Less Stressed Thanksgiving

It is officially the holiday season and with that comes the holiday stress! I blinked and all of Fall is gone! It feels like it was just summer and I was just getting my oldest for school again.... and now I've put up my Christmas tree 🎄

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite memories with my family. Tons of yummy food that we get to spent all day eating and then eating so much food that everyone naps after dinner while we watch a Christmas movie🎅💤 Unfortunately I haven't lived in the same state as my family for many years but I do have friends over to help celebrate this wonderful holiday. This year I decided to try to make things easier on myself. Here is what I did to reduce stress:
● On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving: I made the desserts, a cake & pecan pie. Both take about an hour to cook and I cooked one in the morning and the other in the evening.
● On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving: I mixed up all the components for the green bean casserole and put it in the fridge. Then I made the mashed potatoes and placed them in the fridge as well. I wanted to make Stuffing muffins so I chopped up the celery and apple and placed it in the fridge. All the side dishes done!
● Thanksgiving morning: after having a simple breakfast (my family loves "Monkey Bread" which you buy in the freezer section & microwave for 2.5 minutes. Simple but so yummy!) my family helped me by cleaning the house for our guests that afternoon. Then I took out my serving plates and placed them where I was going to use them later.
● Thanksgiving afternoon: my boys went down for quiet time/nap-time while my husband started to deep fry the Turkey 🦃😍. I actually got to relax a bit before my guests arrived because everything was done.
● Thanksgiving guests arrived: I had all the appetizers out for us to enjoy. And I just had to cook the casserole and reheat the mashed potatoes and heat up the Hawaiian rolls.
Everyone helped me clean up after dinner, I used paper plates for easier clean up and then we enjoyed some time around our fire pit outside. Then dessert and a Christmas movie 🎄🎅

Next year I will be doing the same thing because it was less stress for me and I actually got to enjoy the holiday instead of being in the kitchen away from it all.
How do you deal with holiday stress? Tips?

Happy Mommy-ing!

The Button Behavior Jar

Like everything in life, my kids are always changing! The punishment system/behavior system we put in place last school year is not having the same effect this school year. I wanted to try something else, like a visual reward system, for my oldest especially. I came across this Pin a long time ago and decided to try it out:

How it works:
It is pretty basic, you use the buttons like money and then there are rules that I have set out for my oldest to both receive buttons for good behavior and get buttons taken away for bad behavior. In order for him to get 1 button he can: be good/good listening, do a chore, behave at school or behave at the store. Each one of those gets him a button. To get 2 buttons he has to: do a chore without me asking him to or  behave really well at school. And if he does very, very well at school (I get notes everyday on his behavior) then he receives 3 buttons! Now when he has "Bad behavior" I will take away 1 button per the following: being bad, having to be told "no", telling me "no" when asked to do something, or misbehaving a little at school. When he is behaving worse, he will get 2 buttons taken away per each for: very bad behavior at school/phone call from teacher, putting his hands on others or the cats (hitting, pushing, etc.) or throwing a fit instead of using his words. And the biggest offenses of them all that earn him 3 buttons taken away are: being extremely bad at school, needing a spanking or throwing a fit in public.

And on Saturdays he can "cash in" for rewards. I am hoping this works and motivates him to behave better. If this does work, I will be making something similar for my youngest.

Happy Mommy-ing!

Back To School 2018-2019!!!

The Summer is finally over!!! I know lots of moms that are so happy to have school back in session! I learned over the Summer that my boys behave the best when we are on a schedule of some sort. So our Summer week looked like this:

Something Every. Day! No wonder I didn't have any time from blogging! But it was well worth it! My boys had a great summer, we did new things and met new people and that's really all a mom could hope for. But now we are back in school mode and I am so beyond happy! My oldest needed to do something else because he was starting to get bored with everything.
Now I am NOT a last minute type of person (not that there is anything wrong with that by any means, everyone is different) heck, I already have Christmas presents in my closet! So I got pretty much everything ready for my son to go to school as soon as we got the school supply list (which we got off the Wal-Mart App! It was SO COOL!). Plus is helps so much that his birthday is at the end of the summer and he gets lots of clothes for that!
The only thing I need to do is make sure everything is in place for us in the morning because I am a very grumpy woman in the morning and anything to make it easier is a blessing, for everyone!
My Tea :

My cup with my tea and the Kettle all filled with water so all I have to do is turn it on and add sugar! 

