toddler activities – BabyCostsMoney

Sand castles to go go.

Published on June 28, 2018July 5, 2018 by Darlene Dee7 Comments

If you like sand say ohhhhhh. If you like sand say oh! OH!

Throw the sand in the air like you just don’t care.

No! Stop! We DON’T. THROW. SAND.

When we go to the library, Babystar wants to spend the entire time in the sandbox.

When we go to the mall, same.

She once went to the Children’s Museum in Denver and she spent the entire time in the giant sandbox out back.

You get it. The kid loves sand.

Please no one tell her that it is possible to have a sandbox at home. I don’t want any part of that noise. I know, I’m a terrible mother. Fine. Whatever.

I DID pick up some sand toys and sun hats from the Target Dollar Aisles ($14) and I keep them in the car because I never really know when we will find ourselves at a sunny sandbox. Babystar has sand radar. Sandar. If there is sand, she will find it.

We had a Problem With Sharing for a while. We bought extra shovels and pails so we would be able to share and maybe make some kindred sand spirit friends. Babystar was getting extremely (though probably rationally) worried that the other kids would take her sand toys and never ever ever give them back. We solved that problem by labeling all of the toys. Mabel’s Labels sent us these awesome labels. (They didn’t ask for a review or anything and this is not an affiliate link. I think they are just partial to Babystar’s name.) These labels are the bomb dot com. They have been through round and round of sand and water and sun and sand and sand and sand and they still look brand new and shiny and glittery. And they also solved the Sharing Situations. I’m pretty sure these labels are magic. Just if you were wondering.

Babystar doesn’t need a sandbox anyway. She finds plenty of ‘sand’ on the farm and she does not discriminate. Others might call it light brown dirt. Or dust. Or sometimes small rocks. But it is all sand to Babystar.

RAISING BABYSTAR: $28,692.45

SaveSave

She calls them dandy-blows.

Published on June 14, 2018June 10, 2018 by Darlene Dee9 Comments

Toddler malapropisms are just the best, right?

Please share your favorites with the class in the comments.

Babystar says actually instead of accidentally. So we hear a lot of ‘I actually dropped my crayon!’ and ‘I actually bumped my leg!’ Like she simply cannot believe what is happening. It is adorable and hilarious.

She has also learned the phrase ‘pretty sure’ but she uses it to mean ‘absolutely sure’. As in, ‘I’m sure I will share my sand toys with the other children. I’m pretty sure.’

(But she is actually speaking the truth because no one can ever be sure AT ALL that Babystar will share her sand toys.)

Babystar calls dandelions dandy-blows once they have turned to seed.

Tbh her word makes much more sense and I’d like to petition to have the name officially changed. Who is in charge of naming flowers please?

This H&M dress was $7.99. This picture is priceless.

RAISING BABYSTAR: $28,437.29

The Artist at Work.

Published on June 13, 2018June 10, 2018 by Darlene DeeLeave a comment

Can I pretend my baby is a sea otter?

Hear me out.

Babystar is an artist. She is really feeling the modern art these days and is totally digging the whole minimalism-one-single-blue-line-on-a field-of yellow-construction-paper look. Or she may add a few circles. But not, like, the basic round circles of the bourgeois. Her circles don’t close. Or they loop around three or four times, expressing themselves.

One time she accidentally made a triangle.

I am sure she is making really interesting statements about society and the rate at which we dole out snacks. Or something.

Also, she can only work with broken crayons.

Once. She can use the broken crayon once but then never again.

She is almost certainly making really interesting artistic statements about society and our insistence that she wear sunscreen.

ANYWAY. This minimalist inclination of hers has got me going through paper like whoa. Paper doesn’t grow on trees, you know. Well, it kind of does, in a way, but you take my point.

While Babystar’s work isn’t great for a human, it is excellent for a sea otter. What I want here is permission to completely misrepresent her work as being done by a sea otter and then sell it on Etsy. I will even split the proceeds with an actual sea otter. Does anyone know a sea otter?

No? Ok, fine.

I bought the Ikea easel ($19.99) to try to stop the paper flow. You know the one: one side is a chalkboard and the other is dry erase.

Thankfully, Babystar LOVES the chalk medium. She covers the entire chalkboard with a rainbow of colors. The easel distracts from the crayons and markers for at least ten whole minute every day. So I figure I’m saving thousands of trees.

