Halloween and the Red Monster

Tonight was trick or treat. My boys were dressed as Miles from Tomorrowland and Captain America...our little lion didn't quite make it out into the cold night for his candy ;)

My sweet little Miles ran excitedly to the first house and said, "Trick or Treat. I can't have red dye!"

:)

His sweet little heart. I'm not sure if it's because we're so strict with food dye in our house or if he doesn't like the way it affects him...or perhaps it's both. But as I sit and look through his candy, picking out the few pieces he can actually eat, I feel frustrated with the fact that my 3 year old has to be so cautious because our country still allows these awful dyes in our food.

If you don't have a child who is affected by these dyes, this rant seems ludicrous, but I was reminded of the reality of this sensitivity tonight. We allowed him to have a drink with food dye in it because it's Halloween and we thought, "it's green, it shouldn't be that big of a deal". I watched my sweet, joyful Miles seem overtaken by something bigger than himself - in a moment (awhile after the drink) he was lying in the floor, screaming, tears running down his face, flinging his body around, so angry that he could hardly talk to tell us what was wrong. (He was upset about the lights being turned off in our dining room where we were eating.)

If you've never witnessed this, it's hard to understand. But, it's as if something takes over his little body and he has no control over his emotions. He seems to lose the ability to verbalize his emotions. If you know my guy, you know this is completely opposite from his normal sweet, joyful, innocent personality.

I've noticed sensitivities in our second child lately. It's definitely a real issue. I feel crazy when I ask
about every food my guys are given, but it has such a profound effect that I have to watch every bite.
Our guys struggle with more than just Red dye - we've had to take major steps to cut out Red, Yellow, Blue, and Caramel coloring from our foods. It's in everything - from white icing and white cake mix to boullion cubes, toothpaste, medicine, and even breakfast breads. 

Awhile back, I read a blog by a mom who had noticed the same effects on her child. I cannot find it again. But I did find this clip from Fox News. I wanted to share with you. I'm hoping to spread awareness of Food Dye sensitivities in hopes to help a struggling parent or to help others understand us crazy mommas who hover over their food. ;)

The One Task that is Never unDONE.

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Mommy's Going Bald

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Overwhelmed

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bibs, bottles, and puffs for the Kingdom of God...

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Ninja Turtles Potty-Trained My Guy

Ninja Turtles Potty-Trained My Guy.

For real. Without the special ninja turtle cup, he wouldn't have drank enough tea to go to the potty every 10-15-25-30 minutes. "Tea turns into pee-pee, not water or juice." - wisdom from a 2 year old

the ninja turtle cup. he was allowed to watch as much TV as he wanted as long as he drank while watching....is that completely terrible?!?

One Sunday evening, I decided to try potty training. We had tried before with little success with #1, he'd only poo in the potty. Then, he broke his leg and the Hulk Leg (here) hindered potty training.
Then, he was doing well with #2, still not #1, when he announced, "sorry guys. I pee pee in my pants. sorry." Meaning, he wasn't going to use the potty, so we should give up (life with a strong-willed child, can I get an "amen"?!)

THEN, we were making progress again, then his brother was born (here). He then decided that ALL of the diapers and wipes in the house belonged to him. This made for interesting newborn diaper changes when we had to chase him to get the necessary supplies.

(can you just laugh or cry with me already?! ha!)

So, on that random Sunday evening, I thought, "We'll try now. It'll only be for a few hours, if he's frustrated and quits, it'll be bedtime anyway, so it's worth a shot!" He'd been giving me signs like, telling me he was peeing...(is that a clear enough sign??).

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This is what I did:

1.) Cheerios / I dropped a few Cheerios in the toilet and asked if he wanted to shoot them with pee pee.
He thought this was AMAZING, and asked for more Cheerios (to increase his odds of shooting one. ha!)

2.) Cup / I chose a cup I knew he thought was amazing (it was still new to him), a Ninja Turtle water bottle. I filled it with his choice of drink (tea) and gave it to him. I gave him pretzels, too, in an effort to get him to drink more.

