Havin' a Party

This is long overdue - and I truly from the bottom of my heart apologize to my fabulous consultant, Sarah, for putting up with me... I'm having a Pampered Chef party right now! I actually need to close it tomorrow at 5 PM CST, but would love to share some products that I have or am planning to get tomorrow... or maybe even some things I might ask for since my birthday & Mother's Day are next month. <wink>

Let's be real... I'd love to have one of everything -- because I truly feel my most joy and love when I'm making meals for my family.

 This is the Cut-N-Seal - for only $10 you can make your own uncrustable sandwiches for your kiddos! That alone would save you some money buying them at the store -- it's on my MUST have list because I'm always looking for ways to make meals less messy when the boys are eating!

 

Microwave Chip Maker - For those of us wanting to eat Clean or just more healthy -- we can easily make chips now in our microwave. I've gotten to where baked chips are my favorite now... so I may just have to try this out!

 Fruit & Cheese Cutter - for $11.50 you can make these adorable shapes come into your child's lunch box or any mealtime special... these stamp out cute little shapes from cheese, fruit, and probably some vegetables too!

 Brownie Pan - for under $20 you can forever solve the problem of who is going to get the crust pieces of your next batch of brownies. We don't really have that problem because I haven't met a brownie that I didn't love, but John enjoys the edges... so every brownie he has from now on can have 4 nice crispy edges.

 Scoop 'N Drain -- I have this bad boy, and LOVE it. It's $11 worth of easy pasta, potato, and vegetable removal. Anything you boil can easily be scooped up with this gadget. It's nice for me because we rarely make a huge batch of anything -- so using the big colander isn't necessary -- this is much easier and fits better into the dishwasher!

 Deep Covered Baker -- $85 -- This is on my list of things I'd love to have as well - you can do so much with it -- The website tells it best, so I'll just copy it here for you. Another friend of mine used to sell Pampered Chef, and she put up a couple of her recipes on Youtube before she quit selling. So check out the ever hysterically funny, Danielle, making: Grilled Chicken Penne Al Fresco and Chicken Pesto Alfredo.

Bake a 5-lb. chicken or turkey breast, 4-lb. roast, casseroles and more! Unglazed on the inside for perfect baking, glazed on the outside for perfect presentation. Lid inverts into baker for space-saving storage. 12½" x 9½" x 5½", 12½ cups.

About Stoneware:

• No preheating — just place food on Stoneware and cook. (Dense frozen foods like meat should be thawed first.)
• Absorbs and retains heat for even baking and golden crusts.
• Draws moisture away from food so it cooks light and crispy.
• Virtually nonporous, so it doesn’t retain oils, odors or flavors.
• Microwave-, freezer-, conventional and convection oven-safe.
• Nonstick “seasoning” builds up with every use: the darker it looks, the better it cooks!

 

Herb Infuser - $9.50 -- this solves the need for making your own little herb pouches for soups & stews... I also have seen people infusing water with herbs lately... so you could use this for that as well. I love making stews and soups during the fall & winter so this would make it much easier to throw them in the tube, and fish out the whole thing when you're ready to eat.

The Salad Chopper - $26.50 -- This looks so easy to use! I would love the ease of making salads without having to get out the cutting board, I know it's not that hard, but typically our salads are pretty simple and this chopper would be so easy to use. Once again, here is the ever funny Danielle demonstrating her uses for this tool... Demonstration and Chopping Chicken

I am a total sucker for cookbooks of any type... so I'm sure I'll get one or two of theirs before it's over. Who wouldn't love 29 Minutes to Dinner? (there are 3 volumes of 29 minute recipes!!) The Fresh & Healthy one looks good too, and of course the Festive Holiday Desserts one is tugging at me too.

Right now with a purchase of $60 or more -- you can add in a Bar Board or Set of Small Flexible Cutting Mats for FREE!! Who doesn't love free stuff, right?

Please take a minute to go over and look around Sarah's Pampered Chef site, and place an order with my name as your hostess. (Kim Hawkins) Sarah is a super sweet Mommy of 2 little ones, and I would love to help her business -- let me know if you have any questions about ordering.

Day in the life...

Today we basically did a little of everything... I felt like it was preschool at home in so many ways, but without the kids actually listening to me like they would their teachers. 

Our day in a nutshell consisted of: 

Tyler joining his parents in bed at 2:30 AM

Up with Daddy at 6:00 AM

Milk & Playing with Mommy until James woke up at 7:30 AM

Breakfast at 8:30 AM

Starbucks at 9:00 AM -- complete with 2 free drink coupons to be used next week

Playing in the garage from 9:30-10 AM

Into the Living Room to play with Legos - 10-10:15

To the kitchen for our first experience with Play-Doh - 10:15-10:45

Coloring from 10:45-11:15

Lunch 11:15-11:45
Diaper changes and upstairs for nap 11:45-12 PM
Tyler up at 2:30 PM -- play more Legos
James up at 3:00 PM
More garage play time - 3:00-3:30 PM
Alphabet videos 3:30-3:45 PM
Color puzzles 3:45-4 PM
Foam animal puzzles 4-4:30 PM

More alphabet videos 4:30-5 PM
Dinner 5-5:45 PM

Playtime with Daddy 5:45-7 PM

Upstairs to start winding down for bed 7-7:30 PM

Parents have dinner 8:30 PM

Both boys asleep 8:45 PM

Mom in bed 9 PM to read and relax... and hopefully be asleep by 10:30 PM to start it all over again tomorrow.

