honeyhaze's Profile

We have two boys that will turn 2 and 4 this winter. We've had the Kura for awhile now and love it, but haven't yet flipped it into bunk mode for them to share. The age recommendation for top-bunk sleeping is 6+, I believe. We likely won't wait that long, but we will wait until they're past the "pushing and screaming" stage to avoid accidents. I'm thinking when they're 3 and 5 next year we'll be able to flip it.

We painted the panels apple green on the outside and left them white on the inside, but I wish now I'd either painted both sides or painted the white a complimentary color. Both the white and blue original colors of the panels aren't too great, as everyone knows. I'll probably end up hot gluing some cool fabric on the inside of the panels, which hopefully won't wreck the panels. We have the canopy up and blue led lights strung around the top, it's really cool.

We briefly put my son's crib mattress on the floor and let him sleep on that, when he was about 12 months old. He hadn't slept much in his actual crib prior to that because we were bed-sharing and using a co-sleeper for the first year. He walked at 9 months, so by 12 months he was stable on his feet and able to get on and off the mattress easily. Shortly after that we picked up a futon mattress and eventually an IKEA bunk bed to go along with it. He's three now and still sleeps with us half the time anyway, but we don't mind. The futon mattress has been helpful, because we can lay next to him when we try to put him to bed in his own room... it's really nice for reading books together at night. I personally wouldn't bother with a toddler bed unless someone gave me one for free. The "falling out of bed" stage doesn't last long and can be addressed by either putting a regular mattress on the floor for awhile or by using a bed railing from Craigslist.

Oh yeah, and we usually have fresh garlic and ginger on hand. Husband also keeps lots of canned tomatoes in stock (no idea what he does with them, but he's always restocking those), and we have a basil plant on the window sill.

Painting that ceiling was a travesty. I'm all for painting wood white when needed (we did so in our kitchen), but that ceiling... god, it was so beautiful. Was.

Okay, apologies for posting so many times about this, but we tried it and loved it! I had a feeling it'd be a nifty quick activity when I saw this post and it was. After I filled the bag with paint and taped it closed, I had my son (almost 3) trace shapes in the paint, blend the colors in various ways, shake the bag, squish the bag... this is a really cool sensory activity! Try it before deciding that it's a too-clean alternative to finger painting, it was fun :)

Not sure if this photo will come through, but here's what ours looked like... we hung it up in the kitchen window: https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/401201_10150610185526928_743576927_11213171_657227881_n.jpg

Yes, I don't think anyone was suggesting banning finger painting! A lot of nifty things can be done using this type of plastic bag trick. It's really cool! I'm going to try it today.

Kahlua Especial needs to be on this list, really. No proper bar doesn't serve a White Russian.

@kerrimorgan, the book reading experience on a tablet is remarkably similar to reading a paper book. Tablets are highly tactile devices, which is why they're so popular. There are also a lot of excellent children's books for tablets, classics like Horton Hears a Who. I'm an avid reader and have switched almost entirely to using the Kindle app on my iPad; I find it easier to read on the iPad because I no longer need to keep track of my bookmark, put batteries in my booklight, or deal with the wrist strain that heavy books cause when I read in bed.

I used to be very turned off to electronic devices for children. I remember once scoffing when one of my little cousins took out her Nintendo DS at the dinner table. Since having children of my own I've come to appreciate how nifty and engaging things like the iPad can be. I sometimes read books to my son on his iPad and there are some cool advantages: built-in book light for bedtime reading (very handy), narration if I'm too exhausted to read but still want to enjoy a book with my son, images when touched usually show/say the word. And it's still a book. It has pictures and words and a story. A book doesn't have to be made out of paper to be a book..

I'm all for highly tactile, naturalistic play. But let's not disregard electronic engagement simply because it's electronic. Some people used to think the radio was the work of the devil and would turn children away from enjoying making music with their families. They were right, families making music together became less common, but perhaps sitting around while grandpa plays the banjo night after night isn't quite as quaint when you have no alternatives.

These days there is a legitimate place for "apps" on the list of classic toys. A good app expands a child's imagination in a similar way as a good book, an easel, or a bunch of rubber bands.

I understand the resistance to these devices. Digging in the dirt with a stick seems like the best thing in the world after staring at a computer screen for hours. But the key is balance, not diminishing the benefits of toys like the iPad. My two year old creates really cool artwork on his iPad that he wouldn't yet be able to do even if let him use every last thing in our craft closet.

We have the first three, but hadn't heard of the others. THANK YOU! Sometimes it's hard to dig through all the apps to find the gems, so this list helps :)

Happy 1st Birthday, McKenna!