I took some time away from this blog to design my new site! It took me months of learning how to design a site and I gotta say… it’s pretty! With lots of mommy learning, fun activities and parenting info being constantly added, of course ;-).
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Love y’all!
Last week we celebrated 3 days that are very dear to our family: our 8th wedding anniversary, Sonshine’s 3rd birthday and Father’s Day.
On our anniversary, Mister came home early with a beautiful sunflower bouquet, card and love note. Oooooo! I can’t believe we’ve been married for 8 years. We first began dating 18 years ago as bright eyed & bushy tailed teenagers. Our relationship has ebbed & flowed throughout that time, but we always manage to bring it back to the basis of everything: our desire to be together. I can honestly say that I love and appreciate him more each year.
June 2008
We ordered food and watched Star Trek all day. Now, most people wouldn’t consider that special, but it has taken Mister our entire marriage to get me to watch just one episode of Star Trek, so to finally get me hooked is special to him. And not having to cook is always special to me.
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As a bonus, Sonshine also loves the show! He does interpretive dance that basically looks like he’s flexing in a bodybuilding competition and makes Chewbacca noises to the intro music. He says, “that’s good music!” Hah! I think that Captain Sisko is Sonshine’s pseudo-grandfather. When he comes on the screen, Sonshine yells, “It’s Captain, it’s Captain!” Hey, he is a good role model.
Captain Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek – Deep Space 9
For Sonshine’s 3rd birthday, we took him swimming. We’ve decided to only do parties for milestone birthdays and the rest are just for our little family. I’m not the best party planner and since we waited later than our friends to have a child, we don’t know a ton of little kids anyway.
He was more interested in the lazy river and jumping in than the playground, but that’s typical of my “off the beaten path” child.
Needless to say, we had a ball! He is a natural in the water. He was a bit over-confident in his swimming abilities and wanted to be a bit too independent in the water, but I’m thrilled that he isn’t afraid. That makes my job a lot easier.
On Father’s Day, we BBQ’d with Mister’s family. I’m not much of a meat eater, so I brought zucchini, eggplant, corn, and pineapple to grill. Which, much to my surprise, was enjoyed by everyone else as well. We sat around in the sun, eating, playing with the kids and celebrating the wonderful men in our lives. It was just a small group of us, but we sure did have a great time.
This week was dedicated to love and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Last year, I signed a two-year contract with my cable provider and was assured I’d pay the agreed upon amount for the entire 2 years. Well, of course, they lied and when the second year hit, my bill shot up to almost $200 for ONE month. Are they crazy? In my head, I went straight into my Training Day character Alonzo Harris’ voice “Who the F@*k do you think you are F@*kin with?!”
I immediately cancelled their service and looked into other options. Here’s what I came up with.
TV antenna (internet-free). Talk about completely cutting the cord! I know, I know. It sounds retro, and you’re probably kicking yourself for not keeping your antenna from the 80s, but antennas are now digital so you’d need a new one anyway. In some areas you can get as many as 40-60 local channels, which provide a lot of popular shows, you’d just have to watch the shows while they are on (no pause or recording, GASP!) like we used to back in the day. If you have internet service, TV Guide will keep you current on what shows are playing at what times or you could really go old school and read your Sunday paper. Antenna TV quality is as good as HDTV, plays live events like the Superbowl and Oscars, and is more reliable in bad weather than cable or satellite, without the monthly bill.
Mobile HotSpot. If you don’t watch a lot of TV and have unlimited data with your cell phone plan, you can use your phone’s mobile hotspot as an internet source to stream shows. It may be worth it to consider purchasing more or unlimited data with your phone provider considering most internet-only cable plans are at least $50/mo (+ taxes & fees). This is also a great option if you spend a lot of time away from home because your shows are always with you.
Streaming. Streaming has a few levels to it, but once you have your system down, you’ll be at the corner of Frugal & Easy Street.
Subscription websites. These websites require a monthly payment, but when bundled, can still be lower than a cable bill. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, SlingTV (includes ESPN), HBO Now or Showtime have almost any show you’d like to watch. Note that many shows may overlap with some of these services.
Free Websites. There are a few websites that provide full episodes of many shows & movies and are completely free! YouTube, Tubi TV, Crackle, and SideReel are some of the best (and legal) sites to binge watch a plethora of shows. Also, don’t forget about network channel websites. NBC, ABC, and others play full episodes of shows a week after they air.
