Taking Advantage of the Sunshine

Since moving to the Pacific Northwest sunny days are few and far in between.  So when the sun shines I try to make as much use of it as I can.  Today was absolutely beautiful!  There were clear blue skies that you find after a good rain storm.

We started the day early with breakfast and people watching at the local Starbucks.  With a full tummy, my baby "dare devil" took her like trike for a spin warning off other drivers with her Dora the Explorer bell.

After lunch we got in kicking the ball around, making chalk master pieces on the drive way and monkeying around at the playground.  I would have thought that would have tired her out. No such luck, she's still a ball of energy.  How did you enjoy the day?

Craft Time

It's Sunday Fun Day in our house hold.  The sun is shining from last night's rain storm but everything is too wet to play at the park.  So it's arts and crafts time and maybe we'll go biking later on today.  Right now she's painting mommy and daddy a picture.  The only color she wants to use is purple so I'm curious what story she'll come up with.  What are you doing for your Sunday Fun Day?

*I'd like to thank the person who invented washable paint.  My walls and carpet thank you!!!*

Happy toddler!

Apparently this is a picture of mommy, daddy, Izzy and Oscar

Counting Down

Another stretch of time away from blogging.  At this point I wouldn't be surprised if I have no followers out there.  When it comes to choosing between spending the precious short time with all my family home or sitting at the computer, this mommy and wifey chooses family.  We were surprised that hubby's time at home was extended as long as it was.  My three year old has been fully using every moment of daddy's time.

From the moment she wakes to the moment she closes her eyes for the day she asks for him and wants to play only with daddy.  I love watching them cuddle on the couch together or giggling in her daddy's arms.  I can't help but smile with how close they are.  In the back of my mind I know that the big "D" slowly approaches and there's nothing I can do to stop it.  

That's right, we're a military family and that means the big deployment is on its way.  I know this time will be oh so much worse.  Izzy understands so much more than the last time daddy was away.  I can for see screaming and crying in my future.  Until then, I'm going to enjoy every moment my hubby is home with us.  Until next blog, "peace out!" 

Bad Words

It seems that I find myself surprised with all the milestones my little three year old makes every day.  She grasps concepts I thought were too complex for her age.  Recently she showed me that she knows some bad phrases and understands how to use them in the correct context. Yesterday I scolded her for kicking my chair and overheard her say "Jesus Christ".  After letting her know that isn't something nice to say she waited a few minutes and whispered it to herself.

On one hand it was frustrating to deal with correcting her bad language.  On the other i was proud that she was able to use the phrase in the right context.  Mind you, it's not something i want to hear again.  I know kids her age repeat words they hear, but do they understand context at this age too?

At what age did your child begin using phrases in the correct context?  Was it ones you didn't want to repeated? 

The Unthinkable

I met a man the other day and had a chance to hear his story.  Those of you close to Everett, WA might have the heard the news story of a man and three children hit by a car on the corner of Broadway and Everett.  Reading or watching stories like that are shocking but impersonal.  We feel empathy for those families but we may think "that won't happen to me."

I had the opportunity hear this man's first view account of what happened that day.  He never once bragged or called himself a hero.  He told me that he was just walking down the street with his niece, nephew and son when he saw out of the corner of his eye a car make a u-turn and head straight for him.  He didn't know how but he had the time to throw three middle school aged children out of the way of the on-coming car. He took the brunt of the impact and dragged under the car.  Some how his injuries were minor.  He knew that if one of the children went through what he did, they wouldn't still be here.  He was told me over and over how blessed he was to have the quick reaction to save three of his own.

As a mother I couldn't help but think about my own daughter.  He is a big guy but I can't imagine the inner strength he would have had to pull on to throw the weight of three children out of the way in time.  I'd like to believe someone was looking down on him from above to help him react in time and prevent what could have been more serious or even fatal injuries.  It was touching that he had no anger, hatred or ill will towards the driver.  He sincerely was thankful it wasn't more serious.

I hope and pray if the unthinkable happens to my family I'll be able to think as clearly and quickly as he did.  What are your thoughts?

Home Coming

It's coming to an end! My time working and living dual roles as a mother and a father is ending today! My husband's ship is coming home and we get to see his face. We get to hug him, touch him and to love him in person.

My toddler is not even three and these past few months was the first time she's been apart from her daddy for this long. I was worried how she would handle it. I didn't want her to forget him or his face. I don't know how other moms handled it but I talked about daddy a lot. She watched videos of the two of them together, over and over. When she missed her daddy she would hold and tell her "problems" to her daddy doll.

I'm getting more excited writing this blog. My hubby's coming home!!! Here's to all the other military wives out there!

