a little timeout...

and a whole lotta attitude!

rewards

When it comes to discipline, I'll admit, I am not the best at it.
I am definitely lacking structure in this department.
I mean, I read all about having a newborn, how to breastfeed, signs and symptoms to watch for with an illness, but as far as having a preschooler and the terrible 2's and the even worse 3's, I must have skipped the chapter or else the book ran out.

I would describe my parenting style as somewhat laid back.  I like to let my daughter make choices and have consequences within reason, but my plan, or lack there of, could possibly be coming back to haunt me. 

I wish I could tell you that I have the patience of a Saint, and never raised my voice.  And that when I tell my daughter to get in time out that she skipped on over to the corner and stayed there without a fight.  I'd love to tell you that my daughter never talked back to her momma or hit the dog or colored on my wall.  That she listened well and followed directions and never ever had a temper tantrum.

I can't tell you that, and I don't know to many parents that can.  But what I can tell you, is that I need a plan and fast!

It all started on Friday when I got the mail.  Seriously, getting the mail these days is quite the task with 2 foot of snow on the ground and frigid temps, but I manged.  In it, an American Girl catalog.  I think we have received said catalog once or twice, although I am not sure why because I have never purchased a single thing.  Presley snatched that catalog from my hands faster than you could imagine, sat down on the floor, and started turning the pages.  With each page she proclaimed how much she loved that doll, had to have that outfit, or bed, or dog, or any accessory that could possibly come with one of these dolls.  I explained to her that these dolls were definitely not in mommy's price range and that she could look, but would NOT be getting one.  She explained to me that she had plenty of money in her piggy bank and wanted to buy one herself.  I escorted her to her room and dumped her bank and counted the change.  $20.00!  I explained that she needed much more money, not that I expected her to understand, and figured we would drop the subject right there.  The girl literally shuffled through this magazine for an hour, and has since shown everyone that has come to our house her favorites, which changes with each glance. 

And this my friends, prompted my plan.  Now I wouldn't call it bribery, more or less a Reward system based on good behavior.  I sat down with Presley, and together we looked through the magazine.  She pointed out her choice and I mentioned to her that I had an idea of how she may be able to get her doll.  Her eyes lit up.  I have never seen her want something so bad.  Together, we picked out some age specific chores that she could make an allowance doing.  I printed this chore chart and bought some stickers.  {on a side note, this printable is seriously the bomb dot com.  free and cute and personalizable!!}  The other half of the reward system, another chart, to encourage her to sleep in her big girl bed, which is still a struggle every.single.night.  We agreed that I would pay half of this doll if she slept in her bed 20 times, and she could earn money for the other half with her allowance from her chores.

Chores like brush your teeth, listen well, follow directions, help mommy, feed the dogs.  I am hoping this reward system will deter some of the bad behaviors we have been experiencing lately.  I made her a bulletin board for her room with her sticker charts and a picture of "Saige," her favorite American Girl doll {today}!  

So far, she is really into it and put her clothes in her "hamster" today.  Love this girl.  She has my heart and I am excited for her to participate in some positive behaviors and hopefully acheive her goal.

Wish me luck y'all!!

those silly things you do as a parent + a recipe

As a parent, I find myself doing and saying some things that I never thought possible.  Conversations and creativity that I never imagined.  One particular time of day that requires a lot of creativity is dinner time.  My little sweet-ums is a PICKY eater.  Very frustrating when all your 3 year old's menu consists of are ahem... chicken nuggets, pop-tarts, yogurt 50/50, and occasionally fruit-but her likes there are ever-changing and I can't seem to keep up.  I buy banana's for the week and all of a sudden she doesn't like banana's she wants grapes, I buy grapes for the next week, and it's "I don't like grapes, I wanted strawberries!"  Ahhh, makes me want to pull my hair out. 
 
