Surviving Our Income Tax Appointment

It's Income Tax Time! My husband and I have always gone into an office to get our taxes done just in case something goes wrong or we fill out something the wrong way. This post is about how we took our 5 and 2 year olds into an office and how they behaved well in a cubicle for our appointment that lasted an hour and a half: 

1. We Prepared Before-Hand: Whenever there is a chance for me to print off forms and fill them out at home, I do. The Tax Office told us what forms to fill out and what documents to bring with us when we called to set up our appointment. I found all the things I needed and once I filled out the forms, I put them all into an accordion file. 

All of our papers were safe from the rain and kids in this folder

2. We Brought Quiet Activities: I have done a few posts on all the quiet time activities I have for my kids (link here to Ultimate Busy Bag Post). I brought our Restaurant Kit (link Here) with us as well as some small blocks and this V-Tech Tablet my youngest got for his birthday but it also helps my oldest with his letters and numbers. Most of the time my youngest sat in my husband's lap coloring and eating while my oldest sat playing with the V-Tech toy, then the blocks on the floor since he decide the blocks needed to fall down after he built a tower with them. 

Our Restaurant Kit, V-Tech tablet toy and blocks

3. We Had Snacks: Snacks are the #1 thing that keep our 2 year old from having meltdowns every minute! We always have packed with us: a sippy cup with half juice/half water, fruit snacks, some type of cookie and some type of cracker. This time we almost brought extra cereal in a snack container, mini water bottle, mini juice bottle, cereal bars and extra fruit snacks. 

This is not all we took with us, there was a lot more! This was all that was left!

4. When All Else Failed, We had the Tablet with Headphones and Movies: I don't know where my husband got this headphone splitter years ago but it helps us out so much! I brought their headband headphones (LOVE THESE!!), Tablet and tablet stand. We ended up not needing this until the very end. My youngest was okay watching a movie after he got tired of sitting on my husband's lap while my oldest sat on the floor building with the blocks.

Headband headphones, headphone splitter and tablet stand. My oldest has his tablet for nap time right now.

5. Mommy's Secret Weapon! I didn't end up needing this Secret Weapon but I had it stashed away in my purse in the event I needed to calm or bribe one or both kids to behave. It works every time! 

We did it! We got through our appointment with one meltdown from each kid but it was quickly resolved by a snack or new activity! No one had to go to the car or take a kid home, no one got stressed out and no weird looks from anyone so I would call today's appointment a success! 

Happy Mommy-ing!

Surviving 2 Under 6 While Flying Alone

We are going on our 7th snow day and I am finally feeling almost normal sick wise so I finally unpacked the last of our stuff from our trip to Disneyland.
I flew with my two boys (ages 5 and 2) alone and I prepared and researched activities, apps, and snacks for months prior to our flight. I OVER-PACKED AND OVER PLANNED! I had so much packed that my bag would not zip closed! 

I had:

•  2 coloring books
• 2 packs of crayons
• felt street Busy Bag with toy cars
• the pill box pom pom color game
• a Melissa & Doug Water Wow
• Travel pack Color Wonder
• a kid's tablet
• an old phone with baby games
• my Surface Pro
• headphones for us all
• a headphone splitter
• blankets for both kids (I wore a blanket scarf)
• packed breakfast boxes
• 2 kids' thermoses (I purchased a bottle of water, a bottle of apple juice to split, and a highly caffeinated soda for me once we got through security)
• a bag of suckers for the take off and landing
• extra snacks
• extra clothes (pants, socks, shirt for youngest and shirt for oldest)
• 3 times the amount of diapers and wipes I normally have (8 diapers and a full thing of wipes)
• both disinfecting wipes and travel spray
• travel flush-able wipes for my oldest
• 2 extra pacifiers (his Wuby pacifier with animal attached and extra pacifier)
• my wallet 
• my keys
• my IPod (which I forgot to charge) 
• pill box with medicine for us all
• an external battery pack with three charging cables
• the homemade bib my friend made me (since my youngest won't use the disposable bibs, he just stares them off)
• a wet bag in case I needed to change them
• my zipper pouch that had odds & ends (lotion, chapstick, tide pen, pouch food straw attachment, toy teethers, extra pacifier clip, band aids, diaper rash cream, sunblock stick) 
• and of course my stroller! 

