Mothership Confessional

Today was one of those "mom days" where everything seems to be under control and going well. It was one of those days where you have little victories with your kid, so you start to feel like an awesome mom. Like, "yeah, I've got this!" Like Mary freakin' Poppins. And then the next thing you know, all your success comes crashing down and you feel like the sticky gum on the underside of a shoe. Motherhood is funny like that. Your day can literally turn on a dime. It's sooooooo  funny. (that's sarcasm, btw.) Here's my story. Read on, because I know  you'll relate!! This morning was like any other morning, the usual sleep-til-my-kids-wake-me-up-because-hubby-is-out-of-town with a little okay-okay-I'll-get-your-breakfast-going and then some alright-go-play-or-watch-a-show-or-whatever. Pretty standard morning over here lately. We had a music class to go to at the library, so I went upstairs to get myself ready. I needed a s...

I spent several hours DEALING WITH MY KIDS' TOYS the other day. I like to rotate their toys, but I haven't done it in several months, and it was way overdue! I'm going to tell you WHAT toy rotation is, HOW to do it, and WHY you should do it! Kids have a lot of toys, and it seems like they never seem to play with all of them and there's never enough space to organize them! With toy rotation, you put at least half  of the toys away, and rotate them out every so often. This controls the mess (to a degree), creates new interest in old or forgotten toys (maybe because all the toys can actually be seen ), and makes for a happier, cleaner home! A lot of my personal struggle with toy rotation is simply the logistics  of it. You'll need to have space to store toys where the kids cannot access them. This could be a closet, basement, a room away from the usual play area(s), or even a locked cabinet. Storage space is something a lot of us struggle with, I think! And oft...

Well, he went and did it - little Liam, little 8 pound, 5 ounce Liam , turned one year old!! We had a little party for him this weekend to celebrate. And I made one of those chalkboard posters for him, and it really made me stop and think about these last 365+ days with him. Liam was born 5 days early. My due date was February 27. He could have been a leap year baby!! How crazy would that have been?! He was heavy and I carried him low. I had lots  of pelvic pain with him. I remember during the last few weeks that I disliked squatting to get things out of the bottom of the fridge because it felt like he was going to fall out!! My sweet little boy entered this world via c-section, and it was pretty amazing. I was unconscious for Ava's delivery, so this was my second child, but really the first birth I actually got to experience. And it was love at first sight, for sure! My sweet little surprise. Liam is quite the little man! I can't get over just how m...

Welcome to my Let's Play! series!! My first "official" post is going to be kind of a summary on my feelings on why telling your child "Let's Play!" is so important! So what is "play" and why is it so important, anyway? Playtime for kids is a HOT topic lately. There are some big stories floating around about it - have you seen the one about schools that are doubling/tripling recess times and seeing improvements in students' work because of it? Playtime for our kids is complete freedom.  Open-ended activites where they can make their own choices and interact with their peers under their own choosing. Playtime is where children's minds can rehearse favorite activites, explore new possibilites, and foster friendships and find commonalities with peers. It's a lot of self-discovery and learning about their environment! It's where they explore "what happens if..." and learn the positive and negative consequences of th...

So I haven't done one of these posts in a long  time because life got a little crazy! And it still is - but I was feeling like I needed to do something Ava-focused that is new and exciting for her! I've always wanted to make sensory bins for her, but I've been waiting for her to pass the phase where she puts everything in her mouth. The last time I tried this activity with her I was about 20 weeks pregnant with Liam and Ava was around 15 months old, and she would take fist fulls of rice and shove it in her mouth at our playgroup!! So now that she is 2, I feel that she is ready to try it again! I used to make Toddler Sensory Bags for her since she clearly wasn't ready for an open bin! I went to Walmart this morning and bought a big bag of the cheapest rice, cheapest dry beans, and I picked 2 fun items to go into the sensory bins. I chose a variety pack of pom poms (because she loves playing with cotton balls) and a little packet of plastic gems (because...

The learning curve to becoming a new parent is steep. It was like a shock to my system, if I had to describe it concisely! My first baby is now almost 2 years old, and our newest little bundle just turned 3 months. Yep...I have 2 kids under the age of 2. Fun stuff!! So if you're reading this for some advice, you've come to the right place! 1. Your Parenting "Standards" Will Lower Take the current bar of expectations and standards in your world of parenting with one child and drop it down.  Now drop it down much lower than what you just did in your mind.  There. Just right!! I quickly learned that survival mode  goes on a whole lot longer than just that initial 6 week recovery period after your second baby is born! My parenting style is full of structure and routine. But once you have 2 tiny humans who need you nearly constantly, something's gotta give!  Ava gets oh-so-much screen time, both the iPad and the tv. I've struggled with thi...

Guys, I'm just going to go ahead and say this. Life is kinda hard right now. And I'm going to have a pity party real quick. Being in the trenches with a newborn is hard enough, but this time I have a young toddler, too. The transition from 1 to 2 children has still overall been easier than the transition from 0 to 1 child, but there are different challenges this time. Ava behaves best when I sit on the floor and play with her and/or when I give her the iPad or the old iPod touch we weren't using. And Liam is happiest when I am holding him most of the time while he is awake. Especially now that he's got more head control - he wants to sit up and see the world! So the problem is, is that its hard for them to both be happy at the same time. I've completely taken away the iPad and iPod from Ava because she wasn't understanding that she couldn't have them all day long, and she was throwing some of the biggest fits I've ever seen from her. And she's ...

Phew! These last few days with Ava have been little more challenging. We have switched her, cold turkey, to a 1-nap-a-day schedule...and she's a little overtired! She used to nap at 9:30 and 2, and it was taking her an hour or more to fall asleep at her afternoon nap and sometimes she would even skip one of her naps entirely! I felt like 13 months was a little  early to make that switch, but she's always been an alert kid and napping hasn't always come easily for her, so it didn't surprise me too much that she was trying to tell me she's ready for just one nap! She's pretty tired in the mornings, so I've been needing to keep her busy to distract her from being sleepy. We took trips to the park, and I made sure to have new things for her to do. It's been going a little bit better each day, except last night she had a big meltdown for no other reason that we could figure out besides the fact that she was ready for bed. I think we are going to move up bed...

Time for another simple, fun activity for your toddler! For this DIY, you'll need:  *1 gallon-size Ziploc bag *Some sort of " suspension liquid" - I used some body gel oil that I didn't care for and was planning on throwing away. You can use just about any clear/semi clear liquid you have on hand - hair gel (dollars store sells it for cheap!), baby oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, or even water! It doesn't really matter what you use! *Next, you'll want to add some goodies . Any random art supply will do; I had pom poms, beads, and sequins on hand so that's what I used. If you don't have a stash of art supplies built up yet, you can easily use household items! Torn up magazines or junk mail flyers, paper clips, rubber bands, or even Cheerios...be creative! Now you can fill your bag! *Lastly, you will need clear packing tape to secure the bag to the floor. Make sure your bag is sealed well! The body oil gel I used ...