A few more easy mom ideas

Not that the first list got rave reviews and so I am positive you even want to know more of what I have to say, but I just wanted to share a few more easy mom ideas to file away in your brains for those "in case" moments that come to all of us.  Before sharing I also just wanted to say that I no way am I claiming that doing these will make for smooth sailing all the time with kids.  And if there is anyone who reads anything on my blog and thinks, "wow, she must just have it made.  It must be sunshine and rainbows at her house all the time," let me assure you that that is as far from the truth as one could get.  My house is normal and crazy and there are a lot of tantrums and meltdowns (even from the kids) and we just are doing our best to go from day to day.  And sometimes we have blissful days and sometimes it doesn't matter how many easy ideas I try to pull out of my hat, nothing seems to go right.  Still I like to have ideas from other moms tucked way in my mind so that when the moments arise I can quickly think of something to do rather than have to go and find an idea.  So here are just a few more.

#1. Tiny tea.  You know the little plastic measuring cups that come on a bottle of cough syrup or allergy medicine?  Well I keep a little stack of those by the sink in the bathroom.  After the girls have brushed their teeth we have a tea party in which we fill them with water, clink our cups and sip our "tea" with our pinkies up and I talk in a really crazy old lady voice and stick my lips out as far as I can and use words like "delectable, magnificent and extraordinary."  My girls giggle every time.  It is sometimes helpful in getting teeth brushed faster when they know they have the chance for a tiny tea party at the end and it takes about 30 seconds of my time.

#2. A breakfast picnic indoors.  Basically you throw out an old blanket on the living room floor, serve finger foods for breakfast (like french toast sticks, and fruit kabobs) and eat on the floor off of paper plates.  It is a great change up from the usual and so fun to have a picnic for breakfast.

#3. Soup or salad.  This one comes from my mom actually who when cleaning out her garden at the end of the year would give me a huge bowl full of wilted lettuce, overgrown spinach, rotten zucchini's and bug eaten beats and they were all mine to cut, tear, smash, and turn into basically whatever I wanted.  Well my girls have been loving the outdoors in the cool mornings and have been cooking up a storm.  With what you ask? Well I decided that if the lettuce in my fridge has become wilted and I am going to throw it away anyways why not just give it to them.  Same thing with other veggies that have been forgotten in a back corner some where.  I also grew lettuce in my garden this year?  Why?  I have no idea because I have lettuce coming out my ears.  Well I was just going to let it go to the bugs, but my girls have been making a lettuce soup with it nearly everyday.  Same thing with cabbage leaves, and flowers that are dying.  They don't ever eat it.  They just chop it up with plastic knives and put it in pans and buckets and bowls and anything else they can get their hands on.  They think it is fantastic and I can't think of a better way to get rid of my unwanted garden produce.

#4. Tip Toes.  The mere act of tip toeing around the house or to go and "secretly brush your teeth" or find a sibling, or go for a nap brings giggles and smiles (not all the time but lots of the time).  It works especially great if you as the mom does some sort of crazy version of tip toeing with weird faces included.  The stranger the better for kids.

#5.  The water blob revisited.  The last list I shared included a picture of a large plastic water blob we had made.  Well we made a second one, only my husband had an idea to include some mini water blobs.  We made these out of heavy duty (and I mean as heavy duty as you can get) garbage bags.  They were so simple to make because we only had to tape one end off.  They were easier to fill and because they were small we were able to fill them quite full which made them like little water beds.  My girls loved, loved, loved them.  Next time we are just going to make a series of mini water blobs for them to jump on.  Plus they held up so well we were able to just clip the corner, empty the water and store to be reused next time.

#6. Mud.  I know, I know-it is dreaded by all moms.  The thought of the mess it makes and the clean up afterwards is exhausting and certainly enough to discourage any mom from letting their kid cover themselves in it.  But I am telling you, if you want to be the "best mom on the block" let your kid sit in the mud puddle and grin and bear the clean up.  The look on your kids face when you say, "it's fine, go ahead and sit in it," is priceless.  And really, it takes nothing from you as the parent except to gather up buckets or pails or shovels and to stand near by with your camera, grinning and cheering on every new mud pie.  How much easier could it get.

