Wishbone Traditions

I value traditions in our family. There are just some things that I love doing every year, every bed time, or even holiday traditions that we keep, but I wasn't sure about this one...

A few days ago I cooked a chicken, the whole chicken and Tom was pulling the meat off the bones when he asked if he could keep the wishbone. I couldn't imagine why, but he put it aside. He said that he would like to let it dry out and have the girls break it in half. I remember doing this at Thanksgiving with the turkey wishbone... my sister and I would each hold one side with a pinky and yank to see who's half was the biggest. And whoever had the biggest one, was able to make a wish, or just have bragging rights for a while! :0)

So, yes I could understand saving the turkey wishbone at Thanksgiving, but the chicken bone in March? Why? Then I heard him say that he wanted to save it because it was something his Mom used to do. Any time "Memere" is mentioned I am all in! (She passed away before the kids were born, so we try to keep her 'alive' in any way possible.)

So, the chicken wishbone sat in my window sill for a few days drying out and then it was time... Tom introduced the girls to his wishbone tradition.

Here he is explaining the "rules" and they were SO excited! :0)

 First they tried using their pinkies, but it wasn't working so they used their whole hands to pull it apart!

 This is not a very good picture, but Bailee was THRILLED that she got the small piece! LOL

 Mia was showing me that she "won" and had the biggest piece of all!

 When Tom asked Mia what her wish was, she replied, "That Papa's wish will come true!" It was the sweetest thing!

After they were done, Tom told them to put their pieces in the garbage but Mia cried, "But I was to give it to the chickens!" I think she thought the chicken should have his bone back! :0)

I guess this is one of Memere's traditions that will stick around!

Do it yourself Fairy House!

I know, you're all thinking, "why would I EVER need to build a fairy house?" Or, "What's a fairy house?" Well, I'm about to answer your questions! You might need to build a fairy house after your 2 and 3 year old daughters become obsessed with Tinker Bell and want to build a fairy house for their new dolls. Or maybe you might want to catch a real fairy and keep it in a small cage for a pet...?

Well, either way, I built a fairy house with the girls today and it was lots of fun! They were thrilled that I would take the time to do this with them and it was fun to watch their imaginations bloom!!!

I took an old empty cardboard box, but a door into it, some windows on the back and drew all sorts of things on it and in it! :)

 Bailee was so excited to get her fairies "ready" to go inside!

 Here they are having lunch! :)

 They played with it for quite a while!

 Enjoy making your own, because I know you're all going to run out and make one tomorrow!!! ;0)

Need a babysitter?

He's not even a year old, but he would be the perfect babysitter! 

Your baby is guaranteed to have lots of drool on its face!

 He gives bottles (in the eye balls, but still, he tries!)

 He samples the milk to make sure it's not spoiled or too hot!

 He'll even hold your babies hand while babysitting! :)

 For an extra fee he'll even sing your baby his famous "Ooooo" song!

So? What do you think? He is available to babysit for the fee of 2 kisses/hour and 

can be reached at 1-800-baby-slobber! :0)

Van Tassel Pecking Order

Yesterday I wrote a blog about birth order and how it's starting to become very evident in my children's lives. Our family dynamics are starting to change now that Jack is getting around very easily on his own. He is not quite walking but is all over the place and into everything ~ including the girl's toys!

Since he has been cruising around I have noticed a big change in the way the kids play. The girls used to sit down contently and play together, but now they are very cautious about where they sit and what they take out. I often find them playing at the kitchen table or on their beds now since Jack can't reach up there.

Jack is also much more temperamental and fussy when he doesn't get his way. We used to have a rule that if Jack was in your way that the girls could ask me nicely and I would just move him. Now he throws a big fit when the girls take his toy or he gets removed from their play space. He is definitely taking on the role of pesky little brother! :0)

I know it's only a matter of time before I am hearing, "Mom, Jack is touching our stuff!" Or "JACK get out of our room!" I never had a little brother, but I now see why people always complained about their little brothers getting in the way! We all love him but he really does make messes of the girl's things! :0)

Birth Order in your Family

I'm sure many of you know the "rules" of birth order in a family. If not, it usually goes like this... the first born is bossy, goal-oriented, and strong willed. The second born or middle child is more easy going,  independent and a peace maker. The baby of the family is well, the baby. He/she might be more outgoing and competitive or maybe creative.

