NEEDED: A Consistent and Predictable Routine

I definitely don’t claim to have everything under control as a parent but there have been a few tips and tricks that have made our lives a little easier.  Over the last year or so, it has become really apparent that our son needs a consistent, predictable routine (more so than the average kid).  Things have been a little better now that I’m working part-time and am able to walk him to school every day, because that means we’re cutting out daycare and therefore there is one less person “handling” him in the morning.  We’ve also implemented some visual aids around the house, and they have been super helpful.

Morning and evening routines are pretty much consistently smooth now that we have these visual aids.

 We post them in the bathroom and the kids know exactly where to look to see what comes next.  They make me feel good too – definitely less nagging coming from me, as the responsibility is now on them to complete all the steps.

This visual aid is posted by our front door. 

My husband works shifts so this weekly calendar helps the kids to know if daddy is working days or if he’s nocturnal.  They know that on the days that he’s not working, he picks them up from school, so they always look forward to those days.

Again, these visual aids definitely don’t make our lives perfect, but they have made our days happier.  Our son can predict exactly what is happening around him, which makes him feel more in control.  I think these aids would benefit any kid, but if you find that your little one is especially in need of knowing what comes next, you can create some for them in just a few quick steps.

A quick search of morning routine for kids, evening routine for kids and weekly routine for kids in Google Images will bring up any number of great examples, so just print one that works for you (or create your own!).  After a quick trip to Staples for laminating, some scissor-work and then attaching a little bit of velcro, you can have routine charts for you and your family.  Good luck and all the best as you move into a more consistent and predictable routine for your little one.

Thanks for reading.  xo

Right Back Where We Started

If you’re a regular reader of Tales from the Red House, you know just how far we’ve come this year.  My son Rudie is a great kid.  A super kid!  With some hard work by all four members of our family this year, his behaviour at home has changed from hitting, swearing, spitting, and screaming back into the actions of the sweet, funny, smart and snuggly little guy that we knew was in there all along. 

 

Did you see the catch there?  His behaviour AT HOME has changed.  There were still issues whenever Rudie was with our daycare provider, and we were worried about what would happen once he was back in school, but we thought we were managing the day-to-day.  We were using all the things we had learned in the Incredible Years program, all the parenting tools we had put into place around the house, and all the meetings with doctors, social workers, and therapists all who had the same diagnosis of “there is no diagnosis”, and the advice that he would one day grow out of it.  But then one day last week we got a call that we did not see coming and our lives were turned upside down once again.  Our amazing and perfect-for-us daycare provider was having a really hard time with Rudie’s behaviour and would no longer be able to watch him.*  And there we were, just like that, without daycare for the third time in a year.

 

We were so sad and so worried and to be honest, it took everything we had to not be angry with Rudie. 

In just a few days, we’ve been able to sort out daycare.  It’s taken a lot of help from family to fill in the immediate gaps and an understanding workplace that is allowing me to work part-time hours to care for my kids before and after school.  That’s a huge load off our backs.  Then Rudie had his second day of Senior Kindergarten today.  While he was there, he spit on his friend’s snack, hit his teacher three times and all of a sudden, we’re here again.

We are now in the process of reopening our file with Children’s Mental Health and we have an appointment with our family doctor next week.  We’re taking all the same steps we’ve taken over the last twelve months but this time, we’re not taking no-answer for an answer.  Aggressive behaviour is one thing, but getting kicked out of three daycares is another thing entirely.  We need answers this time and we need them for our little boy.  We don’t talk specifics in front of him, but he knows exactly what’s happening.  He’s too bright not to. 

I’ll be sharing the tips, tricks and tools that have been working in our house over the next little while and will also post regular updates about our progress on this, our second lap.  In the meantime, I’m sending Rudie to school tomorrow with these in his backpack.  Laminated reminders of the family that love him every day.

 

*Our amazing and perfect-for-us daycare provider is still amazing and perfect-for-us but Rudie is a tough kid to provide care for, especially when you’re defending your own kids against his violent behaviour.



