Where Has The Drama Gone?

Oh, don't worry! This mama's drama is still here...just slacking on the blogging scene! It's drama filled and simply wonderful! That is the unexplainable thing about being a mama...the good, the bad, and the ugly is still fantastic because it's with your family!

I am simply blogging today to share updates from our crazy world!

1. We have decided...as of this moment (you know how my brain works) to homeschool the girls next year. I have made a list (actually multiple lists) of ideas and pros and cons. I'm very intimidated and excited. As I was making my lists, the pros and cons were usually the same items! I'll share my crazy, conjured fears and anxieties on another day!

2. We are beating the colds and runny noses going around in our house. I think everyone is feeling better! Let me just say that I am so tired of runny noses! I have figured out a couple of things...Butt Paste or A&D Ointment is perfect to put on sore noses. I also discovered that Highland's products are great. They are homeopathic and have no side effects. Also, cloth diapers are great to wipe noses...my children call them snotty rags, which makes me laugh. Baby wipes are not good to wipe noses. They burn.

3. Crayons and markers should be put up and out of little hands reach. The dogs and children in my life are determined to put the markers in their mouth, write on non-paper items, and/or eat them. Yes, I buy only non toxic everything for this reason. Previously, I thought it would hamper their creativity to put such things out of their reach. Now, I may throw them out the windows...so I opted on just trying to put them out of their reach for now!

4. My husband and I have fun, exciting news that is very rare in our world. First, we are going out on a date...like a real date where you leave your house and without children...this weekend. I am leaving my children with my husband and going to a friend's house to scrapbook this weekend. My scrapbooks have been neglected for several years so I am thrilled...and I hope my house and children survive without me here! The best is still coming. You will never, ever believe it. You will be so jealous. You might hunt me down just to bop me on the head. We are going on a cruise. We are validating it by saying it's for my 30th birthday, his birthday, our Valentines day, and our anniversary present. (I'm thinking maybe he'll forget about it by my birthday and still get me something wonderful! ha-ha) My mom will be watching our girls, and we are going away. My husband is eagerly researching excursions and events on the cruise. I plan to sleep, eat, read, and write...in that order! I will even be able to go potty and shower without little heads peeking in to ask what I am doing! You can only understand the great appreciation of that if you have small children!

5. Last but not least, I have made it a goal of mine to work more consistently on writing. A friend of mine is a great writer. She writes primarily about marriage, couples, and love, which we all need guidance in! She has become a great source of information and encouragement in my quest to be a writer. I have several submissions that I will be working on over the next few months. I am hoping just one gets accepted! I think a lot of times we never try things because we just don't want to fail. However, if we don't try, we will never know! I'm trying to throw out the excuses and FOCUS (oooh...there's my word for 2010 again!). Feel free to keep me accountable! Just drive me crazy until I can finally say that I have done it!

Now, after all of those updates and ramblings, you can probably understand why our mama drama is in high intensity! Since I did not leave you with much inspiration, I will share this link. Click on the different links on the bottom of the post. Be prepared to waste lots of time, make lists of projects you want to try, and be inspired! Good luck!

Desperate Times calls for Desperate Measures

Dear Teacher,

You may have noticed that my child today had an odd scent that followed her. Well, you see, it can be easily explained. Although you just saw my beautiful little girl as she walked in with her two pigtails placed just right with precious white ribbon and her uniform pressed just so and that huge grin when she walked in your door, there was a great deal more that occurred this morning.

We have been very diligent about laying out her uniform together the night before and establishing a positive morning routine...you know just the way we are supposed to. Well, things were going just fine this morning. I fixed her hair. I put on her navy knee high socks. I started to put on her little white peter pan shirt, and that's where it stopped. She started squirming and whining saying, "it's too itchy." I explained, "LaLa, this is the same shirt you wore last Wednesday. It is not itchy." Well, I thought surely she would eventually finish getting dressed. Nope, she stayed in her pigtails, Dora panties, navy knee highs, and white shoes. We ate breakfast, checked her backpack, got in the car (I'm serious). By this point, I'm really starting to sweat it. I am going into an all out battle in the parking lot or worse...take her in half naked (I wouldn't really do this, but it did pass through my mind).

I tried to prep her the entire 25 minute drive. "LaLa, you don't want to miss out on preschool." "LaLa, you don't want to go in without your clothes on"--which she responded, "Oh, I don't mind, mommy". We got to school, and this mama was still playing it cool. It was like a game of chicken waiting to see who was going to give in first. I unbuckled her sister's carseat, got my umbrella ready, and went to get LaLa out of the car...still half naked." She found a box of Bounce dryer sheets that I had just bought the day before and had somehow (by the Grace of God) fallen out of the bags in unloading the car. She said, "Mama, what's this?" I said, "Oh, LaLa, these are magic smelly sheets that make you run fast and take the itchiness out of your clothes. You just rub it all over."

So, you see, teacher, it was desperate measures and a last minute stroke of genius. She took out a dryer sheet and rubbed it all over her body. I dressed her there in the car outside of the school building. She, then, rubbed that dryer sheet all over her clothes. Then, with a great smile, she said, "Mama, I had better put this in a safe place so I know I have it if I get itchy again. That way I don't have to get naked at school." Then, she shoved it right down her shirt.

