Things I've noticed and things I don't know how I'd do without

I realized this last week that there are some things that, being a mom of a nearly-two-year-old, I don't know how I could do without. Oh, sure, I could probably manage, just like generations of moms before me have done, but there are some things I have to say make things a LOT easier.

This, for example:

Humphrey's Teething Pellets. These are a homeopathic teething remedy (recommended to me by my brother-in-law) that I started using when Jeannie was about 3 1/2 months and still use every night. As someone who would rather not drug up my child to get her to go to sleep after a particularly difficult day of teething, having an all-natural way to provide relief (especially when I don't particularly like to put chemicals into my own body) is a VERY good thing. (It's not too bad to get a dollar-off coupon inside every box, either.)

Here's another one, that I know everyone knows:

Goldfish. Or, as Jeannie calls them, "ishies". The perfect snack for a toddler because they can go EVERYWHERE. These things go so quickly at my house that I find myself buying one of the big eight-dollar-apiece boxes every few weeks or so. The funny part of it is that I have to hide them from my litte sister when she's here because she will eat half a box to herself.

And finally:

Flossers for kids. Jeannie loves these because of the berry flavor and because it means she can be a big girl and floss without Mommy's help. (I should probably tell you that she has12 teeth now, so flossing is actually possible.) I love these because it means we don't have long strings of floss all over the house and because all I have to do is open the package and get one out for her after she brushes her "tee".

Another thing I noticed this last week or so is that suddenly, Jeannie is understandable. She says things so clearly now that there can be no mistake about what she wants. She still has issues with some things, the letter "f" and the "th" sound for example, but for the most part, if you listen to what she's saying, you can figure out what it is she wants. Ah, the joys of parenthood...

:-)