I was thinking about what else to post in my stocking stuffer series and remembered all the great toys and games we had in the 90’s. I thought it’d be cool to get a couple of things for Rosebud and to bring you all down memory lane with this list of fun toys, games and accessories from the 90’s. There are stocking stuffers for kids of all ages on this list.
Games
Let’s start off with games. Board games were a big thing in the 90’s. I remember many weekends playing board or card games with my friends. Now kids are attached to their screens, but it might be fun for them to play an actual game with real pieces instead. Do you remember any of these?
Toys
There were lots of toys to collect in the 90’s. I had my share of beanie babies, troll dolls and the horses from My Little Pony. I don’t remember the show, but I do remember the plastic ponies.
More Toys
Who remembers these water games?
Here’s something for the boys.
Accessories
Here are some accessories and products for girls from the 90’s.
Scrunchies
Jewelry
Bath and Body
Who else remembers these fragrances? Bath and Body Works was one of my favorite stores as a teenager.
Candy
Last but not least, how about some 90’s candy?
Did I miss anything? What awesome items do you remember from your childhood? Tell me in the comments.
For Mothers Day, I want to sleep in. When I wake up, I want a nice breakfast. Then I want to spend the rest of the morning relaxing and enjoying the spring weather. I want to have time to write in my journal and get absorbed in a good book. I’d also like to spend time with Rosebud, just being her mom and not having to worry about anything. I’d love to end the day with a bubble bath and maybe watching a little tv. It’s not too much to ask, right?
I got thinking. What do other mothers want? I posed this question to a group of moms and here’s what they said. The good news is that most of these things don’t cost a penny. there might be a little work involved, but the moms in your life will love you for it. Here’s what we really want this mothers day!
To sleep in on the weekends like my husband. No one asking me “what should the baby eat for breakfast” or “where are my shoes?” Just to sleep in without interruption and without my body telling me it’s 6 AM and time to get up.
Pamela
To sleep in, and then when I wake up, lots of kisses and a latte in bed.
Check out her blog at Brooklyn Farm Girl.com.
A Clean House Mercedes from Mom To Girls.com.
I’d like to have a clean house, laundry put away, a good meal, and some time to relax in a bubble bath 😊
Mallory from Mom of War Hear My Roar.
I would absolutely LOVE for someone to do the dishes and the laundry. I don’t mean put the dishes in the sink that morning and… BOOM… done. But also start and empty the clean dishwasher and put the 100 cups that are used throughout the day back in there.
Victoria
I’d like a day where my house is clean and I’m not cleaning it, dinner is made and fresh flowers bought for me. Also, coffee made for me by my kids when I’d like.Xoxo
You can find Victoria at TitleFreeMom.com.
Liz from TheLifeYouDesign.com.
What I honestly want more than anything. I want a day WITH my husband and daughter out of the house. I want to celebrate a mother by being a mother. However while we are gone, I want a professional cleaning service to deep-clean my home and I want to order dinner for delivery and eat on paper plates so there are no dishes.
A Vacation
Kristenne
Aaah… A vacation from my family. Even just for 24 hours. A staycation at a 5-star hotel, with room service massage, a sauna, a pool, a buffet. Of course, I’d probably call a sitter or have my husband take time off work. As a WAHM, taking time out of the house without our baby is a luxury.
You can find her at MisisBlog.com
Hayley
To go somewhere memorable with my family, like a day out or travel to somewhere exotic! Making special memories would be a great Mother’s Day gift for me!
Hailey blogs over at Life As A Butterfly.
Alone time with my husband like we used to. I can’t remember the last time the two of us went out without the kids!
Talya
A trip to Target/Home Goods/anywhere really, sans kids!! With no time limit!!!
You can find her blog at The Mother Fix.
Family Time
Mallory from Mama On Parade.
I just don’t want to do anything for mother’s day. No dishes, no laundry, no work. Just have a fun and relaxing day with my family.
Emma
I just want a day with my own little family where I don’t have to worry about cooking, cleaning, or laundry. With my husband’s work schedule it’s hard to find the time to just have a fun day as a family, so I ask for this each year.
You can find Emma’s blog here at Muddy Boots And Diamonds.com.
Aimee from MommyBabyLife.com.
Call me crazy, but I do enjoy spending Mother’s Day with my family. My husband works a lot so we don’t usually have a lot of quality time with all 5 of us. I like to go to a small town, walk around the shops – picking out a few gifts for myself of course – and get lunch.
Relaxation
Shannon
A stiff drink! No, seriously, a pretty drink with an umbrella sitting outside in my lounge chair the radio blasting, kids playing, and the hubs grilling supper.
Jessica from CareFreeMermaid.com.
Just something simple like a Starbucks brought to me in the morning 😉 & a nice quiet, peaceful bath with a glass of wine at night!
