Continue reading »]]> Three and a half years ago I faced that dreaded day after 8+ weeks at home with the Boy when I had to pack him up, drive him to daycare and leave him with “strangers” while I went back to work.  I knew it was going to be hard but I had no idea just how hard; physically, mentally and emotionally.

Like most Americans we can’t comfortably or responsibly live on one income.  We have bills to pay and don’t want to scrape by, and most importantly we want to be able to help him pay for college and build a savings for our future.    So back I went, but not without hesitation.

If you are a new mommy and have to return to the work place, you like myself and many others that have gone before you may do one or more of the following beforehand:

1. Put together a “Business Case” to present to your spouse/significant other on how you can afford to live on one income
2. Spend every single moment staring into your child’s face
3. Worrying if the providers will take good care of him
4. Wondering how you will get into a new routine
5. All of the above and more

Dude and I really had no idea what to expect or where to start in trying to figure out a new routine so we just went with the flow the first couple of weeks.  Once we started to see what was working we kept at it until one day we realized we were in a full blown routine!  It may seem difficult and overwhelming at first but don’t get discouraged, it gets easier.

Here are some things that we figured out that were a huge help.  Some of these ideas may work for your family and some may not, but the intention of this post is to try and make the transition a little easier.

If your child will be cared for outside of the home, check with your child care provider to see if you can bring the “necessities” in and set up their cubbie ahead of time.  Most centers will allow you to bring diapers, wipes, extra clothes, personal care items (diaper cream, sunscreen etc.) in a few days ahead of time so that your child will be ready from jump.  Your center should give you a list of things they should have; if not use this article as a guide.  Making sure your little one has all they need for the day will ease your mind a little more.

As you prepare yourself for the return, it’s best to get ready the night before.  It can make the morning a little easier.  While you are going to be tired after working all day and want to do nothing else but spend the entire night in a chair snuggling your baby; put them down in their crib at a reasonable hour and do some of the following:

• Shower
• Iron the next days or even weeks worth of work clothes
• Lay out baby clothes
• Pack the daycare bag if necessary
• Pack lunches and set the coffee maker
• Make bottles (as baby gets older pack up their baby food)
• Prep the following nights dinner if possible

Plus the usual laundry, cleaning, dishes.

Believe me, you will be tired, but doing these few extra things while the baby is asleep can make a world of difference in the morning.  I made the mistake of falling asleep plenty of nights with the Boy snuggled into me; and despite Dude’s greatest efforts he was not prying us out of that chair until I had my fill.

If you do find that you just don’t have it in  you to do any of these things the night before it’s OK.  You can get yourself up a little earlier and get yourself ready before baby wakes up (hopefully).  However, be sure you anticipate those unexpected surprises which amongst others can come in the form of being pooped on or spit up on.  My friend Marsh-A always laughed because she knew what kind of morning I had depending if I had boogers or food down my back.

Be sure to also divvy up the tasks with your significant other; don’t take it all on yourself.  Yes, you have had 8+ weeks off, but returning to work is very stressful for a woman; be sensitive to your own needs.

We also found that having Dude take all my bags and even my purse out to my vehicle before he left was a huge help.  I know it sounds like a little thing, but believe me, it’s a huge help. It’s less you have to remember to take and much less to carry.  I vividly remember one of the first days of going back to work and I was already running late because of one of those little unexpected surprises; I grabbed my purse and the Boys bag and ran out the door.  I got halfway to the car and realized I had left him in the house!  Mind you he was safely buckled in his car seat on the floor; but it was a horrible feeling!  After that, Dude’s responsibility was to take everything out for me before he left.  The Boy was the only thing I had to remember to take with me in the morning from then on.

For the first few days you may also want to give yourself a little extra time at drop off.  You may be thinking to yourself that you will be brave, but most Moms become a red faced sobbing mess; and that’s OK.  If you have to cry; cry – you are not the first Mommy to do it and you won’t be the last.  Don’t worry about what the caregivers think, they have either been there or seen it hundreds of times.  Just give yourself some time to go in, unpack them and even sit with them for a few minutes before you head for work if you need to.   I remember crying the entire way to daycare the first few days back; going to see him at lunch and then some days I even cried the entire way back to pick him up after work because I was so happy to see him!   (I am also an emotional basket case at times, but that’s beside the point!)

Most importantly, cut yourself some slack if things go wrong or you experience working mommy guilt.  You are already proving to be a great Mom by worrying about all the “what-ifs”; your baby will remember you, and really will be OK while you are away.  If they cry when you leave, don’t worry; in five minutes they will be just fine.  I promise.

