What are the rules in your house?

I'm struggling here. My oldest son, Joshua really likes Star wars. Quite often we find him imitating the sounds of lightsabors and using some of his toys for lightsabors. My struggle comes with not knowing what behavoir is out of hand and what is just play & curiosity? I don't want to forbid him from using his imagination but we have pretty firm rules about not having toy guns as toys in our house and not pointing toys at others. I don't think lightsabors are any different than swords really, do you? Should I just let him go all out and bye him lightsabors (then there will be sword like fights) to play with and set aside some time each day or when needed for Star wars/lightsabor play and take the opportunity then to talk about the time and place for this kind of behavoir? My son is young enough that he does not understand exactly what Star wars and lightsabors are about. Is this just a boy thing that I need to let go of? What are the rules in your house?? Your complete honesty is desparetly needed on this one!

My Daddy, My Uncle!

MyPicture, originally uploaded by johnandtana.

My favorite boys on a Saturday mornin. Joshua, his daddy and his cousin.

"Best Thai in Vancouver"

John and I visted a Thai resturant of Friday night called, Thai Lotus on Se McGillivray across from the Albertson's. The service was wonderful and the food was so yummy....it's our new favorite for Thai. Joshua even made a new friend and got invited to his birthday party the following day....we went and got to eat more yummy Thai food!

Homemade baby food

I had always wanted to make my own baby food with my first son but just never did. Homemade baby food is more natural and much more economical. Not to mention I can ensure that only healthy, whole foods are used as ingredients. So, guess what I have been doing this week, making a homemade brown rice cereal for my 6 month old son! I have been surprised at how easy it has been and not very time consuming....which were some of the things that kept me from doing it with my first son.

What to do:
1) First measure a cup of water on the stove to boil
2) While the water is heating to a boil, measure 1/4 cup of brown rice into a blender. Grind it very well, for about 2 minutes. The blender will make a lot of noise and may get hot but rest assured your blender is meant to work like this. The fine grinding is necessary for your beginning eater. (My first attempt left my little guy choking a bit because I did not grind enough)
3) When the cup of water starts to boil on the stove, turn the heat down to the lowest setting. Sprinkle the ground rice into the water and stir with a wire whisk. Cover and keep over low heat for about 10 min. You may need to stir frequently to prevent scorching on the bottom or to remove lumps.

The thickness is easy to adjust by either adding breast milk, formula or water. If it's to thin add wheat germ, ground oatmeal or commercially powdered baby cereal. The wonderful thing about this basic homemade cereal is the base could be changed (barley or oatmeal) or the older your little one gets the more things you can add to it. Such as lentils, split peas, tofu, cheese, egg yolk, fresh fruits and the list goes on. I am going to have a lot of fun with this....and will even attempt make this to replace the oatmeal my older son usually eats for breakfast.

The Poppins Principle

"In every job that must be done there is an element of fun. Find the fun and "snap" the jobs a game."

I love this principle and so does Joshua. When he is not into doing what mommy asks of him I can usually get him to do what I want if I make a silly game of it. The bigger challange for me is remembering that "silly games" do work in getting the mandane jobs done with little to no resitance.

Camping Adventure at Frog Lake

Joshua and Austen got there first taste of the great outdoors this weekend on our family camping trip and fun was had by all. Joshua loved having the freedom of exploring the woods and playing fetch with our friends dog. While Austen sat back and cooed at the trees. To are surprise the weather was quite chilly the second day we were there (38) and we were not prepared for that kind of weather, it would have been far to chilly for our little boys that night so we packed up the car and we were off to our next adventure, Home. But, first we had some sight seeing to do in Hood river:)

I will admit I was a bit nervous for our camping trip having an active toddler and an infant didn't seem like the best mix but we can't wait till our next camping trip and on that trip we will be sure to take some pictures...guess we were just having too much fun!

Happy Memorial Day

Potty Training in Just One Day

Is is really possible to potty train in a day? Did the potty party work for your little one? Did you get a toliet-training doll? For those who have successfully potty trained your child, what words of advice/encouragement can you give me to help make this transition as smooth as possible?