Twilight Moms

Okay, I'm sorry I'm making this post. I've gone back and forth on this for awhile. I don't know how many of you have been sucked into the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer, and if you haven't-you will be. lol. These books are awesome! There's three right now and a 4th will be out in August.
To those that are obsessed like myself, I joined an awesome group called Twilight Moms a few months back. It's great! It's Moms from all over the world who are also obsessed. But, we talk about everything on here-family life, kids, etc. Lisa, who started it is also a member of our faith. She wanted to have a place to go to where people 25 yrs and older would talk without all the teeny drama.
When I joined the group is was like the 158th member and now there's over 2,000 members. It's a fun site to check out. If you haven't read these books yet, I highly recommend them. There's very clean and very well written. They're very hard to put down! lol. They are a quick read too.

Look how many visits!!!

This is so exciting! This blog has been visited over 70 times in the past couple of days! It is neat to see how many new people are checking it out, and also how many times the rest of us check it every day! I am kinda addicted to checking it. I have tried to cut it down to 2 times a day for a little while, so that I can see how many other people are stopping by! I hope this blog is helping out everyone else as much as it is helping me!

The complexities of the family...

Many of us that visit this site are active Mormons, or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. For those of you that are not, we would like to emphasize the importance of family here on earth. It seems as though the world would like to spend more time outside the home, rather than in the home, together as a family. When things come up about the church and the many misconceptions of it, I know that I cannot fully explain all the gospel principals to clear any of these. So, I often think that if I could only show the world how the church emphasizes the importance of having a loving family, maybe then a lot of the negative feelings would be disolved. I have never, and will never impose my beliefs on anyone, but I want to at least share a broadcast that may ease any ill feelings someone you may know has of our church.

You can visit Lds.org; world leadership broadcast (Feb 2008, roundtable discussion) to listen to the entire broadcast, or read the script. I want to post a few of my favorite parts.


This is a roundtable discussion which includes: Elder Dallin H. Oaks (quorum of the 12 apostles), Jeffrey R. Holland (quorum of the 12 apostles), Julie Beck (Relief Society General President, Susan Tanner (Young Women General president), Cheryl Lant (Primary General President).
Sister Tanner
I grew up in a home where there was a very good marriage, but I remember my mother saying over and over to me, “This is work; to have a good marriage is hard work.” She wasn’t saying that they didn’t have a good marriage, but she meant that you never let a day go by without thinking about blessing the partner in your marriage and working on this and thinking about his or her needs.

Sister Lant
You talked about being willing to do the work that it takes. Having children is a lot of work. And we have to not be afraid of that, because it’s that very element of working hard and being willing to do whatever it takes that makes us who we are. It’s the sacrifice that makes us who we are. I want to bear my testimony of the joy that comes from having families, from having children, because there’s not only the commandment from the Lord to do it, but there are great promised blessings.

Elder Oaks
While we’re talking about this, what does it mean that the family comes first? We say that, and we believe it, but what does it mean that the family comes first?
I want to use your eyeglasses to use a metaphor from Neal Maxwell. He suggested on another subject that we write something on the inside of our glasses so that whenever we looked at any subject, we see that message. And we might say that when you put your spectacles on to look at decisions about how the family will use its time or decisions about how the ward will schedule its activities, we have written inside of our eyeglasses, “The family comes first.”

Elder Holland
I love—we all love—the line from Ecclesiastes, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). We’ve only got so much time, but we all have the same amount. So I think if we work on priorities, we can make family first. I think we can do a better job.

Elder Holland
I introduced the word pattern in those brief remarks as we started. Some of these things that we almost take for granted should not be taken for granted, like family scripture study, like family prayer, like family home evening—we tend to dash those off as if they were understood by everybody, but those ought to become part of a family pattern.

Sister Tanner
One hopeful thing about patterns is that even though we sense our imperfections in trying to establish these patterns, it’s quite remarkable and fulfilling for us as we see our children then carry on those patterns, even though we didn’t feel like we were totally perfect at it.