Celebrate your ability to handle multiple situations and realize that your providing your child with a strong, positive role model and that is something to be proud of!

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Continue reading »]]> Gaven Michael Weyers was happily welcomed into this world on May 18, 2011 by his Mommy Brenda and Daddy Mike.  Gaven, who is the Weyers second child, also has a beautiful, high spirited two year old big sister named Payton who live together in Ontario, Canada.

Mike is a crane mechanic who works tirelessly to provide for his family, Brenda, a loving Mom taking care of her family and home.  Their family photos show smiles and good times together; all that you would expect from a young traditional family.  However, Gaven and his family have been confronted with a battle that they are tackling like they do everything else – together, with the help of all who love them, and their faith in god; one day at a time.

This is the story of Gaven and what I call The Beast.

In December 2011 after a fun-filled swimming outing, Gaven vomited.  Over the next few days he continued to throw up at the most twice a day.  At the advice of their family doctor, they visited a specialist in Grimsby Ontario and from there went on to McMaster Children’s Hospital.  Their initial opinion was an intestinal issue sending him home with medications; but with a warning to return if he threw up again.  The next day, Gaven vomited again and the family returned to McMaster; where after numerous tests, his family was delivered the devastating news.  Through a CT scan, 7 month old Gaven was diagnosed with a tumor on the back on his brain on the brain stem.  He was immediately prepped for surgery to reduce the fluid and pressure on his brain; and 24 hours later, December 8^th, neurosurgeons spent 5 hours successfully removing the tumor from his brain.  His family was cautiously optimistic; obviously hoping for good news, but bracing for the worst.

A week after the surgery, doctors confirmed what the family hoped would not be true, and that the tumor was in fact cancerous.  As the family was still coping with the initial diagnosis, Brenda and Mike suffered another debilitating blow just seven days later; the tumor was identified as Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (AT/RT), a very rare and extremely malignant form of childhood brain cancer.  AT/RT occurs most commonly in children younger than 2 and can be found anywhere in the brain.  The tumors tend to be aggressive and frequently spread through the nervous system.

Mom says “We wept, we cried, we were overcome with fear.  But we are standing strong and committed to helping Gaven through this fight for his life.”

The doctors, comfortable with his recovery; sent Gaven home just days before Christmas where the family celebrated Christmas and rang in the New Year together; savoring every moment.  However in the quiet moments, Brenda and Mike prepared for the battle ahead.

In early January Gaven started with aggressive chemotherapy at McMaster Sick Kids Hospital in Hamilton.  Three rounds, with each round of chemo lasting three days; this therapy is the strongest dose they can give a child his age.  From there, with a positive diagnosis of no new tumors or spread of cancer, Gaven moved forward to Stem Cell Treatment at Toronto Sick Kids Hospital.  Stem Cell Treatment or Transplant is also known as Bone marrow transplantation.  The goal of stem cell transplant is to transfuse healthy bone marrow cells into a child after his unhealthy bone marrow has been eliminated.   The use of stem cell transplantation allows children with aggressive cancers, such as AT/RT, to receive higher doses of chemotherapy.

Gaven received a clear MRI in March; and is currently in his second round of chemo; this is round 5 of six.  When he completes the last round, the family will work with his team of doctors to put together a plan of action which will include heart, growth, hearing and vision testing during the next 2 -5 years.  The long term effects of exceedingly high doses of chemo on a child his size is unknown.

For now, the family is taking things one day at a time.  In Brenda’s own words; “I use my faith a lot to help get through this. I feel like God is leading me through this.  I trust that this happened for reason and although I may not l know or understand why; I am stronger and now have a purpose and desire to help and change pediatric cancer for the better.”

“He has come a long way and is exceeding everyone’s expectations and defying all the odds.  He is my hero.”

This remarkably brave child who will joyously celebrate his 1^st birthday next Friday, the 18^th, has endured so much in such a short time.  He continues to beat the odds, but still spends too many of his days in and out of hospital rooms.  The staff makes visits from big sister Payton a reality, which helps keeps Gavens spirits up, but from the words of Mom; “He wants nothing more to be at home permanently, playing and watching his sister dance.”

This is what everyone who knows him wants for Gaven; and for now he is keeping that beast at bay and we are rooting him on to beat the cancer once and for all.