Holy crap! No wonder the bag didn't zip shut! Even with my oldest carrying his own backpack and my youngest little backpack being clipped to the stroller... I still carried a diaper bag and a computer bag plus blankets. We did have about an hour layover both going and coming home but but the time we deplaned, found the bathroom to go potty and change the diaper, then find a store to get some snacks, and a Dr. Pepper for mommy and found our next gate we had maybe 20 minutes before they called us to board the plane so not very long. 

Everybody's kids are different. Some kids need a bunch of activities to keep them entertained and don't like to eat or snack all the time. I quickly found out I did not need half of the stuff I had brought with me:The toy cars were fine but I didn't need the street because there wasn't enough room to build it. The pom pom game got thrown on the ground under the seat in the airplane so that didn't work. My oldest liked his Color Wonder little pack better than the bigger coloring book with the small colored crayons because they easily got lost and the Color Wonder markers were easier for him to find and put away. My youngest didn't like either coloring option because he just threw the markers and colored crayons on the floor and tried to color on the seat. However he did really enjoy the Melissa & Doug Water Wow coloring system. 

It's cardboard with a little non drip water pain that you color on to reveal things in the picture. It's about 3 or 4 pages long, nice size pages that once you've colored them all you wait for them to dry and then you do it again! It kept him entertained the longest.

The suckers, although they were hit, caused both of my kids to become very very hyper and that's just not something you want when you want them to sit still and be quiet on a plane full of people! So for my kids coming home instead of the suckers on takeoff and landing, I gave them some medicine (Kid's Tylenol and Kid's Dramamine, not at the same time! Kid's Dramamine on take off so they would go to sleep and Kid's Tylenol, 1/2 their normal dose, little bit before landing). The pill box also had: Aleve, Sudafed, Pepto Bismol, Anti-poop medicine, Dramamine, Kid's Tylenol tablets and Kid's Pepto Bismol. 

On our layover they ate the breakfast boxes I made them which had: mini muffins, pop tarts, dried apples, yogurt melts for my youngest, cereal and breakfast cookies. They could eat whatever they wanted because they both had the same things (expect the yogurt melts) and it was a huge success making nose the only issue I had is I packed them vertically so a little spilled but not much. 

The tablets were obviously a huge hit! I got a bunch of their favorite games and about four of their favorite movies downloaded to work in airplane mode. I also purchased $5 headphones per each kid. The problem was my youngest didn't like having his headphones on and my oldest headphones broke halfway during the trip so that meant no movies and Note tablet because neither one of them could use my earbuds. I wish we would have gotten these before the trip but for Christmas we got them headband headphones, it's exactly what it sounds like it's a soft headband that goes around their heads and it has built-in speakers that go over their ears. They're about 20 bucks each depending on where you buy them from, and they're perfect we should have purchased them before the trip because both my boys have fallen asleep in the car wearing them and my youngest no longer has an issue wearing them and they don't fall off at all. So if you have kids with tablets I highly highly recommend you purchase some headband headphones especially for your kids that are younger! They are a lifesaver and my youngest's currently stay in our diaper bag so that when he wants to use my phone at the grocery store I don't have to hear it anymore. Plus the headbands fold-up and the ones we got are washable, the speakers come out and we can wash the headband.

On Left: The new headband headphones we love! Plus they have a volume restriction so the kids can't turn up their tablets too loud. The old phone for my youngest and their shared tablet (although it's really more used by my oldest) and the headphone splitter under it and the cheap, always falling off kids' headphones on the right.

