Quiet Time Bins

A few years ago, my oldest stopped taking afternoon naps…and there were great sobs and gnashing of teeth…from me. Afternoon nap time is sacred around here, so I had to do something fast. Then, I saw an idea for quiet time bins.

Bam.

My life afternoons were saved.

At the time, my son was in preschool and I had become aware of some things that I totally didn’t teach him. For example, using scissors and learning how to cut (oops, I guess that’s important?!).  So, I figured the quiet time bins would also be a good time to introduce a few things, work on some fine motor skills, and still give him some time for imaginative play.

So, I went out and bought five plastic bins. I figured we would have a bin for Monday through Friday and then on the weekends he could choose whichever bin he wanted. I used mostly items that we already owned (but didn’t necessarily play with often) and then I bought a few things to fill in the sparser bins.

It was awesome. Just like that, nap time for me my other kids was restored to it’s former glory.

Fast forward a few years. My oldest is off to school and I have three little ones at home. Thankfully, they all still take afternoon naps…thank you Jesus. So now, I have changed the way I use the quiet time bins.

When the kids are each quietly reading chapter books in their corners, taking turns sewing their own sweaters, and on their knees dusting baseboards, I don’t need quiet time bins.

But, oh wait… that has NEVER happened.

More realistically,

When my kids have asked me 22 billion times for a snack, have argued for five minutes straight over who had the Paw Patrol toy first, and have turned the walkie talkies on max volume in order to drive their mother crazy press that button that makes the most annoying sound in the world…

THAT

Is when I bust out the quiet time bins.

One for each kid.

I send them to different rooms in the house.

And for a few minutes…it’s quiet-ish.

So, let me give you an idea of what I put in the bins. I included the Amazon links because if you are like me, you would probably give up your left kidney to continue another year of Prime. Just kidding…kinda.

Each bin has a few newer books and a few older books that have been out of our rotation for a while.

Here are some other things in our bins… (Note 3 out of 4 of my kids are boys, hence more boy ideas. However, once on Amazon, scroll down on each item for similar girl items)

–Wow Water Vehicles Coloring Book – My kids love these things. They are so simple and mess free! They are also really great for traveling on long road trips.

–Wood beads and a shoe lace. – I tie a knot on the end of the shoelace and they put the beads on one by one. So simple. So time consuming…in the best possible way!

-Kid Scissors (buy them anywhere) – My oldest LOVED cutting. I just drew shapes and different length lines on a scrap of paper and he would go to town! Literally, he would spend 15 minutes just cutting up a paper like this…

–Magnetic Fishing puzzle – All my kids have loved this puzzle/fishing game. There’s also a tow truck/cars puzzle that is similar.

–Dry Erase Activity Tablet – This is a pretty sweet book with mazes and other numbers and letters activities. Scroll down for more options once on Amazon.

–Dinosaur Stamp Set – All kids are super into stamps right now…

–Vehicles puzzles Set – My kids haven’t loved puzzles until I got this set. 

–Magnetic “Joey” Set – We had this for over a year and my kids never really played with it until I put it in a quiet time bin, now it’s a favorite. There is also a “Julia” and “Maggie” set.

–Lace and Trace Pets – Fine motor skills anyone?

–Jungle Animals – Any small figurines would work, pick some up at your local thrift store!

–Let’s Build – This is the magnetic book we have and they love it but click HERE for a bunch more

–Lego/Duplos set – I put this set in a zip lock bag so they can get to it easier. Obviously, there are a million sets our there.

So those are a few ideas and some things you probably already have! So do you want my opinion? Yes? Oh good.

I would NOT go and buy all of this stuff. If I were you, I would go though your existing toy bins, your existing puzzles, your existing craft supplies, your existing bookshelves, and see what will work. In fact, you don’t even have to run out and get bins. You could totally use plastic bags. Quiet Time Bags. Yes. That sounds great to me.

If after you have gone through all your stuff and you still feel like you need a few things, then put them on a list for your next kids birthday, or get one or two things. But most of us, Do Not Need To Bring More Stuff in our homes. Am I right? Yes, yes I am. 

Alright friends…Go and search for some quiet! Good luck and God speed!

 

(Quiet Time Bin picture created at snappa.io)

Chores…the answer to all my problems?

When my oldest was about six months old I remember reading an article about kids doing chores. Wait! Let’s just stop there for a minute, I was knee high in stinky diapers and baby food, why did I stop and read that article?

Oh I remember, it was my first kiddo and I had expectations through the roof, I was probably imagining him dusting baseboards by his first birthday. Ha!

I forgot about the article, 6 years went by, three more kiddos made their appearances, and we still hadn’t done anything much in the realm of chores. Sure, My Hubs and I had general expectations for the kids making their beds and such, but nothing official.

Then about four months ago, somewhere in the back cobwebs of my mind, I remembered the gist of the chores article that I had read so many years ago. It was basically giving chores as the answer to most parenting and children issues.

It went something to the effect of…

      Children disobeying?     …..The answer is chores.

      Children fighting with each other?      …..More chores.

      Children bored?      ……Chor-didi-chore-chores.

      Children using inappropriate language?      …..Did I mention the “C” word?!”

Doesn’t that sounds great? I kinda wanted chores to solve all my problems!

If only the list would have added,

      Children waking up super early?       …..Chores.

      Children having daily diaper blowouts?    …..more chores.

Okay, I guess chores weren’t going to solve ALL my problems. But if all I got out of it was a little more cleanliness around here, and something to keep the kids busy for a bit, I was game.

Now, because I got pretty excited about jumping on the chore train, I probably spent a little too much time online reading articles about kids and chores. But after all the reading, I figured I just needed to do what would work for our family. So I’m going to tell you what I did and maybe it will be helpful to some of you!

First, I made a list of the most important jobs that need to get done around our house.