This may not apply to everyone because there are definitely exceptions, but I've found in our house that this is pretty much true. It makes things difficult sometimes because Bailee and I are both first born daughters and tend to butt heads a lot. Mia is also a typical middle child that goes with the flow often and tends to be flexible when needed. Jack is starting to show signs of being the baby and likes to be pampered and babied.

I think birth order is fascinating and love reading about different birth order traits and seeing them play out in all kinds of relationships (marriages, siblings, parent/child, etc...) I found a few interesting sites about birth order and this interesting chart... Check them out and see where you fall! :)

First	Middle	Last	Only
Natural Leader	Flexible	Risk-taker	Close to parents
High Achiever	Easy-going	Outgoing	Self-control
Organized	Social	Creative	Leader
On-time	Peacemakers	Self-centered	Mature
Know-it-all	Independent	Financially irresponsible	Dependable
Bossy	Secretive	Competitive	Demanding
Responsible	May feel life is unfair	Bored easily	Unforgiving
Adult-pleaser	Strong negotiator	Likes to be pampered	Private
Obeys the rules	Generous	Sense of humor	Sensitive

Are you a first born? Read here for first born traits

Are you a middle child? Read here for middle born traits

The baby in the family? Read here!

How about an only child? Read your traits!

So, what do you think? Do you fit in with your "birth order" traits, or are you a variable and don't fit it? It's fun to watch your children and see if they fit in to their birth order and to think about your marriage and if birth order affects why it does or doesn't work well for you both!

It's just fun to think about! :0)

You NEED to buy a CO2 alarm!

For the past 10 days or so our family had been dealing with the flu, or so we thought. Four out of the five of us had vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, headaches, fatigue, and other "flu-like" symptoms. It didn't seem to go away and our littlest children seemed to be affected the most. I was basically taking life one day at a time, one hour at a time, one vomiting spell at a time because there was nothing else I could do.

Well, yesterday morning at 4:30 am Tom and I both sat straight up in bed and looked right at each other. There was a high pitched screeching beeping sound coming from our kitchen. We didn't know what it was at first but quickly realized that our CO2 monitor was going off. It was VERY loud and so we quickly removed it from the wall and brought it into our bedroom. (We were hoping it wouldn't wake the kids.)

When we looked at the number on the monitor we realized something was wrong. It always blinked "0" but at that moment it was in the 60-70 range. We weren't sure what exactly that meant, so we got out the manual and started to read it very closely. The first thing it said was to get outside and call "911." We opened all the windows and called 911. They told us to get the kids out of the house and wait for the fire department to arrive.

Well, anyone with little children knows that waking 3 babies up from their sleep and getting them out of the house wouldn't be an easy task. So, first I asked Tom to start the van and I called my mom. She said we could definitely come stay there until things were figured out. I quietly scooped the kids up out of their beds and told them (with a smile of coarse) that we were going to go for a little ride in the van. They looked confused but were calm and happy to be "going bye bye!"

The fire department sent two fire trucks, a ton of fire fighters and a few police cars. We had our own parade in our front yard and the kids thought it was great. They determined that it was our coal stove that was producing CO2 and that we needed to leave the house unoccupied and open for the remainder of the day. Tom opened all the windows and we left for my mom's house where we spent the day.

I am just SO thankful that we had the alarm and that it was working properly! We could have had a much more severe or deadly experience and I am just thanking God for keeping us safe!

Since yesterday we have turned off the coal stove until we can figure out how to make it run properly and are enjoying lots of fresh air! I cannot imagine what would have happened if that alarm had not woken us up. I am counting my blessings!!!

So, I am begging you to go out tomorrow and buy a CO2 alarm. They don't cost much and could save your lives! (This is the one we have.) We never would have expected this to happen to us, but it did and we were grateful for the protection!

We thought we had the flu, and we still might have, but the symptoms of CO2 poisoning are identical to what we were suffering with. So I'm just trying to educate all of you out there and just giving you a warning that it could happen to anyone!

It's 1:27... What the heck's going on?

Blogging has not been a part of my normal everyday routine lately. I've been too busy to sit down and type something but it's been on my mind. I've decided that 24 hours in a day is not enough for me. (But the problem still wouldn't be fixed if there were more hours because I would find a way to fill them up!)

