Being Scared of the World, While being a MOM!

Hi, if you are reading this that must mean the boredom and need to stay busy has gotten to you and you have stumbled across my wonderous blog. If that is the case then...WELCOME!!! If you are a follower or a fan thanks for sticking around during this crazy time in the world!

If any of you are like me then you are also a parent at home with kids that would normally be in school during the day so things may be a little out of whack for you! Well, guess what...

THAT IS OKAY!

The world is super crazy and scary right now and not having it all together is the kind of thing we all have in common right now. There are so many people who are trying their hardest to be teachers, improvisational cooks, keep the house in order and make sure that everyone is keeping up on their hygiene. It is hard, especially with so much fear and uncertainty in our futures. We need to stop pushing our selves to keep the same schedules and to-do lists and embrace the looser side of the days.

Are you someone who likes to make lists and cross off everything as you do it? Instead of making a new list each day, make one big list broken into three parts.

In this section, you want to write down the big things to get done before the month is over. This could be writing up your meal plan and shopping list for the following month, cleaning out a closet, reorganizing a room in your home, etc. These are items you can be a little lax on and leaves time for ...

In this section, you'll put things like laundry, changing bed sheets, cleaning out the refrigerator, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning the bathrooms, etc. These are things that you want to keep up on a little bit more for hygiene reasons and of course so you can keep up with what you may have stored behind that jar of jam or gallon of milk at the bottom of your fridge! (I know I myself am not a fan of finding that leftover pot roast or chicken soup several weeks later when it has developed it's own islands of mold and bacteria residents lol)

This is the section that will change the most and if you use a whiteboard like I do that makes it much easier to change when you need to. Right now I have small boards for the kids to put their personal to-do lists on and one large one in the kitchen we use for the menu of the day and most other notes. Here you can put things like, work on schoolwork, dishes, prep meals, bake something, and if you want to do smaller lists for the kids and designate a set time for the lists to be checked off, then you can put things like, make beds, get dressed, brush teeth, set table, pick up toys, read two books, etc. Make them quick chores and tasks so that there is still time to be together and reassure them that together you can get through this time.


I am still working on my board for the next month as this one is pretty much over. I will post that picture with my blog post on Tuesday to bring us into April. Tune in then to see how I played it out and use some of your own creativity and I would love to see yours!

Now comes my biggest TIP/SECRET/IDEA THAT WORKS FOR ME:

Take one day and do NOT make a list for that day. Take that day off, spend it with the kids doing fun stuff they choose to do, let them pick dinner that day, make a fun snack, stay in pj's and cuddle watching movies on Disney+, Hulu, Netflix or any other streaming service you might have.

**side note, I will be making a post about some fun shows and movies I discovered when I ran out of things on the DVR to watch** Should be fun! 

But anyway, take a day to just have fun and try to enjoy the togetherness you can get with your family that life usually doesn't give us a moment for like we would like. It is ok to be afraid of what's to come and what has already happened. It is ok to feel overwhelmed and like you cannot seem to stay on track. DO NOT be hard on yourself. (trust me I know from first-hand experience this does NOT help anything lol) be kind to yourselves and others. We need kindness more than anything right now in the world. I hope this helps you a little bit or at least gives you something new to try to keep some of the sanity at this time.

See you again soon! Keep reading and we will keep living! <3 

A New Year but not a New Me

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, welcome to 2020 and thanks for reading along. 

I know most of the time when the year starts the internet and real-world are covered in "Resolutions" that we all start promising we are going to stick to. However, you will not find those here. I have decided that this year I am just going to continue doing what I started to do in 2019. There is no reason for me to say "New Year, New Me" I don't want a new me, I kinda like me the way I am, I am loved for me why change that. 

Now don't get me wrong I do not mean that I don't think there are things about myself that could use some tweaking, I would love to go down a pants size (or 4) so I have already started eating better, exercising more, and making all-around healthier choices for myself and my family.

That was something we started before the holiday season tempted our sweet cravings, so I plan to continue that. I also plan to work on my mental health. I have done research, planning and implementing of things into my life that helps with that already (otherwise I probably wouldn't have made it through the holidays quite as easily).  

Something I found that helps with my particular issues 
*(if you would like to know more about mine leave a comment) is staying organized and having my home as in order as possible. ORGANIZING is KEY for me! I have working on finding thrift shop finds and free items from friends and neighbors as often as I can because it makes it WAY easier to organize when you have a place for EVERYTHING!  (There will be a post about some of my finds and what I used them for coming up later this month) Just implementing a few changes here and there in our life has made a huge difference in how my mental health impacts my day to day routine. 