Cut back on your internet bill. Yes, there are ways to lower your internet bill. Buying your own modem instead of renting one will save you $5-10/mo (although you have to pay for the modem upfront). Make sure you aren’t overpaying for internet speeds that you don’t use by taking this internet speed test. And if you are one of the rare people that loving having a home phone, you can unbundle your service by buying a home phone box that utilizes VOIP (voice over internet protocol) calling AKA free phone service (you still have to pay monthly taxes totaling about $3-4/mo.).
So there you have it. Everything I’ve learned in my search to cut the cord. I don’t think I’ll ever go back. F@*k you cable! Ya done son!
Today has been one of the most frustrating days I’ve had as a parent thus far. I planned out a great day: healthy breakfast, clean the kitchen, go for a walk and wash the dog. All of those things happened, but not as pleasantly as they sound. Sonshine was in T.T.M. (Tazmanian Toddler Mode), therefore making every task more complicated. I strapped my patience on and grit my teeth through each activity. I have been trying to practice mindfulness, but then I realized… toddlers make you crazy! Here is why:
Parent: “Please pick up that block.”
Toddler: (Looking perplexed as if you are speaking in another language).
Parent: “The red block. That red, triangle block. Right there! Go over there! Okay, stop! Now look down.”
Toddler: (Spins around whilst looking down and still can’t find it).
Parent: “By your feet! LOOK, IT’S RIGHT THERE!”
And just when you are in a complete tizzy and decide to walk over to get it, your toddler bends down and picks it up.
Every single one of those things happened to me today – all before 2pm. Plus the dog’s shenanigans – only wanting to walk on one side of the street, running while getting a bath, taking a piss on said hose that I was about to wash him with and crying all day. The combination of the toddler + dog = a Super PAC of Frustration that cannot be rivaled. That was it – my patience was defeated. I completely lost my ish in my driveway. Yes, I turned into a complete crazy person while both of them stared at me as if I were tripping for no reason. Arrrrgh! Good thing most of my neighbors were at work. I may have scared off the other neighbors from ever speaking to me again. Is it frowned upon to have wine for lunch?
I had been doing some reading about how toddlers love routine. That they feel secure when they know what to expect throughout their day. And toddlers love to be independent and do things they know they can accomplish. So like any learning, diligent, first-time mom, I did my best to keep my son’s days rather structured so he would be comfortable. Over the past year, I have noticed that this approach has backfired on me in certain areas. I’m not saying that structure is bad, I am saying that I should have been careful how it was implemented. Yes, the set meal and nap times were good, but overly praising & asking him to help with certain tasks has made him feel that they are his duty.
He is the King (self-appointed) of closing the refrigerator door + all doors, vacuuming and flushing the toilet. He doesn’t care who is using it, his job is to flush and he takes his work very seriously.
He MUST carry his own plate, bowl or cup – which can be problematic if it’s something that spills & stains like spaghetti.
He MUST jump off the bottom step and if you are there you MUST hold his hand or he has a complete meltdown until you take him back to the stairs to redo his jump.
He is the only person in this house that is allowed to use the juicer. I let him juice ONE time and it was all over from there. If you want juice made, he’s your guy.
I know, I know, it’s a lot. He is now much more structured than me and strong-arms my fairly free spirit by strictly sticking to these routines. I’ve tried breaking him of doing these rituals by going cold turkey or using other methods to no avail. Lately, I’ve been reasoning with him that “sometimes mommy closes the fridge,” or “mommy flushes her own potty.” The concept of mommy’s turn vs. baby’s turn has been working more and more.
I’ve also implemented an empowering mantra that we recite daily. He behaves more confidently and less anxious when we shout it during difficult times. It seems he may be growing out of these rituals. He’ll be 3 years old next month. Fingers crossed that the older he gets the less he wants to flush my toilet.
Confession: I used to be a reality tv show junkie. It all started when I was a wee lassie and my mom said the most awesome sentence that could be uttered to a kid in the 90s, “I’m going to buy cable.” Whaaaaat? I was going to be the popular kid in the neighborhood with cable tv! Yes, that was a thing Generation Z; very few people had cable tv in the early 90s, so if you had cable your house was thee spot. Basic tv did not have Cartoon Network or MTV and there certainly was no recording or pausing the tv. You had to watch your show while it was on or it poofed into oblivion unless you used a VCR (basically a version 1.0, non-digital DVR that used massive book sized tapes that you insert into it and had to press play and stop to record your show). I was hooked on The Real World. It was a show about a bunch of opinionated, 21-year-olds from different backgrounds that were thrown into a house together with a stocked bar. Not exactly quality tv, but it was a new concept. Watching tv sure has come a long way, especially now that streaming services are offered.