Today is different. I've been up since 4:45 with little Miss Mia. She's home sick with the flu and not feeling well at all. It all started at 1:27 am...

I was dreaming of some warm wonderful place when I found Mia on top of me in our bed. I looked at her and said, "What the heck is going on?" That woke up Tom and startled Mia. I was still half asleep when I realized I had a toddler on me. (The joys of motherhood!)

I quickly scooped her up and started giving her the lecture about staying in her own bed when I felt her whole body tense up... yup, she threw up allllllllllllll over me! I yelled to Tom who had already fallen back asleep and he jumped up to help me. It was too late, I was covered.

Mia cried because she's 2 and didn't understand what was happening. I'm glad she realized that something was wrong and came to get me. And then in our 1/2 asleep state we cleaned her up the best we could. I sat with her on the couch for quite a while until she was calm enough to put back in her own bed.

The night seemed to disappear between Jack's feedings, checking in on Mia and then at 4:45 I heard her throwing up again in her bed. :-( Nothing breaks a mom's heart more than seeing your little baby dry heaving so much that she's crying in between breaths. I knew at that time that I was up and awake for the day.

Therefore, I have lots of extra time to blog today... well, not really. I've spent the morning holding a sick child on the couch, changing bedding and trying to keep Jack out of the mess. Luckily Tom stayed home to help because I'm not sure how I would handle poor little Mia's meltdowns every time I leave the room. Right now she's freshly bathed and taking a morning nap, so I can only hope that her toast and gatorade stays in her belly!!

Now that the flu has infested our house I pray that the rest of us don't become sick too... only time will tell!

Baby Sign Language

When Bailee was a baby we started teaching her a few simple baby sign language words and she just took off with it! We were so surprised as new parents to see that our young baby could communicate with us so effectively! I was shocked at how fast she learned it and how it seemed so natural to everyone! It helped her "talk" to us and helped us to better understand each other. If she was hungry she could tell me, if she wanted more she could say that, etc... It really helped with her frustration levels and really helped me as a mom connect with her!

Ever since then her vocabulary and learning abilities have increased dramatically! We taught our second daughter, Mia, the same way and she also picked up on the new language rapidly! We even found that Bailee was teaching Mia a lot and showing her over and over again how to sign a new word.

Our third child, Jack, is now 9 months old and learning sign language too. He has mastered "bye-bye" (that's typically the first sign for most babies), "more", "yes", and he is working on "drink", "eat", "please", and "thank you." I have a lot of people ask me about baby sign, so I thought I would just give a few tips... I'm no expert, but if I can teach my kids sign then you can too!!!

1. Have fun!
This should always be something that you enjoy and want to have fun doing. Once your baby senses that you're not having fun he/she won't want to engage with you. Keep it fun and it should appear like you're playing a game, not teaching a lesson!

2. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat (get the idea!)
Your baby will NOT learn this immediately. Keep showing and saying the word over and over again. For instance, when giving "more" Cheerios for a snack, say "more" out loud and sign it at the same time. Say it a few more times and then do the sign with your babies hands. Do this every day for a few weeks. Eventually he/she will get the idea and sign back to you when prompted. :0)

3. Keep smiling!
Even when your baby doesn't get it right away, keep smiling. They are not a failure if he/she doesn't learn quickly. Remember this is a game to your child, so don't get frustrated!

4. Encourage more words but keep practicing new!
Once you're baby has learned a word, wait a week or so before introducing a new one. Keep practicing the old ones too, you don't want everyone (including you) to forget what you've been teaching!

5. Watch and learn from your baby!
Both of my girls starting "signing" words to me that they made up! I would watch them move their arms and hands very deliberately and have a very serious look in their eyes before I realized that they had made up their own sign that I did not know! It was funny at first and then I realized that their need to communicate with me was very real, so pay attention! Your child may teach you a thing or two!!

Like I said, I am not expert, but here are a few websites that might help too!!

www.babies-and-sign-language.com A baby signing glossary/dictionary! It shows you how to do many different signs!

www.signingbaby.com

babystrology.com/baby-learning/baby-sign-language I thought this one was really neat! The baby shows you how to do each sign at the click of a button!

I'm sure there are hundreds of books, resources, videos and websites, so feel free to search them yourself! I hope this helps those of you who were wondering about baby sign... go ahead and give it a try!

Playing with "non-toys!"