Hydrangea Bowl Fillers

 A month or two ago, I was checking Pinterest for new ideas on things that might be fun and easy to make. I came across some bowl fillers that inspired this project for my sister's nursery. I also plan to make a set in some other colors to go in my dining room... but I might let my fingers recover a bit from the callus that I now have from the pins.

For this project, you'll need... craft paper, a punch (I used a Martha Stewart one.), smooth Styrofoam balls 3" and 4", pins, scissors, a thimble, and spray-able Mod Podge.

This project is really easy, but it is time consuming. First, you will need to punch flowers -- I used about 2 sheets of 12x12 craft paper per 3" ball, and likely 3-4 for the 4" balls. By the time I got to the 4" balls, I had just punched all the paper I bought to speed up the process. I basically tried to not waste any paper, so I would turn the punch over and line it up with the edge of the page, punch all the way around all 4 sides, and then cut the edges off... repeat until you are out of paper.

You will be left with something like this....

Then comes the pinning... 

Basically, take one large petal and one small one... lay them in an off-set pattern where the small one covers the holes in the larger one. Make sure that you alternate them so that there is no white showing once it is pinned.

Stick your pin in the middle of the new flower. 

Use your thimble to push the pin all the way down. After a while you will thank me for the thimble idea... just trust me on that. My fingers got really sore the more I got done with this project.

Just another view of how the pinning process works. 

You don't have to spray them for display, but these are headed to a nursery with a humidifier. I was concerned that the paper might mold or something if they weren't sealed. 

I made 3 of each color in the 3" size, and 2 in each color of the 4" size. They turned out really pretty, and I can't wait to see them displayed in her nursery!

Caution, Wet Floor

Spring Break is going to be the death of me... I promise. With my kids, it truly is not for the weak... and only makes me more scared for the break between the school year and summer session -- then again for the break between the summer session and next school year. Sigh.

I had all these plans to break up our errands and at least get out of the house the first couple of days this week because it's still cold. It's also not really dry enough after the entire afternoon of rain we got on Sunday to play outside or go to the park.

So yesterday, we went to Office Depot to get some labels and index cards I needed -- I let the boys walk with me instead of riding since I only needed two items. One item for each child to carry, right? Yeah -- you know how this goes. It was a lot of carrying said item until they saw something new -- drop original item -- grab for new item -- redirection from Mom -- rinse lather and repeat. All was good until the checkout line, where I needed to have 8 arms to keep them in the correct location. Instead, while I swiped my debit card... my kids went around and were opening & closing the drink cooler about 15,000 times. I'm just those judgy looks and eyerolls from the other customers were directed at me, but I still considered this trip a minor win overall... it could have been MUCH worse.

Today, we made a few stops... Starbucks -- you'll understand the need for this by the end of this post. Target for James some new shoes -- he has finally grown a size. Tyler is still 2-3 sizes ahead of him. I was able to look at a few things for the Easter Bunny to bring to these little guys. Our last stop was for gas for my big Momma bus... thanks to Kroger for the $.60 off each gallon though!

Who knows what tomorrow will bring -- maybe it'll finally be time for the park.

So back to today -- we have a routine for school days where the boys get up, come downstairs for new diapers and a glass of milk, then breakfast, get dressed, and off we go... this routine allows for me to get dressed and get their clothes while they are still buckled in their high chairs. I tried laying off of this routine for Spring Break, but you'll soon find out why I will NEVER do it again.

This morning, I let the boys come into the living room to get dressed, but I needed 2 minutes to throw on my own clothes and gather theirs. Sigh. This is where things went terribly wrong. Normally, they would lay on the floor and try to stick their hands under the door -- not today, friends.

Picture me coming out of my bedroom to two completely naked little boys riding on their pillow racers (we have the firetruck & airplane), I start to get my signature Mom growl going only to then hit the floor after I slip in a huge puddle on the floor. Ya'll, my little men had taken their diapers off and literally peed all over my entry way. The following moments were a blur of picking myself up off the floor while trying to figure out what I slipped in... Tyler screaming "JJ tee tee floor!!", and trying to figure out what to do next: A) get them dressed first or B) mop the floor first. Judging by the three puddles I found -- there is NO way that only one of them did it...

I do know deep down that it could have been worse -- as pee is one body fluid that amongst the competition is at least less smelly, gross, and harmful... Lord knows my floor has been barfed on more times than any wood floor should have been barfed on... and truly -- thank goodness they didn't poop!

After the shock, pain, and cleanup was done... I did at least find the humor in the situation. This leaves the score as... Spring Break/Children: 1 ---- Mom: 0

Just a Mom?

