Tiny Oranges – Fresh, fun blog for OC moms

The year my daughter was two we participated in a Mommy & Me class at her preschool. To ease the kids into the preschool “drop off” pattern, the mommies would go into another room for about 45 minutes for a talk or presentation so the kids could get used to playing without mommy.   One of these talks was presented by Sherri Fenn and the topic was all about teaching healthy eating habits to kids.   In that presentation she spoke of the “Traffic Light Eating” technique to teach your kids how to make healthy choices.   From that day on, I have used this with my daughter and it has been SO super effective I had to do a post on it!

To a two-year-old it probably doesn’t make sense why you can’t have cookies for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Why not?!  That’s why this technique is so amazing.  It puts a hard-to-grasp concept into simple terms and categories.  Even today my 4-year-old will ask if it is okay to have a “red light” treat.  But she knows she has to feed her body “green light” foods before she can have a little “red light.”   She totally gets it.

So I asked Sherri if she could write me the brief synopsis to explain it best!  Here is what she wrote…

“The easiest way to introduce making healthy food choices to young children is Dr. Sears’ Traffic Light Eating from his book Eat Healthy, Feel Great.

All food can be classified as Green-light, Yellow-light or Red-light foods.

Green light foods are the “go for it!” foods that make you grow stronger, help your brain work better and give you more energy to play.

Yellow light foods are okay to eat sometimes, but they won’t keep you feeling great the way green-light foods do.  These are slow down foods like ice cream, butter, juice, and cookies.

Red-light foods don’t do anything to help your body. Instead, they can hurt your body and make you feel too full to eat your green-light foods. Red means stop, you can make a better choice.  Examples of red light foods are soda, chips, candy, and french fries.

A great game to play in the car, at the dinner table or in the grocery store is the traffic light game.  Have someone name a food and you have to guess which color light goes with that food.  You can then reinforce why they need to increase their green light foods and decrease their yellow and red light food choices.  It is never too early to start on this concept; even two year olds can get the idea and can play along.”

Sherri Fenn is a wife and mommy of 2 boys Jantzen (10) and Caden (7).  She is passionate about educating children and their parents about making healthy choices for their bodies.  As a retired USA national team volleyball player, Sherri knows the impact of proper fuel for the body.  Bridge the gap between what you should it and what you do eat every day by visiting her web-site at www.JPHealthandWellness.com or e-mail her at Sherri@JPHealthandWellness.com.

{Disclosure: Tiny Oranges is an Amazon.com Affiliate.}

This toy has gotten a LOT of use over the last 2 years so I wanted to share.  It is called the Water Works Travel Drawing Board and is great for many reasons.  Because the drawing is done with WATER, meaning that you fill up the little pens with water, you can do an art project on the floor, on the couch, in the car, basically ANYWHERE without worrying about staining clothes or the carpet!

The water draws on and makes an impression, then slowly fades after about a minute. You can also flip it over and make a new picture on the reverse side while the other side is drying.

I love that my baby can use it to “scribble” and my 4-year-old can practice writing her letters she is learning at Whiz Kids! Love a toy that can be used by both kids!

Great gift for any child ages 1 and up.

One of our friends got this beautiful, hardcover book, “The Wicked Big Toddlah” by Kevin Hawkes for Morgan’s first birthday and it has become such a hit in our house, I had to write about it and give my mommy review.  I am always looking for great gift ideas for kids and sometimes find myself stumped on the age or sex (I have no idea about boy stuff!) Therefore, when I discover a great gift that could be for a boy or girl, and could be given to a child ages birth through at least age 4 or 5,  it is like hitting the gift idea jackpot!

I personally love getting and giving books for birthday presents because you know it is a gift that will last a long time. And selfishly, after reading the same books again and again, as a mom I love to throw some different titles into the bedtime mix.  It is also nice to have books that I actually enjoy reading too. And this book is just plain fun to read!

With hilarious illustrations with clever detail, it tells the story of an overgrown baby named Toddie growing up during his first year in Maine {therefore the use of local vernacular like “wicked” and the pronunciation of “toddlah.”}

The book opens with a stork delivering a VERY large baby to the hospital and the baby’s uncle Bert yells, “That’s a wicked big toddlah ya got theyah, Jessie!”   The book had me laughing from page one.   Toddie is so big he takes baths in lakes and takes bites out of trees when he starts eating solids.  And the diaper changing page is hysterical.  Let’s just say it really does take a village.

Although Morgan at one is too young to appreciate this story just YET, big sis Emma, at 4 years, thinks this book is an absolute riot. I  have read it every night to her since we got it and she giggles at every turn of the page. Even trying out her own Maine accent, like Toddie, when he learns to speak and says, “Hihowaahya?” {Translation: Hi, how are you?”}

If you are like me and trying to simplify your life these days, pick up a stash of this title to have on hand for birthday parties, and you will not only give a great gift but will avoid a last minute dash to Target!  Buy enough to total $25, and you get free shipping on Amazon too!

Seriously, it’s wicked funny.

{Disclosure: We received the book as a gift and I wanted to share this fun find.  However, I am signed up as an Amazon Affiliate, which means if you click the link to the book above and purchase it online through my link I receive an itsy-bitsy sort of commission. You can click this link here too…The Wicked Big Toddlah…thanks!}

This guest blog arrived in my email box last night and I am so grateful it did because I did not have a post ready for today!  Emma got hit with a bad respiratory virus early this week, then baby Morgan got it a few days later.  Awful! The only thing worse than one sick kid is two sick kids!  So thank you Katie from OC Mom’s Activity Guide for saving my day and giving me a fabulous guest post!

