Morning Routine for stay-at-home Moms

It can be difficult to get up and get yourself going on a daily basis, especially when your little ones are still so young. There may not be a set time for school, appointments, or meetings to rush you up and out the door so why does it matter if you lay in bed a little longer or lounge around a little more? And sure, you may have a very good excuse to do so with night time feedings, potty runs, or anything else in the book!

Creating a morning routine and sticking to it on a daily basis will help you feel happier and healthier as well as have a positive impact on your little ones. Structure is important for a child's development, and a morning routine can you provide you time for yourself with the consistency that your child expects it. It is almost as though they come to schedule that time in their day for you to have your "me-time" because they expect it and they know that attention for them always follows.

Now it is important to establish a routine that fits well for you and your household. Everyone's needs will vary as far as the time the routine starts, how long it lasts, and what it consists of. Here is a general idea to get you started. The things on my list included: eating breakfast, getting myself dressed and ready as well as the kids, making my bed, a short exercise routine and some light reading.  I have switched up the order of these tasks several times to get what feels and flows the best. Because I keep my reading material in my room by my bed I always start with that when I wake up. My early-rising child comes into my room at the crack of dawn of every morning. I don't get out of bed until 7 am so until this time he can either snuggle in my bed with me or he will look at books or do puzzles quietly. At 7, I spend a couple minutes in bed reading. This lets me get some reading time in and allows me to enjoy my cozy bed a moment longer while still accomplishing something I would like to do. I always make the bed right upon getting out which my son usually enjoys helping with because he knows that breakfast is next! We go to the kitchen together to eat and I go to the family room for a brief, but energizing exercise routine. (Post to come on my favorites!) Afterwards is my time to get myself ready. During this time the kids usually have the chance to watch a show of their choice, but sometimes they just play. When I stick to this routine consistently this usually works out really well, and I have 20 minutes or so to just worry about myself! This has been such a rejuvenating time for me--showering alone in peace used to be impossible for me, but now I am rarely interrupted. After I'm all ready or while my hair is drying, I lay out the kids clothes for them to get dressed and we are ready to head out the door or proceed with our day at home.

Taking care of yourself physically and mentally is essential to taking good care of your home and family. I hope you can all find yourself happily rejuvenated and energized with your own morning routines!

The truth about Potty Training

I have now successfully potty trained both of my boys after talking to many other moms and reading a handful of potty training how-to's. I found varying opinions on not pushing your child; wait until they are ready and they will train themselves to a strict here's how you train your child to use the toilet in three days.

The truth about potty training is a combination of both extremes- wait until your child is ready so that they will help motivate themselves, but in reality you do need to actually teach them. Their body is designed such that they have muscles to control their bowel and bladder, but they are not born with the knowledge to utilize those muscles for using the toilet. That is where your teaching comes in.

You need to teach them 3 things:
1. Recognize the sensation of needing to use the bathroom.
2. Control of their muscles to hold and release at the appropriate time
3. That it is better, easier, and more rewarding to be toilet trained-even if that means stopping what you are doing to use the bathroom.

Now how you accomplish those three things is entirely up to you and your child depending on needs and personality differences. The most important thing for your child during this process is MOTIVATION. Potty training is work. It is a huge adjustment from how they are used to operating on a daily basis so they need a reason to actually put in all of that effort. Sticker charts and rewards work great for some kids. Other kids just need your praise and encouragement. Some the motivation to wear big kid underwear or be just like an older sibling.

This is something I really struggled with in training my first child. He simply was not motivated to learn. He didn't care to be like his friends using the potty, he didn't care about wearing underwear, he didn't care too much about the stickers or prizes, and he didn't even care to be clean. He could be sitting in a puddle of pee on my floor and just go right on with whatever he was playing without it bothering him a single bit. The motivation for him then was convenience!

After a year and half long attempt of introducing him to the potty and having no luck at sparking his interest, I was done! I finally wrote it on the calendar and showed him 2 weeks in advance saying, "this is your last day of diapers." Once that day came he was not allowed to wear a diaper again. I encouraged him to practice using the potty for when that day came. (Which he didn't really care to do.) The magical day arrived and I took off his diaper in the morning. We did the common drink a lot of juice and spend most of the day on the potty. He had games he could play, pages to color, and books to read while he sat there. He had some successes just be mere probability of spending most of his day sitting on his throne. Anytime he had an accident, I took him from whatever he was playing and set him in the tub. He had to stay there and wait while I cleaned up the mess on the floor and took his clothes to the laundry. I then completely washed him in the tub and took my time to get him dressed again before he could go back to playing. If he had an accident again, we repeated the process again and I would explain to him that it takes a long time to clean up an accident. Going potty right away is so much faster because then you can go right back to what you are playing. This continued for 5 days with almost no success. We did other things too that you read about to encourage him like sticker charts, and timers for sitting on the potty. I even recorded the times he typically went to make sure he was on the toilet during those times. Finally on the morning of the 6 day. He ran into the bathroom on his own and came out saying, "I went potty!" We still had our share of accidents after that, but he was finally trained!