I know, teacher, that she smells mighty strong, but there was no other way really. I hope you won't mind. I know after I walked her in, received a great big hug and kiss, and a quick wave bye and climbed in my car, I could still smell that smell. Victory and Bounce "outdoor fresh" sheets had never smelled so sweet...or made me smile so big.

Thank you for your understanding,
A sincere and desperate mama!
Tammy

Mama Drama Rule #15: When you get in a desperate situation with your kiddos, be creative...sometimes that's the only thing that will work!

Seperation Anxiety...for me!

Well, LaLa started 3 year old pre-school today! What a BIG girl she was?! She walked in and immediately started playing with the center items and the other children. A part of me was thinking, "Hello, mama, here! Kiss and hug me bye!" I grabbed a quick kiss and asked if i could get a quick picture of her teacher and Lala on the first day of preK. She said, "yeah, mama, one picture then you have to go. You can't stay at pre-school."

Okay, so my sweet baby does not need me to hold her hand and help her make new friends. I keep telling myself that means I have done my "job" right! I still fought the urge to cry when I got in the car! Well, I might have had a few tears driving away. You're instinct is to just sit in the parking lot! You may ask...What did I do with my valuable four hours that I had with Little Bit to get so much accomplished without the ramblings and the constant questions of a 3 year old???? I got absolutely nothing accomplished! My brain just wouldn't focus. I tried running errands, but ultimately, I can't think of one absolute productive thing I did! I'll have to work on that in the upcoming weeks! Hopefully, we'll get on some schedule and be super productive!

A kindergarten teacher, Jamie Solley, wrote this heartwarming poem that I have heard different versions of it when I was teaching. You change the gender and age as needed. It never truly hit home as much as it did today...

The First Day
I gave you a little wink and smile
As you entered my room today.
For I know how hard it is to leave
And know your child must stay.
You've been with her for three years now
And have been a loving guide,
But now, alas, the time has come
To leave her at my side.
Just know that as you drive away
And tears down your cheeks may flow
I'll love her as I would my own
And help her learn and grow.
For as a parent, I too know
How quickly the years do pass
And that one day soon it will be my turn
To take my child to class.
So please put your mind at ease
And cry those tears no more
For I will love her and take her in
When you leave her at my door.

The sad thing about it that I have realized is...no matter how old they are or what grade they are going into...every mama gets that little bit of seperation anxiety. I have been reading A LOT of books and articles on seperation anxiety because Little Bit is definitely going through this right now, but I haven't seen anything for ways to combat my own seperation anxiety. So, whether it is going to take their first step, going to pre-k, entering kindergarten, going to middle or high school, driving away the first time, leaving home for college, or having their own family...being a mama is a lot of waving and smiling with full confidence in their babies' independence...and then, going to the sit in the car with tears in their eyes...and just waiting...glad they did their job but always wondering how there babies are doing.

Mama Drama Rule #8: Seperation anxiety is not just for babies and small children...mamas just seem to control it a little better. Sometimes, we want to hang onto our kids and not let go...just like they have done to us so many times!

Project for this week: trying to play with a few ideas for sibling shirts...we'll see how it works!

Back to School Blues for the Kids!...or Bliss for the Mamas!

It’s that time of year where it looks like a tornado has hit the school supply sections at your local Wal-mart and Target. It’s kind of an area that you should enter at your own risk. I took both of my girls to Wal-mart and the LONG list of supplies to do the shopping. I was near insanity as I left because it is just too difficult to think straight with two little ones in the chaos! I was seriously ready to hurt somebody if they could not just help me find the BLUNT tip FISKAR scissors…sounds simple enough…but it took twenty minutes and a lot of moving boxes around! Honestly, though, the “teacher” in me gets truly giddy when I get to buy school supplies! My husband (aka SANTA) even puts pens, markers, etc. in my stocking each year!

I sat debating last night whether or not to label things with her name on it. Usually, due to the easiest way of managing a multitude of children, the teacher will simply use the supplies as a “community” resource for the students. My dilemma was…to label or not to label? As a teacher, I did it both ways. I ended up labeling her crayons and such that I felt like they would probably leave in her box. Everything else, I labeled on the outside of the packaging. The best thing to do is warn your kids that these are for the class not necessarily just for them. Then, you avoid a serious meltdown when your child melts down when some other kid is using those green BLUNT tip FISKAR scissors that we spent FOREVER looking for in the store!

I have spent lots of time over the last week researching ways to get organized for back to school. I know the perspective from the teaching side, but now, I have a totally new one on the mama front! From both of those perspectives and from ideas I liked through "stealing", here are my ideas to help get the school year started off right…

1. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT…at least POSSIBLE: Practice going to bed on time and getting up on time for school. (We haven’t mastered this quite yet! Mama likes to sleep in and thinks it a sin to wake up sleeping children…even if I will pay for it next week!)
   


2. HAVE A MORNING ROUTINE: For me, with little ones, that means I get up first and get dressed. I do whatever I was supposed to do the night before—pack lunch, snack, check backpacks, pack sippy cups, find uniforms or clothes, etc.
   