For more information on AT/RT please visit:  http://www.cureatrt.org/

If you would like to help Gaven and his family:

The Weyers state that care packages and/or cards can be sent directly to the Ronald McDonald House in Toronto, the information is as follows:

Ronald McDonald House Toronto
Attention: Mike and Brenda Weyers, Room 231
240 McCaul Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1W5

GAVEN MIRACLE Bracelets are also available, can be purchased by emailing melissa_leblanc13@hotmail.com (can also do through paypal)

A Trust Fund has also been set up in Gaven’s name.  GAVEN WEYERS TRUST FUND – CIBC – Transit No: 03372 Account No 75-82986

Donations can also be made to The American Cancer Society – https://www.cancer.org/involved/donate/donateonlinenow/index?gclid=CJ6R8afJ-K8CFUZN4AodayxoGg

Continue reading »]]> Every morning when I leave daycare, I stand on the sidewalk outside his room and the Boy and I make funny faces at each other; some days there even are five to six little googly faces staring and laughing back at me but not today.

The weekend was so wonderful.  Both days I got up before Dude and the Boy and sat on the couch drinking coffee and flipping through my stack of unread  magazines.  We spent the afternoons at the park, taking bike rides and running around Grandma and Grandpa’s backyard playing ball.  We sang songs and laughed and smiled until our faces hurt.

When it came to wrapping up the weekend, in spite of our best efforts getting him to bed on time was a giant failure.  He was too wound up to calm down and spent a good half hour after we actually got him into bed calling for water, band-aids and demands that I put his favorite stuffed dog in his pajamas.

That’s why I was surprised that despite how completely exhausted he was after our fun filled weekend, he woke up relatively happy; and despite a minor grumble over what I made him for breakfast he sat watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

I am admitting up front that last night I failed to get myself ready for work, nor did I pack his daycare bag for the week; instead I stayed up playing Words With Friends.  Add my getting up late this morning to the mix I was a tornado blowing through each room leaving a mess in my wake.  Never once did I sit with him as I usually do, giving us our morning together time.  Instead I barged into the family room at 8:00am barked it was time to go and shut off the t.v.

Not only was he not dressed he hadn’t finished his breakfast; so as he attempted to shove the last few bites of his waffle into his mouth I was pulling clothes off and on over his head and shoving shoes onto his feet all the while grumbling at him that because he hadn’t eaten his breakfast I was going to be late for work.

As we hurried out the door I noticed tears were slowly running down his face but I kept moving, I buckled him in and away we went.

When we got to daycare I squatted down to quickly take off his coat and he threw his arms around my shoulders, squeezing me so tight it hurt.  I hugged him back, squeezing my eyes shut tight to keep the tears from streaming down my face.  I pulled him back, wiped his cheeks, told him I loved him and that I was sorry.

As I stepped outside  onto the sidewalk hoping to see that sweet goofy face as I always do, the reality of my words set in as I saw his sad face buried in his teachers shoulders.   I am going to be late for work because you didn’t eat your breakfast in time….the words rang in my ears.  I realized at that moment that the tone for the day had already been set before it even started – and none of it was his fault.   It was mine.

There was no holding back the tears as I drove away.

I called daycare a few hours later and they said he was running and giggling with his “honeybunny” and having a great morning.  Me, I am still dragging my guilt around – I  need to remember that even the best mommies make mistakes.

I need to learn from this and get it together – that way I can keep it together

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Continue reading »]]> When I picked up the boy yesterday I noticed a yellow highlighted paragraph on his daily note.  Yes, I said paragraph; it was an incident report.  Not a “he got a boo-boo” incident report, those are on a separate piece of paper; this one indicated a bad choice was made.

Gulp.

Here is the condensed version:  While waiting on the potty bench my son wanted the book his friend was reading.  Instead of waiting his turn when the child said no, he slapped him in the face.

As I am whenever anything like this happens, I was mortified.  I fully realize they are still at times incapable of expressing themselves but the thought of my child slapping another just upsets me so much.

I gathered the things out of his cubby and went over to him as he played in the corner.  I squatted down to his level, took his hand and said “I heard you made a bad choice today”.  He looked down and quietly said “yes, I slapped my friend”.   I lifted his chin so he could look at me and reminded him that we don’t hit our friends, hands are for holding, not hitting.

On the car ride home,  I caught a glance of him in the rear view mirror and he looked so sad.  I said to him; “I won’t tell your Daddy about this if you promise me that you will always remember that we don’t hit our friends”.

From the back seat I heard:

And we don’t slap our friends, or punch or friends or kick our friends or push our friends.  One of my friends pushed me.

Me:  That’s awful, if that happens again, you tell them to stop and you go and tell someone.