Sister Beck
I was raised in a big family. My parents had a lot of children. And that means there were a lot of opinions and a lot of work to care for this family. But they used the tool of family home evening to really teach us. Every week we sang “Love at Home.” That was the opening hymn. And I remember as a teenager thinking it was really tiresome to sing that hymn every week.
Elder Oaks
Sometimes that hymn is sung through clenched teeth.
Elder Holland
And by assignment.
Sister Lant
Sometimes it’s the mother’s clenched teeth.
Sister Beck
It was more a belief than a practice. But every week, Dad would say, “Now we’ll sing our opening hymn, ‘Love at Home.’ ” And when I was about 14 or 15, in that age when you question everything, I asked my father, “Why do we have to sing this hymn every week? There are a lot of good hymns in the hymnbook we could sing.”
And he looked at me very sternly, and he said, “When you have learned lesson 1, I will teach you lesson 2.” And I don’t know what lesson 2 was; we didn’t ever get there, but I have to say that after the passage of many years, I look at my family, and we do love one another. We did, somehow, over the years, learn to love each other because that was lesson 1 my parents wanted to teach. They didn’t try to cover everything. They knew if they started with that, it would work. I had a wonderful young mother approach me. She had four children under the age of six, and she said, “We are being faithful in trying to have our family scripture study every morning, but it’s just a disaster. Somebody’s always crying; they don’t pay attention.” And I said, “How long are you trying to do this?” She said, “Well, we set a goal to do 10 minutes every day.” And I said, “Well, with the audience you have, you’re probably about 8 minutes too long.” She had the pattern down, and she needed to adapt a little bit to the age of her audience. Maybe start with a picture of Adam and Eve and talk about the picture and not try to help a two-year-old read the scriptures. But she was faithful, and I loved her for that.

Sister Lant
Elder Holland, I wanted to just say a word about judging other people. We look at other people, and things are not always as they seem. We think it’s one way, but it isn’t always that way.
We had a large family, and my husband was the bishop when all the children were still very young. I would work all day Saturday and all morning Sunday to get them to church, and I had to get them there early or we just didn’t even get there. We would line the whole bench—the whole center bench was filled with our children on the second row back—and we would be there before the meeting started.
I remember one day a sister came up behind me and leaned over and said, “Sister Lant, if my kids were as good as yours and if it was as easy for me as it is for you, I would have a large family too.”
Well, I started to cry, and I cried clear through the whole meeting. And my husband kept looking at me like “What is wrong? What is wrong?” I was a mess. I completely had a come-apart. And it was because it wasn’t easy.
We tend to judge one another. We judge harshly. Or we judge unfairly as we look at others—
Elder Holland
Unkindly.
Sister Lant
—unkindly. And we don’t really know what one another’s situations are. We just have to love each other.

Stranger Safety

Strangers. Gulp. Just the thought of having to explain to Jacob what on earth that really means sends shivers down my spine. I myself don't really even like thinking about it to be honest, but I know it's so important to teach my kids that they have a voice if the need arises.

I rented the video "The Safe Side: Stranger Safety" last week from the library and I was really impressed with the way that they address strangers without making it too scary. It was exactly what I was looking for. The main message is that just by looking at someone, we can't tell whether they want to help or hurt us. The host of the show "Safe Side Super Chick" (who Jacob thought was hilarious) encourages parents and kids to categorize people into three groups.

• Safe-Side Adult: Immediate family or someone your parents tell you is safe. She asks parents to make a list of three adults in this category. Those adults are the only people that can pick them up, etc. It reminded me of the password method when I was little. Same idea.
  
• Don't Know: Someone you don't know .
• Kinda Know: Someone you know, but is not your "Safe-Side Adult." like a teacher, doctor, coach, mom's friend, dad's friend, etc.
  

They cover a lot of other topics too (tricks adults use, your personal space, what to do when the doorbell rings, what you should say) but nothing uncomfortable or too scary. It's probably even better for school age kids, but Jacob really liked watching it. Even Luke got into the part where they make you practice saying "help this is not my dad, help this is not my mom" in his loudest voice.

I am curious to know how you have approached stranger safety with your kids and what has worked?