Do it Yourself Art Center for Kids

My girls are at an age where I can trust them to write and draw on a paper rather than all over the house and right now it is one of their favorite things.  I decided that it was time for me to throw caution to the wind and just let the art supplies be where they can be used.  Part of that came from talking to my mom who has been finding all sorts of different art and craft supplies she had for us when we were kids that she was always "saving" for just the right project.  Now she is wondering what she ever saved it for-why didn't she just let us use it?  That got me thinking.  I have tons of stuff in my craft room that I have been stock piling and for what?  Why not clear out some of my space and just let my girls have the stuff?  Who cares if it all gets used in a few days.  I have more and so does the dollar store.  Who cares if they right on a paper once and throw it away or glue one thing to it and call it a masterpiece.  The fact is that they are exploring and creating and I would much rather have my children be creative than be good at a sport, or dance or even reading.  So I created this little art center for them while they were gone one day. 

 I had found this piece of peg board at a thrift store a few months ago and finally decided that this is where is needed to go.

 I found this card box at the thrift store and turned it into the paper station.  I filled it with scraps of colored paper and note books, envelopes, paper dolls and writing paper.  Below are jars of pom poms, buttons and craft sticks.

 I used a few pegs to hang scissors and bags of chipboard letters and decorations, some foam stickers and paper flowers (all stuff that was just taking up space).

 I bought these cups for a dollar for a set of 4.  They are attached with zip ties to the peg board.  Below are two baskets: one for glue and one for stickers.

The whole project cost me around $20.00 and is so well worth it.  It will take some getting used to with the girls remembering to put things back but if I can learn to relax and just let them create and play then it will be one of the best things I have ever created for my kids.

Mom ideas for kids

I am by no means an expert at keeping my kids happy and entertained all day.  Some days we have major success and other days nothing seems to go right but I have found a few simple ideas that seem to work most of the time to entertain and keep kids happy.  I thought I would share a short list of ideas for young children in case you need help coming up with things on the fly.  Most of these are simple and easy to put together in minutes and don't involve you as the mom having to play endless rounds of duck duck goose (not that there is anything wrong with that, I am just saying I don't have the energy for it).

1. Water buckets, sand buckets, old cups and spoons.  Put these in front of your kids outside and don't worry about them getting dirty and they will be in heaven.

2. Make a simple treat-something that involves stirring (my girls love to stir).  They just want to spend time with mom, they want to sneak a taste of the batter or dough and they want to dump something.  No bake cookies, rice krispie treats or even a packaged cookie mix where they can help add 3 ingredients.  Usually my girls have had enough cooking/mom time after they've dumped a few things and stirred and are happily on their way.

3. Puffy paint.  I made this paint using shaving cream, Elmers glue and a bit of kids poster paint.  I didn't measure any exact measurements.  I sprayed in the shaving cream and added a bunch of glue, then a blob of paint and let my girls do the stirring.  Then they painted, and painted and painted (they have never painted so much before).  When one color ran low I turned it into a new color (I only did 3 colors cause any more is too overwhelming). 

 They loved it and yes it was messy and I just let it be that way and then after they were done I took 10 minutes and cleaned it all up and they played together happily.

 4. Puzzles-simple, 25 piece puzzles (preferably with a picture of something kids like).  If the girls seem to need mom time then I suggest puzzles (not too often-I like things to still be a novelty and not old hat) We sit on the floor and put together 4 puzzles and they are content and ready for something new.  And you can buy all kinds at the dollar store so it's not like you have to break the bank or anything.  Just keep them small and easy-I don't want my kids to hate doing it because they can never finish.

5. Pillow mountain.  To do this activity you need to get every pillow you can possible find in your house and put them all in a huge pile in the living room and let your kids climb over, under and through them.  That's it-and it is so great to get to make such a mess with every pillow-even the ones from mom and dad's bed.

6. Love bugs.  I made a set of these for valentines day but you could make them for any season.  I painted little bugs on a bunch of flat rocks and then when they were dry I put them in a bucket.  One person takes a turn hiding them all over the room and someone else gets to find them and then hide them.  It has been a big hit at our house.

