Mommy Talk - Never Alone

Mommy Talk

Welcome to our newest series! Mommy Talk is a place for "girl chat" because all moms need it and sometimes crave it! I decided to start this to talk about all the crazy things moms deal with day to day.

Lets start with something every mom can relate to in one way or another. Never Being Alone!!! Yes sir, right after having my beautiful babies I have never truly alone. I am either thinking about my kids, taking care of them or worrying about them non stop. Also they invade every private space I have ... yes even the bathroom! Even right now when Mr. M should be napping so that I can write... I have a co - author who gets mad when I back space his ideas so here are his thoughts...

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Now that we have gotten that out of the way. I recently saw a very cute video online of another mom from Utah hiding in her pantry just to get a quiet moment and a snack! We have all been there right... if not just nod your head because the day will come. I have to make "alone time" by going to the grocery store or staying up late at night just to not have a tiny human in my personal space. But even those moments are never truly alone because I am thinking or worrying! Gee kid you came from my personal space can I have it back now.

 I was talking with my mom yesterday and she said something about having not moved that morning because she was really into the book she was reading. I then commented "oh I wish!" to which she responded "well honey someday you will have an empty house like me and can do whatever you want." Yeah thanks mom, that is at least 17 if not more years away for me .... there is no light at the end of my mommy tunnel yet. 

But when it really come down to it.... I don't think I would want it any other way because I love my babies and know that one day I will have an EMPTY house. Those are the days I fear that I will mess the crazy tiny people being in my personal space.

Never Alone & Loving It 

Jenna Rae

Super M Turns1

Superman 

Dinner Party for M

 Mr. Super M recently had his first birthday and was so happy to be allowed to destroy his smash cake!!!

I decided that because M doesn't really have friends and did not really need presents or a huge celebration that we would just have family over for a dinner party. I made one of his favorite big boy foods ... Lasagna! I asked Grandma to bring a green salad and Mama to bring garlic bread. I also had some fruit and sodas. I used the nice dishes and decorated the room. Instead of a cake I made cupcakes again and decorated them to match his giant cupcake/smash cake. M was so thrilled about everything and loved being the center of the universe for a night! 

Here are the results...  

 One more little treat for my wonderful readers! A year in the Life of Mr. Man!

A Finding Dory Birthday Party

The Party Is This Way ..... I Think!

E is totally in love with the movie "Finding Dory" and insisted that her birthday party be a "Dory Party"!

This is how we did it! Hope you enjoy... 

She even got to pick where we went to dinner that night because I was just too worn out to make anything. We added a "Dory" Balloon and had game areas, but being the busy bee type I didn't get pictures of them. 

Quiet Meditation

Moms (and Dads) we all have those days were we lock ourselves in the bathroom just to check our email or Facebook. Or we hide out in the pantry or laundry room to sneak a treat just for us. 

I call these my Quiet Meditations! Some times they are not as quiet as others with a toddler screaming "mommy" while she searches every room in the house and I just breath knowing that a calmer me will help make calmer kiddos. While others are more like this....

Or in my husbands case like this... yes he is hiding in a ball pit!

Either way these moments are essential to parenthood...they are like a recharge station in the middle of a crazy day. I would like to encourage you to all find time or make time (hiding) to shut out the world for just a minute, to recharge your mommy (daddy) batteries. If you think well then I am being unfair to my children or ignoring them. Well some times instead of feeling like you are about to blow up at them or lock them in their rooms just take a Quiet Meditation. Oh and unfair no not at all because kids especially toddlers and teenagers like to run off and fume when their emotions run high, its the same thing but the adult version. 

Happy Quiet Meditations,

Jenna

A Beginners Guide to Prayer Journals

A Beginners Guide to Prayer Journals

I will be the first to admit that I am in no way a professional journal keeper or do I claim to be great at it. But I realized that when I started "Finding My Way Back Home" I should probably write things down and go more in depth with my scripture studies. I also wanted to write down the things that I was praying for and when I prayed for them, so that I could look back and see when they had been answered and how. 
First off being the little crafty soul that I am wanted a journal that looked good but didn't cost a ton of money! So I decided to just get a black and white composition notebook and a set of cute colored pens at the store. I then colored a saying that I found online and glued it to the from of the notebook. (Quick disclaimer: I have decided because this journal is very private in nature I will not be showing pictures) I then made my first entry about myself and what was going on in my life that made me want to start the journal in the first place. After that the posts go about like this:
-Write down the scripture or a part of the passage I am studying that day. 
(I also use this space to write down amazing quotes when I find them)
- Then I like to write a little about my day and what I did.
(This just in case grand kids wanna know what life was like before hoover cars)   - I then write down the things that I am taking to The Lord in prayer that day.
-Lastly I write down and remind myself of all the things I am thankful for.
-I also like to add drawings or pictures I colored when I was stressed! 

