Messy Monday

No, this is not a planned DIY sensory activity....

This is Nolan finding my cake flour. The kid moves fast but I am glad I was almost out to begin with!

Nolan Mini Post

After going through with being on a 3rd pediatrician with in the same medical practice, I had finally had enough and decided to switch to a new doctor who wouldn't see us as just another overload patient dumped on them after the other left. I am glad I did, as we had a great first time experience with the staff and Dr.

Nolan recently had his 15 nearly 17 month well baby visit.

Height: 32.5 inches (72nd %)
Weight: 22.4 lbs. (12th %)
Head: 53rd percentile

This is the first time that we've hit all three parts of the growth chart. We go back in 2 months.

*Images provided by the Walmart parking lot where I was heavily influenced by my mother to take and send her.

Yoga: Tantrum Style

Tantrums have been very....interesting in the Geddes house. Nolan landed in 

time out for biting his sister....or was it hair pulling?

Fathers Day: Tool Man Edition

Lots of good times were had this Father's Day. Matt was put to work to rig up our redneck swing set. It was almost half the cost of the cheapest medal kind found at Walmart. Not to mention the fact that we didn't need the slide and the swings are the hard plastic bench kind that don't hug little ones hips, so they slide off mid swing. 

The biggest expense of this was buying the 18 ft of chain, costing $30. The belt swing was $20 and we already had the baby swing as a hand me down from last year.

We drilled right into the very large tree trunks. Both the chain and hooks are rated for 800 pounds. The only difficulty was having one tree to be of softer wood. That problem was fixed by putting the hook on the other side of the trunk so the tension would be pulling differently. 

I love having the shade of the trees over the swings and using nature as the posts. This was another reason we were gun shy of getting the metal variety and trying to keep the A-frame posts to stay in the ground. As much as we would have LOVED to have a nice expensive wooden set, or even metal...but I'd hate to spend money on it and then find out we had to move. Plus not having all the tools, the cost of making our own wooden with expensive from pressure treated wood and the outrageous cost of the hardware kits didn't make sense.

Now to just teach Eliza how to pump her legs so I am not held an all summer long prisoner of pushing her ;)

Growing

Guess who moved into a big boy chair!

Nolan is ever increasingly making it known that he is not a baby anymore. After many cries and screams being placed in his highchair and more than once, climbing the table/chairs and falling....it was becoming evident that some things needed to change.

Nolan can now climb into his seat with ease. This is the same chair Eliza started with, which seemed better suited for toddlers anyways. I also find less food hidden during clean up :)

I usually transition my kids out of their crib before they realize they can climb out of it. Both kids have done this at around the 15 to 16 month mark and done pretty well.

But Nolan is a WILD sleeper.

Here's proof

One night even resulted in a bloody nose :( We've since solved this problem by placing two jumbo pool noodles under the fitted sheet on each side. So far this has really helped in giving his unconscious self some guidelines as to where the bed ends.

For the first time since I assembled the crib getting Eliza's room ready over 3 years ago...the crib has been dismantled and placed in the garage. Surprisingly, there we no tears from him nor I. I saw it as a corner of space being freed up for toys.

Nolan saw it as no longer being imprisoned while Eliza could escape.

He also can say bye, nanna (banana) and I want that. I hope this language trend continues since learning eliza had a delay.

What next little boy...potty training? 

Let it Snow

In the time it took me to make some phone calls in the office for doctor appointments......someone found the baby powder.

Guilty as charged

Nolan not being too thrilled in slipping in powder

It was everywhere...

The kitchen floor....

Hallways...

Brother's hair...

Under the dinner table...

I didn't know all this had happened until Matt came through the door from work and an angry "Eliza Ruth" was uttered. Both Matt and I took quick action in removing the dustings. 

You would think they would be child proof caps on the stupid things.

What can I say...this girl works fast. But hey, at least the house smells fresh, right?

Is that Sand?

Nolan rocking his Halloween costume of Charlie Brown

After scoring this sand and water table for free on the side of the road, it was time to find some sand to fill it. Oddly, Walmart only carried the colored kind of pink or blue. What happened to the plain stuff folks? Crayola makes this and they don't disappoint in the richness of this blue.

It is a constant battle with Eliza to keep the sand inside the table. At one point, I caught her rubbing two globs of it on her legs as if applying lotion. Oh my child.

My driveway now looks like someone murdered a Smurf...

Pintrest test: Got Slime?

Once again, I have taken to Pintrest and tested out a kid friendly activity: Non toxic edible slime!

After my past with the youth center, I've made all sorts of dough and gak varieties. They are great, except if you have young children who will might taste test it.