Since becoming a mom, I have cut back on my tv watching, but I am still a sucker for family reality tv shows. Babies and new mommies, veteran mom’s tackling issues, gifted children and families of color all make my heart fuzzy. So I was really excited to hear that Olympic champion Gabrielle Douglas is coming out with a docu-series, Douglas Family Gold, chronicling her journey to the 2016 Olympics. Gabby Douglas won the team and individual all-around events in the 2012 summer Olympics. That competition also established Gabby as the first African American woman gymnast to win gold in the individual all-around event. Gabby is such an inspiration to all children through her determination, discipline, and drive to follow her passion. Her accomplishments are especially important to the black community as she is such a great role model to black children; who encounter a lack of quality role models in certain sports and the overall entertainment industry.
The series premiers May 25th at 10 p.m. on Oxygen. Will you be tuning in?
My son loves reading time. He goes to our spot, grabs a book out of our book bin, covers himself with a blanket and calls me over. He excitedly points to the things in the book that he knows and describes them in full detail. He inquisitively asks me about the things he doesn’t know so he can learn about them too. We usually spend about 10 minutes longer on a book just talking about the pictures. It’s a great way to not only teach him about new things (and how they work) but also to broaden his vocabulary.
This week is Children’s Book Week and we have some pretty cool books from the library. My son is really into trucks, so of course I got him a few truck books. One that I thought was awesome was Alphabet Trucks. For each letter, we stated the letter name, made the sound of the letter and said a word that corresponds with that letter (ex. F, fff, fff fox). That book took a long time to read, lol. I was a huge Richard Scarry fan growing up, so I was really excited to share one of my favorite childhood authors with him.
Cinco de Mayo and Mother’s Day are right around the corner so it would be fun to add a few festive books. Guess I’ll be swinging back by the library. Did you know that some libraries will let you check out as many as 75 books at a time? I used to wonder who would need that many books until our last book haul was about 25 books, so I could see needing that many if you have multiple children. Hit the library and challenge your LittleReader to a book reading contest! What books are your kids reading this week?
I’m not a fan of celebrating holidays. The whole thing just seems like too much work. Spending a bunch of money buying decorations, searching tirelessly for ingredients and competing with other consumers for the last ham at the grocery store, cooking a ton of food, and having a messy house all for just a few short hours. Still, it wasn’t until this past Christmas that I realized just how important celebrating something is. Having a child leads me to revalue the joy and togetherness that holidays bring into our lives. Simply because we are alive, well and happy to have each other. It doesn’t have to be one of the traditional holidays, but it should be something that is important to our family. I’d like for my son to have fond memories of a special day that we got together and did something fun for a good cause. So we’re starting our own traditions!
Mommy Can LearnEarth Day is this Friday and while it isn’t a homemade holiday, what better reason to celebrate than the solitary planet that homes us and provides us with food, water, and air! Here are 3 ways that we can do a little good for our planet that does so much for us.
Teaching your kids about sustainable living
Reading books to kids is the best way to teach them about, well anything! Learning about the importance of sustainable living is a great way to get kids involved and thinking about preserving our planet at an early age. And once kids take an interest in something new, they’ll be sure to remind us to do our part as well. Here are 4 great books to get started:
Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth
Disney Go Green: A Family Guide to a Sustainable Lifestyle
The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle: A Story About Recycling
Earth Day activities
Earth 911 – Cool DIY projects with reusable materials.
Education World – Earth Day lesson plans and projects – great for homeschoolers!
TinkerLab – 50 Earth Day activities for toddlers and little kids.
Utilizing sustainability sites
Freecycle – A great resource for donating and receiving free reusable goods to avoid using landfills.
Healthy Home Economist – A list of organic, non-GMO, Monsanto-free seed companies.
I Want To Be Recycled – Everything recycling!
Local Harvest – Find local farms, farmers markets, co-ops, CSAs and even pick-your-own fruit gardens.
What do you have planned for Earth Day?
