Mommiedom

Friday, July 29, 2011

Kids and Vacation

We are on vacation for the second time this month. Yeah it may sound like fun but it has become a pain. The kids are at each other and well I am having a hard time sleeping so is it really a vacation?

We decided at the beginning of the month to tag along with my husband on a business trip which became a mini vacation and was super quick. The kids were awesome through most of it even when I was stuck with them while my husband worked. We did do some fun things but overall it was a quick trip.

That trip was sort of a last minute decision where the current trip is our annual summer trip to visit the family up north in Wisconsin. Yes we packed 2 kids, a dog, and a boatload of snacks to drive 2 days up here. The kids were awesome on the drive up. We didn't do a marathon drive like to Florida so it seemed much easier plus we saw alot of America we hadn't seen. Irony was the kids watched "Cars" on the way up and we drove off the interstate.

Though kids are like fish on vacation- they will go bad. Miss O had hers early this week and well Mr. L has had moments, plus I am by myself with my hubby on work travel the first week here. Needless to say, this doesn't feel like a vacation. It feels more like I am at home but living out of a suitcase.

I do have to say that my brother and sister in law have been wonderful hosts and I know it is alot to have 2 kids, 1 dog, and us all here with them and a new baby (who by the way is so super sweet).

How is it for a mom to have a nice time on vacation? It is tough because we are the ones who make the world go round for everyone. It is suppose to be relaxing which it is not. How does a Mom enjoy herself when away from home?

Vacation is tough enough but nearly impossible with small kids. It is nice to see everyone but home is way easier with them.

# kids

Monday, July 18, 2011

Homemade Multiple Bean Soup

Becky 2:14 PM 0 Comments

I am always looking for good and healthy foods for the family. Plus I am working on losing weight. I recently bought a package from a local farmer’s market store of a variety beans (black beans, split peas, black eye beans, garbanzo, and I am sure others). It was packaged as a soup mix and had instructions on the back. I had most of the stuff on there but decided to experiment some and make my own version. I do that a lot and love to tweak and make things I see my own. I have to say this was so easy and well very good. Even though it is very hot out here in Houston, it was a nice hearty soup that worked well for summer. I think it would be an awesome soup for fall as well.

Here is the super simple recipe and all you need is a few ingredients and a slow cooker.

2 cups of a variety of dry beans (black beans, black eyed peas, split peas, etc)

1lb of smoked sausage (I used a smoked pecan sausage) sliced up

1 cup of baby carrots

1 small onion chopped up

1 can of crushed tomatoes and peppers

Water to fill up the crook pot

1. Rinse your beans and let drain.

2. Pull your crock pot out and add the washed beans, chopped onions, baby carrots, tomatoes, and sausage.

3. Fill the crock pot up with water covering the ingredients.

4. Cook on high for about 3-4 hours and then turn down to low for another 4 hours (total cooking down for 7-8 hours).

5. You made need to add more water during the cooking process. I added about a cup of water when I turned it down.

6. I stirred it about once an hour to get the ingredients together. The longer it cook, the more the beans break down to thicken the soup up.

7. Serve with a scoop of brown rice (optional).

Plus it is not full of stuff and is a good source of protein. I have been doing weight watchers and one serving is about 5 points which make it a filling meal.

# recipes

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

What kind of example are you setting for your kids?

Becky 6:25 AM 0 Comments

People always tell me how nice my kids are. I have heard so many times how well behaved, polite and courtesy they are. People always ask what our secret is and I saw there is no secret, the kids act this way because we lead by example and have expectations of them. We set a solid example for them and well the kids seem to follow.

My kids still act like little hellions (just ask my mother in law how Miss O was last week) and they get punished accordingly. Maybe we are hard or mean seeming but the kids react to it by being well behaved most of the time. I know that when I am stressed out, my kids seem to act worst versus when I am in a good mood, I see my kids act better.

I have learned that my actions directly affect how my kids are and they model their behavior after mine. My kids are polite because well I try to be polite (even though it gets harder every day with how people are becoming). I expect lots of myself, so I expect a lot from my kids. I set examples of correct behavior and how I react with them.

As an exercise, think about that thing that annoys you the most about your children. Oddly, it is likely one of your most dominating traits. My husband and I were talking the other day and he told me that our son can irk him more often than our daughter. Why because Mr. L is a mini version of my husband. I see the same looks of intense thought across both of their faces.

I notice that they enjoy similar activities and as Mr. L grows, I believe, they will find so many things in common. Your kid is a reflection of yourself. I too admit at times, I get annoyed with Miss O because she has to do things her way which is totally like me. I have tried hard to work on areas, I know that annoy my husband. I have to work on being more flexible in areas, that I have a hard time being flexible in.

Kids learn by the example you set. I know when I see a kid have a tantrum, that one of the parents must be a hot head. I know this first hand because I was a kid who through tantrums and well my mother (who I love dearly) was one. My Mom and I both worked on it as we have gotten older. She told me many times that she would get upset over things that really didn’t matter as much as she thought. We both have learned to control the tempers and find this is a far better way to be.

I stepped back myself and really evaluated how I dealt with that anger. I admit there are times I blow up in anger but it is pretty rare now. Everyone does it at some point. Another thing is that I didn’t want allow that in my house. I have a zero tolerance policy for that kind of behavior and the kids know it.

Another thing I see often is manners with kids. Overall for many they are lacking. I see kids who have no idea what please and thank you even mean. I think it is important in this day to thank people for doing the right thing and recognize when things are done the right way. I try hard to do this so my kids will and I remind them all the time to thank people for being nice. I think nice people go much further in life than ones who are not.

