I’m supposed to be researching Halloween costumes for my two 3-year-olds (Amazon.com has a free shipping deal I want to take advantage of). But I keep getting distracted by baby costumes because OMG TEH CUTE.

I’m also supposed to be writing a post announcing a giveaway of two Amazon.com gift certificates, which I will definitely do in just a second.  I just have to look at these baby costumes for a few more minutes.

Seriously.  A sock monkey costume?  I don’t even LIKE sock monkeys, but this looks so snuggy I just want to SQUEEZE and maybe BITE.
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Fall is officially here, and at least for those of us living in the Pacific Northwest, that means a lot of wet weather between now and next summer. A WHOLE LOT. *sob*

It’s easier to focus on adorable kid-themed rain-gear than it is to contemplate nine solid months of grey skies, so let’s get to it: cute stuff that keeps your child dry.
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Here is how crafty and artistic I am:  not crafty and artistic.  And so if you have been wondering to yourself, “Goodness, how DOES she do craft projects with FIVE children?,” the answer is “HA HA HA HA HA!”

Still, the children do like to do crafts, and so now and then I make an effort.  I don’t have much patience with messes, and it’s best if nothing watery or painty or glittery can be spilled by a wandering toddler or careless older child.  And I don’t want to spend much time on it, either.  Here are a few crafts that have satisfied even my picky, reluctant nature:

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After some initial, ah, resistance, my 7-month-old has embraced the concept of spoon-fed solid foods. He eats like a champ these days, mowing through YoBaby yogurts, puréed fruits, sweet potato, corn, oatmeal, smashed-up muffins, and basically anything goo-oriented that isn’t bright green. (I know, I know, he should probably be eating more strained peas, but listen, I tried a bite and frankly I don’t fault him for having a sense of taste.)

The inevitable introduction of solid foods has a couple of downsides; for one, the diapers. It’s no longer a relatively inoffensive milk byproduct in there, you know what I mean? And also, the sheer chaotic mess of mealtimes, my god.

Well, kids are messy, and I’ve discovered it’s really easier on everyone’s sanity if I try and be zen about this fact and not go fussily wiping down surfaces after every bite. There’s not much that can be done about a baby who loves to stuff his feet into his yogurt-filled mouth — who am I to deny such pleasures? — and it’s inevitable that at some point, the feeder will receive a sneezed faceful of banana slime from the feedee.

Some products do help smooth the process a bit, though. Here are some of my favorites:

Munchkin Soft-Tip Spoons. I really like these spoons. They’re long enough for me to get bites in Dylan’s mouth while dodging his grabby little hands, and the bowl of the spoon is just the right size. Plus, they’re groovy and colorful.

The First Years Take & Toss Bowls. I’ve had a bunch of these bowls forever, despite the fact that they’re “take and toss”. They’ve held up fantastically through a million washes, and they’re a great size for sending little goo-meals into daycare. They’re BPA-free, never leak, and can be nested for easy storage.

Chicco Caddy Hook On Chair. My friend gave me this chair when her boys outgrew it and it’s amazing. We use it at our kitchen nook table for our 3-year-old — I stashed away the giant toe-stubbing highchair and he’s been sitting in this ever since (uh, is it weird to put a 3-year-old in an infant seat? Whatever, it keeps him in one place during mealtimes). It’s designed for travel, but it’s a great space-saver at home. I’d like to use it for Dylan, but I’m guessing he’ll need a tray — this seems like a good similar product, I think I might buy it soon.

Circo Bibs. I know: bibs, DUH. But man, some bibs just suck. You want either a thick enough fabric so stuff doesn’t soak right through, or something like these handy Circo bibs that have a vinyl backing. I like these because they’re cheap, they don’t stain too easily, and they hold up through many, many launderings.

What sorts of things do you find useful when it comes to feeding babies?

I am so tired of having to talk about balance, think about balance, read about balance, re-evaluate balance. It never settles into “Ah ha! THIS is the right balance for us!”—or if it does, it gets knocked out of there by the next change that comes along: The kids get a little older and make different kinds of demands on your time than you’re used to. The job that was so satisfying asks you to work more hours, or different hours, or it gets boring. The other adult in your household leaves, or gets a different job, or feels dissatisfied with some aspect of the household. Your parents get older and need more help from you.

You don’t have to be a “working mom” (sigh) to have trouble balancing, and you don’t have to be a mom. Did you notice I didn’t say “You don’t even have to be a woman”? I’ll bet men struggle for balance sometimes, too, but I don’t notice it as much with them. I don’t notice Paul, for example, wondering if he’s doing the right thing by going to work. I don’t notice him suffering because his in-laws think he should cook more often or keep a cleaner house and he secretly wonders if that’s true, or if his wife might agree.  I don’t notice him worrying that his clothes are out of style, or that his hairstyle is looking daddish, or that the living room could really stand to be painted if we’re ever going to have anyone over.
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Lately I have been feeling entirely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of children’s stuff in our home. We’ve got baby detritus everywhere — exersaucer, bouncy chair, jumpy suspended-from-doorway chair, Bumbo seat — and dealing with the eighty million toddler toys on top of all that was just getting to be a little too much.

So I made some small changes, and they have worked out so well I honestly feel like part of my brain has been cleared out and now can contain much more useful distractions than fretting about my cluttered house. You know, such as being able to quote Season 5 of The Simpsons in its entirety.

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The last time my mother-in-law was coming for a visit, I got a bee in my bonnet about having Good Dishes for guests instead of the mishmash of clearance open-stock dishes we usually use.  I did a lot of searching for the perfect set (I wanted dressy in a grandmotherly way, and not too delicate), and finally chose Johnson Brothers Old Britain Castles in blue.  Here’s the platter so you can get an idea of the style:

Now please imagine the effect when I set the table for her first meal with us and realized all we had were plastic cups in assorted bright cheerful colors.  Yes.
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I’m sure some children’s rooms are perfectly decorated to be a magical fairyland of wonder and joy, but in our house the kids’ rooms just seem to be cluttered repositories for toys, books, piles of clothes — both laundered and dirty — and the lingering nose-assaulting remains of poopy diapers. There’s some artwork on the walls, but not much. The vibe is less Pottern Barn Kids and more . . . well, Messy Storage Area Where the Highchair is Stuffed in the Corner and a Box of Outgrown Clothes Gathers Dust.

I love the idea of a kid’s wall hung with wonderful artwork, though. Maybe someday I’ll decorate our boys’ rooms more than they currently are. Or maybe I’ll just keep a dreamy collection of kid’s art bookmarks along with my folders of gourmet kitchen appliances, built-in wooden bookshelves with integrated library ladder, and marble bathroom vanity tops.

If you like collecting things from Etsy artists — and who doesn’t? — here are some amazing prints that would be perfect for a nursery or little kid’s room:
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My oldest two kids are technically old enough to brush their own teeth now, but they do a crappy job. Our compromise is this: they brush their own teeth in the morning before school (with me calling out from the other room, “Are you getting the BACKS? Get EVERY surface of EVERY tooth please!”), and I brush their teeth for them before bed. And then there are three more kids, so the Toothbrushing Line is a significant chunk of our bedtime routine.

One thing that’s made things easier for me is having the kids LIE DOWN while I brush their teeth. I got this idea from the dentist—not in that he suggested it, but in that I noticed that’s how HE did it. And indeed, it is way superior: the toothpaste doesn’t drizzle down their chins, it’s easier to see the top and back teeth and to get at them, it’s easier for the kids to open their mouths wide, it’s easier to keep their heads still.
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