Control, Control, Control

What I’m about to say will definitely not come as a surprise to those close to me: I have control issues. 

I need to know what everyone is doing at all times and things need to be a certain way or I feel out of sorts.  I am always the driver, (unless I’ve had a drink or two), and, if I do find myself in the passenger seat, I’m always quick to point out if someone is going “the wrong way”, even when it’s simply a different way to get to the same destination.  It’s not something I’m proud of.

These control issues have really been slapping me in the face lately.  Sometimes, it’s funny.  Like, when I sat down for a pee at work and found myself OBSESSING over the way the toilet paper was placed on the roll.

It was like this:

 

When clearly, it should have been like this:

 

That’s right, I changed it.  I WASN’T IN MY OWN OFFICE!!  I was likely never going to use that toilet again, but I couldn’t bear to know that the toilet paper would remain on the roll THE WRONG WAY.

Other times, my realization that I need to be in control saddens me.  My husband doesn’t usually go out after work or on the weekends unless we have plans together.  Sometimes he does though, and if he were to call to say he was staying out later, the conversation would likely go something like this:

Me:        Hello?
Him:       Hey Champ, we've decided to go for wings after the movie so I’ll be home a bit later.
Me:        Okay….so, I’m putting the kids to bed by myself then?!
Him:       Is that alright?
Me:        (Big passive-aggressive sigh) Whatever, it’s fine. (Although clearly, it's not),
Him:       Are the kids not being good?  Do you want me to come home?
Me:        Forget it.  Don’t worry about it.  I’m fine.  (Again, I’m clearly not fine.)

My husband thankfully has a backbone and will stay out to enjoy some time out with his friends despite our conversation, as he should.  I respect him for that.  He likely feels guilty the whole time he’s out, though and I despise myself for that.

Especially when the tables are turned. 

I met an old high school friend for coffee last week and returned home eight hours later.  I called about four hours in to let my husband know that I would be later than expected.  The conversation went something like this:

Him:       Hello?
Me:        Hey!  We totally lost track of time and are starving so we’re about to go for dinner. 
Him:       Okay, take your time.  Are you having fun?
Me:        Yeah, we’re having a great time!  Are the kids okay?
Him:       They’re awesome, like always.  See you when you get home.  I love you.

Just like the toilet paper incident, this conversation was a wake-up call.  My husband supports my time out of the house and I make him feel bad about his.  I need to stop this behavior.

Like most things in life, I think a huge step is being aware of the behavior to begin with.  I’m sure marital interactions like this are not uncommon but are probably denied a lot of the time.  I’m happy that I can see it; I now just have to change it.  I owe it to my husband now and to my kids as they get older. 

I make no promises about the toilet paper, though.  Hanging it under is simply incorrect. 

The Incredible Years Program Part 2: Praise the Sh*t Out of Your Kid

Before I get into this section of the Incredible Years Program, let me just say something about praise.  I’ve read endless parenting books – some are in support of praise, others not so much.  The main argument against it suggests that it creates praise junkies meaning that the more praise children receive, the more they rely on adult evaluations instead of forming their own judgments.  Other theories suggest that praise manipulates children, casts judgment on them and decreases their pleasure.    

That being said, I am a huge supporter of praise.  This is where my husband and I found we were most falling behind and also where we saw the most improved behaviour.  It is also important to note that some parents state that they don’t praise their children but rather, they encourage them.  I say whatever.  We’re all talking about the same thing here, so use whatever verb you want.  I’m calling it praise, even if it’s not the most popular word in parenting circles right now.

Here are some suggestions for praising your kid:

·       Catch your child being good – don’t save praise for perfect behaviour.  This was a HUGE light bulb moment for my husband and me.  We realized we were waiting for full days of no hitting, kicking, scratching and swearing before we would offer any praise.  Instead, we started praising every 15 minutes of good behaviour.  It was A LOT of praise and definitely seemed like overkill but our son loved it and really responded well to knowing that we were paying attention all the time. 

