iPhone... the only reason y'all are getting to see pictures! lol

I found my feet!!

Mommy Loves monograms!

Brother sister love~

Gotta love fingers and toes getting painted by Grandma!

Daddy's turn... don't worry he didn't let me leave it on there! lol

OMG I'm going to eat those cheeks!

Loving dress up, luckily she hasn't tried to wear this one out of the house... too big!

This is my daughter... the end.

Parker's first time in a swing... he just chilled... think he liked the breeze!

K found a bunny!

Mommy Daddy time at the winneries with Uncle Dan and Aunt Jessie!

K's first dance class!

Gotta love a cupcake face!

Happy 4th, dang she's so grown up!

Feeding the geese and ducks with Sasha

personal fave!

phases

So kids go through MANY phases in their little lives. Some are fun (dress up... hello cowboy boots EVERY. DAY.) and others will piss you off royally (enter the words "NO" and "MINE!"). Kinsley is experiencing two new phases. The "I'll shut down when you reprimand me" phase and the "I really hate grown men that dress up" phase.

See lately, when anyone but me reprimands her (and sometimes me) she will immediately drop her head and look at the floor, slump her shoulders and just shutdown... sometimes even cry. I know this is a phase but I feel conflicted about it. Are you supposed to nurture her, or will that enforce this behavior? Do I tell her to snap out of it and go sit in timeout until she can listen nicely? Or does that hurt her more? Or, do I ignore it, and what is that teaching her about how she's acting and how to respect elders?

Yesterday Northern Cowboy shouted out a "Stop Kinsley" when she was about to do something she shouldn't and it could have potentially hurt herself. Immediately, head down, shoulders slumped, full on crocodile tears. I want her to know that Mommy and Daddy mean business when we tell her to do (or not do) something, but I also don't want this to continue.

Next new phase, hating men that dress up. Side eyes to Santa, Magicians, and others characters. Some guy was at the library putting on a show of sorts and her daycare went to see him. She sat the whole time with her head buried in her teachers chest. A Magician came the to the daycare to put on a show for the kids, now while she told me all about the bunny coming out of the hat, etc, she sat the whole time on her teachers lap and wouldn't be moved. Lastly, we went to Amish country this past Saturday... we went into a store and there happened to Santa in there (I shit you not, Santa in JULY!)... well Kinsley Lost.Her.Shit. There's no other way to put it. She saw him and went SCREAMING to my legs and wouldn't let go of me crying the whole time. She calmed down as we kept walking through the store and she ran into him again as he was going to his break and WHOA she lost it again. The funny thing about all of these incidents is the hours, days, and weeks following them she will randomly come up to you and say "Mommy, I don't like that man" or "Mommy Santa not my friend".

So what do you do? I understand children have phases and fears. I was scared to sleep with my door closed until I was in middle school. But when is it time to nurture that fear and when is it time to tell them to thoughen up and they are hurting that mans feelings by making them feel like a predator?

Also, is it bad that I want to keep running up to Kinsley and say "LOOK Kinsley, SANTA!!" Bawh hahaha!

potty training follow up

So I just wanted to throw out a quick update to the potty training.

let me begin this by saying, DON'T DO IT! KEEP your kids in diapers forever. When they go to college they are bound to see other people using the potty and will copy them!

Now we chose to do it the hard way and train her ourselves with the help of daycare. OKAY let me rephrase that... Daycare decided to potty train her with the help of us! They are rock stars there I tell you... getting her to using the potty without tears! AMAZING! Here was the problem... when she came home. OFTEN when she came home there were poop and pee accidents, ESPECIALLY poop... boo.

The thing is though that she would POOP at school most of the time IN the potty, she had also pooped a few times in our potties, so i knew SHE knew how to do it. But, she wouldn't! UH! For those of you who don't know, changing a kid who pooped in their underwear sucks. It makes me want to gauge my eyes out with a spoon. I would rather throw her in the bathtub and just hose her down in her clothes until the poop is gone, rather then change her and clean her up. SUCKS. Even worse because you have to throw some crap her way about how it's okay and she'll do better next time. When you REALLY want to scream WHY DIDN'T YOU GO IN THE POTTY??!?! YOU KNOW HOW TO! YOU'RE SO GROSS! But, that kind of talk is frowned upon in the potty training world... and I'm NOTHING if not politically correct, right? *cough cough*

