Getting the Garden Going

Better slightly belated then never, right? Early on this year (due mostly to D's age and uncanny ability to destroy) I decided to go with bought sprouts rather than starting our own seeds in the sun room like we did last year. This gave me a little breathing room while I decided what to plant. I still don't know... but at least I have a place to put everything! (I'm a little peeved... I had nice before and after pics of my newly weeded garden, but my computer ate them. DEFINITELY not operator error.)

The last wheelbarrow of grass.

Haha, what a big girl!

I'm looking for a good layout for an 8' x 8' garden. I know I want a little more variety this year. Last year there were FAR too many squash, and I never got around to planting tomatoes. All the garden generators that I've found are ones that you have to pay for, though. I guess it wouldn't be that hard to break out some graph paper and plot my own.

I'm also planning on starting an herb garden. I would LOVE to have basil and parsley available! Since I don't have enough room in my veggie garden, I've decided to grow them in tin cans nailed along the top railing of our fence. It should look pretty cool! I got the idea here and it sounds like a good solution for me. It will be close to the house, up away from the dogs and rabbits, and in a sunny spot. Plus, at the end of the year I can yank the cans off the fence and recycle them.

image from the Hedgewich blog

I should be going to the Amish farm next week to get my sprouts. I'm so excited! On an unrelated note, I'm working on the shopping list for my Crock Pot freezer recipes. I'm pretty excited about that, too. Hopefully I'll have that up early next week after I hit the grocery store over the weekend. I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful spring! :)

Easter Lollipop Garden

My cousin wanted me to share this nifty little Easter idea with the masses. It's been a hit the two years we've done it with N, and I'm so excited now that D is going to be old enough to kind of get it. I got the idea from my boss at work a few years ago, and he got it from one of his customers. Kind of like pinterest in the dark ages, haha!

Did you know that on Easter Eve, you can plant jelly beans and they grow overnight into lollipops?

The day before Easter, find a nice spot to plant your jelly beans.

Make sure they're covered up well with dirt!

Easter morning arrives and voila! Lollipops have sprouted!

Make sure you get them all!

This was from 2010, the first year we did the Lollipop Garden. N was just over 2 and FLIPPED over it, she was so excited!

Blog Birthday

Happy birthday, my little blog! I went back to re-read some of my earlier posts a few weeks ago, and I realized that my very first post was mid-February. I decided to take stock of where I am right now, and see how I did with my goal of sweeping life changes.

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

I cook a LOT more for the girls, we do super fun stuff almost every day, I've cut down on their TV a *little*, and I feel like my attitude is much better in general. There are a few things that have really helped me get my shiz together.

N going to school has brought some weekly routine into the mix. Not only does it get us out and about early in the day, but it gives me some quality time with D. School has also helped N's attitude, I think. She freaks out less frequently, and is a little more reasonable when there's an obstacle in the way. A little. We're still working on that.

I discovered audiobooks! This was a housecleaning epiphany. My husband works very late 4 days a week, so I'm on my own a lot. After the girls are in bed, I feel like I need some *me* time, understandably so. Before, I would sit down for "just a minute" to check my e-mail or watch a short show while I ate dinner. Once I parked my butt, that was all she wrote. This way, I can listen to a book while I poke around the house cleaning. I lose myself in the books and I find myself looking for more things to do while I listen. The house isn't perfect, but it's a LOT better.

I made a conscious effort to not shrink away from "messy" fun. We've been doing more crafty fun things, even if the project requires a lot of clean up. I try to include D, but that's asking a little much, haha! Our messy play time is usually when D is sleeping in the afternoons. N has gotten a lot better at helping around the house. She cleans up her toys when I ask her, and she even empties parts of the dishwasher for me! She's in charge of silverware and sippy cups. What a big girl <3 !

Dried beans and glue! Just a quick little craft for the afternoon. D didn't try to eat *too* many beans. (Really, you would think she was old enough to know better by now!)

I joined a MOMS Club! It's been awesome. There are playdates available just about every weekday, if you want to go. There are also Mom's Nights Out once a month, but since A works late just about every night, I never get to go. Boo! I host at least one playdate a month here, so it's also a good motivation to get the first floor presentable once a month. I've met a lot of great moms that live in my town, and N & D have a bunch of friends that they get to play with regularly. Not only are the playdates super fun, but the support has been fantastic. When I have a question about ANYTHING, there's 20 other moms that have an opinion (and aren't afraid to share it!). They all have kids. They all live near me. They've all been where I am, and know how hard it can be. They also know how much fun it is, too. :)

We still eat mac & chee sometimes. D still has chronic diarrhea (nasty, I know!). I still get frustrated. But I feel like I'm floating through the days less and less. I feel like I have a Purpose. I know that this is largely due to the girls being one year older and a little easier to handle. N & D can play together, and now that D is talking a little clearer, they can have actual conversations. (SO freaking cute!!)

