7 Tips for Mom during Big Family Sleep Overs

We just had some family staying with us the past two days and for how much I worried about certain things that could go wrong, that didn't happen, I decided to share with you some quick helpful tips to ensure you're ready to roll with the punches and enjoy the moment.

Ben's brother and his family were back here visiting from where they now live, Puerto Rico. All together that's a family of 6. I love them dearly but we also have our two sons, my brother who lives with us, and I run an inhome daycare. I was wondering how things were going to play out. I like to have an idea of what is happening and how much to plan for but when you get two households together, its not always organized. 😜 Good people but our two families seem to ride different waves 😜

The thing about this visit is we had no idea who was all staying with us or when. First day we planned 6 people and got one adult with 3 kids (a newbie arrived with them! Their cousin from their moms side. super good boy!) then of course we had some family come over and see them. The second day, my brother inlaw had to run errands and the kids got to hang here with me and the group! When he came back with his wife during a busy time of day for me with some kids getting picked up, the talk of added visitors was in full swing.

Now comes to the moment where I'm scrambling to think where is everyone going to sleep?! Do we have enough food? Someone needs to pick up more milk! 

We ended up having a very nice visit. The kids had fun, we had enough food, Ben and I were able to enjoy nice conversation by the bonfire with my brother and sister in law. The kids slept good and although Ben had to work the next morning, he made coffee for us and I was able to make everyone a nice French toast breakfast before the kids took one last dip in the pond and they packed up and left. Leaving my sons and I in complete chillness....and missing them a great deal.

Here are my tips to help you roll with the punches when having family sleep overs that have no plan

1) Remember it goes by fast. Breathe and let the children make memories! (and moms and dads of course!)

2) Plan One big meal for dinner that kids all enjoy (I went with spaghetti with garlic bread! Everyone loved it and kids asked for seconds and thirds!) Plan One big breakfast. The other mornings the kids can just have toast or cereal! Doesn't need to be fancy and they're all fed!

3) Worried won't have enough to drink? Can't go wrong with water! HYDRATE! Specially during these summer months. We get our water from a well so its clear and refreshing....and FREE! I just refill their water bottles and they can carry them around and get a drink whenever. Helpful shopper tip: when you buy the "good2grow juice" with the fun character twist tops, keep them! I just reuse them and the kids love them!

4) Can't go wrong with popsicles. I planned that atleast one day during their visit, I'd have enough popsicles for every child while they played outside. BOMB POPS! (I had 10 in one day with my daycare, nieces, nephews, my youngest son and my brother in laws nephew who came along)

5) Kids can entertain themselves but lets face it, in todays generation they act bored. We did a shark puzzle then I said get your swim suits on! Water play, rather it be a sprinkler, pool, or water balloons. They'll love it! Luckily we have a pond so doing jumps off the dock keeps them occupied for awhile. My nieces just painted their nails and went on the swings. Don't always have to plan a big activity or place to go.

6) Everyone can AGREE ON THESE SHOWS; the PBS channel. Duck Tales (we watch the original), Phineas and Ferb then of course I have never met a child or adult who doesn't like Scooby Doo! 

7) Take pictures! Please put your phone down, enjoy the conversation that is in front of you but when your kids are making memories and bonding with their cousins, get updated photos atleast once a year if you can! 

Father's Day Ideas

Father's Day is coming up Sunday, June 16th and it will be here before you know it! Every year I try to come up with something that not only my son's dad will enjoy but also the dads of the daycare kids who come here! Some years I've had everyone do the same gift and other years I go with the separate personalities of the families to create different gifts for each father.

I honestly cannot remember all the Father's Day gifts I have done with my boys and their friends. I do although remember some and want to share them with you.

*One year for Ben I remember I bought him a red cooler that he could easily carry anywhere and filled with random fun things I thought he'd like or need. Toy guns for him to play with the boys, some of his favorite snacks, new underwear and small sized camping gear!

*For one of Maverick's earlier Father's Day gifts we went with the saying "Following in my daddies foot steps" where I  painted the bottom of one of Ben's shoes with blue paint and stamped it on paper, then putting Maverick's shoe print beside Ben's then added a board around it.

*Another year Maverick and the rest of the boys found some pretty heavy rocks that they could carry and I had them paint the rocks. Once the paint dried, I took some glitter glue and wrote "My Dad Rocks!" on a nice service of the rock that could be seen well while sitting on a shelf.

*Last year Jonah asked if he could make a Ninja Turtle fathers day card so we traced his hands on green construction paper, added a strip of orange construction paper to create Michelangelo's orange ninja mask then I had Jonah write "You're Turtl-ly awesome" then an added message of his wish.

