Mother Talkers

At Wit's End!

by jenna

Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 09:04:30 AM PDT

It's 13 degrees (Farenheit) here today. My daughter and I have been sick with a bad cold since the weekend, so time outside has been pretty limited. This morning I was catching up on some work while my daughter was watching "Big Big World" on PBS, and I heard her say that she needed to wash her hands. So I went in to the living room and found her covered in brown goo...when I asked where she got it, she said the couch. Sure enough a tube of my lip gloss was on the couch and she had squirted it out and bathed herself in it. I suppose under normal circumstances I'd find this funny (if it hadn't involved my favorite lip gloss which is now gone or my new couch which is brown for a good reason, but, still new), but I don't feel good, and this is just the latest in a string of Avery-finds-something-then-smears-it-all-over.
Do I finally have to baby-proof my house for my almost-3-year old?? In the span of ONE week she's:
*Unlocked the back door and went out in the snow in her slippers

*Found and devoured 3 chocolates I had hidden on the dining table, seriously not visible. I had just quickly cleaned out my purse and had them left over from my last day of Polish Class.

*Climbed up on my desk and took my Tums, then ate a few before we caught her

*Reached up to the top of her changing table and found her baby Vicks, smeared the ENTIRE jar all over herself, her hair, and her bedroom.

We finally got the Vicks out of her hair completely yesterday, and now the lip gloss will be the next challenge (soap and water took 10 minutes to get it off of her face and hands).

I know this all has to do with her age and being cooped up for a week. I'm just not good at figuring out ways to keep her occupied all day indoors. Yesterday it was 36 so we went out to enjoy the "nice" day at the zoo. Doing a craft would last about 30 minutes tops, so do any of you creative and resourceful mothers have any tips? I'm still sick so I am running on low energy, but I'm open to ideas!  

Poll

When the weather outside is frightful, do you:

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50%6 votes
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| 12 votes | Vote | Results

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  • Tough age! (0 / 0)

    Oh, that is a tough age.  The only thing I can say is use the same advice you would use if you were cooped up in an airplane. Variety and volume of activities.

    Videos, books, crafts, puzzles, baking cookies, making daddy a card, more videos, a snack, repeat.  Hop in the car and just drive around, go to a drive through Starbucks and get yourself a soothing beverage and maybe she'll fall asleep.

    See if any of her friends are sick, too, and have a sick-kid playdate?

    If she's really into smearing right now then fingerpaints might be fun.  Or a messy cooking/baking project where she can dig in.

    Good luck!!

    Miles and His Favorites: The World As Seen By an Eight Year Old

    by Hillary on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 09:19:29 AM PDT

  • Re: Kids' Museum (0 / 0)

    Those places are already full of germs, a few more ounces of snot won't do anyone any harm!!! Take her!

    Miles and His Favorites: The World As Seen By an Eight Year Old

    by Hillary on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 09:21:13 AM PDT

  • When one of my daughters was about 3 or 4, (0 / 0)

    she decided she wanted to do her nails.  Somehow, in doing so, she managed to get the red nail polish all through her hair.  Bad enough, right?  Well, it gets better.  Just so happens, this fancy struck her on the day of my brother's graduation.  It was about an hour before we needed to leave.  I got the polish remover and tried to take the bright red streaks out of her hair...wrong move as it simply smeared it all over all of her hair.  So...my daughter attended my brother's graduation and party with bright pink hair.  

    To this day, I cringe when I see any of them with a bottle of nail polish.

    by tjb22 on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 09:45:21 AM PDT

  • Ideas (0 / 0)

    Playdoh?  Does she still take a nap?

    I know, it's rough.  I hate the winter.  

    by NJmom on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 11:09:29 AM PDT

    • She does (0 / 0)

      I'm really fortunate -- she still takes a 2 to 3 hour nap every day. So It's really just 5 hours in the morning that I need to fill. I just need to stop trying to multitask (working or cleaning up while she is eating breakfast) and focus on her when we have days like this.

      by jenna on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 11:19:16 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • Make your own playdoh (0 / 0)

      on the stove with flour, cream of tartar, oil and water....not sure of the exact recipe but probably could google for it....i'll look later when i get back from b-ball dd's game.

      use kitchen tools, grater, butter knives, garlic press, cookie cutters and let her go to town at the table with mixing and making shapes.

      making the playdoh is fun to do too together -- add food coloring for making it whatever color you choose.

      karen

      by karen m on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 04:35:53 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  • Oh God yes! (0 / 0)

    I can't relate to 13-degree weather, but Ari is in the same stage as Avery. My sweet-natured 2-year-old is gone and now he fights me for EVERYTHING -- bathtime, bedtime, you name it -- and makes big messes. I have not had to child-proof the house until now, but the other day, he took every single clothing item out of his drawers. he takes all his books out of the shelves and toys out of the trunk and piles them. Guess who gets to put everything away?? That's right.