Life Proof Iphone Case

I've had the Lifeproof Iphone case for about six months give or take. I didn't think about writing a review on this blog until today. I didn't think a phone case review belonged on my toddler/mommy blog until I had to deal with a toddler problem.

My husband bought me this case because it's water, shock and dirt proof. Throughout the six months it's definitely done it's job up against my child that sucked on it, bit it, threw it on the floor or across the room. It still works great and when I do open the case my iphone still looks brand new.

Today my daughter thought it would be hilarious to drop my phone in her glass of milk. I was able to fish it out, wash it under running water with soap to clean it and it still works like normal. I thought it this case was overkill when my hubby first brought it home but today's extravaganza made the cost worth it. Have you ever had an "incident" with your child and phone? Was it salvageable or did you have to buy a new one?

Blood is Thicker than Water

Yesterday I shared with you my Child Care Woes.  The day care we use will be closed until August 13th for a suspected mold they found in one of the rooms.  On one hand I am happy they take any concerns like this seriously and promptly.  On the other hand I have been worried that I wouldn't be able to find child care for the days I work.  Right now we do not live close to family or friends.  I work outside of the home and I'm an "acting" single mom until my hubby's ship returns.

That makes it a VERY big deal when my main source of child care closes down at a moments notice.  I don't have anything concrete right now but I wanted to share something special.  As soon as I spoke to my parents about what was going on they started searching for a flight here.  It just goes to show no matter how far apart you are or how old you become nothing is stronger than a close family bond.

I'm so thankful my parents are healthy enough and so supportive to jump on a plane at a moments notice at times like these.  Hopefully, we'll get a visit from grandma and grandpa next week.  Was there a moment when your friends or family pitched in to help you and your family out?  What about it stuck out in  your mind?  Thank you for sharing!

Tantrum

Tantrums.  Yes, that one would can in fact strike fear in a full grown adult.  When I was a new mom I would hear horror stories about toddler tantrums and the terrible twos.  I also saw many frazzled parents dealing with their own terrible two year old.

As my own daughter began developing her tantrums my parenting strategies changed to take into account her bad behavior.  Some days it seems like whatever it is I'm doing is working.  While other days, I want to crawl into a dark hole and hid.  What's even worse is the more my child is developing her language skills and motor skills the tantrums are only getting worse, not better.  WHY, WHY, WHY?!?!?  Shouldn't it be the other way around?  Now that she's able to tell me what she wants shouldn't the her frustration go down?

Today's tantrum was in epic proportions.  I had an unexpected day off when my day care called to say the are close for possible mold.  So I thought it would be a great idea to check out the child's concert in the park at Silver Lake.  Tim Noah was there and the concert was free.  I never heard of the guy but I guess he's this big singer of children's songs.

Izzy had a great time singing, dancing, and jumping around during the concert.  We even stayed after to play on the amazing play ground.  I would have let her play longer but it was very crowded and I had a big bag of things I couldn't lug around while chasing after her.

Once I told her it was time to go, she flipped.  This child screamed nonstop for 40 minutes.  She screamed on the way out of the park, through two time outs trying to leave the park, in the car ride home, unpacking the car and refused to take a nap.  I have never seen her THAT bad.  She has here moments but never screamed at FULL volume the entire tantrum.  I was so surprised that I didn't get flustered and kept me cool the entire time.  I even stuck to my guns and had her sit in a time out and made her say sorry to get out of it.  She thought she was off the hook and when I kept trying to leave the screaming continued.

What was your child's worse tantrum?  Was it at home or in public?

Child Care Woes

Transitioning back into a working mom came with a few obstacles.  Child care was the biggest one I had to overcome.  We no longer live close to family so searching for the right person to watch my only child with the schedule I have took plenty of patience and persistence.  I thought I was good to go.  I had a full time day care center for the week and someone else for the weekends.  What I didn't think of was who to turn to during unexpected times when either of those two options were not available.

Late last night I received a call from the day care letting me know they had to close down for a possible mold found in one of the rooms.  My weekend care works for another family during the week and I didn't have a back up put in place.  My only option was to call in and let staffing know I wouldn't be at work.  Even though I have a legitimate reason I know it doesn't look good at all.

Today I received another call from the day care that they will be closed for a little over a week.  That means I have 3-4 work days coming up that I have to find an alternate plan.  Right now my game plan is to try to swap my shifts for the weekend so I can use my weekend person.  My second option is to start interviewing new people for those days.

Have you dealt with a similar problem?  How did you handle it?

