Great! Now I am one of "THOSE" Parents

Great! Now I am one of "THOSE" Parents

My little Wiggle Bean is rapidly growing in to a sassy pint sized fashionista with an attitude.  Some times when you ask her how old she is, she responds back with 18!  When you explain to her that she is only three and a half she replies back with yeah but then I am going to have a birthday and then another one and be 18.

I really should start a book with all of her antics and the hilarious things she says on an almost daily basis, it could be a best seller in the humor category and the Parenting (or how not to parent) category.

We have in-depth conversations about roasting marshmallows and making S'mores, she thinks everything that arrives in a box at our house is automatically for her, and she is smart as a whip when it comes to remembering things from weeks and even months ago (especially the things you want her to forget). She is extremely independent and wants to do everything on her own, her new favorite stance involves one or both hands/fists on hips.

I am in for a world of hurt when she is a teenage, I have begun preparing myself already but doubt I will be fully ready when the time comes.

The latest in the Wiggle Bean saga ended with me being one of "THOSE" parents that you read stories about online and think, "how could you let that happen?", "how did you not notice?" and say "I will never do that!"

Well guess what, It happened, I didn't notice and now I have done it!  THANKS BEAN!

Here is how I became one of "THOSE" parents:

ME: Bean, time to get dressed.  Would you like me to help pick out your clothes?
BEAN: NO! but can you help?
ME: (confused look on face because that was what I just asked) OK, do you want to wear shorts, a dress or a skirt?
BEAN: A skirt and shorts
ME: Well you can't wear a skirt and shorts but these (gets out options) skirts have built in shorts. (displays 4 skirt options)
BEAN: Does that one twirl?
ME: Yes it should twirl
BEAN: OK
ME: What top do you want? T-shirt or Tank top?
BEAN: A dress
ME: Well that wasn't an option and you can't wear a dress with a skirt.  Do you want a T or tank?
BEAN: I wore a dress and skirt to your friends!
ME: (dang it why does she remember that now, and it was a cute outfit) Yes, but it will not work with this skirt.
BEAN: OK, a tank top

We then sort through just about every tank top in her closet (man this girl has a ton of clothes) before she finally picked a suitable one. I laid her full outfit on her bed, asked her if she wanted help (to which she replied no) and left her to get dressed on her own while I finished making lunch.

About 10 minutes later she comes jumping into the dining room exclaiming "TA DA dressed".  I congratulated her, told her she did a great job and set her on to picking which of her many shoes she would wear that day. 

We finished our usual routine of hair brushing, teeth brushing, arguing over watching TV, and deciding on our accessories for the day (I told you she is a fashionista and rarely goes with out some type of accessory or another) and loaded up in to the car with Daddy for the ride to school.

At this point everything seems normal, we get to school, unload from the car, get about half way up the ramp to the door and she starts snickering (never a good sign).

BEAN: (giggle, giggle) Mom, I have to tell you something (giggle)
ME: What? (leans down for her to talk in my ear)
BEAN: I'm not wearing any panties
ME: WHAT? (gives husband a "this isn't happening" look and hopes she is joking)
BEAN: I don't have any underpants on (giggle)
ME: really?  (checks, sure enough no underpants, just the shorts that are part of the skirt) Hon, I put them on the bed with your clothes, what happened?
BEAN: I know, I forgot how the go on
ME: You got your skirt on, they go on the same way
BEAN: OH, I forgot

At this point I am mortified and imagining the call from daycare should we not have caught this "Um...... Mrs. M, did you know that Bean is not wearing any underwear today?" (uncomfortable silence).

All the while, my husband is trying not to laugh too loud and looking at me like "How could you let this happen?"  

We have no time to go home, finish getting dressed and make it back so that my husband and I can get to work on time.  Thankfully I remember that while she was potty training at the end of last year, I put a few spare pairs of underwear in her cubby at school for just in case purposes. 

If ever there was a just in cases moment, this was it.  We quickly popped into her classroom, snuck a pair of undies out of her cubby and ducked into the bathroom to put on our missing garments (hopefully with no one else the wiser)

The moral of this story is that even if your independent child says they got them selves dressed, check for undies before leaving the house (or keep a spare pair in your purse!) or prepare yourself for the embarrassing call from school

"Um...... Mrs. X, did you know that your child is not wearing any underwear today?"

HERSHEY’S CAMP BONDFIRE #smores or #CampBondfire

Making Memories with 

HERSHEY’S CAMP BONDFIRE  

#smores or #CampBondfire

Growing up, the only summer vacation we ever took was our annual two week camping trip close to Crater Lake in Oregon.  We went to the same campground and most years ended up in the same site (it was a favorite!).  Aside from our unofficial fishing competitions to see who could catch the most/largest fish, one of my most fond memories of these family trips was the evening S'mores.  It was a contest to see who could get their marshmallow roasted to perfection, who could make the S'more the best, and who could eat the most (see a pattern here, we were a little on the competitive side).

Getting Ready!

It has been many years since I have gone camping and I missed it, no phones, not TV and no work.  Just relaxation, hiking and quality time with the family.  This year my husband and I (mostly him) decided to get a camper and start taking our daughter camping.   

On our maiden camping voyage, I was excited to introduce my daughter to S'mores since they have great memories for me.  She of course started begging to make them the moment we arrived but we had to wait for at least dusk (tradition).  When the time was right, we sat around the campfire and her and I roasted her marshmallow together then I added the Hershey's chocolate and graham cracker.  She gobbled it down so I asked her how it was and if she wanted another.  Her remarks were typical, Wiggle comments. The conversation went something like this

Enjoying S'mores with Daddy and Uncle G.

