5 for Friday (Catch-up Edition)

Whoa!  It’s a crazy day!  I’m actually writing a blog post!!!  The perpetual excuse is I’ve been WAY too busy.  It seems like every moment is scheduled or that I’m absolutely exhausted I do have a moment (and therefore immobilized by all the many other moments of the day).  I can only give credit to this post due to my day off yesterday.  So let’s jump into my 5 things on my mind this Friday….

{ONE}

Yesterday was surprisingly hectic since it was a day off.  I joined big H’s class at a holiday performance at a local theater.  It was a family theater group, so adorable (and very talented kids) little ones were actually a part of the action.  Unfortunately, chaperones had to drive themselves.  I like to ride the bus with kids!  It lets me get to know all the classmates that H mentions at home.  Although it was a lot of sitting for those little bodies (3 hours! by the time they were dismissed), they did a great job!  I think the fake snow machine, Elsa signing “Let It Go,” and a couple visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus helped.  😉  No photography was allowed during the performance, but I snapped this pic prior to it.

Our faces were all red from the reflection of the light off the curtains.  H was very inquisitive about this, so we had a little mini science lesson while we waited.  Anything to keep him occupied!

{TWO}

I’m so thankful soccer is over!  I know that may be terrible to say, but I’m actually thankful it gets dark earlier.  We start settling down sooner (aka I may have put my PJs on BEFORE 5 pm one night this week).  He had a great season that wrapped up in mid-November.  While we were waiting at the performance yesterday, I asked him what it was going to be for the spring, try T-ball or soccer again.  He said, “Soccer!”

H’s fan club pictured below…

{THREE}

I’m looking forward to a visit from my mom this weekend.  We are taking the Hs to see Santa at my school bright and early tomorrow morning AND trying a new restaurant for my birthday.  We’ll have the littles in tow since the Mr. is in hot pursuit of a deer.  We always have a good time!  My mom, sister, and I took a little day trip back in November to Lee Hall (family home of Robert E. Lee and former plantation home outside of Richmond, Virginia).  We also enjoyed lunch and a wine tasting at the nearby winery.  It was such a beautiful fall day and fun to be with them without little people in tow!

My mom and sister

This side of the house faced the James River

My mom and I

{THREE}

Helen is 9 months tomorrow!  I’m so happy that she is growing (although I confess to wanting to weigh her CONSTANTLY!)  and developing!  Plus, I’m excited to be coming to the last leg of breastfeeding.  Here’s a few pictures of our baby girl!

{FOUR}

We took the kids to the Garden of Lights at the Norfolk Botanical Garden this weekend.  It is always so beautiful and a tradition we have done since Holden was 1.  My lap and hands were full with Miss Helen while we were going through the lights, but I had the Mr. take a few while we were waiting…You can definitely tell Helen is growing!  Look at those high-water pants!

{FIVE}

I’m so excited for Christmas vacation this year!  We are spending our very first Christmas at home in exactly 10 Christmas of living in our home aka two apartments and two houses total.  We are doing a Christmas Eve dinner that will follow our church’s Christmas pageant.  Holden will be a shepherd most likely.  All my motherly dreams are fulfilled!  I’ll see my number 1 baby in a Christmas performance!  I’ll also use fancy dishes that haven’t seen the light of day in my home!  My Christmas is fulfilled already!  The Mr. is going to be in charge of the meat, and I’m in charge of the sides.  I’m not sure he’s totally OK with this.  He’s rather partial to my mom’s cooking and a bit skeptical of the new dishes I want to try.  However, I’m standing my ground and new dishes we shall try.  Can’t wait to be off from work and spend time with these guys with no schedule (sort-of…if you know me personally, you know we’ll have some type of schedule going on!)!

Advent wreath making at church

 

Decorating the trees!  We have two this year.  One has our sentimental ornaments on it plus some other pretty ones.  That’s our real one.  The fake on has the old ornaments of my grandmother and the Mr.’s grandmother.  These are all the glass/delicate ones.

