Refreshed and Focused

It has been a week since my last post. Last week I posted about feeling a little overwhelmed. Hey, it can happen to the best of us. I had just come home from hearing a speaker talk about organizing and though it was great to hear, it sent me into a panic! So I gave myself a week to sort through my emotions and figure out what was causing all that anxiety (could it be the stuffed to the gills closet with no idea what's inside???).

I realized that I needed a system, but a system that would not make me feel like screaming and burning my house down to avoid dealing with the hidden clutter. Some systems out there are obviously made by an extremely organized person and therefore can be suffocating to a semi organized person, like myself. My house is very clean, but it takes work! And all that cleaning leaves very little time for the word of the day....ORGANIZING.

After hearing the speaker I sought my husbands advice, which he so happily gave me if it meant he could divert my attention elsewhere so I didn't obsess on my distress. Apparently I do this?! Anyway he said simply, "take from it what you can and if you can't take anything from it, oh well. Let it go". My hubby is pretty genius when it comes to simplifying the otherwise bewildering predicaments I find myself in. That could also be because I have a rare talent of complicating the otherwise lucid situations.

So following his sound words I decided to think about the things that were said during the presentation and apply what really would work for me. I did channel a few organizing bursts and took advantage of the energy that came from them. Which made for a very productive day I must say.

Then I logged on to the organizing/cleaning mecca, marthastewart.com and found some pre-made checklists for cleaning and organizing. God bless that woman, that's all I have to say about her. So I printed out the checklists. Laminated them so that I can use a dry erase to check off what I've done. Hung them on my bulletin board. I am ready to rock! At least I have something to guide me since there are days where I feel like I have cleaned the same room (toy room/living room) about a dozen times. Oh wait....I have!

But I am excited to keep the energy up and to tackle what I can and when I can. All of this definitely comes second to playing with my son, of course. So I know it will be a learning process and might be a life changing process as well. I figure if I can at least feel like I know whats in my closet/cellar/under the bed, then that's progress. Right?!.... Right!!

Life Overwhelming

Is it just me or can life sometimes get a little overwhelming. It seems just when you get one thing accomplished the universe reminds you that you should be doing more, having less, organizing better, you get the picture. I have this running list in the back of mind constantly reminding me of all the things I want to get done, eventually. This list I think for the most part is a good thing for a person to have, it keeps you on track. But at the same time this list can begin to stalk me. As if it isn't hard enough being a wife, a mom, a daughter, sister, friend, homemaker, etc., then you have this nagging in the back of your mind that somehow all that is not good enough. I begin to set these unrealistic expectations. I make comments to myself and others that I am not doing this well enough or I want to get better at this, or clean this more and so on.

I was thinking about all this today simultaneously reading to my son (miss multi tasker). I was reading a book of nursery rhymes when I happened on one called "A Wise Old Owl". I read the words, "A wise old owl lived in an oak, the more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard. Why aren't we all like that wise old bird?" Instantly it resonated with me. I realized that this list in the back of my head is nothing more than overwhelming chatter, by me to me.

I stopped instantly and said a prayer to God to help me silence these demands I put on myself and I thanked him for all that I am blessed with. Because truly all I have is all I need. Yes the daily chores of life will always be there and honestly for the most part I take joy in doing them and feel pride when I've accomplished my daily To Do list. But it is important for me to silence that self chatter about all the future things needing tended to. They will get done. All I am doing in the present by constantly reminding myself is speaking more and hearing less.

So I am making it a priority to breath deeper, and stop trying to do so much so that the things I am doing mean more.

Thank you, you wise old bird.

What my 18 month old is loving today

Super simple tip for today that provided a lot of fun for my little one. It isn't a craft but I thought it was worth mentioning. Today I bought some Easter window clings. I let my son pick between two (he loves making choices, makes him feel big) Easter sets at the dollar store. Once home I removed them from the sheet and let him go to town on our glass door. He rearranged them a dozen times and it kept him busy long enough for me to get him lunch and then later, dinner. Definitely worth the buck. Plus he picked the set I liked best so that was in my favor. :)

Handsoap Savings Tip

I have a little savings tip that I want to share. If you have empty foaming hand soap dispensers instead of tossing them you can save big bucks by reusing them. Foaming dispensers use so much less soap than regular pump dispensers so you can make a big jar of refill soap last a very very long time.