*A fishing picture with white construction paper, glued to green construction paper for a boarder. "Hooked on Daddy!" was the message read on it. Maverick's foot was the fishing pole and his hand the fish. He picked out the colors he wanted to use and at the time was learning to write his name so it was an added bonus to have him sign his own name on his gift for dad. I then took a paper puncher to make a hole in each top corner and used some rustic rope looking string to loop through the holes. It not only added a nicer touch to the fathers day picture but now it can hang anywhere!!!

There as been many more, such as canvas art with the boy's foot print and I drew a golf course around it. I'm Brooke Gagnon on pinterest. I have an example of this golf themed fathers day present under my Pinterest Board "kids crafts" check it out and many more ideas if interested! The idea of this one was not mine though. Thank goodness for Pinterest some weeks!

Now this year our oldest, Jonah, has decided to use some of his chore money to order his dad something special. Our youngest, Maverick is in school now and he made a present for dad at school. Fun surprise for both me and dad!! Then of course this mama had to get something a little extra special for our special guy. I ordered a canvas picture through Walmart that reads at the bottom "BEST DAD EVER!"  with a group picture of Ben with both boys (it was taken in December with Rudolph at the tree farm) then under the group picture, it shows a nice picture of dad with Maverick and then a separate nice picture of dad with Jonah. I was a little nervous how it would turn out but after receiving it in the mail today, I'm happy with how the colors burst on it and how well everyone looks. It was tricky trying to be casual and asking dad to take random nice pictures with the boys. Their looking so different and grown up these past few months that I knew I'd need updated pictures.

Now for my daycare kids....hmm I have ideas but I am still stumped on just exactly what I will have them make. So far, I'm thinking two kids will make a stepping stone for their dad's but I still need to come up with something special for the rest. I can't wait to share with you what it may be. It gets tricky for me some years because when a child comes to my care, I typically care for them for 5 years so that's a different fathers (and mothers) day gift for not only my children but for their friends as well every year.

I wish everyone luck on finding something special to make the man you love feel special this year. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

5 years

The sun has risen in the sky, birds of all kinds are making their beautiful sounds from all directions. The bumble bees have woken up and started buzzing around the cherry blossoms and the school bus has just drove by. Usually I'd be getting my son on that bus but he gets a ride from his grandma some mornings and this morning happens to be one of them, giving me just a little extra ME TIME! I'm celebrating by enjoying a peaceful quiet moment on my deck, drinking coffee with my girl Goose. Our half husky half boxer 5 year old dog.

As I catch a hummingbird zooming through the tree branches and other birds compete with the red winged black bird for bird seed, I can't help but remember the first year in our home, back when the red winged black bird use to dive bomb our heads. While we were pregnant with our son, Maverick, we were looking for a new home. We were living in a decent two bedroom, two bathroom townhouse in a nice town but shoulder to shoulder to nosy neighbors. We not only wanted more privacy, but we needed more space and an extra bedroom so a 7 year old Jonah could still have his own room.

Ben found our home driving around on his bike (motorcycle) one evening and immediately put an offer on the table assuring me after he got home that it was perfect for us. Over the next couple months while I was still pregnant, we'd drive past. Started eating out at the houses local food places. We had the house taken from us with a better offer, just to get it back with the other buyers bad luck, then lost it a second time just to luck out again and find out the buyer was just buying it to flip it a little bit. Eventually, while in labor May 1st 2014, Ben got a phone call saying we could pick up the keys. Ben told him he'd come for the keys the next day. Our family helped us move while I was still in the hospital with Maverick.

We were officially moved in by May 3rd and I couldn't have felt more blessed. New home, new baby, help from family, and OUR PRIVACY! I felt  such bliss that whole first year. Besides the slight fear that comes with a newborn and every terrifying story you hear on the news! I couldn't get much sleep though. Not because Maverick was up all night...no, he slept through the night very well. I couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop staring at him. When he was a baby we had him sleeping in a bassinet right next to my side of the bed. I couldn't help but risk it when I had to lay my hand on his belly every hour to make sure he was still breathing!

We took our first year slow. Giving ourselves time to plan what all needed to be done with the house. One big job was we needed to finish adding on a bedroom for Jonah downstairs. That first year while Maverick slept in our room, Jonah slept in Maverick's room. Still, we took our time. We even took on a puppy against my wishes, having a dog and cats already and not to mention the newborn! It was still a great year, spending as much time as possible outside. Due to our nosy neighbors at the previous house, we didn't get much peace in our old backyard. I was thrilled to lay with Maverick as he just stared at the green trees, blue skies, white clouds floating by. Imagining what he must've thought of it all experiencing it so fresh! Other than trying my best to keep him protected from the  dang mosquitoes all summer long, it was a magical time everyday. Maverick was such a good baby. Didn't cry much, eager to learn and eager to get moving. With having a big brother, you can imagine that he felt he needed to catch up. That motivation getting him to walk by 10 months for sure! He was a pro by his first birthday. Dancing, walking, running, climbing and of course a lot of mini heart attacks for this mama!