Today I decided to take a quick trip to a large, popular farmers market to get a few things that I can’t get as cheap anywhere else. Though it was during his nap time (he didn’t seem tired at all), Sonshine was excited to get out of the house and frankly I was as well.
He was rather quiet during the car ride there so I had no indication of what was to come. We got out of the car and he happily sat down in the cart. I was surprised that the farmers market so crowded considering it was a weekday afternoon. It was the perfect amount of people to witness my son act like a complete donkey and embarrass me like I’ve never been embarrassed before. I would have rather tripped on my face or loudly farted than be looked at as a pathetic mom with an out of control toddler.
He wanted to push the cart and when I said no he started throwing our items around the cart. This was already uncharacteristic behavior for him so I tried to keep a low profile by giving him a toy and talking to him in a really sweet voice. He quickly went from LittleCrankyBoots to Toddzilla. He screamed at the top of his lungs, tried to get out of the cart and yelled “no mommy!” at me several times.
After quietly and nonchalantly waiting for him to calm down, I started to feel warm. It was the heat from the deathray stares that I received from the other shoppers. Disapproving looks, snarls, head shakes, pursed lips, “hmphs,” and other nonverbal judgments came hurling my way. That’s when it hit me: I was THAT mom. The mom with the out of control, heathen kid with no home training because clearly I wasn’t doing my job. Three short years ago I would have been judging the hell outta THAT mom. I wanted to completely disappear. Just melt right into the floor.
At that moment, a grandma came up to me and said, “honey, I have a few grown kids. Just ignore him. You can’t spank him or it will make it worse. He’s a toddler; they’re crazy. And don’t worry about these people, if they have kids they’ll understand and if they don’t well, they have no opinion.” Bless her heart. I was so thankful for her kind words.
So the next time I’m out and I see THAT mom, I’ll be sure to leave my judgments where they are and if we happen to catch each other’s eye, I’ll give her a kind “I totally understand,” smile and I’ll keep it moving as if her kid isn’t having a rough time. It doesn’t make her kid (or mine) a bad kid because they are having a bad day. Parenting is a lot of work when our kids are having good days, we certainly don’t need the extra pressure or judgment when times are tough.
Have you ever been THAT mom? Tell me about it in the comments below.
I am not a crafty person by any means. Despite my lack of talent in this area, I managed to make a pretty awesome felt board for my toddler. I’ve seen some pretty snazzy felt boards out there, but who has the time or money for some extravagant project? Am I going to get a Mother of the Week Award for the best crafts? Nope. Nuh huh. I’d be lucky to get a thank you (although his smile said it all). So I’ve streamlined this process to make it easier, cheaper, less time-consuming and not as boring as you’d think. Everything that I used came from the Dollar Store with the exception of the felt, which came from Michael’s.
Here are the tools you’ll need:
Step 1: Tape the backs of each tri-fold together across the top and bottom. Leave the flaps free. This will make the board sturdier and able to stand upright alone.
Step 2: Glue the fabric along the edges of each side of the board. Make sure to get it as flat and taut as possible. Cut off the excess felt. If you have 2 kids playing at once, then you’ll probably want to do both sides.
You’re halfway done!
Step 3: Turn on your music, pour your wine and get comfy at the table. Pace yourself! You are using scissors and you wouldn’t want to bleed on your felt. That would turn this into a $30 felt board and I’m trying to keep the costs down. Thank you very much!
Step 4: Wild card! At this point, you can get as funky, wacky or simple as you’d like while cutting out the designs of your dreams. At first, I wanted to do shapes because that’s what we were currently learning (and my skill level was at triangles), but then I really started getting into it! I worked at night so my toddler was asleep and Mister was… well, I don’t know what he was doing because I was so zoned into my project.
BONUS: An easy way to get fancy with your designs is to draw them on paper, cut the design out and lay it over the felt. Trace the design and cut the felt. Simple.
You can add googly eyes, glitter, puff balls or whatever you need to suit your creative palate.
George & Weezy
Barack & Michelle
If you want to make a person and clothes, draw an outline of your person, fold it in half length-wise so that it is symmetrical and cut it out. Then place a piece of paper over the cut-out and trace an outline of the body to make whatever kind of clothes you want.
Step 5: Present the felt board to your child and play with them!
So there you have it folks! The easiest, cheapest felt board that will make your toddler think you are a rockstar. You’re welcome ;-). This board conveniently folds up to fit into a closet or behind a bookshelf for easy storage. If you really enjoyed this project or you’d like to get a little more imaginative with it, you can make cut-outs for each season, numbers, letters, shapes, animals or any other learning activities and separate them into sandwich bags to keep them organized. This would also make an awesome homemade present.