Wiggle: Is it hot
Me: not too hot, just warm
Wiggle: (chomp, chew, chomp, chew, mmm, chomp, chew, finger licking slurps)
Me:  how was it?
Wiggle:  mmm good
Me: Would you like another?
Wiggle: Yes, but this one can I have no marshmallow and no cracker?
Me: Wouldn't that just be a candy bar?
Wiggle: YES!  That is the kind I like
Me: That is not a S'mores then.
Wiggle: yeah! but just the chocolate part
Me: OK, whatever, we are camping.  Have at the Hershey bars!
Wiggle: Woooo! (chomp, chew, chomp, chew, mmm, chomp, chew, finger licking slurps) 

 Double Fisting it!!!

Since that maiden S'mores experience we have had many more weekend camping trips ending each night with our traditional S'mores.  It has been a wonderful summer, one that I will never forget.  I look forward to many more camping trips before the season is over and more for years to come. 

We invited my husband's brother along on one of our recent camping events and Wiggle enjoyed some HERSHEY’S CAMP BONDFIRE moments with her uncle G.

Now I just need a backyard fire pit so that I can make HERSHEY’S CAMP BONDFIRE memories any time I want to!

 

National S’mores Week (and National S’mores Day is Friday, August 10). To celebrate, we have a Twitter party scheduled for Tuesday, August 7, at 2-3 p.m. ET (hashtag #Smores) - Here’s a link to the Twitter party Twtvite, where you can see information about the prizes and more detail about the party and RSVP to attend: http://twtvite.com/smores

Hershey’s is hosting CAMP BONDFIRE on their Facebook page throughout the summer. Now through September 7, S’mores fans nationwide can visit CAMP BONDFIRE at the Hershey’s Facebook page , A virtual summer camp where YOU will be able to spend the summer inspiring and teaching kids about how to build “bond-fires” and gather around them with loved ones – so you can make Hershey's S’mores that last for seconds and memories that last a lifetime. You can also visit CAMP BONDFIRE for weekly tips, stories and activities focused on a variety of themes.  You can join the fun by registering to be a “Camper of the Week” for a chance to win outdoor prizes like a backyard fire pit. Capture their own memories and share their photos in the Fireside Memory Book at CAMP BONDFIRE. 

While on the Hershey’s Facebook page S’Mores lovers will be happy to find a printable $1 off coupon towards their next purchase of two packages of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars.

**This post is part of my participation in the HERSHEY’S CAMP BONDFIRE campaign. All opinions expressed are mine. **

Summer Camping: A Three Year Old's View

Summer Camping: A Three Year Old's View

For a year or so now my husband has been talking about getting a camper for our truck so that we can take our daughter camping.  Both he and I grew up camping, I real camping in a tent and he light weight camping in a camper or trailer.

I have to admit, we borrowed his parents 5th wheel a couple time while we lived in Wyoming and I can't blame him for being a light weight camper.  With the ever present threat of bears, mountain lions and the comforts of not trekking in the dark (with a flashlight that you know will run out of juice any second) to find your way to a bathroom (or bush!).  Being warm and dry on nights when it rained did not suck!  Having a bed to sleep on was not all bad and having a shower was pretty nice when stuck in close quarters for long periods of time.

He had his mind set that this was the year, our daughter is three and we believe ready to experience camping.   I asked her a few times if she would like to go camping and fishing this summer with Mommy and Daddy.  Her response 90% of the time was "can I roast marshmallows" to which I replied sure and she then agreed that camping would be fun

I told him to pick what he wanted and let me know.  He felt I needed to view the options in person and get a feel for the different sizes so off we went to the Portland RV show this past weekend.  Before leaving I asked Bean if she wanted to go look at campers, her response was "yes, can I roast marshmallows".  What is it with this girl and marshmallows?  Of course I responded, not yet but maybe if we go camping this summer.

I thought we were going to look but we ended up purchasing the cute pop-up camper above from Apache Camping Center. 

As soon as we got to the show, Bean was asking if it was camping time so that she could roast marshmallows (seriously, again with the marshmallows!).  Then for some reason she started thinking that Camping was a movie or show and every sound on the PA she started talking about how we had to get going because Camping was starting and she didn't want to miss it.

After we got home she was even more confused since we did not bring a camper home with us.  Here is the conversations that followed that evening:
Conversation #1
Bean: Is it camping time?
Me: No, not until summer
Bean: Is it summer?
Me: Not, it is spring
Bean: Can I have marshmallows?
Me: When we go camping
Bean: Next week?
Me: No, this summer
Bean: Hmmmm (runs off to play)

Conversation #2 (about 2 hours later)
Bean: Where is my fishing pole?
Me: At Grandma and Grandpa M's
Bean: Well then how am I going to fish? (in a snarky tone of voice, where did she get that?  I have no idea!)
Me: We will get you a new one for here
Bean: Then I want a Hello Kitty pole! (very matter of factly!)
Me: OK, I will see if we can find one

I have been avoiding the topic of camping since the weekend because I can not find any more ways to tell her she can not roast marshmallows for another 3 months.  I am sure there will be more conversations about marshmallows, fishing and many more topics after we bring home our new camper next weekend and every day after that when she sees it in the back yard.

Man it is going to be a long 3 months! I might crack and let her roast the darn marshmallows in the back yard just so she will stop asking!

**Disclaimer: This post is a personal story about my family, it was not sponsored in anyway.**

My Little Girl Is Starting Preschool

My Little Girl is Starting Preschool

My emotions are all over the place, I am sad but I am also thrilled.  I am happy that they think that, at just over 2 1/2, she is ready to go to the preschool class but I want to keep her my baby girl and have her stay with her toddler room friends.

I knew the day would come when my little Bean would start school.  It is inevitable but I thought I would have more time to prepare myself.

We got the notice last week that the director at her care center felt she was ready to start the transition process in to the preschool room and that she would be visiting the "big kid" class for a few hours each day until they felt she was ready to go over there full time.

We got a handout from the director letting us know what we should expect her to experience in her new classroom.  The paper also told us that the transition process could take a month or so depending on how well she adjusted.  I took that to mean I had a month to prepare myself for the reality that my Bean would officially be a "Big Girl" much sooner that I was ready for her to be.