Find my pin HERE

It took two trips to the store to make this stuff work. Be sure that if you are going to cut corners and buy the house generic equivalent...make sure the ingredient is 100% psyllium. I bought the generic for Benefiber, which is not the same as Metamucil.One will thicken while the other will not. I wasn't able to find a clear powder at Walmart, but they do carry one that is not flavored. Be prepared to spend $8 to $10 for a canister.

We used simple food coloring instead of Kool Aid.

Microwave- I found it takes a varying degree of time and testing to find a slime consistency you like. Not cooked enough will stick all over your hands and cooked too long will cause it to break into pieces which do not melt back into each other. 

It was an interesting experience watching the kids play with this sensory play. Nolan had more fun watching Eliza play with the stuff than touching it. The attention factor came in around 20 minutes. Not bad, but not as long as this mommy would have liked.

One canister will give you plenty to do this activity and then some since you use 1 Tbsp of powder to 1 c. water. Best to throw it out after use as it will grow mold.

Terrible Whats?!

I came across a blog which I've visited before called Scary Mommy, and after someone posted this link, blog entry resinated heavily with the season of life I'm in. Feel free to give it a read through since I am unable to copy and paste portions of it.

I had overheard folks talk about how age 3 was worse than 2, but kinda brushed it off as delayed terrible 2's.

Well......

It.is.true...

I think the language difference is totally accurate. There are times where I want to rip my ears off after hearing the same statement or blasted Frozen song over and over. Is there no escaping?

Oh...and the bladder issues.

I know where the bathroom is in the majority of places we shop. And when we reach the room of relief, she suddenly doesn't have to go. Graah! If you've ever tried to fight a three year old to sit on a toilet and stay on...it just ain't going to work. Then if you are at home and casually state your need for the bathroom, all of a sudden....

It.is.the.biggest.potty.emergency.of.their.life!

You are pushed aside as your child runs to the toilet as if they were being chased by zombies.

Lastly...tantrums.

I think this explains it all.

Any bets on how the 4's will be?

Pony Castle

My daughter is very much in the My Little Pony phase right now. After her birthday cake, the figures were the leftover gift. They can be fun to play with, but are limited as to what you can do with them besides comb out all the hair.

This wooden castle was found at my local Michael's craft store for around $20. I did however found out that this is the EXACT one from the Melissa & Doug collection found here on Amazon. It makes me wonder if there are some restrictions because of this of why you can not find this castle on the craft store website.. (all you find are castle bird houses)

More to come when finished (warning, you may learn more about My Little Pony than you'd like)

Throw Back

Who on earth are these people?

Boys and Girls

I am often told that since I have a boy and a girl, that I should quit while I'm ahead.

"I'm so glad I had all boys, they're easier"

Since I've had experience with school age kids, I've seen the sweet and sour of the sexes.

And let me tell ya.... There.is.no.difference!

I came across an article here that highlights a few boy "specifics" that one must be prepared for when raising boys. A few gave me a chuckle since I've encountered parts of it in my daughter. She has been my dare devil, playing in the dirt, wearing food in her hair kind of kid.

Both of my children have come with similarities and unique differences. Eliza is stubborn, but Nolan took it to a whole new level.

If we do decide and God grants us a 3rd child...if God is taking any requests..."Penis for 500 Alex"

Now don't get me wrong...I love my daughter, but she is enough girls in one to handle. The frilly stuff is fine and dandy, but I've fallen in love with robots, trucks and bowties :)

Nap Time Musings

For when you have those precious moments to get real work done while the littles nap, here are some great time wasters to partake in as you procrastinate on your adult responsibilities. 

Enjoy

Quit your day job and do this!

You got Best in Show for what?!

Throw Back

Back when this was the only twinkle in Daddy's eye.....

+

+

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...and then turned into a stye from time to time

Red Handed

                 

 

This kid sure seems to know how to find the random markers in this house..... and always when mommy is busy working. I think I'll just leave her like this for the day......

Blue Handed

                           

Caught!

This is how I found Eliza after taking a nap in our bed. She somehow found a blue marker and decided she needed a little more color on her arms and leg. 

I can not find said blue marker.

I did however find her pants with poop....

Joy

Party Party

Over one of the weekends, the kids and I attended a birthday party for a little boy turning two. This was the first time any of the kids had gone to one outside of family together and certainly the most involved of entertainment options.

Eliza could have driven this power wheel's all afternoon long. Nolan didn't mind being the passenger and enjoyed himself. We'll see how long that lasts.....

This was as close as Nolan would get to the costumed character. Just like his feelings towards the Easter Bunny. Eliza however, made her feelings very well known about Barney. She held her hands over her ears for most of the performance. Good thing the birthday boy was very smitten with the purple dinosaur. Good choice mom and dad!

