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! 

   

 

DIY Play Stove, Play Grill and Storage

While we were visiting family across country a few weeks ago, both my boys highly enjoyed playing in my mom's classroom - especially the play kitchen she had. The last year for both of their birthdays, my mom got them Melissa and Doug Wooden play food sets that they both love! One set even came with the box doubling as a grill top with Velcro strips on it so the food stays on it.

This is so cool that the box doubles but I had an issue with my youngest standing on top of the box since he had to play with it either on our couch or the floor. There had to be a better way where he could play with it and I didn't have to watch him to make sure he wasn't standing on it. Play kitchens are really cool but on the pricey side - enter Pinterest to the rescue! As per norm, there were a ton of ideas! Most of them were made out of nightstands or small dressers and that was a little bigger and more money than I was wanting. Then I came across this one and it seemed perfect! Link Here This lady used a normal, plastic 3 drawer storage cart that you can get just about anywhere, took vinyl cutouts and made it into a play stove! I don't have a vinyl machine, so I decided to use good old felt and hot glue!

I traced and cut out grey circle, then straight black strips and glued them together. Once they were dry, I glued them on top of the storage drawers like a stove-top. Done! My kids now have a place to put the play food they already had within the 3 drawers and a play stove on top. We took a trip to our local Dollar Tree and found some play food and cooking utensils to had to their collection. 

And a basket that I had another idea for but my kids like it more for their play food, I can always buy myself another one for what I was going to use this one for. 

Now to re-use that box that has a grill on it. I decided to just buy PVC pipe and elbow connectors to make a stand for the box to sit on. My husband actually helped me out with this project by cutting all the PVC piping for me and he made my vision come to life! It is perfect! I also decided not to glue the pipes together so when/if I need to break it down to store it, I can. It turned out great! And now my kids have 2 play kitchen sets for under $35! 

Happy Mommy-ing!