7. Build a water blob.  This is a two person job and requires painters plastic (the heavy duty kind) and duct tape.  I saw this on Pinterest.  You basically form a package out of plastic, sealing the edges with duct tape and leave one small opening to fill it with water.  Once full you seal off the opening.  I wasn't sure how my girls would like it so we didn't fill ours extremely full and it was like a squishy water bed/slip and slide.  They were unsure at first but really got into it the more they realized they could slide all over it and jump and splash on it and you know when it actually became the most fun: when it got a hole in it and water would come out-then it was even more exciting.  We left ours up for 2 days and it got well used and demolished by the end of the second day.  I would for sure make one again.

 8. Get some of these:

They are a little tablet that you drop into your bath water and it turns it blue or red or yellow (or you can mix two and make purple or green or orange).  My girls love these.  They don't irritate skin, they don't stain but they do make your bath water turn red and what kid wouldn't find that cool and you get to be the cool mom cause you have the magic stuff to make that happen.

9. Invest in a blow up air mattress.  We have one that is a queen size that we bought about 4 years ago.  The girls love to have it blown up just so they can jump on it.  It is like a huge indoor trampoline.  They can jump off the couch onto it, roll across it, do belly flops, dance etc.  It has been flopped on by every family member and is finally starting to not hold air like once did.  We will have to buy a new one but I think we may actually get two (one just for jumping and one for camping).  It was such a good investment and brings tons of joy to the girls.  It is great for cold weather outside and perfect for watching movies on as a family.  I might get one of the girls one for their birthday I am thinking.

10. Cardboard boxes.  We had these, I was going to throw them away but the girls were crying and I suggested they each get in a box, then dad and I pushed them around on the carpet for a few minutes, bonked them into each other and then finally filled them with pillows and made them into little nests.  The next day they stayed around and were a bed and a playhouse.  Small fry poked a bunch of holes in one and eventually ripped off the one side.  They hid under them and filled them with stuff and on day 3 they went to the trash.  Cheap, easy and fun and I didn't even have to build it into anything.  I just planted the idea in their minds of one thing they could do with them and they took over from there.

I'll share another installment another day but I hope these ideas are helpful to someone. 

For more really great ideas read this fantastic post.  I was super inspired and found a bunch of new ideas I had never thought of.

Baby Bonding

I wanted to start by saying thank you to everyone who left kind and encouraging words in regards to my last baby related post.  It was hard for me to tell the truth ( I have wanted to many times but was too worried about what people would think) but it was really strengthening to hear some other stories and receive such kind words, so again I say, "thank you."

As the due date for my little man gets closer I have been thinking about how I want to spend time with him from the moment he is born and create a strong bond.  I didn't bond well with my little pumpkin and it took many months to form a really good bond but I am hoping to have more success this time around.  The problem is I am not exactly sure what it is that I should do right after the baby is born.  Let's face it, I am not a stay in bed type person (in fact I am totally the opposite-a do, do do all day person), I don't like to sleep in, I don't wear my pj's past 8:00am, I am pretty independent and I have two other kids and a husband who will be back at work by the time the baby is born.  With my pumpkin my husband stayed home for 2 days and then had to get back to work.  I didn't know what to do with myself considering I had another child already who needed me and my mom told me long before that how much she hated my vacuum, so I just got right back to doing all my normal stuff: housework, cooking meals, laundry, and blogging.  Then one day I realized I hadn't even taken a moment to recover from having had a baby or adding a second child into the mix but by then everyone was used to having mom back and so it just had to continue. 

So my question to you is: how do you bond with a new baby when you have a household that depends on you, a couple of supper meals brought in by people and not a lot of family near by to help?  Any suggestions or things that have worked for you?

