Fall Is Here!!!!!!!!!!! YAYYYYYYYYYYYY

Fall officially begun yesterday and boy, were we excited!  Hooray for fall time crafts!

Funny Toddler Lingo

Say What?!?

Just yesterday, I was talking with my daughter, asking her what she wanted to do next. We always have ‘school’ where I teach her the basics and each day we add another activity. So she responded, ‘mommy colors and open shut please’.

Yesterday was my daughter’s 2^nd birthday and we had her birthday party on Sunday. Let me just quickly tell you that it was fun and I am still in recovery mode!

There's More To Life Than Peanut Butter Sandwiches!

Well...my toddler doesn't think so!

Any time and every time I ask my daughter what she wants to eat she responds ‘peanut butter sandwich’. Now for an almost 2 year old toddler whose vocabulary is steadily expanding, that’s pretty good. But where this love of peanut butter came from, that I do not have the answer to! Some people say the foods

My Little Social Butterfly

My daughter’s not even two yet and she loves people. No – I mean really loves!!! Not that I see anything wrong with it except I’m not really social when it comes to being in public!! My husband isn’t either and we have no clue how we’ve made such a ‘socially involved’ child. I laugh because I told my husband that if she could read, write and use the computer, she would love twitter, facebook and any other social media outlet.

Operation WAH

So, the past few weeks have been very busy for me…besides having to adjust to taking care of two young children and preparing lesson plans and teaching my toddler… I’ve been on a journey to find real, legit work from home jobs! Now I can tell you that I’ve had success in finding ones that were actually legit! I know, it’s a miracle right?!?!? So now,

...mini heart attack..at 2 am lol

Sooo...I'm writing to you from a state of no sleep...a zombie mommy...eyes open but half closed at the same time. I've been up for about an hour now..my daughter started crying around 2:30 am and I thought she wanted to nurse..

Driving Me Crazy….But I Wouldn’t Change It

On days when my toddler seems to drive me crazy…which is often, I stop and think about life before her….how boring it was. It was like clockwork…doing the same thing every day at the same time, no excitement at all. Working all day – from sun up to sun down….that oh so boring life!

New Foods + Toddler = A yes yes or no no?

 What I did to get my toddler to take interest in other foods besides cereal.

Easy. I sat her down, looked her in her eyes and said…”you will eat what I cook.” And she replied, “yes mommy.” –Wait, I wish it was that easy and simple. Wouldn’t all our lives be easier?!?!?!?!

Trying to get her to eat real food other than cereal…that was and still is a complicated task, but she’s coming around….slowly. Now she loves breakfast foods such as pancakes, waffles, French toast and of course, fruit, but that’s plain (& very yummy) and doesn’t always have the nutritional value that I would like.

Pinterest was a life saver, besides the fact of it being very addictive! I found so many kid friendly recipes and ways to make breakfast and include veggies! I even started experimenting on my own and created some yummy zucchini carrot strawberry pancakes! (Don’t worry, I’ll post the recipe soon J )

But how I really got her to start trying new foods was to let her taste different foods off of my plate. I laughed when I realized that she’s more likely to experiment on my plate than hers with the EXACT same items! Huh??? Who knew?!?!?!?!

So now, every time I’m eating, she comes up to me and eyes my plate, then asks “what’s that?” I respond and if it sounds appealing enough to her, she asks for some.

Ohhh…how I long for the day when anything can be cooked and she’ll eat it.

What special techniques did you use to introduce new foods to your child?? 

(All suggestions are welcomed as I’ve just begun this long, long journey)

What did mommy say???

So…I know all of you ‘moms like myself’ have experienced a time when your child has wanted something, whether it’s a toy, treat such as candy, cookies or chips. Well…what do you do when they continue to ask for it when you’ve already said no?????? What about when you tell them no and they ask their father???

I can tell you that even though my daughter isn’t two yet, I’ve experienced this MANY times!!! And she does it ALL the time and I catch her 95% of the time.