Tricia
I want to have a day where I can read a book, drink a glass of wine, or be lazy and not listen to my kids argue about who ate the last bowl of cereal!
Lani from LaniOnLife.com.
I want a day at the spa; massage and facial. A day to take care of and focus on me with no stress or worries.
Jessica from Adventuring to Neverland.
A SPA DAY…. Not just a service, but an entire day. I know it’s wishful thinking, butttttt goodness wouldn’t that be graaaaand?!
Something for Mom
Jho
I want to have a Mother’s Day to pamper myself, but I thought of something else. I never had the chance to really pamper my mom, so perhaps it’s that time of the year where kids do something for their moms. Since my kids are still too small to do something grand for me, lol, I’d do something for my mom. And I hope that’ll make me feel good and set a good example for my kids.
A Day Free From Planning Lisa from Biscuits and Grading.
I want to spend the day outside. I want to go hike and bike the local trails with the coffee that my husband went out of his way to buy me. I want to eat a lunch (that he picked up) at the park with my family. I mostly just want to not have to plan one single thing. As a mom, all I do is plan and coordinate. I want a complete 24 hour reprieve from planning.
Angel
It’d be perfect to have a day of family adventure all planned out without me being the one picking the place. Surprise me and spoil me on Mother’s Day.
Making Memories
Taylor from Accomplished Family.
I’d love for my husband to take time figuring out something that my girls could be involved in to make this mother’s day memorable. Doesn’t have to cost! I’m thinking a handmade card or even a painted rock. I’d want to spend time with my family. I’d love to go for a long walk or drive.
Jennifer
My kids are older and I don’t get to see some of them as often as I would like. For Mother’s Day I would love a mother’s necklace, but not initials or birth stones. I want a charm that each one has picked to represent who they are so I could carry around a piece of them always.
Find Jennifer atOneHoppyMomma.com.
Cooking
Lacy from Uplifted Simplicity.
My favorite gift is a day outside gardening and grilling with my family. We love to plant flowers in the afternoon and then eat whatever my husband has grilled up for dinner.
Jacqueline from MomMoneyMap.com.
I would want my husband to cook us a meal from scratch. No frozen pizzas or meals that just have to be heated in the oven, I want to see him chop the vegetables, and cook the grains and meat. A homemade pie couldn’t hurt either!
The Perfect Mothers Day
Stacy
My perfect Mother’s Day would be breakfast in bed with lots of coffee, time to take a bubble bath and get dressed in peace, A nice lunch with a fun family activity. That afternoon I would get some quiet time or a nap. A mix of some much needed “me time” and family time is the perfect Mother’s Day to me.
Find Stacy over at Protecting Your Pennies.
Jamilyn from SideKick Mama.
My perfect Mother’s day would be a full night’s sleep (we have a baby) and waking up to a clean house and finished flooring! We are so close to completing our kitchen flooring. It definitely would be nice to have it done!
Audrey from RosesRompers.com.
I would love a full night of sleep and having someone else cook breakfast for me. AND do the dishes afterwards. Gluten-free healthy pancakes please! And also having the house cleaned thoroughly for me. And at night, a long soak in the bathroom with a book by my favorite author!
Appreciation
Alexandria from Always Us.
Appreciation for all the things mamas do!
Check out her Gift Guide for Mothers Day 2019.
Erin from Lullaby Lark.
I made the decision to put my career on hold to stay home and raise my children, one of whom has special needs. I would love for my family to show me that what I do matters to them, that I’m making a difference.
Ayesha from WFHMama sums it up nicely!
I want Mother’s to be celebrated on more than just one day out of the year. ❤️
To summarize, we want plenty of sleep, a clean house, home cooked meals, relaxation, fun family time and memories that last a life time. Above all, we want to know that we are loved and appreciated. What will you be doing for the moms in your life this Mothers Day? Tell me in the comments.
This morning, I made a video with Rosebud and shared it with friends. It was basically a video message from her telling everyone, happy Valentine’s day while playing with her build a bouquet play set.
During the video, I mentioned something about how on Valentine’s Day, you give cards and gifts to people you love. I told Rosebud that I gave her the flower set because I love her. I didn’t go into too much detail other than that, but after I posted the video, I felt guilty. I wondered if people would be judging me because I told her That Valentine’s Day was for giving cards and gifts. Would people think I’m materialistic? Yes, I’m an over thinker.
Then I thought that the more abstract ideas about Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be something that a three-year-old would understand anyway. For her, Valentine’s Day may be about gifts and cards because they are tangible, but as she gets older, I want her to understand that Valentine’s Day is about more than that. You might get cards and gifts for people you love, but the more important part is spending time with them. It’s about having fun, laughing, making memories together and showing them you care. I want her to know that you don’t need a commercialized day to do those things. They should be done every day.