·       Choose one behaviour you would like to see your child engage in more frequently, and systematically praise it every time it occurs for a week.  For example: playing quietly, going to bed when requested, picking up toys and sharing with others.  The idea here is rather than point out (and in doing so, reward with attention) every time they don’t do something, praise them every time they do.   Once you’re seeing the behaviours you want to see more often, you can ease up on that specific praise and move onto praising other behaviours you would like to see.

·       Give labeled and specific praise. Rather than generic “good boy” or “good girl” sentiments, which are vague and generic, make sure to tell your child exactly what it is you’re praising.  When we started focusing on praise, my husband and I were constantly saying "wow, you're playing so nicely together", "I like the way you're using your words" and "you really know your manners". 

The program also suggests a tangible rewards system with charts, stars and stickers for desired behaviours.  After a week, the stars and stickers can be traded in for toys, screen time or other sought after items.  We chose not to go this route.  Our praise naturally comes with social rewards such as hugs, smiles, eye contact and enthusiasm so we decided to leave it at that.  I’m against giving our kids an allowance based on the household chores they complete each week.  I think that rather than pay kids to help out around the house, they should be contributing simply as members of the family.  We felt the same way about good behaviour – it’s just expected in our family and not something that we’re paid to do.

Try this out in a way that works for your family.  Just remember to be specific and to praise often!  Good luck and be sure to let me know how it goes.

 

One week down.

This is now where I spend my days, surrounded by photos of and drawings made by my family.

 

Well, I did it.  I made it through my first week back at work.  Here are some things I’ve learned:

·         Humans really are creatures of habit.  I mean, I’ve been gone for 9 months and started right back into the same routines I was in before I left.  I drink my coffee and catch up on emails first thing, sip tea and work through my to-do list for the rest of the day. 

·         Kids are totally adaptable if you have put the proper resources in place.  Picking the most amazing childcare provider for our family has made a huge difference in our son’s behavior this time around.  Sure, it’s only been a few days but it’s already so different from this time last year when he was sent to what we now know was the wrong daycare for us.   

·         I really like being outside.  I spend my windowless office hours thinking about my garden and when I’m going to find the time to harvest those beets already.  I miss the sun and the fresh air and the feeling of my bare feet in the grass.

·         It turns out, I like my coffee hot!  I forgot what it was like to finish a hot cuppa joe before it got cold.  There are definitely some perks to working outside the home.

All in all, my week was good.  I have found it easier to settle in than I thought I would and my family seems to have already adjusted to the change.  Maybe it won’t be such an awful summer after all.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's off to work I go.

So, here’s the scoop: it’s time for me to go back to work.  My doctor and I decided a couple of months ago that I would be ready at the beginning of July and here we are already, just under three weeks left to go.  I’m excited, anxious, happy and sad.  I spend my days thinking of what I will miss and what I won’t miss.  Here’s a snapshot of what’s been going through my mind lately:

Things I won’t miss while I’m at work:

·         The crazy-time my daughter has every afternoon.  She has a total freak-out because the jelly is on top of the peanut butter (imagine that!), she has to wait until October for her birthday (really nothing I can do there) and/or because she doesn’t want to ride her bike (but she really wants to ride her bike!!).  She’s three, she can’t help it but I certainly won’t miss it.

·         Meal planning.  When I first stopped working, it just made sense that the housework, meal –planning, and general household management would be my responsibility while my husband worked 40+ hours a week.  He definitely ended up doing more housework than he probably bargained for but the meal planning was all me.  And I hate it.  Hate it, hate it, hate it.  I’ll be glad to start sharing that responsibility again.

·         Strict budgeting.  My husband and I have definitely had to learn about making a budget (and sticking to it!) while I’ve been off work.  We plan to carry these newly acquired skills to our two-income living but adding a few frills here and there without sweating about it will definitely be a nice change.

Thing I’ll miss while I’m at work:

·         Lazy mornings.  It’s been great just having to get the kids ready and then getting myself into some clothes (any clothes), brushing my teeth and heading out the door.  No need to wash my face or brush my hair because I’m just walking to the school and back.  This will not be acceptable at the office.  It’s time to add a shower, blow-dry, hair straightening, make-up and office clothes back into our morning routine.  Ugh.

