Help your child to establish a good oral hygiene routine that will stay with them for life

As a parent, you want the very best for your child so that they grow up healthy and happy. This might mean pushing them to do well in school, encouraging a love of exercise, and demonstrating the importance of a nutritious, balanced diet. However, looking after your teeth is also a hugely important aspect of self-care for top physical health, and you have the power to show your child just how important it is to look after your teeth. Here is how you can help your child to establish a good oral hygiene routine that will stay with them for life:

Brush together

Kids learn by example, so brushing your teeth together every day clearly shows them the importance of oral hygiene and what a good routine consists of. Brushing together allows you to show your child the correct brushing and flossing techniques that will clean their teeth thoroughly while not harming their delicate gums. Dentists recommend that you spend at least three minutes on brushing for clean teeth; kids might struggle with this length of time, so by brushing together, you can ensure that they clean their teeth thoroughly, and you might even make the process fun by introducing brushing songs or a timer.

 

Make the dentist fun

Regular visits to the dentist are essential for monitoring teeth health and rectifying minor problems before they become serious issues. This is especially important for growing kids as their teeth are developing; however, with the bright lights, dentist’s chair, and scary-looking equipment, a visit to the dentist can be traumatic for many children. Carry out your research before deciding on a dentist for your child, and find one that has a bright and welcoming office with friendly staff. A dentist who specializes in children’s oral care will ensure that your child feels comfortable and unafraid in their office. Check out bafdentistry.com for more information about finding the right dentist for your child in your local area.

Use child-friendly brushing tools

It might take your child a while to properly get to grips with the correct tooth brushing technique, and using the right brushing tools can help with this process. A child’s toothbrush will have a head that is small enough to fit into a child-sized mouth and reach the very back of their teeth; its bristles will also be gentle to ensure a deep clean while not harming gums. Children’s toothbrushes are available in lots of fun designs to help make tooth brushing time that bit more fun. Furthermore, it is common for children to dislike the somewhat strong and bitter taste of minty toothpaste, and therefore be reluctant to brush for long periods of time, if at all. Children’s toothpaste comes in a number of different flavors, such as strawberry and bubblegum, to get them excited about brushing again. Just make sure that they use a pea-sized amount and spit the toothpaste out after brushing.

Isaak gets his braces off in two weeks. It will be fun to see his teeth once again!

They Go Low, You Go High

Isaak was big time bullied last week. To the point where I wanted to stomp right into his school and scream. Of course I didn't. But I wanted to. 

Two bullies kept calling him the “N” word in PE. Not a word we use ever. Anyhow after them repeating it all throughout gym class, he broke down crying, and took himself on over to the councilors office. I’ve been crying just thinking about it. He didn’t want to tell because he thought that would make things worse for him. I told him that if people asked why he was crying they are the good people. But if he didn’t want to talk about it, he could just tell them he got hurt. They don’t need to know it was his feelings that got hurt. He’s a freaking great kid, empathetic, and pretty good looking. Nice people get picked on. What the heck is wrong with people?! I told him to talk to his teachers, tell them what happened, and to watch for this repeat behavior. I’ll be emailing them as well. The “N” word should just never be used. I wasn’t going to say anything, but that just makes situation like this worse. We need to talk about shit shows. Bullies shouldn’t and can’t win.

Here’s something you don’t usually hear...artist types are often made fun of because we’re odd, different, look at the world differently. It’s not always a skin color, male vs female thing. Guess what? I’d rather be odd, and think outside the flipping box that non artist types make. 

I even grew up hearing my mom's side of the family say to me, "Oh you're just like your father!" Kind of in a snarky way. I know they love me. They appreciated him too. In a, You do so much for me kind of a way. When they needed landscaping help, he was there, he helped with my cousin's Boy Scout Troop, and way more. I may have been young, but I remember all that kind of stuff. I just don't remember my math facts, and academic stuff.

So I hung out with Isaak while he built a desk. He’s did an amazing job. When people are pushed down, they can rise up by building something.

Wooden Leaf #craft #stringart

Travis' boss gives him odd things: Like a foam pumpkin in the fall, and stockings at Christmas time for the employees to decorate.

He asked, "Do you really think I have time to do these extra projects?"

She said, "You like art. I'd think you'd enjoy them."

He said, "You must not get that I don't get into crafty things."

I said, "I'll decorate them, while you help the boys with homework or work on house hold fix up things."