3.) Clock / I set a timer for 10 minutes. He loved the timer! He still does - whenever he hears it, he runs to the potty. In these times, my husband and I refer to him as "Pavlov"...except our guy pees when he hears the bell. ;) (he'll love me for this post when he's older, I'm sure of it).

4.) Once he was dry after every 10 minute session (or irritated from being interrupted every 10 minutes), we bumped up the increments to 15 minutes. Then, we moved to 25 minutes. If he was wet before one of the increments, we would shorten the increments again.

5.) A few days later, the wonder of the Cheerios had faded (he was eating them from the cup on the bathroom counter while sitting on the potty..ha!) I let him go on his own. He had a couple accidents, but I blame the water he was playing with. Every so often, we'll remind him to go, but for the most part, he can go an hour or so between trips to the potty. He wakes up in the mornings dry, but we're not risking it with undies for awhile.

Now, he loves undies! We just remind him to go every so often, but we have mostly dry days (except when he's playing in water....I can't blame him too much for that!)

so grown up!

Here are my steps and supplies to potty-train in this way

1.) Let him choose a cup he will want to drink from him. Let him choose a beverage. If it's full of sugar, just grin and bear it - it's only for a few days... the end justifies the means in this situation!

2.) Be prepared to spend a few days in the bathroom all day long...I was juggling an infant at the same time...so, my guy ran around "nakey" for a bit because I couldn't feed my little guy and run back and forth to the potty with my oldest (you do what you have to do sometimes!)

3.) Use Cheerios in the potty for him to learn where to aim.

4.) Set a timer (I used my phone). Start with 5 or 10 minutes, whatever makes you the most comfortable - you know your boy. After he's dry between increments, increase the time. Keep him full of snacks and liquids. If he eats tons of crackers or snacks so that he will drink a lot, don't cringe too much - it's necessary!!

5.) Call anyone important to him for praise after the first few times of being dry and using the potty (my family members received many calls at work. ha!)

6.) When enthusiasm begins to lag, praise him with a small incentive (we used a piece of candy, bc candy is a rare treat around here).

7.) When he's consistently dry between longer increments, let him go for awhile by himself and see if he goes to the potty on his own (if he doesn't, clothes can always be washed!). If he's getting frustrated with stopping his playtime to potty, ease up a bit - my guy refused to go if he became frustrated, so I chilled out and watched to see what he would do. Sure enough, he said, "Mommy, I feel sparkly" and we RAN to the potty. (Sparkly was his own definition. I couldn't love it any more!)

8.) Reward his potty training success with a trip to buy a special toy or new undies. We have a friend who had a cake made for her little girl. Whatever your guy would like, go for it. You've both earned a celebration for your many many many trips to the potty. :)

I Love You...but, I MUST do dishes

Life in this Harner house has been in a transition lately.
A certain two year old and his momma are having an extremely difficult time adjusting to a new little boy needing my time and affection.

I find myself saying these things OVER and OVER and OVER all day long:

"Yes, I will play that game AFTER I ......"
"Hold on, just a few minutes..."
"I said, 'Yes,' but first I have to...."
"I would LOVE to read that book, just let me finish..."

It's not that I ignore my children. It's just that requests for playtime occur every 10 seconds. Then I feel like a terrible mother for not dropping everything and playing each at each and every request. It's a vicious cycle.

I am not a major advocate for spending 24/7 playing and interacting with my children. I believe they need time to play alone. I also believe that I need time to cook, clean, and plan unless I want to raise my children in filthy chaos.

So, the other day, I admitted defeat to my mom and my husband. I said, "I'm can't do this." All the while, God was reminding me that He wouldn't have given me these boys if I COULDN'T do it.

Then I remembered this term: LOVE TANK.

