Toys, toys and more toys

We spend all this money on baby toys to entertain the kids. The million dollar question is why? In that sea of toys do you notice what my son is playing with? A TISSUE!! The actual toys do entertain him, but only for a short period of time. But give the kid a tissue and he's a happy for hours, well not hours but you get the point.

It cracks me up that babies always want to play with stuff they aren't supposed to play with. Things that are not actual toys are so much more appealing. One might say that's because we take them away when they get a hold of said thing, but nope. I put a clicker in with all of his toys one day and sure enough he goes for the clicker.

Another mystery is why do they have to have the real thing? All babies love phones. So you go to the store, search for and buy the "baby" cell phone and give it to them thinking you're the greatest parent. You think they are going to love this new toy. No such luck, they have no interest in the baby cell phone they want yours! Only if someone could figure out these fascinating little creatures.

Where have all the prizes gone?

As I poured Isabella's Lucky Charms into her bowl this morning I found this. Now, 20 years ago it would not of been surprised but today I was shocked, I thought I was seeing things. I could not tell you the last time that I found a prize actually inside a cereal box. I'm lying, I was 10.

Today kids have to send away for them. Kids don't want to send away for something, they want instant gratification. They want their prizes inside the cereal box! I mean can you blame them?

My sister and I would fight for the prize. My mom would have to stop us from emptying the entire cereal box as soon as we got home from the grocery store. That's how cereal was chosen back in my day, because I'm so old. We picked which cereal we wanted based on which ones had the best prizes. I know times are a changin' but really? Send away for prizes? C'mon Genereal Mills! I have a brillant way to boost cereal sales in America, spend the 5 cents it costs for the diddly prize and write prize inside on the outside of the cereal box. Sales will sky rocket! Kids don't even care what it is they just want the prize.

So thank you General Mills for putting this comic inside Isabella's cereal box. She now has a small example of what it was like when I was a kid, back in the good old days.

Shopping....ughhh

As a mom you do what you have to do to keep two kids quiet while shopping. It is always nice when you don't have to run through the store like a maniac because someone is getting cranky. There is nothing worse then getting home and realizing you forgot half the things on your list having to go back all because of a cranky kid.

We weren't even in the store 10 minutes before Donato decided he wanted to go home. Thankfully we were in the baby isle. I saw the teething biscuits and decided to give em' a whirl. It took some coercing, but once he got the hang of it, it was all over! He went to town! His entire outfit, face and shopping cart cover were destroyed. But the look of pure enjoyment and the hour of peaceful shopping was well worth the mess! Thanks little man!

Wake up and smell the diversity America!

Does it get much cuter then these 2?

It really bothers me that you never see kids with birth defects or kids that are "different" in the media & advertisements. It's always the "picture perfect" kid. Well I have news for the world, there are a ton of other kids out there that are just as cute! We try and teach our children from a young age that they need to be accepting of all kinds of people, not to stare and be respectful. This is a hard thing to do when you never see anything different in the media. So of course a young child is going to stare when they see someone who looks different then they do. If the media did a better job at putting kids that looked different maybe the world would not be such a critical place to live.

I know all moms think this but my kids are really flippin' cute. Despite the little line in their lip they look just like me and you. But have you ever seen a child with a cleft lip in an advertisement? Nope! A cleft lip is the most common birth defect in the United States, it occurs in 1 in every 600 births! How is it even possible that children with cleft lips have not yet been seen in our ads, tv shows and other media? It truly boggles my mind!

So if anyone knows anyone that is in the entertainment field please oh please go and shake the s*^t out of them and tell them to cast all kinds of people! All children are beautiful and don't always come out picture perfect. But I know one thing, all of those children are picture perfect to their parents. We love them no matter what. For that reason alone they should also have the chance to shine.

Attention talent agents! Start casting what real kids look like, I know a handful of kids born with a cleft lip among other birth defects that would be amazing little actors or models. Wake up and smell the diversity America!

I know alot of people read my blog so if you reads this and knows someone who can do something about this issue email me... daniellebaranowski@hotmail.com

your baby vs. "email baby"

First I have to give a big congratulations to the NY GIANTS!!! SUPERBOWL XLVI Champions!!

I don't know if it's just me, but it cracks me up when I get those weekly emails, you know, "your baby at 34 weeks." It amazes me how Donato is actually doing the things the email says he should be doing. I have no idea why I am so amazed by this because most babies do certain things at particular ages. For instance, it drives Danny crazy that Donato is constantly dropping things on the floor. Donato drops one things and Danny's right behind him picking it up. I tell him he should wait until he drops everything and pick it up all at once. Danny thinks he does it on purpose but the email says otherwise! But that's a whole other story.

So today I get an email from the Bump and it says how baby is now dropping everything on the floor! I love it! It's like, oh thank goodness, my kids a genius because he has been doing that for weeks already. But I'm pretty sure that all mom's think their kid is a genius and is going to grow up and be a doctor or a lawyer. We can hope right?

It's the little things :)