Now that big brother is going to be 13 this summer and that baby is 5 years old, we are still excited for our everyday adventures but entering a new set of fears. The preteen is always looking cranky and just had dumped his first girlfriend (to which this mom says, WOOHOO! GET OUTTA HERE!) Then of course we have the 5 year old. I named him Maverick to be wildly independent and boy did he come out living up to his name but now that 5 year old is still looking up to the big brother and thinks hes 15 trapped in a 5 year olds body. Our peaceful mornings of snuggles and cartoons have turned into me having to drag him out of bed early, get him dressed and fed and out the door for school. The easy baby that never cried started giving me the tantrums when he was 3 years old and they haven't stopped yet but we do seem to be getting through them easier and less often. Then of course this house! We've been here for 5 years, time to get our butts moving for all the jobs we planned. (and yes, if you're wondering, Jonah was in his own room shortly before Maverick's first birthday!)

Well, I hear a car pulling in. Our daycare friends are arriving and its time to start the day! I did start this blog stating that I was enjoying a peaceful MOMENT. This mom doesn't get much ME TIME! Hope everyone has a great Friday and enjoys some peaceful moments.

To post or not To post

Here I am trying to start a blog and completely torn about sharing my children's faces on social media. Yes, I post pictures of my sons or nieces and nephews on Instagram or snapchat but I've always been a private account. I only add friends and family with the occasional mom account after looking up and down their pages before allowing them to see my page. I use to not allow any strangers  but with wanting to start this blog, I feel I need to make myself more public. The tricky thing is I don't want to be so public, which is obviously a big problem when at the same time I want to get myself out there.

I've had an Instagram since late 2012. Since then I've posted beautiful memories of my life and my loved ones. Ben was very against social media and showing our kids faces and I was always on the fence. When our son Maverick was born I didn't post anything! It wasn't until our son was 6 months old that I posted a picture and from then, its just a picture here and there every few weeks if any.

Recently I came to terms with knowing that if I want people to come to my blog, I need to put myself out there more, something I never wanted to do. I get plenty of requests from people wanting to follow me but I decline. I just can't get myself fully comfortable with many people being able to see pictures of my children or my personal life. Then why start a blog right? Well the reason is, like anything, if you put the work in, something can be successful. There are women out there (and dads!) that are able to be full time parents to their kids and still make an income for their family....through blogging! I figured why not try? I know not everyone can wham bam become a successful blogger but if I could, how swell. How easy! NOT! One big cut back, I'm so nervous about sharing too much.

I read blogs that are very detailed and personal where it seems like they don't hold much back then I see other blogs that are open and personal but keep their kids faceless and some even nameless. Either way it has been fun connecting with women around the country. Some chats I've had with people are short and sweet while other conversations I have had are more open and sharing.

Knowing that as of right now, I want to see how it can go, I deleted at least 20 or more pictures of our kids that showed their faces from my Instagram to open myself up to more followers.  I'm finding myself a little sad that I took down so many pictures mainly because it was such a convenient place to hold their memories and now I need to print the pictures off and hope to not lose them physically. The other half of me is ready to walk to the deep end of blogging and let myself explore more openly to the experience and possibilities!

My Mary Kay

Hello! I hope you're having a good day! Today I want to know what people use for skincare? There is so much out there!! I personally, have used Mary Kay since 2009 for sure. My mom before that but now I am a Mary Kay independent Consultant.

When I first became a Mary Kay Independent consultant a few years ago, I took it very seriously. I went to all the weekly meetings! I did my weekly accomplishments every Monday, I held skincare classes and brought guests to my Directors skincare classes. I went to weekend retreats and I went to Dallas, Texas to the Mary Kay headquarters and sat in Mary Kay Ash's office! Love the experience (had bad luck at the beginning of the trip to Dallas but I don't regret going!) I really do believe if you work that business, you can find great success! I even made queen of sales in my Unit a couple weeks in a row! Although for me, I ended up slowing way down. Stopped going to the weekly meetings, ran out of people to ask to host and decided, I don't know if public speaking at multiple different skincare classes was for me.

I still love the products and I am still an active consultant but now I mainly do it to not only continue supplying for some friends and family but for the 50% off discount I get as well.

My go to products are
* 4in1 Timewise Cleanser!
* Night solution
*Mary Kay perfumes (at the moment I'm wearing 💗 thinking of Love💗 )

I also Love to use
*mint bliss energizing lotion feet & Legs
*clear proof cleansing charcoal mask!

There is so much more they offer and of course I love their Make up! Their oil free eye make up removal is  A LIFE SAVER!!! Let me know what you are using?!

Astronomers in training!

I'm so happy to continue sharing our Outer Space theme with you! The kids and I have had much fun reading our night sky books. From learning the phases of  OUR planets moon to learning that Jupiter has a total of 67 moons as of 2018! Rather my group of young school age and toddlers are remembering everything they hear, they are gripping on to some facts! Encouraging them to read more and learn more is the best part! The younger the better! Its so fun hearing one of the young boys was talking about living in the Milky Way Galaxy or hearing my 3 year old niece get excited about the sun facts. 