Wordless Wednesday - Seafood

Jetty Island

Today I headed out to Jetty Island with Isabel to meet up with a mommy play group.  Jetty Island is a long strip of land in the bay off the coast of Everett, WA.  I've heard from a few co-workers that it was a great place to bring your kids but I never made the journey before.  For one, it would have been just Izzy and I and it's not as fun without other kids to join in.  Since The North shore mommy play group planned to met there it was the perfect opportunity to check it out.

There is a short ferry ride to and from the island which is free.  There is limited seating so I would suggest getting there early to get a ticket.  There also isn't a fee for parking except Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  So there is even more incentive to go during the week.  Once you get to the island pick up your tickets right away they go fast and you don't want to get stuck there until the late afternoon.

I packed spare clothes for warm and cool weather, light lunch, snacks, towel, water bottle, sunscreen, first aid stuff, bathing suit for Iz, water/sand toys, a kite and a empty bag.  The sun came out during our stay and there wasn't any place to get out of the sun.  Fortunately, there was a breeze or the sun would have been unbearable.  Next time I'll bring a umbrella or sun shade.  The kite was a hit with all the kids there and with the constant breeze I was able to tie it up to my water bottle and just let it fly.  There is only one bathroom but it's more of a porta potty so the sanitizing hand gel and extra baby wipes helped with cleaning up.

Iz had a blast with the shallow pools and I didn't have to worry about having to fish her out of the water.  We have a great time and this is definitely a place I would come back to again.

Pros - location, no cost, great place for water and sand activities
Cons - only one bathroom, no shade, distance to carry stuff from the ferry dock

Cheese with that Whine?

I don't know what changed.  Whatever it was it started 2-3 weeks ago.  My two almost three year old has a consta-whine.  She can turn it on at the drop of a hat for no reason at all.  It's almost as if the more her vocabulary grows the less she uses it and just whines for what she wants.  There aren't even words mixed in, it's just a low level "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh........."  The more I ask her to use her words or try to guess what she wants the more she mumbles and whines.

Has this happened to any other parent out there?  Has your toddler taken a step forward in development just to jump back down the cliff?  Let me tell you that at times it have to just remove myself to scream.  No it's not that bad.  The whine to me is like nails on a chalk board and can get frustrating because I know very well that she has the vocabulary to ask for what she wants and she just doesn't.

What is your experience?  Does this stage last long?  Will it end?  Please say it will end, gah!

Wordless Wednesday - Princess

Neglected

I tend to start hobbies that get neglected when life gets in the way.  Some of the hobbies I picked up last year were very beneficial to my family and our bank account.  Last year I started to coupon.  This "hobby" saved my family huge amounts of money that I meant to keep up.  As most of my hobbies I keep putting it off and off again until I wasn't sure where to pick up again.

Today, I decided to tackle my coupon hobby.  Why?  Even for the few months I was seriously trying to use coupons I couldn't argue with the money I saved on the things my family needs every day.  I was able to slow down my trips to the grocery store to once every 3 weeks or so for the very fact that I had a freezer and pantry full of food and I only would go when there was a good deal on an item.  Even months later I still have a box full of dish washing soap, laundry detergent, tooth paste and shampoo that I don't have to run to the store for.  I remember during the winter snow storm this year that I didn't have to brave the roads for anything.  We were covered.


Ever since we moved to our new house in March, I let that slide.  I have noticed that I do have to run to the store more often and I end up spend at least $100 for a few days worth of groceries.  Before I was able to take home 3-4 times the amount of items for the same price.  Why in the world have I been putting it off?


Today, I went through the pile Sunday papers and threw out all the expired coupons.  Tomorrow is my first shopping trip so stay tuned for the update.  If you're interested in couponing?  I would suggest you start out with The Coupon Project there's lot of information there that helped me get started.  Do you have a HUGE haul you want to share?

Mini Bully

I picked my daughter up from day care yesterday and was my daughter crying.  One of the girls had just pushed her at the playground before I walk in.  A few days before I was called at work and told my daughter fell off a bridge onto the concrete face first.  Today I watched the same girl push her down.  I know they are toddlers and they can be prone to hitting and pushing from their raging emotions. (rolls eyes)

When is it too far?  Last night and today when I picked her up Izzy has been saying more and more often that Brooke pushed her and she fell down.  Today she even told me in a full sentence "Brooke pushed me and I fell down. It hurts."  During the ride home I asked her if Brooke pushes her a lot and she said yes.  "Brooke pushed me... bridge... I fell down, it hurt."  Is my almost 3 year old really telling me that she's being frequently pushed from one particular girl?  I don't know if I should be concerned at this point.  When should you really take the "message" a 3 year old tells you as what it sounds like?

