Really?! Seriously?!

I am so frustrated with myself for being so easily frustrated!

How does that work?!

Some days I have all the patience in the world.

Some days I struggle to have patience & somewhat do.

Some seemingly good days quickly dissolve into a day without patience in the matter of an hour.

I hope I'm not alone in this. I don't think I am, or I probably wouldn't write it. Haha.

Want to know what most easily sets me down the road to "where is my patience!?"

Here's a scenario: Playing with toddler, while baby naps happily upstairs. Toddler becomes increasingly whiny (he still isn't talking very much) and loud. Time for baby to wake up. Baby cries as bottle is made. Toddler is jumping too close to baby. Feed baby. Baby dribbles formula bc baby is too interested in the world (aka toddler). Rotate so baby is facing wall (it does have art for her to look at!). Burp Baby, Baby spits up copious amounts of formula+spit, which goes everywhere (pants, shirt, feet, baby's clothes, & floor). Place Baby in bouncer. Toddler whining starts pushing Mommy. Correct behavior. Clean up spit up. Baby screams. Clean snot from Toddler & Baby. Baby screams. Toddler sneezes on Mommy. Toddler smells poopy. Change Toddler, put away spit up clothes, change mommy. Take Toddler's poopy diap to pail. Decide to spray with sprayer. Poop water EVERYWHERE! (this is where blood pressure starts to go up). Clean up. Bring poop-watered toys downstairs to be bleached. Carry Toddler downstairs. Toddler wipes nose on new shirt. Whatever. Move baby to tummy time. Go into kitchen to make lunch. Toddler whining at feet. Gently push away with crackers in hands. Toddler screams "OH NO", run into living area, Baby spit up all over play mat. Clean up. Good thing baby is naked. Heat up leftovers with Toddler playing at feet. Set it at kid table, bc why would anyone try to force toddler to sit at big table. Toddler doesn't want to eat. Toddler drinks his lunch. Baby spits up AGAIN! Sitting on the floor near kid table, encouraging toddler to eat, spot something out of the corner of eye... Dog poop stain from a few days ago. Think: well i guess we didn't clean it all up... NEED steam vaccum desperately. Try to clean up. Toddler finishes, whines to be put to bed. Check on Baby, little bit of spit up. Roll Baby over. Baby cries. Reassure Baby then put Toddler to bed. WHEW! Go to baby change diapers, dress, & tickle. Pray to spit up gods that it's over, pick up Baby. Upstairs cuddle baby to sleepy, place gently in crib. Come into computer room to blog about how inpatient you are because you yelled at Toddler, when it wasn't his fault. Then feel remarkably better from venting. Thank Blogger & blogging. FUTURE: Go downstairs to eat lots of chocolate. Remember there is no chocolate, pout, nap. OVER. lol

Sickness is blah

I'm sick! Corey gave it to me AND the kids! My kids tend to sleep fine while sick, most of the time, so it's not too bad. We don't have the flu or anything god-awful like that. Pretty yucky colds though. With a bad cough. Corey was up all night with a cough. I hope that we (me, Soph, & Wills) get through it faster than Corey. He's had it about a week! I keep downing the water & pushing it on Will (tehehe I chase after him, "Here's some water honey") I've been working hard at keeping the house & myself sanitized. I have to wipe Will's nose every few minutes. The scary thought is what does he do at night with the snot? MEMO TO ME: change & wash Will's sheets more often!!
I am already starting to feel better, so I think the water is helping. I guess we aren't really that sick though, because we are still doing things around the house. I remember before we had kids it seemed the slightest cold would be reason enough to lie in bed all day watching the boob-tube or surfing the web. I guess once you have kids, and can't lie around all day, you figure might as well get something done!
That is all for now. I'm going to go curl up on the couch with a big mug of Sleepytime Tea & a book... or TV show... what?! Don't judge me!

Blue & Yellow Easel Painting

We got the easel! I've been setting it up for markers, chalk, and crayon art, but haven't had the time/energy to do paint. I LOVE the easel. I especially love that it was $15 and I had a great friend who picked it up for me, so I didn't have to drive the 2 hours to the closest Ikea (my Ikea Kristin friend). There is only one thing I would change about the easel, that the cup tray is on the chalkboard side & I would prefer it to be on the whiteboard side.