Lately, I have been trying to encourage Presley to eat what we are eating because I get tired of making 2 meals.  One that Phillip and I eat, and one for the princess.  We have been trying to sit down as a family, at the dinner table, no cell phones, limited TV and just EAT.  In other words, no distractions because my 3 year old is easily distracted to say the least.
 
 Most of the time, Presley is less than excited to eat what we are eating BUT I have been encouraging her to at least try what we are having.  Usually, getting her to try the food is a battle so we developed a "cheer" system.  Which goes a little like this.

"Presley, if you take a bite of that lasagna noodle, I will cheer for you!"
and after she takes the bite, Phillip and I scream, shout, YAY!  YOU DID IT!  and that usually encourages a few more bites, but the reward has to get bigger. 

Dinner time these days, has turned into a full on cheerleading squad.  Now, she asks for it.  Bargains with us.  And we are the dummies that agree to it.

She will hold up her spoon with a bite on it and say, "Ill eat this, but you have to spin for me!" and when she does, we get up and cheer and do a spin and clap our hands.  She now prefers, "pom poms" when we cheer.  So, we hold up imaginary pom poms as she takes said bite.  I am sure our neighbors think we are nuts.  And well, we probably are for encouraging these behaviors but it gets her eating and that gets me happy.

This week, I tried a little something new in hopes to appease my pre-schooler.  Instead of the same old meatloaf, I put them into cupcake liners thinking Presley would think that they are the bomb dot com.  I have seen the idea floating around on pinterest and the world wide web {like that?} but never stopped to read one because, well I love my adapted over time meatloaf recipe and what's left besides putting them into cupcake liners.

so, Here's my take of meatloaf cupcakes.

I like to use ground turkey in my meatloaf, come to think of it, 9 times out of 10 I prefer ground turkey over beef in my recipe's.  I also, thanks to some late night conversations at work {thanks Annette} have started putting oats in my meatloaf, and honestly this is where the magic happens.  Makes it Awesome Sauce!  For reals! And then all the usual stuff, some onion, some onion soup mix, 1 egg, and a little BBQ sauce.  Mix it all together, and pour into your cupcake liners.

Bake on 350 for 25 or so minutes until the meat is cooked throughout.  I then make a glaze of BBQ sauce and brown sugar and pour over top and bake another 5 minutes.

I whipped up some mashed potatoes {no, not from the box this time} and then put them into a large ziplock bag and frosted my cupcakes!  Sprinkled a little season salt on top and there you have it!

I was rather pleased with the results, and thought to myself, Yep! I've got her now! She is going to love these cupcakes.. And for the moment of truth.  She took one look at it and said "what's this?"  a cupcake of course!  "no, that is not a cupcake"  Yes! Yes it is, go ahead and try it, it's very yummy.  "mom, I only eat cupcakes with sugar in them" and that was that!  While daddy and I scarfed down these sugar-less cupcakes, the little miss had a cheese stick and mandarin oranges. 

I am thinking my days of cheering at dinner time are not going away anytime soon.  What about y'all?  Any silly quirks you do for your littles?  I'd love to hear them!

time-outs | temper-tantrums | and a tutorial

Sometimes, I wish mommy-hood was all about smiles and sunshine and sweet little cuddles... however, we all know that is not the case!  Especially when it comes to this little stinker pictured below.  This girl.  My mother wished this on me and now here it is, staring me in the face.  She has such a strong personality and is confidently independent.  Sometimes, time-outs seem to be more work for me than a consequence for her. 

When I found this tutorial for a calming jar, I knew it was a good one.  I pinned it away for a rainy day.  Well, the storms hit, the day PJ turned 3, and I untucked this tutorial and was hoping it would help with the temper-tantrums
and the time-outs.  

So, here it is. My rendition of a calming jar, which we are referring to in our little family as the
"I need a moment" jar.  I followed this tutorial with only a few modifications.

First off, as spelled out in said tutorial, you'll need a jar of some sort, clear glue, hot water, glitter and a very adorable little helper. 