I spent the majority of my day at work, but Rosebud spent it with family playing with her gifts, eating candy and having fun. When I was finally done with work, Little Guy and his mom came over to spend time with Rosebud and I. He had a Valentine for her. There was a goody bag with a crayon heart, a couple heart shaped lights and a flower. They were making quite a light show. His mom joked that it looked like a rave party. I ordered pizza and his mom brought a bottle of wine. Little Guy was too excited to settle down to eat, but he and Rosebud played. They laughed, chased each other around and argued over toys as only toddlers and preschoolers do, but in the end, they enjoy each other’s company. His mom and I talked, had a few laughs and enjoyed our pizza and wine.
Isn’t that what Valentine’s Day is about? Spending time with people you care about. It may be a day for couples, but if you are not in a relationship, you have to find a way to make it fun and that’s what I did. It’s too easy to get caught up in all that commercialization. I also think that when you have kids, holidays take on a whole new meaning. I am grateful that I spent the best parts of today with Rosebud and my new friends. Thank you for making today fun and memorable and for the reminder of what Valentine’s Day is really about.
It has been a long winter and these past couple of days have been especially horrible at work. One bright spot has been the weather. It’s finally warmed up a bit and not feeling so much like the arctic. Normally, the last thing I want to do when I get home is to go outside and freeze. I get my fill of that in the mornings as my classes almost always go outside no matter how cold it is. All I want to do is sit in my favorite chair and zone out, but I don’t do that. Most days, I play with Rosebud as soon as I get home. She waits for me all day and she usually gets things set up so that we can play as soon as we walk through the door. Some days, she’ll have a picnic set up or she’ll create a pretend bakery.
Now that the sun is out later and we had a taste of spring, she asked to go play in the back yard. When we got out there, we started testing the snow to see what we could make. We have one of those plastic molds that makes bricks out of snow. We only managed to make one brick that stayed together. The others fell apart. It could’ve been good snowman making snow, but it was too warm for it to stay together. We couldn’t make a decent snowman, but we could make some fantastic snowballs. Even though most of them melted quickly, they were perfect for throwing. Rosebud picked one up and threw it at me. Then it was on! We threw snowballs back and forth and just kept laughing. We had so much fun.
It reminded me of my childhood. Back then, we used to get a lot more snow than we do now and we’d spend hours out there. I remember helping my mom shovel snow and thinking how fun it was. Of course, now it’s not so fun. I remember making huge snowballs with my classmates. We’d just make gigantic snowballs to push around, just seeing how big we could make them. We made tall snowmen, experimented with spraying the snow with colored water, taking sleds down a huge hill on the school’s playground. I remember making a snow fort at the baby sitter’s house. We wanted to make it really strong because the kids who lived next door decided that they’d throw snowballs at our fort. I think we were going to throw some at their’s too, but we thought we were so clever when we got some water and started making ice as the top coat of our fort.
We didn’t care if they came with snowballs because we were busy seeing how strong we could make our fort.
I’d often go down to the pond with those same kids and pretend to ice skate. There were holes all over the pond and it definitely wasn’t the safest thing to be doing, but back then, kids were allowed to take risks. Maybe more than we should have, but we learned to be careful. We knew what our limits were. We learned through trial and error. We learned how to share, make our own rules and most of all, we learned to look out for each other.
Every day, I’m constantly telling kids about how this isn’t safe and that isn’t safe. We tell them not to climb the slide, stay out of puddles, don’t play on the ice, don’t throw snowballs and on and on. It gets old. I start to wonder what came first. Do we tell them not to do these things because they show us they don’t know how to be safe or are we just assuming it before giving them the opportunity to learn? We tell them not to throw snowballs, but why exactly? It seems as though that it’s just one of those childhood memories we all have. At least those of us who grow up in winter climates.
With some of the kids, I’ll tell them to stop because they always take it too far. If they throw snowballs, they go for the other kid’s face. If they play on the ice, they pick up a piece and throw it. Is it because we’ve hovered too much that they have to push the envelope even farther or does it come down to the fact that they don’t know how to play and interact with other kids? Is all this hovering crushing their spirits? Can we step back a little or is all of this necessary? My guess is the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
When Rosebud and I played outside, I thought of my own childhood and I wanted her to have some of those same memories. I want her to remember happy times even if they were just playing with mommy instead of the neighborhood kids. I let her throw snowballs and threw some back. I let her see if she could climb her slide with her boots on. She discovered that it was slippery, but if she held on tight and paid close attention, she could still get to the top safely. She discovered that she shouldn’t run on the ice or she might fall. I pulled her around the yard in her sled and her laughter was contagious. The hint of spring with the warm sun on my back and seeing Rosebud’s pure joy was the perfect ending to my day.
Recently, this brilliant article called,The Most Overlooked Reason Why Your Kids Won’t Listen, Focus or Sit Still came across my newsfeed. It discusses the consequences of children not having the opportunity to take risks and not getting enough time outdoors. It’s worth reading. What are your thoughts? Are our children missing out?
