Kids Stuff

About 25 years ago, I remember shopping with my mom in a grocery store. One of the moms had a harness on her son. I remember thinking that this was the most horrible thing I had ever seen. How could she do that?

Well, I now know why. When we went to Branson last year, I saw lots of moms with these. I thought they were great. If you have a little explorer like I do that doesn't always want to hold your hand, it really helps. I think moms who have these are smart, and love their kids and want them to be safe. So I can't judge because I have one of those explorers myself. So I bought one last year and MK loves to wear it. She doesn't always want to ride in a shopping cart, so it is nice to have this. I know everyone has an opinion, but I was hit by a car when I was 11 years old. I have a fear that she could get away from me in a parking lot and this could happen to her. When I went shopping with my friend Darla this week, her little girl stays right beside her and doesn't wander off. Mine likes to browse. I got her a little monkey and it is like a back pack. She says, "Mom don't forget to hold my tail." Too cute....


Another kid stuff item....
I mentioned ordering some parenting books a couple of posts back. They turned out to be great. The ones that I can really recommend are Kid Cooperation: How to Stop Yelling, Nagging, and Pleading to Get Kids to Cooperate by Elizabeth Pantley a mom and Discipline for Life: Getting it Right with Children by Madelyn Swift a mom and school counselor. Both books have great suggestions and tips. They discuss punishment v. discipline and why discipline is better. In Kid Cooperation it basically asks are you a Nellie Nag, Betty Briber, Count Casey, Letty Lecture, Bret Threat, Wishy Wanda, or Wilma Whiner. The examples were hysterical. I am a briber. So I have learned to watch out for that.

Some of the tricks were:

Use grandma's rule
You may __________ after you _____________
You may go play after you eat dinner.

Give clear Instructions that are specific

Give a choice

Make it brief

Make something talk to distract them

5 3 2 1 Go!
Be consistent, when you say go mean it!
I have really worked on this one. Your child has to get mentally ready before they will physically get up and do something you asked. How many adults get up immediately if they are called to do something when they are in the middle of something they are working on? Like if you are at the swimming pool and say it is time to go, you might have a two year old throw a huge tantrum on you because they are not ready. Say in 5 minutes we have to go. Then do a 3 minute, then 2 minute, then 1 minute warning. I have been doing this for dinner time. Now MK comes to the table before I have changed times on her. It has helped with bath time too.

Other things I have been reading, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, The Shack, and Esther.

Anyway, thought I would share a little of what I have been reading about! I am a middle school librarian so I read a lot. Not that the above list are things my students read. LOL!

Day 4 and 5 of Spring Break

I saw something at Target the other day that I didn't buy. It was the last one on the shelf. I am wanting to redo Mary-Kate's room. I have been looking for just the right thing for about a year. MK said that she wanted to go to her school on Thursday. So I took her to her school and I went to Conway by myself. I ran to Target and looked at the bedding. I decided I wasn't sure if I liked it that much anymore. So I looked around. Found something better! It is perfect. I love chocolate and pink and polka dots. I am also going to incorporate some toile to her room, too. Maybe in the curtains. I saw polka dots and toile together somewhere and loved it. My new blogging friend, Jessica made a special tile to go in Mary-Kate's new big girl room. She is so talented. It is going to look great! Jessica is a teacher too. You feel an immediate kinship with someone who is in the trenches with you teaching.

I love it because it is so unique! Just what I wanted!



This is the bedding that I bought. I like that this is colorful and I can do more with the patterns.





It was an awesome day! Got to have lunch with my Husband. He is a cutie and sweetie!

My parents came over to play with Mary-Kate that afternoon. It was great! They stayed and watched American Idol with us.

On Friday, MK and I stayed home. It had been so stormy I didn't feel like doing much other than housework and playing with her. My brother Jim came over with his daughter Mallory. She goes to OBU and was in town for spring break. They brought MK her birthday present. It was a princess crown, earrings, and a princess phone. She thought it was the coolest thing she ever saw. Jim's wife, Rhonda, and their son Collin are in Branson on a church trip. A shout out to Mallory and Collin on the birthday. They are 4 years and one day apart. Mal's bday is on the 26th and Collin's is on the 27th.