Have you ever thought about how much kids love to play with things that are NOT toys? My girls always ask to "do" the laundry, "cook" with me and play with items from around my house. So, to spark a little bit different type of play, I introduced a few props and let them use their imaginations! 

I simply put a dish cloth (aka table cloth) over a cardboard box, laid down some real (left over Christmas) napkins, 2 small paper plates, 2 large plastic cups, and a plastic veggie platter dish. They were so excited to have real mommy things from our kitchen that they played an extra long time with them. I didn't say, "Here girls, play kitchen." I simply put the props out and let them explore their own way! It was so fun to watch (and of coarse I took some photos!)

 Bailee was "snow white" that day, so she was all dressed up!

I challenge you to pull out some "non-toy" items from your home and allow your kids to play with them! Babies love wooden spoons and spatulas to chew on, bowls to bang on and laundry baskets to sit it! Toddlers will love going through your tupperware cupboard, "folding" your laundry, and reading magazines and newspapers you're done with. The older the child the more creative you can be, but go ahead and search your home for new "toys!"

Please share your ideas with the rest of us... I'm always looking for new things for our kids to do and play with!

Where has the time gone?

Wow! It has been 10 days since I've blogged anything! Where does the time go?

Life has been extremely busy for me lately! My days have been full of fun things and new challenges! I get up every morning with 3 busy little bees and sometimes they sting me, but I keep on going!

Our middle daughter has been giving us a really hard time with lots of things, but bed time right now is particularly hard! She will not fall asleep in her bed and has been so naughty that we've had to place her on the floor in the living room to fall asleep. It's exhausting and very frustrating! I used to look forward to bed time, but now I dread it!

I've also been very busy starting up my photography business and it's exploding! I can't seem to keep up with the daily chores and housework, never mind starting a business. I never imagined that it would be like this! Now, don't get me wrong... I'm VERY excited and if you know me then you'll know that I'm a very motivated person to get it all done, but there just aren't enough hours in the day! ;-)

I'll try to write more blogs when I have time (I actually have a few topics that friends have "requested" I write about) but until then... I'll leave you with a few photos of our recent house-happenings...

Handsome Jack playing! He now pulls himself up onto everything and tries hard to walk behind a walker toy! He has 6 teeth and is starting to jabber at everyone!

 I was playing peek-a-boo with the kids and Tom snapped this picture. I never have my photo taken, so when I saw this I laughed! I'm sure you are too!

 That same day I was playing with Bailee and he snapped another one! :)

 Bailee was giving a wink! ;0)

 I was snuggling Jack after bath time! My favorite time of the day!

 Mia is our challenging one right now, but you can't tell that from this photo!

Good night y'all! :)

A boring day & a big box

It's another day snowed in, so I decided to get a little creative with the girls. It involved a large box, a sharpie marker and some crayons. All I did was draw on a large box and let them color all over it. They had a blast and it entertained them for quite a while.

On one side of the box I drew a television. I made buttons, dials and an empty screen. They had to color in their favorite show and they decided to draw Angelina Ballerina... can't you tell!? :0)

The opposite side was a bunch of different foods. Fruits, veggies, milk, bread, eggs, etc... I wasn't sure if they would play grocery store or cooking, but the possibilities were endless.

The top was a simple stove outline. They already have a kitchen set, but I thought this might spark some creativity in their play beyond their usual kitchen set toys. I was right. It did spark all kinds of creativity!

Here are a few photos I snapped while they played...
Mia was very focused on coloring her bananas yellow!

 Jack was looking on from his pack n' play while Bailee colored some bread.

 This might be my favorite photo from the whole time... not because the girls were cute, but because Jack's expression was perfect. He wanted to be a part of the fun so badly! :0)

 Two crayons are better than one!

 Coloring Angelina Ballerina on the tv...

 Our fun time was not without a few fits and tantrums... ugh!

 Mia wanted to cook on the stove!

 They were busily organizing their groceries.

 Hmm? What should we cook first?

 Mia took a moment to say hi to Jack!

Overall the activity was fun, and sparked some fun conversations. The girls played house, restaurant, grocery store, they "watched" the tv and then had to fix it (with tools) because it broke, and they even played drive through McDonalds at one point. It was fun to watch their creativity and yes, I did take Jack out of the pack n' play once the crayons were out of reach! :0)

Are you a home maker?