I’ve been meaning to do a series of posts leading up to 2019, but I’ve been so busy with the holidays and watching Little Guy that I’ve had no energy left at the end of the day. I want to sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. Actually, I want to sleep long before that. Usually it starts as soon as I hear Rosebud talking to herself in the morning since she refuses to sleep in, even if she goes to bed late. She has also given up naps for the most part, so she’s been exhausted lately. Although I love blogging, I haven’t had it in me. I’m hoping to get back on track in the new year.
I was one of those people last year who decided to have a word as a theme to 2018. Well, my word was change and 2018 turned out to be the complete opposite. If I were to sum up 2018 into one word, it would be stuck. I felt like I was in a maze, going down one path only to realize it led back to where I started. At the end of 2017, I was able to come up with a long list of wonderful things that happened that year. I reconnected with some great people I had lost touch with, I took pottery classes, I was able to make big improvements on my home and Rosebud grew so much and met so many milestones.
This year was hard. The cats were sick a lot. Most of my coworkers retired, moved away or quit because they couldn’t take it anymore. Since then, it has been a revolving door of new faces. I’m usually anxious about meeting new people, so this has definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. On one hand, I think it will be exciting to meet new people because maybe, just maybe, it will be someone I can connect with. Then I usually end up disappointed because we don’t share the same interests, our personalities aren’t compatible or there’s just nothing there. this goes for coworkers, friendships or relationships. My exploration of transcription fell through and I decided it wasn’t for me. Coaching is still an option, but I will have to take out a loan to cover the cost of training, so this will have to wait. Maybe I can start this year depending on how things go. I missed out on pottery classes because they fill so quickly and I didn’t find other classes that interested me. The improvements I made to my home were minimal, but on the flip side, I’m lucky that there aren’t urgent things that need fixing.
For the positive, Rosebud has become quite a conversationalist. She always has something adorable to say. Her latest thing is reading to me. I love hearing her try to retell a story or make up her own. The other positive thing was meeting Little Guy at work. We clicked since day one and now I have connected with his family. I’ve watched him a lot this month which not only has allowed me to make some extra money, but has given me a great trial run in childcare from home. I have to say that it has been going great except for yesterday. I woke up in a bad mood, Rosebud was crabby and Little Guy was tired and his family is in the middle of moving to a new house. He was not acting like himself for most of the morning, so it was a difficult day all around. We will all have those days though no matter where we are or what we are doing.
Here are my goals and hopes for the new year.
To finalize a career plan. Do I want to have my own business and what will I be doing? I will be taking a training this month on home childcare since I’m leaning towards watching a couple kids from home. My long term plan would be to continue being a childcare provider for the next couple of years. Meanwhile, I could start building up a coaching business.
Take a class for fun. It could be pottery or something else.
Get back to a regular exercise routine. I’ve been slacking lately!
Journal regularly. I know I’ll look back on this time later and regret that I haven’t kept up with it. I want to keep the memories of Rosebud while she is little.
Turn one room in my house into a play room.
Get Rosebud potty trained. This has been a hard and frustrating thing we’ve been working on.
Let go of things I don’t need. Whether they be objects or self limiting beliefs.
Read at least 20 books. This should not be hard with my Audible subscription.
Take one night per week for self care.
Post on the blog on a regular schedule. Over the past few months, I’ve figured out that Tuesdays and Fridays work best for me.
Well, I’ll be busy this year, but I’m excited to get started. If I do something each day to reach my goals, I’ll get there eventually, but I know I have to start by breaking it down into achievable steps. I won’t be choosing a word or making new years resolutions, but I will be progressing towards long-term goals. At the end of the day, I know I need to get back to basics. Spending quality time with Rosebud, maintaining a healthy mind and body and focusing on writing and creating because those things make me the happiest. Even if I don’t have a play room by next January or if I. Miss out on pottery classes once again, I know there are still things to be grateful for. I could dwell on everything I didn’t accomplish from last year, but why? Maybe I won’t accomplish everything I set out to do this year and that’ll be okay. What are your goals and hopes for 2019? Will you be working on setting goals with your kids? Introducing Smart Goals is a great way to start! What keeps you motivated? Let me know in the comments.
I had a few ideas for Christmas posts. I had settled on writing my Christmas list. The one that I have in my head that no one else knows about. The one that has all the things I want that I won’t ask for. Over the past couple of days, I’ve gotten something on my Christmas list, but it’s something I never expected. It’s the kindness of complete strangers.
Last week, there was a pot luck at work. I struggled to figure out what to bring. I always used to bring macaroni and cheese, but with my new schedule, trying to cook it and keep it fresh no longer works. I could’ve baked cookies or brownies, but I didn’t feel like it. The week was exhausting. I needed something quick and inexpensive, so I decided to stop at Dunkin Donuts for some munchkins, also known as donut holes. Someone paid it forward and I ended up with a free box of donut holes. In return, I paid it forward and bought someone’s coffee.
