Our Life As Four

Have you ever wondered what it's like to have two kids under the age of three? Well, my dear readers, wonder no more. I am the proud mother of two beautiful children, two and a half year old and a 3 month old. They are beautiful children, healthy both physically and emotionally and I love these kids more than I ever thought possible. (I realize how cliche that sounds but believe it when people tell you, no matter how annoying they make it sound.) I am here to tell you that multiple children are why boxed wine was invented.

I wound up taking some time off school. I wasn't doing so great in my Trig class, (seriously, it's trig,) and I didn't want to lose future financial aid because of poor grades. I start back up in the fall and I am insanely terrified.

My daily life consists of constant diaper changes, "Don't touch that.", "Do you want a time out?", "Oh god why is everything wet?" and feeling like Oprah, "You need a nap and you need a nap. Everyone gets naaaaps!" It all seems worth it when I get my nuh nite snuggles before bed or when she asks to take her vitamin and brush her teeth. Can't get her to potty train but she is all about her baths and teeth brushing. Picking my battles I guess. That said she is getting so big and there is talk of her going into pre-school soon and it seems so soon.

 The little man is getting big. Picking up his head and meeting his weight goals. He recently had to clip his nails because his face looked like my poor little boy was in a knife fight in some alley. Terribly dry skin but we are working on it and it doesn't seem to bother him much. Tongue tied still because I was a bit shell shocked after the circumcision and didn't want them cutting into my baby anymore. Now there is a whole stupid thing about it and the insurance has to be done through medical not dental blah blah blah. Healthcare blows. Any how he's growing like a weed and I think he's starting to look like me.

We seem to be adjusting well, I guess if I had advice for a second time mom it would be... get used to your house being a mess. Try not to over do, the kids want your attention too and that's more important. Make time with your friends sometimes, especially if you are a stay at home mom like me. I occasionally will visit friends and family for lunch at work or a coffee break. Plan some out of the house time for the whole family, weather it be a walk or a beach trip or a weeks vacation try to find a few moments to be together.

I'll be posting some links to some stories I'm writing and I am  open to story ideas, questions or comments. As always you can always reach me in the comments.

Recipes for New and Expecting Moms: Breakfast

Freezer Breakfasts:

There are lots of things you are already making that can be frozen and microwaved on the go. One of my favorites is the breakfast sandwich. These little guys are easy, yummy and filling but they get expensive to buy every morning and who really has that kind of time to make one every day. Not me!
So the next Sunday that you are hanging out having a chill day and you have to make breakfast anyway why not make a big batch.

Grab some english muffins, cheddar cheese, bacon and eggs (and any other toppings you may be fond of just make sure they freeze and reheat well.) First cook the bacon and toast the english muffins. I scramble my eggs with a little water and pepper, not sure how milk will do in the freezer, and cook it in a skillet just like an omelet. Once the sides are set flip it and turn off the heat. I use a cookie cutter to create the perfect size egg serving for the sandwich. Assemble your sandwiches in parchment paper then in foil.

When you are ready to eat you can remove the foil, pop the paper wrapped sandwich in the microwave and in about 2 minutes or so you are ready to walk out the door. Or plop back on the couch.

This same method can be done with breakfast bowls, these are yummy if you add some fried potatoes to it and bell peppers too. Throw the ingredients in a tupperware bowl and stack in the freezer.

Since I already have a toddler that will need to be fed as well I make french toast sticks in large batches. I suggest double battering them so they will stand up to the thawing. Again, I can toss em in the microwave for a few moments and breakfast is ready. Throw some berries on the plate and an apple sauce packet and my kiddo is good to go.

I also have some wonderful lunches that are a snap to make and you can make a weeks worth at a time. That post coming up soon!