So what was our turning point? Minnie Mouse panties. She already had some, but I happened to stumble across another pack and since she was pooping out hers (and you better believe I threw away 80% of those rather than clean them) I bought them. I brought them home and she saw them and WANTED THEM like fat girl wants a cupcake. But I had an amazing moment of clarity. I told her she could only have them once she pooped in the potty 5 times. And you know what? Girl did it and didn't have any accidents! I'm not shitting (har har) you! Over the next few days she actually but her poop IN the potty and earned her panties! So we went out and got her a new "prize" (matchbox cars) and every time she pooped in the potty she got a car. In the last week plus, the kid has only had 2 pee accidents and one poop. AND that was with us taking cars trips AND spending the night away from home! She POOPED at OTHER people's houses!!! Hot Shit (har har)!

Here's my pointers.
1. Books suck, but read them... you'll find one good tidbit in each one
2. Once you start DON'T go back... we had to at one point because of a random stomach bug and it hurt us
3. Pull-ups are pointless except for naps and night time (I'm not ready to potty train there yet)
4. two words "Thick" "Underwear". Get it. That thin shit with characters on it is only good for bribery... NOT for stopping the pee from ending up a puddle on your floor. The thick stuff catches some, and keeps your little one nice and wet so they get really uncomfortable! TOTALLY AWESOME!
5. Throw that shit away. No seriously. I know it sounds bad to throw away a perfectly good pair of panties but really, are they THAT good? Do you REALLY want to pry them off, scrape them clean (I just threw up in my mouth) and then try to get the poop stains out of them??? No, it's cool, they are cotton, mother nature will forgive you, she wouldn't clean them either... save your sanity for important battles, like fruit snacks and lollipops.
6. Just don't give up, cleaning it up sucks... the potty dance sucks... constantly asking your kid to pee sucks... not having to smell a dirty diaper again is AWESOME!

Good Luck!

PINTREST CHALLENGE!

So what is it going to be????

I'm going to try to do something fun with it in addition to the sharpe writing... maybe get K to color on it with sharpes and trace the kids hands and then give it to the grandparents! I'll let you know how it goes!

SO what is up for voting on this next week???

1.

DIY: chalkboard paint on party glasses....that's how they do it! Much easier than painting and you don't get brush lines; use a name cards

2.

Didn't know you could iron fabric onto the wall? Just as easy as vinyl apparently! Peels right off....

3.

Miracle grout cleaner: 1/4 cup bleach + 3/4 cup baking soda - gotta try this!

4.

only two ingredients. Looks too fun not to try.

5.

This could work totally on any kids table!

SOOO get your vote on and as soon as I've finished our plates I'll give you the review and pics!!!

update me to have motivation!~

Thirty BY Thirty
1. Loose weight: Currently (6 weeks post pardum) I'm 178. That's only 6lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, not too bad. Too bad my pre-baby weight was bad and unhealthy. My ultimate goal weight is 140... that means i have to lose 38lbs!!! Whoa, that's nothing to laugh at. Could I get there by the time I'm 30? Probably... but lets be realistic, so I'm setting my goal at 20lbs. If I lose more by then, GREAT, but that's my first goal. yeah i'm sucking right now... while i think i MIGHT have lost some inches, the scale is NOT budging... need to get serious.. and you know what... WW SUCKS... the meetings are not helpful to me at all... I need in your face guilt not OH it's okay, we'll do better this next week... AS IF!

2. Down size clothes to fit the space I have. Currently I have clothes EVERYWHERE! Part of it is the curse of trying to fit back into my clothes again. Part of it is different sizes. Part of it is different seasons. And who am I kidding... I'm a product of the "I MIGHT wear it again one day"... yeah. I want to reduce everything to hit into my closet/drawers and one 30 gallon container. THAT'S IT!  Well i haven't worked on this recently... I WILL though... I have time.
3. Church, we need a church BAD. We need one that fits us as a whole family. That fits all of our needs. That makes us all feel at home. We need a church.