The day before Christmas Eve, my mom, Rosebud and I went to Walmart to buy my groceries for the week. I had to buy enough food to feed two kids this week as I have the week off from work, but will be watching a little boy. My mom was buying last minute items to make treats to fill our stockings. Our cart was pretty full. Once we had everything up on the counter and were about to pay, an older man comes up to my mom and offers her a gift card. My mom thanked the guy as the cashier finished ringing up the items.
Her bill came to around $40, but when the cashier checked the balance, she realized it was a $200 gift card. We were all in shock. Partly because we assumed it’d be $20 or less. I figured it was someone trying to get rid of the balance on his gift card. I’ve heard of people giving that much, but only on the news or viral Facebook posts. I’ve never seen it in my real life let alone it happening to me. The cashier even said that she’d never seen anything like that happen in person. It paid for my mom’s bill, my week’s worth of groceries and still had a small balance left over.
I don’t know why the man chose us. I can speculate, but it appeared that it was out of kindness and generosity. He wanted nothing in return. Maybe it is his way of getting into the holiday spirit. Who ever he is, I hope he is not alone this holiday season. I want to thank him for his kindness and for being so generous. He doesn’t know it, but I was looking at the balance in my bank account this morning and starting to worry about bills that haven’t been charged yet. Because of this man’s kindness, I don’t have to worry and will have enough to cover everything. It was a huge help to me.
They say that when you show kindness, it will be returned to you. It might not be reciprocated by the person you showed kindness to, but it will come back to you in another form. I might not be able to give a random stranger a $200 gift card, but in my own way, I will pay it forward to someone else. Thank you not only for the groceries, but for restoring some of my hope that kindness still exists in this world. Out of all the things on my Christmas list, this is the most important. I wish all my readers a happy holiday.
Hallloween is approaching and many of us will be interacting with our neighbors, so I’m updating this story from last year to remind us to be compassionate and kind. We can’t assume everyting about everyone, nor can we know what goes on in everyone’s lives. However, we can all do our best to make Halloween night a positive experience for our children and if you don’t celebrate Halloween, that’s okay too. I know this seems like common sense, but apparently last year, one of my neighbors still needed that reminder.
On Halloween night, my brother and I took Rosebud trick-or-treating. My mom and my other brother stayed behind and handed out the candy. We have a ton of trick-or-treaters in the neighborhood, so I usually run out of candy quickly. The first year I lived here, I ran out of candy within minutes of turning on the light. The kids kept coming, so I went to the store to get another bag. Then last year, Halloween celebrations were rescheduled due to a large storm and power outages, but we barely got any trick-or-treaters on that day. Rosebud wasn’t a fan of last year’s costume and basically it was a bust.
This year, Rosebud loved her costume and understood the whole idea of trick-or-treating. Although she was shy, she had a great time.
By the time we got home, there was barely any candy left and my mom wanted to save me a few pieces. She kept going to turn out the light, but the kids kept coming. Rosebud got plenty of candy and my mom was going to start handing that out, but my brother and I agreed that it was hers and that it wasn’t right to be handing it out. I turned out the lights, but I still had some ghost lights hanging in the window. Meanwhile, my brothers went out the back way into the garage to put some things in there. A group of people walked by including this extremely rude woman.
My brothers could hear her from the garage saying something to the effect of, if they’re gonna shut the lights off, they need to not have decorations. She went on about how we needed to hand out candy. Her husband was trying to offer up some explanation as to why our light might be off. He said that maybe we had small children and it was their bed time. He said that maybe we were still out trick-or-treating and not home yet. She continued to voice her opinion very loudly as she continued down the street. The last thing my brother heard her say was that we need to do the right thing.
The ironic thing was that I felt good about how our night went until this happened. I had good interactions with my neighborhoods. Everyone was polite. The kids in the street were well behaved. People were laughing and having a good time. Of course, there always has to be one one rotten apple ruining it for the rest of us. Maybe I should have shut off my decorations along with the porch light, but I was taking photos of Rosebud. Plus, I was still celebrating Halloween. It was getting late and I thought the amount of trick-or-treaters would be slowing down anyway. Maybe I should’ve gotten three bags of candy instead of two. I could’ve spent $40 on candy instead of $20. There’s always a million things I could’ve done differently.
The question is, why? Do we wish we could’ve done things differently because we honestly regret them or is it because of the opinions of others? Would we even care about these insignificant choices that mean nothing in the long run if it weren’t for the judgement from those around us? I wouldn’t have cared, but then I had visions of this woman going on the neighborhood message board and complaining about how there were Halloween decorations, but no candy at my address. It’s a scary thought, but people go on there and complain about specific individuals.