Those little heads bent together are just the sweetest!

I would love to bottle this positive feeling and keep it in a jar for those days when the grumps come creeping in. Bad days are a part of life, but they've been less frequent and for that I'm grateful.

Valen-times Day

We had a nice one!

The day before, we made faux sugar cookies out of boxed white cake mix, neon food dye and red sprinkles. N was a big help rolling out the balls of dough and squishing them flat. Of course, she also helped enthusiastically decorate the tops! I cut a heart out of cardstock and used the hole to create the hearts.

While the cookies were baking, N made the Valentines Day cards for her pre-school class. I folded the paper and drew a half heart and N did the rest. She cut the hearts out all by herself...

and really got into decorating them! I thought she would just stamp random hearts on them, but after a few she created a design that she liked and made the rest the same. The row of hearts at the top with a small break in the middle are eyes, and she drew smiles and frowns on the bottom. (That girl LOVES a good sad face!) We talked about love, and why she loves her friends and family.

She instructed me to take a picture of her stamps after she lined them all up.

Here are the finished Valentines. Cute! I made little bags of Mini Teddy Grahams to go on the back. I was going to write something about "bear hugs" or something, but N got so into her designs, I didn't have room! In the back is a rice hand warmer for her teacher.

The next morning, she let me make her hair pretty for school. It was supposed to be a heart, but I think I pulled a little too much hair back. Still cute, though. She had so much fun at school exchanging Valentines. I should have done something special with D, but sometimes that girl exhausts me! We went to a playdate with her cousin, so she had a super fun morning, too.

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day. We should take time every day to remember those we love!

New Year's Motivations

I know, I know... I'm a day (or 23) late and more than a few dollars short, but things have been busier than usual around here. I have a backlog of new posts in my head that have yet to make it to the blog, so hopefully I can get them out in the next week or so.

I dislike the term New Year's Resolution, because I feel like if there are changes that you want to make to your life, you shouldn't wait for a specific date to make it happen. I do, however, feel more motivation to make changes at the beginning of the new year. This is probably due more to the vacation days around the holiday and the impending easing of schedule (which oddly never happened) than anything else. There are a few areas of my own life, that impact not only me but my family, in which I feel motivated to better myself during this time of "new beginnings".

1. Let N be more independent.
This is a hard one for me. It's easier to swoop in when N is eating, getting dressed, putting away toys, etc, and do it myself rather than let her do it at her own pace. Which is maddeningly slow. I've seen the impact that it's made on her especially at mealtimes. Since I have to split my time between N and D, D has gotten very proficient in feeling herself and can eat faster and cleaner than N can, even though she's two years younger. We never let N do it for herself when she was little, and now she doesn't want to. I've got to back off and foster more independence in her life. I bought her special "4 year old" dishes that she can get from the cabinet herself. She loves them! Incidentally, this is also a visual reminder for me to control their portions better. 1/2 the plate for veggies, small sections for kid sized portions of meat and starch.

 

What big girls!

 

D has decided that she's too grown up for a highchair or booster seat, even though she can barely see her plate!

Using a fork and everything. :)

2. Be funner.

This is my main "resolution" for 2012, so there will be an entire blog post about it later. It's very easy to get into a rut of staying home. We drift through our days (still!) watching too much TV and doing... I'm not sure what. The days blend together sometimes and I hate to think that NOTHING got accomplished. The end of December and January has been a bust for playdates since daddy was home more, but we'll be getting back into that soon. The main thing I need to get into a better habit of is just plain making a mess. I hate cleaning up, so I'm loathe to get out the messy (fun) play time items. I've recently become addicted to Pinterest (more on that in another post) and it's definitely inspiring to see pages and pages of super cool kid crafts. This month I've gotten out the paints, play-doh, Elmer's Glue, and those toys with too many little pieces that N loves and D eats.

Super simple craft with construction paper, glue, and dried beans.

Marble racer N got for Christmas. I hate this thing. N loves it. I just need to make sure we clean it up before D wakes up from her nap!