Anyways, Corey had the day off, so we went for it. I am so glad to mention that the Ikea paper held up to the vigorous movements of a toddler! Wills had so much fun he nicely asked for another "peesh" (piece) of paper "peese" (please). 

He started off with the brush, got some paint on his finger (& was bothered by it), then started finger painting. When I suggested using the brush he picked up the brush & painted his hand. I thought that was clever. 

 Then we had a bit of leftover paint (I always put too much in), so I put it in a zippy bag & now Sophia has a Squishy Bag*. I'll let her use it at dinner time when she has highchair time.

*Squishy Bag- it is somewhat a sensory activity and in this case a science/color activity. I keep the bag closed & she can squish the paint around, somewhat feel its contents, and see what happens when you mix blue & yellow.

Colored Waterplay

I decided to do this project when I noticed how much fun Will was having squeezing the color out of the sponges from a sponge painting day. Will LOVES water play with a passion. Every time I am in the kitchen he gets his step stool from the bathroom & brings it in & asks demands to play in the sink. I set this up in the morning and he played with it all day, until I couldn't take the dish clutter on the counter.

I wasn't sure if it was going to work, but I added a squirt of Crayola paint to each tub & whisked it. I LOVED the results. As you can see I added the sponges from a previous activity here. I also put in measure cups & spoons, cups, bowls, a ball, an old formula scooper, & a whisk.

Like I said, he LOVES water play & played for a very long time, I'm remembering an hour. I believe it was time for lunch & as soon as his nap was over, he was back at it! The red water became purple, which he didn't seem to notice until after nap, but that is when I learned he knew the color "url" purple and "boo" blue.

note: Will does have a hard time with keeping the water in the sink, not because he's being defiant, but because it is still hard for him to pour down in the sink, so he tries to use the ledge. I try to only encourage him to pour inside the sink, but this time I also laid a thick towel on the side of the sink & I was very happy that no water spilled all over the floor & the towel wasn't too wet. The rule in our home is that if he is purposely pouring water on the floor, he gets a warning. I try to find a way to replace whatever he was doing with something I'm okay with that still helps him to learn the same concept. If he keeps doing it, then he is done with that activity for awhile. By awhile I mean he has to get involved in another activity and finish that before he can try the sink again. 

Sponge Art

Here's an idea I came up with when I found a large sponge I hadn't used. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. We are working on shapes. So I busted out the large kitchen shears & cut shapes. I tried to make them the right size to fit in his hands, not too big or too small. I'm actually a little suprised how many shapes I got out of it.

I chose to use only 2 colors of paint, because at this stage he still mostly ends up rubbing all the paint together; which if I had added blue we would've ended up with brown art.

I put the paint in one of those cheap paint palates. I already had it from college. You could use a plate, next time I will.

I used a heavy cardboard on the floor. I used to pin them up, but if Will was too fast it could knock the pins out. So the floor worked fine. It was easier to clean up too.

Here is the masterpiece! You can't really tell it's shape sponges, but that's to be expected at his stage. We did, however, get to talk a LOT about shapes. Even things I didn't expect to happen. When you hold the triangle on it's side, it now makes a rectangle shape. You can roll the circle & make a track.

The greatest part was Will helped with the clean up & it was a learning experience! I put him in front of the bathroom sink with warm water & asked him to squeeze the sponges under the water. I went to make lunch & I had to pry him away from the sink to eat lunch.

I already have more ideas for how to use these sponges.

Really Ikea?!

So, I'm reading this lady's blog & she mentions she got an easel from Ikea for cheap. I've been searching for a cheap easel. I log on to their Ikea.com & now I hate them. I love them and I hate them. Reasons why I love them: they had that cheap easel ($20), it was made of wood, they had other stuff that I wanted, it's all created/decorated to inspire kids imagination, the adult furniture is pretty! Reasons I hate them: I want everything!
I am trying really hard to lessen my desire for things. Really trying. I know that things don't bring happiness. I really truely know that & believe it whole-heartedly. But I guess I don't. I want to provide my kids with the things one would fine in a good preschool (not all of them, but the gist of each center). I want my home to be organized & look clean. I want art. I know there are other ways to go about this & I do try to make things at home & with what I've already got. Im sad with myself. Im sad that I keep wanting. I am happy, I love my life, so whats up with this desire for things...? Do you think it's within reason? Do you think I'm just bored? lol.
I think it would be okay for me to eventually buy the easel, but it sucks that there is always something else i will want. When is enough enough?!