Rinse out the dispenser and fill 1/8 of the way full with your refill soap of choice. It really takes only a small amount otherwise the foaming mechanism gets clogged. Then fill the rest with water, replace lid and shake.

Voila, the same foaming action you love, a lot less moolah.

*be sure to buy the large refill soap in a fragrance you love, because you will be smelling it for a long time to come.

Snow Day Craft

Since it was a perfect snow day I felt inspired to try a fun, cold weather craft I had seen in the "Family Fun" magazine. It is an ice sun catcher. A circle of ice with swirly colors that you can hang outside your window and brighten up a wintry day. My son loved helping me put the food color into the water filled ice cube tray and it gave us a chance to practice our colors in a new way.

Anything done with a young toddler always comes with a little mess but it wasn't too bad. Just a slightly green tinted pair of tiny lips from when the food color found its way to my sons mouth. I grabbed it two seconds too late, which the green lips were evidence of. But all in all it went smoothly.

I have noticed from my years of attempting crafts from various books and websites that they always leave out a few tips that could have made the process easier or better overall. So I want to make sure that I pass all I learned on to you.

Tip 1. make sure the entire circle/cubes are completely frozen before wiggling the plastic cup. If you don't then water seeps under the cup and you wont have a clean hole any longer. I made the mistake of moving the cup too soon into the freezing. When it came time to remove the cup it would not budge so I had to run warm water over it, plus I had to break up the ice under the cup to remove it. That was not so fun since the ice ring is super cold to your poor bare phalanges. Which brings me to my second tip.

Tip 2. Wear ski gloves when handling the ice ring. It will save you some frozen limbs.....believe me!

What you will need:

1. Ice cube tray




2. Liquid food coloring (use 2 complimentary colors)




3. A round cake pan. I used a 9" round.




4. A plastic cup




5. Ribbon

Directions:

1. Fill ice cube trays with water and put a drop or two of food coloring into each tray.




2. Freeze ice cubes completely




3. Fill a round cake pan with 2/3 cup water




4. Place a plastic cup filled part way with water (for weight) into the top of the cake pan




5. Place cake pan in freezer for about 45 mins to 1 hour




6. Put ice cubes into the cake pan 'slush'




7. Freeze all together




8. Take out cup




9. Turn cake pan upside down and remove ice circle




10. Hang outside window with ribbon

Craft from "Family Fun" Magazine, February 2010 edition.

Careful what you call that.....

Tonight at dinner my husband and I were taught a lesson in names, or descriptions, if you will. If you read my blog then you probably gathered that my 1 1/2 year old loves Elmo. We watch the same 'Elmo's World' on DVD practically everyday. Well apparently he is absorbing more from the DVD than we realized. Let me just give you a quick introduction to the characters in 'Elmo's World'; Elmo (of course), a talking computer, highly energized writing desk and Elmo's very important, very loved goldfish named Dorothy. Man do kids love this!

As we sat down to dinner tonight and watched our son eat his yummy halibut, we remarked out loud to one another how much he loved fish. To this our son looked down at his mostly eaten halibut and began handing pieces of it to my husband repeating, what we thought at the time to be, no dogthie, dogthie nice. So, like any incredibly perceptive parents we began trying to interact with our child by saying things like, Oh yes the doggies are outside, or yep the doggies would like to eat that but it is for you, and so on. We could not figure out why he was acting like we were eating dog!?

It wasn't until the distraught little fellow threw in "Elmo dogthie" that we realized he was saying Dorothy! To his little horror he thought we were eating Elmo's beloved goldfish Dorothy. Once we deciphered what he was actually saying was, No Dorothy, Dorothy nice, we realized the damage was done. Dinner was most definitely over for him. Plus we had to put on the Elmo DVD to prove to him that we were in fact NOT eating Dorothy, and that she was living a very happy life inside our DVD player.

So lesson learned. Do not call what your eating at night the same name as the cute little animals your child is busy learning about during the day.

Play dough puzzles

My son loves play dough. The problem is I am always running out of ideas for things to make with it and we don't have any of the fancy play dough gadgets. So i came up with this idea the other day during our play dough time. I am sure I'm not the first to make puzzles with play dough. There are probably even kits you can buy in the store for the same thing, but it was fun and easy so I thought I'd share in case someone else hadn't thought of it yet.

