Make-A-List Monday – Quotable Kids

March 26th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Kids | Make-A-List Monday - (Comments Off on Make-A-List Monday – Quotable Kids)

Our three maniacs, from left to right, TT(4 1/2), Vanilla(15 mo.), and Peach(2 1/2). And yes, the two big kids crawl themselves into Vanilla's crib almost every morning and all three jump... Don't judge me.

On my other, extremely neglected blog, I attempted to keep track of funny or insightful things my kids said because they are constantly coming up with new gems. However, I often hear them say something, laugh about it and tell their dad, then forget about it. Today is redemption for my other blog, Out of the Mouths of Maniacs.

Here are some glimpses from that website as well as some new stuff the maniacs have been telling me lately.

1. After we returned home from vacation – TT: Mom, I just want you to be home for one day then go on vacation again.

2. Dad: What do you want to be when you grow up, buddy?
TT (age 4): What do I want to be when I grow up? Hmmmm…. A husband!

3.  Peach, our two and a half year old, has several nicknames for her little sister, and we don’t know where any of them came from. They are: Cakes, Quakes, and Little You-ee-high.

4. Lately, our baby, who is now 15 months old, has been saying, “Hi Peach!” and “Hi Sase!” (talking to her brother).

5. TT (age 4): Mom, you know how I can fly like Superman?
Me: How?
TT: I can get a cape on my back and a stick on my crotch and fly away!
Me: A stick on your WHAT?
TT: On my crotch. You know, like Harry Potter.

6. Peach (age 2, after painting her toenails hot pink): Mom, can I take my pink toes to bed with me?

7. Then there’s this conversation between a plastic goat and a plastic horse (via my two-year-old):
Goat: I love you.
Horse: Well, I love you too. Let’s run away from the hyheenas!

8. TT: That grape was disgusting. It tasted like yard.
Me: How do you know what “yard” tastes like?
Crickets, crickets.

9. As I’m wiping my four-year-old’s butt – TT: Mommy, I think you are just gorgeous!

10. Peach: I can do whatever I want!
TT: (in a very calm tone) No, you cannot do whatever you want. You are a child.

Which is your favorite? What are some awesome things your kids have said lately (or ever)?

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Pledge to Wear Black on Fridays to End Abortion in America

March 25th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Faith | Kids - (Comments Off on Pledge to Wear Black on Fridays to End Abortion in America)

AbortionBlackout.com is turning into a movement in the United States. Their short video (click below to view) explains simple statistics regarding abortions. It’s heartbreaking to realize how many children we’ve lost to abortion just in the last 30+ years.

Even if you feel you can’t participate in the Abortion Blackout each Friday, please pray for the children lost to abortion, their mothers and fathers who are probably suffering, and the healthcare professionals that they may have a change of heart.

Thank you Father Daren for bringing this movement to my attention. Feel free to reblog, share on Facebook, Pin It, Tweet about it, just spread the news about the Abortion Blackout.

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The Saturday Spruce-Up: The Kid Emergency Bag

March 24th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in The Saturday Spruce-Up - (Comments Off on The Saturday Spruce-Up: The Kid Emergency Bag)

Okay, so this bag I keep in my van isn’t for actual emergencies, but more for normal “kid” emergencies. We were at a local indoor playground recently (Going Bonkers) and my newly potty trained two-year-old wet her pants. I frantically searched the diaper bag for anything that would fit her, then ran out to the van while my little girl cried quietly because she still wanted to play.

Out in the van, the only thing I could find was a pair of gym shorts (and it was below freezing out) that my four-year-old hadn’t quite grown into yet. Why did I have shorts in my van in the middle of January? Because sometimes I can be a bit way too unorganized, and this pair happened to fall out of a bag of hand-me-downs we had received from another family.

I brought the shorts, thinking we were just going to have to make them work, when a good Samaritan–another mom I barely know–offered her son’s extra pair of sweat pants without a second thought. All I could do was keep saying, “Thank you! Thank you so much!” And thinking to myself, “I wish I was her right now. I wish I was smart enough to have extra clothes for my kids. Why am I NOT a type-A personality?!”

Then I discovered that it doesn’t take a type-A personality to put together a kid emergency bag. Here’s what’s in mine:

The Van Emergency Bag for Kids

  • Diapers
  • Wipes
  • Extra set of clothes for each kid, including socks and underwear
  • Jacket or sweater for each kid
  • Jammies for the baby

I just put it all in a bag, and it stays in the trunk of my van. Easy as pie! (I never understood this saying… it’s not really that easy to make pie.)