You know what I'm getting at. Samuel's love tank must obviously be low....

find it on Amazon.com, here

I'm a HUGE believer in the LOVE LANGUAGES theory. I believe it with my whole heart. I'm astounded by it. I couldn't wait to have children to discover their love languages.

Little did I realize, those children could have love languages completely opposite of my own. And it appears that for this season, my toddler does.....

(I recommend brushing up on the Love Languages on their site, here. I even took a test for my child to get an idea of his love languages - the results were pretty much what I expected.)

I am very much a Words of Affirmation and Physical Touch...and Receiving Gifts type of gal...(but on the gifts, who isn't??? :) ).

My toddler is very much a Quality Time and Acts of Service type child. Both of which languages, I am not too adept at speaking. He also enjoys Words of Affirmation, which I can handle with ease - I mean, who couldn't with this face???

perhaps I'm biased, but I can't resist that ornery sparkle in his eyes...

I can handle the Acts of Service...we religiously look for toys that need "rescuing." (thanks to Team UmiZoomi) I just need to find ideas and more specific ways to fill this ornery little Love Tank. So, I searched Pinterest (what other reliable soure would I use??) I found this great chart:

Found on The Catholic Connection, here

Now, I just need to find a way to find more time to spend with him while caring for an infant and trying to upkeep the house. I can feel another blog post coming from this...."How I Found Time for Quality Time"

...God gave me these boys...He knows I can handle it all....with my hand fiercely grasping His and pleading for wisdom ;)

Cultivating a Toddler's Heart for Christ...Continued

As Samuel and I were snuggling in my bed (while he stalled, not wanting to go to his bed), he held up three chubby fingers and said, "I like that picture of the cross. Three of them. One is Jesus, and these two are the bad guys."

My heart flipped over with love for this child, praise to God that Samuel is making sense of our lessons, and shock that he remembered that lesson from WEEKS ago! We read the Easter story a few weeks ago after Samuel requested the "cross and Jesus" story in our Rhyme Bible Storybook.

we love this for our devotions!

It was that evening that I fumbled around trying to explain Christ's death and resurrection and the plan of salvation to my 2.5 year old! I thought for sure that he learned nothing from that bumpy, all-over-the-place explanation. Evidently, I was wrong. Evidently, God still uses our bumpy explanations of His Word to accomplish HIS Will.

So, tonight, since I learned that he understands that Jesus was on the cross between two "bad guys," I took it one step further. I explained that, "this bad guy said, 'Jesus, I'm sorry for all the bad things I've done,' and Jesus said, 'I forgive you. You can now go to Heaven with me."...... (that's bumpy! ha!)

I'm sharing this to encourage you to not give up sharing Christ with your toddler. As I mentioned in the first post about reaching your toddler for Christ, God promised that His Word would never return void - it will always accomplish what He plans for it (Is 55:11) - like His plans for us to train up our children in the His ways (Prov 22:6). His Word won't return void...even when spoken to 2-year old ears. :)

So even if your Gospel presentation includes bad guys, chubby fingers, and heroes, take heart - SOMETHING will get through to their young hearts and minds. God's got this. :)


"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." (Gal 6:9)

Mommy Monday: Worshipping as a Stay at Home Mom

Amidst potty training, gummies, bottles, pacis, ninja turtles, nap time, bath time, daily chores, and finding time for the hubby, how is a stay at home mom supposed to find time to worship God every day?

By doing all of those things. Every day. The best she can.

Abodah.

Abodah is a Hebrew word meaning "service, work, worship". Did you catch that? Worship isn't separate from work.

One of my brothers (I have 3 older brothers...I know, bless my heart... :) ), introduced me to this word through his sermon yesterday morning. He said that our work and our worship can be the same thing, as long as we are doing our work for the glory of God. As he was preaching, 1 Cor 10:31 popped into my head (after having to recite it twice a week in chapel in high school...I'm thankful for that now! :).
"Whether you eat or drink, or WHATEVER you do, do it to the glory of God"

Wash bottles to the glory of God.
Play Ninja Turtles to the glory of God.
Pick up toys 20x a day to the glory of God.
Make dinner to the glory of God.

