Here I sit at 9:50pm . . .

. . . munching on fries and a burger from Carls. Because when I left work tonight I found myself starving as if I'd never eaten dinner. This happens often. No, I'm not pregnant. I know you're thinking that. But I'm not. I know I'm not. So please quit thinking it. Thank you.

Ahem.

I just wanted to share a couple of books that help me stay sane these days. If you have a toddler or a pre-schooler, or heck, if you have kids at all or any plans to have kids, I recommend obtaining/buying/borrowing/stealing these books. Ok, please don't steal them. I'd feel bad if you did.

Anyway, the first one is The Toddler's Busy Book by Trish Kuffner. The subtitle reads: 365 creative games and activities to keep your 1 1/2 -to-3 year-old busy. And it does just that. With 11 chapters ranging from Rainy Day Play to Music and Movement to Kids in the Kitchen, this book is teeming with incredibly simple, incredibly easy ideas.

For example:
From Chapter 6 Out and About comes Sandpaper Play:
"This is a clean, quiet activity that travels well. Store sandpaper and yarn in a Ziplock bag and have it handy for long car rides or whenever you need something quick for your child to do.
Cut various colors of yarn into different lengths. Show your toddler how the yarn sticks to the sandpaper. She will enjoy creating a design, pulling it off, and starting over again."

How simple is that?!?!

Ok, so maybe you're like me and don't have yarn just sitting around the house. Here is another idea from Chapter 1 Rainy Day Play that I have personally tried and found effective:

Fun With Kleenex
"Most toddlers have probably tried this on their own at one time or another. Give your toddler a box of Kleenex and let her pull the Kleenex out one by one. The fun your toddler will have and the time she spends on this will justify the price of a box of Kleenex!"

*insert evil cackling here* Caleb loves Fun with Kleenex. =) And because Caleb loves it, Mommy loves it, too.

Book #2 is Preschool Art: It's the Process, Not the Product by MaryAnn Kohl. This book focuses mainly on arts and crafts with toddlers. From simple chalk and marker art to more adventerous tempura paint and glue, this book has 260 pages full of great artsy-fartsy stuff for ages 1-5. It's sorted by age appropriateness and oddly enough, the seasons. There are crafts for winter, spring, summer, and fall. All nicely organized. I like organized. =)

Nifty stuff, I'm telling ya friends.

Now, sadly, I don't own these preschool treasures. I found them at our local library and am seriously thinking that I'll never return them. Ok, maybe not that seriously . . . Amazon sells used copies pretty cheap so when Mission Valley Library calls me looking for their books, I'll have another option besides Grand Theft Literature.

And now that this post has grown much longer than I originally intended (and it's going on 11 pm and my son will probably be up in 7 hours or so and my burger and fries are now gone), I think I will bid you all Good-Night.

Good-night, bloggie friends! May you have sweet dreams of paper, crayons, and glue sticks!!

I know I will. =)