So the other day, Kay wanted a cookie. I explained to her that if and only if she finished ALL of her lunch, she could get a cookie….BUT she didn’t. She ate half of her lunch, pushed it aside and asked for a cookie. My response: “No. You didn’t eat all of your lunch. Finish eating and you will get a cookie.” She sits there for a couple of minutes then proceeds to push her plate back further onto the table.

I walked back into the kitchen and apparently, her father walked downstairs. I heard Kay and her father talking, but I couldn’t hear exactly what was going on. Then, he came into the kitchen and grabbed 2 cookies. I followed him out of the kitchen and as he was about to hand her the cookies I said, “don’t give her a cookie.” He asked why and I responded “she didn’t eat all of her lunch and I told her to finish but she refused.”

He gave me a look that said “sorry I didn’t know what occurred before I came downstairs” and reiterated to Kay that she needed to eat her lunch before she was given any cookies.

And…just like that----Kay used her daughter powers to try and get what mommy said she couldn’t!

Score:

Mommy – 1

Daughter - 0

School of Mommy

Yesterday as so many children headed back to school so did my toddler….the school of mommy J. I made it my business to spend a couple of months planning out activities and setting learning objectives that I wanted her to accomplish each month. When I was pregnant with her, I worked at a preschool as a 2’s teacher so I was already familiar with what she needed to master according to her age.

Since toddlers seem to have a really short attention span, we only spent about two hours focusing on learning. (To be honest, every moment is a learning opportunity, so it’s important to take every chance you get to teach J).

The first activity was days of the week. I made a sentence strip out of card stock paper which says: “Today is _______”. I used Velcro and made rectangles that had each of the days of the week on them. I went over the names and we talked about what the day was.

The second activity was weather. I also made a sentence strip for the weather in addition to creating a sun, cloud and rainy cloud. First we reviewed the types of weather then we looked outside and saw the sun, so she put the sun on our little weather strip.

The third activity was my name is. I spelled her name out in big letters so that she could clearly see each letter. We went over each of the letters in her name and practiced saying “my name is kayleigh”.

The fourth activity was ABC and letter recognition. We used simple alphabet squares as we recited ABC’s, I used the letters to show Kay the name of the letter and what the letter looks like.

The fifth activity was reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. This is a wonderful children’s book that was one of my favorites when I was in kindergarten! I am sure your toddler would love it as well J.

The sixth activity was an arts and craft project related to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. We made a coconut tree using letters of Kay’s name. She used glue to place the leaves on the tree as we recited the letters.

The seventh and last activity was naming body parts. I had these body part cards that show each of the body parts, the basic ones. We identified different body parts on the cards and I had her find where they were on her own body.

Needless to say, she was happy and excited about what we learned and even spoke about it. Today, I’ve prepared more activities to do with her and I will continue to work with here every day until she’s ready for school!! 

Oh my gosh! I think my favorite channel is Nick Jr…

As I am writing this, it’s about 5:50 ish am eastern time…I woke up to nurse and as I turned the television on I immediately turned to channel 256… What’s 256 you ask??? Well….it’s Nick Jr. No, my toddler child isn’t up, she’s knocked out snoring and everything in her bed. I began to hum the theme song to Team Umizoomi and I stop and realize that I didn’t channel surf, but I automatically knew what I wanted to look at without thinking about it.

Ever since Kay was born our television was programmed to Nick Jr – all day, all night, every hour, every minute, every second.

I can admit that when I’m not watching television, I find myself humming a song from one of the many ‘oh so cute’ kiddie shows, but did I mention that I know most of them word for word??!?! I think it's time for me to attempt to go back to sleep.....

Hello, my name is Ashely and I’m addicted to watching Nick Jr.

First Dentist Appt :-)

My daughter’s first dentist appointment was back in June of this year and it was…….unbelievably calm. Now when I’d spoken to other parents, they described their child’s experience as being “horrifying” with screaming, yelling and kicking – something that I had begun to prepare myself to brace for! But no, not my toddler, not Kay.