As a stay at home mom and wife, I am called to serve God by serving my family. On days when I feel all I do is wipe noses, burp babies, and manage to get dinner on the table before bedtime, I am relieved to know that if I've kept the right attitude about it all, I can say that I have worshipped and served God all day.

So, take heart, mommas (and daddies)...on the days when you feel you've accomplished nothing, you've accomplished a lot more than you think. ;)

Your greatest contirbution to the kingdom of God 

may not be something you do,

but someone you raise. - Andy Stanley

beyond blessed to serve God by serving these three handsome men!

Happy Mother's Day...Month

(...my computer was down for weeks. I wrote this for Mother's Day, but couldn't publish it. So, I'm publishing it in honor of Mother's Day Month. We can have that, right?! ;) ).
____________________________________

The rolls would be piping hot, right from the oven. She would grab them, with bare hands, pop them open, and butter enough to feed 20+ hungry people. I remember thinking, "I want hands like hers."
She would (and still does) prepare Sunday lunch for 20 people without recipes and without measuring. She plants and grows beautiful flowers. She seems to know everything about gardening. She can plant and harvest a garden. I watched her raise and groom dogs. I watched her create clothing and crafts at her sewing machine. All the while, I thought to myself, "I want hands like hers."
My Mama.

The whirl of the sewing machine created the ambiance for my childhood. I watched in amazement at the skill and speed of her hands at the sewing machine creating perfectly frilly frocks for me and perfect crafts for any occasion. Anything she sets her hands to comes out perfectly (whether she thinks so or not). I always think, "I want hands like hers." Her cool hand on my feverish face always made me feel better. Her hand playing with my hair always put me at ease. Even now that I'm grown, her hand on my back makes me feel like everything will be okay. I want hands like her.
She gives selflessly without a thought to her own desires. She always has.
Her hands have rocked my baby to sleep and soothed him when I had no idea how to soothe him during his first weeks of life.
Her hands have taught me how to cook, how to care for my family, and how to show love to my babies. Her hands have taught me how to pray and how to reach for God until I can feel His hand on my face.
I want hands like hers.
My mom.

I've heard both women say their hands look old, ugly, or worn out. I see them as symbols of my childhood and my aspirations as a woman of God and a mother.

When I prepare a meal (and burn my hands in an attempt to handle too-hot food), I feel like I'm on my way to having hands like my Mama.
When my baby relaxes and closes his sleepy eyes when I brush his hair off his face, I feel like I'm on my way to having hands like my mom.

Hands that love, soothe, teach, create, provide, nurture, and pray.

I am beyond blessed to have these women in my life as my mom and mama. I couldn't ask for more talented or faithful women as examples to follow. They have modeled for me the things that really matter - mothering in everyday moments, providing your best for your family, and showing love just by letting a gangly, chatty, tween watch and try her best to be a little more like you.

I pray I remember these things as I raise my family. I pray my hands pass on the love that I've felt
from the hands of these women. I pray I can pass on the same faith that they've passed on to me.

"I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as we'll." -2 Timothy 1:5

Cultivating a Toddler's Heart for Christ....Don't Give Up!

I'm writing this post at the end of one of THOSE days. One of those days when a super strong-willed toddler has made a scene in a restaurant, made a scene during maternity pictures, and cried for jellybeans during the entire 30 minute car ride home. It's one of THOSE days when bath and bedtime routines began at 6pm (would you judge me if I told you I actually fed him dinner while he was bathing?? ;) ).

...a strong will against pictures ;) ....and my 33 week bump...

