From the monthly archives:
Kids Stuff World will be undergoing some much needed site maintenance this weekend, I hope to have a shiny new webpage ready for everyone by Monday, but if you stop by in the meantime and find things a bit out of place, please pardon the mess 
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[Wish me luck]
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Just some bright and cheery things I thought you might enjoy as you prepare for Valentine’s Day, you can see more of my KSW Valentine’s Gift Guide list and tons of other recommendations here. Also, I’ll be adding links and prices to the Gift Guide tab sometime tomorrow.
Just out of curiosity, do you buy your children gifts for Valentine’s Day or perhaps make them something special yourself? Do you dress them differently for the holiday or have another fun tradition you’d like to share?
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If you’re like me, you’ve probably never put much thought into your batteries. You probably rotate between a few popular brands trying to find the longest lasting, most affordable options on sale at the time. You bring them home, you pop them in to your flashlights, remotes and smoke detectors and Voila, you don’t think about them again until your stuff stops working or your child’s favorite toy starts sounding like some sort of demented demon.
I’ll even go as far to say that once or twice, you have probably forgotten about a pair of batteries left in a gadget that wasn’t working for some time. When you open up the battery pack, you find white, flaky stuff all over your batteries [you know you have]. Did you know, that was battery acid leaking from your batteries? Even worse, do you know about all of the other hazardous materials and heavy metals that could also be leaking from those tiny tubes? Mercury, Lithium, Lead, Cadmium … just to name a few … it’s all in there and well, if the acid found its way outside I’m betting the other stuff will too.
Did you know that in most states, batteries are considered hazardous waste and are not supposed to be tossed into the regular trash receptacles? I never really new this until I became a Hazmat Monitor in the Air Force and had to collect all of my units discarded batteries. Really, the thought had just never occurred to me. I’ve tossed my fair share into the trash, I’ve used my fingers to scrape off the white flaky stuff [Hmm, chemical waste on my fingers ... Great], I’ve even put 9 Volt batteries to my tongue [when I was very young] to feel the shock they give off.
These days, I’m thinking in a whole new, greener light. I worry about what happens to the waste that leaves my house and well, I hope that you do too. I hope that you’ll click to find out what you state says you should do with your battery waste.
I hope that whenever possible, you’ll consider the safer, greener batteries that are on the market today. What? You didn’t know there was such a thing as green batteries? Me neither! That’s one reason I love being an online green spokesperson, I’m made aware of all sorts of products I didn’t know existed. I try them out and then, if they meet my approval, I’ll let you know I think they’re worth while. In the case of green batteries, consider me a Fuji Enviromax covert. Now, let me tell you why …
For me, claiming to be green isn’t enough – these days, a product must not only be free of harmful materials but it must have been produced in a safe manner as well. Fuji has done a great job exceeding my requirements. Not only are these puppies green [meaning they have no ozone depleting compounds] but they’re also manufactured following strict environmental standards and made from 93.3% recycled materials and packaged in recycled materials as well. Green from start to finish, I love that.
They’re also safe to throw in the trash and last just as long, if not longer than other leading batteries and have one of the longest shelf life’s on the market – 7 years!!. Even more importantly, since these batteries don’t contain any mercury, lithium, lead or cadmium, I don’t have to worry about natural resources being mined so I can change my clicker.
Now, let’s take a look at some numbers:
3,000,000,000 [3 Billion] – the number of batteries purchased by Americans each year
8 – average number of batteries discarded for each person in your home
48 – the number of batteries my family will go through this year [I'm betting we'll use more]
What about time and effort you say? What will using Fuji Enviromax batteries cost you in the long run?
Fuji Enviromax – $22 a year per person [$132 for my family] (Based on the US average, see above)
Other Leading Brands – $20 a year person [$120 for my family] (Based on sale prices)
Cost Difference – $2 per year [$12 a year for my family]
That’s right, $2 per person in your house, per year. That’s how much it will cost you for peace of mind knowing you aren’t leaking heavy metals or hazardous waste into your drinking water or putting your children in contact with carcinogenic materials. I don’t know about you, but $2 sounds like a Great price to me.
