dump it out regardless of how loud Mommy yells. I was going to write a nice sweet post about him, but there is now a container of salt all over my kitchen and caked all over his sticky, wet little body. Not to mention the box of soy crunch (something with oatmeal and little soy balls and other tiny sticky little things) that is being mashed into my living room carpet as we speak.

So, rather than writing a sweet post, eating dinner, or resting, I’m cleaning the house. Come back tomorrow for more tales of the Lil Duck – we have new orders to show off, a sweet tale of a lost ducky from a friend, and a cool new toy that we are reviewing on Monday. No shortage of things to do in duck-land! The carnival is still going strong, check it out if you haven’t already.

Lil Duck is very much into animals and his Little People Zoo right now, so here are thirteen of his favorite animals, his names for them and then his renditions of their noises!

1. Elephant (”elfant”) – the most favorite of all – “trooooooooooororororoooooooooo!!”
2. Yak (”wwwaaakkkk”)- “mooooooooark!”
3. Penguin (”pengin”) – “wark!”
4. Dolphin (”dolpin”) – “arf, arf”
5. X-ray fish (”x feeesh”) – “(blows like a blow toy fish)”
6. Chocobo (”cobo”) – “wark, qweh!” (ok, not a real animal but he LOVES it!)
7. Polar bear (”pbear”) – “GRRRRRRRRRRRR!”
8. Bird (”byrrrrrddd”) – “cheep, cheep, cheep!”
9. Turkey (”urky”) – “obble, obble”
10. Manatee (”babba matee”) – “babba mantee!!” (Barbara Manatee from Veggie Tales, anyone??)
11. Lizard (”izard”) – “eeeekkk!” (maybe from mommy? )
12. Dog (”dog”) – “oof, oof” – very realistic barking and whining!
13. Duck – last but not least – “quack, quack”!

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Welcome to Lil Duck Duck and the 206th Carnival of the Vanities! Thank you for joining our party today – the ducks have had a wonderful time hosting this carnival in the past and today is no exception! We had many wonderful submissions over several different categories, thank you for all your support and for keeping the oldest carnival alive. Read more

Lil’ Duck makes a disaster of his shoes. I am very anti-white shoes, especially for him, so his shoes are dark blue, but they still need a washing now and then. Now, with his shoes, they are small enough that throwing them in the washer isn’t really a problem. With our shoes, I usually put them in a pillowcase or mesh bag, then put some towels in there too so they don’t bang up the sides of the washer.

If you do have white shoes (I think most of you do, judging from the shoe displays I see in the stores ), you can use that nifty little Clorox bleach pen to clean them right up. I use that thing for cleaning grout in my shower, it’s a beautiful thing.

As for drying them, you really shouldn’t put them in the dryer. Not that I haven’t done it (in a bag on low or no heat), but they could shrink, melt, destroy your dryer, etc. so I really don’t recommend it (so don’t call me if you ignore this and try it anyway ). Putting them on the floor at the foot of the fridge so that the fan dries them usually works (if you don’t have a little guy who takes off with your shoes and it isn’t 100 degrees and dripping with humidity in here….), same idea with putting them in front of an a/c vent or a regular fan.

Just don’t put them outside if it’s hot and humid (I’m thinking cold wouldn’t be good either )….. also check them for varmints if you do put them outside, I’d hate to try to clean the shoes if you squished something inside there, not to mention that is incredibly creepy!!


Be sure to go visit the rest of the Works For Me Wednesday tips for other great ideas!

Ever wonder why we bother buying toys?? Here are 16 items that make great toys for busy toddlers (so much for that expensive birthday gift, I’m getting him a cardboard box!!).

1. An old-fashioned rolling pin
2. The (clean) mop
3. A stepstool
4. Laundry baskets – making a fort, a stepstool, toy holder, baby boat, etc.
5. Cardboard boxes
6. Calculators – Lil Duck has one where you push the button and the flap opens and props the calculator up, he can play with it for hours!
7. Small pieces of luggage
8. Pots and pans – not just for pretend cooking, also for filling with toys, Cheerios, etc.
9. DVD cases (take the DVD’s out though, Lil’ Duck has snapped a few in half, rendering those $50 PS2 games useless).
10. Shoes – the bigger, the better!
11. Cell phones
12. Big purses
13. Dog toys (YUCK!!)
14. Magazines/catalogs – Lil Duck will sit and page thru carefully, noting interesting items as he goes along. He especially likes Game Informer and Baby Talk – I think it is the characters and the babies.
15. Wallets – I lost a few credit cards thanks to him…..
16. Remotes (we have the battery compartments held on by gaffer tape so he can’t open them).

Since I have a hurricane baby (he was born during a hurricane, then we had another when he was 2 weeks old, then a few since then have come close to us), we’re pretty well used to preparing for storms with a little one. Always follow all the general advice, including:

• Keep a full gas tank, gas supplies may be low for several days afterward.
• Keep a few weeks worth of food and medicine and water in the house.
• Have a safe place in the house away from windows and outside walls.
• Keep a flashlight, batteries, blankets, cell phone, radio, and any other emergency items in a container in an easy-to-find place so you aren’t running around with no power trying to locate them.

The common advice to fill all available containers and tubs with water makes me very nervous with the little guy – please lock the bathroom door if you do this, little ones can be anywhere in a flash and it’s just not worth it. I usually fill up containers of water and freeze them, then fill up the teapot and things like that and keep them up high so I have the water, but don’t have to worry about him getting into it.

Here’s some other things to remember:

• Make sure you have at least 2 weeks worth of formula, bottled water, milk, or any other special beverage that your little one drinks. Lil’ Duck drinks only soy milk, so I have a stash of shelf-stable containers in the pantry (make sure you drink them before they expire though ).
• Also make sure to have clean water for washing and rinsing bottles/sippy cups, as you might not have a clean water supply afterwards.
• Diapers/wipes/teething medicine/etc – even if the storm is mild and you can get to the store soon afterward, the supplies may not be there because of the shipping disruption. This can take several days or even a few weeks to resolve, so it’s just easier to keep all the baby supplies (and regular food for that matter) stocked up a few weeks ahead.
• Charge your cell phones but keep a CORDED landline phone – even if you don’t have landline service, you can still use it to call 911 if necessary. Often even if the power and cable are out, the phone lines still work. Cell phones hardly ever work anytime during or after a storm, so don’t count on being able to use them.

If you might have to evacuate, keep a suitcase around and keep the important stuff in it as much as possible. Don’t forget the fun stuff – being stuck in the house, probably without power, for a few days is going to drive everyone crazy unless you plan ahead. If you leave your home for a safer place, bring favorite toys, familiar blankets, loveys, and plenty of snacks & drinks!