Potty Training - Round 3 . . .

Here we go again!  This is solidly the THIRD time we have attempted potty training for Mr. A and this time I am DETERMINED that it WILL stick!  The last time we did it was in September, right around Mr. A's third birthday.  We stuck it out for about a month before we quit.  He could DO everything, hold it, successfully use the potty, etc., he just CHOSE NOT to.  We decided we would give him the month of October and then try it again.  Well, we got to the end of October and I don't remember exactly what happened, but I think we got a cold, and we just didn't get back to it between the cold and Thanksgiving then Christmas.  

Well it is TIME!  I'm soooo over spending $40 a month on diapers for the two of them (Yay for Sams Club that it's not more!) and changing way too many diapers!!!  

The last time we tried our biggest problem was he just didn't want to!  So this time was ALL about MOTIVATION!

We started with a fresh set of undies.  They didn't have any undies that he liked so we got a plain white set and decorated them ourselves.

We put dinosaurs on one pair, Super Why on a couple others, and Bob the Builder on another.

Two jars, one had 5 chocolate coins, the other is empty.  Every time he is dry and goes to the bathroom he can move a coin from the red jar to the treasure-chest jar.  When all five are moved over he can pick something from the treasure chest!

If he isn't dry or doesn't go he can still pick a sticker for his sticker chart

We also have a tub of old Cherrios for targets (they float and flush without issue)

I also keep a tub of sanitizing wipes handy

A basket of 'spare-pairs'

And Diaper wipes (we found that he didn't like the dry toilet paper as much)

Our sticker charts.  The top one was from the last go-around.  The SuperWhy one is from this time.  The green fishy is for Mr. C who likes to help ;)

We also keep a bucket next to the toilet for accidents

Until they finds their way in here (The washer)

So far Day one was totally accident free!  Day 2... well... not quite as well. we went through 5 pairs of undies and 3 pairs of pants... (I'm still not sure exactly how that worked out)  Hopefully it goes better going forward.

The good thing was he still remembered how to do it so we didn't have to start totally from scratch!

Here's to a good tomorrow!

Finger-paint Fun!

Some days you just need one of those easy, super fun, easy to clean projects when the littles are getting antsy!

One of my favorites involves homemade-kind of edible (not going to kill you, not too tasty though), fingerpaint!  This recipe takes no time at all and is so simple the kids can help with most of it!  I will often make this recipe before lunch or dinner, put it in the freezer to cool while we eat, then pull it out after for lots of messy (but easy to clean!) fun!!

Homemade Finger Paints

3 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 c. Corn Starch
2 c. Water

Combine ingredients in a small sauce pan and whisk until smooth, warm them up on the stove, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens.  When it thickens, it will all at once.  Seriously, it will be thin, then BOOM thick!  Divide into containers and add food coloring as desired.  Make sure you let it cool!

Now for my secret ingredient to non-messy fun....

The Bathtub!

No kidding!  Our bathtub is white, so it is extra awesome, but I just strip everyone down to their diapers and stick them in the tub with paint.  Then the boys can put paint all over the tub and themselves, and keep the mess maintained.  When they're getting bored I fill up the tub with water and let them get the paint off of the tub and themselves.  Then I just drain the water, refill it, and clean the kiddos for real!

(Did you notice the dirty hand in the corner there?)

I'm not kidding, you can get 2 hours of fun out of it! 

Bonus points: the bathtub gets clean!

Have fun!

Coming to Terms with My Hole-y Jeans - The New Mom-Jeans

I have never been a big fan of the whole style of Jeans that come with holes, 'pre-installed.'  I mean really, if I'm buying new jeans it's because my old ones have holes in them!  I also grew up in a cold climate where holey jeans meant air-conditioning when it was only 5 degrees outside some days.... cold!

College was great!  I could go an entire season or more without wearing holes in my jeans!  And since having super fashion-forward jeans was never of huge importance to me, it worked :)

Then I Became a Mom

And it took me like 2 weeks to get holes in my knees.... 