3. HAVE A SPOT FOR EVERYTHING: It works for us to have a crate and/or a hook for everything. In the school crate (2.50 at wal-mart) is where book bags go, lunchboxes, show and tell item, whatever we need for school. In a soccer crate, we put cleats, socks, uniform, ball, etc. I even take them out of the crate to wash them and put them back in. Yes, I need it as much as the kids do or I would be looking EVERYWHERE for it! At the same place, I keep hooks with rain jackets, an umbrella, sweater or jacket for whatever the weather is like.
   


4. BE PREPARED!: I know that we will always forget something in the midst of our drama so I have learned the HARD way to be prepared. Yes, I have been the one that forgot her kid's shoes and took her to church. I have forgotten a spare diaper (But had EVERYTHING ELSE KNOWN TO MAN) and had to wrap her baby around and around with towels from the dispenser in the bathroom of chick-fil-a just to make it home! Pack a little box with wipes, Tylenol, diapers, extra clothes, tissue, sanitizer, (extra shoes because we seem to get out regularly without them!), extra sippy, snack, juice box, etc.. It never fails that something you need will not be with you…your best luck is to roll with punches and think fast! I get in a bind when I use something from the bucket and forget to replenish it…or when my husband takes it out of the car when he is vacuuming it!
   


5. BE A PROUD MAMA! Have a place to hang up some of your child’s artwork! A couple years ago, I saw the cutest thing and kind of copied it in my daughter’s room. It’s just wooden clothes pins that I painted with cute little wooded items hot glued on the ends (Michaels Art Store for 25 cents). It matches her room, and she loves to have her school stuff hanging up there…Our fridge appreciates that it is not the sole display unit now! If you don’t have a spot for it, the amount of stuff they bring home will overwhelm you! Have a plan for what you are going to save and keep too!
   


6. HAVE A MAMA SPACE: You are the dictator of this domain! This is usually our fridge or our garage door that faces our kitchen. Have a spot to put a calendar to note when show and tell is, when it’s your turn to bring snack, field trips, special days, etc.. As a teacher, I had many of kiddos desperately upset (at least for that week) that they FORGOT their show and tell item or their book report. For little ones, it’s our job to start implementing how to keep organized and keep track of this kind of stuff. The older they get…you can have them have their own calendar, but you are still the calendar dictator!
   


7. BE LOOKING FOR THE SLUMP: The beginning of the school year brings excitement and anxiety. By about week three or four, all that is over. All that is left is sleepy, tired, and grumpy little ones that are over getting up early and missing the freedom days of summer. As a teacher, that was when it was the toughest! Be prepared for the slump and maybe it will go smoother!
   

There are a lot more GREAT ideas, but I think these are the best basic ones! We’ll be trying them out this year! We mamas need all the help that we can get so it can’t hurt to try it! It’s a lot easier to try to get organized at the beginning and stick with it than try it in the middle of the year! A break (even though it’s a short four hours three days a week!) sounds quite wonderful at this moment! Pure Back to School Bliss for this MAMA!

Mama Drama Rule #5: Don’t be too hard on the teacher in the beginning! Remember, she’s trying to get settled with new kids…learn all their names…learn all their parents’ names…learn what drama goes along with kid—custody issues, peanut allergies, etc—who knows what, make sure everybody gets home at the end of the day, convince the screaming child holding onto mama that it really is okay, and still has to suffer through the mama looking in the window every ten minutes. (Yes, I will resist the temptation…or at least try…this year. I completely caught myself doing it at mom’s morning out last year. I felt so guilty that I had become one of THOSE parents!)

Project for the Day~Sippy Cups & Embroidered Inserts~

This was my project for today. We are getting ready for preschool, and I thought this would be great to avoid writing all over my sippy cups, especially because we tend to share all the cups between the girls. I was determined that these could not be THAT difficult! Unintentionally, we happen to take the "cow" one to Chick-fil-a when we went to lunch today. We had so many compliments on it! My daughter loves "cowgirl" things so that was her pick. The leopard print was in a preschooler's language "baby jaguar" print...ya know, from Diego, of course!

If you try to make these, I figured out that the trick is to use thick, really thick, stabilizer. It works better, too, if you iron it. Then, when you hoop it, use an additional stabilizer so it will fit the entire hoop. I, then, covered the back with a solid color...just because it looked better, but I guess no one really looks at the back of the insert. It would simple to make it reversible. You could put the same name on both sides. This would give the child the option...or if you have two kids, it might be easier instead of searching. You would then have them all double sided with both kid's names.

I'm totally going to start doing these for gifts! It's perfect for preschool or nursery! I'm selling the inserts for 4 dollars. If you want two & want the same "font" and "name" on different fabric, I'll do those for just 3 dollars more. Check out ebay...they are at least 5 dollars (not including shipping). The cups are tricky to find and range anywhere from 4.99 to 5.99. I have had luck finding them sporadically at Publix. If you want the cup and the insert, I'm selling those for $10. I have teal, purple, and green...and on the hunt for more!