blog

Potty Training

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:46:56 +0100

Today marks one week of potty training Tiny. Even with all the craziness going on around here, she is doing amazing. We have had two different sets of visitors and my sister moved in with us last week. She is completely potty trained while at home, aside from at night. She sleeps deeply and for about 11-13 hours at night, so I think we still have a little more work to do before that happens.
We started last Monday night by telling Tiny that she was going to bed, still like a baby wearing a diaper, but when she woke up she would be a big girl and she was giving all her diapers to Teeny. We explained all about the potty (we have been talking about it for months) and we read "Once Upon a Potty" as our bedtime story. The next morning as soon as she woke up I took off her pjs and put her right on the potty. She went! We sang, danced, celebrated, and ate an m&m. We were off to a good start. I showed her her Dora, Tinkerbell, Princess, and flower underwear and let her pick out a pair to wear. We talked about how Tinkerbelle wanted to stay dry all day and if she had to potty to just tell mommy and we would go on the potty. We put a Dora seat on the big potty upstairs in her bedroom, and put a potty chair in the living room where we do most of our playing. Every time she would go we would quietly clean it up and put her on the potty even if she was done. If even a drop made it into the potty she would get an m&m, if she told us she needed to sit she got an m&m and if she sat and pottied she got 2 (4 or 5 for a poop).
By the second day she would yell and run to the potty while going, an improvement from just going and telling us as she was peeing on the floor. By day three, she was pretty much potty trained at home. Now a week later she is doing amazing. We are so proud! And it has been relatively painless. :)
Today we went to the $1 movie at Regal and she told me twice that she needed to potty so out we went, panties were dry both time and she sat for a bit and told me she was all done. As soon as we got home, she ran to her potty, undressed, and went!
We are so proud of our Tiny girl!

Fun with Friends

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 01:08:36 +0100

Two of our very good friends are expecting with their first baby. We have been there for them throughout the process (she is due in Oct) and today I had the honor (and pleasure) of helping them register for baby C. Teeny and I headed out to Babies R Us (though I'm not a fan of the store we don't have a BuyBuyBaby anywhere close) with V and A to register. They had told me they didn't know anything about baby products and I gladly jumped at the chance to offer my advice. It was a blast! I hope they had half as much fun as I did!! We walked through every aisle and seeing that wonder of baby goods, made me think back to when Hubs and I were registering for Tiny's baby shower. We went the day of the ultrasound when we found out she was a girl. We were so excited!
It was great to be able to help friends stay away from useless items (wipe warmer) and tell them about things I couldn't live without (Gerber cloth diapers as burp cloths!) Teeny was awesome the entire time and made me want to buy one of everything for her, but I left with just a couple packs for Pullups (and a giftcard) for Tiny. It was very strange for me to be shopping for boys items. I have only glanced in their direction, as my two beautiful girls are covered in pink, purple, frills, and tutus. It was fun to see the green, blue, and brown, all the basketballs and tigers. I also learned that my friends have great taste and I can't wait to spoil Teeny and Tiny's new friend!

I wish helping people register and plan for baby was a job here in Orlando, then I would truely be doing something I love! Let me know if you are in the market. :)

Teeny's Baptism

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 01:34:36 +0100

Sunday, July 17th, was a wonderful day for our little family, Teeny was welcomed into our church family. We were finally able to get the entire family together for a weekend (aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc) and enjoy a fantastic chuch service and a little lunch at our house after.

I love our church. My husband and I were raised in different denominations of the church and it wasn't until I was pregnant with our first daughter that we really set out to find a church home. We took a few exploration classes and decided ours was the one for us. This is our second baptism with them, and I can say it is just beautiful. It was nice to spend a service outside of the "wiggle" room. Tiny is a very active participant in service, she loves to sing (even though she doesn't know the words and every hymm and song turns into "Twinkle Twinkle) and she asks questions about people and things she hears and says. I'm thinking we have a couple more years in the glass room in the back of the church.

Funny side note: A few weeks ago we were walking up to the alter through the main aisle of church to recieve communion. Before hand we had talked with Tiny about how this wasn't a time for talking, mommy was going to hold her, she needed to be quiet, etc. all things to prepare her for our 5 minutes in the main church. So while I'm holding her and walking up she is repeating all our our instructions in her not-so-indoor-voice and many around us are giving knowing glances and kind smiles. Then she looks at the stained glass over my shoulder in the window, it is a beautiful glass of Jesus in a blue robe with a red sash blowing in the wind, and we hear (LOUD) "Mommy, Daddy, look it's Superman!" Stifling my laughter I whisper "No, Baby that's Jesus." She yells, "OH! That's JEEEE-sus." Gotta love two year olds.

It was great to have both sets of family together for the weekend (we even got a little house hunting and a birthday dinner for my father set into the weekend), but I won't lie it is kind of nice to have just our quiet little house again. When everyone left, both girls immediately fell asleep and my husband and I just looked at each other and collapsed onto the couch. I got all the food put away, but the cleaning will wait until tomorrow. :)

I was going to post a picture of Teeny in her pretty little white dress, but my poor second child, I didn't take one picture. Thankfully my dad always has his camera in hand, and I'm sure I will have a few hundred once he edits them.

The Wednesday Newspaper

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 18:40:03 +0100

People are constantly looking for ways to save money. One of the most valuable tips I can give, is to get the Newspaper. Often I feel bad that I am throwing out so much of the newspaper, only to get the coupons, but this is the best way I have found to save money!

Get the Wednesday - Sunday option. I get the paper Wednesday-Sunday and then an extra Sunday paper. The store that I most commonly shop at (Publix) gives out Publix coupons, does buy one get one frees (BOGOs) that change weekly, and they except coupons from Target, Albertsons, and Winn-Dixie. Getting two Sunday papers means I will have two of each coupon, so if something is BOGO I can use a coupon on each item and save even more $$$.