Him:  Right!  A teacher!  And Momma, we don’t hit our friends and we DON’T throw their T.V’s out the window because then they wouldn’t be able to watch Jake; Mom, can I watch Jake when we get home?

Hmmmm…..he understands the lesson right?

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Continue reading »]]>

There are times when it’s 3am and I once again hear the sobbing call “I want my Mommy” because of what I can only assume is the hundredth nightmare he’s had during the night that I wish I could just get some sleep already. But then I stumble down the hall in the dark, and go into his room, only to find him uncovered, sometimes at the wrong side of the bed, whimpering quietly in his sleep. It’s then that I realize how fortunate I am. Fortunate to have this beautiful child that is so dependent on me to keep him safe and secure; to chase away the monsters and tuck him in safe and sound once more; this little part of me needs ME.

This same little part of me that with every passing day grows farther and farther away from being a toddler and even farther from infancy; is becoming a little boy. A little boy who just the other night heard the neighbor boys outside and jumped off the couch and said “I want to go outside and play with the kids! And despite my telling him that they are a little older and play a bit rougher than him, he looked at me and said “Mom, I’ll be OK”. Not Momma, as he has always called me; but MOM. The big kid way of addressing me; and despite being a bit taken back by his sudden independence I had to stop and realize that this is a good thing, it means I am raising a confident, outgoing child!

On days just like today when I am trying to get to work on time and he decides that despite him being more than capable of doing it himself that I have to carry him;  it’s days like this that I get annoyed and snap at him to “just walk”.  It’s at these moments that I have to stop and realize that there will come a day in the not so distant future that my carrying him will not be an option and I should embrace his snuggling tightly into me as I make our way out the door, bags in hand.

And I am fully aware that he is still only three and not thirty-three, but as I sit and type, my internal photo album flashes back to images of his first days of life when I was suffering from post-partum depression and couldn’t even stand to hold him; to becoming more comfortable with being a Mom, melting at his first smile and cheering his first steps; the images go on and on; and with each day that passes another page fills with gorgeous memories; and I know the best is yet to come.

For you the reader, the Momma to be, cherish every moment; fill your own memory book with all of the moments that you will experience.  Yes, even the bad; and I can honestly say, they are not even bad, they are just new and new is sometimes a little scary.  Remember, being a parent is a learning process for both of you; you as the parent, and most importantly your child.  You are there to love, support, teach and guide that precious child through this wonderful life you created for them so that someday they too can have their own book of beautiful memories.

Memories of them and you.

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Postcard pictures taken by A Thousand Words Photography, Angola NY

Continue reading »]]> I was having a conversation with my friend Marsh-a the other night that ten years ago I would have never imagined we’d be having.

You see, Marsh-a and I have been friends forever; and if our past “adventures” would dictate our futures, clean living would not have been a part of it.   And by “clean living” I mean healthy food, my statement is in no way insinuating we lived a “dirty” lifestyle.

That’s our story anyway.

We were talking about childhood obesity and how out of control it is; the life long effects that it creates in the form of diabetes and high blood pressure, and how if you start teaching your kids  a healthy lifestyle from the time they can eat it will help mold their future eating habits.

However, Marsh-a is concerned about her eight year old step-daughters eating habits; she is trying to without her knowing, help balance her current diet which is at times less than healthy but isn’t sure how she can given that she has been set in a routine for so long.

I had mentioned to Marsh-a to keep only healthy snack options in the house; if you don’t have cookies in the house she won’t have any choice but to eat the healthy options.   Kids will eat what you give them if they are hungry enough; they may resist at first, but they will eat eventually.

I am by no means a nutrition expert; nor do I claim to be, but I had kept cookies, candy and chips in the house the first year of the Boys life; but after beginning my weight loss journey a year and a half ago, the food we kept in the cupboards changed; dramatically.  Out went the cookies, candies and chips and in came the fruit, veggies and healthy baked goods.  Now that we have made the transition to a healthy lifestyle he doesn’t know any different.   He asks for carrots and humus or strawberries for snacks.

So, what healthy options can Marsh-a offer her step-kids?