Fast forward ONE week, I get a call from the program director at work letting me know that they feel the transition process went faster then they had planned and that they would like to start her full time in the preschool room starting Monday morning.  I wanted to shout, "wait! I need more time to adjust" but I knew this was the best thing for our daughter. So with a heavy heart and a tear in my eye, I agreed (after a round of 20 questions to make sure she was really ready and the class would be good for her) to move her to the preschool room.

The program director assured me that she fits in perfectly with the rest of the class and that Apparently she asks all day long when it will be time for her to go with the "big kids" and when she will have learning time.  She is not fully potty trained yet (but we are getting close) and she knows and understands that the preschool class should be trained.  The director told me that Beans' teacher told her that she would go potty in her toddler room and then come out exclaiming "I went potty, can I go with the big kids" (I know how adorable!).

Knowing that this was a big step for her (and me!) I took her shopping this past weekend for her first set of School Clothes.  It was a fun experience, as shopping always is, but there were some somber moments when I had to fight back the tears as she tried on her new outfits gleefully and talked about her new class.

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL BABY GIRL!!! 

My Bean Got Bit!

My Bean Got Bit!

Yesterday when I arrived to pick Bean up from "School" (Daycare), she did her usual yippie skippy my mommy and daddy are here shriek and giggle but when I got in the room and she ran to me for our usual hug the first thing she told me was Sally (not her real name) bit me.  Bean then proceeded to show me a visible bite mark on her upper arm. 

The teacher's assistant that does the after 5:00 watch until parents arrive then nonchalantly said "oh, yeah, you need to sign this".  I as then given a form that stated that my child was bit by another child and it had a drawing of a body with an X on her arm for the area of injury.  I read the form quickly and noted that it had not type of release on it (it was just an incident report) and signed it.  The TA then told me that the center director would look at it and sign it the next day and I would get a copy.

I left with my daughter without any type of explanation of what happened and how there was no teacher that witnessed the other child biting my child.  I tried to ask Bean what happened but you do not get a lot of detail from a 2 1/2 year old so all I could get was that Sally Bit me and it hurt.

I thought that the director would possibly be in a little earlier than usual today to explain what happened or what the procedure was for these biting incidents but she was not there today when I dropped Bean off for "school".  I did notice that in the sign in binder Sally had a similar page that I signed the prior evening that stated that she bit another child. 

I am not sure how these biting incidents work, my child has never been bit before and has never bitten another child but I feel that it should have been handled a little more seriously and maybe I should have at least received a call this morning from the director acknowledging the incident or something more than "oh yeah, Bean was bit by another child, you need to sign this".

I am sure that I am being an overly protective parent, she is my one and only child but she was bit by another student and still has half a mount of teeth marks on her arm today.  I think that warrants some type of apology or explanation.

I guess I will see if I get any more details of explanation this evening when my husband and I got pick her up.

Summer Sun Where Are You?

Summer Sun Where Are You?

So my calendar says that summer starts next Tuesday but the weather lately disagrees.  I am ready for some summer sun! This spring was the 4th coldest and 2nd wettest in history, easily making it the WORST spring in Portland history.

Even my counter top weather station thinks that summer will never arrive, here is what it gave me for today's forecast!

A few weeks ago we had three consecutive days in the 70's.  It was either wishful thinking on my part or I totally jinxed the rest of Portland but I took those nice days to mean that summer was on the way and I spent hours sorting through my daughter's room getting her closet and dressers organized for the impending sunshine and nice weather.  

I took all her winter clothes out of the top dresser drawers and moved them to the bottom and moved all of her summer shorts and skirty skirts (as she calls them) up to the top.  I took all the long sleeved shirts out of the closet and replaced them with her vast collection of girls dresses and tank tops.   I boxed up her boots, against her cries that she NEEDED her bugga bugga rain boots and her sparkly cowgirl boots, and replaced them with her sandal (floppers as she likes to call her flip flops) collection.

During our three nice days she couldn't get enough of her shorty shorts, skirty skirts and dresses.  I am pretty sure we went through at least three outfits a day.  She must have known that this was going to be her only opportunity to wear her summer sun clothes and so she tried to get them all worn in our short nice weather period. (although, I hear rumors that we might get to 85 next week!!!!)

I can never get enough of her in her adorable summer outfits, she loves to spin and twirl in her skirty skirts and dresses.  It is too cute!

I watch the weather every evening before bed just to see if I can get out one of her cute summer sun dresses to wear the next day.  of course she insists on wearing shorty shorts under her dresses so that she can still slide and play in the dirt with all her friends at "school" without showing her panties.

COME ON SUMMER SUN!!! WE ARE READY AND WAITING!!!

The Good The Bad and The Ugly When Returning to Work

The Good The Bad and The Ugly When Returning to Work

(Sorry this is a long one!)

As many of you know, I was laid off from my job in July 2010.  A job that I held for ten years. 

With the economy the way it is, summer turned to winter and winter turned to spring without much luck on the job front.  Not for lack of trying, I put out applications and resumes left and right.


Almost nine months after my last day with my prior employer, I applied for a position with a great company extremely close to my house (BONUS!) and while they had already begun the final selection phase for that spot, they had another slot opening up in the HR department so I went for it.

I interviewed on a Thursday morning, had a second interview Friday afternoon where I was offered the position.  The boss wanted me to start the following Monday but I had to make daycare arrangements and the company required that I pass a background check prior to starting so I started Wednesday. 

Over the weekend I visited the daycare center that she would be starting at (this is her first center experience, until now she was in home care or home with me).  She loved it, she clicked right away with the other kids and I had to practically drag her away from playing after our visit. I thought that interaction with more children would be beneficial for her so I set it up that three days a week (M,W,F) she would go to the center and Tuesday/Thursday she would go to her friend's house.

For the first few days (Wednesday-Friday) I decided she should go to her BFF's house (they used to watch her full time when I worked before).  I thought it would help with the transition from being home with mommy all day to being at daycare all day. 