Baby Yeast Infections

I am pretty sure Kenadie has a yeast infection. She has a rash on her vaginal area that will not go away. I am going to try Lotriman (saw that on internet), but does anyone know if I have to take her to get a prescription? If the lotrimian makes the symptoms go away, is that enough, or do I need a prescription to kill the bacteria. I am also going to give her probiotics to up her good bacteria, I just need to know if that is enough. I don't mind taking her to the doctor, it just sucks when they tell me everything I already know, and nothing I don't.

Welcome new guests!

Well, it looks like we are at least as far as Rhode Island, now! Acte Gratuit said that she is a friend of Kim Brown, who is a friend of Megan's...thank goodness for being able to look up blogs from other blogs. I looked up Kim's blog, and it looks as though she is in labor today! How exciting! Fell free to email me if you are new, and I can give you the information so that you can post things yourself, and maybe tell us a little about each of you! I'd really be interested to know where everyone is from! Maybe we should do that for the next few days...write a little about yourself and where you are from!

JUST a stay at home Mom

"you've got nothing better to do..."
"you have more time than I do..."

These are a few phases that I have heard recently(and repeatedly) from a sister of mine that has a toddler and works full-time outside the home. (nothing against working moms). Hearing these two simple phases have bugged me and gotten under my skin so terribly bad. I would expect to hear these kind of things from a man(sorry guys) but a women. And a mom too.

I feel comfortable and proud to be a stay at home mom so why does things like this irritate me so much? I pondered this as I was having my own little pity party last night over hearing such things. I realized these comments made my self worth diminish. I felt less productive or like I don't contribute to society because I am not out working in public. In my eyes and through others eyes I suddenly had meant less to the world.

I don't believe it, I mean a ton to the world. I may not be out working but I am working in my home and for my community. My self worth is bounteous. I know being a stay at home mom is worth so much. More than we sometimes think. Why do stay at home moms get such a hard time about staying home?

Losing it...

Do any of you ever "lose it" with your kids? Earlier, Tye came in to show me how proud he was about putting some white stuff on his face, and I instantly thought...Desitin. He'd actually already had it once today, and I was sure that I had put it up, but that is the conclusion I jumped to. I was mad. I took him by the hand...not gently, really, and went all around the house looking for it. Then, I saw Kenadie, who I had just bathed after eating pizza. She had Tye's pizza in her hand and on her face, and clothes. Again...mad. I was so frustrated by this point, I was yelling, and I just put Tye in his room, and cleaned up Kenadie and put her in bed, too. I was feeling really bad by this time, because when I found Kenadie, I had also seen the ranch dressing that Tye had on his plate...the mysterious white stuff. I went into his room, he was curled up on his bed, and I sat with him and apologized over and over again. He finally turned over and smiled, but I still feel like crap (sorry...that's about the nicest way I can put the way I feel right now.) So, do any of you ever lose your temper, and what do you do after you have? Or, for those of you that manage to keep your calm, how in the world do you do it?

Toys, Toys and more Toys!!!

So, I am not the neatest person in the world. Never have been, probably never will be. However, I have gotten a handle on the toy situation. For almost 2 months now, I have been able to pick up all the toys and put them in there place in less than 5 minutes. I put away/ gave away some toys a couple of months ago, and everything I kept had to fit in my designated toy containers. It has been a lifesaver! The downside? Now the mess is all mine, and I can't blame it on the kids! Also, Amy and I were talking about this earlier...we all have family and friends that like to give our kids things. Some of us have kids that know how to manipulate people into buying them toys. Solution? For every new toy that comes in, they must give away or put away 2-3 toys. This way, they really have to decide it this new $1.99 toy that will break in one day is worth getting rid of something else. This may really eliminate the impulse toys at the checkout! Tye is barely old enough to start doing this, so I will let you all know how it works out!

THANK YOU!!!!!