Healthy Snack Ideas

• Chopped raw vegetables
• Celery or apples with peanut or hazelnut butter and raisins
• Breadsticks or pita chips with hummus
• Toasted whole grain breads or crackers with fruit spread or nut butters
• Graham crackers or gingersnaps dipped in applesauce
• Mini rice cakes with peanut or hazelnut butter
• Fresh fruits
• Dried fruits, especially raisins
• Frozen bananas blended with a little non-dairy milk
• Fat free Cheese stick
• Homemade clean muffins or cornbread

Healthy Lunch Ideas

• Clean eating Chicken Nuggets
• Peanut Butter Pinwheels 
• Tuna Fish sandwiches (you could even add lettuce and tomato)
• Fruit Tacos
• Good old peanut butter and jelly
• Turkey burgers on wheat rolls with mustard
• Organic beef hot dog
• Egg salad sandwiches prepared with lite mayo or plain yogurt
• Mini english muffin pizzas; use multigrain muffins and low fat cheese

Serve these with some of the snack options above, and make all sandwiches with multi-grain bread.  If you are feeling creative you can use cookie cutters and make the sandwiches into fun shapes!

If you worry that your child is a “picky eater” and won’t like these options; just ask them to take a few bites; don’t assume that because it’s different they won’t like it.  They just might surprise you!

Sources:

http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/healthy-snacks-for-kids; http://blog.superhealthykids.com/

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Continue reading »]]> I found a really easy recipe for homemade chicken nuggets that are not only good for your family but really delicious.

I made them last night and to be honest, I was nervous because as you know, those fast food nuggets are little golden nuggets of crack to kids; plus I served them with homemade sweet potato fries instead of standard white potato fries; add that to the fact that they didn’t look anything like the fast food ones and didn’t come in a box with a toy I naturally assumed in typical three year old fashion a meltdown was coming.

But it didn’t!  He ate them!  He ate all of them!

Even Dude ate them!  He ate all of them!

Make them!  Make them!

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb.)
• 1 cup whole-wheat panko or clean eating breadcrumbs (I used  multigrain bread crumbs)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten (preferably farm fresh eggs)
• Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut chicken breast into 2-inch pieces.  Spread the panko/clean eating breadcrumbs on a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake approximately 7 minutes.  Put the baked crumbs in a shallow dish and add Parmesan and 1/2 tsp. sea salt.  Drizzle with the olive oil and stir until combined.
3. Place flour and eggs in separate shallow dishes.
4. Increase oven to 450 degrees.
5. Place a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet.  Lightly coat the wire rack with cooking spray.
6. A few pieces at a time, coat the chicken in flour, (shake off excess flour), dip in egg, and then coat with panko/clean eating breadcrumbs.  Press a bit to make sure the crumbs stick.
7. Place the chicken nuggets on the rack and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Flip halfway through bake time.

HINT:  I cooked the cubes of chicken in a frying pan with olive oil until almost cooked all the way through; then I put them in the oven for 15  minutes to crisp up the breading.  I also only cooked the breadcrumbs 3 minutes (I did 7 originally but they ended up burning)

Oh and if you want to  make the sweet potato fries here is that recipe too:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb sweet potatoes (about 3 medium)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. In a small bowl, combine rosemary and olive oil; set aside.
2. Scrub potatoes and remove any blemishes. Cut each potato lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices. Stacking 2 slices together, cut each into 1/2-inch strips.
3. In a large bowl, toss potato strips with rosemary mixture until evenly coated. Spread potatoes on a large parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, flipping potatoes over halfway through baking time, until lightly browned. Remove from oven, sprinkle with salt and serve warm.

HINT:  I cooked the sliced potatoes under a wet paper towel for 10 minutes in the microwave; I then put them in the oven at 425 for 20 minutes to save time.

SOURCES: http://cleaneatingclub.com/clean-eating-recipes/dinner/clean-eating-chicken-nuggets/

http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/Recipes/Recipe/Quick-Sweet-Potato-Fries.aspx

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Continue reading »]]> If you arrived here via my Facebook page, you know I asked you what these were.

You guessed gummy candies right?  Well, if you did you are wrong.

Pills vs Candy – can you tell the difference?  If you thought the picture of gummy vitamins above was candy, so would your child.

I was going to talk about something completely different today; but the two instances where this topic was brought to my attention in the past two days was reason enough skip discussing ridiculous fashion.

On Saturday, the the Boy was playing in the living room while I did the dishes.  I suddenly heard him yell “OOH!  Candy!”  Knowing there was no candy in the living room I peeked out of the kitchen and saw him in the bathroom feverishly trying to get a clear sleeve of pink tablets open.

When I went in I realized it was obviously not candy, but Pepto Bismol tablets.  He had found a loose package that had been shoved into the back of the drawer; one that obviously fallen out of the box when I was ridding the drawer of medicines.  He had gone in to get his toy cow a band-aid and had stumbled on them.