Well, there you have it!  A quick catch-up from the past month + some!  I hope you have the best Friday!  Only 16 days until Christmas!  🙂

Natalie

Weekending

Got to hang with my girl for some extra hours on Wednesday and also a bit on Thursday morning!  Holden went to school on Wednesday.  We are way too slow moving for him.  He did get to have extra time at home with Mommy and sister on Thursday thanks to a 2 hour delay for me.

Gosh, why do I hate Sundays?  They overwhelm me from the moment my feet hit the floor.  I absolutely hate it!  I saw this funny e-card somewhere that said “Sunday…when we try to get our whole life together in twelve hours.”  So true and so unrealistically crazy!

I think the concept of Sunday as a day of rest is a wonderful idea.  However, Mommy and Daddy have to go to real jobs on Monday morning.  All the home jobs have to get done some time.  I can tell you that Monday afternoon at about 4:45 is probably not going to work for us (or 5:45ish in the case of the Mr.’s arrival at home).  So anwayyyy!  I obviously got a bit bogged down in the Sunday workday blues, but I/we had a wonderful weekend.  Nothing but great times!

Friday – Got off early, got my teeth cleaned (no cavities!), got my blood tested (so not fun but so worth it to be able to donate milk to the local children’s hospital milk bank), took a walk with some of my favorites and went to bed early

Saturday – ran ran ran in the morning after giving Hellie Bellie her first taste of bananas.  This went better than rice cereal.  Plus, her spit-up is now delightful!  A sweet, banana smell!  My mom aka Moochie visited us for the CHKD Make-a-Scarecrow event.  We’ve done this every year since Holden was born.  All proceeds go to Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters!  We ate an early lunch at Commune…highly recommend!  Glad we got to go!  When I say it was a fast lunch, I mean it!  Holden changed into his soccer duds in the parking lot.  We picked the Mr. up on the way to the game.  Holden did great even though it was super hot at the game. P.S.  All this was done prior to 2PM.  Whew!  My mom and I left the kids with the Mr. for nap time and enjoyed fro-yo and coffee plus some grocery shopping/craft store shopping.  Love having her visit!

Sunday – Baby food making!  So far, we’ve got bananas, avocado, pears, and sweet potato.  Helen has only had rice cereal and bananas.  Lots of freezer food!  We also took a nice walk at First Landing State Park.  It was such a great temperature and a perfect day to check out a new trail that we don’t usually take.  We came up on a nice little beach and let Holden and Roscoe (and maybe the Mr.) run wild.

Hope your weekend was a great one!  I can’t wait for another.

On a sidenote…I got stuck in the room I pump in at school this past week.  I found it hilarious, and I kind of wanted to not call anyone to help me out.  What does that say about how my work weeks have been going?  Hmmmm….The picture that I texted the Mr. below.  I was doing some slightly hysterical laughing.

P.S.  Holden got a new bike.  He’s officially getting so tall and so big.  How is this happening!?!?  I want Helen to grow, and Holden to hold steady for a little bit.

 

 

 

5 for Friday

This Friday is a little bittersweet.  It is the last day that it will be just me and Helen…or so I thought!  Actually, Big H was with us until we dropped him off around 10:30.  He had to go in for a doctor’s visit due to some swollen lymph nodes in his neck.  Thankfully, the doctor checked him over very thoroughly and pronounced him in good health {with a bumpy neck!}.  She advised us to keep an eye on them, but they should go away over the next several weeks.  It was a little crazy trying to get there and having our last day of girl togetherness horned in on by a little boy, but I’m so glad that we know all is well.  Doctor’s office pics below…Holden was being a turkey and wouldn’t take a pic with us!

Speaking of which…little girl is my number one!

{ONE}

Helen is becoming a little person, and it so great to interact with her.  She’s been trying on lots of new outfits.  This lasts about an hour or until the next spit-up occurs!

So precious, right?!?!?