Monday was her first full day at the center.  I dropped her off, she was happy as can be and barley acknowledged me when I said good bye.  When I went to pick her up she couldn't stop talking about how great the day was. 

The next day she went to her friend's house, all was normal.

Wednesday when we left the house, all seemed fine.  We talked about playing at school and everything seemed great.  That was until I tried to put her down so I could leave.  She clung desperately to my neck crying for me not to leave.  Begging me to take her with me. By the time I left we were both in tears.  I called to check on her at lunch and was told that she only cried for a little bit after I left and was fine and happy the rest of the day.  She was ecstatic to see my husband and myself and told us about her day on the way home.

Whew!  That transition not so bad.  Smooth Sailing from her out, Right?

Thursday she went to her friend's with very little fuss.  Only one, "Mommy stay" before running off and playing.

We talked about going to school all Thursday evening and she seemed happy and talked about her new friend so I thought we were past the trouble and I was thrilled that I only had one day of bad transition.

I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG!



I felt terrible, was emotionally exhausted and wanted to break down in tears but I knew that I could not let her win this one.  I wanted nothing more than to scoop her up, take her home and tell my new employer that I just couldn't do it but I knew that this job was the best thing for my family and hoped that eventually she would adjust and love it there as much as she did the first day.

I guess we will see how Monday goes.  Maybe today was the worst of it.  If not, I might have to make my husband take her, I am not sure how much longer I can stay strong and leave her there crying.

So what is the Good the Bay and the Ugly when returning to work?

The Good = Getting a job and contributing financially to the family again
The Bad = Not getting to spend all day with my wonderful daughter
The Ugly = Horrible separation tantrums every day when I take her to day care.  I hope this gets better, it is tearing me up and I am not sure how much more I can take it before the guilt eats me up and I quit working!

My Little Wonder Woman

My Little Wonder Woman

My daughter  recently attended her BFF's princess themed birthday party.  All guests were to attend dressed as a prince or princess so I searched all over the internet for just the right princess dress. I had to go all out since it was her first dress up outfit (Halloween Costumes not included) and her first dress up birthday party.

That party sparked her interest in building a collection of dress up costumes for her and her BFF to play with when they get together.

I went to Costume Supercenter to start building her dress up collection.  Since she is my little princess, I spent an hour looking over all the beautiful princess dresses.  I also looked at the adorable girls superhero costumes
because everyone at some point wants to be a superhero!

 

I saved at least a dozen of my favorite costumes to the shopping cart and then we sat down to select our her favorite.  I tried (more than once) to sway her towards one of the beautiful princess dresses but as you could have guessed (by the photos or the title of the post!) she was sold on the Deluxe Wonder Woman Childrens Costume the minute she saw it.

(We call this her Super Stomp)

No matter how hard I tried, she would not budge from the Wonder Woman costume.  Her mind was made up and she is very persistent for a two year old.

She put it on the second it arrived and we ran out to the front yard so that she could be "SUPER".  Every time she puts it on, she runs to me an says "look mom, I'm Super". She has already gotten to where she can put it on herself, she came in the other day with it on over her pajamas.

I ordered it a size large so it would fit for a while, the boot tops are a bit big but the dress itself  fits perfect.  The deluxe costume came with the dress, cape, boot tops, bracelets, belt and a headband.  Everything that a little Wonder Woman would need to fly off and save the day. (just in case you want to see one more photo of her in her adorable costume! here you go!)

Costume Supercenter carries so much more than just Halloween costumes, their costumes can be used for dress up, themed parties and they even have some adorable Easter Costumes right now.  They have a vast selection of costumes for infants, toddlers, children, and adults.  I am already looking through the Halloween Costumes for Girls to select her outfit for this year.


***Disclosure: I received the WonderWoman costume for the purpose of this review.  All opinions are 100% mine ***

My Best Mother's Day Thus Far

 My Best Mother's Day Thus Far

Mother's Day is approaching fast (husbands and children: make sure you are prepared!!) and I am excited to have a day to sit around and do nothing (lol, like that would ever happen).  Really though, I am looking forward to adding another great Mother's Day to the ones I have had so far.

My husband and I have been married just shy of 12 years but we waited almost 10 years before starting our family.  My daughter is now two so this will only be my third Mother's Day.

My first Mother's day, my daughter was only 3 months so she really did not understand what was going on but thanks to my wonderful husband he made it special and memorable.  My daughter (with his assistance) colored me a card and she (with my husbands money! lol) got me a beautiful pendant with her birthstone in it.  Then we went over to my mother's for an afternoon BBQ.

Last year was also nice and I got to spend the entire day with just my husband and our daughter (my mom was working so we celebrated with her the following weekend).  We had a nice family day together and they got me a card and flowers.  Wiggle Bean was a little over a year old but I think that she still did not understand that it was a special day for mommy.

This year I am really looking forward to Mother's Day because Wiggle Bean is a little older and I think she will understand what the day means.  I have no idea what they have planned for the day but I am sure it will include a card, I should leave them a link to some of the really adorable Mother's Day cards available at Tiny Prints.

While my first Mother's Day will always hold a dear place in my heart, I am sure that this year's Mother's Day will be the best.

Just remember that even if your Mother's Day day does not go exactly as planned, you are a mother every day so every day you are loved by your child is Mother's Day and that is always the best!

**Disclosure: I received a Tiny Prints gift code for my opinions, which are my own**

Post Valentine's Day Shopping Spree!

Post Valentine's Day Shopping Spree!

I read and follow many coupon and savings blogs to make sure I am not missing out on any great deals.  I love shopping and love getting great deals even more.  I do not usually post about my shopping deals or savings but my trip this week for post Valentine's Day deals was not to be missed.  

Last Saturday, one of the blogs that I follow (I wish I could remember which one) posted about how Target and Walmart were clearing out their Valentine's Day stock for 75% off.  I waited until Monday to do my shopping (hubby is not that into stocking up) and Wiggle and I headed out early.