Trusting Your Gut Can Be Harder Than It Looks

I recently brought my daughter in for her 15 mo checkup. (We did it at 16 months because her former doctor was difficult to schedule with as she sees a very high number of patients because she is wonderful at what she does.) Sadly, our beloved pediatrician went off into her own practice and our insurance didn't allow us to follow her. We opted for the next best and was given another woman. My daughter has no dietary restrictions, allergies and is on no medication so there was no need to find a doc with special skills or anything. Well, my daughter got nursemaids elbow, (it's a slight dislocation of the elbow that can happen from picking them up by their arms, playing, even getting out of the crib wrong and it's apparently very common.) I was a bawling wreck, while my daughter played on the floor with her non hurt arm, as I was assured by a woman with the most fake smile and ingenuine look on her face that she is fine but they would like to give her x-rays just in case. Sure enough all comes back well and she was back to normal in a couple of hours.

A couple weeks later was her wellness checkup and my visit with this doc was very brief so I thought there was no need to book and appointment with anyone else. I should have trusted my gut the first time. We go over all the usual, no allergies and meds, she is walking and she chatters but no real discernible words just yet. At this point I figured at 16 months it was something to work on but I wasn't overly concerned.

The doctor tells me that it appears she is just fine and will be one of those children that just explodes into language since she learned a little sign language, she shows us what she wants and even lets us know when she is ready for bed. (Yes, my toddler puts herself to bed most of the time, be jealous.) Then she informs me that she likes to be conservative with medicine and is going to refer me to a specialist that is going to run her through a bunch of tests and cover all of her development, you know, just to be sure.

Few things, just over a year is not nearly time to start worrying about delay in development when it comes to talking. Two, I do not believe a battery of testing over this matter will lead to anything different down the road. I really believe that large amounts of testing and 'precautionary measures' will be requested by this doctor. Three, the fake smile and insincere expression. I'm sorry how am I supposed to trust you if you are going to pretend to be friendly.

I had a little sister with special needs her whole life, my best friends daughter had some complications during birth and has had to undergo therapies of all kinds and may have to for a long time. The fact that my perfectly healthy daughter is being recommended for some of the same therapies absolutely baffles me. Please don't misunderstand me. I will never deny my daughter of services she needs. If she was 2 and not speaking then this would be a very different post or if she didn't seem to hear me or understand what is going on around her then I would completely understand the cause for concern.

This whole event has left me shaken a bit. My husband and I decided we will work closely with her on language for another month and then reconsider her referral after, of course, we get a new pediatrician and a second opinion. I hate that she was able to make me question my own parenting decisions. It makes me angry that as a society we have so little faith in each other as parents, as care givers, or even just as people. Kids can't explore their own towns anymore. We are drugging kids up and insanely young ages. (Don't dare tell me that it's necessary either. I'm from the Rx generation and they tried putting me on Ritalin in the 4th grade. My mother refused and it turns out... she was right. I didn't need it and if it had been given to me I never would have learned to deal with social anxiety, stress or even just daily life because the drugs would have done it for me.) It makes me sad to wonder what will happen when my daughter gets married and has a baby. Will she be forced to raise her children by a pamphlet given in the delivery room and will be arrested if she doesn't follow exactly? Yikes!

I shall step down off my soap box I suppose but feel free to leave your two cents. Would you take your child to be tested this early or would you give it some time?

Never Plan For A Plan To Work

I learned very quickly in life that if you plan something out then it rarely works out that way. Parenting is exactly the same. Ladies, I can assure you....

You kid is going to flip out for no reason in the middle of a grocery store.

Your dishes will never be done. (This goes likewise for laundry.)

That Zumba class is going to drop in attendance. 

You will count the minutes until its bedtime, meal time, TV time, nap time. (anything that will give you ten minutes to yourself and chances are you will look at that sink and think. "Meh, that will still be there in the morning."

And that is all okay.

I read a blog recently that just made me laugh. When becoming a parent or just a stay at home parent tends to be more than we expect. My advice. from a SAHM for the last, almost, two years is to take a deep breath and just say..... "Fuck it!"