·         The one-on-one time I spend with my daughter every morning for the 2.5 hours my son is in school.  We shop together, run errands together or I just push her on the swings until my arms hurt.  I love that we have been able to share this time together.

·         Spending the day outside.  Do I really need to say more about this?  What’s worse, my office doesn’t have a window.  Boo.

·         Walking my kids to school and being a part of the school community.  I’ll be dropping them off with and picking them up from their daycare provider next year instead of the school.  I won’t have those daily interactions with their teachers or with the other parents.  Instead, I’ll be the mom depending on open house and parent-teacher nights to really get a good grasp of my kids’ education and school life.  This makes me sad.

This list could really go on forever and honestly, it goes without saying that I’m going to miss the time I spend with my kids the most.  Staying home with them every day for the last nine months has been tough but I’m already getting choked up knowing that in two weeks they’ll have to start sharing me with a full-time job again.  Hopefully, like everything else, this will be a lot harder for me than it is for them. 

My daughter just asked if we could make cookies.  Although it will likely result in a freak-out of epic proportions, I’m going to drop everything to do that with her now because in three weeks, I’ll be sitting in a windowless office, staring at photos of them and wishing we were baking cookies.  Maybe I’ll even be missing my daughter’s crazy-time and should include a photo of it on my desk as well.  Okay, maybe not.  That’s pushing the sentimentality just a little bit.

Television-Smellevision (Who needs it?)

Well, we survived our first 24 hours without the TV.  In fact, we had an amazing day!  Here are some of the things I have learned already:

1.       The kids really don’t care about the TV after all.  First thing this morning my daughter asked if she could watch a show and my son led her into the living room to show her the sheet over the television and reminded her of the challenge.  They then moved on to the playroom to get out some toys instead.

2.       Putting a sheet over the television was a genius idea, if I do say so myself.  I didn’t have to remind the kids of our no-TV challenge a zillion times – they looked at the TV, saw the sheet and knew that they weren’t going to watch it.

3.       The television doesn’t actually have to be on for the kids to be entertained by themselves.  I had a lovely long shower this morning while the kids played with Play-Doh and snacked on orange slices.  Who knew that was possible?!

4.       There are lots of quiet things to do other than watching TV in lieu of nap time.  For instance, just as our fun day was turning into a mid-afternoon of arguing, whining and crying (exactly the moment when I would normally reach for the remote control), the kids and I sat around the patio set, crunched on our apples and enjoyed a riveting game of I Spy with My Little Eye.

5.       I actually had a lot more time to myself when I was engaging with the kids all day, if that makes any sense at all.  My focus was on them, (which they loved), but I could also do this:

And in so doing, I made this:
(Thanks to this tutorial I found on Pinterest.)

All in all, a lovely day.  Tomorrow is a brand new one – here’s hoping it’s just as productively wonderful.

the day i took the tv away

CONFESSION: My children watch too much television.

It’s not like they’re a couple of little robots sitting in front of it all day or anything, but they'll usually watch a show or two first thing in the morning, a movie in the afternoon and another movie or another couple of shows before bed. 

We’ve been using the TV as a means to keep the kids quiet while we get things done around the house, a way for them to cool down in the afternoon in lieu of taking a nap and, if I’m being completely honest here, it’s also been a case of lazy parenting.  It’s just easy to put on a movie and let it keep them entertained for a little while.

A couple of movies and a show didn’t seem too terrible at first thought.  When I stopped to think about it a little more though, it dawned on me that it was 3.5-4 hours of television every day.  Over 24 hours of TV a week!  It has to stop so I’ve just introduced my family to the NO TV CHALLENGE.  That’s right, I’ve taken it away for one week.  Not too much time, but enough to hopefully make a huge impact on our family.

My husband refused to help me physically remove it from the wall (he said that was taking the challenge a little too far), so this is what I did:

This is the reaction I got from my daughter:

 
And this is the reaction I got from my son:

 
Wish me luck!  It’s going to be a long week.

