I Never Grew Up Giveaways.

I entered all of these giveaways and so should you. but do it today because they end February 28th.

Wordful Wednesday

Welcome to another edition of Wordful Wednesday. Wordful Wednesday is hosted by Angie over at Seven Clown Circus. Want to see more go check out her page!

I have seen so many fun blog ideas and I guess I will try a few of them out until I can come up with one that is just as good and hopefully at some point just as well followed. 

This picture was taken this summer, That is my lovely girl, Sophia and my sister's friend Corina. And Sophia is the one in charge of that kiss. I thought this was so cute at the time and the picture is just as cute.

Reduce and Reuse

Today I am thinking about a campaign that I remember from fifth or sixth grade. We we're learning about reducing, reusing, and recycling to keep the planet green (and blue I think). It seems to me that we are all doing a lot better about the recycling than ever before, but we forget that recycling takes a lot of energy. Energy that for the most part is still using our precious natural resources. So Today I am compiling lists about Reducing and Reusing, this will save energy and money. 

Reduce:

Plan a shopping list to prevent purchasing on impulse. I think this is a great idea. All the things I buy on impulse (like cookies) end up in the trash and I usually wish I hadn't bought them. Purchase products that will not go out of fashion quickly. This means no  Purchase things with less packaging. Supporting companies that are making the green effort has made a difference and will continue to make a difference Purchase things in bulk quantities eg. one large box of breakfast cereal instead of two small boxes. Don't forget to make it items you can eat before they go bad. A jumbo jar of pickles that get thrown out isn't reducing anything. Purchase durable items that will last you a long time eg. rechargeable battery. Purchase refillable items eg. dish washing liquid. Borrow, share and/or hire things that you only need occasionally. maybe start a neighborhood co-op of occassional use items that some of us already have.  Bring a shopping bag while shopping instead of requesting for plastic or paper bags. Use cloth instead of paper tissue for cleaning. Store perishable food eg. bread, fruits in refrigerator. This way they last longer and don't end up in the trash. amazing! Pack breakfast or lunch in washable container instead of a one-time container. Call the respective organisation/s to remove your address from their mailing list to prevent junk mail. wouldn't it just make your day to get the mail and have no junk? Use one strong bulb instead of a few low-wattage ones. Check for dripping taps and inspect taps and pipes to prevent water leakage. often these are so easy to fix that you can do it yourself with online instructions and a dollar worth of gaskets from the hardware store. Take a shower instead of a bath. Wash only with full loads of laundry. do laundry less, better for everyone including the environment. REUSE Reuse used glass and plastic containers as receptacles. This is a great idea especially for some of the prettier bottles. Use unwanted plastic bags to bag garbage. Remember because we reduced these we don't have many unwanted plastic bags or as much garbage. Use old clothing as rags for cleaning. my mom has been doing this for years Convert scrap paper into memo pads. Pass old textbooks, story books, and toys to others. Some of my favorite Sophia toys were given to us or bought second hand  Pass smaller size but good quality clothing to others.  Donate good quality but unwanted items to old folks' homes, charitable organisations etc. Goodwill will pick up bigger items if they are being donated for free, or if you collect a lot of items from your neighborhood you can have them picked up and save you time. Repair and recondition faulty electronic appliances to extend their useful lives. Make sure you let a professional do this, and don't forget that sometimes newer more effecient appliances are neccesary  Clean and reuse washable cutlery and crockery for the next party. No one really enjoys the paper and plastic at a party anyway, If the party is too big for your dishes and cutlery you can rent it.

More Ideas are always welcome, What do you do to keep your world green? How can the kids help?

Seven Frugal Tips for getting ready for a second Baby

So I found these tips at http://www.thesimpledollar.com

Reuse everything you possibly can from the first child. Well I don't know yet if I'm having a girl or a boy, and I haven't saved everything from the first but I am saving now, and I am also shopping at local resale stores for baby items that are in great shape and 2-5.00 for clothes and very inexpensive on furniture and toys.

Evaluate new purchases in terms of hand-down-ability. I don't know so much about this one. I like the idea and it will be super easy if I end up with two girls, but at two she is staining and ripping and thoroughly ruining clothes better than ever. I also think it would be hard if I have a boy because we wear lots of lovely little dresses, but even on the clothes that could be neutral, Sophia is very long and thin with everything being adjustable waist and if the new baby is shorter or fatter the clothes won't fit right.

