M&MS in the couch cushion

We were in the thick of potty training our second when baby boy was born.

Nursing round the clock (and I did clock it on an app with him, it was 37 hours a week of nursing!) and trying to wipe a tushie and rush a 3 yr old to the potty all the time was incredibly frustrating.

What did I do?

I poured a bag of m&ms into a gladware container and shoved it into the couch cushion behind where I nursed the baby.

I offered my 3 yr old: one for making it to the potty, one for peeing on the potty, one for wiping, one for washing her hands, one for drying.  Mom award? Maybe not, but holy moly did it make my life easier those first couple of weeks!

Dads changing the status quo

Some dads seem to act like "sponsors" instead of partners.  

Earning income is a huge deal and of course it is essential--but if that IT, then that sounds more like a sponsor to me--whether it's dad or mom.  The tough part is the parent gig is 24/7...

Everyone is tired at the end of the day... everyone is tapped out by bedtime most days... that's when I really need my partner in the trenches with me.  These are things you're not supposed to say.  These are things you keep to yourself while other moms bash their husband as "another child" or how they don't know how to do anything.  If you're like me-- and your husband does do these things... it's tough to pipe up.  What makes people feel better is knowing that's just how it is for everyone-- men are dumb and useless... but that isn't fair to the men working hard to push against that stereotype and waking at night to rock the baby, or staying up late loading the dishwasher, or packing lunches, or reading to their kids, or throwing in laundry, or signing homework folders at 11pm.  These dads should be the norm... they shouldn't get praise for doing what moms do everyday-- why?  Because a family is a team.  So-- I hope as more men come into fatherhood this becomes the norm.

I hope my children will grow up to be partners with their mates.

Mean Girls

I took almost 8-year old Zelda* to Starbucks after school just to do something positive... honestly I've had a crappy couple of days and I was selfishly just trying to cheer myself up.

I talked to her about friends.

She got in trouble for licking a friend she was mad at, I mean... she was provoked, but DUDE-- don't lick someone. That's like a ticket to no friends.

anyway

I told her "if someone doesnt care about your feelings, they are not a good friend"

i said "who do you feel cares about your feelings in class"

Z- Tina and Fancy*

Me- Okay-- then only stick around them for awhile. I only have 2 really good friends, right? Who are my 2 good friends?

Z- Maxi and Rita*

Me- Right. I have other moms I like a lot and who make me laugh, but Maxi and Rita care about my feelings and would forgive me if I made a mistake. I'm not afraid to upset them or that they'll change their mind about being my friend. THAT is the kind of friend you want.

I fucking HATE that all kids are doomed to go thru the cycle of all this shit and no words of wisdom will really change that... but I guess we still have to try.

Daddy added this nugget for her to ponder: If someone isn't nice to everyone, they're not nice.

* names have been changed ;)

Garage Organization... Don't be a Hoarder.

As much as I'd love to fit both our cars in our garage, It's just more efficient for us to use the extra space for organization of backpacks, arts and crafts, and shoes, and put the main family car in there.  Our laundry room is also in there, and I wanted to find a way to make it feel like a room instead of just two machines shoved in a corner...

I also like the idea of hanging photos you aren't using up in the garage.

BEFORE

AFTER

Arts & Crafts stuff

Carving out a laundry room in the garage

Ideally, I'd have a spacious laundry room upstairs... but I don't.  Nor do I have much of a budget to transform this space into a separate laundry room:

So, I painted (less than a quart of paint needed, I used leftover paint from my son's room) $0, and bought a wooden border for the window and painted it white $10, bought a collage frame from Amazon $9, replaced the bare light bulb with a fixture we took from the kitchen (we out a fan light in there) $0, and used a shelf and some other frames that weren't in use, plus made a curtain out of some leftover fabric.  Hung the laundry baskets on he wall with simple hardware $5.  Put down carpet remnants $0...It feels so much nicer!

The day my (oldest) daughter got her ears pierced

That was a reeeeaaallllllly sweet day with Zoe.

I totally recommend waiting til at least 7 yrs old so you can have a mom daughter memory that she will remember.

She really appreciated it and felt grown up and it was def bonding time.

And we went to Cali pizza kitchen and I let her do the ordering

It was very sweet

And she said "I don't really like when people call me cute"

I said what do you like?

She said "adorable"

And after at lunch I said "how do you feel?"

"Grown up? Excited?"

She said "brave"

I totally get doing it as a baby Bc it's "easier" ... But miss out on this day? No way!

And omg a tattoo parlor? She would have flipped.

She barely made it thru this place and she had a lollipop and a stuffed bear to hold from them... The second the lady said "okay, ready?" She welled up with tears and got really upset

But I said "do you want to do it still?"

She nodded vigorously as she cried

I said, just focus on the lollipop, don't move a muscle and wait for it to be over

She closed her eyes the whole time.

She did great.

She cried more after the first one, and we decided at lunch that worst part was the noise. She said the noise scared her.

It was loud by her ear and she didn't think there would be any noise

It was such a great day it was a great bonding thing!

She told me she was really proud of herself and felt brave.

And at lunch she said I should post it in facebook and tell her what people say!

My version of fast food

Even if it were healthy, fast food is expensive.

When I need a really quick meal, here is one of my go-tos for my family of five... And I use leftovers in lunches for the next day.

I pick up 3 bags of Whole Foods brand vegan fried rice and some broccoli crowns.

Total cost for all of this? $11.

The rice cooks up pretty fast and just at the end, I put the cut up broccoli in top and steam it for just a couple minutes.

Done.  That's it.

Fun FoodFootnote:  For those screaming "Where's the protein?!" Did you know that broccoli has more protein per calorie than steak? :). Even though you wouldn't eat as many calories in broccoli as steak in one sitting, it's important to note, many Americans are way off about how much protein they need in their diet.  (It's like saying "I need to make sure I'm getting enough oxygen!") You'd do better worrying about fiber.  The minimum amount of protein any plant has is 14% and if you ate only plants all day on a 2000 calorie diet, that's means you'd be getting around 70g of protein.  (Daily rec for women is 30-50 and men 50-70).