The Best Form of Discipline I have Found-A Real Mommy Moment

I thought as my kids got older they were supposed to be over their "terribles" but that doesn't appear to be the case.  Consequently I find myself searching out discipline ideas and tactics for handling the "strong willed" child more than ever before.  But of all the things I have found and read and tried this one seems to always work best: paying attention to my children.  It seems like for every 10 minutes of quality time I give them I get 20 minutes of peace and calm and kindness and playing well together in return.  It is when I am trying to "get things done" that I spend so much of my time settling arguments, setting time out buzzers, calming down a meltdown and comforting a crying child, not to mention trying to get my own emotions under control and not flying off the handle.  When I take time to watch the latest crazy dance, or play a game, or push swings, or color on the couch I have far less discipline problems.  I am not saying they are gone entirely but they are much less and I feel better about myself as a mom because I am not tense and angry and I am doing what is most important for a mom to do: pay attention to her kids.  Case in point: Small Fry was having a day.  I think she had been in time out a few times and had been sent to her room a few times to calm down until she was ready to talk nice and not scream and kick and be rude.  Time after time she came back to find me and stomp her foot and clench her teeth and scream at me or her sister.  Finally while she was in her room again the thought came to my mind, "the tea set" and I said to my husband, "is there something that you can do with pumpkin for a few minutes so that I can do something just will small fry and give her the attention that I know she is needing right now?"  He agreed.  I went in to talk to her about not acting the way she was and how I needed her to say she was sorry for how she was acting and use kind words and she was crying and just wanted to be held.  I told her that when she was ready to be calm then she and I would go on a special date to run some errands and buy some cookies so that we could all have a family tea party.  She was super excited about that idea.  (Now in case you are thinking this, I did not feel that the tea party was a reward for her acting the way she was.  I felt that she had fully mended the damage done to the best of her 4 year old ability and used the tea party as a much needed time for us to be together in hopes that it would lessen any future outbursts for the day).  We went to run errands while my husband took pumpkin to the school with him where she got to be the center of attention.  We bought cookies that small fry picked out and grapes and got home and got the tea set all ready.  We found extra stuffed animals to have as guests to the party and were ready and waiting when sissy and dad got home.  Then we all sat on the floor for a fabulous party complete with spills and pinkies up in the air.  It was wonderful.  The girls loved every second and the best part of all was that we didn't have another incident with tantrums or melt downs for the rest of the day.

It is not nearly as easy to play with my kids as I thought it would be before having kids.  It takes time and creativity and effort but man does it ever make a difference.  They would have me be at their beckon call all day long if it was up to them and that just isn't possible but when I make time with them-and do some of the things they want, or come up with a creative thing for us to do together we just have better days, and I can't think of an easier form of discipline.  Put it to the test.

Simple Solutions -Towels and Tantrums

Maybe having towels hanging from your oven door is way old fashioned or something but I've got em.  They are super handy right here for drying hands after washing dishes or in between food prep steps as well has the perfect height for Small Fry to dry her hands.  They are also perfect for my two darling daughters to pull down everyday and drag to unknown parts of the house.  I found myself getting frustrated because I would go to grab a towel and it was either on the floor or in some toy bin.  Plus as I cooked they were always getting pulled off.  It's small stuff I know but it was driving me crazy.  So I came up with this:

This is my before:

 Now I used 3 new dish towels (though they don't have to be new), a piece of ribbon (3 inches for each towel) and a package of shower curtain hooks (got mine for a $1.00 but there are lots of cute ones out there).

 I cut my piece of ribbon and folded a 1/4 inch under on each side.

 I found the center of my towel (it was easy on new ones cause they still had the crease mark in them) and pinned my ribbon.  Then I sewed over the ends of the ribbon.  This creates a little loop hook.

Put 3 (or more or less if you like) hooks on your oven door handle, open them, thread on the loop, lock em closed and problem solved.  I was worried they would become a pulling toy and risk pulling the door open (which some of you may have kids that can do this so beware) but actually my little pumpkin pulled on them the first time and realized they weren't coming off so now she likes to just slide them back and forth.  Everyone is happy!!!  I took an extra 10 minutes and added hooks to my already existing towels and we are set!!

Cautionary note:  Just remember if you have kids that are climbers, grabbers, pullers or really strong for their age they could use these to pull on your oven door-so beware.  This isn't a project suited for household.