Today my husband is smoking pork. Tonight we are having pulled pork sandwiches. And of course today is rainy and cold. Oh well, it was nice to have the break. Back to work come Monday! Not another break for me until June 15th.

Day 2 and Day 3 of Spring Break

Well yesterday was rainy and stormy here. MK and I went to visit my parents. They were having some gravel layed on their driveway and circle drive. MK liked watching the truck dump the rocks. We started for home before the storm hit and got in a heavy rain. I couldn't even see to drive at one point.

My friend, Darla called and asked if MK and I would like to go shopping with she and Tori. Tori is just 4 months younger than MK. We left at 8AM this morning. Darla wanted to make a run to Little Rock to Old Navy and The Children's Place. Big time deals at these stores. If you go, print off some coupons. Then we headed to Conway to Chick Fil A. The girls loved that. There is an indoor play area. We had to bribe them with ice cream cones to get them out of there. You can't got to Conway without stopping at Target. (Since we don't have this in our town.) Loads of fun and good deals for Easter. We got home around 5PM. The girls were exhausted and so were we. It was a fun day! Here are some pictures of what I bought.

Target



The Children's Place


Old Navy

Day 1 of Spring Break

MK and I went to the lake to see the ducks and have a picnic lunch. There was a big fishing tournament going on. We watched the boats and waited to see if anyone caught the "big one." We left the lake and went to the playground.

Hope you are out enjoying the weather!

Rainy Day

Isn't He Cute?


No gardening was done today! Some of the grandkids showed up to take PawPaw out for lunch instead! It was cold today! Come back spring, we've got plans for you...


MK with Pawpaw and Honey


This shows off her personality!


Josh and PawPaw
Josh's dad is my brother Blake. Josh just got back from Iraq at Christmas.


Best Buddies


MK is Happy PawPaw is Home

Sprung

Spring has sprung, but guess who else has sprung? My dad is out of the nursing and rehabilitation center. He was released today. He hasn't been home since January 16th. We couldn't be happier! My nephew, Josh, had my parents over tonight for steaks to celebrate. How sweet! My dad is walking without the use of a walker or cane. Although, I hope he uses the cane. He is not confused at all! I got my dad back y'all. Thanks for all of the prayers. You prayed him right back into health! He even wants to plant a garden with Josh. Okay hold up guys, let's not get too carried away! Again thanks for the prayers. I'll post pictures of our celebration this weekend.

Mary-Kate and I are off for spring break this next week! She and I have big plans! We have some flowers to plant. She loves gardening! She likes to weed, too. I like her style. We will spend some days at the park and have some play dates along the way. It is fun to spend time with her! She will probably want to work in the garden with Papaw and Josh. Look out guys! MK has everything all worked out.

Give Aways

There are several blogs with neat give aways.


The first one is Jessica. Check it out here.





The second one is Laura. Check it out here.

Gymnastics and Nail Painting

Today is our gymnastics make up day. We missed last week because of Croup. She wanted to go to gymnastics 2 hours early. Okay we were killing time and MK wanted to paint my toe nails (actually thumb nails.) Can you tell what this is? Guess what I have run out of...polish remover. Can't wait to explain this. Never a dull moment!

She said, "Mommy, you look perfect."

I got this idea from the Douglas Drama. Who got the idea from MCKMAMA.

Not me Mondays

I did not buy one parenting book from Amazon this weekend, but 3 parenting books. Parenting the Strong-Willed Child: The Clinically Proven Five-Week Program for Parents of Two- to Six-Year-Olds [Revised and Updated Edition]BY:Rex Forehand

Kid Cooperation: How to Stop Yelling, Nagging and Pleading and Get Kids to Cooperate BY: Elizabeth Pantley


Discipline for Life : Getting it Right with Children BY: Madelyn Swift

Do you see a pattern? Having a 3 year old is tough. They can talk and can talk back. I know you are probably laughing at me, but that is okay, everyone has to go through it.

I did not let MK eat cookies in church just to keep her quiet.:-) She was hungry, too. Yeah right.