While the recipe I followed used a mason jar and I loved the way it looked, I could only visualize it exploding into glittery glass pieces all over my new hard wood floors in a moment of 3 year old rage, so I opted for a peanut butter jar
>>> yes, plastic.   
{sidenote | do you know how hard it is to get a peanut butter jar completely clean?  ya! that was a treat} 
After spending what felt like 2 days 20 minutes, give or take, cleaning out the jar, I realized, uh-oh, this leaks!  In walks the hubbs, and could sense my frustration {we will just leave it at that, k?} and he said not to worry, that he would seal the jar!  I didn't argue.  I figured him being a plastic major had to come in handy at some point and this would have to be it.

I used about 2 tablespoons of the clear glue and 2 cups of hot water, and that nearly filled my PB jar to the brim.  Then, together we "spilled" in the glitter as my little chickie refers to it as.  No, not pour, SPILL.  I wasn't sure in which order to do these steps, so I added the glitter last.  It did take a while for the glitter to head to the bottom of the jar.  It would just sit on top of the water|glue mixture, so I stirred it with a spoon and that seemed to help.  I also spray painted the PB jar lid a silver metallic spray paint, for some added pretty.

After much spilling, and much stirring, we got most of the glitter to settle to the bottom of the jar.  There seemed to be a layer of glitter that just would not settle, so a few drops of clear glue to the top of the mixture helped with that.

I absolutely loved doing this project with Presley.  She got so excited with each color that was spilled into her jar.  And of course, she had to spill each color that she picked out "all by herself."  Which did not lead to a glittery mess all over my kitchen.  No, not at all!

The hubbs pulled through and used a clear silicone around the opening of the jar and on the inside of the lid, screwed it on really tight, wiped off the excess, and instructed us to let it dry overnight.  I think I may have been just as disappointed as Presley.  We both just wanted to shake the hey out of the jar and see what it could really do, but we didn't.  We let it dry overnight.

The next morning, we tested it out.  No leaking, check!  Lid could not be unscrewed, check! The glitter actually dispersed when shook, check! and settled just as it is supposed to! check!!  all in all, success.  Now here's to hoping that besides being a fun project, that it will have some displinary action as well.  Fingers crossed! 

so here's the nitty gritty

• find a jar and get it good and clean, spray paint the lid
• use 1 tablespoon of clear glue to 1 cup of hot water
  {a standard size peanut butter jar will use 2 tbsp to 2 cups}
• "spill" in glitter to desired amount and stir as needed
• if using plastic, coat edge of jar and inside lid with clear silicone, screw on tight, and wipe off the excess
• let dry overnight {husand's orders}
• shake and enjoy

to the {little} love of my life...

my dearest baby girl...

everyone told me it would happen, "she will grow up before you know it."  I knew it would go fast, but never imagined this fast.  you still have so much more to grow and I am so excited to witness every second. 

I love you with all my heart!  21 months ago... I fell in love with you and never, ever did I know that a love this great existed. 

my heart melts every time you say, "I wuvv you!"  and each kiss you give and then say "one more."  a game I could play forever.. I love the way you say names of the people you love, and the way you adore your aunt lauren.  I love your facial expressions and the silly dances you always do whenever you hear music.  I love when you get in trouble and you know it and you go sit in "time out" without being asked.  I love when we walk into baby Gap and you pick out something, hold it up and say "ahh, cute." I love when you hair is in your eyes and the way you sweep it off your face.  I love that you beg {all the time} to brush your teets with your Dora toothbrush.  I love when your favorite cartoons come on and you know the characters and get so excited. and I love those pigtails in your blonde hair...  I never, ever want to forget these little things that make my heart grow bigger and remind me how lucky I am to have such a sweet little girl in my life.

