The Ice Cube Alarm Clock

One of my biggest concerns about Ethan starting Kindergarten was our morning schedule. I wasn’t worried about getting the kids up in time, I was concerned that my habit of hitting the snooze alarm… repeatedly… for as long as an hour… would make us all late. My solution was the Ice Cube Alarm clock. I told the boys that when they wake up they can get 1 ice cube and use it to get me out of bed. If you’re looking for an effective way to get both your kids and yourself up and moving in the morning, this is it.

On a  typical morning I now wake when I hear footstep hurrying down the stairs.  If that doesn’t bring me out of dreamland, the sound of the ice maker dispensing a cube certainly does.  I then pretend to sleep while I wait for the cube.  Luckily the boys haven’t caught on to the entertainment value of putting the cube down my shirt and usually go for an arm or a foot.  They’re so funny and cute when they do this that I really don’t mind at all and it sures makes them happy to get up.  The only problems we’ve had is that it is now a race to see who will get me first.  I think I will change the rules and tell them they EACH need to get a cube and wake me at the same time.

The only other rules we have is that they have to be quiet (which is easy since they prefer the sneak attack) and they are NOT allowed to do this to mom or their sister.  Their uncle, however,  is fair game whenever he sleeps over.

Snacks are stressing me!

The Parent Bloggers Network and Brothers-All-Natural are teaming up to sponsor a Blog Blast about SNACKS this weekend. With the start of kindergarten and preschool this month I have been trying to think of new snack ideas to send with the kids and I have to say its harder than I anticipated (I am also just worrying about things too much lately!). I want to send them with “healthy” things but also make sure its something they will like and actually be happy about eating. Last week I tried to stock up on some things and while at the store I bought:

• a big bag each of vanilla and chocolate animal crackers from the “healthy lane”
• a box of mixed chips/corn chips/doodles in snack bags
• Batman fruit snacks
• grapes (but they didn’t have organic ones)
• kiwi (Ethan took them cut up on Friday to school but “a spider landed on them so I only ate 3 pieces”
• yogurt covered raisins
• baby Goldfish
• waffle shaped pretzels
• cheese sticks
• unsweetened apple sauce cups
• apples (again didn’t get organic, can’t wait until they are in season)
• baby carrots

I think I did pretty well but Ethan needs to pack a separate snack and then a lunch so I need to really send him with 2 “snacks” every day and after only 2 days of school I am starting to fear he is going to get sick of what I’m giving him! I just worry right now, he is my first baby starting real school and I’m 32 weeks pregnant and emotional, so yes its silly but snacks are adding some extra stress. Here is a confession to clue you into how nuts I can be: the night before his first day of school I actually hand picked only the unbroken animal crackers and placed them in the little snack cup so that the right sides were all facing up (somehow that made me feel better at that moment even though I know it was silly)! That first day I also sent him with 3 little balls of cookie dough but I had put them in a bag and they got gross and squished by his water bottle so he couldn’t eat them (luckily I had more to give him when he got home and then I froze some to send the next day in a lidded container).

I know I’ll need lots more snack ideas so I’m happy to learn about Brothers-All-Natural from this blog blast and will look for them in the store next time. I love finding new healthier options and our stores “healthy lane” is actually more like 4 lanes so I am pretty lucky. The Brothers-All-Natural Fruit Crisps and their brand-new Potato Crisps are 100 percent natural freeze-dried snacks with no added sugar or preservatives - for a fresh new way to eat your fruits and vegetables! This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as an entry for a contest sponsored by Brothers-All-Natural.

Going out to eat just got harder but we still do it!

I haven’t done a Blog Blast in awhile so I decided to join the Parent Bloggers Network and Burger King for their current Blog Blast: Are you THAT Family? They are looking for people’s “dinner out with the kids” horror stories: “tell us what you do now to avoid the food on the walls, juice on the table, and sanity gone totally out the window. Do you just not go out with them anymore? Do you bring a babysitter? Or do you stash some sort of magic toy that occupies them while you scarf down your meal?”

When our first son Ethan was born I started taking him out for lunch a lot and John and I never hesitated to bring him along when we’d go out for dinner. We were lucky and he was just SUPER good going out to eat. Our lucky streak continued after Ben was born and both boys still were great in restaurants. I was very proud of myself and thought we’d always be able to take the kids wherever we felt like to eat BUT then Jamie was born. At first all was still smooth sailing but then somewhere over the last year things started to get harder. Jamie is not quite as easy as the boys were and as a new 2 year old she is sort of hit or miss when we go out. I don’t think she is so terrible out to eat actually, its more just the combo of 3 kids that makes it much more challenging (and the boys aren’t as easy as they once were either). The more kids, the more chance of somebody getting the cranks! We’re not the family that everyone stares at because the kids are so terrible (at least we haven’t been yet!) but its like we’re on high alert sometimes trying to head off any trouble. Its not quite as enjoyable as in the past to go out as a family now and I definitely think we go out less but I think its important to keep going out and if we plan right ahead of time things work out well. I think when we have 4 kids things will be about the same but who knows!

