The Working Mom Survival Guide: As They Grow

The chapter I am at now talks about our kiddos as they grow.  I do not have a teenager so I did not spend too much time in that section. However there were some really great things they pointed out.

Encouraging Independence: Help them learn to do as much on their own as age appropriate. We allow Liv to dust as she loves it, she puts silverware away, and clean up her toys. Does she always do this? Heck no, but she knows how to.

Let kids pick out their own clothes:  I tell her the weather parameters and she is supposed to pick them out. We usually get an I don't know response. :sigh: One day.

Allow natural consequences: I have a hard time letting her do this. We are working on having her own up to what has happened to her when these happen. It's always the wall's fault or Jasmine tripped me. It's never her. We talk about owning up to our own actions and doing something about them.



What do you all do when it comes to letting go of the reigns?

Pets

 
Pets are good for the soul.  We had two cats before O was born and they did great until she started walking. We spent a year trying to help them. Unfortunately we had to give them back but they were adopted together with in weeks!

With O's hearing loss and new school situation  we decided she was old enough to have the cat she wanted so desperately.

So in the fall off we went to the SPCA (Pets Come First) [shout out they are awesome!] and told them that we wanted an older cat who was calm and content to be a lap kitty! They found us the perfect cat. She was often overlooked at the shelter due to being so quiet amongst all the others in the cattery. I knew she was for us when O went to pet her while she was eating and she just stood there and let her with out missing a beat.

O named her Jasmine and with in a week she brought home. She is the BEST pet we have had. Calm, patient, a bit food crazy lol, very sociable, loves to be petted and talked to. Basically Jasmine thinks she is human.  She never scratched our furniture, used the litter box right away and when we let her sleep in our beds she always and automatically sleeps at the end of them.  A favorite sleeping spot of hers is at the end of O's bed.

I really believe she helped O this school year giving her something positive to look forward to. She is a great big cat sister and will feed and brush her with out complaints. It also helps that Jasmine loves to play with her. She thinks shes a kid and will talk to her while they play.

Queen Elsa Kitty!

 

I just love dress up!

I know research says animals can be therapeutic but it is important to make sure you have the right fit for you and your family. If it is not everyone will be miserable.

 
5 Things I Suggest When Choosing a Family Pet:

1. What type of pet will fit best with your family and life style? We picked cat because they are quite independent.  
2.  Do you have the time needed to commit to the type of pet you are getting?
3.  What type of personality traits would you like in your pet? This is important because if they do not mesh with your family its a disaster. You don't want a hyper child scaring a calm pet.
4. Are you willing and able to make the commitment?   They do become family members so no one gets left behind!
5. Do you have a little contingency saved up for the expenses that come along with owning a pet?

Summer Swimming

Please be careful this summer and keep a close eye on your babies.

Please be aware that you can drown after you leave the pool it is called secondary drowning.

Click link below for a story done by CNN.

Secondary Drowning

Manic Mondays...New schedule addition

The new schedule started today. Mondays and Tuesdays swapped! I did it! I took her to the right place at the right time! 


I am quite proud of this feat. I really thought after last week's debacle that we would be sunk! Pretty soon the chaos will wind down...just in time for the new school year to start.  I know people are always like why over extend yourself? Why go through all this trouble?

Simple.

My daughter is worth it!



Parents: 1   Mondays: 1

C-o-f-f-e-e

The nectar of the Gods! Yes! I need COFFEE :-)  Or at least I have turned into one of those people that does in the morning.

With out this beautiful substance my head hurts, I'm tired and grumpier. I can see how one would think that the headaches are caused from the caffeine withdrawal but I'm going with no.  Usually it's because I forgot to take my migraine medicine and got up later then normal so this wonderful concoction of beans, cream and sugar helps keep it at bay until my stuff can kick in.

I am saddened to say that I can no longer have coffee in the afternoons and still go to bed :gasp: damn you getting older!  I love all kinds of coffee too like expensive brands, cheap brands, free coffee hehe the list goes on. I do live for the fall though when Dunkin Donuts brings back pumpkin spice I was even more excited when they made them K-cups!

See it's a sickness a coffee loving sickness. Even pregnant I had to have it albeit decaf, but still have it.

It's like an entire ritual of fantastic you get to wake up to in the morning. The smell of it brewing, choosing which creamer, heck even which mug! (I told you I have a sickness)

My daughter is not always enthused the conversation usually goes like this: O: Hey Mom is that your coffee? Me: Mmm yes! O: Is that my hot chocolate mug? Me: no.
One day my dear child I will introduce you to the love that is coffee!

I mean seriously who doesn't like coffee!?

Okay I'm done now. :-) I'm pretty sure my coffee obsession just scared everyone away. :sigh:

So what is your favorite coffee and mug to drink it out of and why?


To answer mine is the mug below in the picture. It's my alma mater plus it holds a heck of a lot more coffee then it looks! :-) Also pumpkin spice :-)

Kindergarten Graduation Day

Today was kindergarten graduation day. Yes I know some people think that's funny and wonder why they have this. Well we do this to mark yet another milestone in our children's lives.

They announced the graduates then they put on a little show. It was super cute and the kids were super excited! After there was a reception with snacks in the classroom where we got to take a lot of her things home.

It's a bittersweet time. As in a previous post she has definitely had a lot going on. We watched our baby grow and blossom into an elementary schooler.  The time has flown by! I'm sure she'd disagree but it most certainly has.

So proud!

Me Time

Let's face it we all need Me Time.  We may not want to take it since there are a million and one things to do like laundry, dishes, vacuuming, after school activities, dinner etc. Or you just don't want to give up that time with your child period.

Me time is very important. It helps you balance yourself and life out.  Some of us take time outs when we are frustrated but me time is more then that. It's doing something you love for yourself, spending time with friends, going grocery shopping alone, anything that helps you separate yourself for a time in order to rejuvenate you.

We can't take care of our families if we don't take care of ourselves.  I found it was easier to take some me time as the princess got older. I felt more comfortable with all of the things she had going on leaving for a few hours.  Feeling like yourself again allows you to better control your emotions, patience and clear your mind for better decision making. It also allows you to slow down and step back from the chaos.

One of the things I love to do is read. Reading is a way to transport myself for a period of time somewhere else and embrace the characters and their plights with in.  I admit I prefer romance's and happy endings.


I have a few favorite books. I stumbled upon a great book when looking for free romance books for my nook. It is called The Secret Dreams of Sarah-Jane Quinn       By Sharon Gerlach.

It is a long read but I feel the story line develops at a natural pace and deals with some more serious issues. With out giving it away the book is about a girl named Sarah-Jane Quinn who does not quite fit into her family's world the way they like as well as how she starts a new job that leads to some relationship troubles among other real issues. This is a book I go back to from time to time as I fell in love with the characters.

Mind you I am not picky about writing styles, when I read I am not looking for the next big literary geniuses of our time. I just want to be entertained and sucked into their world.


Disclaimer: I was not asked in anyway to review or promote the above book. It's just one of my faves.