I loved the discussion we had at MOPS this week. It really meant something to me. Have you ever been in a situation where someone has asked you the dreaded "What do you do?" question as it relates to your job? How do you answer that?

Are you one of the ladies that dreads that question? Maybe not, maybe you have a job outside of the home. Maybe you are thrilled with what you do. I don't know, but I do know that I've answered the question with the words, "I'm just a mom," before.

I can think of the instances that I've said it, they aren't big social settings... because right now the only big social events I attend are mostly with women in the same boat as I am. The settings I've said it have been varied, but the sentiment is where the problem lies.

The problem is internal. It's all in how I look at what I do on a daily basis. Let that sink in a second.

What do I do all day? I change diapers. I make meals. I bathe kids. I discipline. I teach the alphabet, numbers, shapes, colors, and basic life skills. I negotiate between toddlers. I try to come up with engaging activities. I do laundry. I medicate sick kids. I hug. I kiss. I play. I make boo-boos better. I try to keep a semi-clean house. I meal plan. I write a blog. I run a Scentsy/Velata/Grace Adele business. I do social media for my Dad's real estate team in Texas.

Living the way I do is a privilege that I've been provided by circumstance, diligence, and hard work by myself and my sweet husband. It's not for everyone, but there are plenty out there that would do it in a heart beat if they could. Some days are extremely hard, but there is a lot of fulfillment in it too.

It's not being "just a Mom" -- it's molding who my children will become. It's my choice for my family, and while it might come with sacrifices... it also comes with choices that some families don't get to make for themselves... I could home school, or not. I can use my little bit of supplemental income to afford most extracurricular activities my kids might want to participate in.

Sometimes, I just need to remind myself that my life is much more blessed than it seems on some days. When my kids are sick and I've wiped their noses for the 9,000th time that day... I'm blessed to not have to stress about anything other than getting them better right now.

The parental warfare is so maddening -- and sometimes those of us who stay at home with our kids are made to feel less than those that are balancing a job outside of the home along with being a parent. I've done both, and they are equally challenging for different reasons. Additionally, I've yet to meet a mom that isn't trying to balance all sorts of other things outside of just being a mom... like small businesses... I look at the moms I know both via blogs and in person - almost all of them have a side business of some sort. Even if they don't. They are doing an important service to their family.

I say all of this to remind myself to never use those words. Never belittle what I do. Love every minute of it because each phase is only a short season... and it'll be over likely before I'm ready. Support other Moms in whatever they are doing... no matter how different it is from my own choice. Whether that be vaccination choices, breastfeeding, sleeping, working, dietary... we are all in this, and deserve to be supported in love no matter what.

You are never "Just a ______" -- we are all incredible women and men doing the best we can with what we are given. Don't forget that, and don't let me forget it either.

Update

I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the health issue tunnel. It might be an on going issue -- but I'm ready to come back to writing. I retreated from everything for a few weeks to get my self back to a place where I wasn't a total Debbie Downer. Anyway... since I got a bit off track... I'm going to start my Blog 365 over... I don't think the dates matter, just the commitment to blog everyday. Here we go...

We've been in a holding pattern on a lot of fronts lately, but I've been crafting up a storm for my sister's upcoming baby shower. I can't wait to show you the things that I've made for her little boy!! EEP! My first nephew, and a playmate for the boys! I couldn't be more thrilled for them, as we've prayed for a baby to be added to their family for quite some time.

The boys have been talking more and more lately - they're little vocabularies are exploding, and some days I feel like there might be a light at the end of the tunnel for toddlerhood. Other days, it's all fits and tantrums. I try to take it one break at a time.

I've been doing the photo a day challenge which I've kept up with since the beginning of the year. It has been fun figuring out how to fit the prompts into our day, and I know that I'll love having all these photos to look back on - I do it on my iPhone because it's normally the only camera I have around, but with the genius of iCloud... I have it all backed up and stored on my computer.

I finally rejoined my MOPS group this week too -- or well, I was able to attend again... finally. It was really nice to see all of their smiling faces again. I forgot how much I enjoyed it with all the sickness and health issues since last fall. Tyler cried big crocodile tears at drop off, which he doesn't do at school -- I think he really just doesn't like being in the younger class. His class is a tiny little room with kids that are much smaller than him, and likely younger. Last time we went, James had separation anxiety too -- but this time he skipped through the gate at the door and never looked back. I did check on Tyler again after dropping James off, and while he still wasn't engaged or playing... he had stopped crying -- so I think he'll be okay.

This next week is spring break for our area, and that means no MDO or breaks for Mom... so I'm hoping the weather will be nice so that we can get out and go to the park or the zoo. Or wait, maybe I don't want to take them to the zoo since it'll likely be much more packed than normal... hmmmm... I may have to get creative. Gosh -- even if our backyard would just dry out enough -- we could go out there and do some activities. I need to get on Pinterest and find some stuff for us to do! If you have a suggestion of something really fun you've tried for your 2 1/2 - 3 year olds... let me know!