What started out as a project for my mother to entertain my three-year-old son when I got home from the hospital with my new baby, has become a new family activity.

My mother stayed at my house with my son when I was in the hospital and decided that one of their projects together was going to be buying and planting a tomato plant. They made the pilgramage to the Target garden center to buy the supplies: baby tomato plant (sans tomatoes), potting soil and a small tomato trellis. I had tons of empty pots laying around in my backyard from years of abuse. I had given up on gardening long ago.

One afternoon they went outside and planted the tomato plant together and placed it in a sunny spot in the front yard. She explained to him (and to me) that it would need to be watered every single day. Admittedly, this worried me. With a newborn and a pre-schooler I felt I had enough to do without having to worry about not killing a plant. But, I knew that my son needed something special.

Within days we say the plant grow. It kept getting bigger and bigger. My son was intrigued.

Having the plant in a spot (the front yard in our case) where you spend a lot of time is key. Each time we would leave the house, I would point out something I noticed about the plant:

It’s growing taller.

Look at all the leaves.

LOOK, there’s a tiny tomato!

LOOK, there’s another tomato.

LOOK! The tomato is getting SO BIG!

LOOK! The plant is double it’s size!

LOOK! How many tomatoes do you see? FIVE? WOW!

I started to tell him how the tomato would get bigger and when it turns red we’d be able to pick it and EAT IT. This intrigues him. So, finally, just the other day, my son noticed one of the tomatoes starting to turn red. It’s an orange shade right now. Then, a couple more started turning red.

LOOK! They are turning red!

It’s been a great experience and give us something to do together each day. I like that it also teaches him some responsibility by having to water the plant. Even though this task only take five minutes of our day, it gives us some time alone to do something great together. Take a look at the photos below. I was able to practice with my new lens to capture these photos.

You saw last week that I was going through all of my son’s old clothes trying to determine if girls can wear blue. The clothes can hardly be called old though — they get worn for 3-6 months at a time then they are too small.

I began packing the clothes in boxes to give away, but couldn’t bring myself to put a few items in the box. They are three of my favorite items from his second year and I want to make sure that some other child will be wearing them.

To eBay I went.

I’ve eBayed before, but not in awhile. It’s time consuming. I did it anyway, but have no bids so far. If you have a boy, size 2T take a look

Cars Lightening McQueen jeans

Thomas the Tank Engine jacket.

Super sweet turtle neck top with beige pants and matching socks.

Living in Florida we don’t get to see the beautiful change of seasons from fall to winter. Last week, while on vacation in the Smokey Mountains, I got to see it all. In all its wonderful, colorful glory.

Wanting to preserve (and share) what we experienced I decided to press several leaves and send to the grandparents. It made for a great craft project to do with my son — starting with the collecting of the leaves from his Aunt Carol’s yard. We chased each other down the long driveway to trees who had the most red leaves and started picking up the best ones.

Next we put them in a phone book to dry out. We pressed them between pages and drove them home with us the next day. Then, put them between wax paper and pressed them with a hot iron.

Viola, fall wall art.

If only we could capture the weather and smell too.

Related:

• Instructions on how to press fall leaves in wax paper.
• Fall leaf placemat craft.
• Fall leaf collection coloring page (free print out).

I finally went through my “Parents” magazine for October and came across an interesting tid-bit about how tidy your house is. Apparently, how clean you keep your house will reflect on your kids in the future. Here’s the quote:

According to a research report in the “American Economic Review,” children who are raised in a neat, orderly home grow up to be more successful in their school and work lives than kids who live in a messy environment.”

Those are powerful words. I believe that homes that are clean and clutter-free offer better environments for the people who live in them so I guess I’m not surprised by this finding that it affects children too.

Cleanup routines improve a child’s ability to stick with a task and plan well later in life,” says Dr. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, who led the review.”

So parents, let’s get out kids to help with all this clean up. Start with getting them to help make his/her bed in the morning, put the toys back at night, put his/her dishes in the sink after dinner. I think if we start when they are young it will make it easier for all of us in the end.

With toddlers, there are specific rules about bananas. Every parent needs to commit these rules to memory. I didn’t and have learned the hard way. Review the banana rules regularly — today I forgot one and paid for it with a screaming toddler in a public place.

Banana Rules For Toddlers

1. Never, ever break a banana in half. They can’t be put back together — no matter how hard you try or how hard the child wishes it.
2. Never, ever eat any piece of the banana. Even if your child is finished with said banana, don’t attempt to eat it. To be safe, don’t even lick, smell or touch it.
3. If a banana is too brown to eat don’t let your child see it. He will want to eat it anyway.
4. Be sure to pull all the pieces of skin off before you give the banana to the child. Be careful not to break the banana in the process. See rule number 1.
5. Don’t let the banana fall on the floor. The “5-second rule” doesn’t apply with bananas — they are sticky and you can’t recover them. If you have pets, don’t let pet near the banana on the floor. I repeat … at all costs, do not let the pet eat the banana.

Photo courtesy stockxchange.com