So we went in, signed in and Kay went to play in the waiting room. Only waiting about ten minutes, I was already nervous as I watched other children leave, some happy and others were clearly upset. Finally our names were called.

She sat so patiently in the chair waiting for the dentist to check her teeth and look, I was able to snap photos as waited:

Even once the dentist came to check and clean her teeth, she cooperated. Since she loved the dentist so much, they rewarded her with toys: a tea set, teddy bear and sunglasses. Now I only hope and pray that these trips continue to be peaceful!!!

♥ Mom who doesn’t like the dentist herself!!

...The Night Before She Arrives......

I am excited, overwhelmed and a little bit anxious…I can’t wait for my baby girl to arrive!!!!!

This pregnancy did not last fast at all, unlike my first one, which seemed to drag on and on and on and on…. But I’ve been counting down the days and thanking God that everything is normal and my baby is healthy!!

I can’t wait to capture Kay and our new baby girl’s first meeting…it will be a sweet, teary time that will definitely be captured by video and pictures…and added to their baby books.

This is really a real feeling…that I will no longer have one child, but two…and its simply amazing! I just ask for your prayers over the next couple of days J

-          New Mom (again J)

What’s in My Hospital Bag.......

…As I prepare for my c-section tomorrow, my bags are packed and ready!!!

Here’s what I have in my bag…… and its a lot as you can see :-)

• ·         3 – 4 loosely fitting panties
• ·         3 loosely fitting dresses
• ·         Loosely fitting pajamas pants
• ·         Nursing tank tops
• ·         2 pairs of non-skid socks
• ·         Flip flops
• ·         Contact nipple shield
• ·         Baby’s “Take Me Home” Outfit
• ·         2 onesies
• ·         Bibs
• ·         Burp cloth
• ·         Baby socks
• ·         Baby bow
• ·         Tooth brush & toothpaste
• ·         Lotion
• ·         Deodorant
• ·         Body brush
• ·         Scarf
• ·         Comb
• ·         Brush

What things did you have in your hospital bag???

Potty Training

Being pregnant and almost due, I found that I was in a rush to begin potty training my daughter! She’ll be the big 2 in September and while I had planned to get an early start before, of course things did not go that way!

I’d bought her potty training books; an Elmo one that’s really good and helpful because it not only shows Elmo going to the potty, but has sounds as well. (Here’s what the below)

She had her potty, which was a Summer Infant Step-By-Step Potty and a very good price! It was really cute that the potty resembled an actual toilet, yes including its own flushable wipes and toilet paper holder. (see picture and link below)

Summer Infant Potty

Side note: I would definitely recommend purchasing this one as it was very easy to use because it came assembled. All you had to do was clean it and it was ready for use!

So….when I took out her potty to initiate the “meeting”, she was actually interested! I’d placed her directly on our ‘big people’ toilet before, with help of course, but within a couple of days – ( 3 to 4 to be exact), she started using the potty!!! Day by day, I’ve begun to use various “potty” terminology so that she’s able to associate certain words with the potty.

One piece of advice that I can give you would be to take your child in the bathroom with you. Yes, I know they like to touch and mess with everything, but trust me, I did this and believe that this is one of the main reasons why my daughter was so interested in “peeing in the potty”. But show and explain to your child what you do, step by step and how to properly wipe themselves, flush the toilet, etc. Help ‘going potty’ be a known and not foreign subject to your child.

Another helpful technique that my mother taught me was to sit her on the potty near the television and/or her toys so that she can be engaged in fun while trying to succeed at a major task – going potty. She also stays occupied and you’ll find that you won’t have to say “_____, sit back down on your potty”.