Here's a Wooden November Leaf:

Materials:

• A Wooden or Styrofoam Form

• Elmer's Glue 

• Water

• A Paint Brush

• Leaves From Outside

• Any Kind of Paint or Fingernail Polish

• Nails or Stick Pins

• Different Colors of Embroidery Floss 

• Scissors or X-acto Knife

You can do this craft with any wooden form, but we have a leaf!

There's a ton of ways to decorate it! I wanted something that Isaak would get into. I sent him outside to gather 5 leaves.

I painted it with Elmer's Glue. It works best if you add a little water to the paint.

If the leaves aren't flat, it's best to iron them. Put the leaves in between sheets of white paper, and iron them with an iron or hair straightener.

Set them in the glue. Use an X-acto Knife or small scissors to cut the leaves.

Isaak painted the tops with glitter glue.

If you are using foam push stick pins in the form on the edges. We had a wooden leaf, so Isaak hammered nails in the edges of the leaf. Lowe's Clinic came in handy with hammering!

He put a nail on every outside section of the leaf.

Get the different colors of Embroidery Floss out. Thankfully we already had some laying around. We picked fall colors.

Tie a small knot on one end, and go to town with where you want them to go. Keep doing this with different colors.

Because it's not stick pins I thought the nail heads could use some color. Travis said, "What about little gems." I went as far as gluing them on with a hot glue gun. I hated them, and ripped them off.

I just felt like the gems were too flashy for this natural looking leaf. I painted the nail heads with acrylic. I used teal because blue-green is the opposite of red-orange. You can use fingernail polish. That may stay longer over time. Finger nail polish is the same thing as enamel paint, which is used for model cars and more. I snuck some teal inside bits of the leaf too.

I think it turned out pretty good. Isaak likes it too!

Side Note: I love how his shirt looks like it has strings on it too.

What I Loved About This Craft:

• It's good for boys or girls
• It can be used for decor in your house
• It can be transformed: If you didn't want to do leaves, you could use flattened flowers and spring like colors
• It's for many ages: Stick pins and foam board bases for younger kids, and nails and wood bases for older kids
• We had everything, nothing was purchased for this craft

Have you ever created string art?

How to Make Ojo de Dios #craft #art

Our last post is up on ParentSavvy! We're sure going to miss doing crafts for them! We'll try and continue them on here, once a month. I already have one we created for later in November.

Before I begin with this one Isaak said, "Mom I've done a lot of the work for ParentSavvy I think I should get paid too!" I put the last check for $100 in his savings account. He was happy about that. I used to go with my Dad to help chop trees down, or paint someone's house. He made sure I got some of the money.

Did you ever make a God's Eye when you were a kid? I did once in Girl Scouts. I never knew they had another name Ojo de Dios oh-ho-day-DEE-ohs is Spanish for “Eye of God.” 

When the early Spaniards came to Mexico they encountered the Huichol people who lived in the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico. The Huichol Indians who lived in the mountains made God’s eyes or Ojos de Dios to watch over those who prayed at their altars. They were woven on to crossing sticks.

The ends of the sticks represented the basic elements: earth, water, wind, and fire. The center of the eye stood for the power of seeing and understanding things we normally cannot see.

I was told the cross stood for Jesus Christ is in the God's Eye, but this was not originally so. The Huichol people focused their worship on nature and the earth rather than a specific divine being. 

Other tribes and churches since have adopted the practice of making and using Ojos de Dios. Some think The Eye of God is watching over them. They are made for little children as gifts. Really they are wishes of health, long life, and protection.

Isaak's been big into making ojo de dios! He wants to get more complicated with his designs. For now simplicity is where his designs are at. 

He started making Ojo de Dios a few years ago, but started creating more after we visited Alpaca's of the Heartland. It's interesting how going to a place can inspire creative juices to flow.

Side note: I'm really sad that Alpaca's of the Heartland may have to close down. They aren't wheelchair accessible. The same social media that got word out about them may have closed them down as well. They just don't have the funds to become wheelchair accessible. :(

Inspiration: 

This wonderful lady at Alpaca's of the Heartland had Isaak come up to learn to knit. He was so into it. I know he'd love to make felting animals, and mess with any craft that has yarn or string in it!

When we got home from Alpaca's of the Heartland, Isaak looked up videos on God's Eyes. There are a ton! Many aren't in English. Certainly they are inspiring!

Baby Steps:

Art and crafts are kind of like playing the piano. You wouldn't begin with playing Mozart. You have to start with Hot Cross Buns. Once Hot Cross Buns is down, you work up to other things. I think kids have this idea that they can just do complicated things because they look cool.