Another change I made last year was trying new things. That extended to making new friends, going to new places, eating new foods, and doing things I would have once hesitated to try. This year will be filled with more of that. I will continue to put myself out there and say yes to opportunities that are presented to me with less fear and more ambition! I will do things I have always wanted to, and I will finally cross off a few more things from my bucket list. 

That also ties into me keeping track of my days and making memories with my family. More photos, more crafting, more reading, more time together because it is so very precious right now in the world we live in. The kids have been growing so much and it so hard sometimes to realize just how independent they are all becoming. I suppose I nurture that by finding ways for them to make decisions in our home, holding them accountable for their actions and chores, and making sure they always know how they feel matters. I want them to grow up knowing they are loved. That is really my only goal in life! I want those I love to be happy and know how much they are loved. That extends to my friends, my family (near and far) and even strangers because with the way the world is we need as much love out there as is possible. 

So now you know what my plan is for this year, I would love to hear what your plan is. If you don't have a plan and that works for you then that is okay too. For me, a plan works best and I wish you all the best! 

Coming up this year here @Making it Work Together, we will visit bucket lists, crafting, organizing, mental health, and what works in my house for our family's particular needs! If there is something you would love to see, please feel free to leave a comment! 

Happy Living! - MomentofMom 

Summer is Here

Yep, you heard that right moms and dads out there, Summer is HERE! Which of course means....no school!




I am lucky that I can be home with them while they are out. I am lucky there are with me for a good portion of the summer as they are with Dad most of the year because of school.









HOWEVER, surviving the summer with kids wanting attention the ENTIRE day can run even the most even keeled mother ragged.









My children especially could stump a Pinterest mom with the need for entertainment and attention. Again lucky for me I AM a Pinterest mom and have a plethora of ideas the are spaced out over the summer to help us stay sane in the hot weather. Last week we had our first day out together since school let out and it went about as smoothly as I could have hoped it would.

First we had a smooth morning with a shower and yummy breakfasts for the kiddos. Then we hopped the local bus down to our town's library where I signed the kids up for their own library cards, we did a puppet show and then took out some books and movies to enjoy at home. Spencer spent some time talking and laughing with the fish in the aquarium. Out side they posed with and as statues (it was totally cute).






On the way back we had a little bit of money so we stopped at DQ and got some cheese curds and blizzards before making the short walk home. It was a blast and the kids had so much fun.







I love how much they love books and having them thank me for the "awesome snack" was pretty damn great.

In the weeks coming up we have a few more library trips, a fireworks show on the 4th, probably another BBQ or two and several small activities for the days when the weather doesn't want to cooperate with our plans, such as rock painting, puppet show making, forts, and family games to play.

All in all I think summer will go well and I will miss them when they have to go to theirs Dad's again.

Zee's art page 

Spencer's picture of me and a turtle!

 I even have a blast just making art with them. It makes me smile when Spencer draws our family and when Kenzee comes up with ideas that she does all on her own with no guidance. It really shows how creative she is.





This is going to be a great summer with lots of fun memories. I cannot wait for the next day of fun planned.
I am sure you will all be waiting ever so patiently for my next update on how we are making it all work in today's chaotic world and keeping ourselves happy. Until tomorrow! Ciao!

Making It Together (Andrew and Mama Day)

Today was another "started like any other" day. Breakfast, dressed, chores, etc. Then DJ headed off to work and me and the kids went about our day. Now lately I have been having a lot of trouble staying asleep and have averaged maybe 3-4 hours a night of actual rest, so I have a bit of a short fuse as well as lingering headaches and fatigue. (I plan to address this issue with my doctor when I see him next week, if I can make it that long). So my days I wake up and hope beyond hope that the kids will keep the rivalries to a minimum. Today has been pretty good in that regard. Mckenzee made lunch for her and Spencer (some peanut butter and banana sandwiches) then once he went down for his nap she headed outside to play with her friends. Andrew stayed inside with me because he wanted to do a project. 

Turns out his project was his version of a Titanic replica made out of cardboard recyclables I had around the house and my glue gun! 
He is really good at figuring out how to make the items look like his favorite famous ship! 

He worked on it for about two hours, cutting, folding, gluing and taping until he had a pretty good start to the Titanic. Tomorrow we plan to do a little more work on it and hopefully even get to the point of painting it as well. (There will be finished pictures posted in the post I have after he finishes it). Here is what it looks like right now with the work he put into it today. 
I am very excited to see how it will turn out in the end, I am very proud that he came up with this all on his own. I love that he is so into the history of such a famous part of this world's past. 

Andrew and I also made corn chowder tonight for dinner, which happens to be a family favorite.