I limited the amount of fluids both my boys drank before getting on the airplane and since I gave them medicine on take off, they slept the majority of the flight. My oldest did not need to use the bathroom on the plane and he was very good at holding it till we got to the airport and found one. I could've pack only 3 or 4 diapers and would have been fine with a travel-size pack of wipes for my youngest instead of the 10 I packed and a full thing of wipes. It would have saved me a lot of room in my diaper bag! And although it's always nice to have extra clothes in your diaper bag, both my boys are older -they're not babies anymore so I probably could have left my extra clothes in my suitcase and not packed in the diaper bag. And I also didn't need my an extra clothes for both my boys packed into a Ziploc bag and my wet bag both in my diaper bag. I should have simplified my odds and ends pouch - I didn't need a sunblock stick in my diaper bag for the airplane. I didn't need 3 charging cables for the external battery pack, and I really should have charged my iPod the night before!

So the next time I fly with my kids I will make sure that I have a simplified packed diaper bag with:

•  3-4 diapers (Hopefully next time I will not need diapers at all)
• travel wipes
• still both travel-size disinfecting wipes and travel spray
• a zipper pouch (band-aids, food pouch attachment, chap-stick, diaper cream, travel lotion, 1 pacifier with extra clip)
• travel flush-able wipes
• the pill box with medicine for us all

Activities for my boys (in each of their backpacks):

• a charged tablet with a couple of their favorite movies
• headband headphones
• their favorite blankets
• Color Wonder travel set for my oldest and the Water Wow for my youngest
• 1 toy car each
• snacks

I added carabiner clips to both their backpacks so when I had to hold them, I could easily hook them to the stroller 

My tip for you Moms is - don't overthink it. You know your kids, and most likely you'll be the one carrying everything. You don't need to take everything in the kitchen sink just take what you think will entertain your kids the best and keep them well-behaved on the airplane.

 Happy Mommy-ing!

How We Survive A Snow Day

We live where it doesn't snow too often but when it does, whether it's a little or a lot, the schools all close as a precaution. Even my husband is off from work. Every one is home! For a momma that has come to really appreciate nap time where I get a few hours of peace and quiet, I hate snow days. I'm not a snow person, I've fallen twice on iced sidewalks and when there's ice and snow.... I stay indoors! However, since we are all stuck in the house together, there are a few things I can do to make the day better:

1. Plenty of snacks! The most important thing we need to survive a snow day is food. Most people eat when they are bored, so it helps to have snacks in the house. My kids and myself snack on pretty much the same things all the time. It is my husband that gets bored eating the same stuff. So in order to keep the peace and make sure he doesn't Hulk out and start eating food I need for dinners this pay period, I stocked up on a variety of snacks for us all. Plus plenty of hot teat for me as I'm still getting over being sick.

2. Crock Pot Dinner! Cold days just seem to be the most fitting time to cook delicious dinners in the crock pot and that's doubly certain for snow days! Nothing better than smelling dinner cooking all day while your warm and comfy under a blanket.

3. Comfy clothes! I'm not going outside in this horrible weather so it's perfectly okay for me to stay in my pajamas all day! My mom got me these awesome Peter Pan ones for my birthday and they are superb for a cold day like today! I'm all comfy and warm under a blanket.

4. Snuggle Buddies! Any mom or pet owner will agree, there's nothing better than cuddling with your baby (human or animal). During nap time my favorite fur ball, Scat Cat, curled up with me while I watched Netflix.

5. Something good to watch! Movie marathon is what we normally do during snow days. Our favorites are the Toy Story and Cars trilogies. Put that together with everything else I have listed and we have the perfect snow day! A restful, warm, laid-back snow day.

Happy Mommy-ing! 

Happy New Year!

It's a new year which means a lot of people are changing and making resolutions to be better in the coming year. Common resolutions are: eat better, lose weight, less time on social media, quit a bad habit. This is when can diets skyrocket and gym memberships soar. For me it's a bit different. Sure I could lose that last few pounds from my sons, I could eat better because I eat too much sugar, I could go back to college and get a degree. I, however, wanted to focus more on how I interact with people, mostly my kids and my husband. 

