Unique Parenting Advice

You read all of the books. You visit the websites. You make friends and soak up every bit of advice you can...

And then you have kids and it all blows out of the water!!

I do want you to take this little piece of advice, though. Whether you co-sleep or not, it's useful to know. It's especially useful in toddlerhood.

Ready?

HAVE A MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT BED-CHANGE PLAN!

We've been battling a stomach bug around here. It seems to hit my youngest at night more than anything. When we were on vacation it was fine if he puked in the bed because someone ELSE would change the sheets. Now that we're home? It's up to the adults in the house! And we aren't dealing with puke anymore....think diaper blow-outs. They're gross when you're talking breastfed baby...they're trauma inducing when it's a toddler!! *shudder*

My husband and I have gotten pretty good at doing the change quickly at night. It came to us naturally. If that's you then that's great! If not, keep reading! There is hope!

1) Have extras of everything where everyone knows how to find them.
You want a change of clothes for EVERYONE (even if you don't co-sleep. Sometimes the mess will get on your PJs by transfer) If it's especially bad I'd recommend TWO of everything. Have an extra set of sheets at the ready. Know where that extra comforter is stored. Trust me, you might need it all.
(Last night's incident involved poop up to his shoulders. I wish I were exaggerating)

2) Assign the parents.
There's the "Child Parent" and the "Bed Parent" in my house. The CP takes the kid and focuses on cleaning him up. The BP focuses on getting the linens changed/washing and makes the bed. Whichever parent finishes FIRST helps the other if they need it.

3) Have clean-up supplies. 
Those old towels you want to throw out? Perfect for this job!! Who cares if they're stained beyond recognition afterwards? You were going to toss them anyway. If you use disposables (we have been at night) keep those plastic grocery bags handy. Keep your wipes handy as well.

It sounds simple because it really is...but in the middle of the night things can get jumbled and confused if you don't have a good plan in place. The first few times we had to do this I tried to do everything (because that's how I am) when I should have let my husband help!

Do you have a plan? When was the last time you had to change sheets in the middle of the night?

Twas 2 Days Till Easter...

...and I have nothing planned!!

Seriously, we usually spend Easter visiting somewhere. We've never "done Easter" just as our own family unit.

Is it weird that I'm a bit freaked out?

This is how I feel inside

We have NO family traditions for this holiday. I'm building them totally from scratch...and it's sort of too late to buy stuff like eggs to hide or baskets right? (Not that they need the candy anyway...I could hide empty eggs and they'd be thrilled)


What are your Easter Traditions? Maybe you'll inspire me!

Great dinner...and some updates

From dinner the other night:

I mostly just loved out the plating turned out with this...I'll show you the picture before I really start explaining (because it's prettier than it sounds!)

It looks like some nifty restaurant meal doesn't it? Yeah...that's a hamburger and fries! 

I can't tell you what it was seasoned with because my husband made them! I wasn't privy to the ingredients (he probably wouldn't remember anyway to be honest) 

I sauteed some mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. 

We did sweet potato fries (and one red potato worth of fries). 

The plating started as an accident. I was putting mushroom and tomato on it and it looked so pretty that I went with it! 

See what a little creativity can do?

---------------------------------------------

Where have I been? Why, Kas Fitness of course! I'm still trying to get it up and going so be sure and jump over and check it out (and make my analytics numbers go up and stroke my ego...)

Stefan recently bought a NICE camera. We're starting a little photography biz. It's pretty exciting. I'm hoping that in a few years we'll both just being working our businesses and will be able to dictate our own hours. *sigh* SOMEDAY!

Here's a little bit of what he can do!

Light editing

Some extreme editing (let's play "spot the difference")

So if you or someone you know in the San Antonio area wants/needs photos done (for pretty much anything) head on over to Something More Photography and use the Contact Us button! We're working on a full website so it's just the landing page for now! 

I wish someone had told me...

So, I love my kids to death. I really really do! They're hilarious most of the time.

There are a few things I wish someone had told me about being a mom. I opened this thought up to Facebook and now I can't find it!! If you answered on the page please add your thoughts to the comments below!

I wish someone had told me...


- that I'd have bruises on the tops of my feet from my children stepping on me...it's just weird.


- that I'd willingly reach out and catch puke in my hands. 


- that I'd get pooped on and shrug it off...or LAUGH.


- that I'd get peed on weekly.


- that I'd become "that mom" that brings her own kid's snacks to parties. (Hey, food dye and HFCS makes him go NUTS)


- that it would be MY kid screaming "SHUT UP" repeatedly at the top of his lungs at the grocery store.


- that makeup would be a luxury.


- that I would consider a few bites of hotdog a "meal." (For kids or adults)


- that I'd love someone as much as I love my family. (Aww...you have to have the sappy entry!)


Comment below!! What things did you not expect as a parent?

My Boys Are So Loved

I know that this post might touch a nerve with some people...but I need to post this so I kind of don't care...

Divorce is ugly. No matter the reasons for it or if it's "mutual" it's always ugly. There are always "casualties" and it's usually the children and, eventually, grandchildren. There's usually resentment and hurt feelings and that can bleed into future relationships.

I'm a child of divorced parents. It sucked then and it sucks now. I'm a child of parents (ALL of my parents) with deep hurts from the past that did bleed over into our relationship, and left me with a few deep hurts of my own. I'm determined to break the cycle and not let it affect my relationships! By the grace of God I will have healthy relationships.

That being said, my boys are loved by all of their family members. Great-Grandparents and Grandparents alike. These little boys are showered in so much love whenever family is around! I do consider them truly blessed. So what if those people can't get along? As long as, in the end, the boys feel loved it doesn't matter.

So, I'm sharing photos of my boys with family members for this post. I'm not going to label the photos. I'm not going to mention names anywhere in the post. All my readers need to know is that my sons are loved. Because that's all that matters to me.

Sorry about the quality. I took a photo of a photo because I no longer have a scanner.

Boys In Motion Link Up

Head on over to the Boys In Motion Link Up  Where "It’s Friday which means time to share your favorite photograph of your boy (or boys) in motion! Celebrate that non-stop energy – if you can’t beat ‘em, take a picture and enjoy it!"

Franklin LOVES his new brother. He gives kisses and "counts" toes and gives him nice touches when he's crying. SO SWEET! Frankie has been such a good helper.

Family update

The results of the ultrasound confirm that we're having another boy! We were kind of hoping for a girl, but girls are really are in my husband's family and it IS up to his chromosome! We have NO names picked out and we're still discussing the circumcision issue.

Anyway...

Update on Franklin: We're working on potty training. Right now we're hitting 50/50 catch/miss. I figure that for a 16 month old that's pretty awesome. It's funny because when you do early potty training (or EC) and have a miss most people react with, "Well, that's because it's too early! S/He can't understand!" However, when you start at 2 or 3 and have a miss the common reaction is, "Oh, that's potty training for you!" In my opinion, there is no difference. My son realizes when he has to use the potty most of the time. Sometimes he realizes too late and we're too far away from the potty. However, we are able to make it to the potty for 95% of his poops and for more pees each time. He's started standing in front of the potty to pee in it...which is fine by me. As long as it makes it into the potty I don't care!!!

He's also started putting the towels up! Well, grabbing a folded towel and walking to the bathroom and letting someone lift him up and help him put it away.

So, chores Franklin does with help:
- Towels away
- Unload bottom rack of dishwasher
- Pick up dropped things...like food or toys


Those are the family updates. Stefan's hours are getting better. There's not much to update on him or me at the moment...he's still Air Force and I'm still pregnant!