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.

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?

Jewelry Box DIY

So last week I posted the beginning stages of the jewelry box refinish project I was working on. This was sort of a trial run to see how well I did with this to determine weather or not I should attempt refinishing some old furniture. Well, despite the few touch ups I will have to do when this rainy fall is all done, it turned out beautifully. Keep in mind I have not put the poly-urethane coat on yet so it still looks a bit dry but....

 Before:

   

 Ugh, just a bit too pink for me.

After:

I also relined the drawers,

So all in all it took about two days simply because I ran out of free time and cost me about 12 bucks. Less if you already have sandpaper and or stain.
The procedure: It was really as simple as it looks. I sanded off the varnish and as much of the previous stain as possible. Then I used about three coats of ebony wood stain, took fifteen minutes. I "carefully" ripped out the pink felt lining and simply wrapped it in some contact shelving paper. Same with the cabinet walls and the stained glass front. Super glue the pieces and put them back in place. Use a small screw driver to tuck the edges back in.
Used some plastic spray paint to change the color of the carousel in the top of the cabinet. 

Screw everything back together and tada!

I am in the process of house hunting for the next couple weeks so I'm not sure when I will have time for more projects at the moment but my daughter's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks so I guess it will have to be decorations and making goody bags. 

Mmmm, more coffee needed, off I go. Until next time.

Upcoming Projects

Ah Mondays, that oh so wonderful day that reminds us just how short the weekend is. Mondays are also my two job day and both of my morning kids are teething. Hooray! They also have discovered that they prefer solid food so I share every meal I make. All these things are manageable but my daughter has suddenly decided she doesn't like her crib anymore so when we try to put her to bed she screams bloody murder. I am hoping this is simply a phase but I will tell you, we are exhausted.

The joys of parenthood. This all being said we did have a very fun weekend at the Fair on Saturday. Daddy and the boys heard the call of the man and had to show off the tractor pull to his little girl. The sound of engines is the male mating call I think as every time you heard one in the distance the boys noses went up in the air trying to locate that particular truck like dogs trying to catch a scent. Quite comical actually.

 Me, personally, I am a bigger fan of the rides. I was a bit of a thrill seeker before  children so when my husband and best friend declined climbing into one of these rides by informing me, "These were built three days ago, I'm not climbing into that death trap." This made me think a second but decided.. Well that's part of the thrill right? All in all it was a lovely trip to the fair. Over priced food and all.

This week I have a few new projects to get working on. One of which is to look for a local Realtor. That's right! We were prequalified for a loan and we are ready to start house shopping! I am so excited I'm ready to start packing but I am aware of the home buying struggle so I am attempting to keep my radical impulses to a minimum. That I believe will be mostly e-mails and phone calls so I have room for a few more projects on my agenda. 

I found a perfect recipe for french toast sticks that are freezable so I'll be making some more of those for a quick breakfast. 

My landscaper friend gave me some tips on my little indoor garden and offered to help me build the greenhouse by the porch so looks like I'm going to have to be a little crafty. We have one of those screen tents and we never use it so I was thinking I can cut out the mesh and replace it with clear plastic sheeting. Maybe remove some squares in the roof and reinforce the plastic to prevent collapse in the event of heavy snow or rain. (Don't really need to shock the warmer plants by snow leaking in.

I have a bunch of pallets and boxes that are begging to have something built out of them. Sadly, I don't have any power tools at home so I have to wait for my husband to get home, at which point it's time for dinner and to give our daughter a bath and boom... It's our bed time. So who knows when I will get to that.

I also a few pieces of furniture that I will be sanding and re-staining, (super excited to turn an old hand me down armoir we have had for year into something modern and beautiful.) So I think this will be one of my first to begin. This project will be something I can do when the babies are sleeping. Photos and results to come.

I feel the more active I am, the more productive I am and the happier life feels.   

Life Is Full Of Firsts

First kiss, first job, first apartment, first house.

Me, I'm in the middle of a bunch of firsts, My husband and I got married about a month ago, our daughter just took her first steps and we are all embarking on the nightmare that house buying can be when you have crappy credit. I am insanely grateful for the life my husband and I have together and our beautiful little girl Neviah Rae. Whom, I might add, has just started taking her first steps, terrifying and very exciting.

Forgive the bragging but I happen to be super excited my little rugrat is growing up. Being a stay at home mom is harder than it looks especially when there are a couple other children in the mix. Now, my husband and I are talking about having another next year. Not sure how I am going to manage that but I will figure it out, I always do.

Sometimes, I think we forget to simply look back into our own lives to see what truly makes us happy. Sorry to get mushy on you but I'm kind of on a cloud of happiness and caffeine.
I watch my husband play with our daughter and get her laughing and it melts my heart every time. When that happens our cell phone bill or data usage is not so pressing. Suddenly my credit score means nothing at the moment. Some times I use yoga or gardening to sort of center myself but nothing works better than genuinely appreciating what I have instead of wishing my way into the future.

And now that I have successfully talked my family up like crazy, my daughter is getting into everything and my husband is calling for the 5th time. Time to put on mommy hat today. Perhaps later we will put the chef's hat back on.