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)

Puzzled!

Puzzles are a big hit in our house right now! Bailee has enjoyed them for a few years now, but Mia is  really starting to get the hang of them too! They make a great winter day inside activity. They are mess free (unless spilled on the floor) and they hold my kid's attention for about 20 minutes!

This magnetic fish puzzle is one of Mia's favorites!

Even Jack was enjoying taking the pieces out of the puzzle! (with a Nuk in his mouth he doesn't chew on  them!)

Bailee is a fan of puzzles, especially when wearing her Snow White dress (of coarse!)

Sweetness! :0)

An overdue project!

When we moved our Christmas tree out this year I made my husband, (sorry Tom) help me rearrange the whole living room. I think he wanted to scream because he had to take apart the whole entertainment center and hook it back up on the other side of the room. (Again, I'm sorry Tom!) 

When we moved the entertainment center, this whole wall was empty. 

We put the small couch we have in front of it, but the wall was completely bare. It looked terrible! I've wanted to put something there for a while but wasn't sure what. The other issue is that the ceilings are very high (which I love), but it makes the walls even bigger!

At a recent trip to WalMart I found some nice mirrors that I liked. I KNOW, {WalMart??} you're thinking, I was surprised too! So I went back and bought one. It has a solid wooden frame and doesn't look like a cheap WalMart find! :0) I only paid $40 for it and am very happy!

The frames on each side of it were also at WalMart and I had NO problems finding photos I liked to fill them up with!

One more thing on my to-do list done! :0) That always feels good!

TV is a miracle worker!

In our house tv is a big treat! I use it as a reward and I use it when I am desperate! Often times when I am trying to get Jack to sleep or need to really get a project done, the tv goes on! I used to beat myself up for it and give myself a guilt trip when I would turn the tv on, but I've realized over the last year or so that tv can be a miracle worker! 

TV is not the answer for everything, but when the going gets tough, the tough turn on the tv! 

Here is a glimpse of what the tv can do for my kids... they go into a coma and actually cuddle together! It sure is sweet and it's a pure miracle!

How about you? Do you have a mommy trick that you pull out when life gets rough? Please share!!

Sometimes I'm just a frustrated parent!

Having 2 toddler girls so close in age is sometimes a blessing and sometimes a nightmare! Lately it has been a nightmare OFTEN!!! I love my kids and how different they are, but I could do without the conflict and chaos they bring into our home!

It has been a very BIG struggle lately to make them listen, obey and/or cooperate with us as parents. We have tried to be consistent from day one, but they seem to forget all the rules and boundaries every single morning. It never fails that I have to repeat the expectations in our home (like a broken record player) over and over each and every day. 

I know that if I stick with it that they will eventually get it. 

I know that this is just a phase that will pass.

I know that consistency is the key.

I know that they are just toddlers testing me.

I know that I need to have patience.

I know that I am the Mom, and that I need to be firm.

But sometimes I'm just tired and I don't want to!

Sometimes I'm weary, exhausted, angry, disappointed, impatient, and VERY FRUSTRATED!!!

I'm not super woman, I am human and I am just so confused by my children's behavior lately! Why do they feel the need to push me so hard until I snap? Why can't they behave and listen the first time I say it? Why can't they be the perfect little girls that everyone think they are when we're at home?

I'm sure I'll get lots of comments by writing something like this, but I honestly just needed to vent. I wish my kids came with a manual and there was the perfect answer in it for every situation they've thrown my way lately!!!

Happy New Year Party for Toddlers

This year my husband and I had no invitations to any adult parties for the New Year and we had a hard time trying to find an idea that would work for the whole family. We wanted to celebrate the New Year, but it's hard to do something with three small children at home! Then my husband had a great idea (yes, I'm giving him the credit for coming up with the initial idea)... "Lets have a kid-friendly New Year's Eve party and invite all of the kid's friends over!"

So, that what I ended up doing. He had a great idea, but I ended up doing all the work! ;0)

It was easy to invite everyone and I kept it very simple. I asked everyone to bring a toddler friendly snack to share with everyone and planned an easy craft for us all to make. (The kids colored and put stickers on two small paper plates, I stapled them together and put dry macaroni in the middle for noise makers!) After they made their noise makers we turned on some Rick Charette kid's music and played freeze dance.

This was Bailee trying to "catch" Mia in her party dress!

(Yes, Bailee has a tattoo on her arm! Santa brought them for them at Christmas time!)

Because our party started at 5:30 and we had bedtime to think about, we had our New Year's Eve countdown at 7:00 instead of midnight! I found a simple countdown with fireworks and New Year's music on YouTube and played it for the kids. They didn't really understand the whole thing, but still had fun blowing their noise makers and yelling!

 Here is Mia blowing her noise maker with all of her might and ringing in the New Year!!

By the end of the night the kid's were exhausted and fell right asleep in their beds, so I guess that means the party was a success! :0)