Watch for tremendous diaper deals. I look, and I save coupons. But I don't think I've ever seen the diapers on sale for less than the cost of a case at costco. I will keep looking for sales and always be mindful, but it feels like a pipe drea.

Prepare lots of food in advance. I am going to try this. This one will be harder for me because it requires being organized and I am still working on that. I have also tried and never really succeeded at making up lots of food on the weekends to make weeknight meals faster and easier. But I will keep working on it and who knows maybe in six months it won't sound like a challenge.

Simulate the experience of having a baby around with the older child. No problem. Sophia has two or three baby dolls that she loves to take care of , and she loves playing with her cousin who is eight months old.

Clean everything. I try to do this all the time anyway, I am sure when I get that nesting instinct it will become a total overhaul. In the meantime I am trying to teach Sophia to help with this and learn the picking up habits.

Invite family to stay with you. This one is not going to happen. We have a very small house and it will be full with me, and two kids. But my family lives in town so there will be lots of visits and I am going to take advantage of all the help they want to give to the baby, so that I don't forget to spend lots of quality time with my older girl.

I found one other tip that is pure gold, and it hadn't even occurred to me: When your older one wants to play don't blame the baby if you can't give them time. i.e. you are nursing the new one and the older one wants to play with you don't tell them "I can't I'm nursing you're sister/brother." Try something more normal like "I'm busy right now, but do you want to come help me?"

I didn't even realize that this would become a problem but thinking about it is so logical, if you blame the baby then she will blame the baby and feel resentful.

I'm so proud of my girl!

Sorry for the terrible picture. I meant to take my camera and then in the mayhem of trying to get ready all I had was my phone.

If you can tell thats my sister (she's seventeen) and sophia behind her, at the first Poetry Slam my sister ever put together. I am so proud! She did all the work and the proceeds went to benefit a woman's hospital in Somaliland. Just a short little shout out to my most amazing sister. It was an amazing event and the first I hope of many!

This time around...

Last Time I was Pregnant...

 

It was my first pregnancy

I read what to expect... cover to cover

Every complaint I had, my midwife said it was normal

I had serious withdrawls from caffiene whe I switched from a huge amount to almost none

I craved Ice Cream at three am (repeatedly)

I wanted peanut butter during a snow storm - I got peanut butter during the snow storm

I was petrified of labor

I was naseous for nine months

I was more in love than I ever thought possible

After the Pregnancy:

I thought my daughter was  the most beautiful thing in the world

I couldn't sleep I was revved up about it all being over

I felt instantly better, ten minutes later all the trouble of pregnancy totally gone

I couldn't believe how much it hurt when she nursed

I was so happy and then so sad, and then somewhere in the middle

I would never have made it through the first night at home without my mom's help

I was more in love than I ever thought possible

This time around... I want to do things better than last time, I will spend most of the pregnancy the same (hopefully not as sick) but I won't be afraid of labor because I remember how awful it was. I know now that I can handle it. I will try to exercise more, I did this a little last time but I want to be more dedicated to it this time. I won't let the pregnancy sickness or tired days limit my playtime with Sophia. She will still get as much attention as possible. She and I are working on her big girl things so that there will be (fingers crossed) no digression when the baby is born. I will let her help with the baby as much as she wants to and is capable (who says two and a half isn't old enough to feed with a bottle). I will put the baby on a schedule (last time it was on demand and not good for me) I will not let the baby nurse to sleep after the first month. I will make him/her sleep in his/her bed from the beginning ( I will have to get up but the sleep I do get will be better quality) and I will be once again more in love than I ever thought possible .

"NO MOMMY! NO!"

Last night Sophia and I went out to dinner with Grandma, and then to a meeting with some friends, and my little angel was more like a little brat for the whole evening.  She didn't want to sit down at dinner, she didn't want to eat her food, she did want to go sit with grandma while she was eating. She didn't want to play quietly with her friends, she didn't want to share the toys. She did want to scream and fuss and she did want to stand on the table.

Have you had days like this? Where even when the situation changes, she just seems to be in a mood. I felt like even if I was giving her everything she wanted she would fuss about something. This isn't a situation where she would normally fuss, she likes to eat and she likes going out and seeing people. It was definitely her mood, and that I think tries my patience more than when she is frustrated and fussy. 

So how do you handle it? I have no idea what the best answer is, here is what I tried, and failed with. I had read in the parenting books that if a child throws a tantrum you should take them out of the situation. ie you can't behave at the store then we will leave the store. So I asked Sophia if she wanted to go home since she didn't want to behave where we were, and she said "NO MOMMY! NO!" and then acted like the lovely girl I know she is for all of about one minute.  We did this about ten times, and had very little success everytime. I tried giving her a time out for not sharing, or not listening, and she took her time out, said she was sorry, and went back to play and immediately fussed about sharing or whatever again.  I didn't know what else to do. Finally I took her home, and she screamed about getting in the car seat she fussed and squirmed and was totally put off when despite all her efforts she was properly buckled in. And then instantly she got quiet. I ihave no idea why but she just stopped fussing. By the time we got home she was subdued and maybe half asleep, we went through our normal bedtime routine and she went to bed just like an angel. 

So there I was last night, at about nine thirty looking through my parenting books and trying to figure out what I should have done while we were out and what made her calm down and behave when we got home. Was she just tired of fighting? Did her mood end in that fussy screaming hating the carseat stuff? She just got it all out of her system? I don't know, the books don't know, most likely Sophia doesn't know, this morning everything was good, we had breakfast, got dressed, brushed our teeth, and hair, and took our vitamins, and went to school without any fussing or complaints. Sometimes we want to play in the morning but usually we are pretty good first thing. 

Eat more veggies, PLEASE!

How many two year old's want sugar all the time? My daughter loves to ask for candy and has just recently discovered soda. And veggies with dinner, it's the end of the world. 

So I got this tip from my pediatrician of all people (who knew doctor's had good advice?) She told me to try taking an ice cube tray and filling each spot with a healthy snack a couple of carrots, some cheese, some crackers (goldfish are yummy) and things like that, and then put the tray somewhere the child can get to it anytime. so during playtime she stops and eats some raisins, or better yet snap peas. and you don't fight with her at all. she gets good nutrition and starts some healthy snacking habits. MAJOR TIP: make sure the veggies and fruits outnumber the carbs. If the tray is mostly crackers that doesn't help increase the fresh fruits and veggies they take in. Besides our kids get plenty of carbs all day long anyway. I am going to try this over the weekend when we have time for playing all day at home, I'll let you know if it works well or if she only eats the things she already liked from the tray. 

I found this image on another blog. Its a perfect tray, this one tried it as a meal replacement, that's a good idea but I like the idea of just snacking on it. 

I have also seen lots of parenting books that say: Let the kids make their meals with you. Apparently any kid will eat anything they made themselves.  Sophia has been cooking with me for about six months and she is always fun to cook with. She loves to dump stuff into the bowl or the pan, once she put an entire can of tomatoes into the pasta, while the pasta was still cooking, and she put the can in too. it didn't taste as good as I would have liked but she was very happy with it. She also loves to spice things, she thinks everything needs pepper and the more the better. We are learning about the right amounts but its great fun and a bigger mess, and takes longer when we make the meals together. 

Big Girl Steps

So I am just getting started here. I want to do some research and find good advice for getting organized and staying that way, without much work, because I am lazy. 

I will start with a little about myself. I am twenty four and have a two year old, I am also three months pregnant. That is two unexpected and unplanned pregnancies in three years. Besides the mistakes that got me here; I love my daughter and being a mom and am very excited about the next one. So now its time to get my life more organized so that I can handle the full time mom, full time job, and maybe some personality of my own thing. 

My two year old, Sophia, is the busiest, smartest, prettiest, most wonderful handful you can imagine. (BTW: I love that mom's all think their kids are better than everyone else's.) So I try to keep her busy, and I try to keep up with her, and now I am battling morning sickness all day everyday too. Isn't she beautiful? So we are working on our big girl steps together. I am working on keeping the house clean when all I want to do is sleep and she is practicing using the big potty and trying to remember to tell her teachers at school when she needs to go. (We're almost there!) and everymorning we do our hair together and brush our teeth and take our vitamins. So next its time to make the nursery a two child room and get her into being a big girl all the time so she can help with her baby brother or sister without getting jealous.

We're very excited!