3. Be more positive.

This is really tied in with #2, but I need to enjoy my time home more. Don't sweat the messes, but get into a better habit of cleaning up. When the house gets to a disaster-type state around here, it affects not only me, but my husband and the kids, too. When I'm feeling positive and happy, it's easy to breeze around the house and pick up the ENDLESS messes that crop up. I also need to remember to take a break and do things that make ME happy, too. After the girls go to bed (still 7:00, weeee!) I whirlwind around the house and clean so I have time to crochet in the evenings while I listen to audiobooks. This is awesome, relaxing and productive all at once! Currently, I'm desperately trying to finish D's little afghan in time for her birthday party. *Finger's crossed*

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday season and is back into the swing of every day life. It's hard to go from "vacation" mode to "serious work" mode, and this is our first week of it here. I'm ready to lock & load and rock & roll and... do stuff. Yeah.

Thanksgiving & Craft Reveal!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving, I know I did! We hosted the day at our house, same as the last 2 years. My turkey turned out perfect, I'm happy to say. I only make it once a year, so I tend to forget what I did the year previous. I need to stop reinventing the wheel and just write it down or something. In addition to the turkey, I made stuffing (of course!), deviled eggs, spinach Parmesan dip, cranberry sauce, croissants with pumpkin butter, and rice pudding. With the dishes that everyone else brought, we had quite a spread. I didn't get very many pictures since I was so busy hostessing and running after the girls. The stamps that I made last week made a cameo at the table:

I think they turned out really nice! We also made the traditional turkey handprint and I tried to make a cornucopia out of D's foot. I think it would have looked more like a cornucopia if I had painted her toes different colors. Still cute, though!



Hopefully in the next week or two, I'll have time to feature the sweater dress tutorial I found. I hope everyone made it through Black Friday alive! We hermited in the house and didn't go anywhere. Perfect day for me ;)

Two Steps Back

I had an absolute armpit of a day today, which is really disappointing because I feel like I've been doing so much better lately. I think D is teething, so she's been in a rotten mood the past few days. Both my kids were painfully slow teethers. Emphasis on the *painful*! D only has her four top, four bottom and four molars in. I noticed her canines poking through this morning, so hopefully we're in the home stretch.

I swear I spent over half the day either crying or trying not to lose my shit. I really need to pay more attention to my personal habits, too. I know I skipped breakfast and forgot to eat lunch until almost 2 in the afternoon. That certainly doesn't help my mood.

N's been getting more possessive of her toys, too. Today she had a huge setup of Littlest Pet Shop animals and a building block city on the couch. Right at D level. As soon as D would come within a 5 foot radius of N's bustling metropolis, N would shriek at ear splitting levels and whack D on the chest. Everyone crying again. I need to make a little D-free zone for N to have her imaginative play time, because that takes up a large portion of her day.

The last recurring trial of the day (really the last week or two) is that D is obsessed with the "potty". I hate to discourage her, but she only wants to play in the bathroom. If I bring the little potty out of the bathroom for her, she wants nothing to do with it. She wants to sit on the big potty and play with N's toys, which inevitably fall between her legs into the toilet. Then she wants to get down and rummage in the extremely un-kidproofed closet. Ten times a day. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that one. Like I said, I don't want to discourage her from potty stuff if she's interested, but I suspect she's just using it as a vehicle to achieve fun times in the bathroom.

Hopefully, the coming holidays will be a bit of a break with A home. We're having everyone over to my house for Thanksgiving, so I'm really excited about that. I have photos of the stamps and the craft we used them with to post, but I'll have to save that for another day. I have to go clean!

Tomorrow will be better, right?

Don't Worry, It's Just a Phase

I've been away from blogging over the summer. My husband was home more and my evenings somehow disappeared into a haze of cleaning and vegging in front of the TV. (yuk!) Now that the semester is yet again underway, I'm on my own at least 4 full days a week. It's definitely trying my patience, but we're all adjusting. I'll touch on a few things before I get into my "real" blog post.

Preschool

N started preschool this year. *tear* She goes in the mornings two days a week. It's a nice break in our routine, but it's a busy way to start our loooong week. I was worried that N would have a little trouble being away since she's never been watched by anyone other than immediate family. I should have saved myself the grey hairs. I don't even get a kiss goodbye before she's running into her classroom. Of course, D wailing and draping herself across my arms may have something to do with that, too. D redeems herself when we go to pick up N and she's squealing and dancing before we reach the door. Actually, both of them are. Cute!

 

N's First Day of School

 

N's First Two Weeks of Classwork

The Garden

This turned out to be such a nice project for the summer. We ate oodles of squash, and a good amount of cucumbers. The peppers were a little sparse, but I think that was due more to the damage of the storm/hurricane than anything else. They were coming in late in the season, right when the storm hit.

