of mine. My good friend Wishy The Writer and her daughter have a lovely tradition that they began last summer. They take blankets and pillows to a shady spot outside. They pack some food and drinks and a few books of poems and head to their cozy outdoor spot for a Poetry Picnic.

As Wishy was telling me about this I was beginning to feel like an Inferior Mom. Here is Wishy, “A-List Parent,” exposing her daughter to the beauty of nature and poetry all while enjoying some Mother-Daughter quiet time. Here am I, “Tired Parent,” pushing my children out the door to hunt for bugs and ride bikes in the driveway so I can get a little peace and quiet.

Finally she put me out of my maternal misery by revealing the REAL origin of this plan - her urgent need for a nap! Wishy was so desperate for a nap that she hoped quietly lying together reading poetry might lull her daughter to sleep so she could get a nap herself, and it worked.

I am not into using comparisons with other Moms as a measure of my worth as a parent. However I am insecure enough as a mother to admit that I felt SO much better after discovering her much less altruistic motivation for this Mother-Daughter bonding session!

My real point here is that, whatever the reason behind it, a Poetry Picnic sounds like a lovely idea. So whether you want your child to go to sleep and leave you alone, or you genuinely want to experience the “poetry of nature” together, give it a try!

Here is a variety of reading suggestions to consider:

Please share your own favorites in a comment!

This post is part of The Sunday Garden Tour at A Wrung Sponge. Head over there to find more participants, or to add your own garden-related post. Happy Sunday!

(By the way for you gardeners: The photo at the top is a Sexy Rexy rose that is planted in a pot by my front door.)

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By Mom Unplugged, April 10, 2007 10:05 pm

I never would have thought it possible, but kids really can take care of a small garden, and enjoy it too! See my post Kids and Gardens and Spring, for a personal story.

Here are some tips that I have found helpful for gardening with my two oldest children (ages 4 and 6):

• Give them just a small area each and start with a small number of flowers. We did six flowers each. Anything more might be overwhelming.
• Annuals are great because they provide immediate and long lasting flowers, and you have the fun of choosing new varieties each year. Seeds take a long time for short attention spans, and perennials often don’t have a long flowering season, plus they don’t always look their best the first year.
• Kids love gear. Get them their own little kid-sized gardening gloves and they will be in heaven.
• For older children, or for a family project, you could try a themed garden. Here are some ideas:

1. Butterfly Garden - There are lots of resources on the web regarding what to plant to attract butterflies (check out The Butterfly Site - Gardening or The Garden Helper) . Choreopsis, Butterfly Bush, and Cosmos are some good ones to start with. If you can, and you really want to get into it, try to identify butterflies that are native to your area and also include plants that those species of caterpillar like to eat. Make sure your garden is in a sunny spot as butterflies only feed in the sun. Also provide a flat rock for warmth (the butterflies will sit on it and keep warm). You could even raise some butterflies to release in your garden. We did that last year and I was just as fascinated (if not more) than my kids! Check out a Live Butterfly Garden to get all you need to raise some Painted Lady butterflies, including mail-away certificate for larvae.
2. Scented Garden - Choose plants that have nice smells. Herbs, lavender, mint, and scented geraniums are good ones to start with. Be careful with the mint as it can be very invasive. If you don’t want it to take over your garden, then plant it in a pot. Just make a big enough hole, and stick in the plant, pot and all. It will look normal from the surface, but it won’t be able to spread. By the way, you can really have fun with scented geraniums. There are some that smell just like lemon, and even a variety that smells like chocolate (check out Scented Pelargoniums or Mountain Valley Growers for more info!).
3. Fairy Garden - Pick fanciful flowers: I like snapdragons (show your kids how the flowers can open and close like bunny mouths) and pansies (they look like they have faces). Anything small, and dainty, and lacy is nice too. Queen Anne’s Lace, Alyssum, Lilly of the Valley. Your kids can decorate the garden with little fairy houses made of sticks and rocks, with perhaps some acorn cap bowls of water for the fairies to drink!
4. Colored Gardens - Pick your child’s favorite color and plan a garden using all that color. You may or may not want to include white flowers or green foliage for contrast.
5. Night Time Gardens - White gardens really stand out at night. Plus some flowers only open at night. Night Gardening, The Evening Garden, and Moon Garden Flowers are good resources.
   
6. An Edible Flower Garden - Herbs are an obvious choice here, but also include Nasturtium, Borage and other edible flowers (research this carefully first since some flowers can be toxic if eaten!).

The possibilities are endless, so just have fun!

Of course, as with any garden, the key to success is two-fold: 1 - Speaking from experience, I know it is easy to go overboard at the nursery. Do not take on more than you and your kids can handle (making a list ahead of time and STICKING TO IT helps). 2 - Whatever you decide to do, be sure to pick plants that will do well in your climate and yard/soil conditions. For example, don’t pick shade-loving plants for a sunny spot, or sun-loving plants for a flowerbed in the shade. You will just set your family up for failure and disappointment. A local nursery or a book such as my favorite, Right Plant, Right Place: Over 1400 Plants for Every Situation in the Garden, can help with this.

Thanks to morguefile.com and photographer puravida.

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By Mom Unplugged, April 4, 2007 11:03 am

How ironic that my first “Works For Me Wednesday” would be about the car. If you could see my car there is no way you would consider me an authority on car-organization. However there is one cool little invention that I just discovered with baby number three, that I really feel has changed our travel life. Drumroll please! Allow me to present to you, THE NO-SPILL CHEERIO DISPENSER!!!

Hopefully this is not yet another example of how “oh so behind- the-times” I am. Hopefully you are not all saying to yourselves “Why, that has been around for as long as the sippy cup! What rock is she living under??” But, even if it is as ubiquitous as the sippy cup, it is MY “Works For Me Wednesday” post and the No-Spill Cheerio Dispenser works for me!

For those of you who are equally as behind-the-times as me, it consists of a little cup with a soft plastic lid. The plastic lid has slits in it. Baby pushes her chubby little hand through the slits to get the Cheerios, when hand comes out - slits shut to prevent spillage. A determined baby can still manage to lose a few, however it is usually not as dramatic as the Flying Cheerios Game that can occur with an ordinary cup.

Available at Babies-R-Us: Currently 3 for $10.99. Please visit Shannon at Rocks In My Drier for more great car ideas!