This post is coming from my dedication to get my toddler to keep sleeping through the night and she was up at 5:30 this morning. Which isn't all that bad since I am usually up at that time anyways but today is my day off and that's not fair. (I know, I'm pouting but I'm tired.)

So expect the unexpected and perhaps pick up some meditation tips and a bottle of wine because we got at least 18 years to go. It's a good thing they are cute.

If you want to read the post that cracked me up check out the link below and don't forget to leave your comments, advice or just your sympathies.

Recently I've Become A SAHM - The Opinionated E

Bring On The Vitamin D

It is absolutely amazing to me what only a few minutes in the sun can really do for you, especially this time of year. Due to the bitter temperatures lately we have all been stuck in the house as I mentioned in another post. Well, today we got a heat wave! That's right ladies and gentlemen, we hit a whopping 35 degrees this afternoon. This allowed us to drop a layer of clothes and step into the sunshine and the result was just awesome.

The snow banks are well over four feet tall and the white, undisturbed snow is quite blinding but within only a few moments I felt my mood improve ten fold. It was amazing, I felt a burst of non-caffeine induced energy and felt like I was taking a deep breath for the first time. I even rolled the windows down while running my afternoon errands and cranked the music. I have some work to do on my day off tomorrow but I fully intend to get some of that sweet sweet sunlight tomorrow.

I recently posted about how to beat the winter blahs and one of my strongest suggestions was to get outside and into the light. Even I didn't know how spot on I was. I feel more motivated, (we will see how long that lasts.) even more ready for spring. I realize we have a ways to go since we have been well known to get snow in April and sometimes May, but man am I counting the days now.

Seeing the kids running around outside and the older one making a snowman in the yard made me realize these are the things I wanted to have children for but I have been hibernating. Well, lets stop hiding from the cold, suck it up and get out there. Hit a local tourist trap with the kids or something. I know here in NH we have a state website for fun and FREE things to do all year long. There are always event lists all over the interwebs at your finger tips. Instead of camping out in front of the TV, (no judging here, I'm a fan of TV too.) open the door and blink away the cobwebs of hiding out inside. Talking to you SAHM or WAHM especially.

Besides, it's only snow right?
More to come of tomorrows adventures and as always comment and share away!

Not Your Average Mom

The more I build my blog the more it becomes apparent that I should find a style that suits me and portrays the type of woman, wife, and mom that I am. And I can assure you I'm not you average mom.

The basics, I mean, sure, I make meal plans and grocery shop. I'm a stay at home mom that nannies on the side. I'm a home owner and an Aunt. But what people don't see in the endless stream of Facebook posts and mommy blogs is that we don't all start out as Mom's, wives etc. I like rock music and horror movies. I have gauged ears and tattoos. Don't bother asking the internet for they will tell you that I am teaching my daughter all the wrong things by having a tongue piercing or letting her stand on the couch.

To that I say, shut it! No one asked your opinion. I say this half kidding because when I was pregnant I joined a very popular mommy thread for new moms. While the information I could get was very relevant and eased a lot of fears I had about starting this new type of life there were so many women looking for real help and real advise that were torn down by other moms. By people who, for all intents and purposes, were supposed to be there to support each other in a very challenging and scary time in life. And that just sucks.

That all being said I am going to celebrate being different, being an alternative mom. I believe instead of focusing on how we can be more like other mothers we should focus more on being ourselves, something so easy to lose when you have children. Are we withholding vaccines because we believe they cause Autism or are we doing it because it is the new fad these days? What do you really think? Yet, no matter what you choose people on either side will give you a hard time with it.