Then just this morning when catching up on Facebook page updates I came across one from Red Tricycle (www.redtri.com); it spoke of the dangers of accidental drug overdoses in children and gave a challenge to see if you could tell the difference between pills and candy.  The post guided me to http://www.pillsvscandy.org/

So I took the test; and while I did pass, I will be honest, there were a couple of them that really had me unsure, which scared the heck out of me.

Take the test – it is eye opening.  It will have you double checking that your medications are safely out of reach from little hands and mouths.

If the Pepto incident didn’t have me already double checking, this test surely would have.

http://www.pillsvscandy.org/

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Continue reading »]]> A few days ago while putting the Boy to bed I noticed he seemed a bit more cuddly than usual; I asked him if he was O.K., not expecting anything to be wrong; he’s three, what could possibly be wrong?

He looked at me and said “Momma, am I stupid?”.  I was dumfounded.  I looked him square in the eyes and asked him what would make him ask me that; to which he replied that one of the kids at school told him he was stupid.

As you can imagine, this left me feeling like this inside -

However, I point blank told him, he was in fact not stupid, but extremely smart; I ran off a list of things that he can already do that I as his mother find well beyond his years (but I am biased).

I also told him if it happened again to walk away and tell one of the teachers.  I really wanted to tell him to tell this kid they were stupid as well, but again,that was mad monkey momma talking; not the level headed person I have to be.  They are children and either learn what they see/hear and don’t understand the effect words have on others.

So, a couple minutes and lots of snuggles later I went downstairs and told Dude what had happened.  I asked him to go upstairs and say goodnight again and just feel out his mood.  Well, the same thing happened to him.

Instead of Dude rattling off the “Why you are smart” list, he said:

“Next time that kid tells you that you are stupid, you look them in the eyes and say”:

“That’s erroneous”

Nick obviously looked at him puzzled and said “what’s erroneous?”; to which Dude replied:

“he’s wrong”.

While I find the concept of the Boy completely confusing the crap out of this child by throwing out “erroneous”; I don’t think it will solve the problem; so the next morning when I was ready to leave his daycare I squatted down and whispered in his ear “Remember, you are smart”.

Well, low and behold, when he came home later that day he said “That kid told me I wasn’t smart again today”.

I asked him what he did and he told me “I told them I AM smart!”

I was so proud of my little boy that he stood up for himself, but I hate so much that this is even an issue at this point in his life.

So Dude and I have spoke to the director and have been purposely looking for opportunities to work into conversation how smart he is to boost his confidence, but it breaks my heart that at such a young age his feelings could be hurt so bad.

And so it begins…

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Continue reading »]]> Today I am giving Mrs. C. the floor.

She is all about spring cleaning and would like to share some of her helpful cleaning tips!

I do realize that I announced my breakup with Pinterest on Monday and this entry could be  misconstrued as something you would see there, however I would like to state that these ideas require no additional money or time to be spent; they are done using items you already have in your home and they are meant to make your weekly or deep spring cleaning faster!

So, without further ado….

I’m a little dustpan, short and stout…

Do you wash your floors using a mop and bucket? Place your dustpan in the sink and allow the handle to double as a spout. No lifting a heavy bucket ever again!

Cords got your brain in a knot?

Use old bread clips to label each plug!

Dirty Dishwasher? Clean it up!

To clean the inside of your dishwasher, fill the detergent cups with whichever one of these four products you have on hand: ½ cup white vinegar or a few tablespoons of powdered laundry bleach, Tang or lemon-flavored Kool-Aid (lemon is the only flavor that works). Then run the empty machine through a complete cycle.

Top to Bottom

Be sure when cleaning a whole room to do it from top to bottom. Ceiling fan first, then tables; let all the dust settle to the floor, then make vacuuming your last step!

Speaking of ceiling fans

Use a pillow case to clean the fan blades; slip it over the blade and wipe! (source: domesticopathy.com)

Grimy Microwave

Fill a bowl with water and then squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon into it. Microwave the lemon water on high for 10 minutes and then wipe it out. The steam from the water will loosen the grime in your microwave and the lemon juice will leave it smelling nice and fresh! (source: orgjunkie.com)

Streak-Free Windows

Most of us want to get outside on a warm sunny day and clean the windows; well resist!  Do it on a cloudy day; that way the cleaning solution won’t dry as fast which creates the streaks  (source: bgh.com)

Teamwork – Gather the kids and get them to help! 

Click here for a list of age appropriate chores

The faster you get it done, the faster the family fun!

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