 Now for my simple solution to tantrums (p.s. this has not eliminated tantrums from my house-only helped cool some of them in the heat of the moment).  In February we were getting ready to go to the State basketball tournament.  We had told Small Fry if she was good she could ride on the bus with daddy.  The tournament was 2 days away.  Every time she started having a melt down or attitude we would say, "Do we need to take away your chance to ride the bus?"  I felt like it was really hard to distinguish when she had gone over the line or when we needed to give her another chance (I mean she is only 2).  So I quickly whipped up this smiley face chart.  I found a picture of a bus and laminated it and stuck it to the bottom, then I put up two rows of smiley faces.  I told Small Fry that if she lost all of her smiles she would also lose the bus.  This became really effective because as she was acting up or melting down I would give her a warning and say, "do you want to lose a smile?"  Sometimes she would stop and sometimes she would continue-in which case I would take off a smile.  What worked so well is that she could visually see how many smiles she had left and actually she was devistated when she lost her first smile. 

I have continued using this chart and have made various pictures to put on the bottom.  I have park, tv, ice cream, a bike ride, a ride in dads sidekick, bake cookies, library and trampoline.  She gets to choose what she would like to do if she doesn't lose all her smiles.  I like this because there are always those times in parenthood that are unclear whether they warrant a time out or if you should just ignore them or what.  I still use time out for major offenses like kicking, hitting, major tantrums but this is perfect for things like not listening to instructions, not sharing, not getting her coat on when asked for the 4th time.  You know how it is when you are trying to get out the door quickly-there isn't always time to stop for time out but a warning that a smile will be gone can help get things back on track.  When all the smiles are gone she can try again the next day.  If she keeps her smiles and we do the thing at noon or something then I let her choose another reward for the afternoon.  It has been really helpful in our house (and helpful for me especially since I no longer have to give warning after warning and chance after chance). 

Odds and Ends

It's Friday-I've got nothing today.  Here are a few odds and ends I have been wanting to share.

1. When I was at the thrift store the last time I saw this shirt in the kids section.  I thought it was super cute but it was like a size 6 or something-which is way to big for my kids.  Repurposing came to mind.  I tried it on my little pumpkin and it was just as I had expected-the perfect size for her-minus the sleeve length.  So I cut off part of the sleeves, made a casing, added a piece of elastic and got...

a perfect dress for this little cutie.

2. This falls under the "make your own" department.  Have you ever tried making your own detanlger for your kids hair?  I read it in a magazine once (or I read it somewhere).  After you have paid for a bottle of detangler and used it all, just add a drop of your conditioner to the bottle and fill the rest up with water.  Shake and spray.  Works great-I have been doing it for over a year now.  So simple.

3.  This also falls under the "make your own" department and is a fun project for kids to do.  Make your own drain cleaner.  Sprinkle some baking soda down your drain, pour vinegar over it, it makes a super cool fizzy foam and cleanse and deodorizes at the same time.  I had the most awful smell coming from my kitchen sink, I did this to the drain and it has totally neutralized the smell.  Fantastic and fun (now who ever thought you could say that about cleaning).

4.  I came to a realization: I feel so much better as a mother, woman and wife when I do my hair in the morning.  3 years into this motherhood thing and I finally figured this out.  I was stuck in the "I'm a busy mom and don't have time for blow drying" phase.  The fact is, when I take a minute and do my hair, put on some eye liner and a little smelly lotion I feel a million times better.  If you are stuck in the "busy mom" phase and have forgotten how to use your curling iron or blow dryer I suggest you give yourself a refresher course.

5. One more motherhood break through: I find that sometimes the best thing to do when everyone in the house seems to be out of control is to put MYSELF in time out.  I sit in my room (in front of the door because it does not lock and Small Fry can turn door knobs) and listen to the girls scream and cry on the other side and in a few moments I realize how stupid the whole scenario must look (mom hiding from her children for a moment of peace) so I take a deep breath, say a little prayer and head back into the trenches.  I apologize if it is needed and we go back to playing or screaming-usually both.