    Even worse, when we try to discipline him -- give him "time outs" -- he just giggles and runs away. He loves getting a stir from us.

    He doesn't nap anymore -- which is bummer. So I've been taking him out every day: to the museums, parks, zoo, Chuck E. Cheese, you name it.

    If Avery is really sick, I would limit her to home with a video or some activity like a book, if you can spare the time. Also, at this age they can start playing games. I just bought Ari "Memory" to take up some afternoons and that's worked really well. He also likes Hungry, Hungry Hippos. But definitely take her out when she feels up for it -- for your own sanity if anything! I find it easier to either schedule a playdate or take Ari somewhere.

    For something minor like a runny nose, well, honestly, half of Ari's class continuously has a runny nose. I don't think it is realistic to shield her or any other child from ALL germs. It just comes with the territory as I have unfortunately learned...

    by Elisa on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 12:04:24 PM PDT

    • True (0 / 0)

      It's more like green ooze, though, so I'm going to wait another day or two before unleashing her on the masses. That, and the hacking coughs -- at least she is learning to blow her nose finally and cough into her elbow! She actually corrected me today when I coughed into my hand! She said "No mommy, like THIS." and pretended to cough into her elbow.

      Avery is the same with discipline! When I talk to her sternly she laughs at me! It's so hard to keep a straight face (usually -- not today!). We talk about sitting in the corner when she has done something out of line. She'll get one warning, then it's into the corner. She hates it, but she generally stays there for the duration. It's hard to tell if it makes any difference in the long run, but I guess it's better than not trying something.

      by jenna on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 09:09:55 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      • you are right jenna (0 / 0)

        it does definitely make a difference.  

        when my son was 2 1/2 he seemed to go through a really tough stage until almost 3.  then it was as if he returned to his "normal" self.  that 6 months was very difficult.  i remember many times not wanting to take him anywhere because of the challenge of his behavior.  i distinctly remember one week where i thought i would lose my mind.  i was home alone (my dh traveled a lot) and i felt i couldn't go anywhere.  very isolating.  no family nearby.   one good friend i could tell didn't want to spend time with us because of this difficult stage.  she had two girls and had not experienced what i was going through.  tough time.

        but consistent behavior on your part is key.  hang in there...stages come in and as you struggle to figure them out, they pass by.

        karen

        by karen m on Fri Dec 08, 2006 at 09:41:32 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

    • hungry hungry hippos :>) (0 / 0)

      my kids loved that!  good one.

      my kids also loved anything to do with being able to play with water --- at their preschool they had a water table with lots of items in the water to play with -- sink and float, fill, and spill, etc.  

      my dd used to love to use a cooking pot and take several bottles of spices and "make her own soup" adding water to make a mush like solution.

      i don't know if the age is right, but another item that seems to always fascinate young children are "toys" that create a type of maze or rollercoaster type track through which marbles are run.  that would keep attention riveted for awhile.

      bean bag toss is another good invention.  or rug bowling.

      karen

      by karen m on Fri Dec 08, 2006 at 09:34:52 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • Oh the giggle response (0 / 0)

      I hate that.

      I even hate it knowing that I know that kids giggle in that situation only when they know they're in really really bad trouble - it's a defensive mechanism.

      I still hate it.

      Sometimes I put her in her room and hold the door closed. But when I'm really desperate to make a point and calm down, I go into MY room and close the door and block it closed with my body and read a book. That usually makes her cry.

      And then sometimes I'd get a nice note under the door, "I sorry mom me."

      I don't have a lot of answers. 3 was a very hard age for me, because they don't really have skills yet. Playdoh, videos, car rides. Also even just walking around inside the mall, not buying anything, just browsing and looking.

      Maybe a blanket/couch/pillow/cardboard box fort.

      by shenanigans on Fri Dec 08, 2006 at 11:05:59 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  • Oh dear (0 / 0)

    Sounds like you've had a heck of a week, Jenna. I would also suggest playdoh, but I'd recommend making it at home - I have an easy recipe if you'd like it, and making it means the project lasts a few more hours! We used to make Christmas ornaments out of homemade clay, so perhaps that's even a good holiday thing for you?

    Can you take Avery to a pool or a gymbaroo, too? The physical activity would probably do her good; if she's not in the midst of her cold, I find that a bit of exercise helps speed the recovery process (raises blood circulation, endorphins a go-go, etc.) and it gives both of you time to splash around.

    Hugs to you both!

    by Rachel on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 12:57:10 PM PDT

    • I'd love the recipe (0 / 0)

      She's gotten into helping me cook in the kitchen lately (she even helped me make my favorite Thanksgiving dessert this year -- Pumpkin Marbled Cheesecake), so this would be fun for both of us. We could make ornaments for family for gifts.