But at the end of this day, while my husband and I sat with our sweet/funny/strong willed toddler, Samuel, in his room, a shining moment happened. Samuel picked up his prayer book and began reading to us. He turned to the correct page and "read" his verse: "The Lord's plans will stand forever". He turned a few more pages and said things like, "worship the Lord," and "God has a purpose for you."

we use and LOVE this devotional - Samuel calls it "Dear God" - you can find it here

I beamed. My husband frantically tried to secretly record this sweet moment. ;) We were both refreshed. Because, no matter the nights that Samuel will fight prayers or devotions, no matter the nights when he sings "Twinkle Twinkle" during our prayers, this shining moment was proof that SOMETHING is getting through to Him.

So mommas (and daddies), don't give up on devotions, prayer, Bible stories, etc. Even if our toddlers are flipping circles in their beds or singing the ABCs while you're reading devotions to them, SOMETHING will get through - God promised that His Word would never return void - it will always accomplish what He plans for it (Is 55:11) - like His plans for us to train up our children in the His ways (Prov 22:6). His Word won't return void...even when spoken to 2-year old ears. :) (and while I'm not to that point yet, I'm placing my bet that the same holds true for teenagers, as well!)


"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." (Gal 6:9)

A PlayRoom TakeOver

I tried so hard to fight it.

I did everything I could to make sure my family room didn't look like a daycare. I really did.

But, when 1400 sq feet must contain a toddler, his toys, and a new baby, some things must change.

So, instead of "daycare," I went with "preschool" ;)

This is Samuel's new play area:

pardon the terrible lighting, I have very little natural light in my family room...

Before the toddler takeover, this wall housed our entertainment center and two bookcases full of baskets of toys and books. Granted, the baskets were pretty baskets...BUT I found his bigger toys taking over the floor for lack of a "place."

I am a firm believer in "a place for everything and everything in it's place." So, this conversion of a family room wall to a playroom was necessary to contain the clutter.

The alphabet rug is from Walmart. The letter and number art is from Hobby Lobby. I made sure that the playroom decorations coordinated with my family room decorations. I didn't want it to seem too crazy and out of sorts. So, the family room is now being redecorated to house navy blue and white (my favorite! and a reason to shop for new decorations!)

I must say, the magnetic chalkboard has been the star of the show! I do not know how a certain little boy lived without it. I highly recommend it. Plus, he can write all over the walls and bookcases with the chalk and it wipes clean! :)

I still rotate his books and toys. We have a closet in the family room that houses some other toys and books. When I find that he's getting bored with the toys in the bins and shelves, I rotate them with some toys from the closet. Sometimes I'll simply rotate the bins or rearrange the shelves. This throws him for a loop when he's looking for something specific, but it brings toys he's ignored to the forefront to catch his attention.

Those shelves house his art supplies, blocks, cars, puzzles, games, musical instruments...etc. It's wonderful to have a space for everything! :)

This space works great for all of us. It freed up the other living space in the family room for us, while giving him a space all his own!

Now...to find a place for a baby swing... ;)

When Mommy-Guilt Became my God

"Is he watching too much TV?"
"Is he eating too much candy?"
"I should make preservative-free Spaghettios instead of buying these..."
"Am I doing enough holiday crafts?"
"Do I have enough paint handprints to last a lifetime??"
"Should I get sugar free apple juice?"
"Am I rocking him too long for naps?"
"Should I be doing devotions with him?"
"He doesn't have enough space to play..."
"Should I get him better books?"
"Should I start him in an activity?"
"Am I spending enough time with him?"
"Is it bad for me to leave him alone long enough to do laundry?"

....couldn't you just smack me, NOW?!

This was my brain. For two years, this was my brain. MOMMY GUILT OVERLOAD.

I felt like, no matter what I did, I wasn't a good enough mom. I felt that I needed to be in the floor, playing with my child 24/7, with only chores done during naps or bedtime. But when would I spend time with my husband?!

....ah!

Then, I started Kelly Minter's "No Other Gods" Bible study. Within the first two days, God broke down my Mommy-Guilt Walls and I was able to breathe,

A god. Anything that takes our focus or attention away from God is a god. Anything we serve is a god. (yikes).