Back-Pack:

My son's back-pack lives in the kitchen, on his chair! It only leaves once it's time to go to school and gets put right back as as soon as we get home. Makes it easier to pack and see all his school papers.

My Purse:

My beautiful Lily Jade Cailin lives at the table too! Makes it easier to pack and grab once it's time to leave!

Clothes:

My clothes for the next day, totally helps when I am half asleep!

My youngest's clothes since I tend to wait until it's time to leave to get him. It is so much better for me to not have him under foot or have the 2 of them fighting while I am doing other things around the house. Plus he is very grumpy if we wake him too early! Then I bring breakfast for him in the car.

Snacks/Lunch:

These are our lunch pails: Spider-Man for me and my youngest's snacks and space for my oldest at school

After we drop off my oldest at school, my youngest and I still follow our summer schedule of doing something everyday before nap time. And of course it helps to have a few "mommy routines" as well to help keep everything moving in the right direction:

1. I try to do 1 load of laundry (wash, dry, fold and put away) every other day so everyone has clean clothes. Last year I wasn't so on top of this and there were a few times it bit me in the rear: my oldest has long legs but a tiny waist so even though he has a lot of the next size up (because I just know he's going to grow here soon!) he still only fits in about 5 pairs of shorts right now. So keeping the laundry going is a huge help so we are not yelling in the morning that he doesn't have clean shorts.
2. I have my oldest pick out his own clothes on Sunday night and place it in this hanging divider in his closet so he can get dressed quickly.

3. I run the dishwasher at night right before I go to bed. During the day I fill it with dirty dishes so there aren't dishes piled in the sink and then unload it the next morning or after I drop off my oldest at school.
4. I have an alarm for when I need get up and one to go to bed. Sounds so funny right?! Why would I, a mom, need a reminder to go to bed? Well, when the house is finally quiet because the kids are asleep, the house is clean and everything is ready for the next day... I like to relax on the couch, watching my show (currently The Vampire Diaries!), eating those foods I don't what to share (you know what I'm talking about!) and crochet my next project in peace! Of course time would get away from me! If I didn't have my alarm, I would stay up pass 11 PM and it still takes me about 20 minutes to get ready for bed and then I don't even know how much longer it takes for my brain and body to relax enough for me to fall asleep! But I just know that with my alarm, I am in bed asleep by 10:30 PM! It helps, trust me!

Those are some of my secrets to making the week a bit less crazy during back-to-school! 

Happy Mommy-ing! 

Mommy Cards

So there's a new trend happening today among Stay At Home Moms, or SAHM, "Mommy Cards". Sounds like stationary or greeting cards but it is actually business cards for moms. Wait, I am a Stay At Home Mom... that means I have no job. These are business cards, typically used for people with jobs. So why the need for these "Mommy Cards"? What would I, as a mom, need business cards for in my life? I'm a wife and a mom with a personal blog. Not business worthy. Why invest in business cards that are probably going to get lost in my purse (link here)? 

Actually as a mom, there are many opportunities for these "Mommy Cards". This lady's blog (link here) was very informative and gave many reasons to have these cards handy as a mom:

• Setting up kids' playdates
• To leave with the babysitter
• running into someone at the store
• at offices like the dentist and doctor

Vistaprint even has many different designs for their Parent Cards as they call them (link here). There's a place for your name and then it prints out "parent of blank". Like typical business cards, there's places for address, phone, email and company name. There is also a place to put it your kid has an allergy to something, which I thought was very helpful! 

Personally, I am now volunteering at our local YMCA and I am meeting new people every week. It is much easier to hand one of these cards out to a fellow volunteer than it is to try to exchange information well kids are running around us screaming their heads off. I almost pulled out a card while I was at the bank the other day because it's easier to show my information than it is to tell it but that might just be me. I'm hopeful when summer is over and my oldest is back in school that I'll be ready to give them out to the moms. I think it is a great idea for shy people, like myself, as an ice breaker.

HAPPY MOMMY-ING! 

New Mom Bag

I recently discovered Lily Jade bags and I really really wanted one. I spent almost $300 on a freaking diaper bag! 😮Why?! Why would I drop that much money on a diaper bag?! I soon won't have a kid in diapers anymore!!! They are very highly recommended by thousands of women. And apparently they are super high quality leather but WHY?!?!? 