Leave a comment below to let me know how it worked out for you!
Earlier this month, Mister’s cousin suddenly passed away. They grew up together and were rather close, so his passing has really taken a toll on our family. He was a great friend and father and sometimes I think that makes it harder. Mourning him opened up my own wounds about the people that I have lost. As much as you want to celebrate their life, the thought that you’ll never talk to them again stings you over and over.
The grieving process is such a personal thing. Everyone has their own way to mourn their loved one. Reminiscing about the good times you shared, taking a walk, or even doing an activity that person used to enjoy are all ways to grieve. And the length of time that it takes to heal varies from person to person. My grandma and I were very close my whole life. We did everything together – travel, bingo, church, movies, made forts with the couch cushions. She even stayed in my college dorm with me for a week at 89 years old! When she passed, I was so hurt that my buddy was gone. It was very hard to let her go, but that would have been selfish of me to wish she had lived longer (because she was sick). She lived a great life and I’m thankful that I got to spend so much time with her. I say all of that to say, if you are grieving someone right now, it will get easier. It doesn’t seem like it will, but the old saying is true, time heals all wounds. And it’s not that you love or miss them any less, but the sting subsides a bit and you begin to actually celebrate their life and smile when you think of them.
Please take 10 minutes to practice this meditation. I wish peace and healing to you.
This is Sesame Streets 46th season on air and they are celebrating by posting their season opening episode for free on Facebook (for a limited time). Yes, you read that correctly: for FREE. Why for free you ask? When did they start charging to watch a non-profit, educational children’s show? Well, Sesame Street has partnered with HBO for a 5 year contract to air their new episodes (plus 150 past episodes). Sesame Workshop executives have cited that the partnership will aid in the financial responsibilities to boost production (from 18 to 35 shows per year) as well as to create other educational spin-off shows. The segments will now be 30 minutes long opposed to an hour and will be available to PBS after airing on HBO for 9 months. The older episodes will still be available on the PBS channel and for streaming on PBSkids.org, however Sesame Street will no longer be available on Netflix nor Amazon.
The show will be doing parody’s on real life events and even adult HBO shows (i.e. Game of Thrones). Do you think this will impact the integrity of the show now that HBO is writing the check? Will you be purchasing the HBO channel or HBO Now (streaming without cable) for your kids to watch Sesame Street? Let me know! Leave a comment below.
Everyone always talks about having balance in life. What does that even mean? When I hear people talk about achieving balance I imagine it coming from a vegan who doesn’t have kids and spends their afternoons doing yoga on the beach.
Coincidentally, my niece is a vegan with no kids who seriously does yoga on the beach in the afternoon. Go figure. Check her out on IG @ modern_day_hippi
For the rest of us, how can we achieve that in our busy, complex lives? Well, I’m no expert on the yin and yang of the best way for everyone to live, but I’ll tell you what I did to get myself back on track.
Backed away from social media. My cell phone is never far from me, therefore neither is social media. It is easy to get overwhelmed by all of the sad or frustrating posts on Facebook (my media of choice) so my goal was to stay away from Facebook for just one day a week so that I could get a break. I ended up staying away for 10 days consecutively!
Meditated. I know, I know, you’ve probably heard this one a million times, but it really works. According to Live And Dare, there are 76 scientific benefits to meditation including stress reduction and mental clarity. I meditate before bed, when I first wake up or on my lunch break (aka the baby’s nap time). If you need meditation music click here.
I made a list of 7 things I like to do and 7 things I have to do. Everyday I picked one from each list and by the end of the week I felt pretty productive.
Meal planned. I’m a newbie and only prepped food for a few days, but it freed up my evening so I wasn’t rushing to squeeze in my son’s bath before his bedtime routine. Plus Mister didn’t starve. Gold star for me!
Drank more water and took a walk outside. ‘Nuff said.
Pampered myself. I did a home pedicure, put on a dress, had a glass of wine and read a book. Self-care is wildly undervalued, yet highly important.
Set up boundaries with toxic people. Making conversations quick and utilizing texting has reduced some stress in my life.
