Day 24: Villians, Growth Spurts, and Self Esteem

Let me say this, I've messed up big time Orange Rhino! Fights and frustration with my hubby one evening lead to an outburst.

In general, I am currently struggling. Although I know I need to, I have no desire to write it all out. My self esteem took a sky rocketing plummet yesterday and its been dragging me down since. I went to an appointment, where I learned that I had put on the weight I lost during pregnancy. Not cruelly, but factually told me I must take it off and asked me how I intended on doing it. Its not like I need someone telling me I am chubby, I am aware. I am however disappointed I gained. It causes issues for me all around. As I am already fighting depression and unusual circumstances, I have not cared for myself as I truly should have. Yes, Ive been dressing nice... but I notice the lumps I find too unsightly to call just curvy and my brows have a caveman like appearance. I need to kick my butt in gear. Yet, here I sit.

Both my children are currently going through growth spurts, leaving them both with super powers. However, one has turned to the dark alley of villainous behavior. With (my 7 month old) Henry's growth we have even less sleep than usual. This has caused mommy more than enough displeasure. My oldest, Benjamin has become the bottomless pit. From the time he wakes until he hits the bed at night, all I hear is "I'm hungry" or "I need a snack!" Together they make up the team that will eat me out of food and suck all the energy out of my body.

So, thats life today. Nothing but a rant for this post. I'm sure I will be slightly regulated tomorrow. Until then, don't forget to enter my giveaway here.

Day 17: Oh La La

So, yesterday was date night! I must say it was long needed too. Don't get me wrong, we had fun all day with the kids, but we needed couple time. I have Gwynnie Bee to thank for this very sexy dress I had on. Steamy! My husband and I went out for Italian food and ice-cream. Perfect, I didn't even have to share my ice-cream! 

Now, during the day we took grandpa bowling with us. Benjamin got to wear his brand new bowling shoes. He was SUPER excited. If you are doing AMF's free bowling with your children, I would recommend buying them a pair. The cost of rentals can get expensive. We bought Benjamin a size too big, so he is a bit clumsy in them. Hopefully that means he will make it through the whole summer with them!

The boys all had a good time and enjoyed a little friendly competition. Grandpa won.

Today did not go as planned however. My husband took my son to Regal theaters' summer movie program in the morning. Many theaters offer summer deals, so check it out! We were supposed to go to the park in the afternoon, but off and on storms prevented our plans. Perhaps tomorrow or Friday we will make it up to him. Tomorrow is library day. We have a special story time, but we should be able to "squeeze" the park in.

Orange Rhino

Unfortunately, I have failed twice today and once yesterday on my no yelling challenging. I didn't really yell, but I raised my voice unneedingly. When nerves are short and things seem stressful, its very hard to keep your cool. I quickly lowered my tone and got myself in check. It would kill me to have to start the whole thing over again. Perhaps I'm glad I'm not doing the full Orange Rhino Challenge yet. I truly want to be a better mother than I am. Some advice I got recently from the the author of the Orange Rhino blog has helped me a lot. She said,"All day tell yourself positive affirmations." So today when I felt down and like a "bad mommy" I reminded myself that I take good care of my boys. I make sure they are fed, the get baths, teeth brushed, nails clipped, ears cleaned, the have toys, and clothes. I can say that my kids don't realize when money is tight, or they don't have what I want them to have. They see that I read to them every night and kiss their boo-boos and thats all that matters!

Looking Forward

The Giveaway comes to an end on Monday the 24th. So make sure to check out the entry requirements here!  Also, I'm interested in hearing what you all are doing with your families this summer. Anything fun and affordable? Also, next month is my BIRTHDAY! I will be doing a little more soul searching next month. I will be sharing all the things I have done over the past 25 years and sharing a few things I want to do on my way heading to 30. I will discuss what I feel I lack and what I have more than my years worth of. It should be interesting to say the least!

Day Nine: First Day of "Summer"

Ah, today was a good first day of summer for me. We started our summer schedule and had a blast. Tuesday's are bowling days this summer, so we started that today. We learned some ups and downs and played two great games!