I consider myself pretty low maintenance, just don't ask my husband lol! But no seriously when it comes fashion and stuff like my hair, I am low maintenance. I go for as long as I can, many times well beyond the recommended time frame for getting my roots colored to cover up my grey hairs or paint my hair as my two year old says. I will fully admit I am not fashionable dresser but I am trying not to be that housewife in sweats either.

What I do love is bags! I am a sucker when it comes to a big bag with lots of pockets. I have done many posts about my numerous Thirty One bags and how I love organizing them: Mommy Purse and my most recent In-Flight bag to name a few. I am in that toddler stage where I do not need so many things when we go around town for either of my kids. My almost six year old needs basically nothing but something to eat and drink when we leave the house. My toddler really only needs snacks and diapering items to keep him happy. Of  course every mom has those miscellaneous items like medicine and first aid that you do not need daily but need to have on hand.
After looking at countless YouTube videos and watching the site daily to see if the price would drop, I was determined to save up and buy myself one for my 30th birthday after Christmas this year. Well much to my surprise, my husband told me I didn't have to wait! I never really do anything for myself and he said to just buy it during a Memorial Day sale. I felt a mixture of pure joy and excitement and at the same time selfishness and shame for spending ALMOST $300 ON A BAG FOR MYSELF!!! My husband kind of understood, last Christmas he purchased for himself a genuine leather jacket with a price tag of over $200. He loves that jacket and looks mighty fine in it 😉. So he was very supportive in my purchase of a high quality bag. I spent days looking it over, Lily Jade has many  bags to choose from but I kept looking at this one.

I loved it! After purchasing, I panicked a little about the money but once it came - I was so happy I had bought it! It's big but not heavy. I did have issues trying to pack it using the insert that comes with it and almost returned it because I just couldn't get the insert to work for me. One of the ladies that I had been talking to on a 'Buy, Sell, Trade, Chat' page on Facebook suggested I try packing it without the insert. Thank goodness for her telling me that because I love it so much more now that it actually works for me!

This bag is big enough I can carry all my crap: make-up, my snacks, 2 wallets (regular and budget envelopes), loyal cards (tip on those), Ipod, keys, phone, sunglasses...plus all my kids crap and miscellaneous items as well!

Did I mention that this bag turns into a backpack!?!? I have my Sling Back Bag from Thirty One I normally use if I know I am going some place where I need to be hands-free like the zoo or the kids play gym. But normally I'm okay not having a backpack, until I got this bag! I absolutely love that I have long straps to wear it as a normal purse and the backpack option when I need it. We went to the zoo with this bag, I take it to the library with the kids (I normally have to wear it like a backpack when we are leaving because my youngest has a meltdown over leaving and you just can't have a screaming kid at the library), I took it to the movies for Father's Day, heck you can even see it hanging from my stroller in the picture of me above!
It is my everyday bag and I feel more put together wearing it! I am completely happy with this expensive bag! I am so glad I bought it!

Happy Mommy-ing! 

Surviving Summer 2018: Weeks 2 & 3

Week 2:
We are in the second week, first full no school, of summer and after the disaster last week - I really stepped up my mommy game!
Monday, of course, was a holiday so we spend time together as a family. We went to the splash pad/park with our neighbors and then got ice cream after because it was so hot! I packed this Thirty One Utility Tote with all our splash pad/park essentials:

Towels, Swim Diaper and swim shorts for my youngest, an extra pair of clothes for him as well, sun hats for both boys, swim shorts for my oldest, all our snacks in the Summer Fun black caddy, a sunscreen stick and their cups with ice water

Everything fit with room to spare! I wore my Sling Back Backpack from Thirty One so I could be hands free with my family at the park. They loved it, first they played on the play set and then we changed the youngest into his swim diaper and my oldest into his swim shorts really quick and they jumped over to the splash pad. It was so hot that I was at the edge of the splash pad (water shoots out from the ground and kids can run and play in it). 