Sun and "Blue Giants" painting! 

While teaching them what the Sun is made out of and how the sun is the closet star to us, I had my group take Q tips and paint inside a circle with orange, red and yellow paint to create the fire look.

We also discussed the different stages of a star. Proto Stars being the baby, Blue Giants being the stars we down here, see the most clearly when we look up to the night sky. With a different Q tip, they made blue dots for their Blue Giants.

Telescopes! 

Future scientists and astronomers need telescopes to be encouraged to explore more! With decorated paper towel roll, then add toilet paper roll to help them be able to extend their telescopes. (another boy made a red one with shiny star stickers that isn't pictured but was great!)
 

Future Scientists

The last couple weeks the kids and I have been little astronomers! I have 3 and 4 year olds earning awesome planet stickers by telling me an astronomer is a person who studies astronomy. What is astronomy? They earn space stickers by telling me astronomy is the study of the sky and all the objects and forces in it! It has been such a fun theme and fun listening to them point out blue giants or supernovas in the sky. One boy has grown so interested in dwarf planets and he feels bad for our little Pluto. Given the choice of a big ol' Saturn or Jupiter sticker, he wants the tiny Pluto sticker 😊

Here are some of the crafts we worked on during our outer space theme:

Alphabet Rocket! Helping them identify their letters and bonus, what boy doesn't love rockets!?

Star stamping!! Fun for all of them and great for the smaller kids too!

This blog is continued in a second post to show you some more fun crafts that helped the kids learn about space and be encouraged to explore and understand more of what is out there! Please keep reading! The BEST of what they learned so far is coming in my next post!

Earth Day with kids

It's Earth Day! The kids here and I have been learning about outer space, sun, stars and of course, our planet, Earth! I wanted to share with you our fun and easy ways we have been helping our planet.

Friday, my sons, along with their two cousins and I  headed outside and cleaned up part of our ditch on our road. Sadly, we didn't even get as far as we hoped before filling 4 garbage bags and a wagon. I was proud of the kids for their dedication and how much trash they were able to grab and help clean our Earth. It is also nice to see them feel proud and know they are doing something instead of nothing to celebrate Earth Day and help their home.  As we were walking and picking up trash, one of my neighbors had even came down their driveway and thanked us for picking up the ditches. Of course we had gloves on and everyone needed to wash their hands when we got back from filling our bags.

Another fun way the kids and I like to help our planet is recycling! Rather its bringing the recyclables somewhere to be recycled or doing fun activities! One of our favorite ways is reusing milk jugs or other size bottles to make bird feeders! Not only are you reusing the plastic rather than just tossing it but you're helping provide some of the wildlife with good food all year round. (don't forget, birds need to eat in the winter months too!) The thing to know about plastic is that it survives FOR A VERY LONG TIME. It is very tough stuff. We don't want to be throwing it away and having it in our land or someday floating in the waters. Reuse it!
 Other ways to reuse plastic could be for
- making fun pen or pencil holders
-musical shakers
-twisters in a water bottle (I'm sure Pinterest has fun ways to create this!)
-sensory bottles. In the past I have filled bottles with Dr. Seuss supplies to celebrate Dr.Seuss's birthday!

 reusing paper towel or toilet paper rolls
for fun crafts! Binoculars or like we're doing this week, telescopes.

 cascade containers or fun boxes.
 Here, Ben and I use to get Keto boxes from onnit or graze snack boxes in the mail. Instead of just throwing them away, I have saved plenty of them for future nature walks we will have this summer!! Each kid will get their own box, decorate it and any treasures they may find can be put in their recycled boxes!

I not only want to take care of our planet and help provide a nicer home for our children (and our future grandchildren) when they grow up but I absolutely enjoy sharing with the kids how many easy ways they can grow up to learn to help keep their planet be safer for the them AND the wildlife they enjoy seeing. As PBS "Nature Cat" and his friends sing "Its Earth Day everyday...Its even better than your birthday and we will do our part!"

fingers in the mouth again?!

Fingers in the mouth? What is the fascination? I understand having those little habits that we just can’t stop but jeepers, the school boys are my worst for the fingers in the mouth. I know babies are learning, toddlers are teething but then the school boys (4, 6, 7)  just love the fingers in their mouth. 😝

Today during quiet time, I, in a jokingly tone, told the boys I'm going to be putting hot sauce on everyone’s fingers.

My son Maverick: I love hot sauce (in a calm matter of fact tone )
Me :                         Then I’ll do spicy mustard
Maverick:                  I like that too!
Me:                           Then soy sauce
Maverick:                  Oh! (Small chuckle ) I do not like that.

