Been M.I.A. for the Summer.

It's been a difficult summer. I had so many plans and it's already the end of July. My oldest returns to school in a few weeks and we've accomplished nothing on that list. This summer has been full of virus after virus. My oldest actually missed the whole last week of school because of hand, foot, and mouth.

It seems like one by one we get sick. Then once we are all better it takes a week for us to get our house back in order. Then we catch something else all together and the cycle continues. I've tried immune boosting vitamins for all of us but the baby. She is still nursing so she get immune boosts from me. But still we keep getting sick.

It's not just things that are contagious. My husband hurt his neck and was unable to turn his head. He had to turn his whole upper body. Poor guy was like that for a week. He still isn't 100%. I went through a case of fatigue so bad I was just falling asleep randomly. I had to fight to stay awake. That lasted for two weeks. That was at the end of May and first week in June.

My birthday was June 1st. I spent it in the emergency room with sever pain in my abdomin. Apparently I was passing kidney stones. The next few days was completely laid up in pain but when my kidney stones pain past so did my fatigue, go figure.

So really since May we've been dealing with this or that. I haven’t had a moment of free time to write a single blog post. I will get back to writing posts after my house gets cleaned, so never. *wink*

I'm in the sick kid time warp!

It's like one minute it's 7 a.m, the next minute it's 2 o'clock and my slow cooker pot roast has yet to be simply be placed inside the cooker. My house looks like a bomb went off and for once it's not due from toys being thrown about. It's from the 101 things I had started today that I've dropped for my two sick munchkins.

It really doesn't help that I'm sick on top of it. My husband is sick also and the sky looks sick. I haven't seen a single ray of sun shine all day. It has been gray and rainy which really zaps my energy. Combine it with the fact I have been taking down my Halloween decorations and putting up some Thanksgiving and my Christmas village. Also, Morrigan has to build a model of a atom due next week but she has a bunch of things going on so we are doing a little bit every day.

Well, that was at least the plan before we all got sick. Now, my table is covered in craft supplies and tiny fake trees. My living room is being taken over by all the unfolded clothes, and my kitchen still has the pots and pans from dinner last night still in the sink.

The kids have been difficult, to say the least. Morrigan's coughing is driving me up a wall, her constant sniffling has gotten on my last nerve to the point that each sniff sounds like someone is running sandpaper over my eardrum. We have been yelling back and forth because the girl would rather sniffle then blow her nose.

Freya has been crying for hours because she wants to eat the faux candles I have in the windows. She won't nap today, did I mention she was up until midnight last night and then woke today at 6 am? So she's a bit sleep deprived as am I.

Of course, my husband walk in the door as soon as Morrigan finally stopped fighting me about the saline drops and blew her nose to the point the sniffles are quiet for now which also quiets the cough. Freya was finally nursing into a nap, and I sat back looking through Pinterest on my phone for some overly ambitious American Girl doll projects. Go figure! I looked at the clock, 3 pm? Guess the sick kid time warp jumped me ahead another hour. Crap!

You know what? These days happen...I'm ordering a pizza!

Make Your Own Moonsand!

We had a great time last night making and playing with our own homemade Moonsand. Best part was it was made with 2 ingredients I had just lying around. Its super simple and fun. Its a bit messy but nothing a broom and a dustpan can't fix, oh and a bath, they will definitely need a bath!

All you need is

8 cups of flour
1 cup of baby oil

and a container to put it in.

Take off your rings and mash it all together. Make sure to really work the oil into the flour. It only takes a moment and things start forming together

That's it, now let the kids take over and have fun. I throw in some plastic cups last night but you can add so many things that can scoop, poke shapes, add dolls.

When the kiddos are done, you can bag it up in a large ziplock bag and save it for another day of play.

This sand is a great sensory craft to do with toddlers, Even my 8 year old loved playing in it.

My Work

Life sometimes gets in the way of things like blogging. We seemed to have had a bunch of different colds circling around our house for the past month. Just as you are getting well, you get hit by the next cold. I didn't just have me to deal with being sick, I  had a sick 5 month old child, a sick 8 year old child, and a sick 32 year old man-child aka my husband, to deal with.  There were two of these colds that made me so dizzy there was no standing, certainly no walking, so nothing got cleaned. My living room and kitchen looked like a bomb went off. It was destroyed. Some might have looked at the mess and saw a terrible overwhelming mess. What I saw was a renewed sense of importance.

My husband's role in our family is very clear. He is the bread winner, the provider. He works sometimes two jobs. I on the other hand stay at home. I hold no job, I earn no paycheck, but I still work and I work hard to maintain our home and raise our kids. The evidence of home much I do actually contribute was no greater than after being so sick I couldn't leave my room. Nothing got down and it was disastrous. My oldest was so happy to see me up so I could find her missing leotard for dance class.

See, I'm not just child care provider, I'm the maid, the cook. I pack lunches, I do the laundry, I wash the dishes, I glue broken things, I change diapers, I scrub the shower and the toilet, I scoop the cat box, I mop the floors, I find lost things,and  I teach things. I'm the official battery changer, a lady of lactation, and a expert boo boo kisser, I play a mean game of patty cake and I wield a laser pointer like no other.

My two human babies and my furry baby count on me through the day for so many things. Not only do I have to attend to their needs, I teach them, love them, play with them, and cuddle with them. All are important to foster a good relationship but it also fills our hearts with love and joy. I give all of my love and attention to my kids even if it means vacuuming the rug. I keep a clean house not just for myself, but for my kids and my husband too. That is what holding down the home front means. That really is my work.

I'm not feeling that great, still have a sore throat, a cough, stuffy nose, and I'm tired but at least I don't feel miserable anymore. I do however feel worse when I look at the overflowing hampers. There is probably 6 loads of laundry to be done and two folded that still need to be put away. But its nearly 11 at night so that will wait until tomorrow.

Free Fun Fridays Are A Must This Summer

For years now the Highland Street Foundation has been offering fun exhibits in Massachusetts for free every Friday all summer long. Every year the list of exhibits grow. Last summer we didn't go to any of the free fun Fridays because we were having multiple guests from out of state at multiple different times in the summer. I also have other obligations as I was pregnant with Freya and I agreed to watch my friends' kids while they were at work. This year I have a few places in mind that I really want to go to and I am determined to go this year.

Here is this years list...

In the past we have done the Plimoth Plantation and the Buttonwood Park Zoo. The Plimouth Plantation is on my list to go to this year. I also want to go to Battleship Cove, I haven't been there since I was a child. The Peasbody Essex Museum is on my list so is the House of the Seven Gables. I also want to take the tour on the USS Constitution. 

Let me share with you my experiences at the Free Fun Friday events. First, there was our visit to the Plimouth Plantation. Morrigan and I went with friends. It was pouring rain when we got there but we were determined to go so we waited out the rain until it was only sprinkling. Luckily they sell rain ponchos for this very reason. The trails were muddy and bless her heart, my friend was very pregnant with twins no less and she walked all the way through the muddy trails and everything. 

I've gone to the Plantation as a kid but as an adult it takes on a whole new reality about human endurance and how this land once looked. We first saw the Natives who were farming and making a new hut. We got to go inside the huts and ask questions about their food and clothes. It was amazing to see how well they lived with the land. It was great to show Morrigan an example of how her ancestors lived. I explained to her of course the Cherokee used different techniques, ate different things, and had a different language but there is so little positive Native American images in society that any chance I can get to show her something that will give her a better understanding of Native life I will take it.

The rain stopped by the time we got to the English section of the exhibit. We were able to talk to a few women farming about society in the 17th century. We were able to go into the houses and the people talked about their travels over here and how they had to leave loved ones behind in England. History really came to life and it made much of what was learned more than just a memory but a realization for Morrigan and the adults. There were demonstrations on how guns were used. A man explained to a bunch of children the way a gun was loaded and was fired in the 17th Century. The wonderful thing was how people were in character but explained things so that we, the modern people, could understand. It was a wonderful trip that really makes you feel like you traveled back in time witnessing the past first hand.

Our visit to the Buttonwood Park Zoo was with my family. Both my sister-in-law and I were pregnant so we were very happy to see there was a cafe that sold drinks and food there. The food wasn't too bad actually, its no Chili's or Olive Garden but it had decent food for a cafe in a zoo. My parents, brother, sister-in-law, niece, Morrigan, Chris, and I walked through the exhibit first and then the two dads took the little girls for a train ride around the zoo. We also put the kids on the carousel which was so fun to see my niece ride on one of her favorite animals, the zebra. The Buttonwood Park Zoo has animals that can be found in the wild in America like deer, canes, fish, toads, owls, and buffalo. There are farm animals like the pigs, goats, cows, bulls, and horses. Also a few exotic animals like the elephants. We really enjoyed the bird of prey, its been a thing since red tailed hawks and broad wing hawks nest in the woods behind my parents house. We could see rather close up a few bald eagles. It was my first time see one so close. Also, Morrigan made a friend out of the black bear. He came right up to the glass like he wanted to talk to Morrigan. She spent some time in front of his enclosure and when she had to leave so did he which disappointed the people that came up behind her. There were a few animals that would just walk around like the cranes and the ducks. The cranes were following my niece and Morrigan through the windows in the cafe. They also made the strangest noise that could be heard through the zoo. It was great fun and definitely worth another visit. I have a pass from the Museum of Science that gets me and a guest in to the Buttonwood Park Zoo anyhow so I will probably do a different Free Fun Friday exhibit on that day but I recommended it for anyone else. I'm considering the Franklin Park Zoo for that day.

The Second Child

I recently read a blog that gave 5 reasons why your second child has it easier. I read it and couldn't disagree more. I realized that my two children, even though my parenting is very much the same, are growing up completely different. Just having the other sibling has an effect on the other one's life so greatly that it makes everything different.

Here are my reasons why my second child has it harder than my first.

Less Mommy time.
This is the biggest give in. The truth is, no matter how much you try to manage your time there will be less mommy time for both children once there is another child in the mix. This is natural, you are only one person after all. But my first child had 100% of my attention which means she never had to cry for anything. I got to her needs before she even knew she needed something. Diaper changes where usually in the middle of her actually doing her business which means I was changing a diaper after I already changed a diaper. I feed her at the first sign of hunger. I watched her sleep in her crib and she spent many hours of her first year sleep on my chest on the couch. Nothing would interrupt me cuddling with my first daughter. Now, I'm lucky I can get through nursing without having to get up for something. There is no quiet day dreaming while a baby cuddles up to me. Its a lot of cleaning up toys, spills in the kitchen from my oldest trying to pour her own drinks, and a rush of the morning routine.

Routine rules now
The daily routine that revolves around my oldest makes my youngest the second priority. There were no routines when my youngest was a baby. She always woke up naturally. I made doctor appointments around her usually nap times and feeding schedules. Life revolved around my oldest daughter's routine. Life still revolves around my oldest's routines and my youngest has to follow this schedule. I have to wake up the baby in order to get my oldest to the bus stop on time. Sometimes I'm also waking her from her nap to get her sister from the bus in the afternoon. I put off nap time for dance class on Saturdays. Doctor appointments are made whenever I can make it work between school bus pick up, drop off, driving distance now that we live in a town with the better school district when we used to live right by the doctor's office. Life is just busy with another child.

Less room.
With more children, you accumulate more stuff. I have my living room jam packed with baby stuff. There is a swing, an exersaucer, a bouncy seat, changing pad, a package of wipes, a small stack of diapers, blankets on every piece of furniture, and a pack'n play in the corner I can unfold if I need it. I had all these things for my oldest, in fact, most of them are my oldest child's. But when it comes to toys my oldest doesn't want to part with many of her stuff animals and even a few baby toys because she is very attached to them. Her glow worm for instance, was one of her lovelies growing up. She wants to save it for her children and doesn't want her sister chewing it anymore than it already is. I get that, I'm the oldest in my family as well. Though I parted with things, there are some things that are just "sacred". But this means more stuff of my oldest daughter's in my second bedroom, the one that eventually both girls will share, an little room for my youngest daughter to have. My youngest is spread out between three rooms. She has one toy box in the second bedroom, one toy bin in the living room, and a few toys in a basket in my room along with her crib, and a few other items. Her clothes are in a dresser in the second bedroom but her sheets and blankets are in my bedroom and her bibs are in the kitchen. My youngest daughter really has no place of her own.

Hand me downs
Even with the large gap between my two children, the majority of my youngest daughter's things are hand-me-downs. Everything from clothes, to nursery items, to toys are passed down from big sis. Few things have been bought for my youngest which brings me to my last point.

Lack of quality
Hand-me-downs are only a part of my youngest daughter's wardrobe. The rest is bought at stores like Walmart and Target at the lowest price. My oldest daughter got beautiful clothes. I went through this phase of buying nothing but classic Winnie the Pooh items, then it was Disney Princesses. Everything was pink and pretty. With my youngest, its whatever was the least expensive. Her baby bathtub is ugly and doesn't have the sprayer attachment like her sister's had. Her infant car seat doesn't match the stroller (which also matches the swing and highchair. Yup, its all from big sis). Her bowls and bibs are cheap solid colored nothing special when big sis got everything Princess from the Disney store. Children are expensive and with each one added to the list, the less money you have.

It can be tough being the second child, though it can be true for the oldest as well. It can tough being the pet when a new baby comes along. I think the phrase "the grass is always greener." applies here. I would love to revist this topic when both kids are older. Time might just change how things are done around here.

Fun Cake to Make With Kids

This really would have been a better post for around Easter but really, it can be done anytime. I'm always trying to come up with fun things to do in the kitchen with Morrigan. I want her to feel comfortable measuring out ingredients and using kitchen items while having fun. Here is a great idea Morrigan just loved and its tasty!

Its actually a lot easier than you think. A multicolored cake seems like a big mess. Its a bit more than your average easy box mix because of the extra bowls and dying the batter. But its so worth it.

Just make a white cake mix as directed on the box. Then separate the batter into equal amounts in how ever many bowls as you have colors. I did three, pink, yellow and green. Then put one color into a greased and floured cake pan. My advice is to get the colors as level as you can. Lay the bottom color down and level it as much as you can. Then add the next color and then the next. I suggest putting the second layer down in spoon fulls all around instead of pouring it into the middle so you can spread the color out so there is minimal mixing of the two colors. Do the same for each layer you have.

You could tie-dye the colors by taking a tooth pick and swirling the colors or you can drop the colors in randomly and get a camo look. I will try each of these looks another time. Subscribe to my blog so you can get the update on how each of these fun multicolored cakes come out.

So have fun with it, do crazy color combos. The kids will love it. Think of holidays like red white and blue for the 4th of July.

The School Bus Rush.

Is it a dance of chaos! Every morning no matter how early I get her up, Morrigan will drag her feet to get out the door.

Let me paint you a picture so you can understand my woes. The bus comes at 8:24 sometimes earlier, sometimes later. I usually get Morrigan up at 7:35 to get ready so we can leave for the bus stop before 8:20. I think 45 minutes should be enough for this girl to get ready. She showers the night before, her clothes are laid out before bed and she likes to eat breakfast with her friends in school. The only thing she needs to do in the morning is get dressed,  brush her hair,  brush her teeth,  and get her coat and shoes on. That takes me 15 minutes and I also do make up. She does actually only take 15 minutes to get ready because the first half hour is spent with her refusing to get out of bed and then refusing to go to school.

It's a battle every morning. Because im busy arguing with Morrigan every morning I often run late as well.  The baby is crying to be changed, I'm tripping over the cat who is tying to get my attention so I might remember to feed her. Then there is my eight year old in bed with this banshee wailing because she doesn't want to go to school. Then anything that could go wrong does. The keys are missing,  the baby spits up on both me and her. Morrigan can't find her library book and I forgot it was library day. Her sneakers are tied in the most difficult knot that even a boy scout wouldn't be able to do. Then, like every morning, we find ourselves running for the bus. We are saying our goodbyes as we are running, Morrigan's shoe laces become untied as she is running and I show up at the bus stop looking like a comic book villain with red swirling angry eyes and my eyebrows now stuck in a downward position.

I'm covered in spit up, my shoes aren't fully on my feet and my hair is now falling out of my pony tail. It makes for a tough start to the day. No matter how early I put her to bed the night before there is always an epic battle every morning. But this is karma. I was not that different from Morrigan when I was a child. And, as my mom would say she hoped I would have a child that would do the same and her wish came true. My brother and I both have little miniature versions of ourselves. I always thought my mother had some kind of special powers. Now I know what it is, she can curse you with karma. 

Anyhow, I saw this video by Elle on her Mom's vlog channel, What'sUpMoms, on YouTube. It made me laugh it's so relatable.  So here is a link to that great video. If you are not already subscribed to her channel, do so. There are great videos from Elle and 2 other really great and funny moms. Enjoy!

ELLE | LATE FOR PRESCHOOL

An interesting morning

Its always the hardest morning when your feeling under the weather. Its like the world makes you get up when you don't want to, makes you think a little harder when you can't and the day ends with you barely sleeping as you are just so darn uncomfortable. Today just happens to be one of those days for me.

It starts with me waking to my daughter knees in my back. After multiple time of me tell her to move over, I finally give up and get up. My daughter starts playing with her Monster High dolls so I sit on the couch closing my eye in an attempt to sooth the pounding headache. Then comes the first whine of the day. Her Monster High doll Cleo is missing an arm. Not a rare occurrence for these thing but still a problem since the missing limb is never anywhere near the doll. After hours of endless searching, the doll limb has still not be located so commence the end of the world cry. Now it is getting late and school will be starting soon. She is reluctant to get ready for school as she is terribly upset about her doll. Then I start the morning tradition of telling my daughter to get dressed over and over again. I wonder what the world record is? After that struggle I quickly do her hair and she cries some more. Then to the kitchen where I call my husband to ask if he has seen the doll's arm since our daughter now hates her life because nothing goes her way. As I'm on the phone pouring a bowl of cereal I notice the cat pooped on the floor. Before it is stepped on (learned from past experience not to put things like this off not even in the short time it would take to finish pouring the bowl of cereal) I clean up the poop, wash and continue with breakfast and having my husband tell me my screaming crying kid "will get over it" yes, she will get over one of her favorite toys being broken, DOUBT IT!!!! We are talking about Morrigan right? The kid remembers everything and gets over nothing!!!

I finally get the sobbing child to calm down long enough for her to put socks on. Then the mad dash to get the coat, hat, mittens, and scarf on then finally her shoes. We wait outside in the cold for the school bus. As she ran around in the front yard she seemed to have forgotten about the missing doll arm. There were no more tears, no more "mommy pleaseeeee, you've just got to find Cleo's arm" like I heard all morning. Now she is on the bus, heading school  and happy. I should head back to bed for the next 3 hours to try and sleep of this headache. No, I will rip apart the doll box under my daughter's bed and her room looking for the doll's arm. Why? Because I'm mom and that is what I do.