The Beach

We went on vacation to Nags Head, NC for a week with my parents. IT WAS AWESOME! We had a great time. The girls behaved so well and the weather was perfect. I can't say enough good things about our time there.

 

A & D in the outside shower. This is my favorite picture from the week! (seriously, we didn't take a single shower inside all week)

Family Photo! The stairs on the right hand side of the photo led to our cabin.

Ready to head home :)

Not Much Else

I'm sure we did more, but nothing is standing out to me at the moment. We didn't do anything life changing or epic (other than our rockin' vacation).

Just a Phase

You know when you hear that phrase... it's exactly WHILE your kid is doing something embarassing/out of control/or vaguely obscene that someone sagely nods their head and says "Oh don't worry, it's just a phase, hon." I hate that. Unfortunately, it's also true. I remember when we thought that Nora would never get out of her 24/7 temper tantrum. I felt like she spent 90% of her waking time rolling around on the ground sounding *exactly* like what I imagine a stuck pig to sound like.

This is her licking snot off her nose following a fit because the stupid baby bjorn wouldn't stay on or something. This was March 2010, so she was 26 months and D was one month old. Obviously, we weren't in the best frame of mind to deal with the trivial (to us!) problems of a two year old, either. However, this time passed without us noticing the end of it. That's not to say that N never has hissy fits, they're just much less frequent and often we can head them off at the pass and avoid it altogether. At the time they were absolutely unavoidable. The frustrations of being two coupled with distracted parents and a new baby sister (not to mention her sassy personality) were a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately, D is just gearing up for her time to shine...

Oh, bad mommy won't let you pull a frying pan full of ground beef and grease on your head. :(

N's bedtime routines have also eased up a bit. We have a nice, SHORT, reasonable routine in place. No more 30 minutes from start to finish. I think a big thing that helped with this was N giving up her nap. (If you could spend a moment of silence to mourn its passing, I would appreciate it.) With no nap and school in the mix she is very tired by bedtime, which has been bumped up to 7 so that she goes to bed the same time as D. Sweet! There's little resistance especially on nights that A isn't home. We have our ducks in a row and mommy doesn't take any crap. Not that daddy does, but I think with two of us around she sees the opportunity to take a chance on someone being a softie.

Another change that I have noticed since the last time I blogged is that things are a lot more in control for me at home. I cook a lot more, and the house is almost always tidy. I still have a hard time keeping up with the "real" cleaning like mopping, bathrooms and laundry, but the dishes are usually done and the floors/countertops are clear before I go to bed. I attribute this solely to audiobooks. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?! It makes it so much easier to lose myself in my book while cleaning. I never look at the clock to see if I've cleaned long enough to sit down guilt free, and I actually look for things to do so I can listen longer.

I know people always say that they wish that there were more hours in a day. What I want is another *day* in my day. The only caveat is that my kids need to be on another plane of existence while I have my extra time. There are a few basic things that I want/need to accomplish with my time sans children: cleaning, crocheting, reading and the occasional blog. I can not keep up with all these in the time allotted. Since I have the girls from waking to sleeping, at least four days a week, I also need to get to bed at a reasonable time every night. This is very hard for me, still. I want to cram as much "me time" in the hours after 7pm that I end up staying awake way too long. This makes me cranky and short-tempered the next day, which is bad for everyone.

Well, the long and the short of it is that I need to: 1) remember how far N has come in a year, 2) cut D some slack and 3) discover how to manipulate the space-time continuum so that I can get everything done.

Easy peasy, mac & cheesie!

Stickers, Stickers Everywhere!

It's funny how much a small change can make such a big impact on such a young mind.

A few months ago, I was at my wit's end with N. My anxiety level was at an all time high, she had screaming temper tantrums several times a day and I cried at least once a day from anger and frustration. We've been going through a lot of big family changes, which I've touched on before. The biggest is A's schedule. Before he got the wonderful opportunity to teach, he gave the girls a bath and put them to bed every night. It was their daddy time. Right now, he's in school and working more hours in the hopes that he can teach full time in the future. I think this has impacted N the most. Don't get me wrong, I miss him, too, but at least I can rationalize and understand what's going on. N's little brain just went haywire, I think. The tiniest obstacle would result in yelling, crying and throwing whatever she could get her hands on. Time outs were marginally effective. They were better at calming her down after the fact than preventing one to begin with. At her worst, she was going ballistic more than once an hour. And so was I.

