Discipline

What are some ways you guys discipline? I am struggling with that right now. TIme out is a joke now with my kids, and I try to be consistent, but it doesn't seem to affect them. I think I am going to try taking away priveleges and maybe some favorite toys, but there are some instances that those things just don't seem to cover the act...like flat out saying "no" and hitting me, and things like that. I can tell you what I want to do...but I am trying to control my temper and keep things calm. Any suggestions on what works for you?

Sorry for the lack of posts...

Hi everyone! THanks to Nikia and Mary and everyone that commented on their posts in the last few weeks. I have had a busy few months moving, so I have not posted or commented. Hopefully things are settling down and I can get back into it.

Does anyone have any suggestions for good, easy, nutritious foods? I want to change our eating habits, but that starts with grocery shopping, and i am at a loss.

FakeBook and MyFake....and Me!

Hello Ladies! I dont post alot but I read this blog alot! Praise to Alisa for creating a real social network so to speak for us to post and be real on! Ive decided to start my own blog. Im contemplating deleting my facebook and myspace accounts. Not because I feel they are bad. I just feel like unlike this blog where I come because I feel comfortable sharing and assured in reading true feelings. I feel facebook and myspace have become this thing where we "friend" people just to be nosey..not really to participate or be informed of anything. We judge and gossip (sorry just being real) about the happenings on said pages and have "friend" numbers of 532 of people we never really talk too. Anyways..Ive been struggling with it alot lately. Also it sometimes creates frustration...with lives that are painted PERFECT in everyway....the perfect husband, kids, house, vacations, more money than anyone can stand.....NOW..dont get me wrong. My posts or status updates can be a gag feast of friend appreciation and husband and kid love..but..I have some days that can make my church friends squeek with pain...lololol! Which is why I decided to start a blog for myself and my family. Where I can post recipes, craft projects and my thoughts(be afraid,,be very afraid..lol) and get feed back from people I know and dont really  know but that share my views or need help in a certain area! With that comes my thoughts of deleting my other pages...has anyone else struggled with Facebook and Myspace??? Just curious!

One last thing..my blog addy is dramamama0608@blogspot.com. Please follow me through my journey in life and tell anyone else about it youd like..the more women empowering one another the better!! I will post daily..sometimes twice so...enjoy!

Overwhelmed with "advice"

**breathe, breathe..deep breathe...in, out...**

I am feeling like I want to take my baby Ady and hide in a closet or scream at every one of the people handing out advice to me right now. Neither is a good solution.

Adyson has had eczema since she was a baby and she has flare ups every once in a while. She has one right now. It looks bad. We have NO clue what, if anything, causes her to flare up. We have seen multiple dermatologists who are just as clueless, along with our pediatrician. We are told she may grow out of it or she may not. We find a routine that helps. We make a little progress just for it to stop working.

We, my husband and I, are frustrated. Ady is frustrated.

We, me for sure, am tired of being prescribed another ointment. I have a handful of them laying around my house. I want to shake anyone who tells me "it's really not that bad". (yes my pediatrician almost died that visit) I have bottles of different lotions all over my house as well.

I've been given bags full of products. I've been given herbal treatments.

I've been given some weird crap!

(Snake, anyone?)

By everyone I know.

I am grateful.

So happy to see everyone is concerned and want to help my precious,

sometimes miserable Ady. We DO want to see her get better and relived from her eczema.

I know it's all advice from a good heart and place.

But...a BIG but...

We are trying to do what we think is best and what works for us.

Have we tried everything?

No.

Will we try everything?

No.

With every new thing we try we have to worry and pray she doesn't have a bad reaction.

I am tired of feeling pressured and like a terrible parent.

We are working on it. I just don't know what else to say to people.

I guess we could try to hide from everyone.

Gratitude journal

Have any of you ever kept a gratitude journal? I've decided that I really need to. I'm getting so bogged down on all the negatives right now. Hopefully, as I write down even the smallest things that I have to be grateful for, I will become a more positive person. I have always struggled with being a pessimist. I jokingly say that really I'm being a "realist". But, I think it's really affecting my ability to be a good wife and mother. I wouldn't want to be around me right now, so why should my family? I started my journal a couple of weeks ago and did pretty well with it for about 3 days. Then, I got busy with life and forgot about it. I've been having a lot of my own "melt-downs" lately, so I'm going to try the journal again and see if it helps. It's divided up between all the members of my family. That way I can look at each family member on an individual basis and find something positive to say about them. I'll let y'all know how it goes. And if anyone else wants to join in, I'd love to hear your insights about whether it has helped or not.