I love all you girls so much......you have NO idea! Thank you so much for all your help and encouragement. I loved the talk during general conference by Elder Ballard directed to the moms in the church. Boosted by all your loving words, I spoke with Chauncey and let her know how I was feeling--OVERWHELMED. For now we worked out a scenario I'm happy with--I only have Mia 2 days a week, every other week, for half a day (only while she is on campus going to school....since she is employed in a day care center I encouraged her to enroll her daughter and take her to work). She agreed and things seem to be calmer now. I also cut down the days I'm working at Sylvan and moved all my clients to Mondays and Wednesdays instead of having them all spread out ( saves on fuel for the monster suburban we drive too! ). Mary, I can't tell you how much your words meant to me--I know you have given yourself to take care of other little ones as well as your own and I know you can empathize. You are such a talented wonderful mom and I miss seeing your sweet face and hearing your voice! Katie, I miss so much how you were my dose of daily medicine. You always make me smile and on my bad days I could always count on you for an immediate girls night at Cheddars for $2 soup and artichoke dip--I miss you dearly! Sara, (and I'm sure EVERYONE will agree) you are one of the most beautiful peacemakers in this world. I have never heard you utter a malicious word and your patience is incredible to me. I know a lot of things have been very challenging for you and I am amazed at how you deal with those. I think of you often when I am trying to go about being tactful about something. Alisa, I love how I feel such a connection with you and that we are so similar that I know you truly understand me when I tell you something. You bring me comfort because you are willing to be so open to me about yourself (which is a huge risk) and I'm so grateful for the level of trust we have with each other. You are such a treasured blessing in my life and I don't know what I'd do without you. You were a direct answer to my prayers during a very difficult time for me. I'll never forget how you pulled me through. AND to our new friends.....THANK YOU! Though we have never met in person, it was almost easier to find strength in your words because you have a totally objective view of the situation. You both are wonderful and I'd love to hear more from both of you.

Oh--and any of you are welcome to come up here (or down depending on your location) ANYTIME you want! Beware......you may have a little trouble leaving because I know I will want to keep you here indefinitely! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE y'all!

Introduce yourselves...

Hi Klevrkris and Poppie! Welcome to Happy Mommas! Tell us a little about yourselves and how you heard about the blog! Feel free to email me at address on right if you would also like to make posts.

And The Guilty Party IS.........

I have been recently struggling with feeling guilt. It has been a pretty vicious cycle and I feel like the car that has spun its tires in the mud so much that now it doesn't matter whether you're in drive or reverse--the tires will spin and the only thing you'll accomplish is sinking further in the trench! The first pressure is church. Yes, church.....and it shouldn't be! I know in my heart a loving Heavenly Father did not lay out guidelines to make us feel inadequate, pressured, and miserable. I know that we are supposed to serve within our capacity and I think that my problem is defining exactly what my capacity is.

Here is my situation now--I moved my grandmother (who is 90 years old) from Idaho to Burleson to give my sister who has been caring for her a break. She is in a minimal care "retirement community" so I have to go at least 3 times a week to make sure she has changed clothes, bathed, is eating, etc. and do those things for her if she hasn't. She is incapable of managing her finances so I also have to run around town to make sure all her bills are paid (pharmacy for medication and diapers, doctors, cable, phone, rent, beautician). This eats up a lot more time than I had initially supposed but I do like the opportunity to care for her. My kids are very involved in helping with this task and they have developed a love for elderly folks which I think is priceless.

I also work part-time in the evenings. I work at Sylvan tutoring kids and have just recently started branching out and tutoring privately. I love this too because most of the kids I teach think they are stupid or incapable of being successful at anything and I really enjoy proving them wrong. However.......MY kids have started resisting when it is time for me to go (there is a 1 hour lag with a sitter between my leaving and Bart coming home). So I feel guilty if I go to work leaving my kids upset, and if I stay with them I feel guilty because I'm letting down the kids I'm supposed to be teaching. Plus I feel guilty for "working" at all when I should be a "SAHM", then I feel guilty for beating myself up over it because the only time my kids are without a parent caring for them is one freaking hour a day!

Next......the never-ending "members are missionaries" challenge. I volunteered our home so the missionaries could hold discussions for a single mom with two kids by two different fathers who has had quite a run with life. This was fine but then she hit me up for some babysitting for her 3 year old (who has issues due to her very unstable short life). This has ultimately progressed to 12 hour days while she goes to work and school on alternate days. Oh--and did I mention I do this all FOR FREE!!!!! I'm starting to feel a little trodden on and like this mom just expects church members to do this for her. She constantly gripes about her finances (which I realize ARE in bad shape), but by the same token we are bouncing back from just coming out of school, being on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder, and having student payment loans that are more than twice the mortgage on the house we are living in! So after I am done feeling guilty about mentally accusing her of taking advantage of me, I feel guilty about being a pushover, which leads to feeling guilty about spending less time with my kids, which leads me to feeling guilty about whether I have taken on too much, which makes me feel guilty of being a whimp who needs to just suck it up and endure! There is no winning!

