It's going to be loud

I don't mind the daily mess my boys make. You know, the one around late morning that you promoted because Pinterest had a great idea with paper plates and paints that snowballs into puzzles, little cars and Legos every where. It really doesn't bother me. I have read the post about "excuse my mess but my kids are making memories". I get it. I like it. However, I can't help but clean up the mess in my head before they are even half way done. So, here are a few tips that can help make the clean up process easier and less stressful. Let the messy fun begin! PAINTING: Start by putting paint in an egg carton. A color for each egg hole. I like to leave a few empty for mixing colors. Let them paint. When they are done, just leave the brushes and paint in the egg carton and close it up. When it is time to paint again re-open the same carton and add fresh paint. I repeat this until the carton has had it and then I start a new one. This keeps p...

I started with making my own surface cleaner a few years back and it has snow balled since. I don't know if it is the money saved, feeling of accomplishment or the (harsh) chemical free aspect of making your own cleaners that got me hooked but something did. Now, I make my personal care products like body and face wash along with stuff for the kids and cold/allergy remedies.  Here are a few of my favorites. These are easy and cost effective. Good luck and comment with questions. Sore Throats 2 tablespoons of sage pour 6 ounces of near boiling water over sage add 1/4 teaspoon of salt cool to very warm temperature gargle with this solution do not swallow Laundry Detergent 1 cup borax 1 cup washing soap 1 bar soap (fragrant free for sensitive skin and babies) place borax and washing soap in mixer shave bar of soap into mixture use food processor to make fine texture for detergent Bubbles - 1 gallon 11 cups water 4 cups dish soap 1 cup corn syrup ...

My oldest in his prime sandbox days. The sand was getting low in the sandbox so the planter box was his solution.  I am all for kids getting dirty. In fact, I enjoy a good summer day driving home with three stinky, sticky boys in the backseat. However, watching the process of three boys becoming stinky and sticky from the sandbox is not so great. The sandbox. Oh, how I loathe the sandbox. This just might be the most disgusting and irritating of all things for them to play with...and they love it. It doesn't have to actually be a sandbox for my boys to make any amount of dirt/sand a sandbox. If there is dirt in a mile radius my boys will find it. Hopefully there are shovels around but usually their hands work just fine for them. This isn't the disgusting part. I should start with my middle guy. He is three. There will be "poo poo pie" served along with a good dirt angel making session. If there is water involved go ahead and be ready for a dirt shake tha...

Last night my middle guy screams out for me and I am pulled away from my warm bed and wonderful slumber. This has become normal this past year. No, I don't have newborn. I have a dramatic 3 year old. That in itself is an entirely different blog for another day. I know there are other issues besides his dramatic nature contributing to the waking up screaming but back to last night's adventures in crazed mommy-land. He starts the screaming. I wait for him to make his journey up the stairs to my bed. This has become routine but last night something was different. He doesn't come upstairs instead he stands in the living room screaming. Now, I know I should be mostly worried but the screaming at night has become so normal and the fact that I have two other sleeping boys in the house promptly puts me in prayer mode, "please don't let the 18 month old up wake up". He is not a sound sleeper like his 5 year old brother. The last thing I want...

My kid is not normal. He has always gone with the flow and was never really defiant. Then he turned 5 1/2 and everything changed. I think what happened is he became aware of his weaknesses. His self esteem hits the floor, he gets whiny and doesn't want to try the minute it gets difficult. A year ago this behavior would have never happened. He would have asked for help...like a normal kid. Today I sat on the floor with him and we practiced writing letters on the chalkboard. He is writing away and having fun...until we try a letter he doesn't know how to write. BAM! Here comes the frustration and the whining. "I want to draw a train!" and so on. It takes the perfect balance between praise and pushing him to do his best to get results from him. Is this normal? I don't know. He is my first born so compared to him a year ago it doesn't seem normal. Or was my "normal" kid from a year ago the not so normal kid? Or is the real question: is there...

     my childhood home in the 80's 1) They didn't have someone posting every 5 minutes on social media insisting they are crappy parents because their kids are not eating organic food (or because they yell at their kids or don't yell at their kids...the list goes on and on) 2) They didn't have other parents giving them the evil eye in public because they were not abiding by the social media posts mentioned in reason #1. 3) They didn't have to worry about their kid's birthday parties. They would call a few of our friends over, have us play outside and then we would eat cake. I have adopted this old way of birthday parties and I highly recommend it. No gifts, no goody bags... just good old fashion fun. 4) They didn't have to worry about rear facing "recommendations" with car seats. I feel like the worst parent because I flipped my 18 month around to face forward. By the time I was 18 months I was probably st...

So, why the blog? Sanity? Reassurance? Just name a reason. I have had many people suggest I blog so here it is. Real, crazy and it is going to be loud. As I am typing, my 17 month old is screaming while the 3 and 5 year olds are out jumping on the trampoline. Oh, I should stop blogging because my baby is crying or maybe I should be supervising the older ones more closely...you might want to the leave this blog now. Run away...fast. In my defense, daddy is out on the trampoline but typically he travels during the week so don't give me too much credit. I guess for full disclosure (being the first blog in all) I should say that I have a glass a wine next to the keypad. This will be normal.  Sure I could parent...wait, now my 3 year old is crying at me. Oh, he hurt his ear. Obviously, daddy couldn't help with such matters. This is not a jab at daddy. The 3 year old is fickle. Back to "sure I could". Sure I could parent without wine, but why? Laughing matters aside for ...