I didn’t feel guilty. I had done the right thing. I had taken my daughter out trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. In turn, I gave candy to the neighborhood kids who came to my door. By the time I shut off my light, Rosebud was tired and the woman’s husband was right, I have a small child who needed to be put to bed. A couple days later, I talked to another neighbor who said she ran out of candy at around the same time. She said that most of the neighbors around her were running out of candy as well. Obviously, I wasn’t alone. If candy wasn’t outrageously expensive, I think most of us would’ve bought more, but that’s a topic for another post.
The next time you are in a situation where you are wondering why on earth someone would do something, give it a second thought before jumping to conclusions. Of course we all are going to make judgements and see things through our own lenses, but there might be a completely reasonable explanation for someone’s actions. My response to that woman would be that instead of telling me to do the right thing, you should take your own advice. Let’s get back to the basics. A little kindness and compassion goes a long way because what you didn’t know is that I already had done the right thing for our neighborhood and at that very moment when you were being rude and judgmental, I was doing the right thing for my daughter.
I’m a child of the 80’s and 90’s. It’s amazing how much the atmosphere has changed since then. Kids spend far less time outside, there have been huge advances in technology, an even larger push to be politically correct and an increase in public displays of hatred and the endless worrying for our children’s safety, even in schools where they are supposed to be safe. When I was growing up, I could play outside freely and no one ever dreamed of a school shooting. Most kids I knew ate what they wanted because we all got plenty of exercise. There wasn’t as much of a concern for eating healthy or putting children on diets.
Toys
Remember when kids played with toys that allowed children to use their imagination? Battery operated toys were the exception. A large box could be turned into a grocery store or an ice cream shop at a moments notice. These were the days of My Little Pony, Cabbage Patch and Strawberry Shortcake. I loved the strawberry shortcake scented dolls. My favorite stuffed animal was a Hallmark Rainbow Bright Cat. I lost mine and am still looking for one at a reasonable price to this day!
I had to have an Etch a Sketch. My secret was that I couldn’t see any of the lines it made, but I had to have one anyway. Now, the Light Bright I could see and make designs with. How about those jelly bracelets? The ones with the glitter in them? I wore those for a year straight after a friend and I traded bracelets in class. Trading jewelry was a favorite pass time in second grade.
Entertainment
In the 90’s our entertainment on the television consisted of talk shows, game shows and sit-coms. These were the days when Maury Povich used to feature other topics besides paternity. How about when MTV played actual music? If they weren’t playing music videos, the shows were related to music. What about the movies? The first movie I saw with a group of friends was, “Dumb and Dumber”. We laughed at the bulldog mixed with Shih Tzu joke. For my 13th birthday, a few of us saw the movie, “Scream.” My mom asked me what the movie was about and my response was, “I don’t know. A girl.” I wanted to avoid the awkwardness of it. I rarely ever saw horror movies in our home so it was a treat. I saw Titanic three times in the theater. Yes, I cried and yes, it’s embarrassing! To defend myself, I went with different people each time. Music was another big part of our entertainment. Most of the stuff I listened to would be cringe worthy today, but it was popular at the time. Back then, when you were looking for uncensored music or if you wanted to hear rap and r&B in general, you had to find the nearest college radio stations. then you had to figure out when they played the types of music you liked. In the small town where I lived, they never played that stuff on mainstream radio. The other option was to watch MTV Jams first thing in the morning before school.
Technology
Technology moves fast, doesn’t it? I remember cassettes with their ribbons breaking constantly. I’d buy blank tapes and record from the radio. The most annoying thing was when the DJ talked over the intro or ending of a song. If you got a sudden burst of static, that ruined your recording too. After cassettes came cd’s. Those were a step up, but they still got scratched and skipped. Who knew at the time that they’d be basically obsolete within a decade. Let’s not forget the phones. When you had to pull that phone chord as far as it would go to get into a comfortable position because you talked on the phone for hours. then there were those situations where you needed to get to the other end of the house. “Hold on, I have to put the phone down.” Then you’d run to pick up another phone. Enter the cordless phone and problem solved. Almost every bit of technology changed since then as we moved into the digital age.
Snacks
Who remembers the Oreo Big Stuf? I almost thought I had dreamed this up until I saw them on Wikipedia. They were a real invention because I remember taking them apart, eating them piece by piece at my grandfather’s kitchen table. They were discontinued in 1991, so I hadn’t given any thought to how many calories in every bight. That would come a few years later when I started to worry about my weight and struggled with body image like most girls do. I remember large Hostess cupcakes, squeezable juices, fruity numbers and girl scout cookies that were reasonably priced. Well, at least compared to today’s prices. This was back when your happy meal came in an actual plastic lunch box and a lot of fast food places gave you reusable cups or bottles. There were so many different snacks and candy and I can’t even remember what most of them were called.
