Bottle of Joy

I wish there was a way to bottle up all the sweet times I have with the boys and pull them out when they are driving me nuts. I just put baby Blake-a-do to bed, who is not quite a baby anymore. After laying him down once for him to protest after 5 minutes, I went back up to console the tired little guy. Rocking with him was so sweet and fun. We rubbed noses and smiled and laughed. He persistently tried to stick his finger in my mouth and found it funny when I would "bite" it. I know I need to cherish these times. My oldest, now 4 has already outgrown rocking before bed. And as I sit with my "baby" I know I will miss these days.  Right now it seems they will always be here and my frustrations will always be little temper tantrums when the boys don't get their way. But I know that the temper tantrums will give way to arguments about staying up late and why pulling your brother along on a skateboard while you are biking is not only a terrible idea, it's very dangerous. I know I will still have sweet times with my boys, but they just won't be the same. So whenever I can I try to make mental notes of these times in my brain and bottle them up so I have them forever. I would especially like to pull these times out of my mind when the boys are being particularly rotten. It's so hard being a parent and dealing with adult stress and not throwing a temper tantrum yourself, to then have your 20 month old not only pulling all the cereals out of the cupboards but dumping them all over the floor too and then screaming when you pick him up to take him into the other room, while your 4 year old is in the other room screaming and crying because Thomas keeps falling off the track because he is trying to get 10 trains around the track at once. It is these times that I really need to pull out my bottles of joy so I can remind myself to stay calm, not yell, and remember there are sweet little things somewhere in there.

Happy Mother's Day

This was an email sent at my husband's school by his principal. I couldn't think of a better way to put it!

"Dear Staff,

This weekend is Mother's Day.  I'm convinced that this is one of those days that our viewpoint changes drastically depending on what stage of life we are in.  When we are little, we make our mothers homemade cards or pick dandelion bouquets and give them to our mothers, not realizing that the day is much more special to them than to us.  

When we are married with no children, but busy with life, we may call or even visit, send flowers or a card, but we certainly don't spend as much time with our mothers as we should on that day because it seems that we will have them forever.  When we are young mothers we look forward to Mother's Day and just love it, because we now have learned what our mothers always knew, that we are among those most blessed in the world.   We look at tiny babies or young children with such wonder and cannot believe how much we love them in our hearts.  And when are children are grown and our own mothers are no longer alive, we just hope that our children never become too busy for us on Mother's Day or never live so far away that we can't be with them.  

It's the circle of life.

I hope all of you in some way are able to cherish some small part of Mother's Day.  If you are still lucky enough to have your own Mother in your life, I hope you are able to enjoy a phone call, or a brunch with her.  If you are still lucky enough to have a small child or grandchild fall asleep on your chest with his/her small fingers wrapped in yours, then I hope you take that nap with them. And if you still have a child in your house, I leave you with the best advice ever given to me-- pull up a chair and watch your child sleep, no matter how old.   If your children are grown, I hope you get a phone call, a Mother's Day card or even enjoy a brunch or dinner out with them.

If you are a husband and a father, then certainly I hope you make the day special for your wife, because this day is not just a commercial day to sell cards, it is truly a chance for a mother to hear from others how special it is to be a mother, though she already know it every time she stares into the eyes of her child, no matter how old the child is.

Have a terrific Mother's Day weekend!"

New Endeavors

I feel like finally things are on the right track! I have been tutoring students online through  http://www.elitetutorsonline.com/ and have had success in finding some local students. This summer looks quite busy with clients! Also, I am doing a training for camp counselors on behavior management at my local rec center and I am starting parenting classes in the fall in collaboration with a local pediatrician. Not only that, but I have found someone to collaborate with on my business Celebrations with Kristy which will soon be called Paper Salutations. I am SOO excited that things are finally going the way I always hoped they would. It's amazing that hard work does pay off, you just don't always know when or how, but it does. I have wanted to start my own business since I was 10 and it looks like that just might happen!!! Please check out my NEW website at www.tutoringcommunity.com!

Sleepless nights...for 15 months!