Our Schedule (2 y.o. & 4 m.o.)

Something that has been driving me a little nuts is our lack of a schedule! I am definitely more laid back than ever before (God does work miracles), but I am still happiest organized & structured! HA. We've always had feeding/nap schedules set up. Sophie's schedule is starting to change because she can stay awake longer. So why have I been craving a schedule, because I want to get things done, I don't want Will to watch too much TV, & I want to help Sophie get the best sleep, & therefore the best awake time, she can.
So, without further ado, this is our schedule until Sophie moves to a 4-hour schedule.

6:45am- I wake up & get ready
7:00am- Kids wake, Will has TV time & his rice milk, Sophie gets a bottle & solids (although we just decided last night to suspend the solids, she's not ready)
8:00am- Will & I eat Breakfast, Sophie sits in the highchair & plays with a toy
8:30am- Sophie is down for nap#1 by this point, Will gets ready
9:00am- Will has Structured* play, I do chores
9:30am- Will has Freeplay*, I continue chores
10:00am- Will has Roomtime*, Sophie wakes, gets a bottle & one-on-one time with Mommy
11:00am- Lunch, Sophie has highchair time or Blanket Time*
11:30am- Sophie is down for nap #2 by this time, Will goes down for his nap, Mommy naps, rests, or very rarely does a little non-stressful work
1:30pm- Sophie gets a bottle, if Will wakes up he has TV time & some rice milk
2:00pm- Snack
2:30pm- Sibling Playtime*
3:00pm- Sophie gets nap #3, Will has Learning Time*
3:30pm- Freeplay or Outdoor play during good-enough weather
4:30pm- Sophie wakes, gets a bottle & solids (again, suspended for now), I start making dinner
5:30pm- Dinner, Sophie has highchair time or Blanket time (whichever she's in the mood for)
6:00pm- Sophie gets nap #4 (I know right!?), Family Time
6:45pm- Sophie wakes
7:30pm- Baths/Bedtime routines- we alternate who gets a bath every other night, unless both are dirty; Sophie gets a bottle
8:00pm- BEDTIME!!!

If Corey is home for dinner, he & I have 15-20 minutes of Mommy-Daddy time after dinner, while Will plays freely.
*Structured Time is when I choose an activity/ies for Will to play with. Today it was waterplay (i made one side of the sink red & one side blue & gave him various tools to manipulate). I stay with him & interact, but also give him some space & get some housework done ;-)
*Freeplay is when he chooses what to play. Again, I am with him some of this time, but sometimes sneak in some housework.
*Roomtime is when he spends 30-60 minutes in his room playing with toys I've set out, or ones that are on his shelves. Today it was books, Legos, cars with his race track, & he also used his music instruments. This is when I get some one-on-one time with Sophie & get some housework done
*Learning Time has different focuses each day (they usually overlap). I work on these things throughout the day, but its a special time to really focus in on an area. I'll use next week as an example:
M- Language Development- Read 3 books related to trains & cars
T- Creative Art- Car Track Painting (letting him roll the cars in paint & then on the paper)
W- Gross Motor Skills- ChooChoo Dancing, like a train
Th- Math/Science- Line up & Count the cars & trains (not very imaginative, i know)
F- Fine Motor Skills- Train & Car Lacing Cards (made from card stock)
Wednesday is going to be when he takes gymnastics starting next month!
*Blanket Time is stared only because this is time she spends alone, in a nearby room.
*Sibling Playtime is not fully developed for obvious reasons. This is a special time I help Will & Sophie play with something(s) together. Usually its a ball or Music Table (on the floor).

And that is it. We let our schedule serve us, we don't serve our schedule. There are days we run errands instead of Outdoor play, Thursday mornings we have MOPS instead of all that stuff, and so forth. I had been scheduling too much things to keep myself from being bored at home, but I started to see the negative effects it was having on the kids (well, honestly, more on Sophie than Will, because he only takes one nap & is okay with breaking that one into 2). It's hard sometimes because some of my friends go out all the time during the day, but they are either at a different stage in life (has only 1 older kid) or they don't have the same philosophy I do when it comes to naps & bedtimes. I get over the hard by talking to other similar mommies & knowing that this is only for a season of my life & I get to enjoy/absorb all of my kids!