Here is what we learned:

1. Buy your own bowling shoes.  (If you are going to be going many times over the summer, the shoe rental can break the bank, especially with the games being free.)
2. Pack snacks (Alley food is expensive)

We also went to the dollar store and picked up a few things, including a toy bow and arrow set. Of course we had to try it out when we got home!

After we played a while, I wanted to get a photo of both the kids with their newly planted trees. We hope to watch them grow together. Pappy planted them in a pot to give them a good starting point. As they get bigger we will have to move them into the yard.

I really think planting trees is a fun way to record growth with children. The kids enjoy watching their tree grow with them.

Orange Rhino

Today on Orange Rhino we were supposed to start picking one trigger to work on eliminating. My husband found that extremely difficult, so I decided we needed more help, We did a little research and I found some typical, expected developmental behaviors of 2 1/2 year olds. Sometimes its hard to remember  who we are really dealing with. Seeing it written helps bring us back and see the situations we face from the outside. There is also a great list of alternatives to yelling on Orange Rhino's site.

Looking Forward

Tomorrow I am linking up with other blogs for something very exciting! I dont want to give it away, so stay tuned!

Day Six: Lazy Saturday

We did nothing (notta thing) today. I didn't even get out of my pajamas. As wonderful as it was to lounge around, I get stir crazy. I prefer to stay busy, it keeps me out of trouble. I did manage to get the kids bathed before bed so they would be ready for church in the morning. I am unusually excited about church tomorrow. Maybe that means something awesome will happen!

My oldest loves letters. He plays with them in the bath, talks about them, sings songs about them, even begs me for them at times. At bedtime we like to stick to calming activities such as books and puzzles. Today he requested his magnet board. He was having a blast until I took out my camera. He decided he would rather play with musical toys at that point (notice the bottom photo). My youngest was not as interested in playtime since we had a late start to our bedtime routine. After I put Benjamin to bed I came back to this:

Daddy had managed to get the boy to sleep without me. If I am lucky, he may sleep a while! Since everyone was asleep I had a chance to work on my summer planning again. Today I borrowed an idea I found on Pinterest about making a "I'm bored" jar. I figured filling a jar with free things to do would help fill those days I don't have plans already.  I wanted to make sure it was "readable" by my two year old, so it is a picture list. Here is the view so far:

Some of the items on the list include PlayDoh, coloring, bubbles, playing ball, chalk, watch a movie, ride a bike, puzzles, and ABCmouse.com (That reminds me, you should check this out. Teachers and homeschool parents can get a subscription for FREE). I also included a few free places we could visit as well. This includes the duck pond, library, the park and bowling (sign up for free bowling with your child through AMF). What would you add to your "bored" jar?

Orange Rhino

So far so good on my progress. I find it easier not to yell when I am not stress. So days like today make it easy. One of the goals for this week is to find my "triggers" that cause me to yell. As well as the physical signs that I'm about to yell. I know my biggest trigger is stress. Since stress has nothing to do with my children truly, I need to defuse it. Dealing with stress is a big issue. Adult life is no picnic (or perhaps its a picnic full of fire ants). How do you deal with stress? I know this blog helps me tremendously. Music is also beneficial!

Every day is a new adventure! Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Day 2: Monsoon Season

My husband jokingly stated today that "when it rains it pours and it seems we are in monsoon season!" Truer words have never been spoken. As we both try to work on our goal of not yelling, we have life hitting us hard in the face. Today my husband's car broke down! We had to have it towed and we are waiting for news we don't want to get. This change of plans lead to fits from the kids who were looking forward to the playground. I'm sure you can guess where we did NOT go today! Ah, it seems that God chooses the times of our lives to teach and train us in things we didn't even know we needed to learn.

Today's goal for Orange Rhino was to come up with a support group. So, I ask you today... will you keep me in check? Will you help me keep my cool? Distract me. Comfort me. Whatever... just remind me that I want to be the best parent I can be.

My Outfit

I haven't had many outfits to share recently. Gwynnie Bee helped me look lovely today. I really like black on black. Its slimming and fashionable. I also enjoy using my accessories to add color. What is your favorite way to add color when you wear black?