      I think we've turned the corner with our colds today. I feel much better this evening, and I'm hoping she'll be on the mend tomorrow so we can take her somewhere for some good exercise.

      by jenna on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 09:05:26 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • Playdoh alternative, with Xmas coming (0 / 0)

      You can make sculpting dough and bake it and then paint it, to make ornaments or other semi-permanent things to give as gifts.

      Gluing paper for paper chains or mosaics or the like

      by shenanigans on Fri Dec 08, 2006 at 11:20:21 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  • Computer (0 / 0)

    Another great task for that age is the computer.  There's a great website that my daughter just loves called Starfall.com.

    There's also:
    Nick Jr
    Playhouse Disney

    American Son ~ Wes Clark

    by 1plain1peanut on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 01:41:01 PM PDT

    • not too young for Playhouse Disney (0 / 0)

      My 3 year old has been playing the Playhouse Disney (Preschooltime Online) for at least 6 months now, so she can definitely do it.  

      Both Nick Jr. and Preschooltime have tons of printable coloring pages, fun print out games, stories too.  

      The other thing my kids LOVE to do is find out new things on the internet (this does require an adult)  My DS has about 200 elephant pictures that we have downloaded and saved into a folder.  He can open it and look through it all by himself.  Same with his whales, dolphins and a few other fav animals.

      So now when we are cooped up and bored, the kids will ask to go find things on the internet. There are great encyclopedias online too.

      Good luck!

      Anne W
      Gifts By Delivery

      by Anne W on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 09:30:27 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      • Hey Anne! (0 / 0)

        Haven't seen your moniker around here for awhile. How's things in Oceanside?

        by Rachel on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 10:28:23 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

      • Ha ha ha (0 / 0)

        My daughter likes to google for her name. It's an unusual name, and she was pretty excited to find that there's a county and a plant with her name and a whole set of web pages 'about her'. But then she wants me to read all the text to her, doh!

        My daughter did like computer games at 3. At that age, one of the best and easily available choices is Kid Pix, which is cheap and tons of fun for a long time. I also like the living books, which may not run on a modern computer, but run great on an old computer if you have one lying around. My favorite titles are "Just Grandma and Me" and "Dr. Seuss' ABC."


        "Annie, Albert ate my apple!"
        "Alligators' appetites are always atrocious. Albert, apologize."

        You can get these via Amazon, but probably not in time to solve the immediate issue.

        by shenanigans on Fri Dec 08, 2006 at 11:13:36 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

  • She might be a tad young (0 / 0)

    but a simple bowl of cereal can take ages when a young child eats it with chopsticks.  Pomegranites are good, too.  Someone else mentioned playdough.  Does she like to dress up and dance?  Simone goes through phases where she'll just dance around in a fancy dress for yours.

    And that three hour nap thing?  You're so disgustingly lucky, you don't even know!

    by Erin on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 04:08:02 PM PDT

    • I do know... (0 / 0)

      I think it's given me a false sense of ease! Honestly, I don't know what I'd do if the naps went away right now...she'd be in bed for the night by 5!

      The chopsticks are a good idea! We went to an Asian restaurant recently and she insisted on eating with the chopsticks. We didn't notice until we left that they had a "cheater" in her kid's box, so we kept it. I know she'd love it...I'm going to use that idea!

      by jenna on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 09:02:42 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  • I still haven't found (0 / 0)

    ny five diamond ring my daughter hid when she was 3. She's about to turn 19, btw. She did every one of those things you listed when she was 3. Good times, good times. :::DDD

    by livesinashoe on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 04:30:22 PM PDT

  • totally empathise (0 / 0)

    too, BTW, Jenna. Jess is only 18 months, but she is already into everything. Our couch (only 10 months old) has gone from a sort of pebbly taupe (ok, that was dumb) to a mottled brownish color with weird patches all over it! The only thing saving me from going nuts over it is the fact that it's one of those fake microsuedes with commercial-grade stain-proofing on it. When I wash it with care, they do come off. Will have to do something about that before my folks come in January, though!

    Just to make you feel better: this week, Jess got into her diaper creme. Like Avery, it went EVERYWHERE - hair, face, tee-shirt. When I found her, she was squeezing dollops out and eating it... Oh, god.

    by Rachel on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 05:01:09 PM PDT

  • bath time! (0 / 0)

    If you have a decent sized bathtub you could both take a nice long bubble bath together - little cups and bath toys to play with.  Plus it would help get all the various smeared goo off her ;-)

    by hazel on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 08:34:23 PM PDT

  • Thanks, all! (0 / 0)

    Thanks for commiserating! I actually laughed out loud at the stories you gave, so that was a huge help. We'll definitely be utilizing all of these suggestions in the coming months!

    by jenna on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 09:12:37 PM PDT

  • We're going to have to re-baby proof everything (0 / 0)

    My son is 3.5 and all of a sudden is into everything as well. Stuff we thought was safe, high up in a cupboard, is no longer assumed so. I always thought a locked medicine cabinet was overkill but I'm starting to see the point.