Have you experienced a "mini bully" at that age?  How much of it is a true personality trait and how much is toddlers with raging emotions?

Mommy's Bed

My child knows that every night she has to go to sleep in her bed.  If she wakes up in the middle of the night from a nightmare she can climb into mommy's bed for some cuddling and to chase away the monsters.  Most nights when the bed routine starts she asks nonstop to sleep in mommy's bed.  Well, she doesn't say it in a full sentence she just repeats "mommy's bed?" over and over and over again.  On rare occasions when I just want her to fall asleep right away or I want some extra cuddling time she can sleep in my bed.

Tonight was one of those nights.  Bad mommy pushed back bed time too far.  For some reason I was in a cleaning kick and decided to tackle a few more moving boxes from the mountain that was known as my garage.  When I finally looked at the time it was close to 7:30pm and I still had to get her dinner and a bath.  This time when she started in on mommy's bed I said okay.  This girl was so excited and scared I would change my mind that she wouldn't take to step pass the doorway into her room to take her pillow and dolly to my bed.

I didn't have to do anything extra before she knocked out either.  I just plopped her in my bed, kissed her good night and gave the dolly to her and left the room.  I was walking in and out picking up toys, cleaning up a little and setting out clothes for tomorrow.  Not one peep the whole time.  I love nights that bed time isn't a fight, it's a breath of fresh air.  I even had the time to write this post before I have to go to bed myself.  I guess mommy's bed is a special place after all.

Parenting Compliments

As a parent you question how you are raising your child and you hope at the end of this journey your child grows up to be a well adjusted, contributing member of society.  My child didn't arrive with an instruction booklet or a pair of glasses the see into the future.  So I don't know if what I'm doing now will result in a positive thing or negative thing.  My daughter is going to turn 2 in two months and she is a Toddler with a capital "T".   There are days that she makes me so frustrated that I need to take a moment to myself to regroup.  While other days my eye get misty and my heart skips a beat because I feel so thankful I'm her mommy.

Since the "terrible twos" and the "toddler tantrums" have made an appearance in our household I've tried different tactics to see what works best with my toddler.  I definitely did not want my daughter to think it was okay to scream, whine, or throw a tantrum to get what she wanted.  I made it a point from the very beginning, that she had to say "please mommy" if she wanted something.  As her vocabulary increased I helped her through simple sentences to ask for what she wanted.  For example, "More milk please mommy." 

These days she's been using the whine/scream/tantrum tactic first and it's been tough to shake her from that bad habit.  Now in the face of all that screaming I keep saying, "You have to use your words, mommy doesn't understand you when you scream like that" until she gives me enough hints to figure out what she's screaming at.  Once I figure out what she wants and she starts to calm down then I prompted her to stand in front of me, cross her arms and use her words to ask mommy nicely for what she wants.  I tell her "It's NOT okay to scream at mommy like that, when you want something you need to use your words and ask mommy nicely."

I really think whatever I'm doing is really working.  We were at that vet today and she started whining.  We went through the steps, stand in front of me, cross her arms, ask nicely, and follow up with thank you.  The vet gave me the BIGGEST COMPLIMENT on my parenting.  She said she's never seen a child with such good manners.  She really liked how I handled it and even said she wants to use that when she has children.   How awesome is that! Toddlers are tough and I'm sure I have more white hair from the stress but that little pat on the back gave me the validation that I just might be doing the right thing after all.  :)

Have you received any comments that made you feel the same?  What were they?  Have you given anyone else positive parenting comments?  What did you see to make you share that compliment?

Pudding

A little someone got to try pudding for the first time.

Dare Devil

Toddlers are climbers, jumpers, runners and miniature daredevils.  Fortunately, they approach each new adventure with a fearless attitude.  How else will our mini me's master all the things their bodies can do.  On the other hand that fearless attitude can put our hearts in our throats each and every time we see where their antics leads them.

My little climbing, jumping, running daredevil is no exception.  In the past two days she has fallen on her head at least three times.  Once was from jumping on the couch while spinning and she ended up flipping off it.  Another was from dancing right off the coffee table right onto her shoulder and head.  This time she decided to body slam the dog from off the couch and he moved just in time to save himself.  Izzy wasn't so lucky.

I don't know about you but I could talk until I turned blue and it wouldn't make a difference to my crazy kid. Actually, I feel like an old fuddy duddy for telling her she can't jump on the couch.  I LOVED jumping on the couch and my bed when I was a kid.  Sigh, what to do?  I'll probably just try to relax until the crying starts.  All bets are off if she starts running around with a knife or attempts something that will land her in the hospital. What has your kind done recently that your heart practically stopped when you saw them?