To vent a little of the steam, I posted up on facebook and got many helpful tips from my friends. One was that I should do something to reward and reinforce good behavior. They suggested a chart that she could put a sticker on when she did something good, then trade it in at the end of the week for special "daddy time." The very first day we instituted it, I felt like she was calmer. It wasn't like she was trying to be good, but maybe that I noticed the good things she did more often and praised her for them. I couldn't think of a good name for it, so I just called it the Be Good Chart, haha! The chart was definitely therapeutic for her AND me. It's hard to get through the day when the moments that stick in your mind are all the crappy ones. I knew I would never remember everything that she did, so I would put a sticker on and then write one line at the bottom about how she was good. I tried to get her to tell me what she did, like "shared toys with D" or "left the park without a fit." Lately I've been heading off tantrums with a reminder that if she gets ready for bed quickly without a fuss, we can put a sticker on the chart.

N is so proud of her chart, she shows it off whenever she can. Just last week, Aunt C came to see N (and incidentally stay later after N & D went to bed for drinks and crocheting) and one of the first things N said was "Come look at my Be Good chart!!" I think a lot of the change in the household attitude is stemming from focusing on the positive. A comes home and asks how the day went and I can tell him all the nice things N did, instead of how many hissy fits she had.

I also wanted to post about N's visit to pre-school, a few of our crafts and D's scary trip to the ER, but it's really late. Everyone probably already heard through Facebook, but D spent the day at the ER with pneumonia. No fun! She's all better now, so I guess there isn't really anything to post about. We've been blessed thus far in that we've never had any serious health problems with our children. This was the first time anyone has been seriously ill and one of only a handful of times we've ever even taken them to the doc's for being sick. N went for an earache once, and D went when she had Fifth Disease and went for her diarrhea, but that's it. Like I said, we've been lucky!

I'll try to get back soon for the rest of the updates, but until then... Be Good!!

That's What Friends Are For!

I did a little brain-storming with C and came up with a well thought out (I think!) plan of attack for N's temper tantrums. I haven't actually started these, so any input or feedback is welcome and appreciated.

1. Feelings Flashcards
I think that a large part of N's (and any pre-schooler's tantrums) stems from her inability to articulate what she's feeling. My idea was to make 8.5 x 11 sheets with faces on them to illustrate what a feeling looks like. One for each sheet. I haven't decided if I want to do simple smiley-type faces, pictures of N, pictures of us, magazine clippings or a combination of all. These will go either in a binder or on a wall. The master plan is to try to distract N from a pending hissy fit by asking her to either point out how she feels or maybe putting a sticker on the face that she feels like. Hopefully this will help her to talk about what's going on in her head as opposed to rolling around on the ground screaming, which I don't find helpful at all.

N pretending to be sad. (summer 2010)

2. Punching Bag Monster
When N is trying to not have a full blown on-the-ground temper tantrum, she often hits herself or throws whatever is handy. If nothing's nearby, she'll walk all the way across the kitchen to dump a box of toys and then look back at me to check my reaction. *sigh* I'm hoping with this idea to create an outlet for her anger and frustration that is acceptable. I've got lots of fabric laying around, so I was going to make a monster for her that she could punch, throw, hit, whatever, when she was mad. I'm not sure if this will help her channel herself into an acceptable outlet or if it will encourage her already feisty tendencies. I need a good name for him, too. Punchinello? Hissy Fit Harry? Temper Tantrum Timmy?

3. Daddy-Time Chart
I think a lot of N's temper problems have escalated since A's been gone so much. It's been a big change in the household and it's hard on everyone, A included. I try to keep my own frustration levels down by thinking "it's not forever!" but N doesn't have the luxury of understanding that. A friend suggested that N could earn special time with Daddy with stickers for good behavior. I don't really have any structure in mind other than a blank week that she gets to put a sticker on when she does something nice or acts politely without me asking her. Sometimes she IS very sweet and thoughtful to her sister, or she gets ready to go out the door with no fuss, and I would like to reward her. I always make sure to let her know I noticed her good behavior, and I thank her for it without making it the hugest deal in the world. Kind of like her tantrums, I let her know that it isn't acceptable and I either ignore her or put her in time out. Hopefully this will make her more conscious of the good things that she does, and she'll get to spend some one-on-one time with A on the weekend.

I don't know why N's temper tantrums have escalated so badly the last few months. It makes me feel like a terrible parent when she melts down at a play group or family member's house. We don't go out too often, largely because I'm trying to avoid a scene. I don't feel like I reinforce her bad behavior, but obviously I'm not doing something right if she's being this bad. I definitely think that her behavior is worse than other kids her age. Maybe it's her age, maybe it's all the changes, maybe the wind is blowing the wrong way that day. Who knows? I just know that I need to get her in hand, and I have no real idea how to go about it.