Hurdle number 2, that we are not even close to jumping over...sleeping through the night. My husband and I have not had a full night's sleep until before Blake was born (he'll be 15 months on the 16th). There was a small time frame, while I was pregnant, that Joseph slept through the night. But as soon as little brother entered the world, we have had 5, and I mean 5 full nights of sleep and 2 of those were because the boys spent the night at my mom's house. Again, we have tried EVERYTHING! Letting him cry it out, going to him, sleeping with him, letting him sleep with us, shutting the door, giving him prizes for not waking us up, slowly creeping out of the room, moving further and further out of the room each night (Ferber method). Our current remedy, suggested to us from our doctor, has actually helped until the last couple of nights. This only involves about one waking in the night.  The plan is to let Joseph come in and sleep on our floor (pile of blankets). The deal is he can come in as long as he does not wake us up. I thought there was no way this would work, but the first few nights were great (but of course these nights Blake got up in the middle of the night, so we were still without a full night sleep). However, recently, Joseph still manages to wake us up. And oddly enough, it's not when he comes in to the room. I have actually been awake when he first comes in and he quietly goes to his blanket pile and lays down. No it's sometime after that that he wakes up, "Mom, cover me." "Dad, there are monsters." "I can't find G (his little lovey)." Once we figure this out, I will be sure to post what we did!!!!

How not to potty train your child

Joseph, FINALLY, started peeing on the potty. As part of the celebration, Daddy brought home balloons. Note the sweatpants. There is nothing worse than taking off peed on jeans, besides the fact that they have not only a button, but a zipper. Granted Joseph looked like a little ragamuffin that week, but we had easy down pants!

Potty training has BY FAR, been THE most difficult parenting hurdle thus far. And we are still not over that hurdle.  Being trained in child behavior I thought that this would be a no-brainer, we would have him trained in one day at exactly 2 1/2. And my mommy confession, pre-kids I would look at kids over 3 and wonder what the parents were waiting for to train their little ones. Now I know. We tried EVERYTHING! He was sat on the potty every 15 minutes all day, would not pee on the potty, he was given M&M's every time he sat on the toilet, he got a matchbox car if he peed, he wore pull-ups, he only wore Big Boys, he refused to go naked, he was even given the ultimate of ultimate potty prizes, the Misty Island Shake-Shake Bridge with a motorized Thomas, just for peeing on the potty!!!! (He was so resistant to sitting on the potty, that I thought maybe he was scared so I figure if he could just do it once, just once, then he would have it done.) So he pees once that day and not at all the next. Conclusion, I was wrong, he is just a stubborn little thing. Of course, most things we referred to (pediatrician included) said just let it happen on its own. I would not be pushing it at all, heck diapers are super easy, you don't have to worry about finding the disgusting public bathroom, you don't have to pull over after 5 minutes of driving because, even though we tried to pee before we left, we just didn't have to go. No, I would willingly allow him to wear diapers until he is good and ready, were it not for the fact that I paid for Joseph to start a little preschool program at the zoo and the number one requirement was: Your child must be potty trained. NO PULL-UPS! It starts in 3 weeks. I think, we have the potty part down, finally, as Joseph has put it, "I got peeing down, Mom. I just poop in my pull-up." Today I told him no pull-ups, if he has to poop, he has to go on the toilet. And what happens today, the little stinker doesn't poop. So we're still working on that one!

What we have learned first hand, what not to do:

• Don't worry about how old they are. (Joseph is now 3 1/2, birthday in July) That was my biggest obstacle. I was determined to not have a 3 year old in diapers so I pushed it. And Joseph pushed back. So who cares if Mom at the park trained her child in one day the day they turned two. Good for her. That is not all children and may not be yours, so don't lose sleep over it. They'll let you know, they'll tell you they have gone, when they go in their diaper, they will show interest and talk about it. Don't be surprised if they start to show interest and then lose it. We started with Joseph a little before 2 1/2 (right before Blake was born) and it seemed to be going ok. Then once Blake was born we both had to put it on hold. Neither of us were ready to tackle it. But then the problem became, I want to do what Blake is doing. If Blake had his socks off, Joseph took his socks off, if Blake was putting a toy in his mouth, Joseph was putting a toy in his mouth, if Blake was wearing a diaper...you get the point.
• As much as you don't want to hear it you do have to wait until they are ready...and YOU are ready. It has been really difficult for me not to get upset when I know he knows how to use the potty and just refuses to do it. I have to really look at how I am acting about it. If I don't make a big deal about it, it is a much better day.  So not only do you need to wait until he is ready, you have to be ready, and it might not be when you think. If you find yourself getting really frustrated, take a break, come back to it later that day, the next day, or maybe the weekend when you may have more help because Dad/Mom/Grandma can help.
• Don't tell him every 15 minutes to use it. If you wait until they are ready then they will go when they need to. On the days that I pestered him about going, he didn't make it once to the toilet. When I didn't even mention it, he would tell me he had to go and went every time. Now this is more of a beginning thing. I do have to remind him now because he gets so into playing and he knows how to hold it now, that he will misjudge. I always make him go before we leave the house. I made the mistake of not asking him after we had been out for an hour and he pees on the floor at the Chick-fil-a play area. Was I mortified!
• I was told to have him clean up the mess if he does go. The thought is, he is so wrapped up in what he is doing that he just doesn't get to the bathroom, so if he has to clean it up when he goes, he is still having to stop what he is doing. Only do this if you are willing and have time for whining and "Mommy help me." When he would have to undress himself I would just have to walk out of the room, otherwise he would put on a whole production about how he can't do it. If I leave and say I have to get the wipes (and take my time) I come back and he is undressed. The same with putting clothes back on, if I leave to throw the wipes out and the bag of wet clothes in the basement, he is dressed, sometimes with backwards pants and underwear but dressed. And I don't fix it unless it is bothering him, then I will help him, because he did it the first time. However, I have made the mistake of standing over him and he just whines and complains and I just get frustrated and yell. This is not what you want to do.
• It's ok to try rewards. It really helps in the beginning if you have a less than motivated tyke. He just weens himself off the rewards. Now only once in awhile will he ask for a sticker or a chocolate. At Christmas time, invest in some advent calendars with chocolate in them. I found some really cheap after Christmas and they work great! He's not getting too much chocolate and it is hanging outside the bathroom door (which is in our family room) so it is a constant reminder for him. Sometimes he'll see it and just want some chocolate and so will go to the bathroom. Granted this isn't what every mom will want to hear, but it works for us. 
• When he starts to do it consistently make a HUGE deal about it. He got balloons and got to go to Chuck E. Cheese. Not all at once, but the first 3 days he peed with few accidents he got balloons. Then after about a week and a half he got Chuck E. Cheese.
• Our biggest dilemma was the public toilet.  He had only used his little portable potty, so I figured it would take forever for him to go when we were out. For awhile he would wear pull-ups still when we were out, but one day we were at Target and I was stocking up on potty prizes and he really wanted one of the things I was going to get so he wanted to pee, right then and there. So we went to the big potty for the first time! He tried and couldn't go, but I was so impressed and ever since then he never thought it was a big deal to go when we were out. (He did get a consolation prize, but not the one he wanted because he didn't pee.)
• It's ok to incorporate a general behavior sticker chart with the potty chart. He earns stickers for sharing, helping his brother, good listening, and pottying. This helps to make pottying seem like something you just do rather than completely focusing on it. But he still gets rewarded for doing it since it is a new skill.  
• If you can find a method to potty train in a day, by all means try it, but don't be discouraged if it doesn't work. It's a learning process for both of you.  All both of you know is diapers. We'll see how kid #2 goes!

1st Pirate Birthday Party

For my little guys first birthday I decided to go with a pirate theme. My inspiration for this was the fact that a long time ago before little guy was even born I had bought some super cute pirate invitations (as soon as I find one I will post a pic) and had been dying to use them. Therefore, Pirate 1st Birthday.

I found pirate hats at Party City for $3 each.

 I had bought two different table cloths, one the red, white and black and the other the pirate map. I didn't realize when I bought them that there on the map one there was only print on the sides and the middle was white. And the black, red and white only had the black on the sides and the middle was red and white. So I cut them up and taped the red and white one to the middle of the pirate map one. It ended up making it even cuter!

 I used the extra table cloth to bring the room together by wrapping the trashcan and putting it on the cabinet doors.