So here I sit with all my guilt......if I work and try to help ease Bart's burden of keeping up with providing for our family, I feel guilty that by doing so I am falling short on my part of the work in being there for our kids. But if I quit working and sit by watching Bart struggle to keep up with everything I feel guilty that I'm not being a help and support to my husband who should be my first priority next to God. If I refuse to help out a single mother with needs, I feel guilty that I am passing up the chance to serve in the kingdom and make a difference in someone else's life by "easing one another's burdens". Yet when I help her, I feel guilty when I am exhausted and using up my patience much quicker and being ugly with my own kids. Not to mention feeling resentful that I am not independently wealthy and have always paid a sitter to tend my kids when I go to work and earn money, AND that if I'm going to spend that kind of energy I should at least be getting a benefit for myself out of it like being paid. Then I feel guilty for being so self centered and wanting to get something for myself out of serving.

So anyway......as I sit venting ABOUT feeling guilty while I feel guilty about sitting here instead of cleaning my dirty kitchen or getting dressed for the day, I'd like to know how all of you get through your busy days and lives and feel peaceful about what you do! I think you are all such wonderful moms and I miss seeing all of you more than you know!

A wonderful gift from a loving father

Over the weekend, our family went out to eat at Applebee's. When we walked in I saw a man and a young girl sitting eating, I assume it was a father and daughter. They were dressed nice(for Applebee's), I saw a red rose on the table next to the daughter and turned to Jess and pointed(without actually pointing) them out to him. Then he said something I had not thought about. He said the father was teaching his daughter how she needed to be treated. I just thought how adorable they looked.
I remember all the studies and such that have been done on young women and girls showing what a major role their dad plays in their development. Most with the conclusion that girls without their fathers love and attention goes looking for a replacement. Most replacement are not good replacements.
I watched them leave and as they walked hand in hand with the girl holding her rose. The father took off his jacket and wrapped it around his daughter. I told Jess I thought they couldn't get any cuter. I was trying my hardest to chock back tears because I thought and felt what a wonderful thing this father was doing for his daughter. What a stronger and healthier adult life she would have because of her dad. I bet he has no idea what a great gift he gave her that night at Applebee's. More than just dinner, a rose, and a jacket to keep warm.

I took this from Nikia's myspace...

A newborn's conversation with God....
A baby asked God, 'They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?' God said, 'Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.


The child further inquired, 'But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.' God said, 'Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy.


Again the child asked, 'And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?' God said, 'Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.


'And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?' God said, 'Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.


'Who will protect me?' God said, 'Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.


'But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.' God said, 'Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.


At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, 'God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name.


God said, 'You will simply call her, 'Mother .
'

Suggestions

Hello all! Im so glad to be a part of this awesome opportunity for moms that Alisa has put together! I was wondering if after having a second child if anyone felt extreme guilt for the first child. Meaning I feel bad for my Garrett that he is having to miss out on certain things due to Emily being so small! My parents keep her as much as they can so we can take him to birthday parties and I bring him to playdates but it is so hard during the day if she doesnt nap or is cranky for me to spend the one on one time we had before. The house is a mess and I get so frustrated at times! I even had to stop nursing our daughter because Garrett was really not taking to it! He stopped eating and would cry alot and try to hit her! Now that she is bottle feeding things are better but at times I really feel like I have ten babies instead of two! Any suggestions or things anyone did to make the transition smoother or get pass this trying time with a little less tears...from my eyes mainly..not theirs!!!
Nikia

Welcome Nikia!!

I would like to welcome Nikia to our group!! She is a dear friend of the family, whom I hope that I can get to know even better! She has a son, Garrett (almost 2), and a newborn, Emily. She is also a SAHM, after working for a while after Garrett was born.

Nikia---feel free to share anything else you would like us to know, and welcome to Happy Mommas!!!