These Are a Few (more) of My Fave Things

I got to thinking after yesterday's post about the things that make me happy. I need to remind myself more often that there's lots of things that are totally awesome about my life.

Crocheting
A recent hobby I picked up a few months ago that has been neglected lately. I got back into a blanket that I started a few weeks ago last night. I had forgotten how relaxing it could be. It feels productive, too, so I don't feel as guilty chilling in front of the TV.

N's butterfly hat

D's ear flap hat

Routines
I realized today that my routines that I have here with the girls really do make my life so much easier. We do the same thing every day. Every day. It makes me a little crazy sometimes, but N thrives on it. I realized this when I saw how things fell apart when my husband gets in the mix. My girls and I love having him around, don't get me wrong, but naptime and bedtime can be a bit of a struggle. N always wants daddy to put her to bed, but when he forgets one silly (to us!) little thing like turning on the nightlight in the middle of the day, it's a disaster. N and I take naps and go to bed the same way every night. I don't even think about it until I forget something or do it differently. After all hell breaks loose, I realize that I accidentally switched something up.

Reality TV
Baaaad guilty pleasure. But it does make me happy!

My Friends & Family
This should have been at the top of my list yesterday. I could never get by without the support of the people around me. They may be an hour away at work or live too far away to see all the time, but a phone call can turn my day around. Sometimes I need a sympathetic ear when my day is going south or sometimes it's just to share a funny story from my day. Connecting with my friends and family keeps me going. Often, the LAST thing I want to talk about is the crappy day I'm having. It's nice to hear what other people are doing!

Me and A on Valentine's Day 2011

Me and C. BFF4Eva&Eva!!!

A Banner Day

I wish every day could be as peaceful, smooth and awesome as today.

It actually started out pretty crappy when my older daughter woke up with "a nose-full of snoogies." (In case you were wondering, the word snoogies is a cross between snot and boogies or boogers. I'm not sure where the word came from, but I know that my brother uses it, too.) Maybe I was expecting a crap-tastic day, so that was why it turned out pretty good. I had steeled myself for a whiny, cranky, hissy fittin' 3 year old. She wasn't too bad, and I had patience to spare today. D was a little snoogied up, too, but her mood was chipper as always.

Anyway, after I got D down for her morning nap, I told N that I had a surprise for her. We were starting our garden! I was definitely more excited than she was, but as soon as I pulled everything out she was raring to go. I think I was most excited to actually start on one of my big goals for the year. We picked out seeds weeks ago, but it was too early to do anything with them. N and I had a long conversation about planting her seeds and how we're going to have to take care of them every day. I kind of started an analogy of seeds = baby plants, and N ran with it.

N making beds for all of the babies.

Only one baby per bed!

Cover them up so they stay nice and cozy.

Another tray for the cucumber babies and the pepper babies.

Everybody gets a nice big drink!



N had a lot of fun and took her job very seriously, as you can see! I hope that they sprout soon so that she can see them growing. I have no idea how big this garden is going to be. We started 20 squash, 25 peppers, and 25 cucumbers. I also plan on getting a few tomato seedlings in a few weeks. I really hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew.

Since everyone was sick, I started chicken soup while D was sleeping. A few days earlier, I picked up one of those roasted chickens at the grocery store. I always plan on making soup with the carcass, but never get around to it. Well, today I did! During the afternoon naps I strained the stock, added another chicken breast to the leftovers, and put in corn, rice and carrots. It actually turned out pretty good. D destroyed a big bowl, and I managed to shove a good bit into N.

In addition to starting my garden and making awesome soup, I folded two loads of laundry, kept the house more or less tidy, and baked cookies with N after D went to bed for the night. I even had the energy to clean up for an hour after they went to bed! I don't know why I can't keep this level of motivation going every day. It's not like I was going gung-ho all day. We never changed out of our pajamas, I wasted time on Facebook and on the phone while the girls were napping, and I spent a good amount of time just rolling around on the floor with the girls when they were up. Maybe it's because I was anticipating such a bad day. You know, hope for the best but expect the worst. I'd hate to "expect" my kids to steamroll over me every day, though.