I never was one to bring a big stash of diversions but those work for some families. I find one toy per kid and small snacks help bridge the gap between ordering and eating and I see nothing wrong with a few lollipops tucked away for emergencies! To me the biggest thing is to go out when all the nappers in the family had a good nap that day and to avoid crowded restaurants so there is no extra waiting. Its also important not to stress out! I mean what is the worst thing that can happen if the kids misbehave, you leave early? One of us has taken Jamie out to the car to leave a few minutes early while everyone else finished up and payed and it easily avoided her throwing a fit (but that has only happened twice so far).

So the whole point of this blog blast was to share your eating out horror stories but I didn’t do that since we have had no totally horrible behavior problems at a restaurant so far. We have had a whopping 3 incidents of d-word diaper leaking while out to eat since we’ve had kids, one pee accident and a minor choking/throwing up event but honestly those didn’t come to mind until just now since I was more thinking of misbehaving! Those gross moments weren’t so fun but they didn’t really ruin things either somehow (or not in my memory anyway)! So after doing this blog blast I am thinking we had better go out to eat very soon, I’m kind of craving IHop or maybe Japanese!

*If your family likes Burger King, they have new promotional kids’ meal toys by Crayola - perfect for boys or girls, and definitely worth tucking into your bag before heading out to eat.

YUM YUM… JUICE!

Today I’m writing about BREAKFAST and our morning routine for the Parent Bloggers Network as part of a contest sponsored by KRAFT BAGEL-FULS. I’m not really a morning person and so my best bet is to get as much stuff ready the night before as possible so that we can avoid being late when its a day we need to go somewhere. Breakfast and getting all of the kids dressed obviously can’t happen the night before though so those things can throw me off schedule!

Our 3 &5 yr old boys never started the day starving (once they graduated the infant stage) and there have been plenty of mornings that I’ve had to leave the house and bring them something to eat in the car because they were too busy playing to sit down and eat before we left. I used to think that was a pain because I worried that they would get hungry when there was no food handy BUT now I wish that 23 month old Jamie had followed her brothers’ lead. Jamie wakes up and yells “yum yum” until I get her something to eat (usually an oatmeal bar to stop the screaming) and then just as I hand her the food she starts demanding “juice, juice juice”. Sometimes I make her very upset and actually take my pregnant bladder into the bathroom first thing after she wakes me up but most mornings I hold off and give her something first. When the boys get around to eating its usually “Daddy’s cereal” AKA: Honey Bunches of Oats (Ethan eats it dry and Ben has rice milk in his). Its summer so we aren’t usually in a rush to get anywhere so I’ve made pancakes twice this past week. Come Sept I think I better start baking healthy muffins to feed all 3 kids in the car though! Then when I have the 4th baby in Oct I’m not so sure how we’ll function and get to school on time in the mornings? Maybe the kids will have to sleep in their clean clothes and I’ll install a fridge in the car!

Cell Phone Flashlight

A few weeks ago we had a power outage in the middle of the night.  I woke up when I heard Ben crying and making his way down the stairs.  After stubbing my toes a few times I met him at the bottom of the stairs and carried him over to our bed.  Curious as to what time it was, I made my way to the kitchen and found my cell phone in the basket where I keep my keys.  When I flipped it open I was blinded by the light on the display.  That was when inspiration it…my cell phone makes a good flashlight!  I used it to find my way back to bed, hitting a button whenever the screen dimmed.

Next time your lights go out, instead of fishing blindly in the junk drawer for your flashlight, grab your cell phone.  It will provide a nice combination of light, time, and, of course, a phone.

What is a mom?

This weekend’s blog blast is about what makes a mom. With Mother’s Day approaching the Parent Bloggers Network is teaming up this time with Microsoft and its “Portraits of Mom” campaign that runs from April 19-May 11, 2008. I wasn’t going to participate this week because being a mom is so important and special and hard to sum up (for me at least) but I am giving it a quick go last minute.

Lets assume we’re talking about what makes a GOOD mom, I think I’m a pretty good mom (super mom at times and not so great at other times). A mom is a woman who happens to have kids and does her best to see that they grow up loved, safe, happy, and healthy. She puts her kids first but doesn’t let the world revolve around them. Depending on the moment a mom is fun, cheerful, grumpy, patient, or any mood regular people have but despite that a mom always makes sure her kids know they are loved no matter how she is feeling.

Right now I am a pregnant with my fourth baby and I love being a mom. I love the stage of motherhood I’m in with 3 of my kids still little and the anticipation of meeting this new baby I’m growing. The brand new baby stage is amazing and since we want to stop at 4 kids I’ll want it to go by slowly with this last baby. Of course it won’t though, my oldest is 5 1/2 and I don’t know how that happened so fast. A woman learns along the way how to be a mom and I’m not looking forward to the stage where I learn to let go and my kids don’t need me much. Maybe by then I’ll be prepared and it will come naturally but right now what comes naturally is holding onto them and loving them and making sure they are enjoying their childhood.

I LOVE our Divided Plates from Target!

I love finding something that makes my job as a mom easier and these plates are one of those things! They come in a bunch of different designs and colors (we have this red monkey one, a sports bear one, dinos and purple girly monkeys). They also stack nicely in the cabinet and have weathered the bottom rack of the dishwasher well. What is the best is that they get me to offer my kids more fruits and veggies because I feel its my mission to put something in each compartment! I bought them so I could separate the kids carrots and dip or keep peas from rolling into their mac&cheese but I hadn’t realized they’d change what I offer the kids. Of course there is nothing green on the plate above and olives, grapes, oranges, mashed potatoes (which all 3 kids HATE) and ham (which only one hates) is a weird combo but I’m a work in progress!

MY truth about motherhood

The Discovery Channel and the Parent Bloggers Network are partnering in a blog blast on womens’ truths about motherhood. This is inspired by The Discovery Channel’s new docu-drama “Deliver Me” which follows three women - best friends, working mothers and physicians - as they balance delivering babies together in their OB/GYN practice with their lives outside the delivery room.This is my first time participating in a blog blast and its been something I’ve been meaning to do. Here is what we all are all asked to share this weekend “We want to hear your truth: What is it about pregnancy, parenting, and motherhood in general that only a girlfriend will tell you? Tell us what you wished you knew before becoming a mom.”

What I wish I knew about pregnancy: That something I so desperately wanted would immediately turn into something I couldn’t wait to get over with. This was the case with EVERY pregnancy I’ve had (and I’m brewing baby #4 right now). I make amazing babies but I don’t enjoy being pregnant. I feel like a bad mom when I’m pregnant because I am tired and sick and don’t have nearly as much patience.

What I wish I knew about labor/delivery: That being induced does not always mean you will go into labor and get a baby right away (in my case it took 2 weeks). Sometimes you can push and push and a baby just won’t come out (especially when you have a baby thats 10lbs and 4oz). After 3 of them, I am a pro at recovering from c-sections now!

What I wish I knew about being a mom: Well, I knew a lot ahead of time because I helped my mom with my little brothers (I was 16 when I became a sister so it was good practice). I guess I wish I knew in advance how much breastfeeding would help me, it made things so easy with all of my kids and I have super happy babies! I do wish I knew in advance that each time the first 2 weeks of breastfeeding is difficult and painful and after that it is effortless and enjoyable. Oh and what I really wish I knew after I had my first baby is that it takes me 3 months after having a baby to get into a rhythm and feel like I have everything under control. With each baby I have noticed a BIG change in myself by the time my baby is three months. Not that I am miserable or a bad mom before that but there is something magical at that 3 month point for me where I think “YES! I can do this and I love my life”.

Easy gluing for kids

Grandma Penguin got the boys each a little wood kit and last night we decided to put them together. The kits contained about a dozen wood pieces that you glue together and then can paint. Last night was the gluing stage and tonight will be painting.

I was a little unsure of the best way for the kids to apply the glue when I remembered a tip from a woodworking show - use a paintbrush! Each kit came with a cheapo brush so I set them to work ‘painting’ the glue onto the appropriate surface and sticking them together. Worked great and we had a lot of fun.

Solution for faulty diapers

ParentHacks has the answer for what to do when you have a faulty diaper.

If the tab breaks as you’re trying to put a disposable diaper on your squirmy little one (and isn’t it always when you’re in a hurry?), there’s still hope!  Go ahead and fasten the tab on the other side.  Now put on a second diaper right over the top of that one - intact tabs holding both securely.  When it’s time for a change, remove the broken-tabbed inner diaper, and refasten the former outer diaper securely.  Voila! 

Link

Obvious solution, yet it never occurred to me.  Tips like these are what I love about ParentHacks.

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