Friendships
What I miss most of all is the friendships. My best friend and I would talk about our aspirations. We thought we should open up a beauty salon when we grew up. I’d do the shampooing and she’d do the cutting. We talked about the names of our future children, our dream houses and places we wanted to see. We took trips to the beach, shopped at the mall, went to the movies and skated at the roller rink. We ate mozzarella sticks and drank slushies. We’d make stupid jokes and laughed until it hurt. We’d get up at 3 AM to play Super Mario Brothers. We had used nail polish and did a terrible job. By the time we realized there was no nail polish remover, it was way too late. We thought we’d try Soft Scrub instead. Needless to say, that didn’t work, but it was a hell of a shock to her mom. We were like family and I spent almost as much time at her house as I did my own.
It was one of those friendships where you knew there’d be someone to call at the end of the day. You knew your weekend plans were set before they were even officially made. You knew you’d never be alone. We experimented with makeup and talked about boys. Unfortunately, we talked about other girls too and that was a huge downfall. Eventually, that friendship fell apart. After the cliques were formed and our interest in boys grew, it was never the same. There were more disagreements, our common interests faded and our differences became more apparent. Things that never mattered before suddenly did because when people get older, their perceptions change. If there was one thing I could put in a time capsule to save from my childhood, it wouldn’t be treasured well-loved toys, those jelly bracelets or the candy that brings back memories. It would be friendship. It would be the happy memories, the laughs and that feeling of belonging and never being alone.
I’ve been cooking with Rosebud since she could sit in her high chair. Back then she wasn’t directly involved with the cooking, but she sat in the kitchen observing everything I was doing. I put spoons, measuring cups, a mixing bowl and pretend food on her tray which kept her occupied as I chopped vegetables, mixed cake badder or mashed potatoes. I’d show her the foods and let her sample them as she got older. I remember times when I’d read a recipe, tell her the ingredients we needed to add and she’d repeat after me. Now that she’s a toddler, she’s an active participant. She counts and takes out the eggs, mixes cookie dough or fills the measuring cups and spoons to scoop and pour the ingredients. Her favorite saying these days is, “I try it.” She wants to do and try everything!
1. Cooking builds vocabulary
Kids can learn names of foods, spices and and the equipment and utensils we use to cook with. They can learn opposites. Hot and cold, wet and dry etc. You can talk about foods being sour, sweet, salty or bitter. You can talk about colors, shapes and textures of the food. If your child is older, reading the recipe can help build vocabulary as well. Yesterday as we were mixing together some sugar, butter and eggs for cookie dough, Rosebud told me, we need to hatch these eggs. At first I didn’t know what she was talking about, but then it hit me that to her cracking the eggs is hatching them.
2. Cooking teaches math and science
Kids can learn about temperature. Hot vs. cold. What happens when ingredients warm up, boil or are frozen? They can learn about measurement by using measuring cups and spoons. They can learn about consistency. What happens if we add water or flour? They can learn about plants and where food comes from. What is inside an apple or a pepper? The possibilities for teaching concepts and experiments in the kitchen are endless.
3. Trying new things
When kids help make choices about their food, they are more likely to try new things. In the preschool class where I work, we participate in this program where a nutritionist comes in to teach the children about healthy eating and where food comes from. There is a garden where she takes them to get vegetables and it is surprising how many new vegetables they have tried because they have picked the vegetables themselves. We’ve also done a bit of baking in preschool. The kids help add ingredients, mix badder and once we even allowed them to help us with cutting up fruits for fruit salad. This makes them so excited about afternoon snack. They can’t wait to try what they’ve made and share it with their families. Rosebud loves to try bites of vegetables or fruits when I chop them up for salads. I also ask her which fruits and vegetables she wants when we are grocery shopping. She loves seeing the food and pointing out what she wants. I’ve never seen another kid get so excited about broccoli.
4. It’s healthier
When you are making a home cooked meal, you know every ingredient that is in your food. This is obviously healthier than a frozen or fast food meal. Even if you are baking treats, that is healthier than the prepackaged snacks. Not to mention trying to decode the nutrition labels. For many families there is little time to prepare a meal so frozen may be the way to go on nights when you have to be in several places at once or do a million things. Nothing beats the convenience of prepared meals. However, I try to avoid those meals when I can especially for Rosebud because I like knowing what is in her food. I also want her to like the taste of foods that don’t come in a can or box. She enjoys fresh fruits, veggies and home cooked food.
5. Cooking can be together time
I like when Rosebud stays in the kitchen with me while I cook. If she’s helping me, she’s learning about food and having fun. We can spend the time talking or sometimes she will pretend to cook with her play foods or sit in her chair with crayons and a notepad. I don’t get to spend much time with Rosebud on week nights so I try to find ways to include her in what I’m doing. On other nights, she prefers to have screen time while I make dinner and wash dishes. It’s not the greatest option, but sometimes it’s the only way to get things done. I try to maintain a balance and create ways to spend time together even when I have endless chores to do. I find that cooking usually interests kids and great memories can be made from it. I have happy memories of baking with my grandmother when I was little and hopefully one day Rosebud will remember cooking with me.