Adult Crafts

I've been busy, tooling away with a hammer, nails, and a mix of purchased/recycled wood. Why all the trouble? 

Well, I have a love/hate relationship with my garage. It is our only true place of storage space and after four years of living here and two kids....it's become the catch all of our busy lives. What makes it difficult is the complete lack of shelving for anything.

Shelves cost money....

Money we do not have...

A place we do not own....

Que cheap and free wood!

I've been known to stop from time to time when spotting some particular interesting trash set out on the curb. Where I live, the garbage men will accept particularly large items such as couches, entertainment centers etc... Now now that I thought that they would even touch it, someone had thrown out one of those large wooden swingsets you see outside of Walmart. It had seen some wear, but I saw it as an opportunity to salvage some of the cedar planks.

I am also not limited to scouting out any free wood bins either, or asking for free pallets and those wood pieces found for use in bundling large piles of stacked lumber.

Besides wood, I have also scored some discarded outside toys :)

Using 2 in nails and purchasing a few 8x4's and 8x2's, I've been able to make some easy storage shelves for bulk pantry items and whatever else needs to be off the floor and in it's place. My goal is to have the garage clean and organized by mid summer...as long as the kids can nap long enough ;)

These units measure about 4 ft wide, 2 ft deep and 4ish ft tall.

Snap shots

Oh how I wish my kids could look this nice all the time. Quietly playing by themselves.

Sigh....

This was a short lived moment in our house. Let me count the ways how each child is challenging my patience. 

Eliza

We are currently in the stage of asking the same question (das mine/I hungey/You hear dat mommy?) over and over. Some days I want to rip my ears off after I've heard this broken record for the umpteenth time. I have to sometimes catch myself in responding with 'shut up', as I know it could be used against me later on. Snapping back with hush or quiet doesn't have the same gratification.

For maybe over a week, Eliza has chosen to poop in her pants. Doesn't matter if we are in or out of the house. To discourage this lazy potty behavior, we've made her be the one to clean out her underpants. The first couple times she hated it and felt like we got over this hurdle.

Bwhahahah...

Nope....it still continues. So today after another poop in the pants....I took away her My Little Pony underpants. She is currently not happy about this, but I refuse to put a diaper on. She goes pee with no problem. I thought maybe busting out the tattoos for poop in potty would encourage her to end this laziness. Nope....

Nolan 

Oh my stubborn little boy.Ye who flails his arms over his tray, spreading dinner on the floor. The one who pushes the limits of CIO. The one who only naps 45 mins tops...

We are in the full throes of hair pulling and biting. Poor Eliza...she has such fine hair and he just yanks out clumps. Besides me just cutting a small section in the back to even it out, she has not had a real full styled hair cut.

Nolan is also learning just how much fun Timeouts are. The biting has got to stop and my attempts of curbing it with mouth or ear flicks isn't working. He'll nip at my inner thighs while cooking meals in protest when I don't pick him up or nurse him at a moments notice. The kind of bites that leave bruises. And they are not just directed at me (Nollie bite me) It was around this same time age wise that Eliza also ventured into this phase. Take a toy away from her or vice versa....watch ou...a vampire jaws would reveal herself.

God really does have a sense of humor...

For when you've had a wretched day full of tantrums/bodily fluid spills/no bathroom privacy....you can't help but then miss them late at night and go into watch them sleep so innocently. 

The rest of that day didn't seem to matter after they are asleep and safe. 

So I guess this is motherhood.....

Splish Splash - Cheap Fun in the Tub

If you are a mother on Pintrest, I am sure you have seen these pins about how to make a fun suction cup pipe maze using items found from the dollar store and Home Depot. When I caught sight of them, I went to see what materials were going to cost and where to find them.

After looking around...I could start to see that this could turn into a $40 bath toy......

For some reason...PVC isn't exactly cheap. Especially when you try and get those seen in the image above. But the biggest lie about this project is where they state where to get the suction cups. No....the dollar store does not stock them, nor Big Lots or any other home improvement store. Some will carry them, but they have a giant plastic hook going through them for bath needs.

After expanding my search, I did find plain suction cups at Michaels. But for three medium sized ones, it was over $3.00 for a pack. 

Just.3.cups. 

This seemed like a fun project and bath toy, but I couldn't see spending that much money on it.

But low and behold!

What you'll need

X number of suction cups. I used those I found from other discarded items (think Baking Soda disks that you stick up...broken toys that use them etc)

As many as you want plastic bottles from recycle bin. (think kid meal milk bottles and washed peanut butter jars)

What to do

I used my pointed Fiskars scissors to poke holes for the suction cups and for water to enter and exit. Get creative in how you attach the containers and how the water will play through them. If you have a large or strong sc, put it on the bottom so water can travel away from the wall.