I don’t really care if my 6 year old can clean the coffee maker like a pro, I’d rather he help me with the mountain in the middle of our house named “laundry.” So, I made a small list of what would be truly helpful.

Next, I listed specific chores that I thought were realistic and age appropriate for each of my kiddos (the baby just missed the age cutoff so he wasn’t included, ha.).

In case you didn’t catch that, the key word being realistic.

Could my four year old dust the top of the fan blades if I held onto his legs and stood at the foot of the ladder? Uh probably, but do I really want him or need him to do that?

A resounding, “No.”

But would it be easy and helpful for him to put all the dishes on the counter after a meal and then wipe the table down with a wash cloth?

A resounding, “Yes!”

I found these two lists and they were super very helpful…

And this one from modestmom.com…

After I made my list for each kid, I went online to look for chore charts. There are a gazillion out there. There are ones that you can print out, ideas for making your own, or some you can just buy online.

Since I had high hopes for chores changing our lives and lasting for years, I chose to invest in a chore chart that I thought would last us awhile AND that my kids would get excited about. After all, I figured if this whole chore thing was going to happen, it would be SO much easier if they caught the chore fever too! (also, I am craft challenged, so there’s that)

Soooooo, I got this one off of Etsy.

And I love it. And they LOVE IT. (Disclaimer: my kids are still young enough to get excited about basically anything that I get excited about).

They love it because it’s on the side of the fridge and they can easily see their chores each morning and they love it even more when they get a check mark next to their completed chores!

Since I have four kiddos, I got a chart with four names. However, since the baby juuuuust missed the height requirement for vacuuming (there I go again joking about putting the baby to work),  I  covered up his name with a piece of tape that says “Everyone.” This was easier because there are some things that all of the kiddos do each day, like making their beds. Thus, they have “everyone” chores and then individual chores.

I liked this chart because it included many of the chores that I had put on my list for each kiddo and it also came with blank tiles so that I could just add my own if it didn’t include ones that I wanted to use.

Right now, we give my 6 year old and 4 year , three individual chores a day and then two to three “everyone” chores. We started with less but they loved it and finished quickly, so we added a few more. (Side note – these chores DO NOT take them all day, almost all of them take less than 5 minutes each).

My two year old, really loves to help as well, but she gets distracted easily and is in and out all the time, so she just gets one individual chore a day, usually, “pick up toys” or “get the mail.”

Rewards

The next morning, assuming the kiddos finished all their chores, they get to put a sticker on the reward chart (which is the highlight of their morning because they get to pick the sticker).

I use this reward chart. I print it out in black and white (ink is expensive!) and you can find it here along with many other charts…

(I cross out the words “Goal” and write in my kids names)

Even though there are only ten stars to fill, it usually takes about two weeks for them to earn a reward. We don’t do chores on Sunday and sometimes we are busy and miss a day here and there.

My Hubs and I decided the kid’s rewards would be family activities that we all do together. This works wonderfully for us because there are so many special things that we would love to do for our kids but that if we said “yes” to all the time, would probably result in four bratty children.

For example, we have a zoo membership. We go to the zoo a couple times a month. There are two things our kids want every time we go to the zoo. They want dip and dots ice cream and they want to take the pirate boat ride. We bought ice cream once and we haven’t done the boat ride. Why haven’t we taken the boat ride? Because the boat ride is a perfect chore reward! It is something we would actually love to do with them, but we aren’t about to start dishing out an extra $4 a person every time we go to the zoo for a boat ride! However, if they work for two weeks to earn their boat ride then, “Yes!” we are ALL ABOUT the Pirate boat ride.

There are endless family activities that our kids would love to do, so it isn’t hard for them to come up with and agree on, their reward. Although, I do give them two or three suggestions.

A few rewards that we have done together are ice skating…

(Clearly we were all super comfortable on the ice)

We also went and ate ice cream at the park, and so far the biggest reward for them was going to a movie theater for the first time!

(Another side note – these family activities don’t have to break the bank! The ice skating cost $12 total, ice cream at the park was under $10, and we went to a movie theater that had free kids movies one Saturday morning and discounted snacks, so we paid $10 total for popcorn, drinks, and fruit snacks! It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to be fun!)

Training them up

Sooooo, it didn’t take long for the kids to find out what chores they really like to do and which ones they’d rather avoid. It also didn’t take me long me to see who is good at doing what!

My 6 year old is so bad at dusting. So. Bad. But my 4 year old is awesome at it. My 4 year old is so bad at sorting the silverware. But my 6 year old is stellar at it.

So, I keep that in mind when I assign the chores in the morning before they wake up. They still end up doing all the jobs at some point, but they repeat the ones they enjoy more often.

After all, I’m not Cinderella’s evil stepmother here! My goal is not to rest on the couch and watch them tirelessly clean the entire house and then have them feed me grapes one by one after they finish! No, I just want them to learn some responsibility, realize they are part of a family that helps each other, and last I want to teach them HOW to clean.

Did you know that some kids (and adults) don’t actually know how to clean? That’s because you have to be taught! Which brings me to my next point.

How I teach my kids to do chores…or learn just about anything new.

This IS NOT rocket science, it’s just four easy steps I keep in mind when teaching my kids any new skill…

It’s pretty self-explanatory, but just to leave you without any doubts, I will give you an example.

So, let’s say I am going to teach my 4 year old son how to wipe down the kitchen table after a meal.

First, I do it 100% for him. He watches me wipe down the table while I explain what I’m doing. “See buddy, how I put my hand flat on the washcloth and move it back and forth making sure to get all the parts of the table.”

Second, we do it together and I correct anything. “Well buddy, that was a great start but you missed that entire corner over there and see how I put my hand flat on it? That will make it faster and easier for you. Now repeat after me, “wax on, wax off”” (perhaps he will be a karate master after our chore training…or more likely be confused at my movie references that came out waaaaay before he was born. But we’re fine either way).

Third, I watch him do it by himself. “Great job so far! Just finish that spot and you got it!”

Fourth, after I watch him do it a few times and I think he’s more or less got a handle on that skill, then he can do it independently.

Woohoo! I just referenced my four year old and the word “independently” in the same sentence!

Soooo, that’s it. That’s the process we’ve been using and it’s been working well for us.

But the question still remains, “Have chores been the answer to all my problems?”

And my answer?

I wish! No, it hasn’t stopped blowout diapers, two year old tantrums, or picky eaters.

However, I could easily list ten awesome things that it HAS done! But for the sake of your eyeballs I will just list three.

Three benefits from doing family chores…

1. The saying, “Many hands make light work” is really true. Having our kiddos share in the work has definitely lightened the load for My Hubs and me. Hallelujah! …we could stop the list right there! No, but seriously we could. But fine, I will keep going.

2. My kids have definitely learned some skills. They are much better dusters, sweepers, book put awayers, and clothes separators now than they were six months ago.

3. They now understand that extra awesome feeling that you get when you get to do something fun because you’ve worked hard for several weeks and earned it.

Perhaps, in the future it will lead to more than this, but for right now, I’m just happy I can see the floor in the playroom a little more often!

So, I’d love to hear from you! Do you have a chore system? Has it worked for our family? What has worked well and what hasn’t?

My Favorite Recipe

Do you have a favorite recipe? You know, the one that you just made last week, so therefore, you should probably wait at least another week before making it again. However, you really just want to make it again…today! Yeah, that’s the one.

This last week I made my fav recipe, Kielbasa and Roasted Veggies. I actually hadn’t made it for a couple months because (and there may be real tears here) my wonderful in-laws, (whom we are currently living with) have just one flaw. They-don’t-like-kielbasa. Oh, I think a fairy died somewhere when I wrote those words! And what a tragic blow this is to my recipe repertoire!

I love kielbasa.

My Hubs loves likes kielbasa.

My kids love kielbasa…which they lovingly call “hotdogs” and well, yeah, they are a tiny bit similar. However, Kielbasa is 10 TIMES BETTER!

If you have lived near me for the last 3 to 4 years you will probably already know about this recipe. Because obviously I love it…and when I love something, I tend to tell everyone who will listen (or at least fake listen) about it, or in this case I just make it for them. If I brought you a meal in the last couple years, there’s a good chance it was this one (either that or my mexican lasagna which also rocks my face off).

If I were to be on my death bed and were given a last meal it would be…

Okay, it actually wouldn’t be this meal. I’d have to think about it more, but off the top of my head, it would probably be the filet mignon and veggies from Benihana’s. Wow…my mouth practically exploded from the awesomeness coming outta that place.

But…

For an everyday type of meal, this one tops my list!

And…

It’s great because it’s chopped full of veggies and has a shocking amount of flavor considering you only add salt and pepper. It’s also great because it can fit into all sorts of people’s diets.

Last year, I did Whole 30 for about…um…three days. (On day four, My Hubs came home with a free Bloomin’ Onion coupon from Outback and that was the end of that. Clearly, I am a very disciplined person). But this recipe with a few tweaks (changing the type of oil and the type of kielbasa I usually use) totally fit into the Whole 30 parameters! …and those are pretty small parameters!

All that to say, this is a great meal! So, if your regular winter meals (soup again?) have you in a rut, then try out this recipe. It may just change your life weekly meal planning!

Roasted Kielbasa and Veggies

Ingredients: (I double this for our family of 5.5 (baby is eating a ton yet))

-3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

-1 large onion, cut into 1 inch pieces or diced up (I dice it up)

-1/2 of a one pound bag of baby carrots OR 4 medium carrots cut into 1 inch pieces

-2 Tablespoons olive oil

-1 pound kielbasa halved and cut into one inch pieces

-1 medium yellow squash cut into 1 inch pieces (no need to peel)

-1 medium zucchini cut into 1 inch pieces (no need to peel)

-1/4 tsp salt

-1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400.

2) Divide sweet potatoes, onions, and carrots between two greased baking sheets. (I use aluminum foil on my baking sheets for easy cleanup, but definitely spray them with A LOT of cooking spray or the veggies will stick!).

3) Drizzle with olive oil and put the pans in the oven for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through.

4) Remove pans from oven and add kielbasa, squash, and zucchini, then sprinkle with the salt and pepper and toss to mix it all up (add a little more oil if the veggies are sticking).

5) Put it back in the oven for 15-20 more minutes (stirring halfway through) or until veggies are tender.

6) Transfer to a serving bowl

*To shorten my prep time, I cut up the sweet potatoes, carrots, and onion first. While those are in the oven, I cut up the zucchini, squash, and kielbasa.*

**I usually use Hillshire Farm kielbasa but my sister-in-law found some at her local farmer’s market that she said was amazing! So, I’m always on the look out for other kinds.**

I hope you enjoy the awesomeness!! Especially those slightly browned sweet potato bites, oh baby! They are like little vegetable candy for the soul! 

 

(A version of this recipe was originally contributed to Taste of Home by Marietta Slater)

Capsule Wardrobe…Magnificent or Mistake?

As most of you know, back in the fall I put together a fall capsule wardrobe. To find out what that even means, as well as, why and how I put it together, click HERE. This post is mainly to give you an update on how it has worked out and to show you how I transitioned my fall capsule wardrobe into a winter capsule wardrobe.

First, I’m not lying here, making a capsule wardrobe may have been one of the best decisions of my adult life. Yes, it took some time and money (but not much!) on the front end, but then once I had my wardrobe set, it saved time and money on the back end.

Once my capsule wardrobe was set, I didn’t buy any clothes for myself for the entire fall season and I loved the clothes that I had. It was so much faster getting ready each day and for the first time in MANY years I felt that I could actually look “put together.”

Now I will say, that among the many many reasons that I’ve loved having a capsule wardrobe, there have been a couple drawbacks that I have found.

1) It was a slight inconvenience that my clothes were mostly limited to everyday clothes. Therefore, I didn’t have a ton of options for church or dressier occasions. So, if you have to dress up for work every day, I feel like you would almost need a work capsule wardrobe and an everyday capsule wardrobe (which is actually what my sister did). 

However, since I only have church once a week and I only had to dress up two other times, it worked out okay for me.

2) If you enjoy dressing for certain events, for example, if you like to wear red around Christmas or Valentine’s Day, you may find yourself a bit stuck. I own one red casual shirt and a dressier cranberry colored shirt. Normally no big deal, I hardly wear red at all. However, we had a Valentine’s Thing at church and I was kinda stuck with the cranberry shirt because it was pretty much all I had. 

Is this a big deal in the grand scheme of things? I would say no, but it depends on who you are. 

My Hubs even thought it was completely ridiculous that I thought I needed to wear a certain color. He was actually going to wear bright yellow pants, which I may or may not have talked him out of right before we left.

 But ya know what? 

If he went in yellow pants, we still would have had a great time, and it would NOT have been the end of the world. 

These ARE just clothes we are talking about people. 

So anyway, for three months, (October through December) with the exception of maybe twice, I stuck with my 39 articles of clothing. It was great! 

But by the time Christmas rolled around, I was ready to change it up a little bit. 

I decided that for my winter wardrobe (January through March), I was just going to pull out a few of my lighter shirts and cardigans from the fall wardrobe and replace them with a few thicker sweaters and vests. I didn’t need a total re-haul, I just needed to add a little spice to my life!

I got a few clothes ideas from jane.com and puttingmetogether.com. These websites are both great for helping me see what is trendy right now, and they give me ideas on how to wear the clothes that I already own!

To start off, I pulled out a few heavy sweaters from my stored away clothes bin, and since Christmas was coming up, I also found a few items that I really liked and I put them on my Christmas list for my family. …and lo and behold, I got a few!

Probably my favorite gift was this shirt here…

Pretty simple right?

I wanted it because A) it’s really soft and comfy and B) I knew it would match all my other clothes and add a little fun.

And it TOTALLY has! Here are a few new winter wardrobe outfits that I’ve been able to come up with wearing this shirt and adding a couple vests, scarves, and sweaters…I show you these because there’s an important point here…just because you may be a little bored of your clothes, it DOES NOT mean that you need to start all the way over! 

Sometimes, you just need one piece (like my checked shirt) to add life to your existing wardrobe!

As you see in the pictures, it’s not even the focal point of most of the outfits, but it just adds a little somethin’ somethin’…AND it’s always the first layer because I love how soft it is! 

I also discovered something wonderful this last fall and I added it to my winter wardrobe capsule. It basically defines what I want in all my clothes…Comfy AND Cute.

It is called…

The Cowl Neck Sweater

They are pretty popular, so I’m guessing a lot of you know about the awesomeness. But if not, let me tell you that…

It is basically the perfect article of clothing.

It feels as comfortable as a hooded sweatshirt, so I can wear it with my pajama pants at night. BUT I can also wear it with some jeans and boots, and look cute! 

I can add my sporty vest and hat and we can go hiking, or I can put on my dressier vest with a scarf and go out to dinner!It’s so versatile! …and did I mention comfy?

So basically, to transition from my fall capsule to my winter capsule, I just took out 8 articles of clothing and I added 8 articles (all of which were given to me, or I bought with Christmas or Birthday money).

I needed fewer shoes because I’m mainly wearing my two pairs of boots. Then, I added a couple vests, collared shirts, and thick sweaters.

It was just. that. easy.  ..and now I’m ready for another three months of cute outfits!

So, all in all, I would say the capsule wardrobes have been MAGNIFICENT! 

I love how much room I have in my closet, I love how simple it has made the clothes aspect of my life, and I love that it’s been fun, cheap, and that I no longer look disheveled and homeless…well at least most days. Ha!

I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do with my spring and summer clothes (which are always the toughest for me).

So, have any of you tried a capsule wardrobe?? 

Are you thinking about it but aren’t sold on it or have questions? I’d love to hear your thoughts or questions!

My Kids New Favorite Dessert…and now mine too

We’ve never been a dessert every night kind of a family…but that may have just changed.

Just when I thought I had gleaned all I could from Daniel Tiger, he surprised us with our new favorite dessert…

BANANA SWIRL!!!

It’s cheap, it’s healthy, it’s yummy, and my kids can help make it! What more can I ask for?

Here is the ingredient list, are you ready? Do you have paper and a pen? Okay…

– Two bananas

Whaaaaaat?

I know. I know. This is pretty much all you need…

One frozen banana, One room temperature banana, and a food processor.

Now how to make it… (I added pictures because it’s so complicated…NOT!)

First, unpeel a banana and stick it in the freezer. (If you are like me, you already have a half dozen frozen bananas in the freezer).

Once you have a frozen banana, you (or your kids) set it inside the food processor.

Then you take the non-frozen banana (have your kiddo peel it and break it in half) and stick it in the food processor.

Then have your kids push the button.

I let the kiddos blend it for about 30 seconds. Then they do the, “Banana Swirl Dance” while I finish the last 3o seconds. (clearly their dancing is so intense, my camera can’t handle it)

And then out comes this awesomeness…

It’s JUST that easy. No joke people, I can almost guarantee that if you give 10 out of 10 people this dessert in a blind taste test, they would say it was ice cream.

My Hubs and I are still amazed every. single. time. that we make it…it’s literally just two bananas.

We watched this short video of Daniel Tiger making it first, so then my kids were realllllly excited. Click HERE to watch the video.

Enjoy the goodness!

The Funniest Thing I Read in 2015 (a repost)

People, I LOVE to laugh. Who doesn’t? So, when I read something on my news feed a few months ago, and I literally shook the bed laughing for five minutes straight. Obviously, I wanted to share it with everyone.

But I didn’t. Mostly because there were one or two sentences that had some bad language and I thought. “Eh, maybe I won’t share that.”

However, I saved the link on my Facebook page, and no joke, I have read it several times a week since November because it.is.just.so.funny.

Sooooo, I’m reposting here a selection of the funniest (and cleanest) stories.

Prepare yourself for busting out your ugly face laugh.

“Ugly face laugh?” you ask.

Oh yeah, that’s a thing. I know this because my mom, sister, and I laughed so hard at these stories, that my face contorted into something quite trollish.

First, if you want to  read the original BuzzFeed post, click HERE

OTHERWISE, read on!

Let me give you the background real quick. Jenny Lawson, (The Bloggess) is a blogger, author, and has a ton of Twitter followers.

Back in November, she tweeted this embarrassing moment…

TheBloggess @TheBloggess

Airport cashier: “Have a safe flight.” Me: “You too!” I CAN NEVER COME HERE AGAIN.

And then her Twitter followers began to tweet their own embarrassing moments and she retweeted them…and WOW, they are so funny and yes, so embarrassing.

So Here ya go…

Glenna Ranieri @glenha

@TheBloggess nanny job interview, told job would involve light housekeeping replied “I’ve never kept a Lighthouse before but willing to try”

~~~~~~~~~~

John J. McKay @archymck

@TheBloggess On a trip, saw some baby horses, could not think of the word foal, finally shouted “horse kittens” and pointed. Wife understood

~~~~~~~~~~

Jessica White @JE551CAw

@TheBloggess We have a Texas sage plant that flowers before rain. When asked if it would rain today I said “Not according to my bush.”

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_Schmitts Giggles @schmittsgiggles

@TheBloggess bought Preparation H for under eye bags. Told the clerk she didn’t need to bag it because I was going to use it in the car.

~~~~~~~~~~

Lindsay @crashkrispy

@TheBloggess an elderly man presented his discount card to me and i said “you’re getting ready to expire!” I could not recover.

~~~~~~~~~~

_Noah Vail @noahvail

@TheBloggess After flunking a job interview, got up, shook everyone’s hands, and walked into the coat closet.

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda @parentlikeadad

@TheBloggess Got into the passenger seat of the wrong car outside of starbucks. The driver waited until I finished my phone call to tell me.

~~~~~~~~~~

— hmiller (@wafflesnbacon)

@TheBloggess pre pap test friend sprayed perfume on her lady garden. Doc says “that’s. ..festive.” It was her daughter’s glitter spray

~~~~~~~~~~

MJ @Morticat

@TheBloggess I took a call at work & tried to transfer it. I was the only person there. I pretended to be someone else w/ a British accent.

~~~~~~~~~~

Kelly B @GotCookies

@TheBloggess A friend went placed her order at drivethru. She then heard “Could you drive up to the speaker you’re talking to the trash can”

~~~~~~~~~~

Bonnie Beyea @SkimbleCat

@TheBloggess Pulled in to gas station & was on wrong side of the pump for my gas cap. Drove around to other side & did it again. Drove away

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tanya phillips @tanyaphillips18

@TheBloggess noticed the blind man approaching me wasn’t sure where I was so called out ‘on your right’, I was on his left. He corrected me.

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_You Know Who @mental_nigella_

@TheBloggess I apologised to a woman I nearly bumped into in a record store. It was my reflection in the window. I just dyed my hair blonde

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hkell @hkell

@TheBloggess Walked up to a baby-holding stranger (thinking it was my sister) at my daughter’s soccer game and said “Give me the baby.”

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Jen @ItsThatJenGirl

@TheBloggess Told a one armed man to tell his mother the flowers I just put together for her cost him an arm and a leg.

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Angela Bassa @angebassa

@TheBloggess I texted my boss at the end of my FIRST DAY in the new job with: “Heading out. Love you.” intended for my boyfriend.

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the carie @thecarie

@TheBloggesssent the following text (about my Hispanic landlord) to NOT my roommate:”Jesus is coming at 10am. Be awake and have clothes on”

 

If that didn’t make you laugh, nothing will! Hope you enjoyed and HAPPY MONDAY!

 

7 Reasons why it’s healthy for married couples to have other couple friends

I always say that My Hubs and I are better together. We are more fun together, wittier together, smarter together, more energetic together, pretty much everything is better…together. There is no better way to experience this “betterness” than by hanging out with other couple friends who are also better…together. (I think that I’m bordering obnoxious with the amount of times I just used the words “better” and “together” but I think you get my point).

And what’s even better than having couple friends?

Having GOOD couple friends!

These are not the people you just say “hi” to at your kid’s soccer games or “like” their Facebook statuses.

No, these are the couples who have beheld each other’s ugly laughs and ugly cries. Who have seen each other’s ratty old pajama pants too many times to count. The couples who remember each other’s favorite pizza toppings and weird quirks, and love each other anyway. The ones who have seen your house get hit by a tornado, or um, it just looked that way on the inside. The friends who will drive all day just to see each other for a few hours. The ones who share group texts of dorky pictures of each other, witty humor, and openly make fun of each other.

These good couple friends are sweet and important and will help your marriage in almost too many way to count.

But I did count.

And I picked 7 to share. So without further ado…

1) Good couple friends will be straight with you

Let’s be honest, sometimes in life we (as individuals AND as couples) can be ridiculous. We get absurd ideas in our heads, we get mad about the dumbest things, we can’t see the forest for the trees…and in those times, we need people who will be honest and real with us.

Once, I was telling our best couple friends about an argument that My Hubs and I had early on in our marriage and they both looked at me and said, “Wow, you were being ridiculous.” And they were right. Once in a while we need someone other than our spouse to tell us what’s really up.

2) Good couple friends help you to see different ways to do things

Watching how your good couple friends, do their date nights, or raise their kids, or navigate disagreements, can be really good for your marriage. You may see things that you want to imitate or it may reinforce the reasons that you and your spouse do things the way you do. Either way, it’s helpful to watch people you love and respect doing every day life together. Then discussing what may or may not work for your marriage and family.

3) Good couple friends help you and your spouse invest time in something together, apart from your kids

Unfortunately, we’ve all seen it…the married couple that poured all their time and energy into their kids for years and years and then when the kids left the house, the couple looked at each other and were complete strangers. …and strangers that didn’t even particularly like each other.

It’s important to take time as a married couple to invest in activities that don’t revolve around our kids. My Hubs isn’t a huge talker, so sitting for hours in conversation kinda makes him want to gouge his eyes out. So for us, we usually talk WHILE we do activities together…we play games, we play Frisbee golf, and we hang out with couple friends.

At this point in our life, (four little ones at home) some of the best times for us to hang out with our friends, are after our kids go to bed. Yes, that means that often we get less sleep ourselves, but it’s totally worth it in order to spend some uninterrupted time with each other and our friends.

4) Good couple friends help you love your spouse even more

Whenever we leave our best couple friends, I think, “Man, I love My Hubs.” Maybe it’s because when we are with our friends we are so hilarious, maybe it’s because sometimes stories come up in a group that I didn’t get to hear him share before, maybe it’s because our couple friends think my husband is so great and then I’m reminded of it too. Whatever it is, we have found that good couple friends build up and encourage each other’s marriages just by being together.

5) Good couple friends talk about everything

When you have good couple friends, conversation flows easily. You can talk about NBA scores, deepest fears, hilarious parenting fails, theological differences, and weird work stories, all within a few minutes. When you have a safe place to share, hardly anything is off limits. One of our favorite conversations with couple friends is dreaming together about what the future could hold. We all know each other well, we know each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and gifts, and it’s fun to imagine what the future may hold.

6) Sharing life with good couple friends shows your kids what healthy friendships look like

I have fond childhood memories of my parents hanging out with their best couple friends. They would talk at the dinner table (FOR-EV-ER) while the kids would finish eating and play games in the other room. Sometimes, my parent’s friends would share hilarious stories about our parents that we had never heard.…which was awesome. But mostly I remember them laughing a lot.

I want our kids to see us with our friends. I want them to see us laughing, sharing struggles, and praying together. I want them to see us bringing our friends meals, watching their kids, and helping them move furniture. Basically, I want our kids to see what a healthy friendship looks like as adults.

7) Good Couple friends will help you laugh and sit with you when you cry

If you have good couple friends for any good length of time, you will see each other through both the joys and struggles of life…the promotions, the births, the graduations, as well as, the miscarriages, the job losses, the health issues. And when you are there, in the good or bad, it is so awesome to have good couple friends (that love you both), to go through it together.

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Just like My Hubs and I are better together, so are My Hubs and I, PLUS our good couple friends. They keep us connected and grounded, encourage us in our faith and marriage, as well as keep us accountable to each other.

If you have good couple friends, then thank the Lord, treat them well, and tell them you are thankful for them! If you do not, may I recommend two things?

1) Ask God for some good couple friends. God cares about the stuff you care about, so talk to Him about it.

2) Go “date” other couples. Ask them over for dinner. Ask them to go bowling. (Don’t get me started on how much I love bowling. It encompasses the perfect social interaction, everyone can talk, but also has an activity to focus on. My Hubs and I took a bowling class together in college and it might be the reason why we are married today. A possible over-exaggeration there, but you get it)

And make sure to give the other couple more than one chance. After all, you didn’t decide to marry your spouse after just one date. So don’t decide on another couple after one interaction. A few years ago, after having dinner with a couple one night, we found out much later, that they had decided we would probably NOT be friends because My Hubs didn’t talk enough. Ha! Well we DID end up being great friends and hung out a ton for the year we lived close, and it’s a good thing they didn’t shut us out after that first awkward “date.”

Don’t miss out on the amazing benefits that good couple friends will bring to your marriage, call up a couple this week and invite them over for dinner!

Not Your Typical Giveaway

Well, it’s official. 

I’m a Chex-mix-aholic.   

I think this here is my 5th doubled batch. …however, I can’t be sure because the pure awesomeness that’s currently crunching in my mouth, has muddled my thinking. 

A little with breakfast? Don’t mind if I do.

A small bowl with my mid-morning coffee? Well of course. 

A handful every.single.time. I walk by the bowl, um yes. 

This happens ALL day long. 

And everything has begun to centralize around the Chex-mix bowl… 

“Honey, have you seen Samantha? Oh never mind, she’s over by the Chex-mix bowl.”

“What are we having for dinner tonight? Oh, I haven’t really given it much thought because I’ve been stuffing myself silly with Chex-mix the entire day.”

It’s. That. Bad.  

Because It’s. That. Good. 

Nectar of the gods..pshhh. It’s got nothin’ on this Chex-mix. 

Perhaps all of this, is the reason My Hubs insists I don’t make my first batch until after Thanksgiving and that I stop after New Years.

In Yoda’s words, 

“Married wise, have I.”

Now, about this giveaway…this is actually going to be kinda hard for me, because every single year, I have great intentions to pack up a few Christmas tins of Chex-mix and share it with our neighbors. 

But in reality, my husband discovers me standing alone in a dark closet, with chipmunk cheeks, in order to avoid sharing the last few crumbs with my very. own. children. Let alone my neighbors. 

BUT I’m hoping year 32 of my life will be different. SO I’m going to give away a classy tin of my very own Chex-mix, as well as, the secret family recipe that I have perfected over the years. 

Whaaaaat? I know. What is this madness?

So if interested in becoming a snack addict, you may enter by leaving a comment answering the following…

Do you have a favorite holiday FOOD tradition? If so, what is it?

Good luck friends. I will announce the winner on Sunday night.

Spoon Feeding vs Baby Led Weaning – The Pros and Cons

First, I want to say something straight out of the gate, if I’ve learned anything in the last 5.5 years as a parent, it’s that every family is different and every child is different. Therefore, there are no ideologies, tips, or methods that will work for everyone.

That being said, let me tell you what this post is and what it is not…

This post IS NOT…
-A mom telling you that you are doing this parenting thing wrong.
-A mom telling you that there’s only one way to feed your baby.

This post IS…
-A mom who wants to share what she has learned from using different methods to feed her babies.
-A mom who wants to give the good, the bad, and the messy, so that YOU can decide what might work the best for your baby and your family.

Now, I am by NO MEANS an expert on babies or nutrition. Again, I’m just a mom with four little ones who has somehow managed to keep each of them alive and fed and have learned a few things along the way.

Before we go on, let’s define our terms just in case you aren’t familiar with both methods that I’m going to be comparing…

Spoon Feeding – feeding your baby pureed or slightly lumpy food with a spoon. (Baby learns to swallow first and chew later).

Baby Led Weaning – placing finger foods in front of your baby, so that your baby can feed himself or herself. (Baby learns to gum/chew first and swallow later).

Got it?

Alright, so some quick back story on how I’ve used both methods. Five years ago, when it was time for my firstborn to start solid foods, I didn’t really know what to do. My mom told me to start with rice cereal, so I scampered off (I had more energy back then) to the grocery store and spent 45 minutes in the cereal aisle looking for it.

After becoming annoyed and frustrated because I couldn’t find it, I finally settled for Rice Krispies…because at least it had “rice” in its name (clearly, most of you are already light years ahead of where I was). So I brought home my box of Rice Krispies and I remembered that a friend had told me that she put some rice cereal in a bottle before her baby’s bedtime so he would sleep longer. More sleep? Yes, please. So I went in the kitchen and smashed up the Rice Krispies with the bottom of a soup can and put them in a bottle with breast milk. It seemed a little thick to me, so I left it to sit for a while to soften up.

News Flash:

Rice Krispies will never soften enough to slide through the tiny holes in a bottle. Not going to happen. Thankfully! …Otherwise, my son would have been sucking down Rice Krispies for who knows how long!

After, I told my sisters and my mom about my frustrations, (and after they finished laughing really loudly, for I think, a little too long), they set me straight.

Once I bought the real deal, my son took to eating from a spoon almost immediately. He loved almost every puree that I gave him. My husband was a full time student at the time, so we were on WIC (Women, Infants, and Children – and thank the Lord for WIC!) and received supplemental groceries like bread, milk, fruit, and veggies…and jars of baby food!

My son was doing great until I tried to introduce to him ANYTHING that wasn’t completely pureed. If there was one single lump in his food he would throw up his entire meal.

This happened for months. The doctor told me that some kids just have extremely sensitive gag reflexes and that he would eventually learn to chew and swallow actual, solid, non-liquid, food. Meanwhile, he began to lose weight and went from a chunkster to nearly sliding off the growth chart entirely.

He did eventually learn to chew and swallow and is now a healthy kid, but I wish I would have known back then about Baby Led Weaning. I think it really would have helped him.

Then, when my next kiddo came along, I was incredibly nervous it was going to happen again. Well, this kiddo loved ALL things food…

Clearly.

Thankfully we had no problems at all. However, we were no longer on WIC and I realized how expensive baby food cost and I really really hated making it. Again, I wish I would have known about Baby Led Weaning.

Then, when my third kiddo was about 4 months old, I had a friend tell me all about it. Although I was a bit skeptical (partly because I’m not super fond of the name) I figured, “Hey, I’ve spent a combined year sitting here, feeding my two kids with a spoon, meanwhile letting my meals get cold. If the third one can feed herself, while I feed myself, it’s worth a try!”

So, we tried it. We started with steamed broccoli and carrots sticks, then some sweet potatoes, avocado, and bananas, all in big pieces that her little hands could pick up. It’s surprising what a little mouth without teeth can gum! At first, I was a little nervous about her choking on all this ginormous food, but I learned that gagging and choking are two different things, and how rare it is that kids have a serious choking incident.

And now you ask, “So how did Baby Led Weaning compare? Was it the answer to all your complaints about feeding your kiddos?” Well, not at first, because although she didn’t choke, she didn’t eat either.

Actually, she threw most of the food on the floor and made a stinkin’ huge mess.

BUT after about 6 weeks, (I remember the day perfectly) I gave her some food, walked back into the kitchen to grab her cup, came back, and her food was gone. I searched under the high chair, in her bib, under her bottom, (it’s amazing where she could stash food) and it was gone. She ate it! That day, she just “got it” and from then on it was easy as pie. She was eating family dinners (like lasagna) with us by nine months and overall I really liked it because it felt like so much less work for me on the front end.

Now, I say, “overall” because there are definitely some drawbacks…like the mess. Oh the mess. There were times when I found myself literally paralyzed when seeing my daughter and the five foot radius surrounding her chair that looked like an atomic bomb of spaghetti had gone off…and that the bomb had left no one sitting at our table unscathed.

(Believe it or not, this was half-way through the clean up process)

Luckily, in those times, my husband would shake me from my paralytic state and say,

“Um, I guess we should just take her and hose her off…err, I mean the high chair, and stick her in the bath immediately.” Which we did, turning the bath water immediately to a pale red.

All that to say, there are pros and cons to both Spoon Feeding and Baby Led Weaning. I tried to break these down for you to help you decide what might be a good fit for your family. So, without further ado…

Pros of Spoon Feeding:

-It’s relatively Clean

-Generally, babies learn how to eat this way quicker

-Meal times don’t take as long

-It’s convenient when you are out and about

-You know exactly how much your baby has eaten

Cons of Spoon Feeding:

–It can be expensive if you are buying jars of baby food

-It takes extra time if you are making your baby food

-Your food gets cold, while feeding the baby (or separate meal times)

-If you run out of pureed food and don’t have immediate access to more, you might be stuck

-It’s easy to overfeed your baby

Pros of Baby Led Weaning

-It’s cheaper if the baby eats what the rest of the family eats

-Mom and Dad actually get to sit and eat their food (meal times together)

-Your baby becomes an independent eater, sooner

-Your baby controls how much he/she eats

-Your baby may actually wean himself/herself once he/she is eating a good amount of food

-You can do other things while the baby is eating (but staying in the room, consistently keeping an eye on your baby)

Cons of Baby Led Weaning

-It is messy

-It takes a while for a baby to learn

-The actual time it takes your baby to eat a meal takes longer than spoon feeding

-You aren’t always sure how much your baby is eating

-Some food goes to waste until they learn how to eat (unless you are willing to eat a half-chewed slobbery pieces of food)

Here’s a side by side comparison I put together…

Honestly, both methods work really well. It’s usually just a matter of your lifestyle, your personal preferences, and your baby!

For example, you may want to Spoon Feed IF…

-You are super busy and on the go a lot

-Both couples work or you are a single parent and therefore your kiddo is with a family member, friend, or in daycare.

-Cooking is not your thing and therefore it’s easier for you to grab some jars from the store

-For whatever reason, you don’t want your baby to eat what you eat

-You are a clean freak and the idea of a super messy baby and high chair makes you cringe

-You have already done Spoon Feeding with another kiddo, you have no problems with it, and therefore you see no need to change

On the other hand, you may want to use the Baby Led Weaning method IF…

-You sit down and eat meals regularly as a family

-You have multiple kids vying for your attention and sitting down to feed the baby stresses you out

-Your baby absolutely refuses to be fed by a spoon and you ask yourself, “Am I going to be buying formula or breastfeeding until he is seven?”

-You are on a tight budget and you don’t have the money to buy jars of food, but you also loath taking the time to make separate meals for just one family member.

Again, these are just examples. I don’t know your situation, your kids, your preferences, so all of this, is just meant to be helpful, not make you feel guilty for doing one or the other.

No guilt here people!

Last, I want to mention that a COMBO of the two methods is possible! However, for me and many of my friends, we have found that once our kiddos started to feed themselves independently, they tended to like it, and therefore refused to be spoon fed.

I’m currently trying to do a combination of the two with my fourth babe (who hates all food). I try to get a few spoonfuls in his mouth and then after that I give him some of whatever we are eating so he can try and feed himself throw it on the ground (yes, we are in that stage).

Since, I didn’t go into much detail on Baby Led Weaning (if you are interested) I included a helpful link HERE on how to get started and general principles. Also, feel free to ask me any questions.

Why it’s Both Terrible and Wonderful to be an Ambivert

Have you ever given someone a blank stare when asked whether you are an introvert or extrovert? If so, then maybe you are an Ambivert!

No one in this world has 100% extroverted qualities or 100% introverted qualities. Rather, we all sit somewhere inside the spectrum. Most people tend to lean one way or the other.

But then there are others…the ones who literally feel like they are half and half or just smack in the middle.

So, tell me if this describes you…

One hour, you might say you lean a little bit towards being an extrovert, But then, the next hour you retract that statement and say you are definitely more of an introvert.

Welcome to the world of the Ambivert…and it’s both wonderful and terrible.

Why it’s Slightly Terrible…

You will never be given a clear cut personality type on any quiz or test

Yep, you could take most personality quizzes 4 gazillion times, answer the questions truthfully, and still get a bunch of different results. These tests just weren’t made for those of us with so many introverted and extroverted qualities. So, don’t let it give you an identity crisis…they are just trying to fit you in a box that you were never meant to fit in. 😉

People (even your friends) are confused by you 

Depending on the day and the situation, extroverted qualities will come out or introverted qualities will come out…and not everyone understands that. One night you might be the life of the party, chatting it up with everyone in the room, and then the next afternoon, all you want to do is stay home, read a book, and avoid people (but let’s not avoid them for too long, because that would be kinda depressing). So then, depending on who you ask, you will get different answers to whether people think you are more of an introvert or extrovert.

You can be really indecisive

Ugh, you try to AVOID being in charge of making plans for the group. Most of the time, you can go any direction, so you feel it’s better if everyone else just picks and you will happily go along with the decision. If plans ARE put in your hands, you may end up changing them 5 times. The reason is that you are aware of the introvert and extrovert qualities in yourself AND in other people. Therefore, you try to make everyone happy.

BUT most of the time being an ambivert is wonderful…

You are generally a pretty content person

No plans for Friday night? No biggie, you are totally content heading over to Panera, sipping a chai tea latte in the corner, and flipping through a magazine. Oh, you have an office Christmas party the next night? While it’s not exactly your favorite thing to attend, once you get yourself there (which is the the real battle), you thoroughly enjoy chatting with your favorite work friends, AND you even learn some new things about some of your co-workers that you don’t talk to regularly.

You are a great friend because you balance out whoever you are with at the time

You are totally content listening to your talkative friend chat away about life. She or he is even a welcome relief in a group, because then you don’t feel the weight of having to keep the conversation flowing. However, you are quite capable (and don’t even mind that much) being the facilitator of conversation in a quieter group. Especially if the conversation leads to a topic that you really enjoy.

You relate to everyone

You understand when your extroverted husband (not actually my life) takes 45 minutes to leave any social gathering because he, “Just wanted to say goodbye to everyone.” But you also totally get when your introverted friend just isn’t up for stopping by that essential oils party, especially when she doesn’t know anyone else going.

So, although there are a few annoying things about being an ambivert, it’s generally pretty awesome. In fact, I made a little poster for all of us who belong in the club, ya know, just so we know we aren’t alone out there…

(pictures created at snappa.io)