I try to have a positive attitude towards being a 'homemaker' but it's not always very easy to do. It's hard work and honestly it's very exhausting. Having 3 kids under the age of 3 doesn't help the never ending task of keeping our home fresh and fun, but I've always viewed it as an honor to serve my family.

My mom shared this article with me and how we should have an eternal view of 'homemaking' and caring for our family. I loved the article and it challenged me to try even harder when doing the every day mundane tasks... dishes, diapers, dirty laundry, etc...  Read it for yourself and be challenged!!! Thanks Mom for sharing it with me! :0)

Click here to read (trust me, it's worth the time!)... Homemaking- Passing the vision to our daughters

It's laundry day!

When I don't get around to folding the laundry immediately then this is what happens... the girls help! :)

 The laundry ends all over the floor and they help me "fold" it!

 This time Bailee even got out her iron and ironing board to help me iron the clothes. The funny part is that I've ironed clothes maybe 5 times in my life (I HATE ironing) so I'm not really sure where they learned how to iron! :)

 Mia playing peek-a-boo!

 Bailee just ironing happily with bed head hair!

I guess I can't complain because it kept them happy for 20 minutes and the clothes had not been folded yet! If they had messed up folded clothes this would be a different story! :0)

Supper time Bible trivia

We've always had a hard time getting our kids to eat. They would rather sit there and talk, play, look at the ceiling, chew on their fork, etc... It's awful because sometimes we end up yelling at them to simply take another bite. It's exhausting.

Tonight was different! It was fun and they ate their supper in record time! Why? We played a game.

I got out a Bible trivia book and asked them simple questions like, "Did Jesus have a wife?" "Who will blow the trumpets when Jesus returns?" "How many stories high was Noah's ark?" And many more.

They answered what they thought was the correct answer and I wouldn't tell the correct response until they took another bite. They quickly took bites and we all learned something too!

It was fun and educational. Their responses were humerous and made Tom and I giggle, but it was still less stressful than saying, "TAKE ANOTHER BITE NOW!" :0)

(In case you're wondering the answers to those questions are 1. No   2. The angels &   3. 3)

I fooled him, just this once! :)

While trying to take pictures of the kids yesterday Jack was VERY insistent on climbing into my lap and eating the camera! We have a very expensive camera that is not a toy, but he was very persistent on chewing on it. These are the photos I took of him while he was climbing on me! :0)

He might look cute, but don't let those eyes deceive you! He was being naughty and he knew it!!!

Luckily this time he was happy when I handed him his sisters' pick princess camera. He chewed on the strap and left me alone!

 I fooled his this time, but I doubt it will be that easy next time!

11 Step Program for Those Thinking of Having Children!

This made me chuckle and I had to share it with all of you! :)

(I stole this from my friend Michelle. With her permission I am sharing it with you!) 

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.

2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.

3. Go home.

4. Pick up the paper.

5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.

2. Lack of patience.

3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.

4. Allowing their children to run wild.

5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.

3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.

4. Set the alarm for 3AM.

5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.

6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.

7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.

8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.

9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.

2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.

3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.

4. Then rub them on the clean walls.

5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.

6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.

1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.

2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.

Leave it there.

2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.

3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.

4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.

2. Make a small hole in the side.

3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.

4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.

5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.

6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!

Wordless Wednesday

Why couldn't every bedtime be this easy? 

Mia was so tired she fell asleep on the couch in the middle of all our chaos at 6:30!

 It was heavenly! :0)

January Days...

January has been a difficult month for me as a Mom so far! My kids have kicked up their attitudes a few notches and I'm out of discipline strategies. This blog is so easy to show all the fun things I do with my kids, but most days I am just plain tired. There are days when we do nothing exciting or out of the ordinary, but stay in our jammies and watch movies...

Some days the kids run around and make a huge mess and play random games and have fun using their imaginations... These are violins, can't you tell!?!?!

Some days when I'm feeling a little more adventurous we do something like shaving cream play...

It gets quite messy but the kids are entertained! :)

We've also been spending a lot of time here... yes, the potty! Mia decided about a week ago that she was ready to be potty trained. She is doing REALLY well and I'm excited with her progress. This was our third attempt at training her and she's finally gotten it down! There are still accidents, but most times she makes it on her own!

I never thought I would actually put a photo of my toilet on my blog, but hey, never say never! :0)