I think I need to plan ahead a little more. The garden was pre-planned for today, and that was a big chunk of time for the day, maybe 45 minutes to an hour. If I plan something cool for N to do while D is sleeping in the AM, it will keep her quiet and engaged in something worthwhile. As soon as the weather turns, we can use that time to care for her garden. The problem is that I often count on D's naptime to put the house back in order after the morning whirlwind. N usually spends it playing by herself with her Disney figurines and her dollhouse. Maybe if I can focus and get the morning dishes and tidying done in the first 45 minutes, N and I can do something fun until D gets up.

A funny little anecdote to end on: N is usually really good about sneezing into her elbow, but she was driving me nuts wiping her constantly dripping nose on her hand this morning. I had one of those eureka moments and invented... drumroll...

Sneezy Sleeves! (or Snoogie Sleeves, I haven't decided.)

The Sneezy Sleeve in action!



I took a pair of kneehigh socks that I had cut the feet off to use as legwarmers for D last fall and stuck them on N's arms. Now she doesn't get snot all over her sleeves, and when it gets too soggy or we're leaving the house, off they come!

Sometimes, I'm just too awesome for words.

Sleeping Beauty? I wish!

I need to get more sleep, that's all there is to it.

A let me sleep in this morning until 9 and I feel great. I have more patience with the kids, I actually feel like getting stuff done and it didn't require a pot of coffee to get me going. (Don't get me wrong, I drank it anyway!) I have a real problem with going to bed early for several reasons. The first is that, more often than not, during the work week A doesn't get home until between 11pm and 1am. I end up putzing around waiting to see him before I go to bed, or I dilly dally doing nothing for an extra hour or two instead of just packing it in. On the nights that he does get home before bedtime, I want to hang out and talk or watch something stupid on TV. We end up watching an extra two episodes of something that we've seen before just because we're both savoring the feeling of doing nothing. This is bad for both of us since he gets up at least an hour before I do in the morning.

The other reason is that sometimes, it's hard to face the thought of "tomorrow". It's difficult to admit that I don't relish the thought of hanging out with my beautiful, funny girls every... single... day. Some days they just tax my patience to the limit and I know that tomorrow I have to do it all over again. This ends up snowballing, since I stay up late to avoid tomorrow, then I'm cranky the next day because I didn't get enough sleep!

I never in a million years imagined how hard it would be to transition from part time work to full time stay at home mom. You figure, there's only a few days a week difference, right? BIG difference. Having the break of working outside of the house, the interaction with a human being that doesn't want fruit snacks and PB&J 24 hours a day, not having to wipe someone's hiney every hour or so... that is priceless. Jumping into it with two of them isn't helping, either! Having just N or just D would be a breeze compared to the dual whirlwind that occurs when the two of them get together. I suppose it's just as well that I'm getting started on it now, because it's only going to get harder as they get older and D gets into temper tantrums and N gives up her afternoon nap. (NEVER!!!)

The peace that presides over the household when everyone is happy is a blissful feeling. A lot of that is contingent upon ME. If I'm short with N, she immediately gets cranky. If she's gearing up for a fit and I can work through it really quick by being silly, it can save the whole day. I frequently shoot myself in the foot and I know it. I am a nut about making sure my kids take their naps and go to bed on time, why can't I follow the same discipline for myself?

I would love to find Zen in my day and I think that the key to the search is going to be a well rested family, starting with me.

who could be angry with those little faces?!

Lazy weekend, Rotten day

After busting my butt all last week, I decided to take the weekend off from cleaning. I had a bunch of leftovers ready to go, we were going out one night anyway, and the house was more or less spotless.

Spotless no more.

I really had planned on getting back on track today, but D got hives head to toe in the morning. This produced a flurry of googling and facebooking, both equally useless and fruitless. Then just before I got dinner in the oven, N got the biggest splinter I've ever seen in her big toe. No kidding, the local health center wanted me to take her to the ER so they could numb it or sedate her. My father in law came over to try to help, but it wasn't budging. Since going to the ER at 6pm wasn't a very attractive prospect, I opted to pop in her doctor's office in the morning. After D went to bed (still hivey) I decided to take a crack at it. One needle and 20 minutes later, success! Nice.

N ate frozen fish sticks, D had boiled chicken, and I'm getting ready to eat freezer pizza. The house looks like a bomb went off and I could fall asleep right now. For the sake of my blog and my goals, let's pretend today never happened.

Why the blog?