Navigating emotions

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

 I'm sorry I haven't been very active on here lately. I love my blog but I love my busy life even more! Lately I have been focusing on teaching my group of kids and son how to identify their emotions and keep calm during upsetting times. In a past post or two I wrote about my son getting upset and how I planned to handle it. In that case I previously wrote about, he was showing lots of empathy but in general my son gets frustrated both with others and himself very easily. I decided I wanted to take more control and help my son. What I learned was the best thing I think I can do for my son (and his friends ) is help them feel some control too. I actually need to relax more and let go of the control I wanted. I am the boss but how many of us end up feeling so drained at the end of a day because of all the repeating and demanding of respect from the kids? I decided, for sure parents and other adult figures need to be respected by their children but we may not get that too much if we start to turn red and get upset....the exact thing we don't want our children to do. Ever hear the expression "Monkey see Monkey do" ? Well, with some common sense we can all agree, our kids are going to grow up doing more of what we DID rather than what we SAY, am I right? Not always the case but usually that's what ends up happening.

Disciplining is not a treat for me. I don't like harping on them all the time but it comes with the job. Both from working with children and being a mother. It is our responsibility to them to help them learn and grow into good people as they get older. I talk about discipline with emotions because sometimes when an emotion can become too much for a young child, they can become rude and unpleasant for others to be around. What I am telling my son is, its ok to feel mad. It is ok for them to feel however they want to feel but it is never ok to make someone else who isn't hurting you, feel bad or stop someone else from enjoying their time.

Here are some books I ordered from scholastic to help my son and his friends navigate a little easier through their emotions. Some have a happy ending and others end leaving you on a bit of a cliff hanger but giving you something to discuss with your child.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

My name is Mister Rodgers.

I'm glad that you are near.

You've made this day a special day

By just your being here.

-Opening song from Mister Rodgers Neighborhood (as well as first page in a great new book!)

Who didn't like Mister Rodgers? I don't know anyone who has answered "I can't stand the guy" or "I didn't like the show". I remember when I was much younger, there was a time my mom had this older woman watch me during the day. I don't have many clear memories of that woman but a few. One of them rare memories is every afternoon after our naps, I could walk downstairs, she'd make me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I ate it while watching Mister Rodgers neighborhood.

Today's generation continues enjoying Mister Rodgers neighborhood but in the form of Daniel Tiger's neighborhood which is a sweet cartoon. We here love Daniel but with owning a Roku, we're able to get a PBS channel with the option of watching the original show that started it all as well. Having the option to enjoy both is great because both provide entertainment as well as great everyday life lessons for the kids to understand.

During Maverick's last scholastic school book order, I preordered a book of poetry! Not just any poetry, poetry of Mister Rodgers! It arrived to his school just yesterday and today I was able to share a little bit of it with the Maverick and one of his friends. I am so excited to enter this season of spring relaxing (as much as a mom can ) outside and sharing these fun songs created by Mister Rodgers, with my son and other children. Illustrated as poetry by Luke Flowers makes for a peaceful read with fun pictures for the kiddos!

I love the messages and the love Mister Rodgers clearly had for children. He provided the world fun ways for kids to get through or better understand their (and our) many feelings!
At around noon today, I laid on one of our rocks along our rock steps outside while the boys sat by me and I read 4 of the poems. We had to stop to go in for lunch but my son said as we were closing the book "that was nice reading that out here." I agreed. I recommend this book and wouldn't be surprised if I share a page or two from it in the future! I really don't mean for my blog to become book recommendations but as a fun place for moms or other care takers to just come to either know they're not alone or find fun ways to spend the days with their loved ones! This book just seems to be a super fun way to spend time with my son and the other children I am blessed to watch grow.

Making ME time a priority

Making time for myself is easier said then done! I may be blessed enough to work from home and make my family my first priority but it becomes hard to make myself a priority. I’m sure I’m not alone in that!!

Busy with the kids, the pets, keeping everyone happy and making sure everyone has what they need for the day and the next day. When I get a free moment, I end up feeling guilty about it and start cleaning. The never ending laundry piles. Thank goodness we finally got a new dish washer!!! I’d do dishes all day long. Go to bed with a clean sink and wake up to more dishes that appeared while I slept! The dish washer has very much helped me out!

With the days going by so fast, I try to appreciate what I have and snuggle with my son as much as he’ll allow before he’s done snuggling with his mama. Sad thought but I know for me to be better for him, for his brother, for their dad and everyone who comes in contact with me during the day, I have to force myself to take time for ME!

I’ve signed up for another yoga class which I never regret going to! I love yoga and everything it stands for. Not only for my physical benefits but it really does calm down the mind. Helps me slow down, take a breath and put certain things in a different perspective or just not care much at all about another thing. Also! Journaling. It may sound silly but when I stop doing it, I do notice I feel more sluggish. Why not remind myself of the 5 good things that happen every day?! I wake up sometimes and I hate when a thought comes into my mind reminding me of ONE bad thing that happened the day before, leaving me feel like crap! I have to remind myself of the good things and tell myself feeling bad about something I feel I did wrong or something that didn’t go well the day before, won’t help me have a better day.