Now, here’s my favorite number: 23,288 – that’s the number of batteries we can keep out of landfills each year if everyone of us switches from our current batteries to Fuji Enviromax or a rechargeable alternative. See, I told you are small steps would pay off in big ways.
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We all have them, Parenting Strengths and Weaknesses, whether we admit them or not. There just happens to be some things we are inherently good at when it comes to parenting and some things, well, that we must have been absent for the day they passed out parenting skills at school. Oh wait, they don’t teach those types of things at school, do they? Well at least not in an official predetermined class or anything, but I believe we’ve been reading between the lines almost our entire lives soaking up our maternal/paternal instincts and defining our unique parenting styles.
The true challenge for us as parents, is to come to terms with the areas we’re weakest in and devote some time and effort into improving them. For me, this particular time, my weakness is on the playground. It seems, somehow, I failed to teach my children to swing. I can’t tell you the exact moment when I missed my window or even why this has become an issue for us at all, but it has. You see, neither my 2 or my 4 year old have a desire to swing. Occasionally, I manage to get them on the swings – I gently push them – ever so slightly – and with one or two pushes they quickly blurt, “I’m all done Mom, I’m all done”. And that’s it. Our swing experience is over and they’re off – onto something else.
I’m working on myself a lot this year – being a better Mother included and I’ve decided, 2010 will be the year my children learn to love to swing. I watch from a distance admiring the relationships of other parents and their children as they move back and forth in a rhythm that exudes a personal connection – a secret they both share – about the joy of swinging.
Before
I’ve started already – choosing to experiment with my middle child [age 2] first. We make our way to the swings as the afternoon sun is still high enough to warm our faces. I place her in the harness, start singing a favorite song of hers and follow her with my body as I push. To my surprise, this time she’s feeling it too. She allows me to push her like this for some time before declaring, “I’m all done Mom, I’m all done.
Small Victory
Day 2: Today, I suggest we try the swings again – my daughter is a little more cuddly after nap time and enjoys being close to me a little longer than usual [love this time of day]. So she agrees and we bebop on over to the swings. Again, I start off by pushing her following with my body, but today I substitute the words of her favorite song with her name and a few catchy jingles related to swinging. Success! She loves it. It turns out she’s also more confident with swinging if she can hold my hand while we do it. We spend at least 10 minutes continuing in this manner, singing, swinging and holding hands [we're cute, I know]. I’m happy, feeling as if I am finally beginning to understand the swing connection between a parent and a child.
Day 3: This morning, we stopped by a local park to let her burn off some energy. They have several swings there but very rarely do my children even notice them – and if they do, they prefer to use them for flying [lying on the swing instead of sitting, arms flailing, feet dangling]. We play on every play structure, every slide and check out everything else but eventually, she suggests, “Mom, can we swing?” [rejoicing on the inside] I plop her in the swing, this time … she begins to sing, we continue on like this for a very long time.
Currently
I see a light at the end of the tunnel, I’m feeling confident I can conquer this parenting weakness, until a father and son sit on a swing next to us and begin to swing. Higher and higher they go, the boy laughing all they way. Turns out, I still have a long way to go before my children learn all there is to enjoy about swinging, but the important thing is we’re on our way And we’re ALL feeling better already.
He’s still not sure, but I’m hopeful
Do you feel like a failure when it comes to a common part of parenting? Getting kids to bed, choosing healthy snacks, finding alternatives to TV … if there’s something you feel like you could be doing 10x better, rest assured, you’re not alone. You’re just normal
~ Stacy
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The latest & greatest in Valentines Crafting going on in Blog Land
[It just gets better every year, doesn't it?]
Jennifer from TaterTots & Jello makes THE coolest wreaths,
remember the Christmas Marshmallow Wreath? I’m still swooing over that one.
Now imagine a tiny version of Amy’s felt heart wreath nestled inside the cupcake wreath, darling
This delicate heart garland from Oh So Crafty is perfect for recycling old catalogs and magazines
If you don’t sew, you could apply the same principles form the garland above and make this paper heart window display
These felt Valentines bracelets are sure to make them smile
Any kid would love a batch of Vanessa’s adorable felt Conversation heart cookies
These DIY cupcake bath bombs are the perfect Valentines gift for all the ladies you care about
(don’t forget your teachers)
Check back soon for more great V-Day links
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