Don't forget

Shut Up Jo Frost- A real mommy moment

This is Jo Frost-also known as "Supernanny."  I love her.  I have watched tons of episodes of "Supernanny" and credit her with a bunch of parenting tips and tricks that I know work.  When I first had a baby, Jo probably came to my mind more than anyone else as a resource of what I should do.  If you have never watched the show basically it is about families that have children out of control in one way or the other (and parents out of control usually too).  They write in asking for her help.  She goes and stays with them and helps parents figure out discipline and children figure out rules etc.  She spends a day observing without stepping in and then multiple days helping.  I am sure she has helped tons of families.  Things will happen in my house and I can hear Jo saying, "put a stop to that mom" or "don't give in mom."  It can be very helpful and it can also be debilitating.  Most of the time I know what I should do, but whether or not I am doing it is another story. 
Before I had kids I had "it all figured out."  I knew exactly how I was going to raise my children.  That was before I ever had a husband or my sweet darlings came along.  Give birth-and everything changes.  Let me share a few examples:

-Before kids, at church "I can't believe how noisy (fill in the blank)s kids are being.  Why don't they teach them anything about being reverent?"

-After kids, at church "Good grief-doesn't seem to matter what I try-I can't get my kids to be quiet or sit still.  Where are those snacks?"

-Before kids "My kids are not going to watch TV ever.  I will fill their days with games, outings, crafts and rough and tumble play."

-After kids "Would you all just please help me find the remote so I can turn on Dora and have a minute of peace and quiet."

-Before kids "We will be eating healthy foods at every meal.  No sugary treats or junk food and certainly no snacks before meals."

-After kids "Okay, okay, just stop crying.  I will give you just 3 more Cheetos and then it will be time for supper."

The thing is that there is no one else here to tell me what I should do in certain situations or to help when I am feeling totally exhausted or overwhelmed.  It is me-I am the mom and I am doing the best that I can.  I would love to say that I do it right all the time but that is not true.  So lately I have started to do what works, what is not harmful or impairing to my children and what keeps the peace and I have also had to start telling Jo Frost (who is in my head) to "shut up."  My kids are freaking out, we have already played, they have eaten, they are dressed, the blocks and dolls are all over the house and I need a break so I pop on a video and say, "shut up Jo I don't want to hear about having the TV babysit my children for 20 minutes."  It is lunch time and we are having hot dogs and Cheetos for the second day in a row because everyone likes that and it is easy and so I put the plates down and I can see in my head Jo looking over her glasses at the camera saying, "she is serving junky Cheetos to her kids again," and I say "shut up Jo-we happen to love Cheetos in this house and look they are served along side cucumbers and tomatoes."  Small fry has thrown 3 too many tantrums this morning while I tried to get her dressed to go outside so I bundle up the baby and tell small fry she can watch through the window and we go out.  I can hear small fry screaming that she wants to come but I have had it and need a break and so out I go and I say, "Shut up Jo-I have already done time outs this morning-I need to cool off and so does she."  I dump a couple of handfuls of candy in the bottom of my diaper bag to use as bribes at the basketball game while dad is coaching and I am wrangling the children and I say, "Shut up Jo-if it comes to bribes so be it."  I wish I would have started telling myself this long ago.  It would have saved me the time I was at Walmart, pumpkin was a newborn and I had to get a prescription filled.  Walmart is notorious for slow lines at the pharmacy and Small Fry was throwing a fit.  I felt my blood pressure rising and rising and nothing was working to keep her calm.  I had a sucker in my diaper bag but didn't pull it out because I could hear the voice in my head saying, "That's like giving her a reward for screaming" and I was too worried about what everyone around me would think so I left the sucker in there and instead nearly knocked the eye glasses display over as I tried to get my giant cart out of that store and to the parking lot where I gave my toddler a smack on the bum and strapped her in her seat then drove home sobbing because I felt like a complete failure.  The sucker would have eliminated all of that had I just done what was my best at the time and not worried about what anyone else said.