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I also found a car emergency kit placed in an adorably decorated plastic wipes case on the blog Rips in My Jeans (found via Pinterest, of course!). So I decided to make my own. Since I know I’ll never make the time to actually cover the box in cute fabrics, I’m just using Tupperware. Here’s what’s in my box:

The Van Emergency Box

I like that the Tupperware is clear so I can see everything inside without taking off the lid. This piece is a square #2 Modular Mate with a blue lid.

  • grocery bag for trash
  • hand sanitizer
  • Wet Ones
  • ibuprofen
  • lotion
  • white petroleum jelly (good to use for diaper rash cream or lip balm or for small cuts)
  • tissues
  • a safety pin
  • a small amount of cash & change
  • non-perishable snacks (I have Craisins)
  • a hair tie
  • a pen
  • bubbles (my maniacs go absolutely nuts for bubbles)
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Now I can feel like one of those actually-making-Pinterest-projects, wore-her-skinny-jeans-home-from-the-hospital, super-organized-tidy-house b moms… even though I’m really not.

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Funny Friday – The Round-Up Kid

March 23rd, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Funny Friday | Kids - (Comments Off on Funny Friday – The Round-Up Kid)

Last Friday my four-year-old son TT and I went to Kindergarten Round-Up. He’ll be attending our parish’s Catholic school, and he was pretty excited about the whole thing. My favorite quote: “Mom, you promised it was going to be so fun, and it was!” So now, even though I know I’ll be sad once August gets here, I know in my heart he’ll be well taken care of and happy when he’s at school ALL DAY next year.

Here are some shots of him after we got home from Kindergarten Round-Up:

My soon-to-be kindergartener with his new hat, handkerchief, necklace, and badge from the "Round-Up". Giddy-up partner!

Gram watched the girls while TT and I went to Kindergarten Round-Up, so she deserved a picture with the new cowboy hat.

TT sure loves his Gram. He cried when we figured out she was babysitting his sisters, but not him.

Me and V. She's still bald, but she ain't a baby. At 15 months, she's running all over the place and still cute as a button.

Okay, so this wasn’t the classic hilarious funny Friday, but a girl’s gotta show off her kids sometimes… right? 🙂

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Funny Friday: Helpful Hints when Caring for Baby

March 9th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Funny Friday - (Comments Off on Funny Friday: Helpful Hints when Caring for Baby)

I just discovered these graphics at CoolStuff.com. Parents and non-parents alike, enjoy. Have a great weekend everyone!

P.S. Uncle Connor, I’m talking to you.

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Make-A-List Monday: Most Annoying TV Shows My Kids Love

February 13th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Kids | Make-A-List Monday - (Comments Off on Make-A-List Monday: Most Annoying TV Shows My Kids Love)

Have you ever noticed how irritating television programming made for children can be? I have trying to cut down on my kids TV viewing, but they still have some favorite PBS and DVD shows they enjoy.

The top five kids’ shows from hell are:

5. Sid the Science Kid – He only thinks he’s a science kid.

4. Spongebob Square Pants – Want to make your kids dumber? Let them watch this!

3. The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot about That – “Your mom will not mind at all if you do”? I just don’t think any parent would let their kid go on adventures with a strange giant cat. Just sayin’.

2. Go Diego Go/Dora the Explorer – Do you see the elephant? Um, yeah, it’s right there.

1. The Doodlebops – Three adults with flourescent colored skin sing on a bus. Just plain weird.

I also feel like Barney should be on there too… What kid shows annoy you the most? I’m sure there are more out there. Have a great Monday!

UPDATE: We only have basic cable, so I’ve never seen an actual episode of Yo Gabba Gabba, but my friend Barb says, “I’d rather have a root canal than watch that show!”

 

1a. Yo Gabba Gabba – Wow. Just wow.

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The Saturday Spruce-Up: Double Feature

February 4th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in 2012 Resolutions | Living Simply | The Saturday Spruce-Up - (Comments Off on The Saturday Spruce-Up: Double Feature)

The last couple weeks and weekends have been a little too busy around here, and I feel like life goes too quickly when we’ve got too many activities going on. That said, I haven’t been able to make as much progress on the house as I’d like, but I did get one little area under control.

First let me explain this area. It is our front entry way, but it is the least use part of our house. We have a big screened in back porch, and everyone enters through there into the kitchen, not the front. So this tiny little area has been an hot spot for me to pile junk.