My kids are not perfect but I have never had anyone tell me they were awful. They have their moments and I notice they usually are at times when they are overwhelmed. When that happens, we try to work with them as much as possible to teach them how to deal when they are in that situation. The kids will react the way you teach them to react when you set a good example.

# kids

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The second child

Becky 11:30 AM 0 Comments

I really don't like comparing Miss O to Mr. L but it happens. I look at what Miss O did at almost 18 months and find it hard to believe that Mr. L seems to be doing way more. I know this is because he is watching Miss O like a hawk and mimicking lots of what he does but I look at him and the wheels seem to be turning overall much faster. He seems to be putting more thought into things and is a very big risk taker.

The one big difference between the kids is that Mr. L is a daredevil. This kid has no fear and is willing to try about anything hence him falling in the pool a few weeks back (http://parentingcommonsense.blogspot.com/2011/05/remember-your-pool-safety.html). I also find him on top of things all the time. We are constantly pulling him down off the kitchen or dining room table. He loves to stand on any chair or stool he sees. The word of the day seems to be no which he has started using- yipee!

I know that his personality is light years away from Miss O and from me even. He is way more like his dad (who is denial about it). I know as he gets older he is going to be one kid who likes to tinker. I already see him trying to fix things. He is way more hands on than Miss O and wants to see how things are done.

He is an awesome little boy but because he is different from me, I am challenged. I have to parent him differently than Miss O because he responds to way different things. He doesn't care if you are upset like she gets. He cares less about it but I notice that if we take him out of the situation with a time out, his world is ending.

I love him dearly and am starting to see how as gets older, he is only going to get more awesome. I just have to hope that we can make it to that with out to many broken bones and accidents.

# kids

Thursday, June 16, 2011

I am down and out- what about the kids?

Becky 3:15 PM 0 Comments

So here I am FINALLY on the mend from a major back flare up. The first day and half, I couldn't even stand up straight but finally am able to do that but still have a pretty bad back ache. I haven't had one of these since before Mr. L was born almost 18 months ago and that was related to pregnancy. I have NO idea what I did on Monday to hurt this bad.

So for the last few days, I have been pretty out of commission with the kids and only doing the bare minimum of things and lots of help from my husband. I feel bad because Mr. L has been wanting to be carried and I can barely do that so I have a grumpy toddler the last few days.

Since I started staying home, I have been sick pretty infrequently as has the kids. When I have been sick, it is like one day and I can push through it. I haven't been able to really push through it unless I have taken some pain meds which I don't like to be on.

Lucky me, that Miss O has been a big help in getting the things Mr. L may need like sippy cups and such. What an awesome 5 year old she is for helping me. She actually made him lunch yesterday. The both had a bologna sandwich which they loved.

The other thing is that because I ache so much, that my temper is much shorter as well and I admit I snapped a few times and expected things a certain way.

I feel bad for my kids when I am down and out. They aren't fending for themselves but I expect more of them because I need the help.Plus my hubby was on call for jury duty, so he wasn't able to be around as much as he would have liked.

My kids are remarkably well adjusted and did better than I expected while I was dealing with the backache. Mr. L was all about kisses when I was icing my back the other afternoon. Now that I am feeling somewhat better, I took the kids out and about though I am now paying for it. I try to make up where I can for them.

# kids

Teach yourself and your kids to say Please and Thank you

Becky 2:57 PM 0 Comments

I talked about the other day (http://parentingcommonsense.blogspot.com/2011/06/be-kind-and-pay-it-forward.html) about how I am thankful in this thankless world. I have been thinking about it more and than today something happen to me today that irked me because I did a good thing and well received just plain rudeness. Yes I am both complaining and lecturing today.

So here is what happen- we were at the dollar store today and when I walked up to the checkout the woman behind me had like three things in her hand where I had a basket full, so I told her to go in front of me. She pushed herself around me and the kids never once uttering a thank you. Her attitude towards me was almost like it was expected of me to do that. Than another woman came me with one card. I fully admit I was annoyed now because I had done a nice thing for this other woman when the one behind me shouted over to the woman in front of me (they knew each other) and handed her one item and told her to pay for it.

So here I am with two small kids, trying to be nice and I was totally taken advantage of by these rude women at the store. It makes me not want to be kind (No good deed goes unpunished I guess). I stewed for awhile and I never said anything to them but it got me thinking about how often I don't hear please and thank you from others. I see this attitude of it is expected rather than a privilege.

I try hard to say please and thank you. I reward the good and usually will comment when things are bad. It just seems that good manners has gone out the door for so many. So I ask that you stop and try to remember to take that moment to say please and thank you when you are out and about. Teach your kids how important it is and show how far it goes with good things.

I am just venting and I will not stop doing good things like saying please and thank you. I also will not think twice in doing what I did today by letting the woman go before me. I just hope that people stop and acknowledge when someone does something nice for you and don't expect it.

# kids

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Documenting the kids part 2

Becky 12:00 PM 0 Comments

So I talked about how important it is to document the kids with photos. I have been thinking lots about it and how much I love to look at their photos. For me it is the quickest way to time travel back to when they were little. Today I took them out to the park and photographed them lots.One of them was cooperative while the other ran around like a crazy person almost falling into the water fall.

It was fun to have them pose for me and I got some great shots of them. They will always be my favorite subject to shoot and I plan on taking thousands more photos to add to the thousands I already have.

Here are some of the many shots I took today: