The first thing I hear when I wake up many mornings is the groggy voice of my three-year-old daughter (who yes, sleeps with us . . . I’m not apologizing, just clarifying) asking “Can I watch the iPad today?” If I say “yes” then I’m a bad mom, and if I say “no” then I’m a bad mom. Long before I’m ready to get out of bed, I hear the baby crying. As soon as I stand up I realize I have to pee so I figure I better take care of that first because once I get the baby she’ll need a diaper change, bottle, breakfast, the dog will need to be fed, the three year old (who will probably be watching the iPad by then) will want a snack (heaven help me if I refer to it as breakfast – no. It’s a SNACK) and by then it’ll be too late so I guiltily use the bathroom before fetching the crying baby. Did you know that some women get up before their children wake them up? I’m not kidding. I have a friend who gets up, showers, and gets ready for the day BEFORE her kids even wake up! Whhhaaaat?! Anyway, when I stumble out of bed, my three year old will cry and lose it if I do not give her a piggyback ride TO the bathroom, then she has to sit ON my lap while I pee. I cannot make this stuff up.
Voices of Motherhood: Merging Passions
I love to read. It has been my passion my entire life. This is how I introduced my daughter to reading.
Voices of Motherhood: The Me My Kids Turned Me Into
I like the “me” that being a mom has turned me into. This statement comes with plenty of exceptions but the over-arcing feeling I get when I think about the woman I am now versus the woman I was before kids is pride. This is personal. This is not a how-to article. This is just where I’ve ended up today…for tomorrow we will be covered in macaroni and cheese sauce and I’ll feel stupid for saying any of this.
Voices of Motherhood: Taking a risk
I have been wanting to start a series of articles about motherhood; The joys, the struggles, the coping skills, why we decide to stay home, go back to work etc… Each of our stories are unique, but we can often find commonalities within the stories. We can gain inspiration and strength from hearing and sharing the stories…
My first post is written by my friend Ana. She chose to highlight her thoughts and feelings on starting her own business while staying at home with her children.
Enjoy!
Toddler Christmas Tree
Our family will be putting up our Christmas Tree next weekend. I have a wild rambunctious 20 month old and a VERY strong willed three year old. The tree is going to be so fun for them this year. It may also get pushed over, yanked on, climbed on….I’m a bit nervous to say the least. I was browsing Facebook several months ago and saw that someone made their kids a felt Christmas Tree that could be decorated by the children. I stored that idea away in my head and decided to bust it out this weekend. I’m hoping that if the kids have their own tree, they MAY be less destructive of the big tree. Here’s hoping! Either way, they will love playing with their own tree.
DIY Fancy Farm Kitchen
I haven’t posted much in a while, because my husband and I have been taking on the largest project of our lives. For the last eight weeks we have been remodeling our kitchen entirely ourselves. Working around our kid’s nap schedule and my husband’s work schedule has made this project much longer than we thought, but our hard work was well worth it. I now have the kitchen of my dreams on the budget of my husband’s dreams. Introducing my FANCY FARM kitchen.
DIY Sleeping Bag
Recently my three year old has been requesting a sleeping bag. We don’t camp, but she watched a show where a little girl used a sleeping bag and camped out in the back yard. This sparked the obsession…
A Simple Kind of Childhood
The other day I was asked what kind of fun and crazy things I did this summer with my kids. I had to think about it…I didn’t really have much of an exciting answer. Summer is no different than any other time of year for me and my children–SLOW and SIMPLE. Because I’m a stay at home mom of two very young kids, summer’s are full of playing outside with the hose, digging in the garden, building forts…all while I try to sit for a moment and finish a lukewarm cup of coffee. I have sacrificed my career and sometimes my sanity to make my children’s little world’s slow and simple. I’m trying to create an atmosphere of simplicity for my children so that they may learn to be happy and easily amused at the little things in life.
“Pin-Spired” Play Kitchen
“Pin-Spired” Play Kitchen – Guest Post by Layne Watkins
I, like many moms with a Pinterest account, was itching for the opportunity to put together a play kitchen for our daughter (hopefully something our son will also enjoy when he gets a little older). Here are some of the images and tutorials I saved for inspiration:
(Source: http://www.southernrevivals.com/2014/02/vintage-entertainment-center-turned.html)
Vegan Date Chocolate Chip Cookies
I love dates. They are delicious, sweet and nutritious. They are packed with potassium. In baking, they can frequently replace or at least reduce the amount of sugar you use. They are easy to find in most grocery stores–sometimes even in the bulk section (if you are lucky to have a grocery story with a bulk section). I’ve used them in protein balls, bars, cakes, and now in these scrumptious vegan date chocolate chip cookies. Click to continue reading