I might be exaggerating a little, but really, not much!  I blame it on crawling around the floor, chasing, playing, cleaning, dressing, etc., etc., etc.  You get the idea!  And it frustrated me!!!  I started asking around to all my mom friends, how do you keep your jeans from getting holes??  What are 'good' jeans to not get holes so fast?  Pretty much everyone said, 'good luck' or 'eh, it's a style, right?'  Well yeah, but I don't want holes!  

So I went through jeans kind of fast.  I tried putting patches inside my jeans at my knees but nothing worked.  Then I moved to Arizona and the first winter I wore jeans maybe 10 days total (I thought it was warm, especially after Utah.).  But this winter has been cooler, and I pulled out the jeans earlier than last year.  And then I remembered.  Holes.  I only have one pair that doesn't have holes in them and the more I wore them the closer to holes they got. 

Then I got creative!  I decided I would put lace over my back pockets (which also had holes starting) and lace inside my jeans, under the holes!

And I decided, that it would work (well, at least prolong the life of my jeans until the seat of my pants wears out!), in fact, I really kind of like it!  

Then one day not long after I added the lace, Mr. A asked me,

'mom, why do you have holes in your pants?'
'Because I love you and I crawl all over to play with you.'

Then it hit me

The holes in my jeans are signs of how much I LOVE my boys!  They aren't so much a sign of broken jeans or me not taking care of my clothes.  

The holes in my jeans represent hours on the floor playing horsey and tickle wars and dog piles!

The holes in my jeans represent the thousand-jillian toys I've picked up off the floor!

The holes in my jeans represent all of the hugs and kisses I've bent down to get and give!

The holes in my jeans represent many, many projects I've created for my boys after bedtime!

The holes in my jeans represent hours of cleaning, trying to keep the house clean and us healthy!

The holes in my jeans represent hours of outside adventures at the park!

The holes in my jeans represent hours of adventures in our backyard!

The holes in my jeans represent hours spent in the garden teaching my boys responsibility!

The holes in my jeans represent hours spent in the garden teaching my boys to help things grow!

The holes in my jeans represent hours spent on my knees scrubbing sticky messes off the floor!

Most importantly

The holes in my jeans represent HOW MUCH I LOVE MY BOYS!

So now when I see the holes in my jeans, I don't cringe and wonder if there's money in the budget for a new pair of jeans, now I see them and think how awesome my kiddos are and how much I love them.

I now wear the hole-y-jean-badge with pride!

Here's to a new outlook on 'mom-jeans'!

~My~ Baby Gear List!

Baby gear I consider must-haves!

-BLACK-OUT CURTAINS! Seriously the best thing I have!  Mr.A  sleeps until 9am sometimes because his room stays dark.   It also helps greatly for nap time!

-Car Seat.  This is kind of a duh moment since you can't leave the hospital without one, but I really love our Gracco Snugride infant seat!  It was light weight and easy to use (the recent Gracco recall on buckles did not apply to infant seats)  You can always just start with the convertible seat, but I think the convenience of the carrier is worth the money!  Frankly, Mr. A was small enough to technically be in the infant seat past a year.  He is on the small side, but some seats go up to 35 lbs!  That's still nearly 8 lbs more for Mr.A!   Now we use the Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite convertible seat for Mr. C.  It goes rear and forward facing so we should be able to use it until we switch to a booster seat in a few years.  So far we love it and both boys haven't seemed to mind either.  We also use the Evenflo Maestro Harnessed Booster Car Seat.  We also really like this seat.  The Safety 1st seat is great, but has low ratings for high-back booster seat use.  As such, when Mr. C needed out of the infant seat we got the Evenflo for Mr. A because it has better ratings for seatbelt-use.  

-Wipes/Diapers  I have lots of reasons for going with disposable over cloth, so if you want cloth advice you'll have to go somewhere else... wipes I love the sams-brand wipes, $16-$20 depending on the day/sale for 1000 wipes! (10 packs of 100) 1.6-2 cents a wipe versus 3.6 cents for Huggies wipes !(depending on where you buy them and how you buy them)  They are thick and soft!

We liked the Pampers Swadlers diapers until size 2, then we had blowout issues.  We tried several and eventually switched to Huggies Snug-n-Dry for 2-3.  Once we started solid food and the poop wasn't so runny we switched to the Sams club variety and have loved them! I bought all of them at Sams club and seemed to save money in the long run.  Mr. A got a nasty rash with Luvs but we used them for a while with Mr. C.  I also priced Parents Choice (Walmart) and for size 4 they are actually 2cents cheaper than Sams diapers... they seemed to work fine when I test ran them, so I may switch after I finish our current bag of Sams diapers, they recently changed them a bit and I don't like them as much now.

Random Tip: If you buy too many of a size/type, save them and use them with a later child, or make a diaper cake with them the next time you go to a baby shower/need a gift for a new mom!  Cheap and you already have the supplies!

-Diaper Disposal ideally, a not-plastic can outside.  If that isn't an option (which it wasn't for us due to the design of our apartment for a long time) I suggest a foot-operated, small, metal can with a lid.  Lid to keep in smell, small so it gets emptied frequently, and foot-operated so it is hands-free.  Honestly it won't stink too bad until the poop gets solid, then, I don't know, we never figured it out until we moved to a house.  Now we just take the stinky ones straight out to the dumpster.  Good luck!

-Crib/somewhere to sleep personal preference, put them in their own room early on if you have the room!  Our experience was that when we slept in the same room as Mr. A we woke each other up all the time!  You don't need a fancy crib, but do make sure it follows current standards (slat-spacing, no drop side, sturdy).  I personally think the crib and car seat are the two things I would only purchase new (at the very least the mattress!).  Consider your family planning when picking your crib.  If you are planning on kids being 1-3yrs apart you probably won't need the convertible-toddler bed-crib.  Unless of course you are planning to buy a second crib for the next kid.

I'm a fan of starting with the crib rather than bassinet to crib, plus one less thing I have to store! 

We actually ended up buying a pack-n-play for Mr. C to sleep in for the first 6 months as it took a while for Mr. A to abandon the crib and move to the toddler bed.

-Several light blankets Layering makes life easy!  If it's cold add more, if it is warm, take some off!

-Boppy somewhat useful for nursing, super useful for propping baby from floppy to learning to sit up!  I rarely put Mr. A flat on his back, and his head never had a flat spot.  I also noticed that he sat up before a lot of kids.

-Binkey!  Up-front, not all babies are binkey babies, but if your kid is, they are invaluable!  Along with that, a binkey leash!  Seriously, will save your life!

-Clothes Keep it simple!  to be honest, the first several weeks they wear PJs all day.  and that's ok!  I suggest the zipper kind, sooooo much easier than trying to get all those darn snaps lined up! (and seriously, buttons have NO place in baby clothes!!!)

For boys all you really need after the PJ stage are a couple pairs of pants, jeans, kahkis, or neutral colored whatever bottoms fit your fancy (4-5 depending on your laundry habits you may need more or be good with less) and shirts, 14-ish... assuming once a week laundry and two outfits a day, give or take...

Socks, tube socks are great (and they make them surprisingly small), crew cut/low cut socks are silly on babies, they will never stay on! you will loose socks, so don't spend a fortune on them, and always check for them when you leave a room

Shoes, I really wouldn't bother until they start to pull themselves to standing/start to walk, they outgrown them really fast so don't worry about it until they need them!  Tie shoes are my favorite because they are harder for Baby/toddler to get off but do take more work.  Sandals take about 30 seconds to get off.  Consider buying second hand since they won't be in any size for long! 

I like onsies until at least 1yr because they stay down, otherwise their shirt will always be at their armpits.

One piece PJs are easiest, especially if you have a wiggly sleeper like I do who is rarely under his blanket come morning!

One piece rompers in the summer are adorable and sooo easy! 

Girls, I really don't know.... but I would say that keeping it simple is still ideal!  

-Stroller This one is debatable, and if nothing else the type of stroller is what would make it a necessity vs could live without.  We have a couple of strollers, a 'travel system' stroller, an umbrella stroller, and a double.

The 'big' stroller matches our car seat and the car seat clips in, which is one of my favorite features.  I also love the size (easier for my husband to push) and the basket underneath, and the general amount of stuff I have been able to pile on over the last couple of years.  I don't love the size, it does fold up easily and relatively small, but it was a stretch in our last car, and still takes a lot of space in our bigger car.

The 'small' stroller (umbrella style) is great for other reasons.  We have the cheap-walmart variety.  Once your child can hold up his/her head this works great (many don't lean back).  The small size makes this stroller extremely convenient, the biggest down-side is that there is no storage and it is shorter, so less convenient for my husband to push.

If you're planning on multiple children very close together, don't spend too much on a 'big' stroller, I am finding that now I have a double, but have this nice stroller that I don't know what to do with.  A stroller is definitely something to buy second hand, you can save $100 or more easily!

Also, I would like one of the nicer umbrella style strollers that leans back and has a basket.  We'll see.  

My double is a Phil & Ted double-decker stroller.  I highly recommend them, but as a matter of price, they are really expensive!  I was gifted mine and love it!  If you can afford it, or find a good deal, these are fantastic strollers.  They fold up relatively small considering that they are double strollers and because the kids are stacked instead of side-by-side or one-in front-of the-other you don't feel like you're driving a limo or tank around!

Baby gear I love (but could live without... I guess...)

-Changing Table This Barely makes this list, I would almost call it a necessity... at least for me!  We have diapers and wipes on top, all of their clothes on the middle shelf, and all of their sheets and blankets, etc on the bottom.  Everything is right there when I need it.  No worrying about needing something on the other side of the room!  I also keep the Sams club-size box of wipes near by.  I love the convenience of having it all right there always!  We also have a changing pad I made that is plastic-y so anytime there is a mess I can clean it off really easy! 

-Baby Jungle-gym thingy... you know the things they lay under and play with the dangly toys, yeah, those things


-Swing somewhere for the baby to be that moves.  I'm not picky on the style, as long as it lays back

-Baby carrier amazing how 'wearing' your baby can calm them on nasty teething days! I like the backpack-style best, like Baby Bjorne (buy used! they are expensive! (kid-to-kid)) or tot tenders.  I've never tried the wrap style, but they seem good enough.  I would never use a sling though, they just seem bad for the baby and not very safe.  

-Glider/Rocker  I almost forgot this! I have a rocker.  It squeaks. A lot.  I would LOVE a glider, I used one this summer in NM and loved the smooth, simple motion.  However our rocker is nice too.  I didn't use the rocker until about 12 mo old, I don't know why, I just didn't.  But it is nice for rocking Mr. A to sleep when he has a nightmare. Update: We have a glider now! it squeaks too, but not too bad.

-Toys Keep it simple!  seriously, the Sophie giraffe-chew-toy-thingy... yeah, not worth the money!  Toys don't need to be backed by research or whatever... some of Mr. A's favorite toys have been the cheap ones I have found.  Plastic keys ($2) stuffed animals, rattles, etc.  General rules to follow, *Easy to clean! (dishwasher or washing machine!) *colorful *simple to play with.  That's it!  Easy-Peasy :)

-High Chair take your pick on the variety, but I have used it to finish eating early on (buckled Mr. A into the 5-point harness and being with us at the table) I still stick Mr. C in it to play with cookie cutters or utensils while I'm cooking, or finger paints, and of course for meals/snacks.  Ours has a tray and a part that pops off the tray to make rinsing/cleaning super easy.  The chair also comes off the legs which is fantastic for cleaning out the inevitable leftovers in the seat.  The chair also leans back and has a five point harness system that has come in handy from time to time.  We even attached it to a chair for a while as a booster seat with straps :)  There are lots of types though.  Just make sure it is as easy as possible to clean!  it will always be dirty :)

-Dishes/silverware Cheap plastic stuff... nothing fancy, I don't really think the suction-cup-plates are worth it/necessary, but Mr. A didn't throw them very often either.

-Sippie cups we love the nubby cups, Mr. A seemed to like the soft nipple, which is great unless/until they are a chewer.  The other thing we liked is a camelback water bottle, again, an issue when they chew Mr. A chewed through a couple of bites.  (bonus, they have a lifetime warranty on their products!)  Now we have two different hard-nipple cups we like.  You want to make sure they won't leak, and remember, the more parts there are, the more likely for something to break or get lost!


Most important, YOU are your childs Mommy!  YOU know your child best!  If YOU think something is wrong, call the Dr!  Most offices have nurses on call 24/7.  Most of the time they will tell you there is nothing to worry about, but don't worry about it!  I call ALL the time!

You WILL get advice CONSTANTLY!  Smile and nod and move on... easier said than done, I know, just ask my husband...

Finally, If you nurse, awesome!  If you use formula, awesome!  your baby is getting fed!  If you use disposable diapers, sweet!  If you decide on cloth diapers, sweet!  If you deliver 'natural,' congrats!  If you choose an epidural, congrats!  You have a baby now!  Don't judge yourself for your choices, don't judge others, and don't let others judgment bug you! 


Most of all, Congrats on the huge changes your life will be making soon!  Have fun!!!

Memory Quilt!

I have returned!  Ok, so I had all these grand plans for posts all through the Christmas season.  Pictures taken, posts composed (in my head), ready to go.  Then boom.  We visited my family for Thanksgiving, then my husband had finals week, then December came, I had a couple up and ready to go, then I got a cold... and it laid me out flat, then it turned into a sinus infection, yuck!  Then on top of that I had this quilt that I suddenly remembered I was doing for my husband's Cousin for Christmas.  Then we helped remodel a guest house the week before Christmas... So I am soooo sorry!  Next year will be better, promise!  

But Hey!  Want to see an awesome memory quilt!

So my husband's Cousin approached me about making this quilt a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, I had just finished the quilt for my Grandma, which had gone over so well, that I jumped on the opportunity!  I got the stuff right before we left for Thanksgiving and put it off until the last second... oops!

She wanted me to make two blankets, one full-sized and one twin-sized from a crate of 3-18 month clothes.  But the more I thought about it the more stressed I became!  Which the other quilt I did, I used a 8in square for my base and it was easy, the shirts were big.  There were so many variations on sizes this time!  There were shirts, pants, overalls, bibs, blankets, and sleepers!  once I chose a square size it was easy, but that was the SCARIEST decision to make!  What if I messed up and ruined all of these clothes?!?!?

So I ended up going with a 7 1/2 in square, which worked shockingly well!  Almost all of the clothes I could make fit into the square.  The ones that didn't went into a different pile and I pieced them together.  In the end I only pieced together maybe 15-20 total!

Next I laid out the quilts.  I did my best to have a 'patterned' piece next to a 'plain' piece.  (patterned being any piece with a logo or major design)

The big quilt was for my husband's cousin and her husband (mom and dad) and the smaller was for his cousin's mom (grandma) so the big quilt has all the 'mom' & 'dad' designs and the smaller has all the 'grandma' designs

The smaller quilt

I tied the quilt in each of the corners and used the back to bind the edges.

The bigger quilt

They loved both of them! 

Thoughts on the quilt:  

*Use a rotary cutter to cut the squares, seriously!  Do it!

*Make sure you have space to lay it all out, it is harder than you'd think to get it just right!

*It takes a lot!  I got 2 squares out of each item on average.  I used the scraps to make too small ones big enough

*I'm not big on quilting in general, I don't really have the patience for it, but this was worth it and lots of fun.  That being said, I don't really think I'll do it again real soon...  It took a lot of work to do it!  But it was worth every minute!

Have fun!  Be sure to show me your memory quilts, pillows, or other ways you remember people you care about!

Memory Quilt and Pillow - My Great Grandma

As you may know if you have read some of my early posts, my Great-Granmda passed away last March.  This last summer when we went to Colorado to visit with my family I was able to bring home her washstand to restore, that was in her bathroom as long as I can remember.

While we were there her children were working their way through some of her other things and there was a large pile of clothes on her couch, which gave me a fantastic idea.  Memory Pillows!  Such a great way to preserve the memory of someone you love.  Overtime you hold that pillow it is like a hug from your loved-one.  So I asked my Grandma if she would send me four of my Great-Grandma's shirts, particularly ones that were very 'Grandma-y' (you know, like shirts that you look at and say, yeah, that was grandma's!).  She sent me four shirts (which, I don't have a pic of the original anymore  due to my phone being unexpectedly wiped clean...)  I started with the four pillows, but had so much fabric left, I just couldn't toss it!  So I decided to make a quilt as well!

The pillows are 16in pillows from our favorite wally-world for just under $4 each.

Pretty much I just cut a 16in square from the front and back of the shirts, centering the buttons down the middle.  Then sew up all four sides.  The floral print I had to leave an opening and hand stitch the pillow in, but the other three I inserted the pillow through the front of the shirt and buttoned it in!  So simple! 

For my Grandma's Brother

For my Grandma's other Brother

For my Grandma's Sister

The original shirt had a tie at the top, so I reattached the tie to the top of the pillow

This one is for my Grandma.

I added a tag to my Grandma's to personalize it just a bit more.  Super simple, just 1/2in cream-colored quilt binding and a permanent fabric pen, voila! 

The quilt is made up of 

8in squares

2 1/2 x 8in rectangles

4 1/4 squares

2 1/2 x 4 1/4 in rectangles

Once everything was cut I assembled the smaller pieces into 8in squares, this made assembling the quilt easy!   I laid it out on the floor so that I could get as few of the same fabric touching each other as possible

I made sure to keep some of the details of the shirts in the squares:

Tie like the shirt had

Cuff Buttons

Collar buttons and Buttons from the front placket

Label on the quilt.  Again, 3/4in quilt binding and this time a permanent marker.

I stitched long-ways down the quilt to hold the layers together, then cut the backing 2in wider than the quilt then pinned and hand-stitched the binding.  Love you Grandma!

Have you ever made a memory quilt or memory pillows?  How have you repurposed something to remind you of someone you love?

Stocking Hangers!

Last year we put our Christmas tree in front of our fireplace because I was stubborn and thought it was the only place it could possibly go... Well, I have since adjusted to things, figured out our house a bit better, and have realized, that is simply not the best place for the tree!  For one thing, our stockings got draped over a chair because we had nowhere to hang them!  Once I decided the tree would go in a different corner I knew I had to find a way to hang out stockings!  Since we rent, screwing in hooks like my parents use seemed like a bad idea.  Stocking hangers that perch on the mantle seemed like the best idea, but being the cheap-o I am sometimes I couldn't bring myself to buy them!  I got to thinking though, and decided I could make them no problem-o!

First, Four pieces of 2x4.  Honestly I didn't even cut them, they were leftovers from another recent project!

Next I sanded down all the corners

Four sticks, about 2-3 inches long

I drilled holes in the end of each 2x4 and hot-glued the sticks in.

(The sticks were actually pretty snug by themselves, the hot glue was simply a precaution)

Then a coat of stain

Oops.  Guess I stained first, glued sticks in second...

Then I hot glued four big pinecones on the top of each piece of wood.  I used scrap sticks and globs of glue to level them out as needed.

Voila!

And the Stockings are now hung with care!

My Grandma made each of these stockings for me and my family.  Each is made from a pair of Jeans with a cute little pocket on the front.

I don't think that they would be able to support full stockings, but for the rest of the Christmas Season, they will display our unique stockings very well!

Merry Christmas!!!