Did something fun (NOT watching tv). I picked up 5 books from the library, a bit ambitious I know, to get me back in the groove of reading. Went outside and my son made chalk art in the driveway while I huffed and puffed on a cheap bubble wand. Note to self: get a bubble machine.
Hung out with friends. Getting together with the girls revives me.
So there you have it. Start simple. Give these tips a try and let me know how it works out. What are your New Year’s goals? What steps are you taking to achieve balance in your life? Leave your suggestions below!
Me: “It’s too soon. We can’t give up yet.”
Mister: “I really think it’s over babe. Sorry. He’s 2.5 years old. You have to let go.”
Me: “I will NOT let go of nap time until he’s four!”
For the past few days, LittleCrankyBoots has not taken his afternoon nap. And you know how much I love nap time – read about it here and here. About this same time last year, he stopped taking his 2nd nap. Both transitions have been harder on me than on him. He seems totally content to run amuck or express his toddler angst all day, I however, NEED nap time. Most appropriately, my mom mailed this magnet to me and though I don’t sleep while he is awake, this perfectly captures how I feel.
Pic: Dave Coverly
I’ve always been a cheerful early riser, but now that LittleCrankyBoots has decided to forego nap time, I am struggling to wake up. My alarm clock is the sound of his mattress screeching for help as he mercilessly jumps on it while yelling, “he’s jumping!” I slap my arm across the bed reaching for my phone to see what ungodly hour it is, then reluctantly peel the sheets off of me and slide out the bed. With eyes half shut, I zombie walk toward the bathroom for my last 30 seconds of silence, wash my hands then look up in the mirror at my crazy hair and think, “please universe, let this boy take a nap today.”
A few months ago it was easy to tire him out. Playing with balloons in the living room, chasing each other around the dining room table or letting him run to the fridge to grab magnetic alphabet letters and bring them to me one-by-one as I chill on the couch (alphabet + phonics + exercise = awesome mommy!). He’d tucker himself out and I’d still have energy for the rest of the day. Now, I have to take him to the park, which is not a problem, except he’s not old enough to wander by himself. As I chase him around, I glance over at the moms sitting in a circle talking as their kids run around alone. A twinge of jealousy hits me as they sit in a circle catching up with the latest discussion about I don’t know what because I’m not over there!
BUT… l will not complain. My life is blessed and even though I am exhausted most days, I am so thankful to be able to spend these precious moments with my LittleCrankyBoots. I celebrate every stage of his life – though I’m happy to be done with teething and I can’t wait until he’s fully potty trained – and it fills my heart with joy to watch him grow.
How old was your LittleCrankyBoots when s/he stopped taking naps? Was it a smooth transition?
“OMG! OMG! PEE! There’s PEE on my FACE!” That sentence was all that I could repeat to my friend on the phone. I was stunned. That was a moment I was never prepared for as a mom.
About 2 minutes earlier, I was doing a little cleaning in the bathroom when I noticed that it was eerily quiet in LoveBug’s room. A different kind of quiet. Mom’s have an innate sort of “spidy sense” that tells us when our kids are getting into something that they shouldn’t. As I peek around the corner, I see LoveBug putting crayons in his potty. Now, he has never been one to play with pee so I was quite surprised. After telling him that we don’t touch pee, I picked him up and that’s when it happened. A tiny, cold, wet hand touched my arm. My brain immediately sounded the alarm. PEE! PEE! There’s pee on me! Eject the child! No don’t eject the child! Find baby wipes! Eww! As I look down at my arm in disgust, he TOUCHES MY FACE! Noooooooooo! I shrieked, “UGGGH!” Seeing that I am upset, and being the sensitive child that he is, he got upset too. I ended up comforting him although he’s the one that put pee on me! Sigh, I digress.
I got him in the bath and cleaned my face. After splashing around for bit, he peed in the tub. What gives? He jumped up, practically leaping onto my lap, and got my clothes soaking wet. “Is this really happening? And all before 9 a.m.?” I thought. We walk back into his room and he peed on the floor. You have got to be kidding me. How much freaking water did I give this boy? Sidebar: That one was my fault because I accidentally left his potty downstairs. He yelled, “pee-pee-pee-pee!” while doing the pee dance. I ran downstairs to get the potty, but tripped over a laundry basket and stepped on some small blocks. He held it as long as he could. I didn’t make it back in time. I certainly have cleaned up a lot of pee in the last few months. Ahhh to be a mommy.
Have any pee pee stories of your own? C’mon I know that I can’t be alone on this one. Comment below!
October 31st. The dreaded day that broke my heart so many years ago. The day that I had one less parent to help guide me through this world. The day that I was no longer daddy’s little girl. I remember this day last year and the grief that I felt. Alas, this day has crept upon me again. This time though, for the first time in 18 years I did more than lay on my couch and cry.
Dad & I at my elementary honor roll awards ceremony
While I didn’t get dressed up or pass out candy, I did manage to take my LoveBug to a Halloween dance party for toddlers at the library. I didn’t want to fully commit to buying him a costume since I wasn’t sure if I’d go through with leaving the house, so I dressed him up as a cowboy with clothes we had at home. We also stopped by a friend’s Halloween party. LoveBug didn’t know what was going on, but he was excited to be around new people. He ran around the living room passing out fist bumps and dancing to the music. I was surprised that I really enjoyed seeing everyone so happy and didn’t feel sad. The last few years of my father’s life, he was blind. He didn’t even know what I looked like. The fact that I can see my son and have this experience with him is a gift. So although something in me feels guilty that I did not grieve, a piece of me feels grateful that I have this moment.
Mommy & Cowboy, Halloween 2015
This could be a turning point for me. It is bittersweet though. A love taken from me and a love given to me. They say that having kids changes a person. Bringing a life into this world has given me something that was long lost: joy. Spending this day with my son has helped me turn a day that has caused such sorrow into a day that heals the wound in my heart.
Glorious, glorious nap time. It’s my second favorite time of the day, following my morning hug from LoveBug. I love being around my SnugaWuga, but having that short break in the middle of the day to just relax is heaven sent. I can feel the anticipation as 12:30 pm approaches. Half an hour left before nap time! It kinda sounds bad, but I’m sure that all parents out there can relate. I love my baby dearly, but after a cranky or active morning, I need my lunch break just like any other worker.
Everyday I go through the same routine of thoughts and emotions when 1 pm hits:
Feeling free. Freedom! I’m not exaggerating when I say that the excitement of nap time is the same feeling one would get when leaving work. When you have that, “don’t ask me for shit, I’m going home” face. To be able to sit, uninterrupted, on the jonette and scroll through Facebook until my legs fall asleep… Then reality sinks in and I have to make…
Decisions, decisions, decisions. My first thought is that I have the world at my fingertips and the possibilities of what I can freely do are ENDLESS! Bwahahahaha! (My evil villain laugh). Except… the kitchen is messy, laundry needs to be folded and what about working out? Ugh, responsibility is such a buzzkill. On the other hand, my DVR and couch are calling me. “Aaangelaaa, I’m super soft and The Blacklist is waiting for youuuu.” So then I’m hit with…
Pressure to make the right choice. Insert the saying: take it day by day. If I’m feeling extra tired, then resting is important. If I’m feeling determined and energetic, then being productive is the way to go. Ok, I’ve finally decided on what I’ll do when…
Back to work. “Mamaaa Mamaaa!” I hear my LittleBearCub calling out for MamaBear. “NOOOO I wasn’t ready!” (In my Kevin Hart voice). At this point I am wondering if I made the right decision. Should I have started dinner? Should I have taken a nap? But it’s too late! Welp, time for one last solitary pee.
What would I do if I had a two kids? Woosah! Day by day, mommy, day by day.
For me, cooking has been a rough learning experience. I even have a few battle scars! Okay, okay, tiny scrapes that have pretty much healed and look almost like my normal skin again, but hey, they count! I’ve heard that you learn through each failure, but if that were true, I’d be on the show Top Chef by now.
I can pinpoint some reasons that rocket science cooking is so difficult for me:
The bottom line is that I just don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what seasonings go with what foods, what is considered a pinch or heaping teaspoon or what “sounds right/wrong” about a recipe (ie. not enough butter, too much milk, missing some binding/thickening agent). I’ve tried learning from cooking shows, but the chefs have zero consideration for the muffin top that I am trying to lose. Every recipe has so much sugar, butter and all the fatty fatness that makes a dish taste magical, but wouldn’t be consumed by someone trying to eat even slightly healthy. Where the hell do they find these weird ingredients? Am I supposed to travel to Madagascar to get a fresh vanilla bean or can I just get one from the grocery store? And they are always cooking some fancy food that I have never heard of like remoulade, bechamel sauce or corque monsieur. Can I just get a basic meatloaf recipe?
I digress… I’m still trying though. Recently, I began looking on Pinterest and The Pioneer Woman’s websites for recipes and my food has gotten a little better! See! I listen to your suggestions. Check out my creations (the good, the bad and the ugly) on my Instagram page! And as always, leave me some tips in the comment section pleeeeeease! (The extra eeeee’s are a plea from my husband, lol.).
After my failed attempt at potty training the first time around (Potty Training Day 1), I was so frustrated and wasn’t sure if my baby would ever get it. “I’ll just wait until he’s 3 years old,” I told myself, “surely by then he’ll be ready.” But every single diaper change was a struggle. He twisted, turned, kicked and screamed while I coaxed him into staying still. I feel like I’m employed by WWE. Can I get a Diva paycheck please?
I decided to consult a friend who is a veteran mommy and just potty trained her 18 month old son. She welcomed us over and we got straight to work. I told her a few of my issues like him not wanting to stay on the potty and indiscriminately whizzing all over my hardwood floors. She showed me a few techniques and also told me to make adjustments to MY attitude and doggon it, he got it! The very next day we were home alone and he didn’t have one single accident!
Here are a few tips from my experience.
Do:
1. Get naked. Not you silly, the baby! Naked training is easy because your little one doesn’t have to fiddle with pull ups, therefore causing an accident. And if there is an accident, you can easily and quickly clean it (and your baby) up.
2. Turn on your toddler’s favorite T.V. show. Keeping your little stinker’s attention so you can get them to sit on the potty is very important. I know there are some moms that prefer that their kids have little to no screen time, and I feel you, buuuuut… it is a major help and it’s only for a short while. I streamed Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood on YouTube and also gave him my tablet so he could play apps while on the potty. These new age techie babies!
3. Follow your munchkin with the potty like a stalker. All. Day. If they leave the room, so do you. Put the potty behind their butt and gently sit them down. If they pop back up that is fine, just try again in 10 mins or so.
4. Praise praise praise! Get excited! Your little learner is doing some awesome new stuff and you want to show em that they should be proud and that they made you proud too. But you don’t have to act like the PCH Prize Patrol just came to your house with a big check – that’s too much.
5. Reward. Allow your little helper to dump the potty and flush the toilet. For some reason that part is a hit in our house. I even gave my babe a homemade cookie to sweeten the deal (recipe to come).
Don’t:
1. Do anything other than potty training. No laundry, no cleaning, no scrolling through your never-ending timeline on Facebook. Pay attention to your baby’s non-verbal ques (squeezing knees, holding private parts, ect.) because you’ll miss your opportunity in the blink of an eye.
2. Force baby to sit on potty. This can backfire and make your child either afraid or resentful of the potty.
3. Criticize accidents. Merely remind your baby that we pee pee/poo poo in the potty, clean it up and leave it at that. No huffing & puffing, disappointed facial expressions or tones that can discourage your baby.
The goal is to get your baby to feel proud and successful so that they will want to use the potty. If a few days have gone by and your baby isn’t grasping the concept or having multiple accidents s/he may not be ready for potty training.
I hope these tips (or a variation of these tips) works for you and you can be free from diaper struggles. God speed Mommies. Hey veteran moms, if you’ve used these methods before or have others to share, please comment below. We’re all in this together!
To my love,
Two years ago today, your dad and I woke up on a Sunday morning wondering what we were going to do for the day, not knowing that soon our lives would change forever. In a few hours we would go from imagining what you would be like to finally meeting you for the first time.
You my love, you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. While I was pregnant with you I didn’t know what it meant to be a mom. I was afraid of not being all that I need to be for you. People said not to worry because it would come natural to me. They were right. The moment you came in to this world I gazed at you in awe and knew that it was all about you, daddy and I.
You my love, you make learning to be a mom such a joy. You were a happy, sweet and easy baby. Now you are a (rather) easy, happy, sweet, funny, smart, determined, energetic toddler. I honestly look forward to every single day with you. Your bright eyes, beautiful smile, adorable laugh, hilarious personality and kind spirit completely melt my heart. Your loving energy has changed how I see childhood and parenthood. It has made me more understanding, sensitive and passionate to their world. My world. Our world. Caring for you has made me a LOT less selfish and more selfless. For that alone, thank you. I am utterly blessed to have you in my life.
Happy birthday Love Bug!
Love always,
Mommy
Mommy Can Learn 