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!

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!

Mom Bag: No More Diaper Bag

There's a new trend going on these where moms of older toddlers (above the age for 2 years old) are letting go of carrying around a huge, fully loaded diaper bag. I know I have stopped doing so, unless we are going super far away from our house. I used to have a smaller diaper bag always packed and ready to go (link here) but it got to the point that I hated carrying around 2 bags still. Mom of 2, running after a toddler that refuses to sit in the cart or hold your hand - juggling 2 bags was NOT working for me. Or I would leave the small diaper bag in the car and then he would need a diaper change - so that did not work out either. So there are lot of moms on YouTube that were doing "What's in my bag" videos calling them "Mommy Editions". There are also a few Pins on Pinterest about "Ditching the Diaper bag" and "Mom Bag Essentials", both of which are good things to Pin and read later.
So what is a "Mom Bag"?! It is a diaper bag and a purse all in one! There are numerous versions out there but in my case it is a pouch for my kids' needs inside my everyday purse. Stuff that I may need when we are out grocery shopping or other errands. Mine is very basic, very bare minim because I have redone my car to have more of the kids' needs inside it so I can carry less on me (post coming soon on Mommy Car).

When we are out running errands there's really only 3 things that will keep my youngest happy (most of the time my oldest is in school while we are running errands) 1. a sippy cup of juice, 2. my phone or my Kindle Fire with kids apps on it and finally 3. tons of snacks! As long as he's eating, he's happy. So like I said, there is not a lot I carry with me at all times. My new purse is from Thirty One and it's the Cross-body Organizing Tote and I love it! It took some moving around to get use to it but I love it! Everything that I had in my purse (post link here) is in my Thirty One Super Swap It Pocket, so I just took that thing out and placed it in my new purse no problem. This new tote has 2 mesh side pockets which are perfect for my youngest's sippy cup and I bottle of soda for me (mom of a toddler - we need caffeine!). Then it has 2 outside front pockets for my cell phone, sunglasses, mittens because it's February, and Ipod. Even the Kindle in a case fits in these front pockets! Not sounding like too much kids' stuff right?

I carry with me at all times a Thirty One Pocket a Tote, clear zipper pouch with 2 size 4 diapers, a travel pack of wipes (when this runs out, instead of spending $2 for 18 wipes, I am just going to put some wipes from home in a Ziploc baggie to save some money), some fruit snacks to stop those terrible-two meltdowns and small suckers as a last resort.

In addition to that clear zipper pouch and sippy cup, when I know we are going out to run errands I throw in tons of snacks for him: cereals bars, crackers, cereal, cookies and a pouched food of some sort (not all of these but a few things) and I'm all set! So as long as I have a sippy cup, snacks, entertainment and diapering needs for my youngest.. my purse is the perfect Mom Bag!

Happy Mommy-ing! 

My Cures for the Hun-Angry Mommy Monster

I'm a mommy of two, as many of you know, and like many mommies out there there's not always time for me to sit down and eat a meal without having to share it with my youngest or make both kids something too. The new lingo is putting hungry and angry together to make hun-angry, and I think that describes the majority of the hungry mommies out there! We have to share our food with our children and many of us hide the foods we don't want to share and eat them during nap time or behind a closed door or when our back is turned and stuff it all in our mouth quickly. These are a few of my quick go-to food that I love. They're not necessarily the best thing but they're quick so yummy to eat.

I suffer, not suffer - live with PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder, like severe PMS -a blog on that coming soon!) after my second pregnancy so I get cravings like I'm pregnant, but I'm not, and some of these are my current cravings that I've had for about 6 weeks.

So from the photo above I'll start left to right:
• Easy Mac/Rice A Roni Instant: these are my go-to hot/microwave lunches. If I have the time, I do prefer to make Mac and cheese from the box because, in my opinion, it tastes WAY better. But the instant is good when I'm in a time crunch. The Rice A Roni is super good and I like eating the chicken flavor with ketchup. I can't make this from the box to safe the life of me, I always burn it, so I love this! About 3 to 4 minutes for each in the microwave with a little water and I have a hot lunch!

• Dr Pepper/Mnt Dew Kickstart: I always drink one of these a day. I haven't met a mom yet that doesn't need some form of daily caffeine, especially moms of toddlers. Dr Pepper has one of the highest contains of caffeine for a soda per can and I love these tiny bottles so I can re-close them and take them in my bag without the fear for them spilling or needing to drink it quickly. The Kickstarts are wonderful! It's an energy drink without the added chemical junk most other energy drinks have added to them. It's only 80 calories and tastes great!

• Hormel Gatherings Snack Tray: above is what is left of my "grown up Lunchables". I absolutely love these in the honey ham/mild cheddar cheese flavor. They last about 3 times eating and although it's probably not the best thing for me to be eating, the way I see it is I'm eating protein which is always a good thing.

• Naked Brand- Green Machine/Sparkling Ice- Cherry Limeade: I don't drink these every day, these on on occasion because they are a little pricey. I love Naked Brand Green Machine in the mornings when I want to feel healthy, I feel like I'm doing something good for my body by drinking it. I hate green foods! I don't eat salads, rabbit food I call it, so this drink has all those green salad-y veggies inside it along with fruits to make it taste yummy! I love cherry limeade! I prefer the Walmart brand Clear Sparkling water because it's clear and cheap but the bottle is 32oz, heavy and huge, it doesn't fit in my bag or my car cup holders. So I do like that this bottle is smaller and easier to take along with me and I just recently found them in an 8 pack of cans so I a excited to start getting those soon.

• Little Debbie Snack Cakes: I am currently obsessed with these yummy, oh-so-bad for you cakes! They are 300 calories per pack of two, as my husband likes to point out since we are trying to exercise and be healthier as a family. But these are another craving from PMDD and I can't go a day without eating these.

•BelVita Breakfast Cookies/Stash Fusion Breakfast Black & Green tea: these are a morning staple for me! The breakfast cookies we have Monday thru Friday in the car while we wait to drop off my oldest at school, I have 2 and my youngest has 2. They are very tasty, have whole grains and are very easy to take with us. They are messy when they break but other than that I love these! The Stash Fusion Breakfast Black and Green Tea is a morning staple for both me and my husband. I have it every morning, I'm a mess without it. I do not like coffee and I like that it has green tea in it but it doesn't taste like green tea. I do put too much sugar in it but I am slowly cutting back the amount I put into my morning tea (I drink decaf black tea at night). We have to order it on Amazon but it's well worth it.

•PEZ Candies: I absolutely love PEZ candy!  I use to buy the dispensers with three candies, sometimes you can find the refill hanging pack that has six candies and that's okay too if you can find it. I ran across this huge bag at my local Toys R Us and bought two bags of it!! I love these candies because they're so small, I stash them in my car for meltdowns, I stash them in my purse for me or to calm my kids. I can hide these under a blanket if I am crocheting on the couch and eat them right in front of my kids. I love these candies!

• Not pictured: some of my other favorite snacks are Fiber One strawberry cheesecake bar, Quaker mini rice cakes in Caramel, Simply Balanced fruit leather in strawberry from Target, drinkable yogurt  in a strawberry flavor and whole grain Goldfish/Cheez-itz (I mean, what mom of a toddler doesn't eat Goldfish crackers?!). I need to drink more water so I do like Crush brand grape water enhancer packets. I keep one in my purse, I really need to get better at drinking one or two a day. They do contain aspartame which is not good for you but I hate drinking plain water so a little bit of aspartame is better than no water at all in my opinion.
Well those are my cures for the Hun-Angry Mommy Monster. What are your cures for your Hun-Angry mommy monster?

Happy Mommy-ing