Eczema

My son suffered with Eczaema..however his pediatrician prescribed a cream called Locoid Lipocream. It works wonders. You use it for one week and then stop..if the rash comes back you continue for another week! Its about 40.00 for a little tube but it works wonders!! Hopefully it helps you too!!

Suggestions for Eczema

Well, I am pretty positive Adyson has eczema. It started out just on her hands between her index finger and thumb now it is in small patch all over her hands and legs. I have seen two pediatricians who have both said it was mild(that was before now) and to just put lotion on her. My mom gave me this great lotion she uses for her mild eczema, St Ives Whipped silk, and I use a eczema baby bath(the one with Winnie the Pooh on the bottle) but sense it is becoming more of a problem, I wonder if there is something better out there. Does anyone know of anything?

I know nothing of eczema, I need to do some research, is it caused by anything or irritated in certain ways?

I am debating on going back to the doctor. Should I?

Flylady.net

Thank you Sara for sharing the website, flylady.net. I checked it out and had to make a post about it. It is fantastic! Now, I just need to commit to do it! For those of you that have not checked it out, it is only for those that live in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). Sorry, to those that do not, at least from time to time, deal with this, you are not invited!

Jugglers

We all have balls that we juggle. Ball=kids Ball=husband Ball=housework Ball=exercise Ball=church responsibilities Ball=self improvement Ball...
You get my drift, the list could go on and on and all our lists would be different. I have been thinking a lot about what balls I have had in my hands and what time I am spending juggling each one. And I am thinking about all the balls sitting beside me waiting to be picked up. The ones I really want to pick up. I can't help but think I need more hands, more time, ect, ect...
Oh, how I wish I could grow a third or fourth hand or somehow find three more hours or days. I guess I need to prioritize. But how can you when we have been asked and told all these 'balls' are important and worth us juggling.

Which brings me to think about which balls are good, which are better, and which are the best to be juggling. (talk by Oaks)

I need to keep striving to find my happy and content juggler because right now I am not juggling to my hearts content.

A friend sent this to me...I had to share!

One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me. I was maybe 2 1/2 years old and had just recovered from an accident. Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a get-well gift and it was one of my favorite toys. Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea', which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home. My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!' My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I come down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up.

Then she says, 'Did it ever occur to you that the only place that baby can reach to get water is the toilet?'

Something funny. While my kids haven't done this or anything like, I have friends who's kids have done similar things....

The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not phoned in sick one day. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whisper.

" Hello "

"Is your daddy home?" he asked.

" Yes ," whispered the small voice.

May I talk with him?"

The child whispered, " No ."

Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your Mommy there?"

" Yes ."

"May I talk with her?" Again the small voice whispered , "

"No ."

Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leav e a message, the boss asked, "Is anybody else there?"

" Yes ," whispered the child, "a policeman ".

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"

" No, he's busy ", whispered the child.

"Busy doing what?"

" Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman ," came the whispered answer.

Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, "What is that noise?"

" A helicopter " answered the whispering voice.

"What ! is going on there?" demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.

Again, whispering, the child answered,

" The search team just landed a helicopter ."

Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, "What are they searching for?"

Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle... "ME ."

Mood changers for toddler days

1. Create a grouping of noise-makers. You can use traditional instruments (i.e. kids' instruments you might have in the house) or look for things that make unique noises in your house (pan "drums," etc.). Turn on marching music and march around the house. Go under and over unusual things as you march (i.e. under the desk/chair/table, over a big pillow, etc.).

2. Pull up a chair, don aprons and make these easy muffins together. Eat them outside or in a fort or on the floor... Somewhere different.

3. Draw a big bubble bath at an unexpected time of the day. Dump in loads of plastic containers from your Tupperware/re-use drawer and see what the play brings.

4. Find seasonal items, string them together on yarn and create a fantastic, nature mobile.

5. Make oobleck.

6. Create some activity centers together (start with one, make a new one the next day... pretty soon you'll be set!)

7. Collect art supplies (paint, crayons, paper, index cards etc.) and let go of everything you had planned. Mail this artistic bounty off the next day to grandparents and the like.