I wuvv you baby girl!

a sofball game... and bubbles

a lovely evening it was, for a little fun, cheering on daddy and his softball team.  even though it proved to be a hot one {all 91 degrees} we found ourselves having a ball... {get it? yep it was bad}  we were in great company with fellow teammates and the greatest of cheering sections and even presley had her very own companion as well...

we packed up the wagon, a picnic, and my fave... dill pickle sunflower seeds. {I can't seem to watch the ole' ball game without em' mm'kay} and of course my beloved canon.

presley jane was entertained with bubbles... the girl just loves them.  and of course I am entertained with watching her have fun and be a kid!

a lovely summer evening if I do say so myself!

a fight with a blue marker {and the marker definitely won}

today's post contains no photos... and there is a reason for that.  instead, today's post will be somewhat of a tutorial, {how to get permanent marker out of your carpet}.

lately, my perfect little angel {insert sarcasm} has been "testing her independence"  she must have received the memo for the guide to terrible two's a little early because all of the sudden the girl is just plain naughty.  one lovely afternoon, {again, sarcasm} presley found a blue permanent marker {which I have never seen before}.  while I can appreciate my daughter's creative art work, I have a hard time appreciating it on my brand new cream carpet.

I happened to look up from whatever it was I was doing, and in a blink of an eye, I noticed that my daughter, in diaper wear only, was covered head to toe in blue permanent marker.  she was very proud of her artwork and at first, I chuckled until I looked at my floor and saw many swirls of said blue marker all over the carpet.. so consider this post as a PSA.. in case this may happen to you, here is what you can do.

1.  first, run around frantic, say omg! omg! a few times...
2.  hop on the Internet and google "permanent marker out of carpet"  {you may omit this step if reading this post} and I can very much appreciate the sarcasm even google provided "it's called permanent for a reason"
3.  grab some rubbing alcohol and 2 cloths
4.  put a generous amount of rubbing alcohol on the cloth and start "blotting" on stains
5.  use the dry cloth to "blot" up the marker stain
6.  the left over stain can then by manicured with your best "trimming scissors" from your sewing room
7.  grab the shop vac and give it a good sweeping
8.  then never look at the very spot again {and hope no one else does either}

after feeling very proud of my carpet saving techniques, I took one look at my daughter and realized that I still had a pretty large mess to tend to.  to the bathtub she goes. I used- her regular baby soap with no luck, dawn dish washing soap, baking soda, thought about bleach and then decided that would not be very good. then tried some watered down rubbing alcohol to no avail.  so, I get to look at the beautiful artwork of presley jane everyday.  may not seem like a huge deal except that little miss gets to be flower girl this coming weekend and I would prefer the blue stains gone.. surely it will be by then??

looking back, I should have taken a picture, but as you can imagine I was frantic.  so, no cute pictures, but I do offer you a great tutorial, should this ever happen to you.

ahhh... I have a strong feeling there may be more posts of this nature to come....

happy mother's day

to all of the lovely mother's out there.. I hope it's a fantastic day for you, filled with the love and laughter only your kiddo's can bring.  one truly cannot appreciate the meaning of mother's day until you have become one.  after becoming a mother myself, I found a new meaning for this special day and a deeper feeling of  respect towards my own mother. 

meet.. my momma.

I am truly blessed to have such an amazing woman that I can call mom.  my mom, always, has put her kid's first.  she is the most unselfish and patient person I know.  I have learned a lot about the mom I want to become from her.

sometimes, I still feel like I am the girl standing in this picture.   for anyone who knows my mom and I and the relationship we have, know that we are almost inseparable.  I am lucky enough to see my mom every day, and talk on the phone several times a day.  we do everything together, she is my best friend.

 her love and support never fail me.  she was by my side through the birth of my very own.  being so anxious that day, my mom held my hand.  it's so funny how sometimes, you just need your momma, even at 27 years old...

I can only pray that presley and I can have the same relationship that my mother and I have.

it still amazes me that in one day, in one instance, you become a mother and all your feelings change and a love is born like never before, all for one tiny, little perfect being. 

so to all the influential and amazing mommies out there... happy mother's day.. we make the world go round.