Also purchased in the interest of supporting the arts: Ikea roll of paper ($9.98), Ikea table top paper holder ($7.99), chalk ($2.97), dry-erase pens ($5.98), smock that is already lost ($4.99), 96-pack of crayons ($4.99), drawing pads ($2.19×7), watercolor pad ($3.99), canvas ($24).

PROTIP: For amazing grandparent/godparent/whomever gifts, give the kid canvas after canvas but only TWO primary paint colors. And some of the colors in between. Like blue-purple-pink-red. Or yellow-orange-pink-red. You get it. Be on standby to change out the canvases like a toddler assembly line and voila: gifts for a year.

RAISING BABYSTAR: $28,429.30

All the way to Santa Fe.

Published on June 11, 2018June 10, 2018 by Darlene Dee2 Comments

The girls and I took an impromptu road trip to Santa Fe. I wanted to see some more of the Mountain Time Zone, Princess Buttercup wasn’t doing anything else, and Babystar goes where mama goes.

Also, I had finally unpacked THE LAST BOX and I needed to gtfo. It was either leave all the stuff I just unpacked behind and start a new life in Mexico or take a small weekend escape. I made the responsible choice. But maybe not the best one tbh.

Our first stop was Dinosaur Ridge ($18) in Morrison, Colorado. Did you know that the first Stegosaurus skeleton was found there? And did you know that the Stegosaurus on Dinosaur Train is named MORRIS the Stegosaurus? Coincidence? Maybe.

If you have a little dinosaur lover (or a big dinosaur lover), go here now. Babystar touched dinosaur bones and climbed in dinosaur footprints and then dug for legit FOSSILS in a sandbox. She got to keep one as long as she buried the others. The friendly volunteers stock the sand with teeth, shells, and ammonites like trout in a lake and Babystar LOVED it. I mean, it was her two favorite things: dinosaurs and sand. She did not want to leave.

But we did finally leave, after buying her a new friend named Parasaurolophus ($6.99).

We then drove south. Guess what we found in Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico between Denver and Santa Fe?!?!?! NOTHING! There are no people. There are only aliens.

Ok, there are some people but mostly there is otherworldly landscape. (I was driving so there aren’t any pictures but just imagine a place where aliens might choose to land because it feels most like home to them.) It was really quite beautiful, if a bit weird for these east coast girls aspiring to be mountain girls. I mean, we drove hundreds of miles without passing a Starbucks. And Princess Buttercup saw either a bear or a moose. (Her vision is not great.)

PROTIP: If you are so over momming that you need to G-E-T-O-U-T, but you of course have a toddler along for the ride, go to as many children’s museums as you can find. You can take a step back from your regular life, drink all the fancy coffee you can find, AND get mom-of-the-year points. Win-win-win.

We visited the Santa Fe Children’s Museum ($20). Highly recommend. The outside space is just as big as the indoor space. And BONUS – the water play feature was under construction as in NOT WORKING. (Yes, I consider that a good thing!)

We also visited Buell Children’s Museum ($16) in Pueblo, CO. This museum is big on crafts. If you love crafts, you’ll love this museum. There are other cool things too, like a toddler room with a sort of farm theme, a magnetic ‘fishing’ pond, a pirate ship, a room of giant blocks, and a dress up station. Though I understand they are switching the Pirate Theme soon so your mileage may vary. I suspect they will still have TONS OF CRAFTS. Like, they had a craft room bigger than our old townhouse AND they had craft stations every ten inches throughout the museum.

It was a pretty cheap road trip: we did a lot of just walking around and looking at stuff. We also mostly brought toddler-approved road snacks and shared our restaurant food (and free hotel breakfasts) with Babystar, but I did spend a little on food and ice cream: $6.99, $4.49, and $3.99. We also popped in to the Georgia O’Keefe museum and the Taos Pueblo but those were for me (and anyway she was free).

Oh, and I did buy her the Satin and Chenille Trolls ($14.99) on this trip because I am a sucker. And some apples ($2.99), because I am a REALLY good mom.

RAISING BABYSTAR: $28,329.09

Moving. Is. The. Worst.

Published on May 11, 2018May 31, 2018 by Darlene Dee9 Comments

It’s true. Moving suuuuuuucks.

I have a theory. Moving is so terrible that talking or thinking about a past move brings on a sort of PTSD situation. This is why no one tells you how bad it is. And so when you ask your friends and family and acquaintances for recommendations, no one really wants to think about that horrible time in their life. So they just pretend they didn’t hear you or avert their eyes and ~~walk~~ run away in a state of avoidance.