8. Grab a snack you don't often have (i.e. here it's graham crackers and juice) or stop by the bakery for a cookie. Go to a park, sit on a blanket and eat, then play a bit in a different space.

9. Depending on the weather: water plants outside, fill a spray bottle with water and experiment with different sprays, run in the sprinkler, etc. Is it raining? Dress appropriately and go out any way. See if you can stomp in twenty puddles. Watch how different objects splash in different ways (rock vs. leaf vs. pine cone, etc.). Do #3 when you return, if necessary!

10. Use chalk to draw a huge train track or road system all around your house, leading to your front door. Walk or ride all along it, draw lots of trains/cars or bring out your own small vehicles to enjoy the new pathways.

11. Crank up the music (stuff you like too) and dance, boogy, shake, wiggle. If you need a little wiggle guidance the tried and true preschool Greg & Steve CDs are favorites for many young kids (check them out from your library-- a little scary, but a worthy sacrifice to improve the direction of your day together).

12. Grab a big tote and visit the library. Find lots and lots and lots of books. Return home to cuddle and read on the couch (or on the grass outside as weather permits!).

13. Create a fort or pop up a tent in the middle of your living room. Stock it with snacks, water, books, stuffed animal friends...

14. Make colored pasta noodles (step one, step two) together.

15. Make play dough together and then smush, build, roll, squeeze... create.

16. Wander through your yard or neighborhood and create a seasonal display.

17. Scroll through the Kids Craft Weekly newsletters for a topic you both enjoy. Find an activity and just do it!

18. Fill the kitchen sink (or a big, plastic tub) with dish soap and warm water. Collect small creatures (we like Little People, our Schleich animals, etc.) and a washcloth and scrub everyone clean (any water play requires you to be very close, but you knew that).

19. Move some toys around. Never underestimate the power of toys in a new location (i.e. the play kitchen in the middle of the living room, toys from the closet front and center for an afternoon, etc.).

20. Play dress-up! If you don't have specific dress up clothes, dress up like Mama or Daddy or Grandma... Find winter hats and gloves in the summer. Dig deep for crazy shoes. Be silly.

21. Make colorful maraca shakers (scroll down to #2).

22. Turn some old socks into puppets. You can draw on them with markers, or get fancy and sew on button eyes. Glue yarn for hair. A curtain rod in a doorway can become a magical puppet theater with a few cuts of an old sheet, or even just with draped fabric. Use a hot glue gun to create a pocket in the fabric for the rod, if you don't want to sew, or you can even just pin it in place. Just make sure you can open and close the theater curtains (that's the only really important part!).

23. Throw a reading party for all of your stuffed animal friends (and dolls and anyone else who wants to join in the fun). Place them all around the living room, give them each a book and then read a few yourselves. When everyone's done you can all take a nap (requiring a blanket for each) or give them all a drink (imaginary, of course) of water (requiring a cup for each). Multiples. It's more fun than you'd think.

24. Call someone to play with you. They likely won't care if the house is a mess. If it's too bad, go outside to play or meet at a playground. Just adding other people to the mix can change a mood (throw in a snack or two and you're set).

25. Make a life-size body outline and color it in. Hang it on the wall.

26. Clean out the refrigerator together. Exhausting. Distracting.

27. Cut (or tear) out fun pics from old magazines.

28. Create glue art (lots o' Elmer's, cotton balls, cake sprinkles, etc.).

29. If you have a peanut-friendly house (as in, everyone's already tried it and is not allergic), collect pine cones, tie string around them and smear with peanut butter for the birds. Hang outside.

30. Head outside to putter with a camera. The adult focuses on getting fantastic pics of the child without interrupting play, and the kid gets to explore. It's interesting for both (parallel play).

31. Print some kid pics and staple them (or tie through hole punches) together to make a mini-book. Talk about what the child is doing in each picture and write a simple sentence below. Read it together.

32. Sort through buttons together. Categorize in different ways. Look for special things. Count holes. Talk about big, small, bright, bumpy, smooth...

33. Use paint and make apple prints on paper (or try other fruits and veggies... Star fruit is fun!).

34. Just find a way to get out of the house. Find a shopping cart and browse. This is when you're really desperate. Get coffee while you're at it.