4. Visit a city I've never been to. Like a REAL trip, not a we're going to Sesame Place and I've never been there so that counts, because it doesn't. I've been to PA but I've never been to Philadelphia. That would count. I've been to Nashville, TN but I never really visited it (did a mission project there) and got to SEE it. That would count. Nada yet
5. Have Kinsley Potty trained. Hopefully this will happen WAY before I'm 30 but it's a goal none the less. She's doing REALLY well but still has a lot of accidents and a LOT of poop accidents. I mean the kids will poop at school 95% of the time... at home, 1%. I don't know what to do about that one...

6. Have Kinsley off her passy. DONE GONE! WHOO HOO!

7. Consistently work out 4-5 days a week. yeah I've been sleeping at lunch instead of working out. I shut my door, set my phone alarm and nap for my lunch... my kids hate me at night so it's my only solution so I don't hate them during the day.
8. Go on at least one date a month with Chris. We REALLY need to make sure we take us time and often we get caught up in the kids or friends, this needs to end. yea, do dates count if you bring other people? lol
9. Have a girls night once a month. Whether it's dinner or a drink or a movie. It needs to happen! And Chris should get a guys night too once a month.slacker

10. Stay on top of my cleaning... i guess organization should be part of this goal. Motivation should be? I don't know what the exact problem is but I'm tired of always being behind and dreading someone stopping by my house unexpectedly.

11. Have a new consultant under me in thirty-one (so then i'll have two!).I have a potential!!! maybe by my goal date it will happen!

12. Have TWO of my thirty-one parties reach over 1000k in sales. Well I'm about to close a catalog party that is reaching over $700! Still not there but still pretty awesome! That's over $175 IN MY POCKET!

13. Still be breastfeeding Parker (I want to make it a year like it did with K).

14. Have my bedroom painted and look like it has style!

15. Have the basement framed.

16. Be able to run 5 miles. well i ran 3.1! So over halfway there!!! But i haven't run in a while now... see #7

17. Sew curtains for the den.

18. Finish Parker's baby blanket.

19. Have started Parker's Christmas Stocking. Started!!!

20. Sew ruffles for lights in dinning room.

21. Sew the ruffle pants i've bought fabric for for Kinsley. I sewed one pair! I want to do more but at least I did that AND a dress for her!

22. Sew Pillows for Dinning Bench.

23. Deep clean and treat couches.

24. Shampoo carpets

25. Do 10 projects off of Pinterest. I have TONS of things on there I want to cook, make, try and I need to  start Cross them off the list rather than thinking "One day I'll do it"
1. Cleaned my Jewelry with a cleaning solution on there
2. Cleaned my stove top with another cleaning solution from there
3. Made a BLT pasta salad reciepe from there
4. Cleaned my dyson following the directions from a post on there
5. Made a coloring case from a DVD case for K
6. Made a crockpot ck recipe
7. used an idea on there for collecting grease
8. made a crack potato recipe
9. labled a medicine bottle from a idea on there
10. made a lemon cake from there!

26. Get rid of 30 things, baby items don't count. I need to PURGE and clothes don't count either since that's another goal. If Chris and I want to finish our basement we seriously need to make room down there, so PURGE! DONE! But I want to get rid of MORE MORE MORE!
27. Complete THREE 5ks. (or larger) BAM one down!

28. Go 30 days without buying a single frivolous thing. Target is a down fall. Randomness is a down fall. I need to go 30 days without buying something that I feel the need to justify.yea i suck

29. Get 3 pedicures with Kinsley. She and I need that bonding time and she enjoys getting her toes painted. We don't need to go every month by any means (I mean I might but she doesn't) but these outings will be special for her. Well I've painted HER toes but I haven't taken her to get them done yet... But i haven't gotten mine done either soo....

30. Have a kick butt party for my 30th!

How much should a kid eat?

This is up there with should we breast or bottle feed. I'm telling you, it's a hot topic around the water cooler.

So I breastfeed, but Parker does get bottles... of my milk that pump at work. That's it, no formula. For those of you who are formula women (no judging, i actually dream that i become one) breastmilk changings over time to meet your babies nutricinal needs. It gets thicker and fuller of the good stuff that makes yummy baby rolls! So while formula babies need more formula to meet those needs, breastfed babies do not. Kinsley never went above a 4oz bottle at daycare... she didn't need to. She was content. Parker is different. Maybe it's the boy in him?