I started at Target and loaded up on a ton of Valentine's day cards and candy.  I can not count the number of times we (my daughter and I) walked away saying we had enough only to turn around before getting to the check out to get more.   I checked prices on a nearby price scanner just to make sure items were worth the cost.  What I found was astonishing, the bagged candy was coming up at 75% off but the cards, cards with candy and the decorations were coming up 85-90% off!  We left with 4 bags full of stuff. 

Our next stop was Walmart.  While their left over stock was marked 75% off, the starting prices were slightly higher and it was not like Target where the prices were coming up 85-90% off.  One example was a Pixy Stix candy and card kit, 75% off at Walmart brought them to $0.84 (good deal) but the same box at Target was only $0.32! I did pick up a valentine's table cloth and a box of Mickey Mouse cards because my daughter could not live without the cute box that had lights on it. 

While driving towards home, my daughter and I (OK, more me that her but don't tell my husband) decided we had to go back to Target to get more.  I can't help it, the deals were too good to pass up.  We loaded up the cart with almost as much stuff as the first trip and walked out with another 3 bags of stuff and a pile of gift bags.

At the end of the trip, my daughter was exhausted and I was on cloud nine from all the great deals.  We ended up with $248.38 worth of Valentine's Day cards, candy and decorations for only $28.89 (saved $219.49 or 88.4%).

My husband was not nearly as excited as I was (until he saw that I got bags of nerds for only $1.12) with the amount of stuff that I purchased.  His comment was, what are you going to do with it all.  I explained that the stash of cards will be used by our daughter and the candy I will eat!

I admit while laying it all out to take the above picture, it might have crossed my mind that I bought too much stuff but come on, can you really get too many Valentine's day cards?  She can use them for many years to come (I made sure to get cards that are not year/movie specific).

A few of my favorite post Valentine's day shopping deals were the gift bags (large ones for only $0.29 and medium for $0.19), the card/candy kits ($0.32) and the Starwars silly bands (30 bands individually packaged for only $0.99).  All the cheap candy is pretty high on the list also!

Man I love getting great deals!!!!

 

2011 Here I Come!

Happy New Year!!

Welcome to 2011!  Did you make any resolutions or goals for the new year?

Here are my personal and professional resolutions and goals for 2011


Personal Resolutions and Goals:


1. Get a job (or win the lottery so I don't have to): I love being home with Wiggle Bean but I have worked since I was 16 and it feels weird not working and bringing in my share of the family finances.  We are surviving with just my husbands income but it makes things tight and is very stressful for me (even though I try to put on a good front and seem like it doesn't).  I will miss my time with Wiggle Bean and feel she is learning more with me home but I am not sure it is financially feasible for us to be a one income family forever.

2. Get back in shape: I lost all the baby weight within 6 months of having Wiggle Bean but I seem to have put some of it back on.  I was always active in sports when growing up and would get back in shape when my husband and I were planning our beach vacations but since having Wiggle Bean, I have given up pretty much all exercise.  While my weight in numbers is not too bad (about 20 pounds more than I would like) I would like to regain some of my muscle mass and get rid of the flab.  My goal for the year is to lose 20 pounds and lose my belly.

3. Eat better: This will also help me accomplish goal #2.  I snack way to much!  I am a choc-a-holic and love sweet snacks.  I used to snack some while working but now that I am home the snacking is out of control.  Most days I do not eat a regular breakfast or lunch and just snack throughout the day.  It would not be such a bad problem if I was snacking on the oranges or apples that are in my fridge but I snack on candy, cookies and chips. 

Professional Goals:

1. Write more frequently: Time seems to get away from me and there are large gaps in my past blogging schedule.  I would like to improve my frequency of writing so that my readers are not left with out anything to read.  I am planning on setting a blog schedule and writing a full post at least 3 times a week.  I know many bloggers post once or more every day but I think that would be setting an unrealistic goal for myself.  Therefore, I will plan on writing every other day and if I get more posts in during a week that will be a bonus. 

2. More personal content: I post some family stories and many reviews at Over Thirty Mommy and enjoy doing both but I would like to put a little more focus on my family blog posts.  It might not keep my traffic numbers up with my sweepstakes friends (I appreciate you all too, so please keep visiting and entering my giveaways!) but Over Thirty Mommy started as a way for me to journal and vent about being an "Older" first time mom and I would like to keep my readers that are looking for personal content happy.

3. Decide if I should move to another hosting site: I have been thinking lately about moving away from Blogger.  I have enjoyed my time with Blogger but think Over Thirty Mommy might be ready for a move to another hosting site.  Maybe Wordpress?  I am being held back but not wanting to lose all my Google friends, email followers, google page rank and other stats that some of my sponsors require. If you have any advise in this area, I would love to hear it?  I need all the help I can get.

Well, those are my resolutions and goals for the year.  What are yours?

Happy Veteran's Day To My Brother

A special thank you to my big brother and all military personnel, with out you we wouldn't have the freedoms we do today.

Deployment Ceremony

You just deployed last week but it seems like you have been gone so long.  I know how hard it was for you to leave all your family, especially your wife and children, but your strength and dedication to our country will not go unnoticed.

If I can muster up half the strength that you have, I will be able to help the rest of the family cope with your absence.

Wiggle Bean laughing with her uncle at his deployment ceremony

We all love you and are counting down the days until you can come home and be with your family.

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY

Moving Up To A Big Girl Bed

I am torn, should I be happy that she is out of a crib or sad that she is growing up so fast.  I can not hardly believe that she will be two in less than three months.  Where did the time go?

I have so enjoyed being a stay at home mom these past three months but I bet my husband is ready for me to go back to work so that I will stop doing projects around the house.

My latest project was transitioning my daughters room into more of a big girl room now that she is in a big girl bed. 

At the beginning of July she moved out of her crib and into a twin bed that we had in her room for nights I had to sleep in there.  This bed was an old bed that I had growing up and it was in need of replacing so when we went to get ourselves a new bed, I ordered her a full size bed.  I could have gone with a twin, it would have been fine (I survived on a twin) but she is a crazy sleeper and I wanted a bed that would fit her for a long time. 