35. Take everything out of a closet, from under a bed, etc. and sort through it together.

36. Paint hands and make hand prints. You can later add details to turn these into flowers (stem and leaves), turkeys, etc. (seasonal fun).

37. Create an obstacle course in the house or yard (with pillows, small stools, etc.).

38. Go through the house or yard or neighborhood and collect items to make a texture book/wall/gallery (focusing on touch...).

39. Make crowns for the family out of paper, newsprint, felt and/or tin foil.

40. Decorate the dinner table together to make an ordinary meal special. Streamers, flowers from the garden, maybe a tablecloth or special place mats, fold the napkins in a fancy way... Do it all together to make something routine special.

41. Play hide and seek. Start with stuffed animals and find them together, then work up to each other.

42. String fruity-o cereal (or the pasta from #14) together to make necklaces (always keep a close eye on little kids with necklaces, but you knew that).

43. Finger (or foot) paint.

44. Make a terrarium (you can keep it super-easy with moss, sticks and a figure). If you use fancy plants make sure they're safe.

45. Try stacking different types of objects. See how high you can go with blocks, books, thread spools, magazines, pillows, etc.

46. Plant some bean seeds in clear, plastic cups or glass baby food jars. Avocado seeds are fun too.

47. Make popsicles, a snack food in an ice cube tray and/or jello jigglers together.

48. Glue a favorite magazine picture onto cardboard, then punch holes (use an office-style three hole punch for bigger pieces, and randomly place holes). Use a child's plastic needle with yarn (or tape the end to make it firm) and practice lacing.

49. Make your own matching game with photos. The best photos for this have only one, clear, well-loved person/object in them. Print out two of each (for maybe a total of six to eight to start?) and lay them out, face up to start out. It's early "Memory."

50. Set up various pouring activities in an OK-to-be-messy place. Collect various pitchers, cups, bowls and measuring spoon sets and use either water, lentils, beans or rice (or combinations). A smaller plastic tub set inside a bigger plastic tub can contain some of the spillage.

OK. Those are some of the things we try when new molars, colds and inclement weather try to bring us down. Nothing terribly new or fascinating, but we have fun. Do you have other things to add? I wanted a list of 100 to print out as a reminder. These are all super-friendly for the just turning two set.

I found this while looking at blogs. Here is original post.

Upset tummies

Tye has only really thrown up twice in his life...and the second time was tonight. I think he had way too much sugar at the restaurant we went to tonight, on top of the fact that he refuses to chew his food...so full bites of boiled chicken were in there...along with half chewed cherries, and whatever else he had to eat. It was horrible. The sad part was, that I heard him calling me from my room, so I go in there and he just looks at it and says yucky. We get everything cleaned up, and he comes to bed with me. He watches tv for a few minutes, then I turn it off and tell him he needs to sleep. He tossed and turned, so I finally brought him to Michael who was still up. I turned around and got halfway downstairs and heard it...the dreadful sound of (well, I won't go into details). So, we did it all over again, and now he is sitting up watching Nemo. I felt so bad trying to get him undressed to bathe him, though, because I kept gagging...I finally had to wrap a towel around my nose to finish. He was shaking he was so cold, and I was doing the best I could, but it wasn't fast enough, poor little baby. Well, that was my fun for the evening. I'm going to try going to bed again!

Brain Freeze

Lately I have had absolutely no idea what to do with my kids for fun. There is something about winter that seems to erase my imagination completely. It is just too cold to play outside. The other night I came up with a few things that we could do, but I knew that in the morning, when I looked out the window and saw all of the snow I would completely forget everything. I decided it would be fun to write each idea down and make a paper chain out of them. So, Jacob and I got to work thinking of ideas that would be fun for the three of us to do. On the days that the kids (and I) are feeling restless Jacob and Luke get to pull a link off. Some of the ideas are really simple but there is something about the activity being 'special' that my kids love. Here are a few things we added to our list: have a pretend birthday party, do 20 jumping jacks, make cookies, call an old friend, watch a movie together with popcorn, make our own storybook, do something nice for someone, read 10 books in a row, make playdough. As I think of more I add them to our chain.

I would love any suggestions from all of you clever readers. What do you do for fun with your kids?