Now I know that I must be blessed with this process being so easy, but for those of you who are struggling with helping your toddler to potty train, don’t worry!!! ….there is light at the end of the dark tunnel, really!! Hopefully my story will help you in one way or another J

Teaching Your Toddler About Their New Sibling “To Be” (When you’re expecting)

As soon as I started showing, I began to teach my daughter about her new sibling. I know a lot of people, including family members and friends, said that she wouldn’t understand, that she’s “too young”. BUT I have reason to believe otherwise.

Every opportunity I had, I would bring her along with me to my gyn and sonogram appointments. I even showed her pictures of the sonograms and explained that it’s a baby and yes it’s in mommy’s tummy.

So…for those of you who are expecting little ones and already had toddlers, here are some really good tips for teaching your toddler:

·         Show your child sonogram pictures

·         Take your child to your doctors and sonogram appointments

o   Let them see the screen as the nurses “check out” your baby

o   Let them hear the baby’s heart beat

·         If you have infant baby dolls, show your child and let them practice using diapers and bottles

·         Most importantly, let your child be involved

Do you have any tips or advice for teaching your toddler about the new baby?

From Our Bed Back to Her Own: Transitioning my daughter back to her own bed and not feeling guilty

Well, I have to be honest, since my daughter was an infant, I’ve loved resting with her…that oh so addictive yummy baby smell. – Hey, I know I’m not the only mother who is in love with the smell of a baby!! But as my daughter got older, she somehow got on a schedule of laying with me when it was time for her to go to sleep at night.  Of course I wouldn’t tell her no because whenever she laid with me, she was knocked out within minutes, sometimes seconds- I couldn’t complain.

But I will admit, after a couple of months it got bad…to the point where she didn’t want to be put in her crib at all! That not only affected our cuddling and intimate time, but made it so that we barely laid together at all.

To make things even more complicated, I was expecting again! I wanted to cuddle at night so my hubby could rub my back, tummy and feet, but with a 1 year old in the bed with you, that was not going to happen! We were faced with a top secret (sort of) special task – operation get Kay to go nite-nite in Kay’s Bed! Now, I will admit that this was not and I repeat WAS NOT an easy task!

It took night after night of attempting to tire her out to the point where we could put her straight in the bed. Finally after months of trying, she is in her own bed – no if, ans, or buts about it! Every night I say “time to go nite-nite in your bed” and she gives kisses and we put her in the bed and she sleeps ----ALL NIGHT!!!!!

…I feel so accomplished and I’m glad that this hurdle is over…

…now on to the next one J

Mommy vs Daddy: Round One

….Procrastination….Oh how it annoys me!!!

….(sigh)…As I come to you from a place of annoyance and frustration, I have to tell you that I can’t stand procrastination! That is one of my biggest pet peeves, of course among other small things. Now, I’m not saying that I haven’t procrastinated before because that would be a lie, but once my family “begun” I did my best to not do so in any way. Well my wonderful “husband” on the other hand….

First let me start off and say that my mother was and still is very VERY organized! I learned from the best, very best! She taught me how to manage my time and plan out my day so that everything that needs to get done is done and its either before it has to (if it has a deadline) or right on time- NO EXCUSES!

From all of this, I learned that men procrastinate way more than woman do- it’s the truth! And when you throw kids in the scenario- well that just further proves my point.

The picture above seems so accurate especially on a Saturday. Now of course the lists are different in the matter of tasks to do, but they’re still things that need to be done.

I feel like this topic will always be one of my pet peeves and with me having two daughters, I will be sure to teach them how to be organized like my mother taught me!!

                         Love, Procrastination-Free Mom

Adventures at the Park

We’ve always taken Kay to the park, but had to assist her in sliding or climbing, etc. Now that she’s getting older, she wants independence and is able to run around on her own! Of course, we still had to help her, but not nearly as much as before!

Being able to sit back and watch her run freely around, I just cherish these moments because I know that she won’t be this small for long. In our everyday, busy lives, I think it’s important for all of us as parents to take out time to just “watch” our children grow because with a blink of an eye, they will be grown…..