Everyday is a new day! A new chance to be better! I am not perfect but I strive for positive progress everyday. So today I am going to try and push out the negative thoughts, forgive myself for the small moments in yesterday I lost my patience and remember the multiple moments where I was calm and smiley.

Little ways to make time for ME today! 
1) keep journaling
2) keep reading my book
3) Don’t rush to stay on time, work on blog
4) put a movie on at quiet time for the boys and take some time for yoga!
5) be thankful for coffee and breath in the fresh air outside!

Kid deals!

If you don't know already, Gymboree is sadly going out of business. They have been 40%-60% OFF!! I put in my order and got it already! At first their system was screwed up and wasn't sending out the tracking number so I got concerned but after a quick reply from them, I learned my order would be here by March 13th. Its here already! Score! So far everything looks great!

I ordered a lunch box for my son. Next school year will be his first year being at school ALL day. This year he can eat at home but his dad makes him a cold lunch here and there so he can be more like big brother 😊. My son loves his new lunchbox! Spent his quiet time last week just admiring it. It was priced $8.97 and I got it for $3.79! Also I ordered some adorable ivory colored onesies for my cousins upcoming baby this spring, shirts for my niece and nephew as well as two fun shirts for our youngest son! (Jonah has grown right out of the kids section 😟 ) They have all seemed to meet my satisfactory so far!

So! If you're interested in some fun kid products or sweet graphic tees, get to Gymboree.com! It is their final week. Deals advertised 60% - 70% OFF! This is not a sponsored ad. Just a fun tip!

Taking the pressure off him and off mom

Alright its Thursday morning. Maverick and I have had a nice morning getting ready, finishing up his breakfast, and brush his teeth. As Maverick brushes his teeth, our friends start arriving. During this drop off, one of the boys mothers tell him he needs to use his words to ask me if he can bring something to the couch with him. Backing the mother up, I wait  for the boy to use his words and ask me. Has nothing to do with me and my son who is getting himself prepared for the bus which will be coming soon. The other boy doesn't use his words and starts crying. My son then starts feeling sorry for his friend and starts crying and yelling at me saying its all my fault. Oh joy, what a great start for not only my morning but my son's as well. I try to simply explain to my son to mind his own business and its not my fault his friend is crying. His friend is suppose to use his words and is choosing not to. As we go outside, I'm moving on but my son is still upset for his friend. After my son makes a hurtful comment to me I say well I love you and send him on the bus.

As his mother, I'm sad for this. Not only were we having a good morning and now I sent him off upset but I'm torn. Of course I love that my son wants to defend his friends but I want him to understand theres a time and a place. You need to mind your own business as well. Feeling defeated because how do you help a soon to be 5 year old understand when to step in for friends and when to mind your own bees wax!

Later, after consulting with the school counselor, she was amazed by my son's empathy at such a young  age. She said most kids at 8 years old don't even have that feeling of true empathy for others. I tried expressing how I'm worried for his future, his anger and yes I want him to be sympathetic to others but dang it, mind your business and be on your moms side. Don't attack me for another moms situation with her child. The counselor told me my son isn't seeing it as that. He is seeing that after I spoke to his friend, his friend started crying. He doesn't see it as a battle with his mom, he wants his friend to be happy.

I had planned to talk to my son after he got off the bus but the counselor advised me not to. A bad morning doesn't make for a bad day. Just because he got upset this morning, doesn't mean he can't still earn stickers the rest of the day. He wasn't trying to make a fight with me. He just shows so much empathy and I should take the pressure off him as well as me. She knows I want my son to be a good boy and the fact that he is showing empathy for others already, I should feel proud and not stress so much about him being good all the time. She said its rare for his age to feel so sympathetic for another person. She also added at school and with her in her class, he is awesome which of course is music to any moms ears.

I had let it go. When he got off the bus, he greeted everyone nicely and seemed to have forgotten what went on earlier before getting on the morning bus. We had a good rest of the day!

So, if anyone has any good tips on teaching my son the appropriate times to step in and protect a friend and the appropriate times to mind  his own business, awesome! Otherwise I'm going to try to calm down, not stress what other moms maybe judging me by (because lets be real, half the stress is the pressure with all the mom shaming ) and do  what the counselor said. Be happy my son is showing so much empathy at a young age. I can teach and tell right from wrong but emotions are something that are always changing. It may suck he  got upset with me (and to be honest, when he talks back to me I want to give the mouth a little smack) but I'm happy my son just wants his friends to be happy. We just need to try to navigate through these tricky emotions. Breathe.

Dr. Seuss Schlopp

Think! Think and wonder.