 Here is how you can make it at home yourself:

1/2 cup butter
One medium onion, chopped
4-5 large potatoes chopped into bite size pieces (this feeds 5 people, you can use more potatoes if you want to feed more people) 
One 12 oz can Evaporated Milk 
One 14 oz can Cream Corn
One 14 oz Kernel Corn (drained)
Salt & Pepper (to taste) 

In a large pot saute onions in butter until translucent and soft, add in chopped potatoes and toss with butter and onions. Cover potatoes in water (just until covered) and cook over medium heat until tender. Add can of milk and cans of corn and return to low simmer cooking until heated through. 
Serve and Enjoy! 

((My kids love this meal and it is a great meatless dinner night recipe however I do know some like to add bite size cooked chicken as an alternative.))

So today everything we did was home made and done just me and him. Tomorrow Mckenzee and I will do somethings together just her and Mama! I love when days work out like this. 

Now we are ending our night with some Harry Potter, watermelon, popcorn, and some cuddles. (Mckenzee will be attending camp come the 19th and it is Harry Potter themed so we are getting her prepped up for it) 

Hope you all have a wonderful night! 

Just Another Manic.....Tuesday.

Today of course was like any other. Get up, Mckenzee off to school, Spencer up...etc. However, the Spencer part was the start of a different kind of day. Last night he had a little trouble getting to sleep due to him having some bad milk and throwing up when he went to bed. So he had to be washed up and put back to bed after cleaning everything up. Then this morning he had a diaper that decided it wanted to explode and get those tiny weird beads ALL OVER him and his bed. So I had to throw him in the bath to start his day which I am pretty sure he loved since he laughed and splashed and had a grand ol time in there. Then it was breakfast and time to get going on things that needed to be done. So I started in the kids' room and I cleaned out between Mckenzee's bed and the wall and got her bed pushed against it so I could turn Spencer's crib against the wall and make a little more room in there for them to play in. Then I remade both their beds and fixed their closet door. All fun fun fun! 
By the time I finished all that I had to pick up a mess that Spencer felt the need to make while I was occupied in the other room. Apparently there was a toy at the BOTTOM of the toy box he just HAD to have! So he took everything out to find it. Next thing I knew it was lunch and time for him to go down for a nap. I used that time to do three loads of laundry (wash, dry and fold). I also organized some paper work and crafting supplies. Then BOOM! It was almost time for Mckenzee to be home from school and Spencer up from nap and then it was time to make dinner which came out fantastic! (Pork Chops, Garlic-Cheddar Mashed potatoes, Butter-corn and biscuits with Applesauce) So yummy that Mckenzee has seconds as did Spencer and DJ (that doesn't always happen). 

I was hoping I would have time to do some writing or some artwork but the day just got away from me and before I knew it DJ and the kids were heading to bed and here I am blogging, watching "Dance Moms" and wishing I have $200 to shop at JoAnns online! (I could go totally nuts buying crafting supplies and such to make gifts and for my own enjoyment!) If things go well this year there will be tons of homemade gifts for me to send out to my loved ones and for my own kiddos! 

I am trying to be ambitious and really get things done this year. I have been really good at keeping up with my smile jar and I have been doing some small sketches to get my groove back, the only thing I need now is some gloves to help with the pain in my hands that I am sure are the early signs of arthritis. Gotta love getting older. I cannot WAIT for menopause! *sense the sarcastic tone* On that note this old lady needs to get some rest because her old man is taking her out tomorrow to celebrate his birthday with a wonderful comedic "roast" with all his friends finding something to say. Should be very interesting! 

Goodnight my faithful readers....if there are any....hey if you get a chance leave me a comment just so I know you were here! 

We Made It!

My Cookbook

So today we did our first home made projects!  I have been wanting to do some home made items for a while now but it always seems like time and supplies are never fully on hand.  HOWEVER, today I made sure I was fully prepped and ready to go....I had my recipes,

Our Supplies!

and my supplies, 

The Happy Helper

and my happy helper!


First Mckenzee and Spencer had their yummy lunch (which I am proud to say Mckenzee made all by herself) of a ham and cheese sandwich and chips for her, and roasted chicken, mickey mouse cheese faces, and apple juice for him. I myself am also proud of what I have since I am doing my best to eat a lot better.  I had a salad of chicken, cherry tomatoes, greens, Parmesan cheese, and Caesar dressing on the side. I also put a little black pepper on my salad which made me rarely even use the dressing so I was kinda glad of that. I had an ice water and a clementine to round out my lunch which was totally awesome!

Needless to say everyone ate it all up and we were ready in no time to get started!


First we started the finger paints I measured everything out and let Mckenzee add it to our pot on the stove. Here is the recipe I used :

Original Finger paint

Ingredients

1/2 cup cornstarch

3 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups cold water

food coloring

Directions

In a medium pan, mix all the ingredients together to make the finger paint. Cook over low heat 10 to 15 minutes. Keep stirring the finger paint mixture until it is smooth and thick. After the finger paint has thickened take the pan off the stove and let the mixture cool.