{TWO}

Run work-outs – I’m so, so, so thankful to be running again.  I stopped when I was about 35 week pregnant.  Little Girl arrived at 38 weeks and 2 days.  I remember jealously watching runners in the neighborhood just jogging along.  Babies are such gifts.  However, they take a lot out of you including your plans {i.e. going for a run}!  I’m also so thankful for our treadmill.  I was going to go into the gym today, but the little girl had the hiccups and needed extra help going down for her first nap.  Therefore, the window of time was lost.  Enter the treadmill.  🙂

I am really looking forward to getting to the gym this weekend.  P.S. I always walk the first two minutes at an incline and speed of 4.0.

{THREE}

Greens!  We have been eatings lots of greens.  Arugula, spinach, kale, romaine…you name it!  I went a little crazy in Sam’s Club one day this week with produce.  I mean, who doesn’t need 6 heads of romaine lettuce for three dollars and change!

The fruit we currently have:  apples, bananas, oranges, grapes, watermelon, pineapple, strawberries, and blueberries!  Veggies are:  shrooms, cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, kale medley salad mix, romaine lettuce (x6), celery, and more kale.  🙂  It makes it so much easier to avoid after-dinner desserts when there’s lots of fruit choices.  However, I believe animal crackers and popsicles are all the desserts we have right now.  We had beets earlier in the week.  They are so crazy!  Look how they dyed my hand for hours afterwards!

{FOUR}

HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training – I’m loving youtube workouts!  I did this one by Karena and Katrina of Tone It Up.  Wow!!!!  I was sweating big time and about to fall over on some of the moves.  It was only 19 minutes long!

I took the picture above when it was a beautiful day, so I had to improvise and do my own HIIT workout on the deck.

{FIVE}

Salads for Lunch – I’ve been eating a salad every day for lunch for about a week and a half.  The more variety the better!  A big change I’ve been doing with it is using one tablespoon of hummus as the “dressing.”  Try it!  Even better if you can add a bit of avocado.  My avocados are as hard as concrete.

This salad includes kale, celery, cucumber, corn, a bit of leftover roasted broccoli, one hard boiled egg, pepper, 21 Seasoning Salute {salt free from Trader Joe’s}, and hummus.  I had this with a slice of toasted bread with almond cheese {yes, fake cheese.  It was surprisingly good and had a nutty flavor.  Obviously!}.

Well, that’s it for me.  I’m so excited to pick up Big H from preschool this afternoon.  I’ve got a few balloons for the car plus three new books from Goodwill to celebrate the end of the school year.  Plus, we are headed to the “fro-yo” {H’s name for our local frozen yogurt place} to continue the celebration.  Have a great weekend!

Natalie

Soccer and Two for Church

Hi there!  I hope you had a nice first weekend of June.  The weather was supposed to be stormy for us, but we really lucked out with no rain.  It was extremely humid though.  I’ll take it!  No rain meant that Holden got to have his last practice and game of his very first sports season.  He played soccer this spring, and his team was the Gray Sharks.

Although I didn’t get to attend all his games {due to Miss Helen’s arrival}, I did get to a few.  It is such a joy to watch little kids run around!  It’s also amazing to see how big of an improvement each kid has made since soccer started.

Although I’m not one for “everyone gets a trophy!,” there was a parent who bought trophy for the team prior to doing a little parent polling.  I have to say Holden was beyond thrilled to have a trophy!  He was the most excited kid!  It may have been the combination of trophy and chocolate cupcake.  🙂  

We went over to a nearby park to let Holden play after the game and enjoy the fact that it actually wasn’t raining on a Saturday!  After having lunch at home, I went out to do some errands during nap time.  It’s amazing how much you can get done when you know you have to be home at a certain time to either breastfeed or pump.

Speaking of pumping, little Helen is getting better taking a bottle from her dad.  Yay!

On Sunday, I took both kids to church for the first time.  I have no idea how this happened, but we actually were five minute early {I’m never early!}.  

I was *hoping* Helen would sleep through most the service since it was during her nap time.  No such luck!  She woke up about ten minutes into it.  I was able to hold her and make her mostly happy during the rest of it.  I did get the gist of the sermon which was pretty good.  Holden tuned us all out while he chowed down on his snack and read his books.  He was absolutely excellent all day!  While I was getting ready for church {i.e. mopping spit-up off myself}, he read a simple picture book to Helen and talked with her on her playmat.  P.S.  Helen’s dress is one of mine/my sister’s.  It ended up around her neck most of the time at church since she was so wiggly.