This leads me to the thing that is most important for parents: PATIENCE. Hang in there. Potty training was the worst stretch of time ever! It is for every parent, and the funny thing I realized after talking to other parents and comparing my own experiences is that regardless of how difficult or easy your child is to train, the experience of potty training is still described the same way. It is really hard, just try to stay home during that time, and there will be a lot of accidents- tons in the first few days and even a lot for the first month. And while my second child's potty training was so much easier because he was actually motivated to learn. He loved earning stickers or "scoring points" as we would call it because he is my sports lover and he wanted to wear underwear. It was still a long difficult process with a lot of accidents.

Just remember, accidents are a crucial part of potty training. It is an opportunity for your child to more outwardly recognize the sensation of going to the bathroom, thus enabling them to learn how to have control over those muscles. Hang in there and be creative in how you motivate them to want to learn and teach themselves!

Tender Teaching Moments

I love my Willow Tree figurines. I have a collection from the different milestones and memories in my life, many of which were gifts from my husband when we were engaged or when our little boy came along. My husband picked this one out for our little boy to give me for Christmas when he was a year old and it brought me to tears. I love the moment this statue captures. This figure reminds me of the countless sacrifices a mother makes for her child, and the greatest thing she gets in return is knowing that she holds the future of that child. She is the one who makes him feel safe, who can provide comfort, and who teaches him life's greatest lessons. Everything she does molds him into who he will become.  
Two years later, it was that same little boy that knocked it off the shelf in a careless accident. I was devastated to see one of my precious figures broken into so many pieces. I was frustrated. Frustrated that he didn't listen after being told repeatedly not to do that in the house, and especially frustrated that I got the consequence of his actions. It would have been easy to blame him and release some of my frustration through a long rant and what he did that was wrong, but I held back. I had a moment to think because I was not in the room when this happened. I overheard and understood the situation; my husband told our little boy he needed to go tell me what had happened. I waited and thought. When my sweet little boy brought my broken figurine in his arms with regret in his eyes, I wasn't angry. Not when I thought of everything that figurine represented to me. That figurine shows the influence a mother has on her son, and I used that moment to teach him. I let him express his apology and I forgave him. I let him know I was disappointed, but that I know he did not mean to break it. "It happened by accident, and we all have many accidents in our lives. Thank you for telling me and trying to make it better." Then I gathered pieces and tried to glue them back together. It took quite an effort to keep them in the right place while the glue dried, but the cracked figure still sits on my shelf. When I look at it I still remember the lesson I taught my son that day, but more importantly the lesson I learned that day.
It is our role as parents to teach our children. We must be consistent in our rules and in our consequences. But I believe we also owe our children a little mercy. Think of all the times you have made a mistake and wronged someone else...especially when that someone else if one of our children. We expect them to forgive us and deal with our imperfections. We can create a stronger bond with our children when we recognize the times they are trying...they are trying to get things right, and we just accept their effort, despite the mistakes that come along with it.

Chocolate Chip Cookies: soft, gooey, and baked to perfection!

These cookies are such a winner. They are a big hit when I bring them to a picnic or other sharing event and they are devoured even faster in my own house. With a light browning on the outside and a soft gooey center, these cookies are perfect. The recipe is great, but technique is everything with these cookies. Follow directions for the ingredients, the proper mixing, and most importantly, the proper baking.

You will need:

• 1/2 cup (8 oz or 1 stick) butter, melted then cooled to room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 1 egg
• 1-1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• approximately 1/2 cup chocolate chips (preferably Hershey's special dark or semisweet)

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes. 

As stated, start by melting the better completely, then let it cool to room temperature so that it is in a very soft solid state. Add that to a stand mixer along with the sugar, and beat with the paddle attachment for 2-3 minutes. Make the sugars and fat a good creamy consistency. 

Add the egg and vanilla, then beat for another 10-15 seconds. Do not over-mix this one. It should be mostly mixed in. Not perfectly, but mostly. Then add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix until it is just barely mixed in.