After cooling, divide the finger paint into storage containers depending on how many colors you would like. Add a few drops of food coloring to each container. Stir the coloring in to the paint to determine the shade of color. You're ready to finger paint! Cover tightly when storing.

Find recipe and more at :: http://www.creativekidsathome.com/activities/activity_42.html#Original%20Fingerpaint

Stirring the pot!

 Mckenzee begged me to let her do some mixing so I did, she was very careful and had fun until her hand got too hot.

Mckenzee squeezing the syrup into her hot water int he jar.

While we were waiting for the paint to go from a thin liquid to the think consistency we needed we got started on the calming jars, one for Mckenzee and one for me!  This is the recipe we used to make our Calming Jars::

Mason jar or baby food jar.  Really, any kind of watertight jar will work.

added the food coloring...

Hot water

Food coloring

Glitter

Glitter glue

Karo/Corn Syrup

and glitter!

“Mix 1 Tbsp of pink glitter-glue with about 1 cup of hot water, fill jar the rest of the way with corn syrup,  then add food coloring and a tiny tub of glitter. The glue and corn syrup makes the water so thick and gooey that the glitter just slowly and gently swirls around, it takes about 5 minutes for all the glitter to settle, perfect to gather your thoughts!  - See more at: http://www.dumpyourfrump.com/2011/09/29/use-a-mind-jar-to-calm-yourself/#sthash.kmN3pGIJ.dpuf

Mckenzee had a little trouble making sure to get glitter in JUST the jar but hey she is a "sparkly" girl so why not let her sparkle right?   She also liked the way the layers didn't mix until we shook the jar! Once we glued the lid on (to keep a child from opening it and spilling it I would recommend doing this yourself) she shook the jar and couldn't stop smiling!

I put together my jar while Mckenzee washed up and once we cleaned up everything from our jars it was time to take our paint off the heat and let it cool.

Mckenzee used that time to get started on her Valentine's Day cards for her classmates, since she decided this year she wanted to make them instead of buying them! (I am very proud of her for wanting to make them all special and different) 

After she did some cards and I washed up the dishes and counters the paint mixture had cooled!  We were finally ready to put it in our jars and color it! 

We started with yellow since it was our lightest color and I armed Mckenzee with a disposable baby spoon (which was a perfect size for the baby food jars we were making the paint in) and some food coloring.  She had a blast watching the white paint turn into the colors and before we knew it we had a rainbow of colors in our little jars! 

She even wanted me to line them up as such so we could take a picture of them to show you! WE LOVE RAINBOWS around here! 

All in all we had a fun little crafty day and hope to do something fun again soon.  I have lots of fun ideas I just have to get the supplies to make! 

 These are our finished jars! Blue for her "Like the Ocean" she says, and green for me well because it is my FAVORITE color!!!

Our Finished paints and jars and the happiest little helper! 

More to come.......

Mermaids, dancing, and Tacos

So this weekend I decided I was going to make sure I took some time to spend with each of the kids individually. I find that having more than one that are so far apart in age makes it difficult to spend time together doing something that pleases us all.  My daughter loves things like beading, bracelet making, Legos, and art.  My son likes to knock down block towers, try to walk, and drool. Beads are too small for him to use, bracelet making is too advanced, and Legos and art supplies instantly enter the mouth looking for the quickest way to his belly! So in order for me to be able to do these things with Mckenzee we usually wait until he takes one of his naps.  We have, during various naps, put together two out of three of her new Lego sets and done some painting and coloring.

Yesterday we did some necklace making using two of her new bead sets that she received for Christmas. She wanted to make one for her Gramma and I made one for her Memere and one for me. (I really loved an elephant charm that came in one of the sets and Mckenzee said I could have it.)
She was so cute putting the beads on and sounding out how to spell Gramma. She was even sure to pick the blue string because "That's Gramma's favorite color!"  She was very proud of her necklace and as soon as she finished it she said "okay now lets mail it to her!" (She is so sweet)

Our finished Necklaces

Today Mckenzee had a whole list of things she wanted to do, but we didn't get a chance to do them all. She wanted to:

1. Paint

2. Play with Play-doh

3. Color her giant princess posters

4. Dance

5. Make Tacos

6. Watch "The Little Mermaid"

Now I know these are all things she wanted to do because she used her new easel to make a list of all these things! A habit I think she picked up from me and my need to make lists on my dry erase board.

We did however get five out of the six items completed, and had a pretty good day doing so.  I may not have gotten my laundry all folded or the bedrooms vacuumed like I planned but I would have missed her dancing with her baby brother and making him a birthday cake out of play-doh if I had so it was completely worth it!

Great day....lots of happy!