Wonder and think.

"Oh, the thinks you can think!"

I love this book. It's so fun! (Not to mention came in handy for some quick preteen advice in a daily lunch note. Reminding our oldest the thinks you can think up if only you TRY)

This was our Friday treat with their lunch. We made Schlopp. Beauitful Schlopp!

They got to "THINK" up what color they wanted their Schlopp to be. Two picked green and one picked yellow! It was a hit. I let them crush some of the m&ms, add the drops of their food coloring and help stir it up! Some nibbled but others inhaled it! 

We also enjoyed reading "If I ran the ZOO" which is perfect to go with "Oh, the things you can Think" because its about the boy thinking about the places he'd go and the creatures he'd find to create his perfect zoo. I encouraged the boys to tell me what they would have at their zoo at the end. I got answers such as elephants and even Raptor dinosaurs!!! 

Maverick's teachers sent out a fun Dr. Seuss dress up schedule for NEXT week so I shared it with the families that come here and said we'll be joining in on the fun with Maverick! We're excited to continue celebrating the writer to so many beloved books.

Easy Dr. Seuss Fun

We continued this week with our Dr.Seuss theme we started Monday. In a previous post I shared with you our "Hands, Hands, Fingers, Thumb" project, but I'd like to use this post to share with you some
More of our fun from this week!

 "Dr. Seuss's One fish two fish red fish blue fish"

was read at story time this week so for their craft that day, they remade the book cover on yellow construction paper. Every kid loved getting their hands painted and having them turned into FISH! 

"THE CAT IN THE HAT"

This was another book that was read at story time this week! We also enjoyed the PBS show "The cat in the Hat Knows A lot about That" as well as the Mike Myers movie! I love reading this one to my group because at the end the Cat in the Hat comes back to help Sally and her brother clean up the mess. 

"Who was back in the house?

Why, the cat!

"Have no fear of this mess,"

Said the Cat in the Hat.

"I always pick up all my playthings

And so...

I will show you another 

Good trick that I know!"

Great lesson to the kids that even though he gets crazy and can create a big mess, he will help clean up! 

For this Craft, I had the kids use their hands to make Thing 1 and Thing 2

Dr. Seuss themes this week!

Be who you are 

and say what you feel

Because those who mind don't 

Matter

and those who

 MATTER 

don't mind. 

-Dr. Seuss!

This morning the boys and I continued on our theme this week, Dr.Seuss . If you don't know already, it happens to be the birthday of Dr. Seuss this coming Saturday, March 2nd! Although he's not here with us anymore, I love his books, I love his lessons and the love of reading he spread upon the world should continue to be celebrated!!!

I've had a different set of kids between yesterday and today so both days we read the books Dr. Seuss's "ABC" and the fun beginners book "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb" . I decided today's craft would be based on the book that focused on some useful body parts! With the help from our stuffed monkey that came with the book, we enjoyed story time and moved into our activity! 

We use all sorts of fun supplies here and we tend to paint a lot but today I decided instead of painting their hands, I would trace them and they could have fun coloring them in!  I traced both hands, one set of fingers and one thumb on each boy. We went with BROWN to match the "millions of monkeys" in the book! 

In This Moment

It's early Friday morning, dad and big brother are off to town, while my niece has Minnie Mouse playing in my bedroom, my nephew and youngest son still in a peaceful slumber in the living room. I'm drinking my some what horrible tasting coffee this morning but happily staring out the dining room window at the sunrise waiting for one of our friends to arrive. Deer across the pond eating the corn the kids laid out for them the night before.

In this simple moment I am in bliss. These little moments being some of the most memorable moments of my life I can only imagine. Its winter, so cold and unable to step foot outside without tying my boots on but the bright sparkly snow making the cold world beautiful. In this quiet moment, just me and the three doves sitting on the skinny branches among the trees. The strong blue jay coming in to eat some bird seed in front of the window.

As I stare out, thinking about all that I love and taking in the beauty of the moment, I hear a deep rumble. Is my brother downstairs moving something heavy across the floor? What would he being moving at 7:00 AM? I listen more carefully....oh! 😊 Its my nephew snoring, enjoying his time to sleep in and not have to rush this morning. I smile and as I turn back to the window, get blinded by the bright light coming from the sun reaching above the tree lines in the sky. 🌄 Awe, what a blessing it is this morning to be able to just stand and watch the sunrise. 

"I am the son, I am the heir..." My niece has got hold of the remote and must've turned the channel from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to the three witches on Charmed. I go walking into my bedroom, sure enough, but we decide on Dora the Explorer. Give her a kiss on the forehead and head back to the livingroom to suck in the quietness a little bit longer if possible! Its going to be a good day. Our friend pulls in the driveway, comes in, Samantha comes out eagerly ready to begin the day. What to put on? PBS is usually our go to but lets put something on from the past....TINY TOON ADVENTURES!