I was going through my days, frantically praying that I was "good enough", all the while, serving no one but myself through my mommy-guilt. I wasn't finding joy in motherhood, I was simply obsessing and comparing myself to who I thought I should be. I needed to be comparing myself to God and no one else.

When I started to see myself through God's eyes, I was able to let go of the burden of mommy-guilt. God chose me to be a mommy to these two precious, albeit ornery, boys WAY before I had them with me. I was good enough in His eyes, THEN. Before preservative-free candy was even a thought. Before holiday crafts filled up my Pinterest boards. God chose me BEFORE those things entered my mind.

My purpose, as a mommy to these two mini-men, is to raise them to be Godly men. Period. As long as they love God and serve Him with their heart, soul, and mind, I have done my work as a mommy. As long as they love people and put others' needs before their own, I have done my work as a mommy.

This purpose isn't served through obsessing about whether or not I'm good enough. God decided that. Now it's my job to carry through with it, while holding onto HIS hand as tight as I possibly can each and every day. Because, to be honest, I'm clueless on how to raise Godly children without God telling me how.

So, it's okay that Samuel has watched 6 episodes of UmiZoomi today. He's also pretended shoe laces were spaghetti, counted blocks, read books, laughed ALL morning, and instructed his daddy on how to say the alphabet.

At the end of the day, when Samuel thanks God for "today" and "monkeys"...and bows his head to say, "thank you for food" before dinner...I know that I'm on the right track.

He's happy. He's learning. He's praying.

My god needs to be My God. My focus and attention cannot be overrun with guilt, else I'm serving someone else, entirely.

"Whatever you do, do ALL to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

"I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well." 2 Timothy 1:5

How to maintain SANITY and a BUDGET while entertaining an 18 month old

     My child is now 20 months old. Is it okay to still calculate his age in months?? It makes me feel like he's still a baby, so I think I'll continue to refer to his age in months (how will he like that when he's 168 months?? I don't care ) :)

     This age between 18 months and 2 years has proven the most difficult for me by way of entertaining him. He's too old for baby toys, but not yet old enough to pretend on his own. If left to his own devices, he'd watch Charlie and Lola or old Sesame Street episodes (we'll discuss why I despise newer Sesame Street episodes at a later date...) all day, while working shape sorters, playing memory match games and Monkey Preschool Lunchbox on his my iPad. He's a smart cookie, so I've struggled to find new ways to pique his interest.

     After scouring Pinterest, blogs, and toy shelves, I found some success - mostly without new toys!
     Here are some ways I've discovered to keep him entertained and out of my cupboards (and the dog bowl)  ;) :

No dog food was eaten during this picture ;)

1.) Melissa and Doug toys. I mean, where have these been all my life?? They make the classic wooden toys without the annoying flashy lights and crazy music (mostly). His favorites? The sound puzzles, shape sorters, ice cream cone set, and a magnetic "fishing" puzzle.

    All of these work on hand-eye coordination! We work on shape and color recognition and problem solving with them, as well. We also use them for pretend play :)

2.) Rice. Rice, bowls, cups, and spoons. My little man LOVES "wice," so he jumps at the chance to play with it. I sit him in his high chair with it while I'm prepping dinner, and he plays quietly, sneaking mouthfuls of uncooked rice while I'm not looking ;) ha. But best of all, it can be easily vacuumed and put away.

3.) Water. Just like rice, he'll play with water and two coffee cups for a long time. Of course, this always necessitates towels and, in the beginning, a change of clothing, but I've learned to only give small amounts of water and refill it only when he spills or drinks it all. The more often he's practiced, the better he's become at keeping the water in the cups, stirring and pouring, so there's little clean up now.