Play dough puzzles are very simple. I'm sure it helps develop all sorts of important skills. I just don't know what. If I had to take a gander, I would say motor skills and thinking skills. Plus, the best part is you can keep making new ones over and over, and you don't have little pieces to store. The pictures show a more intricate puzzle. I started with very simple ones for my 17mo old. For example; a heart cut in half.

Items you'll need:

• Play dough. Store bought or homemade (see recipe at bottom)



• Cookie Cutters, any size. Jumbo ones work great for the little guys



• Rolling pin
  
  

Directions:

• Roll out the play dough
  
• Cut out your shape with the cookie cutter


• Using the edge of the cookie cutter cut the shape into smaller irregular pieces
  
• Let your toddler try and put them back together


• Repeat

Homemade play dough:
3 cups flour
3 tablespoons oil
2 cups salt
1 cup water

Mix 2 cups flour with salt. Add oil and water. Mix well. Stir in remaining flour until soft and pliable.
dough recipe from "Toddler Time" by Jean Stangl

Kicking the habit......tv that is

So as reluctant as I am to admit this, here goes. My toddler watches TV. Ugh. I know, I know. I have read all the studies and know what they say, kids who watch TV are bullies, no TV before age two, lessened creativity, and so on and so on. I also may add that before I had my son I thought I would not allow TV to be watched....but here is the kicker. My husband and I both enjoy watching TV. Not to mention we have a GIGANTIC one in our 110 year old home (historic home/huge TV....a little incongruous). I am informed that a gigantic TV is necessary for the months between September and January. Football just doesn't look as good without it, apparently. So I have come to the conclusion that TV, at least in our lives is somewhat unavoidable. Unless we kick the habit ourselves, which we have no intention of doing, (come on, it's my only vice.....a girl needs something to feel guilty about!) then it is probably going to be watched from time to time by our children.

So I have done some soul searching and decided it is all about balance. I tried to justify for awhile that it was okay because we do so many other activities with our son. I try not to be a hyper scheduler but I am borderline. So he is exposed to PLENTY outside stimulation. I also feel that the guilt I have about letting him watch a little TV drives me to do more educational things with him throughout the day. So all this has to be okay right?! Well, according to the studies...NO.

But you know what I've decided about those studies and the people that conduct them? They can say all they want to about incidences that happen in their little controlled study bubbles but then, real life happens. Sometimes when you have had a crazy day and dinner is late and your knee deep in raw chicken, you have two choices; 1.walk around the kitchen with a toddler hanging on your leg screaming MAMA or 2. turn on Elmo, get a little peace and quiet, finish your fabulous dinner or whatever it is you need to finish and hope for the best. The hope that not all the studies turn out exactly in real life like they do in the lab.

So the craft today is dedicated to all the moms out there like me. A fun little craft to do with your toddler to help you feel better about the (insert your time here) your little one just spent watching his/her favorite "educational" program.

Paper Wreath

This craft can be done during any season/holiday. The one shown here was done with leaves for fall. You can easily change the shape for whatever you please. Hearts for valentines day, four leaf clovers for St. Patricks Day, etc.

You will need:

• Construction paper in your choice of colors (depending on the holiday). The stiffer the paper the better. Card stock works nicely.
  
• Scissors (adults do the cutting).
  
• Shape of your choice. I use my computer to download printable shapes, easily found by googling what shape you are looking for. Or you can also draw by hand.


• Glue. Stick or bottle, your choice.

Directions:

1. Print or draw desired shape. Using a least three different colored papers. Doing a variety of sizes is also nice.



2. Lay out the shapes in a circle. You can use a place turned upside down if you need help with the circle, or just wing it. It is a craft for your toddler so perfection should not be expected.



3. If you feel that you need a base to follow, cut out a 2 0r 3 inch wide circle using a piece of poster board to your desired size of the wreath. Glue the shapes to one another overlapping slightly. Enough for stability but not too tightly together. Show your toddler how to do this by demonstrating with one or two to get them started.



4. Then let your child do the rest. You hold the shape and help them or let them depending on their motor skills put the glue on the shape.



5. Let your child place the shape on the wreath.



6. When your wreath is finished you can attach a ribbon to the front or back and hang anywhere you'd like. It also makes a great grandparent gift.

See pictures above.

Disclaimer:

Yes my son does have the glue in his mouth. This is a possibility.