Now that she has a new bed, I needed bedding and a headboard to fit the larger size.  For her twin bed we had a bookshelf type headboard and since she is a spaz when she sleeps, she bonked her head on it more than once.  For this reason, I decided to look at upholstered headboards.  There are so many cute upholstered headboards out there and I thought it would be the perfect way to protect her little head.  They are soft, padded (for the accidental bonking or when she jumps on the bed and bounces into it) and do not take up too much space if your room size is limited (because you picked out such a huge bed!)

Since she is such a huge fan of Dora, I went with a Dora pattern and she absolutely loved it.  My husband and I installed it and then let her see it.  She got so excited and climbed up on her bed and kissed it.  It was the cutest thing ever. 



*** Stay tuned, I have been selected as a CSN preferred blogger and will be writing reviews and/or hosting giveaways for them hopefully monthly ***

*Disclaimer: I wrote this post in anticipation of an upcoming review post for CSN Stores.*

Potty Training: Day 8 Time for a Break!

AGH!!! I am about ready to pull my hair out, I think either she is not quite ready for full on potty training or I do not have enough patience for it. 

Day 8
7:10 AM - Into training panties
9:00 AM - So far a good morning, we finished showering up for the day and I put her into a pull-up for an
                 outing to the mall.  We went out in a trainer two days ago but only for 15 minutes and this trip will
                 be a bit longer and I did not think she was ready to do a full outing in trainers. 
11:30 AM - well that trip took alot longer than I thought but we are home and into a fresh pull-up for nap
                 time.  I am not ready to start trusting the so called waterproof training pants again since they have  
                 soaked burned me more than once so far.
12:45 PM - Up from nap and into a pair of training panties.
1:17 PM - "I pee" she says as we are sitting on the couch.  It is only a tiny bit, barley enough to wet through
                 the pantie, so off we go to the potty but there is nothing more.
1:30 PM - " I need to pee".  She is not yet wet (WooHoo progress!!!) but unfortunately she could not hold it long enough for us to jump and run for the bathroom.  We sit on the potty anyway but no luck.

1:50 PM - "Peed" yep, wet so we change again
2:05 PM - "Peed" Wet again and now we are almost out of training panties so I start a load of laundry.
2:12 PM - "Peed" She is wet but we go off to the potty to try anyway.  YIPPEE, she peed in the potty!  Only a few drops but something is better than nothing, right?  We do a cheer and get a pee pee treat.
2:40 PM - "I need pee". Man this girl pees alot!  Unfortunately she does not tell me she needs to pee before she pees, and now the couch is wet.  Little green machine here i come.  Into the shower.  We are out of regular training panties so she puts on a pair of waterproof trainers (maybe they will work better if she is not lying down).
4:12 PM - "I peed" sure enough wet but at least she is in the waterproof trainers
5:00 PM - I am peeling potatoes for dinner and she is standing one her step stool next to me "helping" when she exclaims "I'm wet".  CRAP!  I can not get cleaned up fast enough to keep her from peeing on the kitchen floor.  Get her and floor cleaned up and into fresh panties.
5:45 PM - Throwing a huge temper tantrum at dinner (no afternoon nap).  I get her out of her high chair and stand her on the floor.  She wanted me to do something and I told her I was still eating when she started hysterically crying and then peed all over the carpet.  Got out the green machine once again, cleaned the carpet and her up and put her in a diaper. 

I QUIT!!!  I CAN'T DO THIS!!!  I think we need a potty training break or something.

Please feel free to give me tips if you have successfully potty trained your little one, maybe I am doing it wrong.  Maybe I am expecting too much from her? 

Potty Training Day 6

If you are following along and wondering where day 5 is, I have to admit that I did not do any training on Monday.  I know i probably set us back but we were so busy running errands and were not home much of the day at all.

Day 6
6:35 AM - Up and into our first pair of training panties for the day
7:22 AM - "I Peebed the floor"  Oh Great!  I whisk her off to the bathroom but it is too late.  We freshen up and I check the floor, no harm done.
8:30 AM - I notice that she is wet but she did not let me know so we change panties.
8:48 AM - I thought she might need a potty break so we stop playing and off we go.  Two times through her Clifford book and 10 minutes later, nothing.
8:59 AM - I am in the kitchen and she goes running into the laundry room shouts "PEEB" and starts running towards the bathroom.  I got a little excited that we might be making progress in the potty training department.  That excitement quickly turned to disappointment (not with her, with my training ability) when I noticed that she left a puddle in the laundry room and a trail all the way through the kitchen, around the corner in the living room, down the hall way to the bathroom and on the floor mat in the bathroom.  I guess today the Little Green is not my only friend, my new best friend today is my Hoover FloorMate. I spent the next 30 minutes cleaning her up and cleaning all my floors.






9:20 AM - We are sitting in the living room at the coffee table playing puzzles when she says "Poopy Nugget"  so I ask her if she needs to go poopy, she says "yes" so I get up from my side and go around the table to get her when I see IT,  OH NO!!!  She did not need to go poopy, she already did and it was no nugget.  WHat a mess but the sliver lining is that it did not get on the carpet.  There was a huge plop on her step stool.  Apparently she pooped while sitting and it had no where to go but up the back and out.  OMG, it was gross but not as gross as what I saw when I got her to the potty and had to strip her training pants off.  I debated cutting them off.  Of course she had to step on her panties when I got one foot out, gross!  I set her on the potty even though I know she is done and I hose off the panties, and wash the floor.   I put her in a fresh trainer and then head back to the living room to tackle the step stool mess.  It was so gross but I made it through. 

Thank goodness that my gag reflexes have tamed down since having a child.  Before Wiggle, I couldn't watch someone on TV gag with out feeling sick, my dog threw up once and I lost it, and I did not do well with cleaning up gross stuff.  But I prevailed on the step stool stool!

BUT, if I have to do that again, I might quit potty training and let her wear diapers forever. 