Tuesday we went to our local library for Family Story Time. We were almost late because this mama had a very hard time getting up and getting everyone ready to go out the door for our 20 minute drive but work in progress. We got there just as they were starting the program and thank goodness we were not the last ones in. The staff started with two interactive songs, then a story was read aloud, another two interactive songs, a second story read aloud, two more interactive songs and finally finished with a craft. It killed a good 30-45 minutes there and of course a 40 minute around trip drive. It was good to get out of the house for that time, better than sitting on the couch. I signed both boys up for the library's summer reading programs for their age groups and that starts in a few weeks. Defiantly going next week, even if it's a far drive it is only once a week. 

Wednesday we stayed home the whole day because of the heat outside and the fact that sometimes the AC in my car stops blowing cold air and it always seems to be when it is super hot outside and we are away from the house. We did go walking around the block with my neighbor but my youngest threw a fit not to have the stroller because he wanted to walk with brother, that lasted 10 minutes... 😒  

Thursday and Friday were hot as well, so being outside was very little due to the heat. Saturday we spent cleaning and decorating the house for my husband's birthday party the next day. 

Sunday we went to the Zoo and had a great time! It was hot and my AC did stop halfway home, which was 30 minutes away, but it was fun. (New Blog about how we take our kids to the zoo soon!)

Week 3: 

Unfortunately my husband had to drive across the country due to a family emergency so I have been flying solo this whole week, also why this post has 2 weeks instead of 1. It has been a full and hectic week with my two little men by myself. Because my husband left Monday afternoon around nap-time, the kids and I spent time with him before he left and then were unhappy and missing him the rest of the day. 

I did not sleep well Monday night, I never do when he is not there, but we still barely made it to the local library for story time. Then ran a few errands and I got my hair cut and grey hairs "painted" over at the salon... complete with my two boys there with me. And to my great surprise, they were very good! I took my fold-able plastic hand basket with their tablets and headphones and my Summer Fun Caddy filled with snacks and snacks and more snacks!

Wednesday was hot again, I mean I do live kind of in the South and it is summer -- so when is it not hot?! We did go walking with my neighbor around the block in an attempt to tire out my boys before nap-time. And this time I took our wagon and did not allow my youngest to dictate whether he was walking or not; I am the boss after all. 

That night both of my boys were up every hour for some reason: the youngest pooped and needed a diaper change, the oldest heard the cats fighting and they hit his bedroom door, the oldest heard the fire station sirens go off as they left to fight a fire.. things that they normally don't wake up from. I decided, even though I was SO TIRED, to wake up an hour before them in order to get out of my grumpiness. I was very very tired but I woke up at 7 AM instead of rolling out of bed at 7:59 AM when they normally come downstairs at 8 AM. We went to Walmart to get a few things and some caffeine for this mama. Then made it home it time for a walk around the block with my neighbor before nap-time. That night I decided to set my alarm for a "bedtime" alarm so that I could get my butt off the couch, stop crocheting and get myself ready for bed and then into bed at a decent time. It worked! I was in bed and asleep by 10:30 PM and thank all that is good we all slept the whole night!!! 

Yesterday I did more to play with my kids, we built Legos and played video games and watched a movie during dinner (hey, it is the only way I can get them to stop playing around and eat when their daddy is away.). I cleaned out my dresser drawers and got rid of a lot of too small clothes. 

This morning while the muffins were baking for breakfast, we did some yoga moves and other exercises to get them awake and get some energy in them (not that they need more!) and I was able to start working out a bit too, got some weight I want to lose. 

Summer seems to be a work in progress every week but that is life with kids! I bought myself this shirt because it pretty much defines my life: 

Happy Mommy-ing!

Surviving Summer 2018: Week 1

My kids have been home 3 days and already I am ready for school to start again! I would say I'm ready to kill my kids but some people find that phrase a bit harsh, I would not actually kill my own children just so we are all clear on that. So my little "plan" for a summer schedule, 😂 basically a joke! Here is my outline, brainstorm, whatever that I thought would work and has not so far:

Let's explore the reasons why this "Summer Schedule" is not working so far this summer: 

1. We live in the south, yesterday around 9 AM the temperature was already 76° with the humidity making it feel like is it really 83°. So "outdoor play" after 9 AM, let alone walking around the block at 11 AM before nap-time, will not be possibles due to extreme heat most days.   