As soon as the ingredients come together, stop the mixer. For the rest you can use your hand or a rubber scraper. Scrape down and knead the unmixed flour into the dough. Add the chocolate chips and fold them in.  I find a heaping 1/2 cup to be the perfect amount, but you can play around with this a little depending on how many or how few chocolate chips you like. Once incorporated, drop into 1-1/2 " round balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven. I find that 9 minutes works for me every time, but ovens may slightly differ. Start with an 8 minute bake time. If the tops or edges have slight golden tips, then they are done: even if the center looks doughy- it will finish baking while cooling. Do not wait for the entire cookie to be golden; it should have some parts that look un-done. It may take some practice identifying a perfectly baked cookie, but it is definitely worth learning. 😊

Easy and delicious breakfast on the GO

My family loves when we make breakfast sandwiches with eggs, cheese, sausage or bacon, on a biscuit or bagel. Well the night before our early morning road trip I decided to put together something similar that we could grab and go in the morning. These were great. I could fix them up quickly in advance, keep them in the refrigerator, and my family all enjoyed them in the car. 

What you'll need: 

• 1 box with 10 precooked sausage links
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 tube of Pillsbury crescent rolls 

1. Scramble the eggs. Whip with a dollop of sour cream before cooking for a better consistency. Add the cheese while scrambling. Brown the sausage lings and chop. 

2. Lay out each individual crescent roll.

3. Spoon approximately 1/3 of a cup of the sausage and egg filling onto each crescent.

4. Overlap the corners, then tightly roll to enclose the egg and sausage completely.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes until slightly golden. 

Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 week and enjoy at any time!

Accessorizing your Home on a Budget- DIY wood sign

Home decor can add up so quickly especially if you like to change things up occasionally. There are so many great DIY projects that can give you great pieces for your home for little or no cost. I love this one I started with my sister last summer. We just used scrap wood our parents had around the house, but for this project you need a 10"x12" piece of plywood and four cuts of a 1x2 board: two that are 10.5" long and two 8.5" long pieces. Stain all pieces of wood on all sides and allow to dry thoroughly. 

Pick a quote or phrase that inspires you and design it graphically. For a small sign just use 1-2 fonts. Usually matching a serif font with a sanserif font and a simple with a more elaborate font will create more interest and the two fonts will complement each other. Design within a 7"x9" space, leaving an additional 1/4" border without any text. Use the layout of other quotes for inspiration to decide smaller and larger text as well as text placement. You can also use size and font to emphasize the most important part of the quote or phrase.

Print on your desired card stock. (or, if you're brave, freehand letter onto the paper using a fine tip sharpie.) I chose a neutral beige with a linen pattern. Cut down just larger than the opening (8x10"). Using spray adhesive, mount the printed quote centered onto the plywood. Next, properly arrange the 1x2" boards. First board all the way to the left side running along the top, the next running form the top edge down along the right side, the third aligned in the bottom right corner and laying across the bottom, then the last laying from the bottom left corner until it meets the edge of the first board. Secure each piece with wood glue.

Allow to dry completely and display with an easel or mount hardware on the back to hang on the wall.

Enliven your Space

Do you ever find your space feeling a little drab? Maybe you think you need a whole house renovation or maybe you can't pin point anything you particularly don't like, but you also aren't in love with how it looks and feels...The good news is there are a few simple points that can enhance the overall tone and appearance without breaking the bank.

1. Make your space livable
There is nothing like a living plant (or something that mimics a living plant) to actually make your space come alive. Just a single potted plant or vase of flowers brings life into the space and makes for a beautiful accessory. Living plants make a great addition, but must be well kept in order to continue looking nice. If keeping up with the watering and trimming is not your thing, then the good news is you can always find beautiful fakes that look just as fantastic.

2. Shed a little Light on the Subject
Lighting is the single most important element of design. Lighting effects how you see everything else within the space. Your lighting can set the entire mood of the room or space. If you want the room to feel calm, relaxing, and serene use cooler and less direct lighting to wash the walls and accent focal points.  If you like your space to feel warm, cheerful, and lively then let light flood in! Use warm hues with the space fully illuminated. Utilize natural light whenever possible and let let lighting play a significant role in general purpose as well as accenting and accessorizing the space.

3. Connect personally
Every time you walk in the room you should be able to connect to the space emotionally. This happens when you display words or pictures with personal significance. Choose pictures or paintings with people you love or places you are passionate about. Have words or quotes that speak to your soul and reflect your ambitions. Let your space reflect who you are. Even the most simplistic things can leave an impression every time we see it.