How to Have an AMAZING Day With an on the GO Toddler!

1) Start the day with lots of cuddles and kisses followed by coffee. Always coffee. The stronger the better.

2) Blow Bubbles. Forget that your kitchen floor will be spotted and speckled for the rest of day. Just enjoy the moment. Also, don't stress if your toddler dips the wand into the bubbles and then proceeds to lick it. He/She will live. I promise.

3) Head outside! Vitamin D is an amazing thing! It's been really cold here this Winter, so Liam and I have been doing the next best thing. We play in the spacious hallways of our apartment building. So, if you can't head outside break out the outdoor toys anyways and open the blinds to let in the Vitamin D! Just be careful golfing in the house.

4) Breathe! This is very important! So, maybe you found a tub of hummus on the toilet or your toddler just ripped pages from a book. Breathe! Sniff the hummus. If it's still smells okay and is cool to the touch then place it back in the refrigerator (on a higher shelf this time). As for the book, bring out the tape! If it can't be saved with tape then bring out the crayons. You now have a new coloring book.

5) Let your toddler get behind the lens! He/She always lets you take the pictures, so why not pose instead! You may get some VERY unflattering pictures, but you'll be laughing right along with your kiddo. You can always delete the shots of the inside of your nose!

 

6) Make a mess and then take a bath! Paint, eat with your hands or dig in the dirt. Just get messy and then enjoy a nice bubble bath afterwards. Both getting messy and cleaning up are so much fun! 

7) Let your little nugget help with the chores. I admit sometimes this can make an even bigger mess, but they LOVE to help. So, why not teach them how to do it the right way! I've found less toys in the trash now that I've shown Liam what DOES go in the trash. I may have also rewashed a few clean dishes, just because he stuck them in they dishwasher. It didn't hurt them and he was occupied while I did the dishes. I call that a Win-Win. 

 

8) Enjoy the quiet. When they sleep try to enjoy it! I'm not going to give you the old "Sleep when they sleep" advice. We all know that NEVER happens. I have way too much to do to sleep when Liam sleeps, but I do try and have at least a moment of peace. I try and just sit on the couch and enjoy the silence for a minute or two before it's on to something else. This is usually when I enjoy my second (or third) cup of coffee. Peace.

 

9) Find beauty in the small things. Whether it's your little ones laughter or the scribbles on the wall. Hey, it's ART, Mama! Maybe your kiddo brought you a flower at the park (or in my case rocks). Or maybe you found some crushed crayons in the parking lot (see below).  All of these can bring a smile to your face. Your entire day may not be sunshine and roses. It may be full of poo and tantrums, but there can be that one moment that makes the entire day worth it. Find that beautiful moment and at the end of the day hold on to it. You may reflect at the end of the day and realize that the whole day was full of lots of little moments. These little moments make up a beautiful life. Your life. 

10) Sleep.  The laundry can wait and so can that episode of Modern Family. You need to rest, because tomorrow you get to do it all over again! Sweet Dreams!

 

Our Weekend in Review 3/23

This weekend we got to spend Saturday with Daddy. We had a lazy Saturday morning and then headed out to the free zoo, also known as PetSmart. Liam was in heaven! He could not stop saying "doggie" and "gato". He could have spent hours watching the cats in the adoption center. It was so sweet to see the look of awe and wonder on his adorable little face. 

 After PetSmart I just had to stop by Target. hehe! Liam got a new ball and since it was so nice out we tested it out when we got back home.

Sunday my husband had duty, so it was off to work for him. And off to church for me and Liam. Here he is in his Sunday best. ;)

When we got out of church it was sleeting and down right nasty.  This picture is of the ice on my windshield and the blossoming Dogwood Tree that was in front of my car. Oh, the irony. It even snowed later on that night.

 And here's a picture of me from Saturday. I take way too many pictures of Liam and not enough of myself. I usually hide from the camera, but how will Liam every know what I looked like when he was little if I don't step out in front of the lens sometimes. Yes, that is Liam's hat on my head. I may have to borrow his style.  :)

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How Do You Say "blankie" in Spanish?

This is just one of the many questions I've asked my Mother-in-law since my son was born. It's cobijita by the way.

I have come to realize that I learned "classroom" speak when majoring in Spanish in college. Sure, I picked up some slang and a few words for around the house, but I really didn't get that "home speak".

Since Liam was born I have found myself looking up all kinds of words on my SpanishDict App on my iPhone. It's usually pretty accurate, but then I have to consider what country the word is coming from. How you say one thing in Spain can differ greatly from how you say it in Mexico or Argentina or Guatemala.