I did learn something today. I will never purchase a sequin shirt (again). This shirt, although lovely, cut my arms up from the elbow down. I have battle scars! I have now labeled this shirt, "plus size sequin torture". If you love sparkle as much as I do, you would understand how sad this makes me. I will have to find other ways to shine!

Looking Forward

Starting on the 11th of June, I will be home for the summer. This will start the first day of my summer fashion and my fun planned weeks with the family. I look forward to both very much. I hope to find many more affordable and exciting things to do with them as I go. As far as fashion goes, I may find a few photos to try to attempt to copy in style. I think I have settled into boho for the summer. Its a style I have never attempted. I think people who typically wear it have a natural gift for pulling it off. I may fail just because I am "trying" to make it work. We will have to see!

Orange Rhino: Day 1

 

Today started my first official day of my "30 Days to Yelling Less Project" with The Orange Rhino. I found today fairly easy with work taking up most of my day. Also, choosing to focus on my goal helped. However, nothing that happened today hit my trigger point. (With my kids that is! I would very much like to attempt the challenge toward my hubby as well.) Today's "homework was to come up with my worst parenting disaster. I easily pinpointed mine. 

How about you? What would make you want to change how you parent?

Summer Fun 

I am so looking forward to the end of the school year and all my fun plans! I pulled up my Windows calender on my computer and started to fill in all the free and affordable summer fun I could think of! For those looking into to doing the same thing, here are some things to consider:

-Museums- Many have free days or affordable rates a few times a month.

-Library- They have a summer reading program where the kids can earn prizes, as well as fun events to attend all summer.

-Bowling- AMF has a program where kids can get 2 free games a day all summer. AMF

-Roller Skating- Some places offer free skating for kids as well. See if one near you does here.

- Visiting new parks once a week

-Fairs and local events

-Vacation Bible School- Nearly every church offers some kind of VBS.

- Movies- Some local theaters have kid priced movies during the day of previously released movies. Many also offer deals on food and drink for kids too.

-Ice-cream!- Burger King is offering $0.50 ice-cream most of the summer (through August 5th) I learned of this through Money Saving Mom.

I will keep you updated with more fun stuff as I collect it!

Happy June!

I am happy to say, Summer is near! Since I work at a school, I get the summers off. I am beyond excited because that means more time with my kiddos! Speaking of them, I would like to introduce the theme for the month: Adventures in Parenting! Since I will be home so much, I thought it would be a good time to focus on my babies. I have so many things I would like to cover. From fun things to do to dealing with bad behavior. I'm overflowing, I almost want to bombard you with it all now, but I wont.

I have so much to catch you up on since I have been without my own computer for about a week. You have missed some interesting outfits, fun moments with my kids, and other crazy events. I will try to speedily catch you up so we can move on.

Play Day

 We have taken a liking to visiting the local school's playground. Its so close and convenient. Plus, they have so much wonderful equipment. Benjamin is loving the regular opportunity to run around.

Memorial Day

 We did a few itty-bitty fireworks on Memorial day. They were so small the only personal truly interested was Henry. (Ohhhh, pretty bright light) Benjamin didn't find them very entertaining, notice the fact he is looking away from the whole situation.

My Outfits

All three of the outfits I have above are thanks to Gwynnie Bee. The middle dress is my favorite of them all. The color was so nice and the detail was just perfectly done. I know I've mentioned before how much I love Gwynnie Bee, but I need to say it again. If you are a size 10+, you need to at least try their free month. You will love it!

Looking Foward

Another big focus I wanted to make this month is on being a better parent. One of the ways I intend on doing this is by doing the "30 Days to Yelling Less Project" with The Orange Rhino Challenge. It starts Monday, June 3rd. If you want to join in make sure you sign up sometime today or tomorrow! I hope this will be the start of whole Orange Rhino Challenge for me. (That's 365 days of no yelling) Keep me in your prayers because having a two year old is hard! I also have a big collection of free and affordable summer ideas for kids I plan to share. I have collected these ideas from around the web and word of mouth. I know everyone can use some free entertainment this summer. If you want an early look at some of my plans you can check out my board on Pinterest.


So, how did you feel about last month? Are you looking forward to our theme this month? Is there anything you'd like to see this month? Let me know!