I received almost hate mail when I mentioned in a post that I was thinking of getting my daughters ears pierced at three months. I can guarantee someone you know had their ears pierced as a baby and they didn't explode into flames or spend their whole lives believing they were mutilated as a baby. Still, this is how we think. Am I doing things right? What will the other moms think? How will society view me if I make this decision? These are things that we shouldn't care about. Our children are ours and no one else's, (assuming your children are safe and not being intentionally placed in danger.) So if you think earrings are a good idea then do it and stand up for yourself. If you want to dye your hair blue and wear shit kicker boots everyday and no one can stop you. Certainly if you believe that a drug of vaccine is unsafe then don't give it to your child. But please, as responsible adults, make sure your getting real information because your FB news feed is not real news.... please remember this. (Always do your research first!)

I say we take back a Mom's real power. We are responsible for our children and we alone get to make these decisions. If my four year old wants a mohawk then so be it and if my daughter wants to wear a hoodie with a skull on it then I am not going to teach her that self expression is unacceptable.

Besides, what is the point of having children if we turn them all into little adults. I guess we might as well just clone people. Have some fun.

If any of you have advise (positive) for other readers about parenting, kids or just being a Mom these days please post it in the comments. Any questions you have for me go ahead and post them or send me a message and I will get back to you as soon as I get it.

Thank you all for reading my blog and I will have much more to come as this parenting thing is just starting. (My husband mentioned having another baby soon YIKES!)

We Made It! Mostly.

Well, I have been away for just over a month now but I proudly return with wonderful news. My husband and I bought our first home! I report that we are happily terrified home owners. Mostly because it's all on us now, although, we weren't really the, 'call the landlord for everything' types but still it's a lot especially for a couple kids. (I know we are definitely not kids anymore but we forget that sometimes.)

A little background on our little slice of freaky luck. We looked all over the state looking for a place that was close enough to my husbands work and populated enough that finding nanny work would be easier. our budget was very tight but we had a little cash for renovations and restorations on the new place so a fixer upper was perfect. We saw the most bizarre looking homes. An old camp cottage that had a couple additions but they were never insulated so they were unlivable rooms and the only access to the water heater and the basement was a creepy floor panel crammed awkwardly in a corner that was only big enough for a smaller person to drop straight down. Then the old place by the hospital with the exposed hot water pipes along the walls, built in everything and strangely disjointed rooms. Oh not to mention the only bathroom was upstairs by the bedrooms and the stairs were cut in too close to the slope of the roof so you have to sort of duck under the roof at the top of the stairs. Yeah, I saw that going bad fast.

So after all these crazy things we found a two bathroom three bedroom mobile home that was set over a basement. Boom, I'm in, the price was right and it was in the same town we live in and we can make it our own. We discover the front wall is rotted so we were forced to walk away.
About two weeks later I get an email from the realtor selling the mobile home saying the bank is willing to fix the front wall, (new windows new dry wall, better flashing on the front porch and resided the area.) We are in. For those of you who have ever bought a home I'm sure you can imagine what the next month was like for us awaiting approval and sending in last minute paperwork etc. Nightmare! We got it and we moved in and started tearing the place apart. It was AWESOME! We painted everything, got brand new floors, which we are still in the process of putting it in.

It is a wonder my husband and I have not had strokes over the whole process. I swear my house was built by college students. Most of the trim isn't nailed down properly, the new wall is currently leaking again, the previous owners decided to try to heat the uninsulated basement by cutting large holes in the air duct so the heat is just dumping into the basement. This goes on and on.

Yet through all that I have to find a reason to smile. My husband and I bought our first leaky, drafty house together. We have an adult refrigerator and oven now, my daughter is comfortable here and is sleeping through the night again with very little bedtime fuss lately. Not to mention her hair is just barely long enough to do something with and that is very exciting.

 These are the new floors. Not bad for 99 cents a square foot. All of the renovations, and there will be a before and after post, cost us a little over two thousand dollars. As long as you have a plan in mind and the patience to bargain shop you can reno even a disgusting old trailer into a beautiful modern home.

She clearly has no problem with the move. She loves the sound of her boots on the hard floors. 

Hooray, no more gross carpet!