Lesson to anyone who may have a voice in their head:  it is okay to tell it to shut up.  You are the mom, you are doing your best, you don't have to compare yourself to anyone else.  Mother, grandmother, mother in law, sister in law (that's for your Jenny), friend or neighbor-if their voice makes you feel inferior then stop listening to that voice when you are just doing the best you can.  Thank heavens little kids are so loving and forgiving as their parents try and figure this whole job out.

Another reason to spare your toddler the lecture...

He or she is more than likely not listening or doesn't understand a thing you are talking about.
I was driving the other night with my girls and small fry was telling me what letters she saw on the radio on the dashboard.  She wanted me to point to them and I finally figured out she was reading these tiny letters on a knob.  I said, "man you can read those-you must have really good eyesight.  It is probably because mommy fed you all those carrots when you were a baby."  She said, "But I don't like carrots."  I said, "I know you don't now but you used to love carrots and carrots give you good, strong eyes to see.  That is why you should eat your carrots so you can have good eyes, but since you don't want to eat carrots any more I guess you can have bad eyes, " to which she replied, "mama-I don't have bad eyes, I have blue eyes."  Enough said, the lecture was a complete miss, grin and bear it mom.  Save your breath.

Mommy help for a Real Mommy Moment

My little miss Small Fry...what am I to do with her?  It seems like everyday she is becoming more and more sensitive/nit picky about things: a tag in her shirt, an itch, a bump on her sock, a pokey on her finger, the speed of the car.  I know it is normal to be sensitive but with her it seems like it is something new everyday.  Sure can be exhausting to get her all dressed and then have to undress her because her toe has a "pokey."  She never used to be like this; now she won't wear certain coats because they have a tag, or the zipper itches her chin, and load noises bother her more than they used to and she is always saying something about having a headache in the car and not to drive too fast.  I don't know if this is normal 2 year old behavior, or just a phase and it will pass or if I should be concerned.  Anyone else have a super sensitive toddler or go through this before?

Thoughts on Motherhood

I have been thinking about this for a while, but just this past week as I was tucking Small Fry into bed and she asked where Santa lives, it occurred to me that motherhood is a rediscovery of childhood.  Relearning the ABC's and the excitement of the ABC song, remembering nursery ryhmns, childhood songs and fingerplays.  Discovering all over again how with each new letter learned another window to the world is opened and discovering that things like the garbage truck really are fascinating.  And now the newest one for me-Santa.  I have to keep my facts straight, keep the magic alive, help her to believe as long as her little heart will let her and it is exciting.  It makes me a bit giddy all over again and reminds me of the time when I was supposed to be sleeping on Christmas eve, but instead was looking out the window and saw Santa flying through the sky.  Small Fry and I are already discussing what we should leave for Santa on Christmas eve.  She is excited and I am rediscovering and it is wonderful.

A first in a long time

Yesterday my husband and I went for a 4-wheeler ride alone-just the two of us. Do you know how long it has been since we have done something without our kids? 9 months to be exact. Our little pumpkin has had such terrible stranger anxiety that we could not leave her alone with anyone for even a moment. It has been so hard. I never in a million years thought I would have to worry about the fact that I would want someone to hold my child and not be able to have them because she would be so hysterical. It is so confining in a way. I love my children but every parent knows that one key to healthy and successful parenting is being able to have moments away from your children. Well this was a miraculous and prayed for moment and it was wonderful. Grandma and Grandpa watched the girls in a trial run as my husband and I are planning to go on a date on Friday together for the first time in a very long long time. I worried the entire time that pumpkin was screeching but tried to enjoy our half hour alone. Blessed-that was the word for our afternoon yesterday-blessed.

My mothers day wish list

WARNING: This could put me in the running for one or two "bad mother" awards. Listen I am just stating the truth and I know I am not the only one who has wished for these things before.