Why I support my daughter's love of the Disney Princesses

Every few months or so, social media is surging with links dissing the Disney Princesses.  Articles and blogs by proud mamas that dress their daughters up as real-life heroines or send their daughters to school as superheroes on princess day fill my Facebook news feed.  Don’t get me wrong, these are important lessons to teach our daughters.  I might add though, that the majority of people sharing these articles and blogs either don’t have kids or don’t have daughters.  It’s easy to have an opinion on something when you don’t live it. 

Believe me, I said the same thing.  I was going to protect my kids (both of them – my daughter AND my son), not only from the horrendous female role-models that are the Disney Princesses, but from the Disney branding itself.  And I did, for a while, but then they went to daycare and school, and were suddenly exposed to all sorts of things that I wasn’t prepared for.  Next to the junk food and toy guns that other people let their kids have, the Princesses are the least of my worries.

And here’s why: I am a strong, independent woman.  I not only manage the household and its finances, I fix things when they’re broken, I take out the garbage, and I cut the grass.  I take care of myself, I stick up for myself, and these are the female traits I’m teaching my kids purely by example.  I am the leading female in their lives.  I am the role model that they learn from every day.

So what if they love to watch Rapunzel fighting off the bad guys with her frying pan?  It’s no different than watching the carnivores in Dinosaur Train hopping on public transit or the Mystery Inc. gang running from goblins at the amusement park.  It’s make-believe.

My kids have have amazing women in their real lives every day, and that makes me okay with some Disney Princess magic when they play.  After all, isn’t magic and make-believe what being a kid is all about?

The Incredible Years Program Part 1: Play With Your Child

 The Incredible Years puts play at the foundation of their parenting pyramid.

I know, I know.  You already play with your kid, right?  That’s what I thought too, and then I started being mindful of HOW I was playing with mine.  I quickly realized that I was the one leading the play, I was always within arm’s reach of my phone, and I was playing just long enough to get my kids occupied so I could sneak away to load the dishwasher or get started on dinner.  I wondered why my kids were still so desperate for my attention (positive or negative) when I was spending so much time with them.

The Incredible Years program recommends playing with your kids for just 10-15 minutes every day.  If the kids are in school and both parents are working outside of the home, there really isn’t much more time available after homework, dinner, bath and bed-time routines are done.  If you have more time to spare, your kids will love it.  If not, don’t sweat it – a dedicated 10-15 minutes (per kid, if possible), is all you need to make a difference.

Here are a few tips to make your play time most effective:

1.  Put down your phone, turn the TV off and give your child 100% of your attention.
2. Let them lead the play, even if it makes no sense or goes against what you think they should do. They might want to start colouring before they’ve finished a puzzle – that’s okay! Just do whatever they want to do during your play-time.
3. Don’t play a competitive game, especially with a younger child. It’s better to play with unstructured toys such as dolls, trucks or blocks.

There were three sessions dedicated to play.  (THREE!  That’s SIX HOURS of class time!)  The most important thing I learned during this section of the program was the concept of descriptive commenting.  This is talking like a sportscaster while you’re playing.  It might sound like, "You're colouring the car red" or "You're putting the doll in her bed."  Sounds crazy, but I always asked questions ("What colour is the car?" or "Where is the doll going?") when playing with the kids because I thought that was what I was supposed to do and that I was “teaching them” but apparently, when you ask too many questions, they feel like they're performing rather than playing and it takes all the fun out of it for them.  Once I stopped asking and started describing, my kids were way more engaged.  Believe it or not, just making these changes and being mindful in how and when I played with my kids, made a huge difference in their behaviour.

Try taking these steps with your kids this week and let me know how it goes in the comments below.  Just remember to have fun and let them lead the way!  This will build their self-confidence and they will absolutely love this dedicated time with you.  Now, if you’ll please excuse me, it’s time to be a Brachiosaurus mommy searching for yummy trees with her babies!