The Wednesday paper is the food, cooking, grocery eddition for the week. Every Wednesday will have coupon inserts from your local stores. (Feel free to call your local newspaper to find out their schedule of ads)

Today the Albertsons coupon is for $5 off $50. That $50 is before your other coupons, and who doesn't need a free $5? They also have Buy One get Two free on seasoned chicken breast and fresh talipia. Publix will accept these coupons as long as they sell the exact same item. I know they have the Talipia, not will be checking on the chilcken breast tomorrow. :)

Kool Aid Painting

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 01:17:54 +0100

Many years ago, I bought a bunch of Kool Aid packets on sale, thinking I would make and drink it. Well after making the first pitcher it didn't taste anything I remembered so it has been sitting in a ziploc bag ever since. I saw on Play at Home mom an idea for Kool Aid painting.

After nap yesterday, I let Tiny have at it. We opened up a few different color packets.

Tiny poured out the powder right onto the construction paper

She would pour the powder into a pile and then had to move it around with her hand, caution this does "stain" the hands a little bit. Tiny doesn't like having her hands messy so this bothered her a little bit. We had to keep stopping to wash her hands with soap and water.

We didn't have any spray bottles on hand so we had to use a cup of water and a straw. I'm sure this would work much better with a spray bottle of water. Tiny loved dropping the water on. I was glad we did this over a placemat, but the consturstruction paper held up well.

I love the Fisher Price Space Saver high chair. Teeny was able to sit by and watch the whole mess happen.

It's been almost 24 hours, and they are just about dry. I will post a picture of the finished product once they are dry.
Today we are going to be using the rest of the Kool Aid in the packets (plus a little more I'm sure) to color and scent some clay.

So here are Tiny's Kool Aid paintings. She had a blast doing them, and about 5 days later they still smell like Kool Aid.

Couponers United

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 02:16:55 +0100

If you live in the Central Florida Area and have not been to a Couponer's United class yet, what are you waiting for? The classes are quick, easy, and packed full of information. Best of all they are FREE!!

I love saving money! Who doesn't? I really didn't know where to start. I decided that I was going to go to a Couponers United class, I already followed her blog and followed her on Facebook, but I felt like I needed to meet in person, listen, and take notes.

I love that Mary is a real life mom. She has four children that she is home with everyday, so she understands that couponing can not be the sole focus of life. She has a simple method that she will gladly share, and then posts deals, steals, and add matches basically everyday.

I attended a class a couple of months ago, since then my husband and I have saved more than we spent on EVERY single shopping trip. We could also go at least a month or two without shopping (aside from milk and produce of course) but I even have enough meat in the freezer to last us!

This is one of the many ways I save as much as I can, I don't feel right keeping it to myself.

Lakeshore Learning- Free Event

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 17:30:22 +0100

I spent many years as an elementary school teacher, so I have been familiar with Lakeshore Learning Stores for awhile now. I found out probably about a year ago that they offer a free craft time for toddler- grade school kids on Saturday mornings. Well this weekend we finallly made it to one.

We had a blast! Tiny was able to use glue (something we don't really do much at the house) and she was just thrilled with her moasic mirror.

I sat with her to, becuase as much as Tiny has to say she can be a little shy at first.

She quickly got the hang of "painting" the glue on and then sticking on her tiles. She was very careful to not cover up the mirror.

Showing off her finished product. I love the pride that a child gets from completing an arts and craft project. It didn't matter one bit that the tiles were to heavy for the glue and promptly fell off, as soon as the glue dried. She had a blast, got to get out of the house around other children, and it was totally free!

I did have a buy one get on 50% off coupon that I planned on using while in the store, but Teeny was ready to get out of her carrier and, we had already done a big Sam's shopping trip that morning and we needed to get home! I hate when stores give out the BOGO 50% and then mark everything in the store down by 20% so you can't use your coupons.Oh well, my coupon doesn't expire until after school starts, so I will just keep it on file.

Summer Fun!

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 01:10:46 +0100

With my husband home on summer break (from teaching) I am constantly looking for ways to spend a little one on one time with my two and a half year old. I have been searching different blogs and facebook pages (I'm addicted!) for a few free ideas. Yesterday we had a ton of fun playing with ice!

I doesn't get cheaper or easier than this one, and it kept her entertained for over an hour. It was also nice to spend a little time outside without over heating. Saturday night I collected 3 of Tiny's plastic toys, which are constantly laying around the house so this wasn't difficult. I took out some Ziplock plastic containers and put one toy in one container and then two toys in the other. I filled them with water from the tap and popped them in the freezer. I then took three disposable plastic cups, filled with water, added four drops of food coloring, and placed those in the freezer as well.

Sunday as an incentive for her to lay down for her nap, I promised a little suprise Mommy and Tiny time when she woke up, I also added in that we would play outside for it. That got her down to sleep quickly.

After nap I took a large plastic bowl, took the ice out of the containers, and we headed outside while Daddy stayed inside with Teeny.

Tiny had a blast, she was a little nervous and shy of the cold at first, but it took her no time at all to warm up (ha!). She loved throwing the ice to break out the toys and she loved sliding the ice once the ground had a little puddle on it.

Showing her cheesy smile. Yes, she is in a disposable diaper, I wasn't sure if the food coloring in the puddles would stain and I didn't want to ruin a cloth diaper. The food coloring didn't stain, so she will be back to normal next time.

Trying to get all the ice off of her penguin.

I do not reccomend using My Little Ponies or anything else with "hair" it did not break out of the ice well.

This idea was taken from Play at Home Mom - follow her on facebook she is awesome!