Supplies: 

Sticks
Yarn
Glue
Scissors

Begin:

Start by gluing 2 sticks together. Any type of sticks will do. You could glue more sticks together if you want.

Pick out your thread, or yarn. You can use a variety of colors, one that multi colored, or one color.

Tie the thread or yarn in the center in a tight knot.

Then wrap the thread or yarn all the way around one stick, pull it to the next stick to do the same, and keep going around and around until you're done.

It will look like a mess of yarn or string at first. No worries. It comes together.

See! I told you it comes together.

Both sides have charm!

Here's Isaak working away...wrap one stick, pull to the next stick, wrap again, and keep on going.

Making progress...

You can keep going until the ends of the sticks are covered, or stop to add things to the ends. I could see painting the sticks colors, putting feathers, or beads on them. There's a lot that can be done!

Here's my cutie:

Shhh...he probably doesn't like to be called that! Isn't he cute though!?

What Isaak Needs to Work On:

Pulling it tighter from stick to stick. It got looser and looser as he got bigger with it. 

Have you ever made a Ojo de Dio? What's your favorite craft to do with yarn or string?

#backtoschool With Wee Blessing

I was contacted in May to review some clothes from Wee Blessing. I am so excited to share them with you!

We went through many of Mica and Isaak's old clothes this weekend, and have filled up a big bag of hand me downs for my nephews. Boom! Wee Blessing set Isaak up with lots of new fun things to wear when he goes back to school on Wednesday!

Each Blessing comes with not 1, but 3 hand selected outfits.

Wee Blessing started us out with a survey to get to know who they are hand picking outfits out for. I think this is an excellent way to get to know their clients.

Isaak's favorite is his Just Hangin' Out Spider-Man shirt, and what he calls "Basketball Shorts". They can be worn for other things besides basketball. He just calls them that because they are easy to move around in.

Gymboree Gray Spider-Man Hangin' Out Tee $26 marked down to $12
Oshkosh Navy/White Drawstring Shorts $22 marked down to $10

Isaak also loves his basketball shirt! He's super into that sport. The tan shorts were already his own.

Children's Place Black All Net Tee $10.50 marked down to $5

Isaak did get a pair of pants there were a bit tight. No worries. Wee Blessing gives you 10 days to decide if you want to keep things, or not. They make it really easy to return. I happen to like the style of pants, so we're opting to keep them to give to my nephews.

Urband Pipeline Jogger Pants $40 marked down to $18

While the red shirt wasn't Isaak's favorite, it looks good on him. I like that it has a hood. It will be good for transitional weather. Especially if his jacket doesn't have a hood. The grey slate shorts will go well with a lot of different things. I'm really glad they sent them in the box.

Arizona Jean Co. Red Hooded Tee $22 marked down to $10
Free Planet Slate Gray Performance Shorts $40 marked down to $18

They had the Free Planet Slate Gray Performance Shorts set to go with the Children's Place Black All Net Tee, but we liked it with the shorts with the Arizona Jean Co. Red Hooded Tee better. Somethings are neutral enough that they can go with anything!

Prices:

I really like that they showed the price break downs on everything in the box.

Thank You:

Wee Blessing sent a thank you card. I really liked that extra touch.

Connect With Wee Blessing:

On Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Type in ANAPELADAY for 20% off your first order with Wee Blessing. They have hand picked clothes for women, men, kids, baby, and maternity. It's a win, win! 

Have you gotten any clothes for yourself or someone else this back to school season?

Disclaimer: The opinions on this post are my own. I got the products to help spread the word for Wee Blessing. 

Night Light | Lantern for Kids Review

This Night Light | Lantern for kids is so cute! 

Color Modes:

1. Yellow
2. Orange
3. Purple
4. Red
5. Blue
6. Green
7. Yellow-Green

It does have a rechargeable cord for the light.

Song:

It plays Happy Birthday. I kind of wish it played just as many song sections as it does colors. I can see where kids will like it though.

Plastic:

I haven't taken the plastic off the inside just yet, but did on the outside. I was kind of nervous to take it off. You have to tear the thing apart to remove it.

Gift:

This makes a great gift. I'm actually going to give it to my nephew Edison with some kid's play camping gear. I think it will make a good gift. Although I feel like I need to give it to him for his birthday, since that's what it plays.

It has cute little birds inside it.

Where to Get it:

On Amazon for $21.99 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076MSXQS9

What animals would you put inside this? Or would you put something entirely different? I could see red mushrooms and gnomes. 

Disclaimer: I got this in exchange for review. The opinions in this post are my own.