I get it. I don’t want to talk about it either. But I think that’s how I ended up with the WORST MOVERS EVER and I was crying on moving day but only because the mean mover guy made me hang out in 40 degree weather with no coat for two hours while he told me AFTER LOADING ALL MY STUFF that it was going to cost about twice what I thought. Fuck that guy. (I mean, thank goodness my husband’s company paid for the move, but it was still awful. And they couldn’t fit Babystar’s playhouse. And I was cold and tired and hungry and he kept adding wrong and starting over and talking to someone on that stupid phone clipped to his ear and omg I’m having flashbacks.)

Ok. Forget it. Never use Long Distance Movers. Oh yeah, I’m linking to them so you know exactly who I think you should never ever use. Trust me on this one.

(Though the guys that moved us IN in Colorado were simply lovely. But they also contracted for United Movers so maybe use them instead.)

So, moving sucks. Colorado is AWESOME, you guys. FREAKING. AWESOME.

But moving still sucks. I am STILL not completely unpacked. And that’s not even counting all the boxes in the basement. There is still one box in my bedroom and a few hidden in closets throughout this farmhouse. I doubt I will ever truly finish. I give up.

ANYWAY.

I have totally been feeding Babystar this whole time. And we went some fun places too. We also went a lot of boring places so Babystar got some cool Patience Presents. And I bought more Cat & Jack clothes from Target because they are so darn cute. And I bought other stuff because I am a sleep-deprived sucker.

I have a pile of receipts and no time or desire to take pictures or think of clever titles for separate blog posts so I’m going to cheat and list a whole bunch of stuff here.

(You know, for the Smithsonian. Yep, that one. Babystar turns eighteen in 2033. Hey Smithsonian, hit me up then, k? K.)

Princess Poppy pillowcase (for the bed she still won’t sleep in) $4.79
Princess Poppy blanket (that she at least uses in her teepee) $9.59
This adorable shirt because why is Target so cute!? $4.50
This shirt for St. Patrick’s day $4.50
Two more shirts and some leggings $5, $4.50, $5
Princess Poppy hat that we lost the same day $0.90

Brand new awesome stuffed Branch doll from thrift store $5
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie book from thrift store $1
heart shaped rock $6
green rock from a random shop in downtown Boulder $2
quartz crystal (yes, the kid loves rocks) $5
Blue!! from eBay (that tag lasted twenty years outside of my house but twenty seconds inside of my house) $26.70

3-pack of Contigo water bottles from Costco $11.99
Coffee and snacks and tip at Java Mama which is a cool coffeeshop with a playspace that I wish was closer to my house $12.43
three sets of 4T pajamas from Costco that were marked $3.99 but I just noticed while looking at the receipt that I paid $7.99 each and I’m slightly annoyed although I knew that price was too good to be true
dinosaur dig kits from the Target dollar aisles $3 (times three)
four mall dinosaur rides, you know, those animal shaped ride on things in every mall in America $40
four mall carousel rides $4
another trip to Frolic, an indoor play place a bit too far from the house $9.86
a trip with dad to the Denver Children’s Museum $26
three crochet finger puppets from the grocery store line $2.99 (I didn’t know the price until they rang up and I was already feeling too defeated to try to put them back)
m&m tee shirt and m&m’s from dad’s trip to NY $29.65
Aldi wipes $3.49 times four because I made my son bring back a bunch from the east coast in February because Aldi wipes 4 lyfe and now anyone that visits me from the east coast needs to please bring me Aldi wipes because I miss them so much ok thanks
Other wipes $3.79, $3.49, $4.99, $6.99
Diapers $14.99, $7.99, $21.99, $21.99, $14.99, $14.99
laundry detergent (she shares with us obvs) $4 per month so $16 through April
Seventh Generation Coconut care baby wash $7.99
Honest bubble bath (that she asked for but hates) $10.79
Babyganics bath wash $8.99
bathtub crayons $2.99
dinosaur egg bath fizz thingy that she hates $1.49, $1.49
January food $159.42
February food $144.06
March food $142.24
April food $146.94 (Hit me up if you want the full list. I’m talking to you, Smithsonian. Also, I see your kid’s meal price jumps, Chick-fil-A.)

RAISING BABYSTAR: $28,011.65

(And now, hopefully, back to our regularly scheduled sass.)

SaveSave