9:50 AM - All showered up and into a fresh pair of trainers.
10:07 AM - Into a waterproof pantie for nap time.
12:45 PM - Up from nap time for me to find her soaked, her clothes soaked and the bed soaked.  What the heck do these waterproof pants do, they definitely do not keep the pee contained and from getting everywhere.
1:00 PM - I strip her and the bed down and start a load of laundry.
1:45 PM - She said she wanted to go potty so we head off but nothing.  I felt good that she told me she wanted to go potty even if nothing happened. 
3:09 PM - Into a fresh pair, not wet but we had chocolate pudding for snack and it ended up everywhere.
3:24 PM - She is standing on the couch when I notice that she is wet (did not tell me) so we go change.
4:45 PM - We are sitting on the couch watching our one allotted Sesame for the day when she turns to me and says "I peebed the couch".  Please say  I didn't hear what I thought I heard but I am not so lucky, I scooped her up and sure enough there is a wet circle on the couch.  Little Green, you are my BFF again!
4:55 PM - OK, we are braving our first outing in training pants.  Just a quick trip up to the grocery store for our lottery tickets and home again.  I was proud that we made it with out incident (even if it was only 15 minutes)
5:49 PM - She goes into the laundry room and starts running through the kitchen when my husband notices the river running down her legs and stops her before she can get out of the kitchen.  I grab and paper towel, wipe up the rive on her legs and carry her off to the bathroom for a hose down while hubby gets the Hoover FloorMate out to clean up the kitchen and laundry room.
6:45 PM - Time for a potty break, 10 minutes of trying and nothing.
7:00 PM - "I have to potty" but she is already wet.
7:17 PM "I have to pee" but again already wet.
7:30 PM - Into nighttime diaper for bed.

Why does it seem like she always wets herself 10 minutes after we take an unsuccessful potty break?

Why are we not progressing?  Maybe she isn't ready for potty training yet.



Tips and suggestions always welcome!

Potty Training Days 3 and 4 (weekend one)

OK, this potty training is harder than I thought (much like everything else mom related that I have experienced so far)

Day 3
7:30 AM - Day three here we come, Into our first pair of panties of the day
8:17 AM - "PEEB" she exclaims and I go running but alas, I am too late.  To the bathroom we go to sit on the potty
8:25 AM - "PEEB" she shouts again for the second time in less than 10 minutes.  Sure enough by the time I get to her she is already wet.
8:30 AM - Looks like we are almost out of panties so I put a load in the wash.
8:34 - "PEEB" she exclaims again, she is not wet yet so we rush out of the office but she pauses when she gets in the bathroom and whoosh. Holy  cow, how can someone so small pee that much!  The bathroom rug is soaked through and she is drenched.  I strip her down and hose her off in the tub (she thinks it is a ton of fun!)  Too bad I started the laundry 5 minutes ago!
9:00 AM - She insists on taking a bath today (loves bubbles) and then we head for the shower to actually get clean.
9:45 AM - Into a fresh pair of panties
10:16 AM - We are folding laundry in her room when I notice she is wet (did not tell me) so we change into new panties.
10:45 AM - We take a potty break before nap time but after reading Clifford Puppy Days 6 times and 15minutes, nothing.  I put on her waterproof panty cover and into bed she goes.  Wow those things are noisy, how can anyone sleep in those?
12:15 PM - Up from her nap while I was out in the garden. 
12:30 PM - Putting stuff away in her room when she runs up to me dripping.  There was liquid (pretty sure it was peeb!) just running down her legs, so much for waterproof underpants but then again, I do not think she got checked or changed when she got up from her nap.  Of course she jumps on me before I notice her dripping so my leg is soaked.  I go to strip off the plastic cover and it is overflowing, I should have worn a rain coat, my shirt was splashed as the cover slopped off her feet.  Stripped down and into shower we go for the third time today.  Then my new best friend Little Green comes out for the first time today to clean up the massive puddle on her bedroom floor. 
1:55 PM - Pause for potty break, panties a little damp (not enough to wet pants) so we put on a fresh pair.  Again no luck on the potty this time.
2:35 PM - "PEEB!!!" she shouts, my husband and I both run and rush her to the potty but we are both too late and she is soaked and heads off for shower number 4.  I am beginning to think she is peebing herself on purpose so I will put her in the tub for a hose off.  Little Green Machine comes out for the second time today.
3:00 PM - Into a pull up for nap time
5:45 PM - Well, I guess pull-ups are not meant to sleep in because she is soaked through on the side she was laying on.  Had to change all of her clothes and wash the comforter. Into a new pair of panties.
7:00 PM - she told me she wanted her monkey to go potty so I told her to put him on her little potty and then put her on the big potty to show him how to pee in the potty.  It took a few minuted but YIPPEE, she peed on the potty.
7:30 PM - #2 in training panties (always fun!)
7:48 PM - No exclamation of needing to potty but peed all over the floor (thank goodness it was tile and mopped up easily) near the back door.  Off  to the shower again while dad mops the floor.  Off to bed in a night time diaper.

Day 4
I was a failure at potty training today.  We had so many errands to do and I did not think she was ready for outings in a trainer so we just used diapers and pull-ups today.

Potty Training: Day Two

Day Two:

Well it was not much of a day two since Wiggle Bean spent most of the day away from home, but here is how the went.