Well, now that we are back into somewhat of a normal routine I can come back and snuggle with the blog again I don't know how many of my little projects I will get done with so much needing to be done on the house but I did get a dremel tool for Christmas from my step father and it is definitely bad ass little machine. I'm pushing for a kraig jig for Mothers Day but we will see. Now I'm off to make a broquet for my husband for Valentines day. 

Another day. 

Another chance.

Another smile.

Today's Win

 I awoke this morning, late for work, to discover I now have the day off. This is wonderful because I spent the weekend with my family and for the love of god I need a rest. Green Tea a hot shower and ghost TV and, of course, napping. I have been fiddling around on my computer, looking for a free or cheap photo editor. Everything I found was way too... cartoony or had so many buttons and options for things I would never use that I couldn't figure out how to use it. Then.. I found it!

DARKROOM! really cheap for some reason so I download it click start and I am on the move again. This is the program I used when I worked at the Portrait studio and I trained the new staff on how to use it and make it efficient. So off I go. I find some old photos that a photographer friend of mine had done of my daughter and added my little yweak to them. Yup I haven't lost it.

This is my rugrat having her cake at her first birthday.

So granted I don't have a great camera but where my camera lacks I can make up with proper editing equipment. So off I go to kill some time waiting for the house closing and practice with my own little munchkin. Very exciting, wish me luck!

Food For Tiny Fingers

It's official, my daughter is 1 year old! 

We celebrated her birthday over the weekend followed by my husbands party and it went very well. This morning my husband asks me, as he is making her bottle, "Aren't we supposed to be weaning her off of these soon?" Crap, he's right. That means more finger food, relatively scheduled meals, make ahead breakfasts. (I am out of the house by 6am and home with the other little one but 7am so breakfast is already a pain.) Then I start wondering where am I going to put all these meals and tiny tupper ware containers. Well, I think I've got it.

So There are several things I pick up for my lil munchkin to eat. 
Cut up green beans, peas, carrots, broccoli chunks, any frozen or canned veggies really. Throw some in a cup and microwave or grab a small pot and toss in your veggies. Storage is simply your pantry or canned goods cabinet and they take seconds to make. Pair them with some fruit or pretzels.

I will hard boil some extra eggs and throw them back in the fridge for a pre-made breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Cook an extra chicken breast or meatballs when you make dinner. Bonus: split it with the kids and make some quesadillas for lunch or a salad and you got your lunch too with little work.

I am a big fan of chunks of block cheese with some fruit and crackers or cheerios. All very easy things to put together.

With all these little finger foods filling up the fridge and pantry I decided to throw together some Martha Stewart and Betty Crocker and up-cycled some old formula containers to use as storage.

After you pull off the label you can spray paint it with plastic paint. Then I decorated it with some washi tape. The one on the left I use for storing crafts like beads, pom poms, washi tape rolls, etc.

Using small zipper bags and mini storage you can set these up for where ever you need them. For instance one will have small bags of cheerios, (instead of bulky boxes in the pantry.) pretzles, fruit snacks, snack pouches, really anything. 

For the refigerator snacks like fruits and veggies I have small storage boxes,

The white one you see here houses small tea boxes, instant coffee and all those rogue k-cups and kool-aid packets that make such clutter in your cabinets.

One of these little guys can slide out of one side of your fridge and all your toddler to-go bags remain contained in one place.

Last thing I am trying to do more of is making foods ahead, as I mentioned cooking a little extra the night before so you are all set for lunches and snacks the next day but I also like to load up the freezer. (Depending on space you can use those containers above to hold bags of freezer food.)

I like to make french toast sticks, mini pancakes, mini muffins etc. Its a good project for a lazy Sunday when I have an extra pair of hands for the baby. You can make up a ton of them in the time it would take to make a regular breakfast and on those busy mornings you toss 'em in the oven or microwave and the kids are happy. Not to mention all that breakfast stuff will make your house smell all yummy!