So my pediatrician said Parker needs to be eating every 4 hours. I really don't remember if/when K did that and I didn't blog about it (AH the important stuff I missed, but look back to read about swinging boobs and it's there!) so I have no previous kid for comparision. I am pretty sure she had one nursing session in the middle of the night until she was close to 9 months... I KNOW she didn't go past that by much since she rejected the boob at 9.5 months and i was NOT going to start making bottles then. So back to what I was saying... eating every 4 hours. Now, do I want him to eat in the middle of the night... I would like to say No I don't, but in actuality I'm okay with it, as long as it's just once. SOOO that would mean that he would eat when he wakes up, 2 bottles during the day, when i pick him up, a little top off before bed, and once in the middle of the night. So we'll call it 5 1/2 feedings (since the top off isn't a full feeding). Now it's hard to gage but he should be eating around 24-32 oz a day... that's a BIG range. Lets just call it 28-30. So if we're shooting for 30ish that means he gets 6oz bottles... but what if i want him to sleep through the night... I have to up the bottles right? But what if that doesn't work, now i've upped his bottles AND he's eating at night AND my supply will not keep up AND am i over feeding him?!?!? AND AND AND

So what are your thoughts on feeding your kid? My co-worker (who breast feeds and formula feeds, yet didn't know that Breastmilk changes in consistancy) thinks it's weird that I'm making him wait for 4 hours... yet he has adjusted... I feel like she over feeds her son... I mean the kids eats A LOT, often and BIG bottles.

So who's right? Obviously the Momma of each child is right (so politicially correct aren't i???) but what do you do?

No YOU do it!

PINTREST CHALLENGE! 

I've got kid updates coming, promise, just need to find my camera cord... so until then I had an idea!

Are you as addicted to Pintrest as I am? Don't know what Pintrest is... look it up! Amazing and addicting. Here's the problem. You have a MILLION sweet ideas and tips that you save and never do... I mean it almost makes you feel like a failure. You'll be on there pinning (yes it's a verb now) and thinking "this will be sweet!"  "This will make me look awesome!" "This will make my life easier" or "I wonder if this is all it seems"... so I'm going to be your Guinea pig! YEA ME! Every week I'm going to do one thing off of Pintrest. It can be from my boards or yours. I'll do a step by step demo, etc and then review it for you. I'll include pic and/or video, depending on which applies.

So I'll start you off with a few ideas to vote on for this first week, and feel free to recommend ideas for future weeks!

1.

World's most effective and cheapest acne spot treatment: one un-coated aspirin tablet + 4 drops of water. Mash up using your finger and apply to problem spots. Wait a few minutes and rinse off. Works wonders at reducing redness and swelling and speeding the recovery of painful zits and pimples. Can also be used on entire face as a mask to reduce pore size and prevent acne.

Who still looks like they are going through puberty? HOLLA! Always trying out new products to fix this? Let me try for you!

2.

THIS REALLY WORKS AND LAUNDRY IS SUPER SOFT!!! Soak a hand towel in fabric softener. Squeeze out any remaining drops from the towel. Hang it over a chair (or outside on a clothes line) to dry. My house smelled super clean for the three days while this towel was drying completely. Yes, it took three days! You must make sure it dries completely! After the towel dries you just throw it in your dryer along with clothes and use it as a dryer sheet for 40-50 loads before soaking again.

Okay I get it might make your house smell great, but a dryer sheet? REALLY??

3.

no sew refitting big tshirts

As I lose weight I'm slowly starting to look like a bag lady or potential shop lifter since my shirts (and pants) are looking quite huge on me... think this could work AND look good on someone who isn't a size 2?

4.

1. Buy cheap plates 2. Write things with a Sharpie 3. Bake for 30 mins in the 150 oven and it's permanent! Awesome idea!

This could open the possibilities of great Christmas gift ideas if it really works!!

5.

I love this idea, I might try to class it up some with maybe just a B or the full name... but could be a ANOTHER great Christmas gift idea!

So let me know which would interest you, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. AND leave me a comment or link if there's something you want me to consider for next week. Voting will end on Wednesday the 27th, on which I will then put up new items for you to vote on. I will do the project that week and I will write up a review of how it went on Tuesday. So every Tuesday you'll get a pinterest review and every Wednesday you can begin voting on a new one!

***ALSO, I will do household things, kid activities, cooking, etc. Whatever y'all prefer. I will have to think about my budget (unless I get a super cool/awesome/loaded sponsor), but I'm very open to anything!