OC Mom’s Activity Guide is a fabulous local blog dedicated to {you guessed it!} fun activities and favorite finds for OC moms and their families.  Katie wrote some great tips on taking your kids tide pooling in Orange County.

Here is what Katie writes…

“The beach has always been a destination for our family.  To be honest my oldest sons’ first trip to the beach was when he was less than a week old, ok… so he never left the Baby Bjorn, but still he was at the beach.

Once the boys were steady on their feet and able to explore a bit, we found ourselves venturing in to the world of tide pooling.  We absolutely love checking out the tide pools to see what kind of sea creatures we can find, whether it is a sea anemone, a crab or some other fish, there is always something fun to find and the boys never get tired of it.

We have fabulous beaches to explore here in Southern California, places like Aliso Creek Beach, Crystal Cove (on the border of Newport and Laguna), Montage Beach and more.

The biggest piece of advice I have is to be sure to check when low tide is (you can do this on any weather website or weather App for your phone), it will make or break your adventure.  If you can time it just right to hit the beach at low tide, you will have the best opportunity to scope out the best tide pools.

Items I recommend you bring…

*  Sunscreen (even on cloudy days)

*  Water sandals or flip flops for those with sensitive feet

*  Towels, swimsuits, etc. in case you get caught off guard by a wave

*  I also recommend a life vest for the little ones if you are taking more than one kid.  It will give you peace of mind; this is from first-hand experience!

This picture above is from our recent trek to Crystal Cove Beach.  It’s quite a walk down (and parking costs $15), but even in the peak summer months, it isn’t super crowded.   At low tide there are TONS of exposed tide pools that the kids love exploring.”

Thanks again Katie!!!  We actually just visited Crystal Cove by the Crystal Cove Beach Cottages for a beach day last weekend. See Wednesday’s post with our adventures at the beach with a one-year-old! I also did a post eons ago about this beach…One of our favorite kid beaches in OC!  Next time we will have to check out the tide pooling with your great tips!

Where’s YOUR favorite beach in OC?

Katie is a full time working wife and mother of two active boys. When they aren’t riding the roller coasters at Disneyland or exploring the beaches, you can find Katie writing over at OCMomActivities. Find her on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

That’s a loaded title, huh?  I mean, I have so many “mommy struggles” some days I almost don’t even know where to begin!  But I will start with my current one.

So I signed my 4 year old up for a little 6 week summer school program for a few hours 3 mornings a week to keep her entertained & allow me some time to work.   We originally signed up with a little boy she has known since birth so she would have a friend to go with.  Unfortunately 2 weeks into the program they decided to stop going due to unforeseen circumstances and subsequently my dear daughter has been miserable this week not wanting to go to this new school without a friend.

A little background on her personality.  At home she is rambunctious, extroverted, spirited, and never stops talking. But at preschool school, she is more quiet, shy and much more introverted.  Which is so weird to me!  It is almost like she is a different kid sometimes.

Last year at our first parent conference in the fall when my daughter’s preschool teacher described her as “quiet”  I almost had to laugh out loud as that would have been the last word to describe her. Luckily she made some best little friends from almost the beginning, which made her love preschool because she loved her friends so much. All good things.

Fast forward to her first experience at a new “school” this summer.  Monday getting her there was OK, but afterwards she said she never wanted to go back because she missed her friend, and yesterday there was so much drama in the morning about not wanting to go, it was almost unbearable.

I went on Monday morning and asked the teachers to help facilitate her playing with some of the other girls and tried to introduce her to some of the other kids.   I named one in particular, and said… how about you try playing with {I will call her Abby to protect the innocent} Abby today? After school on Monday I asked her who she played with and she said “no one.”  She told me Abby didn’t want to play with her.

Oh my God moms.   My heart just BROKE.

So I told my husband, in a total emotional “Mommy Bear” state, if she doesn’t like it after this week I am not going to send her!!!

My hubby and I agree on most everything philosophy-wise in parenting, but this has been one time we are not seeing eye-to-eye.  And it is frustrating the heck out of me – mostly because I can also see his points as well.

His point is we are NOT sending her to a torturous place.  It is a cute program with art, puppets, water play, etc.

He thinks if we say “OK, if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to” and pull her out of the program it will send a bad message that anytime there is a tough situation in life or when she doesn’t want to do something or when she is out of her comfort zone, there is an escape.  She’s a creature of habit and routine (definitely her Father’s daughter!) so it’s new and she doesn’t like change, but we have to give her a chance to get used to it.

Interestingly enough, he was the shy kid in school too, so he thinks it is good for her to be in a situation that facilitates her making new friends.  His point is that she made friends in her preschool last year, and she will make them at this program. The problem is that hasn’t happened yet.  Albeit it’s only been 2 days since she she has been there alone.

What I am also struggling with is the fact that this is only going to be the beginning.  My gut instinct is to want to protect her.  To keep her from anyone or any situation that is at all unpleasant or short of SO MUCH FUN.  But I realize I am not going to be able to protect her from everything in life. That’s just life! Mean girls included. Oh God, don’t even get me started on that one.

As a mom (but also the little girl in me) wants to scream YOU NEVER HAVE TO GO BACK!   But I do think it is unfair to not at least give her the chance to make a friend on her own.

So, I will send her tomorrow, it’s water day, and hope that she can bond with someone (God PLEASE!) over the sprinkler. And if not, well, we will just have to cross that bridge next week…