The Incredible Years Indeed

When hubby and I decided to start a family we were pretty sure we already knew all there was to know about raising a child.  We could feed it, snuggle it, change its poopy diapers – that’s all there was to it, right?  Piece of cake!

 

Pan to a few years later when we’re practically pulling our hair out because our 4-year old is hitting, spitting, swearing, growling and being kicked out of daycare (twice!).  Our son was clearly going through something and we didn’t know how to help him.  That was seven months ago.  That was when I left work and we looked into getting some real help. 

After what seemed like constant appointments with different pediatricians and psychologists to confirm that there was actually no diagnosis to be made, we were pointed in the direction of a 12-week parenting program called The Incredible Years.  It seemed as though, despite what we were hearing from past daycare providers,  there was actually nothing wrong with our son (thankfully!) and in fact, the problem was with how we were parenting him.  We clearly needed to brush up on our skills so we breathed deeply, checked our egos and committed to the 12-weeks.

The Incredible Years is a free program offered through the City of Hamilton’s Public Health department.  I don’t think I have ever been more grateful to live in a city with such amazing resources at our fingertips.  The change we have seen in our son’s behaviour is astounding and all because we have committed to slight changes in our parenting habits.  There were six families taking part in the program and all of us have seen amazing results in our kids.  I’m sure that isn’t a coincidence.

 

I encourage you to check out the resources offered where you live and sign up for the program yourself.  If you prefer the quick and dirty version instead, fear not – I will share it here every Thursday.  Parenting is a hard gig; I think we could all use a little refresher now and then.

Finding my Namaste

I love to practice yoga.  In fact, I NEED to practice yoga.  It feels so good to stretch my body and concentrate on nothing more than my breath for ninety minutes.

 I’ve been finding it difficult to practice as much as I would like since becoming a stay-at-home mom on a budget.  Yoga classes are expensive and practicing at home has always been too full of distractions.  It was tough enough to practice when there was only a cat pouncing all over my bridge pose but practicing at home with a cat and two kids?  Impossible.

Or so I thought.

During the week, my daughter and I walk my son to school and then have two and a half hours to ourselves, which is usually spent running errands.  Lately though, I’ve added yoga into our daily schedule and she loves it.  We both do. 

I have spent the last five years struggling to find my old before-kids self and wondering where it was she had gone.  I missed her.  Every day I missed her, and as much as I hate to admit it, I started to resent my role as mom because of it.

Why did I consider kids a distraction from the things I love to do before now?  It’s not their fault that I hadn’t been practicing yoga nor doing all the other things that I used to love doing before they came into my life.  I have been choosing to not take care of me and in doing so, have not been fair to myself or to my family.

Spending time practicing yoga with my daughter has done so much.  We have that special bonding time together and I get that amazing stretch and focus on breath that I need.  The cat?  Well, he’s still a distraction but he loves when it’s time for cat pose.  Obviously.    

Good day, Sunshine!

Life is just better when it’s warm and sunny, isn’t it?  We spent hours outside today – checking out snails, digging for worms, playing hopscotch and making ourselves dizzy on the swings.  We cooked outside, we ate outside and we loved every minute of it.

 

After a long and crappy winter, I’m so ready to say hello to warm sunshiny days.

Brownies for a rainy day in April

So, I'm not sure if you noticed but last week, I missed the first of my own deadlines - Pinterest Fridays!  Oh well.  Maybe completing one Pinterest project every other week is a more realistic goal for me.  It's all about knowing your limits, right?

This week, I took an idea for protein-filled Black Bean Brownies from my friend Karen's site That Mom Blog.  I followed her super easy directions, (rinse and blend a can of black beans with just enough water to cover, add to the dry brownie mix), and just like that, they were a hit!  Kids loved them, hubby loved them and I enjoyed my fair share as well. 

WARNING: While these brownies may be a lower-fat, higher protein option, they may or may not make you and your family a little farty.  Enjoy with caution!  :)

In which she realizes a nap means more than a nap.