I hope this helps and is not to intimidating or for those like me when I started helps you feel like it does not need to be perfect because after all it is just for you and The Lord!

Praying and Writing,
Jenna

Christmas Traditions

Christmas Traditions We Love

- Spending time with Family!

- Chocolate Advent Calendars 

- Christmas Book Advent (wrap them and the kids can open one a day)

- Making homemade candies

- Building Gingerbread Structures

- Having Gaming Tournaments with loved ones

- Christmas Eve Gift (a set of p.j.s, a movie, popcorn and candy to have a party with before bed)

- The Elf Visit (Clean room, good helper and obedient children get a treat from the elf in their shoes, left outside their bedroom door at night - the two weeks before Christmas) 

- Going to the movies on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day

- P.J. Christmas light drive (everyone in their p.j.s and drive around your neighborhood or town and see all the pretty lights)
- Reading the Birth of CHRIST story from Luke 2
- Making and reading a family Christmas book (I will get a tutorial up when I get the chance - my mother made one when we were kids and made one for each of my siblings) 

I hope you find these as fun and inspiring as we do!
If you have any that you would like to share please feel free to add them in the comments below! 

Building a Gingerbread House & Train Tips

 
Making a gingerbread anything is not the easiest task in the world, but doing it with a three year old is a new experience all its own! Here are some tips and pictures from my first experience building gingerbread structures with little ones. Just a heads up we used sets from the store because I am not a good enough cook!... Maybe next year.

Tips:

- Try to put most of the pieces together before you let the little ones in on it.(ours kept falling down when E tried to help and it wasn't done drying yet) Or get an already constructed one!(yes they make those now!)

- If you really want one that looks good for others to see you probably want to get more than one. 

- I got some extra colored gel which E loved and we used on the train. It helped add color without having to stick more stuff on it. (our kit came with some but we needed extra)

- Powdered Sugar works amazing as a light sugar dusting through a sifter. (I didn't use it this year because I didn't want E to get it all over, but I have used it in the past.)

- I like to put mine on a piece of cardboard covered in tinfoil.(It looks nice!)

- Be prepared to have kiddos on a sugar high!

- If you do not plan on eating the cookies you can also use glue instead of icing. It tends to dry faster and hold stronger.

- Allow the kids to have fun! Even if it looks crazy and all the decorations are on one side of the structure it will still be amazing!

Pictures:

My mom and E decorating the ginger-trees

The Beautiful Trees E and Grandma made!

 

Our ginger-train coming together

Finally a finished Train!

Disclaimer: Tips are not guaranteed as this is just from my personal experience. I did use store bought kits as I am not a good cook.

Christmas Tips - 2016

My 2016 Christmas Tips

Christmas can be a very stressful time of year no matter your situation. If it is family, travel, money or just plain old stress it can be hard and make such an amazing time of year feel less amazing.

Shopping:

- Stick to a budget. I know it is hard but it is a stress relief for me to know that I am not going to break the bank with gifts. I plan out how much each person in the family gets to have spent on them. 

- Plan ahead what you want to get. I try to plan in advance (about 4 months) what to get my kids so that I can look for it on sale or second hand. This year it paid off a lot! I was able to find a Bitty Baby Doll for E with a bunch of accessories for $40! It definitely saved my budget and I was able to make her a few things to go with the doll. (tutorials to come)

- Look for things second hand. It is great to be able to give things a second life. I have gotten a lot of my kids books from places like the Goodwill. I take my time and find well taken care of books/toy/clothes and with a bit of cleaning they are good as new. I also found the doll on a local classified Facebook page.

Gift Wrapping:

- I like to keep a roll of wrapping paper that is "Santa Wrap." It is one the kiddos don't get to see and is not in my normal stash for them to pick from when wrapping Mommy and Daddy gifts. 

Christmas Tree:

- Kiddie Christmas Tree. I love my Christmas Tree it is beautiful and makes me smile, but good heavens the kids love to mess with it. That is why I made a felt Christmas Tree and felt ornaments for the kids to play with and keep them off my beautiful tree. (I will write a tutorial for this later)

- Kid Friendly Ornaments. As much as I love my beautiful glass and fragile ornaments little hands tend to break them. When E was born I got a set of very nice looking plastic ones from the Dollar Store. Yes that is right the Dollar Store and that way I am okay if one or two break a year. This year with little M I am glad I have them because he loves loves loves the tree.