I honestly never learned much about Guatemala and wouldn't you know that's the country who's slang and "home" terms I need to know. That leaves me asking my Mother-in-law when my husband can't remember. My husband is fluent in Spanish. It was pretty much his first language, but he prefers English. Spanish is coming back to him now that we use it ALL the time. If there's a word he can't remember and we ask his Mom, he immediately says, "That's right!". He knows...he just hasn't used his Spanish in a very long time. It's coming back to him though.

There are some words that just do not seem to want to stick for me though. Maybe it's because I'm getting old. haha! To combat this and to remember them so I can use them with Liam I have started putting up Post It Notes all over the house. I write the name of the object and stick the note on or near it. I planned on doing this when Liam started reading, but it looks like I'm getting a head start. ha! I did this when I first started learning Spanish too. Although at that time the words were more general...Stove, Refrigerator, Table, etc.


Here are few examples. A lot of the words are for things found in the kitchen.

Seagull. We see the seagulls outside our window and I had no clue how to say that in Spanish!

Colander.

Rolling Pin

Electric Mixer

Kitchen cabinet

I have learned a lot of vocabulary from Liam's book, My First Spanish Word Book. It's now one of his favorite books. He loves flipping to the pages of animals and saying "gato" (cat) for anything with four legs. lol!  

So, how do you say these words in Spanish? I know there has to be some variations from other countries. Let me hear them! :)

Happy Spring!

Although it does not feel like it, today is the first day of Spring! It's been cold here and it'll be even colder tomorrow. Come on Spring!!!

To celebrate I thought I'd share my Easter decor with you. Most of the ideas came from Pinterest, of course!

Here's my tablescape. I use the top of our TV stand for my holiday tablescapes. Our TV is now mounted as you can see from the super ugly cords, so I get free range of the TV stand.

I stuffed the vase with recycled tissue paper from a gift bag and the eggs I got at Michael's on clearance last year. I think I paid .25 cents each for them! The felt basket was new with tags from Target, but I found it at Goodwill for .50 cents! Target sends unsold clearance items to Goodwill. I have gotten some awesome deals that way. So, keep an eye out at your local Goodwill.

 

The cloth was a gift from my Mother-in-law. I assume it's from Guatemala. She gave it to me to keep my tortillas warm after cooking them. I think it looks very Spring-like, so I'm using it in my tablescape. I guess I should have ironed it now that I look at it. Oh well, the iron and I are not very good friends. lol!

 The vintage print in my Target frame can be found here. It's a free printable from The Graphics Fairy LLC. She has tons of amazing Easter photos!

 These are hand painted plastic eggs from a local famer's market in my sister's hometown. I put them in the cake stand from Liam's birthday party. I pretty much use it for every holiday now. I found the cake stand at Hobby Lobby for 40% off. Can you tell I love a deal?

 I made this super easy egg garland last year with eggs I found at Goodwill! You can find the tutorial here. Basically you just string plastic eggs.  ;)

This is the egg garland made with large eggs. It's in a basket on the dining room table, because Liam wouldn't leave it alone on my tablescape.

 

This amazing little hanging and the egg one on my front door were DIY projects made with trays from Dollar Tree. You can find the tutorial here from K.I.S.S. {Keep It Simple, Sister}.It really is super simple!

I hope to peruse the Easter clearance again this year and maybe snag some new Spring decor for next year.

Happy Spring! 

 

 

Funky Leggings and Bandana Bib

If you saw my post yesterday then you saw Liam's new funky leggings and bandana bib.

My super talented cousin, Stacy, made them! You can find her tutorial on how to make them here on her blog, Stacy Sews and Schools. And here is another look at them. :)

 She also turned a tank top into a romper for me! You can find that tutorial here.

I had been wanting something to show our Truman pride, but the Truman Gear store doesn't sell anything smaller than a child's size 5. I bought the tee in the smallest size and commissioned my cousin to turn it into a short-all! 

Here is a picture of it. It's been too cold for Liam to wear it, but as soon as it warms up I will get pictures of him in it!

Our Weekend in Review

Here are a few of my favorite photographs from this past weekend.



Our Saturday started with bubbles in the kitchen.

We then had a play date at the play area in the mall!

We headed home and after Liam's nap we got to enjoy the 60 degree weather.

Sunday Daddy returned home, so we headed to the Children's Museum!

Liam insisted on bringing a book. I will not object to that!