Asking Jane

A friend shared this on her blog.

ASKING JANE:

The Brilliant mother of eleven

saving my life

one Answer at a time.

Clean out Your Clutter Challenge

Over at Money Saving Mom, Crystal is hosting a Clean out you Clutter Challenge! I am participating! I have already made a few efforts this past month to organize, clean, and get rid of clutter.

"we’ll be working through our homes room-by-room in an effort to ruthlessly rid our lives of unnecessary things.

Clear Out the Clutter Assignment #1
::Go through your living room, coat closet and hall closet (or any other closets or cupboards which reside in your living room area) and then ruthlessly clear out any and all clutter and unnecessary items you find.
::Tally up the approximate amount of items you’re getting rid of. You’ll need that number to enter the giveaway tomorrow!"

Here's Crystals first assignment accomplishments!

Here's My first assignment accomplishments!

Who's with us? Starts today!

When life gives you lemons...make lemonade.

Such a simple statement. Yet, somehow I loathe it sometimes. Life is hard. Marriage is hard. Parenthood is hard. There are days that sometimes we wonder if we are even going to make it through. There are days we don't WANT to make it through. There are days we HAVE to make it through. We have at least 2 Happy Mommy readers that are going through unthinkable circumstances right now. I cannot fathom what they are going through. This blog gets looked at several times a day. Do you think each of you could write some words of encouragement for all of us moms that are dealing with "life's lemons" and can't seem to make any sort of lemonade at all?

My New Hobby

Need any cute floral headbands for a little girl in your life? I am making and selling them.

They are $4 for each flower, and $2 for the headband. I am selling separately because Kenadie cannot wear the headband, so I have attached alligator clips to each flower so they can be worn alone, or easily slid onto a headband. I only have white headbands at the moment.

If you see any you like, email me at alisavasquez@gmail.com!

Spring Cleaning and Organization

It's about that time! Spring cleaning is something that I never look forward to, but feel so much better when it is done. Do any of you have any tricks or tips to share with the rest of us to make it a bit more fun?

Goodbye Winter Blues!

Ok, so if you have been following this blog for a while, you know that I suffer from depression, and more recently, I was diagnosed with bi-polar depression. I struggle to get through daily tasks, and sometimes the slightest things will set me off. This winter has been really hard on me. It has been cold and miserable most of the time and we have been cooped up in the house.

Well, the last few days have been AWESOME! I really think I have a Vitamin D deficiency (and not from milk which I drink a ton of), but from the sun! I have been out in the sun the last few days as much as possible and I feel so much better. I am planning on making it to the park as much as possible before the temps hit over 100. And then we will be headed to the pool!

I hope this is a start to a great spring and summer! It feels great to be feeling better, and smiling more!

Holly

One of our readers is going through the unthinkable. Her name is Holly and her son, Spencer, was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma about a month ago. She has a blog devoted to him. I would check it out and remember her in our prayers. I don't know her personally, but she is a really good friend of one of my close friends, and she has commented on the Happy Mommas blog several times. She is an inspiration and could really use all the support we can give. Please check out MySuperSpence and leave her a message to know you are thinking of her. You can also become penpals with Spencer if you would like, or make a donation (I am sure medical bills are mounting).

I cannot imagine the pain she must deal with every day trying to balance being a mother to her other 2 children, and trying to be a "rock" for her son struggling with the biggest battle of his life. She is truly a special person.

Holly, if you read this, we love you and are thinking of you.

refusing a bottle

I have a question for any of you that were able to nurse your babies. Joshua is my third and the first one that I've been able to nurse. He and I had a really, really rough go of it for the first couple of months, but he's doing great nursing now. He's about 4.5 months old. Well, I would have loved to have had this problem when he was a newborn, but not so much now. He is absolutely refusing a bottle! He used to switch back and forth with no problem (in fact, he preferred the bottle for a while). But now he won't take one at all. Not from me, my husband or any one else! It's getting quite frustrating. I can't be away from him for more than a couple of hours and I would love for my husband to be able to occasionally help with the night-time feedings. Did any of you experience this and if so, were you able to find a way to get the baby to take a bottle? My husband tried letting him cry it out once, but after missing two feedings, he still wouldn't give in to the bottle. I would love any advice that any of you could pass along to me.

Why?

Why is my house always a mess?
Why do I feel like I can never measure up?
Why do I feel bad about feeling like this?

Why can't I just put things into perspective?