Everyone starts moving around, Maverick's eyes open up and he pulls the book "BFG" back into his hands as he pretends to read all the words on the pages. My nephew Dylan lets out a long stretch. Their Uncle Brandon comes up, does his stuff and leaves for work. Time to get breakfast going and get ready for the go go go of little feet, hands and voices. We'll have whining, we'll have I want I want I want repeated, we'll have spills, we'll have disagreements, we'll have cold hands while playing outside, but we'll also have laughs. I wouldn't trade it for the world. 

Conquering Anxiety with Yoga

Last month my neighbor started texting me asking if I'd be interested in going to one of the local churches around here for a yoga class Monday nights. At first I was immediately thinking about my excuse to give her on why I couldn't. Then thinking how fast our evenings go and all the cleaning that needs to be accomplished each evening before I can head to bed. Not to mention the time I'd lose with my family.

Then my anxiety came knocking and reminded me I'd have to not only leave at the end of each Monday but also worrying about what the neighbor and I would have to talk about for the car ride both there and back home after the class. We have great neighbors but aren't overly social with them. We do favors for each other and visit from time to time but their short and filled with distractions from either their pheasant farm or the children. My mind likes to mess with me and make me constantly over think every thing I or someone else says. Its exhausting. My whole life my mind goes to the what could go wrong or what did I do that would make me look foolish or stupid. I'm a worry wart about anything. Over stressing being my biggest flaw! I obviously don't want to live like that. I know I have a good life. I know I am blessed. I just always would seem to feel nervous. What could happen, what will happen or feeling the weight of mom guilt.

Before becoming a mother, I did try pills to help relax that were proscribed by my family doctor but I took myself off of them maybe 3 years prior to becoming a mom. I don't want to rely on drugs or put things people can't even pronounce into my body. Not to mention the scary side affects! 

So when my neighbor brought up yoga, I thought about it hard. Did I want to commit to that? I reminded myself that we would be neighbors for many more years to come and although not every neighbor needs to be our friend, having a good relationship with our neighbors would not only benefit me but my whole household. Then I reminded myself nothing is going to change if I don't first change. I understand most of my worries or uneasy feelings are all mental. All in my head. The constant worrying isn't going to prevent any bad from coming but it is affecting my present moment. THIS RIGHT NOW IS LIFE! In this moment we are living and growing older. If not try to beat my anxiety now, then when?!

I let Ben know the neighbor had invited me to sign up for a yoga class every Monday night and that I would like him to help keep the sink from being over loaded with dishes while I was gone so when I would arrive back home at the end of the class, I would be able to relax. The whole point of going to the yoga class is to help me relax. I wouldn't want to be worrying about all the cleaning that still needed to be done when I got back home. (which there is always someones dish in the sink and the cleaning never stops!) I want to be able to come  home, read my son his bedtime story and chill out!

So many benefits of yoga that I've been hearing from other people, seeing from other people and reading about. One big lesson that stands out from doing yoga is like a tree, I bend so I don't break! I have terrible back and shoulder pain already at 30 years old! I go to a chiropractor (not as often as I should recently) but I use to go once, sometimes 3 times a week! I've gone to other chiropractors in the past but this one I use now, really helps me! I don't leave in more pain than I arrived in (I have left chiro appts in more pain but not from this guy!) After doing x-rays he seen my spine is completely twisted, my shoulders are very tight, and I apparently broke my tail bone as a child and it healed the opposite direction. My Sciatic Nerve usually hurts and I obviously can believe I carry a lot of stress in my shoulders. Twice already I have hurt my back so badly, I was in miserable discomfort and couldn't stand straight for a week! All from simply playing with my children or nieces and nephews! 

I did awhile back start disciplining myself to get up earlier every morning and do these stretches with a woman named Miranda on a PBS program. She was an ex ballet dancer who now helped people all over move around easier. During this time our family came into a few changes and instead of sticking with it, I decided staying in bed as long as I could would do me better. I do think during those more stressful times, we should be pushing ourselves more to get up and stretch or get up and take a walk. Whatever it may be for you, do it! 

I'm young! I not only want to physically continue to enjoy life and keep up with my loved ones but I also want to enjoy life and be in the moment. Not be stressing! I do find that if I continue to do yoga regularly through out the week, it * helps me focus on the now, *keep my phone put away, and *calm myself enough to where I'm training my mind to remember a lot of the things I'm stressing about just don't matter!!! Like actor Billy Murray says in more than one of his movies "IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER!"

This introvert took a step outside of her comfort zone and hasn't regretted it!! I'm just beginning to love and appreciate yoga. I hope I continue it and am able to receive its benefits! I know I have my bad hours and have days where I am pooped but with things I have learned through yoga, I have learned to calm my mind down, even if just a little bit. I'm striving for progress, Not perfection! No one is perfect. Although my life is pretty close to it!