Washing Stuffed Animals and Lunch Ideas

[Momof2Boys]

Yesterday morning, my 1 year old threw up in his crib and unfortunately, a few of his stuffed animals had to be washed because of it. I have an older washer and dryer and don't trust them, so I used a wash cloth, water, and Dawn soap to just spot clean them. It seemed to work pretty well. But I am curious how everyone else washes stuffed animals. If you put them in the washer & dryer, do you have any suggestions?

Also, I really need easy lunch ideas! Most days I have my own two boys, ages 3 & 1, and care for three other boys, ages 3, 2, & 1. We seem to eat the same things a lot, and the boys and I are getting tired of it...

[Crystal]

I throw mine in the washer/dryer. Sux your's are too old to give it a try.

I think what you did is fine on the surface, but I would imagine that the germs/bacteria are still in the stuffed animals and may cause the illness to recur.

[Momof2Boys]

When my son gets a runny nose, the drainage causes him to get sick. So thankfully, the throwing up was not from the illness itself. Had it been, I probably would have just thrown his stuffed animals away.

[MG&Lsmom]

You could try a pillow case or mesh bag to protect them in the washer. Otherwise, I'd find a laundry mat with a front loader, most have them, and give them a good wash. My DD is highly allergic to dust and I wash her lovies once a month at the laundry mat next to our grocery store while DH does the shopping.

[broncomom1973]

I wash mine in the washing machine on a gentle cycle. If I werent able to do that, I would probably wash them by hand in the sink (completely submerge) in soapy water, rinse as good as possible and then dry them in the dryer. Some stuffed animals dont do well in the dryer. My dd's have some pucci pet type animals and if the heat is too high it frizzes the "fur" out, so pay attention to how hot you dry them too. I agree that if you cant use your own washer and dont want to try hand washing, try a laundromat. Good luck!

[Abigail]

What kinds of things do you serve for lunch already? Do you have a menu you follow? Try to write it down because it helps me realize how much I eat the same things too!

[mac60]

I wash all the stuffed animals.....I put them in a pillowcase and tie it shut and wash on gentle. Works quite well.

[Live and Learn]

Lunch ideas:
Here parents supply their own lunches but for most kids it is the same thing pretty much days after day.
Today they had....
Example 1) turkey cubes and cheese cubes. Strawberries and blue berries
Example 2) ham cheese sandwich, carrott sticks, grapes, banana, crackers
Example 3) pasta and black beans, avocado, grapes, yams

For my own SA kids typically:
Sandwich, fruit, veggie, protein bar or nut bar, crackers or chips, a cookie.
We are vegetarian.

[Abigail]

Here is a site that has a month worth of menus but I would have to change some items because some of this I don't eat and I don't want to serve items too often that I will not eat. ha ha.

http://www.stepbystepcc.com/menu.html

I'm curious still to what others have for easy healthy meals.

[AnythingsPossible]

Daily menu...

Seems there are always lots of questions regarding meal ideas for our little kiddos. Here is my menu for today, anyone else want to play along????

Breakfast; Pancakes and Mixed Berry Sauce wth Milk
Lunch; Mini Chicken Patty on a Bun, Apple Sauce, Green Beans, Milk
Snack; Apples, Yogurt for Dipping, Water

I serve whole milk to kiddo's under 1, but switch to 1% after that. How about you all?

[AnythingsPossible]

Meant to do the above as a new post, going to repost it as such!!!

[MarinaVanessa]

I was going to suggest the pillow case idea too but was beaten to the punch .