I used Hersey's Toffee and Almond chocolates since they looked like gold treasure chests and found really cheap gold coins (it was right after Christmas and I found the gold coins on clearance at Michael's of all places).

I made stickers and magnets as party favors. I actually sell these on my website celebrationswithkristy.blogspot.com

I ended up having two birthday celebrations for little guy that day. For the first party I made yellow cupcakes with chocolate icing with gold sprinkles and pirate flag toppers.

I think balloons are an instant and cheap way to make it an instant party! At Party City I got 6 regular balloons and 1 Mylar balloon for $8!

I love adding a personalized banner for any party! They are made out of a sturdy vinyl material and I re-purpose them as a craft mat for the kids. I sell these for $18.

I couldn't resist the pirate balloon weight for $1.99

And there's the cutie birthday boy himself!! Ready to make a mess with his first cupcake!

For party 2 of the day I bought the cake. This cake was from Giant Eagle. I was very impressed with it!

Spinach turkey club wrap using a Foreman Grill

Super easy lunch (and healthy)!
The ingredients are:
*Spinach/veggie wrap
*Turkey
*Shredded cheddar cheese
*Spinach
*Bacon bits
*Ranch dressing or Mayo
Step 1: Put the ingredients in the wrap and turn on your Foreman Grill








Step 2: Fold the wrap and put it on the Foreman Grill for about 3-5 minutes (it's done when the lines are brown)













Step 3: Enjoy!

Gingerbread cookies

Joseph (3) helped me to decorate gingerbread men on Christmas day. New tradition?

Hot tamale!

My pumpkins

I love carving pumpkins.

Cards I've Made

 These are super easy to make. They sell card stock kits with matching envelopes. I just glued ribbon on and stamped or wrote on the front and then hid the ribbon on the back by gluing on an index card.

This picture ALWAYS makes me laugh!

 

At first glance this just looks like a cute picture of a little boy going down the slide. However, if you look closer you will see the "Uh-oh" expression on Daddy's face. Joseph was sliding with Daddy and Daddy didn't quite have a hold of him. Now this slide was one of those rare slides that are super fast and you don't have to scoot your way to the bottom. Joseph, being timid as he is, wanted to go down the slide with somebody.  Daddy was not the best choice I guess. Joseph is weeing down the slide and little does he know he's about to have an unpleasant surprise. As Joseph gets to the bottom of this slide he doesn't stop he keeps going, airborn, and lands a few feet away, on his back. Of course this scares him and he cries and I am laughing so hard I'm about to pee my pants.

Mom's 50th Birthday Party

I found really cheap candle holders so I used them as vases. I arranged the flowers myself. I strung lights around the tents and between so that at night we had lights. It worked out great and gave the party a soft glow. 

I

I made this banner. I'm starting a new business where I sell invitations, banners, and all sorts of fun print products. Check out celebrationswithkristy.blogspot.com for more information.

We used a project that we borrowed to play Just Dance on the Wii. The garage was our "screen" We also hooked up some microphones and made a dance/karaoke party since Just Dance puts the words on the bottom of the screen!

Cars theme Birthday

This was for Joseph's 3rd Birthday. He loves Cars so that was the theme. I made the cake and used chocolate and green dyed icing. I bought the little cars from Target which then become a present. I used some Cars toys he already had to to decorate the table. I always buy balloons because they are cheap and kids LOVE them!

Cute kid/baby pictures

New Year's Eve 2011

Cute! 2011

First Birthday cake 2012

Mr. Ham 2011

Cheese 2011

Joseph August 2008

 Joseph July 2008

 Joseph December 2008

Joseph November 2008

 Joseph's Baptism, as soon as the deacon walked over, Joseph had a huge smile for him Oct 2008

 Joseph's First Halloween 2008

Two cool dudes July 2011

Joseph's 3rd Birthday July 2011

Ice cream store July 2011

4th of July 2011

Blake feeding himself yogurt 2011

Christmas fun 2011

Pumpkin patch 2011

Darby Creek 2011

Vacation baby 2011

Too cool for school 2011

Joseph and Blake with Santa 2011 

   

Blake helping to pick out a Christmas tree with Nina and Pawpaw 2011