Do you like cooking with your kids? What are your favorite kid friendly recipes? Tell me in the comments.
The other day, I had to stop at the pet store to buy litter and cat food. Originally I was heading to one of the pet stores in the next town because they have a different selection of food. When we told Rosebud about the pet store, she started talking about all the animals she’d see. There was one problem. The store we were going to didn’t have any animals. I don’t think they even have fish anymore. So, there was a change in plans. We would stop at the pet store closer to home.
As soon as we walked in, Rosebud knew right where to go to see the animals. First, she stopped by the fish and kept commenting on how there were a lot of them. Next, she ran to where the critters are kept. We saw five guinea pigs. She had never seen guinea pigs before, so she didn’t know what they were. I was hoping they’d make their funny noises. If you’ve ever spent a good amount of time around guinea pigs, you know that they make a variety of sounds to liven up the place. That’s one of the joys of guinea pigs. The amount of clean up is not such a joy, but I won’t go there. Anyway, Rosebud enjoyed watching them play together and she found it interesting when they’d stop to grab a bite of hay. She also noticed a ladder in their tank which allowed them to go to the next level.
Normally, the hamsters are hiding, but on this particular day, they were active. One stopped to drink from the water bottle so we talked about how they have to get their water from bottles. One got hungry and decided to sit in the middle of his water bowl to eat. Rosebud thought this was silly. She was fascinated by the wheels in the cages. I explained that the hamsters run on them, but they didn’t want to right now. I wished they had because she would’ve liked to watch them run. She noticed the hamster balls on the shelf so we talked about how they role around in them.
Next, we looked for the turtle we usually see, but saw snakes instead. We also stopped at the birds pointing out the colors of the different birds. We didn’t stay long though as most of the birds are up too high for her to get a good look. She noticed that there was a ball in their cage so we talked about how birds can play with balls too.
She already has a love for animals and is very interested in learning about them. She constantly looks at books showing animals especially the picture books that have more realistic illustrations.
I’m glad because I love animals as well and caring for and protecting animals is something that is important to me.
If we hadn’t taken our unexpected field trip, I wouldn’t have seen the joy on her face as she watched the guinea pigs play. I wouldn’t have heard the laugh when the hamster climbed into his food bowl. We wouldn’t have talked about the different colored birds. Some of those opportunities for teaching and learning would’ve been missed, but mostly we would’ve missed the joy. The simple joy that can be found in something as mundane as shopping for cat food. You can turn almost anything into a teachable moment and you can make a memory out of the simplest thing. After all, it’s more about who you are with than what you are doing.
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More Sleep
Family Time
This morning, I made a video with Rosebud and shared it with friends. It was basically a video message from her telling everyone, happy Valentine’s day while playing with her build a bouquet play set.
Every day, I’m constantly telling kids about how this isn’t safe and that isn’t safe. We tell them not to climb the slide, stay out of puddles, don’t play on the ice, don’t throw snowballs and on and on. It gets old. I start to wonder what came first. Do we tell them not to do these things because they show us they don’t know how to be safe or are we just assuming it before giving them the opportunity to learn? We tell them not to throw snowballs, but why exactly? It seems as though that it’s just one of those childhood memories we all have. At least those of us who grow up in winter climates.
Last week, there was a pot luck at work. I struggled to figure out what to bring. I always used to bring macaroni and cheese, but with my new schedule, trying to cook it and keep it fresh no longer works. I could’ve baked cookies or brownies, but I didn’t feel like it. The week was exhausting. I needed something quick and inexpensive, so I decided to stop at Dunkin Donuts for some munchkins, also known as donut holes. Someone paid it forward and I ended up with a free box of donut holes. In return, I paid it forward and bought someone’s coffee.
They say that when you show kindness, it will be returned to you. It might not be reciprocated by the person you showed kindness to, but it will come back to you in another form. I might not be able to give a random stranger a $200 gift card, but in my own way, I will pay it forward to someone else. Thank you not only for the groceries, but for restoring some of my hope that kindness still exists in this world. Out of all the things on my Christmas list, this is the most important. I wish all my readers a happy holiday.
The next time you are in a situation where you are wondering why on earth someone would do something, give it a second thought before jumping to conclusions. Of course we all are going to make judgements and see things through our own lenses, but there might be a completely reasonable explanation for someone’s actions. My response to that woman would be that instead of telling me to do the right thing, you should take your own advice. Let’s get back to the basics. A little kindness and compassion goes a long way because what you didn’t know is that I already had done the right thing for our neighborhood and at that very moment when you were being rude and judgmental, I was doing the right thing for my daughter.