I took the picture below at church in front of the Field of Flags.  Our church places a flag for each U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2003.  This year that total was 6,882.

We didn’t get to help put them up last Sunday due to Holden’s stomach bug.  It is such a moving sight to see when you go by the church.

After church, we hit up another park!  I thought it would be rainy all afternoon, so I let Holden play at the park while I fed Helen.  It was so nice and shady that it made me wish we had packed a picnic.  Here’s the neat bridge you walk across to get to kid play area…

The rest of Sunday consisted of lunch, recycling can building, phone conversations for me, and a walk for Roscoe and me.

Pictured below is Holden’s house that he decided to create.  The idea all started with his plastic marker container.  Then, he got inspired to dig through the recycling.  I helped him with the cutting/stapling/taping.

It is so cool to see how his brain works!  The paper towel roll is his “plumbing.”

Well, that was our weekend!  This week will surely go by just as fast as last week.  It’s Holden’s last week of preschool, so we’ve got some fun plans for his last day.  I’m also planning to take Helen to visit my school.  It’s hard to believe I haven’t seen the place since April!  It’s also hard to believe that she is turning 2 months old this week!  The first month seemed to go by slowly, but I think the last month went by pretty quickly.

Hope you have a great Monday!

Natalie

Memorial Day Weekend + Summer Fun List

Wow!  It’s so crazy to think this is the last day of May.  We had a great weekend, but it admittedly did not go exactly according to plans due to the rainy weather from a tropical storm off the coast.  Saturday was a great, sunny day.  We enjoyed a very brief visit to the beach.

I also got a manicure/pedicure, but I was pretty unexcited about it.  The weather was so nice.  I would have rather stayed at the beach!

I got to finish a really good book on Saturday…

Sunday was slightly eventful to say the least!  Everything started off nice and easy.  I decided to stay home from church since we would be having a visit from Poppy and Moochie soon.  I was out on the deck doing a little HIIT workout when the Mr. brought me Little H with no explanation!  Just take the baby!  When we went back inside, I realized that Holden was throwing up.  😦   Apparently, he threw up in his bed, and the Mr. was trying to get him cleaned up and…yeah, he threw up some more.  This continued for quite some time.  Eventually, he was able to sleep for a bit.  Moochie and Poppy were already on their way over for the baseball fun, so they kept on coming!  Holden perked up when they got here.  After the grown-ups had some lunch, he said he felt up to going to the game.  Off we went!  Then, the sprinkles started and became big fat raindrops once we were in the stadium.

I was super excited to be out with these guys!  Unfortunately, it was short-lived.  The game was officially cancelled a little over a half-hour from the original start time.  We’ll have to try again!

Since the weather was officially cramping our Sunday plans, my mom and I hunted (literally, we had to hunt!) down a coffeehouse open on a rainy Sunday afternoon.  We ended up at Bad Ass Coffee.

P.S. My mother is always on-point with her attire.  Please notice her patriotic themed outfit.  She also had a match purse.  I will never be that grown-up.

She said her coffee was good.  I had the decaf which was good, but it did taste like it had been made for quite some time.  The hazard of drinking decaf!

We enjoyed hot dogs, baked beans, corn on the cob, salad, and berry trifle for dessert.  It’s always so nice to have my mommy and daddy visit.  🙂

Monday was rainy!  Again!  We did get a walk in with all children – furry paws, big boy feet, and baby toes.  A Trader Joe’s trip also happened as well as a gym/Wal-Mart visit for me.  Holden watched a ton of TV this weekend with the classics, Jungle Book and Dumbo, to round out his viewing pleasure.  Even though it was rainy, it is always nice to hang out with my favorite people.  Seriously though….the sun!  Come out and stay out why don’t you!?!?

Last Wednesday, I went on a field trip with Big H’s class to a farm/strawberry patch.  So much fun!  However, also so much NOISE on the bus with all those kids!