I realized after I already published yesterday's blog that I didn't really cover WHY I was creating a blog for this. The main reason is for accountability. I feel that when I *think* I want to accomplish something, that there's a high mortality rate for my resolutions. When I put it out there, I'm much more likely to get it done. Case in point: last year I decided I wanted to lose weight. (Who doesn't?!) I've half-heartedly tried before, but never really got anywhere. This time I posted up on Facebook what my goals were and put up weekly updates on my progress. I managed to lose almost 40 pounds in three months, and I've kept it off for about 6 months. THAT is what I want to happen to my life. I want to make some sweeping changes, with my blog to keep me motivated, until it becomes a habit and the change is made for good. It doesn't matter if anyone reads it, because by posting, I've made the comittment. At least this way, my Facebook friends won't be subjected to it every day. If someone wants to cruise on over for a look-see, have at it. If not, don't.

Today started out pretty good. My internet was down in the morning as if it was a message from above saying "get off your butt!!" So I did. The girls and I took a walk, I did dishes and laundry and made lunch that wasn't pre-frozen. I will say that the internet is my main distraction in life. (And that I'm not oblivious to the irony of creating a blog where one of my main goals is to unplug.) We don't have cable and our antenna sucks, so I never watch TV. My other distraction is reading. While not as brainless as watching TV, it's still a time sucker when I could be doing something productive. Along those lines, I have started a new hobby that has taken the place of my mindless reading: crochet! I can do something that I don't have to think about when I need a break, but still be productive.

These little things are important, but there are larger goals on the horizon. My first big goal that is coming into play soon is starting a garden. N is happiest outside, and D will be much more steady on her feet by the spring. It seems like the ideal time to jump in. I plan on starting it inside, and then moving it all to our side yard when it gets warmer. I have to do some research to make sure I time it right, but I'll probably pick up seeds soon. I'm thinking tomatoes, squash, cucumbers... Maybe I should start reasonably and leave it at that. I'm NOT a gardener, so I have a feeling that this is going to be one of those "hard at first but becomes a habit" things. I know N will be all about it, so that should make it easier. I'll get stuff for it this weekend, I think.

See, I'm making commitments already!

Not sure where to start...

...with either my goal or my blog. I had all these great ideas in the shower - prosaic lines and all that - but when I'm actually sitting down to write, it's all gone. I guess I'll start with my reasons behind both.

As a bit of background, I'm a relatively new stay at home mom with a three year old (N) and a one year old (D). I quit my part time job when my youngest was 4 months old, and I've been home ever since. Home a lot. I was hoping that I would adjust to my new place in life with a little more grace, but there it is. I have a hard time not seeing my family and friends, and since D is still taking two naps a day, we don't get out much. I also cringe at meeting new people, which is ok I guess, since we live in a more rural area where I don't get the opportunity very often.

For the past few months, my youngest daughter D has had chronic diarrhea. It's not catastrophic or anything, just mysterious and annoying. We went to a Pedi GI specialist this week and one of her suspicions is a wheat protien intolerance. Being the sometimes proactive mother I am, I decided to go ahead and cut gluten out of her diet. This has forced me to be less lazy, which I hate, and a little more creative in the kitchen, which I am also not that fond of. As I'm sifting through the boxes of cereal, individually wrapped fruit and grain bars, and other bags of snacks that we have trying to find anything that she can eat, I step back a bit (physically and mentally) and realize that most of it is JUNK! This wasn't really an earth shaking revelation, I know that we buy way more convenience foods than we need. Now that a mysterious 'something' is affecting my daughter, I have the motivation I need to clean up my act. Making healthy food for D and junk for the rest of us would just be more work, so might as well do us all a favor and make my life a little easier. Because I'm all about that!

Speaking of making junk, out of desperation last week I made macaroni and cheese for my older daughter, N. She was feeling feisty and I was feeling frayed. After I made it, the neon orange goo of cheese(?) on pasty white little macaroni elbows was just too much. I vowed never to buy it again. Boxed macaroni and cheese has got to be the epitome of processed, pre-packaged crap. (But sometimes it really is yummy!) I need to clear my kitchen of  freezer pizza, frozen chicken fingers, fish sticks and the like.

I've come to realize that since staying home, I've been drifting along day by day without a Purpose. I guess my purpose is to make it to bedtime with my sanity and temper intact. Which rarely happens. I spend my day glaring at the piles of laundry and toys, and willing the mess to go away. Not only are my kitchen cabinets full of junk, my house is full of junk. My house is full of junk because my head is full of junk. I need to sweep out my brain and find the clarity I need to focus on what is important.

I need to rid myself of the Mac & Cheeses of life - overprocessed junk food, clutter, needless distractions, and all the aimless wandering I do in a day. I need to be whatever the antithesis of Mac & Cheese is. Roasted asparagus? Homemade guacamole?

I'm not sure what exactly, but I think it's going to be good.