So just looking at this tells me how long it’s been since I had this little space all cleared out. There is a baby swing in there, people, and my baby can already walk. That means it’s been a good nine or ten months since it was used. There are boxes of random papers, “projects” I’ve been meaning to work on, and a tipped over hand-me-down magazine rack filled with old Better Homes & Gardens. Plus this entryway needs drywall and a paint job, but that’s a different project for a different day.

Okay, I admit, this is a lame project for the Saturday Spruce-Up. Lame. Check out the “after.”

So it still needs drywall, trim, and paint, but at least I can get to the front door (and even get it open!) if we ever needed it as an emergency exit or if a stray pizza guy comes to the wrong door.

Now for the awesome part of the Saturday Spruce-Up. But Bryn, you already showed us so much amazing change in your house, how could there be more?

Well, folks, be prepared to be stunned. Presenting: My son and his flippin’ sweet preschool ‘fro.

Oh yeah, I had to include Peach in there too because she's awesome.

Well if I had Peach, I had into include Vanilla too, right?**

Yes, our son had a super sweet four-year-old white boy afro. It took forever to get it all washed and the shampoo all out, plus it was starting to look funny unless I gelled it. And am I willing to gel a FOUR-YEAR-OLD’s hair every morning? Unlikely.

I went to the gym to work out one Thursday evening and here is what I returned to find (in a fort of course!)

I'm not sure what's happening with the elephant and the black stallion...

That’s right, my honey buzzed TT’s hair while I was gone. I wouldn’t have objected, so it was a really fun surprise. No, he no longer has his sweet ‘fro, but we have no more crazy bed head, and no more gel. Nice.

So there ya go. One lame and one awesome Spruce-Up. Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

** P.S. The picture above with TT & Vanilla is the TV I mentioned in my Super Bowl post yesterday. See? We are definitely living like no one else now so we can LIVE like no one else later. Thanks Dave Ramsey.

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Make-A-List Monday – Before I Was Mama

January 30th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Faith | Kids | Make-A-List Monday - (Comments Off on Make-A-List Monday – Before I Was Mama)

Today’s Make-A-List Monday is things I never had to think about before I was the mama. Being a mom is one of the greatest gifts anyone can receive, but it also comes with major life changes. So here was me, before I was Mom:

  1. It took a half hour at most to get to the grocery store, shop, and get home.
  2. I peed alone.
    And the only butt I had to wipe was my own.
    And I didn’t stand up and announce, “I need to go potty!” every time I needed to go.
    And I had never had a toddler say (loudly), “Good job, Mommy!” after I finished “going potty” in a public restroom.
  3. My house was still unorganized, but I had no one to blame it on but myself.
  4. I had never planned an entire day around nap time. Oh, nap time, how I love thee.
  5. I never noticed how many f-bombs are in R rated movies.
  6. My favorite brands were NOT Graco, Osh Kosh B’Gosh, and Carter’s.
  7. I kept my make-up in the bathroom, not the van. These days, it’s either mascara at stop lights or nothing.
  8. I didn’t know it was possible to love my husband any more than right then.
  9. I relied more on myself than on God. My faith has grown 100 fold since I had children because most of the time, I have no idea what I’m doing and just have to rely on Him. I’d go crazy with worry if I didn’t have faith in God.
  10. I couldn’t function on less than 8 hours of sleep. Haha, that one just makes me laugh now.
  11. Lunch with my mom consisted of actually having a conversation with her and catching up on each other’s lives, not chasing or quieting or encouraging small children to eat more than just ketchup.
  12. Time went by more slowly.
  13. While driving, I actually listened to music or talk radio instead of babbling of babies and toddlers.
  14. I never knew how intensely my own parents loved me. Or how annoying and sad it was when I fought with my siblings.
  15. I had no idea how strong I am. Or how amazing the human body is. Or that labor pain wouldn’t kill me, but could actually bring another life into this world. I was much less confident about my body then.
  16. I didn’t know how much love my heart could hold. It’s like my heart grew bigger with the birth of each child, and I’ve grown to love my honey even more seeing him as a father. Oh, how He loves us!

My four loves at Rocky Mountain National Park last fall. I AM SO BLESSED!