I did not play beauty shop with her so that I could paint her toenails. She sits so still if I paint her toenails. She likes red... While she waits for the paint to dry, I can cut her hair. That's the real deal.

I did not just let MK bring her watering can into the bathtub with her, I also let her bring the mud that was caked inside in too. That was fun. There was some bark in there too. Fun times getting that out. Next time I will ask what is in the watering can before I say a quick yes, just to get her to take a bath...

Pick your battles people!

Hope you got a laugh and hope you had a great Monday. Is there anything you didn't do today?

Random Things

I haven't blogged much this week. My daughter is 3 years old and has had her first case of Croup. I must say this is awful. For some reason this coughing spell likes to start at 3 AM. When you are used to many years of your child sleeping through the night and all of a sudden that stops and they wake up and don't go back to sleep, it is sooooo hard. I am just not used to it. When she was a baby and would wake up in the night, after a feeding she would go right back to sleep and I could too. With Croup, she wakes up coughing so hard, she can't go back to sleep. I can't go back to sleep either. Hopefully she is on the mend.


In my town their are many churches and each has a sign out front with messages. Here are a few that I have seen this week and also found on the Internet.

God answers knee-mail

"Coming ready or not" -Jesus

The best vitamin for a Christian is B1

Prevent truth decay. Brush up on your Bible.

Don’t give up. Moses was once a basket case

Christians: keep the faith . . . but not from others!

Give God what’s right, not what’s left

Man’s way leads to a hopeless end.
God’s way leads to an endless hope.

Don’t give God instructions – just report for duty

You are not too bad to come in.
You are not too good to stay out.

Where will you be sitting in eternity?
Smoking or non-smoking?

Forgive your enemies – it messes with their heads

Exercise Daily. Run from Satan Walk with God

God does test us, but they are open Book tests

WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning

Jesus paid a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay
Whoa, some of those may sting a little, but I like them because they get right to the point. Hope you have a great rest of the weekend......

Dress For Success For Less

Over at Kelly's Korner, there is a discussion about dressing cute at affordable prices. I teach school. I have recently lost 25 pounds. I want to lose more. But, I still want to look nice and professional while I am attempting to lose the weight. When dieting in the past, I have always put off buying clothes because I didn't want to spend the money if I were going to lose more weight. If you find things that fit you well, you also tend to appear smaller to people. A store that I have recently found a lot of cute things in is Cato. The prices are great. I have found jeans there for under $20. That way if I do lose more weight, I don't feel like I am out a lot of money. Like Kelly, I buy tops and skirts that I can mix and match with so it looks like I have more outfits than I actually do. I also layer clothes, too. I wear a lot of black pants and skirts, also. It matches everything.




Here is a link for Cato.


I try to dress up outfits with accessories. I have a dear friend who sells jewelry and purses at affordable prices. She brings these to school for the teachers to shop from. It is really nice for us who are on a time budget and money budget.

Look Who's Here

My dad was able to join us for the family birthday party today!!! We were so excited. If he did well today, they would consider him for an early release. The prayers that have been lifted up for him have been answered. When I see my dad in the rehab center, he is always in a wheel chair. Prior to January 16th, my dad could walk, but was falling a lot. Since January he has been either in bed or in a wheel chair. Today for the party he was walking with a cane. I couldn't believe it. It feels like we have my dad back.




My Little Princess



Mary-Kate and Mommy

Mary-Kate turned 3

We have had the best weekend celebrating MK turning 3. On Friday, her school had a party for her. I came with a cookie cake. The kids loved it. On Saturday she had a princess themed party. Some of her guests attended the party in costumes. Some of her guests dressed up once they got here. They had a little fashion show. We had cheese pizza and juice boxes ready for them. After presents we took them to the park to play. It was a beautiful, warm day, even if it was overcast. Last year it snowed 16 inches on her birthday. So we were thrilled to get to play outside. The pictures say it all. Tomorrow the family birthday party.... to be continued.......




















You might be a redneck if.....


My dad gave MK two antique ducks. When she was one she loved taking baths with them. Well they have been outside for a while. She recently rediscovered them. We had to take one to show her Pawpaw on Friday.

Is Three the New Two? Catching up in Pictures