7:20AM - Up for the day (it was nice sleeping in a bit, since we were up for over an hour in the middle of the night)  We were busy playing with puzzles this morning so she just wore diapers until we showered.
9:00 AM - into our first pair of trainers for the day
9:37 AM - Changed into a pair of pull-ups since we have story time at the local library and we are not ready
                  for training pants outside the house yet.
12:25 PM - Into another pull-up since Wiggle Bean was invited to spend some time at her BFF's today. 
3:30 PM - Wiggle is still at her friends but I decided that after having to do two loads of laundry yesterday, I 
                 would go buy a couple more packs of the training underpants.
5:25 PM - Got Wiggle home from her friends place so we got into our training pants.
5:28 PM - Wiggle exclaims "PEEB", husband jumps up and I rush in and swoop her off to the bathroom.  It
                 was a big one, pee everywhere.  Down the legs, soaking the socks, and a huge puddle on the
                 carpet in front of the couch .
5:30 PM - After sitting on the potty, Wiggle is hosed off in the tub and a new pair of trainers are put on.
6:39 PM - Finished dinner so I decided to take her to the potty.  We sat and read our Clifford book (her
                 favorite potty time book)SUCCESS!!!!  She went pee on the potty!!!!!!  We all cheered and
                 praised her.  She got her Dora sticker and potty treat (mini M&M's)
7:51 PM - Time for bed, went to change her into her night time diaper (not sure she is ready for trainers at night yet).  But the phone rang so I went to get it.  By the time I came back my husband told me that she peed and pooped in her trainer.  So I usher her off to the bathroom to clean her up and get her in her night time diaper. 

End of day two

I think that even though we did not get a full day of training in, we did make progress from yesterday, hopefully tomorrow will be even more successful

Potty Training: Day One

As I posted earlier, we are officially starting potty training and today was day one.

We have been practicing knowing where to go potty, if you ask where do do you pee or poo, she replies "in the toilet"

I think that I better buy stock in a carpet cleaning business or a high quality carpet cleaner.  I am not sure the one I have can handle all the extra work.

Here is how day 1 went:
8:15 AM after our morning shower we decided to put on our first pair of training pants
8:30 AM running around my bedroom with her princess minnie ears she exclaims "I peebd (peed)".  What?  where?  so I ask where and she responds "over there on the floor"  sure enough the carpet is wet so we go into the bathroom, slop off the wet panties and sit on the potty.
 After a quick rinse off, on goes the second pair of training pants and out comes the Little Green cleaner  for the first time for the day.  Love my Little Green!











8:50AM "Wet, potty, potty"  So off we go but it appears too late.  She told me after she went pee pee.
9:25 repeat of 8:50
9:30 put one of those plastic night diapers on her for nap time
11:00 up from nap and exclaims "WET" when she finds me on the couch.
11:20 "mom potty", off we go but she is already wet again
11:45 "peeb", yep you guessed it already wet.
11:50 starting first load of wash to include every pair of training pants we have, a few pairs of her pants and 
          one of mine.
12:15 Had to put on a diaper since everything is in the wash and yep she peed the pair she was wearing
12:30 - 5:30: more of the same.  wow busy day!
5:45 ROFL  I am making dinner when husband exclaims that she said she needed to potty but then she sat   
        on him and he realized she was already wet.  He changed clothes and I changed Wiggle.
5:45 - 6:30 she went through a training pant every 10 minutes, they were small amounts of wetness but she
        still peed every 10 minutes.  Out of training pants again so she gets a diaper and I start laundry for a  
        second time.

So all in all we went through 16 training pants and 2 diapers for the day.  Not sure it was a what you would call a successful first day of potty training but she did tell me she had to pee within seconds of wetting herself so I guess that is something.

right?

If you have any great potty training tips, I would love to hear them! 

Laundry done, day two here we come!

Potty Training: A Journal of Our Trials

For some time now Wiggle Bean has been showing signs of being ready to start official potty training.  We tried some early training way back when she was around 9 months but it was kept up since I was working and her daycare at the time was not interested in working with us on early potty training. 

I decided recently that now that I am home with her all day, I can focus on real potty training.  I read about all kinds of methods online and in magazines but was not sure what would work best for us.  I guess I will start at the top and try them all if I have to.  I also read that the pull up type of diapers are counter productive and can delay the process so we are

I went to the store and purchased a couple packs of training pants, plastic night time underwear, and a highly absorbant mattress pad.

I let hew wear a pair of the training pants a couple days ago and what happened, yep your guessed it, she peed on me.

We had a couple busy days planned for this week so I thought I would start full on training Thursday.  We will see how it goes and how much I have to spend on laundry and carpet cleaning.

Stay tuned for updates!

Transitioning From Crib to Bed

My little girl is growing up so fast!  She wants to do everything herself and now she has decided that she no longer wants to sleep in her crib.

The transition happened so fast, I barley knew what was going on.

It all started about three weeks ago.  I put her to sleep in her crib like usual but about two hours later she woke up crying that she wanted out of her crib.  I was going to snuggle with her for a few minutes on the twin bed in her room so I set her on the bed and went to get her baby and blankie from her crib.  By the time I grabbed them and turned back around to the bed, she was snoring away. 

I tucked her in, pulled up the bed rail (thank goodness I bought one a month ago, just in case) and went back to the living room.  My husband commented on how quickly she fell back asleep and was shocked when I told him that she was on the bed.  He asked me 20 questions on if she was safe and how did the bed rail work.  After the quiz, he seemed assured that she would be alright to sleep on the bed alone.

That night I hardly slept at all, I was up and down every half hour to check and make sure she was still on the bed and sleeping.  She was of course snoring away, happy as a clam. 

First thing the next morning, I set up the video monitor so that I could check on her all I want with out leaving my bed. 

I am torn as to if I should be happy that she is growing up or sad that she is not my baby anymore.  It is bitter sweet and I love seeing her grow and change everyday.

The problem is that it takes FOREVER to get her to go to sleep.  I have to lay on her bed with her for almost an hour every night, until she falls asleep, to get her to stay on the bed.  I have tried sitting on the floor but she just sits up so she can see me and talk to me.  I have tried telling her to stay on the bed and leaving the room, but within minutes (or seconds) she is pitter pattering down the hall way to come find me.

Nap time is much easier, it usually only takes 10-15 minutes to get her to sleep but these hour plus nights are getting to be a bit much (plus, I have a tendency to fall asleep while trying to get her to sleep).

Do any of you mom's who have been through the crib to bed transition have tips on how to get my Wiggle to stay in bed and go to sleep with out me having to stay with her the entire time?