The kids are tucked in, the house is cleaned up and for the first time in about a month, I actually feel on top of things.  I’ve even made tomorrow’s snack already.  I feel in control of my life, my moods, my head.  Today, anyway.

This afternoon, the kids wanted to watch a movie and, as I often do, I saw it as my opportunity to snuggle in beside them and have a nap.  It wasn’t long before my husband woke from his night-shift slumber.  When he came downstairs to say good morning my four year old announced, “Mom’s resting again.  She always has to rest because she always feels sick.” 

Wow.  That stung.

I was offended at first.  My husband always snuggles in for a nap at movie time and the kids have never called him out on it.  Why were they doing it to me?

Then I thought about it from their perspective.  Sure, today I was feeling great and the nap really was just an innocent charge of the old batteries, but I haven’t been myself lately.  I’m quick to yell, I don’t play as much, and I take every day that my husband is home as an opportunity to sleep rather than a chance to spend time together as a family.

I’m glad that I found my motivation today.  I just wish there was a way to sprinkle myself with it every morning because I would sure love to feel like this more often. 

What do you do when your mental health gets the better of you?

Was 22 really all that great?

My short answer?  Yes.  Yes, it really was all that great.

I was living in Toronto, going to university, working in a record shop and life was simply all about having as much fun as possible.  My cash was spent on nights out having drinks, dancing until long after last call and twenty-four hour breakfast spots.  I was hanging out with the people I thought I would know all my life and we were going to do this forever.  We were never going to stop dancing, lose touch, grow old.

Here we are 14 (FOURTEEN?!) years later.  We have kids, mortgages and sadly, little time to dance.  We really only catch up by looking at photos posted to Facebook and, if we're lucky, we can squeeze in a few minutes of conversation at the park while our kids play together.

Would I ever trade places with my 22 year old self?  Not a chance.  While she may be happy, free, confused and lonely in the best way, I know who I am, what I stand for and have never been more comfortable with that. 

And once in a while, my bestie and I will dust off our dancing shoes and show the hipsters that we still have it.  Even if it means we're the oldies at the club.

the one about Pinterest

“The reason we struggle with insecurity is because
 we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.” —Steve Furtick

A new friend shared this quote with me one day while we were chatting about Pinterest.  I was explaining how the site makes me feel like an inadequate parent.  I’ve been home with the kids for five months now and can never find the time or energy to do any of the crafty ideas I pin, even without a day job taking up 40+ hours of my time.  How do all those other parents do it?

I’m sure there are some parents that really have it all together.  They love nothing more than being home, raising kids and making everything from scratch.  I’m also sure though, that most people are simply posting their highlight reels for the rest of the world, saving the behind-the-scenes for their eyes only.

This realization has definitely changed the way I look at other people’s posts, but still I feel that I could put a little more effort into things and take more advantage of being home while I still can.  That being said, I found a recipe for DIY Fruit Snacks on Pinterest this week and decided to try it out.

Not only did they turn out to be super easy and delicious, but I know exactly what they’re made of and can feel good about giving them to my kids.  They, by the way, love them so much that they  sneak more every time I turn my back.

I’ve decided to make a new goal for myself: find the motivation to complete ONE Pinterest project each week and post it to my blog every Friday.  Now, if you don't mind, I need to go do some research - I’m already sweating over next week’s looming deadline.  J

Flu-Shmoo - i'm still thankful

It's been a shitty week.  Literally and figuratively.  Three out of four of us were down with the stomach flu - it was awful, it was messy, it was gross.

While that consumed most of my waking hours this week, there are still a few things that I am so thankful for:

NEW LIFE
Good friends of ours brought a new babe into the world last night and we're so excited to welcome sweet baby Rory Ellen into our lives.  We can't wait to meet her.  And seriously, how cute is the name Rory?!

A FINISHED PROJECT
I actually finished my first big crochet project.  A blanket for Rory!  She came three weeks early so I had to haul some serious ass to get it done this weekend but it's finished.  I'm pretty proud of it.

THIS

Who wouldn't be thankful for these little nerds?  They're the best.