Checking out the hive in the picture above!

Although it isn’t particularly sunny today, I do have summer on my mind.  Here’s our list from last summer…

• Sprinkler time
• Sidewalk Chalk
• Visiting all the Eastern Shore family
• Color Me Pottery {paint your own!}
• Children’s Museum in Portsmouth, VA
• Brickheadz {Lego Play Center}
• Norfolk Zoo
• Farmer’s Market
• Jamestown Visit
• Visiting Granny (& Auntie Brookie and Uncle Michael)
• Fishing Trip for Daddy, Big H, and Poppy
• Baseball Game – Try, try, try again at this one!
• Beach – Hopefully, we may even try some quick trips with me and the two H’s.
• 4th of July Parade – Holden loved being in the parade last year.  We’re looking forward to doing it again!
• Swimming Lessons
• Library Visits
• Little H’s Baptism
• 1 night getaway for me and the Mr. in July – It will be the first night away from kids since Little H’s arrival!
• Play Dates with new and old friends
• Ziplining Date with the Mr. at The Adventure Park

I’m so excited about all these things!  My personal goals for June include

• Put together easel and little table for Holden to use this summer
• Develop a little summer schedule for Big H’s days at home {He will be attending summer camp starting in July MWF for half days.} with some fun activities
• Read 3 books!
• Take Holden on a Mommy – Son date
• Run outside once a week

I’m going to be busy!  Hopefully, half this gets done.  We’re going to have a great summer with our newest addition.  🙂  Hope you are having a great Tuesday!

Natalie

 

Summer Happenings

Well well!  This summer has just about got me down in mostly a good way with lots of projects, beach/swimming days, and a few not so fun things like laundry that never ends.  Must be all those wet towels!  We enjoyed another great mommy meet-up day organized by Ali over at Mom Explores Virginia Beach.  Holden had a great time at Sandbridge Beach.  I hadn’t been to this particular beach in Virginia Beach since way back when in 2008.  Whoa!  Doesn’t feel like it was six years ago!  

Notice the super cool Spiderman sunglasses slightly askew…

Holden is growing up so much before our very eyes and loves to be a helper.  He’s pretty good at helping me do the laundry (aka put clothes in the washing machine and switching those to the dryer that I hand him), likes to dust with his “rag” and “feder duster,” and can take things to various locations around the house that I tell him to (so long as the room isn’t dark because that’s just crazy talk, Mom!).  His favorite thing to do is to help Daddy, without a doubt.  Here he is helping with a little yard work.  

Safety first with those glasses on!

There’s been lots of library trips (only one on a rainy day) and playing with Daddy.  

Excuse the child and dog alien eyes.

We also journeyed up to Gloucester, Virginia to see some family this week.  It had been quite a long time, and it was Holden’s first time visiting with them.  He quickly partnered up with his (some number that I’m not sure of) cousin, Daisy.  They didn’t let the boy-girl differences keep them from having fun.  They sandboxed it up, and she had him pushing the baby carriage by the time the day was done.  Family is so important.  Challenging, drive you crazy, makes you want to be the one person on a deserted island at times…but important.  I was so glad that it worked out for Holden and I to visit with some of ours.  

To top it all, they had a golf cart!  H was in heaven.  I’m pretty sure he got about twenty rides around their quiet acres.  