2. While we are on the subject of issues outside: this spring/summer I have been having terrible allergies! I have taken some allergy medicine and besides the nasal spray I received from the doctor's (which I am now out of, of course) nothing else seems to be working against my watery eyes, itchy throat, and runny nose. And then at night when it is finally not so hot, all the mosquitoes seem to bite only me! 

3. Being home only 3 days so far this summer with my kids has shown me that we need to do something everyday to get out of the house. During the school year, we were up and out the door each morning by 8 AM to take my oldest to school and then some days ran to a store for food or whatever. So far this summer, we have been home all day, everyday. My oldest who was use to recess and school has been sitting around in the house for 2 straight days. No wonder they are climbing the walls and acting up! So next week I have a few activities scheduled outside of the house; we will see how that goes.

4. Probably the biggest factor to this whole system working is - ME! It's summer, I want to be lazy, sleep in, enjoy not having to be up and out the door by 8 AM anymore. But if I am not ready to do stuff, if I have not gotten enough sleep the night before or if I have a massive headache (I'm home alone with a 2 year old and a 6 year old that have cabin fever!) then all the planning in the world is worth nothing. It starts and ends with me! I know my kids need to burn off all that extra energy, if they did - there would be no energy left to act out or misbehave.

So I need to get on my game and stop being a bump on a log as my grandmother used to say. Here's hoping next week is better! 

Happy Mommy-ing! 

Corralling Gift Cards and Freebie Cards

I love getting gift cards as presents and love getting those freebie cards from Bath and Body Works and Victoria Secret in the mail! I mean who doesn't like free stuff?! The issue I have with those freebie coupons are they tend to get lost in my purse/wallet. I have a Thirty One Perfect Cents wallet that I love!

But the issue was that with all the freebie coupons (most stores send out 2 to 3 at a time that you can use together) and the gift cards we have- it was bulking up my wallet a little too much.

Well while watching some YouTube videos on a new diaper bag I'm thinking of purchasing soon. So Jordan Page from fun, cheap or free shared this tip in a video (link here) while she was pulling things out of her diaper bag, or what she called a "Black Hole". I did her tip in literally a minute and I already had cashiers at the stores comment on how smart or awesome it was - so I had to share!
Take a binder ring and open it up:

Next take a hole puncher and punch a hole in the corners of all the gift cards and freebie cards and thread them thru the ring.

And that's it! I like to have the freebie cards in front of the gift cards because I will probably use them first, but you organizer however you see fit for you! Now all my cards are in one place in my purse where I can easily find them without bulking up my wallet! I love this tip! It's so easy and kind of like, "Why didn't I think of that?!" 

Happy Mommy-ing!

My Plan for Surviving Summer With 2 Under 6

The school year is almost over and soon I will be with both my kids nearly 24 hours a day. We live in a very hot and humid area so I cannot throw the kids outside for hours upon hours without having to take them to the hospital from heat stroke. And sitting around, watching TV all day is not going to be an option neither, no matter how tempting that sounds to mommy! So what to do? Well of course Pinterest has SO MANY ideas for summer schedules for kids. The best thing to do when it comes to finding schedules on Pinterest is to adapt it to work into your life.
My oldest son recently had a random Tuesday off  and I decided it would be a great opportunity to try out my version of a summer schedule and for the most part it seems like it's going to work.
This is my take on a Summer Schedule:

You might notice that my kids do not bathe everyday and that is because they both have very sensitive skin so too much bath-time irritates them. And on Saturdays we sit down after bath-time in our jammies to watch a family movie that was the theme from dinner. Again this was a Pinterest idea but I completely love it! So like tonight is Saturday and we are watching Disney and Pixar's The Incredibles! The dinner menu is: Hero Submarine sandwiches, Spiral noodles, fruit and string cheese and maybe ice cream during the movie... maybe just popcorn since my kids get too hyper from sugar and the whole point of a Family Movie night is for quiet family time. Here is the link to my Pinterest board of all the Movie Nights and themed dinners I have found and are going to try this year. This is a tradition that we started a few months ago and we are really enjoying it! It's something that they look forward to every week, we get to share our favorite movies with our kids and when family visits - they can join in on the fun without it being awkward. 

This, of course, is just my plan for Summer. My oldest still has a few weeks of school left, so here's hoping that it works out and the beauty of this schedule is that if it doesn't work - there is room for change.

Happy Mommy-ing!