1. I want to laugh more with my kids: I'm too serious most of the time. I like things planned out, I thrive when things are organized and when everything falls into place. Enter in kids... absolutely nothing about them goes as planned! Normally that stresses me out and everyone knows a stressed out mom is not something you want to be around. So how will I do this? How will I go against what comes naturally to be a happier mom? While we were visiting California my mom taught me how to pick and choose my fights with my kids and when to stop and allow natural consequences to happen. For example: if my 5 year old son refuses what is for dinner, he goes to bed hungry and has to wait for breakfast the following morning (of course we're not talking feeding him liver and onions! I try very hard to have at least 1 thing on the table I know my kids will eat). That's a natural consequence, instead of sitting there yelling at him to eat which causes stress on everyone. Now, of course there are some things I can't allow to slide because of his age. Things like doing: his homework, brushing his teeth, picking up his room, feeding his cat... if I allowed natural consequences for those things I might end up with a call from his teacher because he's fallen behind in school, a huge dentist bill for cavities, toys missing and walking hazards during the middle of the night when he screams from a bad dream, and a dead cat or a new chore for me. Obviously his age is a major factor with natural consequences because his maturity level is not there yet. But it works for some things and I'll be better at picking those battles worth fighting rather than fighting them all.

2. Budget better because that will lead to better things: My husband and I were fortunate enough to take the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace class from my parents' church almost a decade ago and it has helped us financially in so many ways! It's worked well for many years except a few areas. We live very far from our families and we were budgeting out more money twice a month for when they visit only 3 times a year but we were budgeting very little for our own family entertainment per month. So that was a pretty easy fix, we just switch around the amounts so we had more money as a family per month and made new rules for the "family in town" money. It's only to be used when a family member is in town, we go back home to visit, or birthday gifts for family members if we do not have money elsewhere. That's it. Another thing we did in the budget was create a "kids fund". Both my husband and I get allowances per paycheck but most of the time I use my portion to buy things for the kids whether it was shoes or a school function or medicine, it's almost always for the kids. While my husband uses his money on him so it created lot of resentment between us. I got mad at the fact I never had any money but he always had money. He always seemed happier while I was using my money for things the kids needed. So we decided we could afford to set some money aside every paycheck to dedicate for our kids. Things like field trips, growth spurts in either clothes or shoes, and medications. Or little prizes, we are taking them to see Paw Patrol Live! this weekend and we have money budgeted out for each of them to be able to pick out a souvenir so that will come out of the kids fund so it doesn't have to come out of our regular fund. That also means that my money I can use on me and for the first time in about 5 years I have purchased shoes that I needed instead of waiting for my birthday or getting cheap knock-offs.

3. Be more productive without adding too much stress: I have binge watch entire seasons of shows on Netflix. My current obsession is Grey's Anatomy and it's super easy to just sit on the couch and watch episode after episode without doing anything, especially school days and during nap time. No one bothers me, my husband is normally at work, my oldest is at school and my youngest is in his room either sleeping or resting in his crib. So I could easily watch 2 or 3 episodes without being interrupted. The trouble is during that time, I'm eating or crocheting and doing nothing else. So I've decided to try to get more done while still binging. I can unload/load the dishwasher while the tea kettle is heating up and most of the time I'm done by the time it's done boiling, of course we all know you can hold laundry while watching tv. I can sweep up or get my little hand vacuum to clean up little messes during the credits and start of a new show or dust during a show. My kids will now pick up before dinner and a fan before bed (if they play after dinner instead of getting baths) and my youngest will pick up, with my help, before nap. With all that, there's not much that needs to be done!

So if I'm picking my battles better, managing our money better, and tidying our house while watching my show that all equals up to a much happier me!

What's your New Year's Resolutions?

Happy Mommy-ing!