To a new mom...

I saw a Carters commercial this afternoon with the line "When a child is born, so is a mom."  I was thinking about how meaningful it is for someone to call me "Momma" and depend on me for everything from dinner to bath to scaring away the monsters. The greatest thing about being Mom is getting to be a kid again and make the little things is life magic for another being.

Here are a few things for all new mom's (going through long sleepless nights and not being able to wait until their kid will enjoy the zoo) to look forward to...

- By age two the whole family will be eating on neon colored "take n' toss" plates because it is simply just easier that way.

- The gas in your baby's tummy you dread now because it causes screams, will soon cause endless laughter.

- Toys are totally overrated. We STILL prefer tupperware, paper tubes and boxes.

- Your child's imagination will blow your mind as soon as he/she is talking. Be a pirate too and make the living room your lagoon.

- You will go from "Ya, I'm little" to "Big boy pants just like daddy's!!" overnight.

- When your child is old enough to understand trips like the zoo and a museum, it becomes ALOT harder for you. Relax and run around too.

- Christmas is way better with kids.  Traditions are made and old ones honored.

- Throughout the day when times get stressful, you'll find yourself wishing for a slobbery little kiss and tight hug to make it all better.

- "Preggo-Brain" becomes "Mom-Brain" and you forever have an excuse for forgetting an appointment or two.

- If you get sick of singing the same songs to your baby, it is 100% worth it. They will remember the songs and sing them to you all horribly mixed up and jumbled and it is THE cutest thing.

Good luck, hang tight and spend EVERY moment falling in love.

Love
PlusPeace

Christmas Deal of the Day

Groupon has a great deal to CitrusLane they are offering a 3 Month Subscription for $35 (normally $75) for those of you not familiar with Citrus Lane, it is a monthly subscription for kids goodies.  You input your childs name, age and gender and they will mail a package to your home each month with cute toys, healthy snacks and useful products for your child based on their information!! So awesome.

The one they sent to toddlers in August looked like this:



To get your's go here

The best part is they tend to get organic and green items that would normally be pretty costly on their own but for $12 per month for 3 months is not bad. I plan to put this stuff in Bear's stocking :)

I will post photos of what we get when it comes in the mail! Also they have some pretty neat stuff on their pinterest boards.

Love,
PlusPeace

The Occupied Toddler

I often like to include Bear on what I make in the kitchen but sometimes, it's just not that interesting or not age appropriate.  I saw a pin (I wish I could find it) for putting paint in a bag and letting them play with it on the counter.  Since Bear is smart and a "picker", as in he picks at things, I had to re-enforce the bag.

I used:

Quart size double zip baggie

Green crayola finger paint (the key here is water based)

Clear packing tape

I put the paint in the baggies, got ALL the air out and zipped it shut.  Taped it on the top and bottom to the counter (horizontal) and then used smaller strips to cover it (vertical).  There is NO WAY that paint will get out of there and it entertained him for a full 15 minutes before moving on to another task.

I left it on the counter (been there 3 days) and he has played with it a few minutes here and there each day.

Definitely a fun, easy activity!

Love,

PlusPeace

Books Books Books!

I love reading to Bear but unfortunately the "under two" age group gets more learning books than story and lesson books, which after the 30 millionth time, are no fun.  Bear is now in the stage of his two's where he likes listening to an entire book being read and actually takes from it.

The holidays are coming fast and I know that we are quite broke now that we have our own home so when I find a good deal or come across a couple bucks I will jump on the opportunity to collect for Christmas.  The greatest deal I stumbled on when I went to my normal soap.com was a new sister site: BookWorm.  They have two offers going on - you can only use one so at checkout try the 30% Off 3 Books (BBOKWORM30) OR try the one for buy 3 get 1 free (1FREEBOOK).  I ended up using the 30% off since I bought only books under $12 that was worth $2 more.  To make the deal super sweet if you go through Ebates first you get an extra 2.5% cash back.  Now that's what I call some good double dippin!

Here's what I got:
Where the Wild Things Are $8.95 (-$2.69)
 Blueberries for Sal $6.89
Corduroy (with plush toy) $12.89 (-$3.87)
Make Way for Ducklings $7.99 (-$2.40)

$27.76 with $.70 cash back

Not bad for 4 books and a stuffed bear!!

Also been lurking around BJ Wholesale and found 70 hot wheels cars for $19

Good Luck!
PlusPeace

Gearing Up...

...for BIG BOY things that is!

We did it! We finally got all moved in and Bear has his own room. We've got him down to only babas at night which is a big accomplishment. He's shown an interest in the potty again (finally) and I have gotten him to bed in his own bed (at least to start) every night for a week! Hooray!

Thinking big boy pants and cups are in our near future.

Where are all of you at with your toddlers?

Love,
PlusPeace

"Daddy, when I grown up I chew gun n drink coffees!" - Bear