With mothers day right around the corner, I thought I would just state my list of wishes in case any genies are to appear in the near future:

1. To sleep in past the hour of 6:30AM

2. To have one or two shirts not stained with spit up

3. To have a foot massage that lasted at least for 1 whole day

4. To go pee in private without having a little body opening the door and saying, "mom are you okay?" 4 or 5 times.

5. To eat dinner without a screaming or crying baby

6. To eat dinner with two free hands

7. To eat dinner at a table without a bumbo chair, burp clothes, baby monitor, musical birds and linky doos clambering up the space

8. To have my husband rub my shoulders with some degree of pressure for a good solid hour when I ask him to rub my back

9. TO SLEEP THROUGH THE WHOLE NIGHT

10. To have someone take my children for the "day" so that my husband and I can go to Hawaii, or Alaska or California or the chow hound down the street for an ice cream. I would prefer to have the ice cream in Hawaii

11. To sit in a hot tub until my toes were wrinkled like prunes

12. I would like to never have to shave my legs again. What a pain in the summer.

13. If I could have the same amount of memory in my brain that I had pre-pregnancy and child bearing that would be so fantastic.

14. 1 entire day to do crafts in perfect silence-ahhhh I can't even imagine what that would be like

15. To have days where small fry only says things like, "you're so cute mommy" and "I love you" and "this is fantastic" all day long instead of, "I no like that no more" and "NO that's mine!!!" and "I want dada back."

16. 1 day without a blowout diaper

17. No more little bits and pieces of every toy imaginable in every part of the house

18. To not watch small fry dip her strawberries in her scrambled eggs and ketchup when she eats breakfast

19. To have my sweet daughter come the very first time I ask her to do anything (oh can you imagine how simple life would be)

20. I would never want to run out of time to do all the cute and fun projects that I want to get done for my kids and family but never seem to have time to do.

I was going to stop at 20 but since I just had to go comfort a crying child in the night I will add one more

21. I would love it if my children never had another scary dream in their life.

Motherhood Tip

How to tell when your sick child is on her way to recovery:

the sick, snuggly, wants to sit on your lap, lay her head on your shoulder, hardly says a peep for two days child is replaced with one who stands in the middle of the room, fists by her side, straight as a board, face beat red screaming for more Elmo's World.

Normalcy, welcome back to our house.

A pat on the back

Wouldn't it be nice, as a mom, if just once in a while you had someone in your home to see all the little successes, the good moments, the moments you didn't lose your cool, the times that your child (or children) finally listened without plentiful reminders-someone to just say, "hey good job Mom, you are doing a really good job." You know, not your husband or someone who is there all the time, but someone that can see or hear when your child says, "Heavenly Father..." and starts the prayer all by herself after you have been helping for months, or who sees that even though you asked 5 times for your darling to sit down so you could put on her shoes and she finally has after the 7th time, you didn't get mad, you were firm but didn't get mad, or who gets to hear that she can recite half the pumpkin story all by herself after you have read it to her for the umpteenth time, who sees that she eats at least one vegetable at dinner and supper, and fruit everyday, that you are trying to limit candy intake and TV time, that you try and play ashes, ashes with as much enthusiasm as she does and that your house is not immaculate but not in shambles either and even though you don't fit into the same jeans you did when you got married you do your work out video in the morning and try and go for walks. Someone that can give you a pat on the back when you get frustrated and down on yourself because you only see your weaknesses as a mother and don't give yourself enough credit and someone that can say, "even though when you go the store it sometimes appears like you are running a circus, you really are doing a fantastic job." That would just be really nice wouldn't it. I could use that a couple days a week.

La La La La Life goes on

Yep, I have discovered that life just keeps going even after the addition of second tiny, sweet little angel. Meals still have to be made, laundry done, small fry's diapers changed, beds made, dishes, etc etc. I never expected that it would halt for me and I am glad it hasn't. I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I have just had to jump back into my routine (somewhat-I did go a whole week without vacuuming-that never happens. I almost went crazy with all the crumbs on the floor but I kept telling myself to just let them be). And life is going really well. We are getting well adjusted and I am feeling good and discovering that I can do this and I think I can do it well.
We popped outside on afternoon for a family photo.

This is a standard position for small fry: watching baby sister very closely.

She looks so much older to me all of a sudden.

And she has a bit more attitude too.

One of the highlights of having my two girls at home: saying good bye to those stupid maternity jeans and hello to my pre-pregnancy jeans. Oh how I love you normal jeans. Thank you for still fitting even after all these months.