With all this fun going on, it was definitely a little sobering to prepare for our hospital visit today with H.  We headed over to the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia relatively early this morning.  He had out-patient surgery on both eyes today to open up his tear ducts.  He has had some trouble since birth with just yucky-ness in his eyes.  He also had a lovely case of the commonly referred to eye woe known as “pink eye” this past winter/spring.  I mean, who knows if it was actually spring or winter since our winter lasted until about Memorial Day.  Anywho, this surgery will help prevent  the gook in his eye that typically finds its way there after  or during a cold.  There is also the thought that it will help make him less susceptible to eye infections.  With all that logic being said, I was mildly a nervous wreak.  I’m pretty sure I gave myself a case of migraines (yes, this is self-diagnosed) and just a general yucky feeling.  Mommies worry so much about their little ones.  Even the little things, like a bumped head or a lack of vegetables, can send us over the edge.  Well, you can bet I was over the edge and then some running every possible disastrous outcome.  I did not imagine a terrorist take-over of the hospital.  You gotta draw the line somewhere people.  However, I’m pretty sure I covered every other situation in my mind.  Oh my mind, I need it, but it drives me crazy.  The Mr. did his duty when it was time for H to go back for the procedure.  He made me mad at him over something silly!  It did just the trick!  No cry cry for me.  I think he’d much rather deal with a cranky woman than a crying woman.  Ha!  I also felt a little silly for being so worked up about the whole thing since there were parents there with children who had so many more health issues than a defunct tear duct that honestly wasn’t bothering H in the least.  Here is the little ray of sunshine in his pre-surgery room looking as handsome as can be.

The nurse joked with him that he was turning into a banana.  Everyone was super nice with lots of kid-friendly toys and TVs.  We even caught an episode of H’s favorite monkey, Curious George.  P.S.  Notice the trash can in the background with “TRASH” written across it.  Well…yes, one would think.  🙂  The final update was that everything went fine.  Holden was super upset when we were called back to see him in the post-operative anesthesia unit.  After lots of cuddles from moi, some apply juice, and a few terrifying blood pressure checks, we were on our way home.  He ate a pretty good lunch and was groggy enough to ask to be put down for a “night night.”  We’re so thankful to have that behind us!  Whew!  It makes me tired just writing about all these things.  Hope your summer is going well and that you avoided any hospital stops of your own.  

 

 

 

 

Where We Are Right Now

The past two weeks have been just plain crazy and exhausting.  We decided (after great, great deliberation) to put our house on the market.  We found a real estate agent through our previous agent who is out of the country right now that we feel will really aggressively market and sell our house.  At 1,100 square feet, we are short on space especially with the possibility of expanding our family.  Now, I know this is a first world problem!  We are very blessed to have our current home with all of its amenities.  If it is mean to be, it will be in regards to a larger home for us.  

To give us a little competitive edge that we’ll need, we decided after speaking with our agent to really declutter/move larger furniture items into storage.  The Mr. (especially the Mr.) and I worked on this all.last.weekend.  Let me also say it was such a nice weekend, but we spent it hauling out furniture and making lots of trips to the storage unit.  I have to admit the house looks so much better with less clutter and just with less furniture.  It’s easier to keep neat which is really a good thing since we have to leave each day assuming that someone may be stopping by the see the house.  Potential buyers!  We also have really been taking on some home projects that had just gotten pushed to the back burner for quite some time.  This included a quick repaint, ceiling paint repair, sticking doors, repaint door trim, etc.  It’s just amazing what a little motivation can do!  

It is definitely a whole different ballgame this time as we are selling and buying with a toddler.  Holden has been such a good sport about all the busy-ness.  He actually looks at it as something new Mommy and Dada are doing that is just so darn fascinating.  

 

Holden, enjoying his boots from his Granny

 

 

 

 

 

Bundled up in this cold weather ~ When is spring going to be here!??!?!

 

 

 

Dining Room Painting Project 

 

 

H, begging for more green smoothie!  I absolutely love to see him drink one of these!  🙂

 

 

Blurry picture of H’s play kitchen ~ Yes, this is his Christmas 2014 present.  Done and done.

 

 

Our messy house last weekend!  Thank goodness it’s done!  Photo bomb Roscoe

 

Our clean, neat dining room table ~ Trying to keep fresh flowers for the “visitors,” but they are nice for us to enjoy too.

 

Visit from the street pavers ~ Holden love it.  Surprise, surprise!

 

Big boy 2 year old pictures!  By Picture People.  I got this pose in a bunch of sizes for $16 thanks to a Groupon.  

 

 

Corn/Wheat combo tortilla from Trader Joe’s with a big veggie salad including roasted broccoli, avocado, cheese, salsa, and plain Greek yogurt

 

 

I actually had a hard time not buying this.  How precious and for a Target price!

 

My little man right after he completely soaked his pants with water from his sippy cup.  Aren’t those lids supposed to be kid-proof?

 

Have a happy, renewing Sunday.  

P.S.  How relaxing is this Elmo and India Aire ABC song…

 

Just smack me already!

Well, it is the conclusion of another weekend.  I confess that I’m looking forward to being a work tomorrow to give my mind a focus on something besides the constant running theme of our home.  I confess that the Mr. and I are at a crossroad.  Do we put our home on the “market”?  Do we look at houses in this neighborhood or that neighborhood?  Do we move to another city?  What do we absolutely need in a home/a neighborhood?  What is our budget?  Is this REALLY our budget?  The questions just go on and on and on and on…  Like most women, I struggle to turn off the questions.  I’m running any ten given scenarios in my head at any time.  This weekend ramped up my questioning to an all time high!  I’m so blaming my recent I’m-a-teenager-again-with-terrible-acne bout on all these stress-causing questions.  I know that no matter what I’m going to be somewhere in a house with four walls, a roof, and the people plus dog who I love the most.  We will continue to enjoy full bellies and spending time together.  Sometimes, I really wish I could just smack all the questions right out of my head.  Hard.  Since that would just result in more issues, I’m going to share some of favorite blessings from this weekend.  Note:  The Mr. is not pictured, but he was totally the ringleader on the s’more making project.  He’s always full of good ideas and not nearly as many questions as me.

Pictured Above:  S’more making and enjoying around the gas stove, a hearty breakfast, pink tulips purchased on our snow day, new running shoes purchased with a gift card (awesome, I tell you!), Holden being my sit-up motivation when Jillian Michaels was rocking my world through the 30 Day Shred DVD, Venison Burger cooked by the Mr. in a lettuce wrap->amazing!, Holden’s fascination/obsession with birthdays (makes me so excited for his 2nd one

As you can see, I have not one legitimate complaint.  I’m whiny by nature, but I like to think I’m working on that.  Here’s to a happy, less stressful week filled with more contentment than questions!

Toddler Tantrums and How to Deal plus- We got snow!

I’m happily writing from the coziness of my home on a weekday.  School was cancelled for H and I today.  Despite the cancellation, I still got up at regular time to enjoy some yoga, coffee, and pinterest before the entertainment got up aka Holden.  He didn’t know what to make of the snow, but our dog, Roscoe, certainly knew that he didn’t like it!  He was back inside after a quick bathroom break.  Holden decided that he should just stay out all DAY!  This eventually resulted in a bit of a temper tantrum (again!  Terrible Two’s anyone?).  This led me to do some investigating about how to prevent, manage, and work with Holden when these little trying events happen.  I hit up Google aka everyone’s source to see what was out there on the web.  The Super Nanny website really broke it down for me.

For a minor episode…

• Ignoring and continuing with your day
• Use calming techniques to lower your own stress levels – deep breathing, relaxing your muscles, positive talk inside your head: ‘I will keep calm’.
• Be cheerful!  Say something like, ‘Time to stop now – I’ll count to 10’, then give plenty of praise and cuddles if the tantrum stops.

For a really major tantrum, different tactics are needed…

• Hold your child tightly, preferably making eye contact.
• ‘Time out’ can help if you find it impossible to stay calm. Time out involves putting your child somewhere safe but boring (for example a playpen, pushchair or the bottom step) for a couple of minutes. It should never be forced in anger and is not really understood by under 3’s. It may work best for parents to take it themselves! – I disagree with this statement as Holden very much understands time out.

Top Tips for Cutting Down Tantrums

• Show a good example by remaining calm when times are stressful. This encourages your toddler to do the same. – So hard for me!
• Cut down negatives – constantly saying ‘No’ will add to a toddler’s frustration. Instead, use phrases like ‘later’, or ‘after lunch’.
• Keep aware of new stresses (potty training, starting nursery) that may need more sympathy.
• Respect your child’s feelings. Feeling understood will reduce your child’s need for tantrums. Try saying, ‘I know that makes you mad’ or ‘That must have made you feel sad’. Your child will see that their feelings matter and can gradually learn to put them into words, saying “I’m angry” instead of acting it out.
• Use positive parenting – plenty of praise and attention for behaviour you do want, trying to ignore as much as possible behaviour you don’t. – I’m not all for this one.  We do praise Holden but try not to go over board with it.  For example, he’s good at cleaning up, so I won’t give him praise for every step in the process, just at the end.
• Avoid harsh discipline – shouting and punishments only make tantrums worse. – Again, so hard for me to remain calm and not raise my voice!!!!
• Use humour to defuse tricky situations – silly songs, laughter, making a game of tidying toys can all work brilliantly! A hug or a tickle at the right moment can also change a child’s mood.
• Most children do grow out of the need for tantrums when they have more language and understanding. But the way you deal with them in the toddler years is important. If they are handled harshly, with responses like yelling and smacking, or if you constantly ignore their feelings and need for comfort, they may well become worse and carry on for longer.

See here for original article.  I did edit a bit and add a bit.

In other news, this snow was Holden’s first experience.  Required pictures follow…

He really loved it!  Just walking around in it and being outside is always high on H’s priority list.  Seriously, I think he is destined to be the next wilderness man.  This child NEVER wants to come in.  No matter the temperature, hot or cold.  He would seriously stay out in stormy/rainy weather.  He does take after his mom and dad, but especially his dad.  I’m ready to head back in after about ten minutes of cold weather.  Heat, I can take any day of the week.  I’d much rather run for an hour in a humid 80-some degrees than 50 or even 60 degrees.

What is your favorite season?

Favorite snow day activities?

Stay warm!

Let’s Just Stop Pretending…

So we all know how moms (and some dads too!) post these lovely perfect pics of their little cherubs doing insanely genius and cute things on facebook and Instagram.  Believe me, I’m a definite culprit of this too.  I am also guilty of falsely believing that every child is RIGHT except my child.  I believe the lies that no other child bites a friend, no other child tests boundaries, no other mom loses it and yells, no other child is blatantly disobedient, no other child yells “NO!” back at mom or dad, no other child refuses to eat what used to be a favorite food.  The truth is that my child has just about done all those things in the past 48 hours.  He is not perfect.  He is not a child genius (I’m pretty sure about this one.  🙂 ).  He is not the most well-behaved.  He is not going to “just sit quietly” during a story.  He does not watch TV.  He is not enamored with technology devices such as iPads or other such items.  He loves books of all kinds, especially truck books.  He is thrilled to play “horse” with his daddy, and he always loves a good tickle fest.  He looks forward to each and every family visit.  He thinks every long-ish car ride is to see somebody like “Poppy, Moochie, Ganny, DeeDee, Michael, SaBeth, Cullie, Brookie, etc.”  He eats fruits and veggies (cooked in the oven only, thank you very much) like they are going out of style.  He is one photogenic dude and not bashful a bit.  He is a sweet, inquisitive boy who tries my patience on a mostly minute-to-minute basis when he is awake.  The thing about this is that he is supposed to.  He is trying to figure out the world, his place in it, and what he can and cannot do.  Is it my job to make him completely compliant?  No.  Should he be the first in his preschool class to know all his letters and sounds?  No.  Is it my job to correct ever single social and academic mistake he makes?  No.  Is it my job to provide him with parameters?  Yes.  Should I encourage him to read and talk about his world?  Yes.  Should I judge him by his peers?  This answer gets a yes and a no.  There are certain skills that we want for all children.  Yes, he should stop running from me when I call his name, especially in a public situation like the parking lot, you crazy kid!  Yes, he should play nicely and not hurt/bite ANYONE.  Yes, he should say “No, thank you” to food or things he would not like.  However, I like his spunk.  I like that he isn’t going to contently accept what I give him.  He’s going to inquire.  He’s going to investigate.  He’s going to try and figure things out for himself.  My little, strong-willed, spirited child.  My ever-changing life lesson.  My son.  Thank you for being my number one teacher about life and myself.  

 

Love you.  

Your mommy.