Family Time:

- I love my extended family but sometimes it can be very stressful. Try to be sure you make time for just you, your partner and your kiddos. I like to do this on Christmas morning before church, with a yummy breakfast and Santa presents. Also make sure that you can divide your time with extended family so that no one feels left out. (it has been a problem for me in the past) The hardest part is saying no and standing up for time alone with your family. Make sure to stand your ground.

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year,

Jenna 

Sleep Training Mayhem

Mayhem, Nightmare or Act or Terrorism. No matter what you like to think of it as Sleep Training is hard. With E, I was extremely blessed and she loved sleep from the day she was born. Literally she was three days old and it was our first night at home and she was sleeping through the night. I would even try to get her up and feed her as I had been told to do. She wanted nothing to do with waking up or eating in the middle of the night! I asked her doctor what I should do about it and she told me "Let the poor girl sleep. As long as she is eating enough ounces during the day and gaining weight she is fine. She probably trying to tell you that she needs her beauty sleep." I was relieved be cause that meant that I could sleep through the night and wake up a happier more alert mommy.

M on the other hand loved to snack in the middle of the night until he was almost 2 months old. It didn't help that because I had had a C-Section that I had him in our room for easier access. Then as he was getting older he began having breathing issues due to collapsed nasal passages. We then couldn't let him cry to long or he would plug up his nasal stints which would mean we had to take them out and clean them. Taking them out and putting them back in would wake him up without fail. Now he is 10 months old and we are having to teach him how to go to bed on his own. It is horrible!

Night 1: We decided to use the cry it out method because he was fighting most any other method we tried.He screamed bloody murder for over an hour and then whimpered himself to sleep. I felt so bad and it was so hard. I went in every 20 minutes just to calm him down a little and let him know that he wasn't being abandoned. I followed the general rules of not picking him up and not talking to him. I would go back and sit on my bed just about in tears as I listened to him scream.

Night 2: He only cried for about 20 minutes and didn't have any crazy screaming fits. I still was sitting there praying please baby boy just go to sleep. I promise it is good for you! I don't know how other parents do this it is so hard and i pride myself on being a "Mean Mom".

Night 3: We will see how it goes! Wish us luck that it gets better and he figures out that sleep is a good thing!

I will update you when we figure it out!

UPDATE 12/14/16: He has finally figured it out and only cries for a second if that. I think it is just his little way of saying please if you don't have to don't leave me. 

Naps on the other hand are still a work in progress. He hates to be left out of anything or feel like he is missing all the fun. Little Stinker bum!

Frustrated and Praying,
Jenna

Adventures in Potty Training

Okay, so my little girl E is almost 3 and with my baby boy M in diapers, I was so ready to be done with changing two sets of diapers all day long!

I started off reading everything I could find on potty training and how to potty train girls. I had asked almost every mom I know that has potty trained kids for advise. I was ready or at least I thought I was. 

So it began. I had a few extra days off for Thanksgiving Break and figured what the heck I will make it my mission to get E trained before Christmas! I decided that for the short amount of time I had that we were going to go cold turkey. (Yes I do realize the irony of going cold "turkey" on Thanksgiving Break)

Day 1:The first morning was by far the worst and a true test of my patients. I knew from all my research that it would be "hard" but my heavens was that an understatement! We had 4 accidents just in the first two hours and I almost gave up. I got my hubby on board with it and that yes we were actually going to do it over the break and stick with it. Between the two of us things finally started to click and E was going in the potty. We still had accidents when mommy and daddy forgot to ask her every ten minutes if she had to go but they became fewer and farther between. 

Day 2: "Alright we can do this" had become our motto for the day. We started the day with an accident but stayed dry for two whole hours after that! It was Thanksgiving Day and we were planning on going over to my mom and dads that afternoon for dinner and then to my grandmas house for games with the extended family. Boy was I nervous about taking her out of the house! We put a towel and and bag under her bum in the car seat and prayed that we could make the drives without an accident. I really shouldn't have been that worried, E was amazing and made all the drives dry and even started to ask to go potty! There was light at the end of the tunnel.

Day 3: E woke up asking to go potty and did it! She was really starting to be proud of herself every time she went in the potty. Hubby and I kept up with asking her every ten minutes and she stayed dry for hours and hours, almost the whole day.

Days 4-7: E was amazing and even got to the point on day seven that she took herself to the potty without having to be asked or helped! 

Yes accidents still happen and they are bound to for a while, but we are going to make it. Moms and Dads out there you can do it too. I know not every child is just like my E and that schedules can be hard to work around, but YOU CAN DO IT!!! Every parent needs to know and be told that they can and I am here as proof and to tell you that it can be done. 

Happy Potty Training,
Jenna