A new one I want to try is yogurt bites. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use an icing bag (or a ziplock with a hole cut in the corner.) and make dots on the paper. Freeze them and pop them into a bag for a cool summer snack.

Anyway, off I go to start cooking then off to work so my husband can clean the kitchen. ;) 

What time saving tricks do you guys have?

DIY's This Summer

One sick baby, two sick babies.... Thank the universe we did not decide to have a second sooner because I am already elbow deep in snot and poop.

We are enjoying our first year as a family and trying to get in all those story book times together such as apple picking, pumpkin picking and of course the local favorite, one of the many fairs that hit the area in the fall. This year we got an extra treat! The stomach flu... let me tell you how terrifying that is with kids all over the country getting sick and getting hospitalized. Fortunately, it hit us one at a time starting with my husband. He was down and out for two days, the poor guy, but once a year he always gets very sick then bounces right back. Then our daughter got it. No puking, (that's my girl) but definitely uncomfortable and lots of dirty diapers.

This was followed up by a seasonal cold and lord there are boogers... EVERYWHERE. Granted this is gross but it doesn't bother me so much. It bothers me more that my poor little one is feeling so crummy and anything I can do to help ie. aspirator and tissues just pisses her off more.

During the day I watch a little boy around my daughters age and they are the best of friends. In fact, they share binkies... This morning I started sneezing etc. I am so glad my husband is taking his vacation next week because one sick baby is enough for me, two, however, as well as being sick myself, is just far too much. So tonight it's a hot bath and fuzzy pj's, some Chicken noodle soup and an early bed time. I'm already exhausted.

This leads up to the fact that I have little time for projects left not to mention that I am currently looking for a house and we are slightly broke so it occupies a lot of my time. However, as promised, I have other little fun things I have done this summer. Such as,

Mission Impossible for Toddlers!

My niece and nephew are three and five years old and smart! Well, I like to have activities planned for them while they are here. A couple times in the summer my mom has Grandkids weekend. We go to grammy and papa's house and go camping.
 All this required was some bright red yarn. (I know it's a little difficult to see but it's there.) and you zig zag from tree to tree, high and low and cris-crossing every which way.

In this case I was not able to gather all the materials so I didn't use the bells but when tied to the yarn the bells will jingle when the "lazer" it touched letting them know they lost. On the other side of the obstacle is a small path leading them right back to the starting line. Not everyone has this kind of land especially when you live in the city so this can easily be done indoors. A long hallway can do the trick with some scotch tape (don't ruin your paint job.) and the yarn and bells if you want.

You can do this with older kids and toddlers alike. I am thinking we can do the spy theme when my daughter is a little older and set this up at her birthday party. The kids can win little prizes is they get through. (You can use the same toys as you have in the goody bags for the kids so that everyone gets a fun toy.

I did one other project for them with the help of my brother.
Sone day I'm driving down the road and I see the frame for a papasan chair on the side of the road. (I am a big fan of free or cheap.) So my husband picks it up for me and it is brought to my parents where the base was promptly shattered. Sad but hopeful I assure them I am going to make a swing out of it so please don't burn it. My mother rolled her eyes so hard she may have sprained one but the chair went unburned. Finally, the last big camping trip I have got to do something with it or it goes in the bon fire. Got some big fat rope, the kids and went hunting for a tree.

With the help of my monkey brother we got it hung and the kids loved it. It was like a carnival ride and strong enough to hold my brother and I.

Assuming the wood holds out through the winter I will be using a very large cushion I made to cover it but an old comforter will do just fine. I don't have a photo yet of the kids up high but that swing hums and the rungs of the chair serve as handles and foot wedges without the threat of tiny busted fingers. They had such a blast that they wanted to keep it up after the rain started. Until, of course, there was talk of s'mores and fire. 

Sadly, the camp is now closed but we certainly enjoyed it while it lasted.