 

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March for Life 2012 – Love is the Answer

January 25th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Faith | Kids - (Comments Off on March for Life 2012 – Love is the Answer)

You may or may not have heard, but the March for Life in Washington, D.C. took place again this year on Monday, January 23rd. The main stream media is not super interested in covering this because abortion is such a widely accepted practice in our country. Pro-lifers are almost seen as radicals in our day. Tim Muldoon, a blogger for Patheos.com, wrote an amazing post about the March for Life, calling it the “March for Love.” Here is an excerpt from that post (with parts I liked best in bold):

In our experience, the metanoia of loving has meant seeing orphans not as problems to be solved, but as beloved children who will gladden adoptive parents. If you are pro-choice, or if you are someone who has had an abortion, perhaps it may help to imagine what gives fire to the pro-life movement. Each pregnancy we see as a new opportunity for love, an irreplaceable gift that challenges us to love anew. We see abortion as an interruption of the potential for love, the opportunity for love, and so we hope to build a society in which those opportunities are welcomed. Our hope is both simple and profound: to treat human beings through the lens of love, rather than primarily through the lens of reason.

In the big picture, love is the far more powerful way of looking at the world. Love is the game-changer. People die for love; they stretch their energies and resources for love. They move to the farthest ends of the earth for love. They take on the greatest challenges for love. They fast, tighten their belts, work extra jobs, lose sleep for love. They imagine new possibilities. Reason is often a wet blanket: it tells us why we can’t do something (it’s too expensive; it will require too much work; it’s too hard…). Love, on the other hand, moves us to find the ways we can do something. It is the most deeply human dimension of our lives, because it is at the same time the most deeply rooted in the divine.

Wow, if we can all truly look at life through the lens of love, think of what our world could be. There are no “official” statistics out there, but it is estimated that between one and two million couples are waiting for a child to adopt, waiting to be able to show their love to a beautiful little child. So what is the right thing to do if you are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy? LOVE is always the answer.

I also found this video trying to help people understand the reasons behind the March for Life posted by The Bad Catholic. Check it out here:

And if you believe in the power of prayer, please pray for the victims of abortion, for their mothers who have been hurt emotionally, spiritually, and physically by abortion, for those pregnant women who are feeling alone and scared, and for a change of heart our country’s leaders.

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Make-A-List Monday: Revolutionary Discoveries

January 16th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Kids | Make-A-List Monday - (Comments Off on Make-A-List Monday: Revolutionary Discoveries)

Recently I have made some great discoveries. I feel like a scientist discovering a new plant species every time I try something new, but it’s just typical stuff that most people in the generation ahead of mine take for granted.

Prepare to be astonished:

1.  Tea kettles are awesome! My mom and dad gave me a tea kettle for Christmas, and it is one of the greatest inventions ever. At our daughter’s first birthday party, I heated up the tea kettle and everyone had a choice of various delicious green teas, hot chocolate, or… coffee! What?! But coffee must be made in a french press or a percolator or a coffee maker! No longer true, folks. You can buy coffee in individual tea bags! Genius!

Yum! And it's much healthier than microwave popcorn!

2.  Popcorn doesn’t always have to come out of the microwave. So I always knew that movie theatres had those big popcorn machines, and my mom had an air popper when we were growing up, but most of the time when I made popcorn, it came out of the microwave. No longer true! I made the recent amazing discovery that you can pop popcorn in a pan with a little oil on the stovetop. Genius! Here is the “recipe” I used… yes, I did have to look up instructions on how to do it. :/

3.  Flat cloth diapers are the most useful baby item I’ve had to date. Flat cloth diapers can be used as, well diapers, of course. I have a few that are reserved just for burp rags and snot rags, which is very useful this time of year. They are good as light blankets and nursing covers too. When I do use them as diapers, they wash up beautifully and are 100% cotton so they don’t retain any lingering stinks (a big plus because I’ve got the nose of a bloodhound). I’ve also heard that they are extremely useful for cleaning because they are lint-free. Whoever invented flat cloth diapers is a genius!

4.  Clothes come out looking cleaner if you separate lights from darks. Wow, my mom is smacking herself on the head right now, thinking, “Who raised this child?!” She always told me I should do this, but knowing and actually doing it are two different things. Anyway, when Peach was first born, she wore pink literally all the time, and all of a sudden her tiny pink baby clothes were looking dingy. I started separating, and voila, pretty pink jammies again!
5.  I can french braid my own hair… sort of. I spent a lot of my childhood french braiding doll hair, but I never tried it on myself until just a couple weeks ago. It doesn’t look great; it actually reminds me of the shake-out braid of the early 90’s (remember those?), but it gets a little better after each attempt.

Photo courtesy of allrecipes.com

6.  If you can read, you can cook. My wonderfully intelligent grandma always used to tell me this, and it is true. Sometimes you have to read and re-read (again and again sometimes in my case) to get the picture, but most of the time, my cooking turns out somewhere between okay to pretty darn good. Last week I made pulled pork cooked in the Crock Pot with root beer and it was a big hit with everyone in our little family. Click here for the recipe I found on Pinterest.

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