    The other day DH left him for ten minutes to take a phone call and came downstairs to find our son lounging on the couch, with the laptop balanced on his belly, watching a Barney video. Mind you, we never showed him how to put a DVD in the laptop. I don't even think my mother could figure out how to play a movie on the laptop. But there you go.

    We like to go to the play area at the mall, the climbing structure/ball pit at the community center (or the "immunity center," as my son calls it, which may be more appropriate, considering all the germs he will become immune to),  the community pool, any of several area toy stores (we don't always buy, just hang out and play with their toys), and the library. Next up: baking and decorating holiday cookies.

    Gosh, the winter sure is long!

    by minnmom on Fri Dec 08, 2006 at 06:04:12 AM PDT

  • Thank you for this (0 / 0)

    It made me feel much less alone in my own prickly toddler/illness.

    I've been housebound with a cold/sinus infection since Thanksgiving, and our daughter (20 mos) has just learned the enormous power of the word "no". The other day, seeing the stunned horror on my face as our formerly compliant girl rounded the corner towards her room singing "no-no-no-no" my husband read my darkest thoughts and said kindly, "She is not turning into Paris Hilton."  Bless him.  Today was to be my first day out, meeting a friend and her daughter at the nature center.  But then, during our family's morning visit on the big bed before her father goes to work, she sneezed out what can only be described as an ecosystem.  So no afternoon outing with other people, not while her virus is so desperate to replicate.  But after her nap (and we, too, are unendingly grateful that she still naps) we will be going on a looooooonnnngggg walk, just the two if us, one sick girl and her sick-of-the-same-four-walls mother.

    Thanks again for the post, Jenna.  Best wishes to you.  In similar situations when I was little and bouncing off the walls, my mother would "bake biscuts" with me -- Bisquick, water and the freedom to make all sorts of funny shapes, then bake and eat them.  Not exactly whole grain, but it fills the time and the stomach.

    by Shelby on Fri Dec 08, 2006 at 07:46:12 AM PDT

    • Something a PA told me about morning snot (0 / 0)

      A Physician's Assistant I know told me to never look at morning snot for signs of infection.  That goo has been cooped up there all night and is likely to be discolored.

      Instead, she gauges possible infections by the snot that comes out later in the day.

      This has eased my mind over the years.  If the snot is clear later in the day after a colorful morning sneeze, and there is no fever, I don't bother pediatrician or cancel plans.

      Miles and His Favorites: The World As Seen By an Eight Year Old

      by Hillary on Fri Dec 08, 2006 at 11:02:27 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  • Oh what I have to look forward to! (0 / 0)

    DS is only 10 months and just starting to get into things. From what I have read on the string so far, looks like the fun is just beginning.

    As for keeping your little one busy, here are some things I remember my mom doing with me:

    1. Let her be your shadow and little helper. Teach her to fold the laundry with you, cook with you, whatever you need to do. It always made me feel like I was being just like mom

    2. If you have a much neglected hobby take time to do it and share it with her. Might require some age appropriate modifications. (This is how My mom taught me to sew and knit. She was WAY patient with me :)

    3. Check out some new books at the library

    4. Have her dictate a story and you write it all down. Create a special little storybook of stories that she has "written" (I still have the one that my grandmother made with me when I was four. Its really cute...)

    Jen in NJ

    by littlepear on Sun Dec 10, 2006 at 01:20:24 PM PDT

    • These are cute ideas! (0 / 0)

      She's been very interested in helping me cook, so I let her assist me as much as possible. I really like the story idea, though! She's at the age where she is constantly telling little stories.
      Thanks!

      by jenna on Sun Dec 10, 2006 at 06:52:06 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  • It continues (0 / 0)

    I think sometime at age 4, Kari went thru the bathroom and dumped all the shampoo, soap, medicines, makeup, etc into one giant mess on the floor.  I did not even scream, I just said, oh and threw her in the shower.  Now she is more into food chemistry and I have to supervise, otherwise there will be an oatmeal, ketchup, chocolate chip mess that is fun to make but not to eat.  You can always encourage experimentation by pouring vinegar on baking soda or salt with pop, kids think chemistry is cool

    Lawn is a sterile monoculture - de-grass! read/comment on my blog http://hardingfele.livejournal.com

    by freia on Mon Dec 11, 2006 at 10:14:16 AM PDT

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