4.) Flour and a colored plate. We work on drawing our letters in the little scoop of flour spread on a colored plate. My man doesn't like anything on his hands, so I gave him a plastic baby knife - he loved it. He drew letters for quite awhile. This, though, is messier to clean up, but it bought me 5 minutes to unload and load the dishwasher without my "helper" touching every dirty dish and grabbing every sharp utensil I loaded :)

5.) Crayola Color Wonder products. This is something to buy, but my guy loves them. Since he doesn't like anything on his hands we've put away the finger paints and pulled out the paintbrush. We focus mainly on the color and his coordination now. We have such fun! He's a fan of purple, so I have lots of "abstract" purple pictures for my walls :) These can be messy, but only sticky, not stains. He uses LOTS of the paint, so I may need to invest in plenty of refills :) His favorite right now is the Paint Palette:

6.) Stickers. My child has discovered a love of stickers. I can stick one on his arm and he spends a few minutes playing with it - taking it off, putting it on, losing it between the couch cushions... :) He also likes to decorate cards and pictures with them (as long as he can stack like stickers on top of one another... ;) ).

7.) Color Wonder markers and a cup. Literally, he played, on and off, all morning with these. I say Color Wonder so that your furniture, carpet, and clothing are saved from stains. He takes the lids on a off, fills the cup, and spills the cup over and over. Cheap and easy!

8.) Food containers. I washed out an empty plastic coffee creamer container and a gummy vitamin container. Hehas  played with those two containers more than any plastic pretend food I have purchased at a store. It's unreal, but he loves them. Aforementioned markers, rice, stickers, and water, all join these containers in play. So, instead of throwing away those big plastic containers, wash them out and replace some toys with them!

9.) A key to entertaining my child has been to rotate his toys. I'll post pictures of his toy storage later (I strive for my house to still look like a home and not a daycare...), but he has a basket full of toys on the bottom shelf of the entertainment center. He pulls out that basket, empties it and sits in it, and plays. :) The toys in this basket, and all other baskets, rotate every few weeks (sometimes sooner if he's bored). This keeps him interested and his toys seeming like new! I'll rotate his toys from room to room, so the toys upstairs, which aren't seen as often, become new when brought downstairs. I rotate his books on his shelf in the family room. This keeps him interested in the books and keeps me from buying WAY too many books (my downfall).

I have plans for crafting a few more projects for him - my "FunMommy" pinterest board is stuffed with ideas. I'll update when those are complete. 

In the meantime, check out suggestions from my friend, Liz, at All Kinds of Things. She's a teacher with great ideas for entertaining a toddler while caring for a newborn (whew!)...ideas that work on a budget!

Weaning....by the signs!

You know those people who can always forecast the weather by the signs in nature? My grandparents are those people. I aspire to be one of those people. I would love to know that we will have a wet winter just by the signs! I think it'd make me seem wise.... ;)

I had my first successful experience with "the signs" a few months ago: WEANING!!

Now I, in now way, believe in astrology. But, I believe in the wisdom of those older and more experienced than I. So, I took my family's recommendation to wean my baby boy toddler "by the signs."

Samuel was becoming attached to his bottle. He only took a bottle before his nap and bedtime, but he had become attached to it in order to fall asleep. He's a "sleep training" baby, so he can fall asleep on his own, but the bottle had become his signal for sleep. He was also approaching his 18 month check-up, and I knew his dr would ask about the bottle - so, the week before his appointment, we stopped! ;)

I was told that the last week of June 2013 would be the best week to take away the bottle, cold-turkey, because of "the signs." I had NO IDEA what sign this was, but I figured it was worth a try since my family had previous success with it.

Turns out, the Farmer's Almanac had all the info on these signs. The link to a weaning and potty training schedule is here. (Evidently, these signs can also be used for weaning your livestock, as well. ha.)

It worked! We gave our baby little boy oatmeal (instead of a bottle) before bed and read his usual book. He cried his normal amount before settling down and sleeping through the night, but he never seemed to miss the bottle. (and we haven't missed paying the bill for Nutramigen!) He did cry for his "bah" when he saw one, but once they were out of sight, they were out of mind. We stopped cold-turkey that week, and we've not looked back!

I think I know where I'll turn when it's time for potty training! (eek).