We're back! ~priddymomma

Hey guys!  It has been a while, eh?  We moms know how the things we desire to do (blogging, for instance) get put on the back burner quite often.  In this case, it looks like it was removed from the stove entirely.  We're hoping to change that and get back to it.  {Thanks for reading!  I post Thursdays!}

Wow.  When we last left our heroes, I had just had a jolly good time with my van in the sinkhole/pot hole outside of our crappy little rented house.  That seems like a decade ago.  I will give you the highlights on the van, if you care.  If not, skip to the next paragraph.  Turns out the van was flooded with gas, mostly from my husband flooring it as he tried to get out of the pot hole/bottomless pit.  It cost an arm and a leg to repair, and we had to open a line of credit to do it, which was really kind of awful, but with tax season right around the corner, we figured we'd pay it off when we got our tax return (which we did).  We had another BIG VAN THING since then, but unrelated.  It only cost half as much as well.  

{Hello impatient folks!} We were searching for a house when I left off here.  Uh...wow.  This is a really long story to relay, so I'll give you the highlight reel.  We liked a place that was a short sale (code for "in your dreams/takes forever!").  When the tax check came in February (because we were on it like that), we put in an offer for the place.  FIVE WEEKS LATER, we still hadn't got a response for the bank.  And then a new place went up for sale.  It was perfect.  We went to see it the day after it was posted, and we weren't even the first to get to see it!  We made an offer that night, and two other offers were already standing on the place!  Long story short, they accepted our offer the very next day and our conditions and even paid for our first year of flood insurance when it was discovered to be in a flood plain.  They are awesome.  

Anywho, we moved, the kids had their joint birthday party (Cheerio Champ is 6, and Princess Cheerio is 2!), we hosted Easter brunch two weeks later, and two weeks after that we had our housewarming party.  Whew!  Talk about a whirlwind! 

All of that assumes that you have been reading.  If you haven't, welcome!  I'm priddymomma/Heather.  I will be your oftentimes sarcastic, sometimes witty, always-trying-to-be-funny blogger.  Yay, right?  Just what you needed in your life, I'm sure.  I am a stay at home mom to two adorable, though very loud children.  I am happily married (8 years!) to my high school sweetheart.  

If you were to step into my household right at the moment, you would find my daughter maybe falling asleep finally for her nap (nope.  False alarm).  You would hear my son (again with the loud), though not see him as it is quiet time for the little monster, and he is in his room.  And you would find me, typing at the computer, with poor posture, frazzled looking, and wearing yoga pants that are at least as old as my son.  

My husband just called to see if there was anything he could do or get for me on the way home.  Isn't that sweet?  Actually, he does that nearly every day, and I can't decide how I feel about it.  Does he do it to be sweet?  Does he do it because he wants to make sure he doesn't have to run out again once he gets home?  Or does he do it because he doesn't want to get in trouble for having an abysmal memory/selective hearing and completely forget/miss something I mentioned the night before that I needed for him to do on the way home?  I don't know.  

See?  You'd also see me being a lunatic about nothing.  You would also see toy chaos all throughout the house, except in the kids' rooms.  Ironically, they don't seem to want their rooms to be messy.  Go figure.  You would wonder why I haven't cleaned up from lunch yet when it ended an hour ago (because I am a free person, okay??). 

What I would like to stress to you mothers and fathers out there is that I am not perfect.  I am in no way a perfect parent either.  And if only perfect parent people blogged, it would be extremely boring.  In fact, reading a perfect parent blog I'm pretty sure would result in an instant need for me to commit a violent act.  Like, for instance, going on a mommy rampage through my thigh high lawn (long story), smashing dandelions with a purple plastic bat while screaming incoherently.  Just throwing that out there.  Quit looking at me like that!

No judgement here, dudes.  Laugh, cry, fart.  Whatever!  I hope to be able to bring a bit of humor to your day, to help you to laugh at yourself (and me of course), and to bring some topics to mind that are important so that maybe we'll all learn a little something here if we're lucky.  

Until next time, then!  :) 

Terrible Twos and Temper Tantrums~priddymomma

Hey guys!  Did ya miss me?  I posted on my "Bits of Everything" blog about where I was last week

Sock Drawer Surprise

On top of that awesome fun, I was also sick.  Still am, actually.  The thrills!

20 minutes later and someone will be crying  *sigh*

 Anywho, enough of my lame excuses!  We're here to talk terrible twos and temper tantrums!  I feel like just referring you all to Tori's post from Tuesday.  She and I have kids around the same ages.


The first thing you need to keep in mind is that "terrible twos" is just a title given to a stage that starts right around 18 months and ends somewhere around 18 years.  Parenting has a lot of limit-setting.  Your kids are going to surprise you with random awful things they have never done before, and it will probably be while you have company.  Princess Cheerio just hit 18 months five days ago, and it was like some switch just flipped somewhere in that little brain of hers.  That switch must be labeled "destruction", because if you could see my living room right now...actually, I'll take a picture just so I can post it.

Yeah.  That's not a reenactment, folks.  And that was all her.  AND it has been partially cleaned by my son!

Princess Cheerio has made it her new mission in life to throw all papers and scatter all books within her reach.  And if she can't reach it, she gets mad and FINDS A WAY!  Enter chair scooting, block stacking, and my favorite, bookshelf climbing.  Just today she tore my living room a new one, scattered the papers off my desk (which really annoys me, btw), pulled an exercise DVD down that I just received in the mail and proceeded to chew on and then throw it, lost my place in a book I was reading (grr...), tried to destroy the Wii and DVD player at the same time, attempted to climb the baby gate because big brother was in the kitchen with mom and dang it I am hungry NOW!, ran from me when it was finally time to eat, dumped her cereal bowl on her head (twice), had a meltdown because she couldn't have the Halloween decor I was hanging on the ceiling, threw her bed lovies and blanket on the floor instead of sleeping, and took off her pants the moment I wasn't looking just because she could.  I probably missed something.  And before she was so sweet all the time.

Part of that is indeed because she is developing a greater emotional range.  We have been encouraging her to use her words.  Today, that resulted in daddy trying to wrestle her into a diaper while she screamed, "I'm MAD MAD MAD MAD MAD MAD MAD MAD!"  In that case, I don't think words worked out too well.  I would have liked a better explanation, for one thing.  Second, that much was kind of obvious by the screaming, red face, and flailing.  Just saying...

During that event, it would have been more useful to have her practice taking deep breaths.  I highly recommend the deep breathing technique for your toddler or for yourself when you toddler touches that forbidden object JUST ONE MORE TIME!  

The number one thing I can tell you is something you are probably already doing:  love your child.  Sometimes the tantrums and the mischief are just attention-seeking behaviors.  When they are at their rottenest and least loveable, that is when they need the most loving and understanding from you.

Catch ya next week, folks!  See ya!

Terrible Twos and Temper Tantrums ~ Tori

All kids go through it. Even the most sane, loving, well behaved child will eventually enter the terrible stage. It's a fact of life. But the thing is that it isn't just two year olds! It's threes, fours, and yes sometimes fives! Not having a child at the age of six (just yet, give it another month) I'm not sure if it continues after that, but I guess we shall see. (I'm hoping it begins to taper off. LOL)

For my oldest son, he didn't start his terrible stage until he turned three. Then we had the terrible threes, but for my youngest son we are definitely in the terrible twos.
I can't blame them really, as children are growing out of infancy they start testing their limits. This can end in a good and bad way. Of course we all want to get our way. Who doesn't? But as they begin to test their limits and are moving around relatively unassisted on their own they begin to hear that dreaded word...NO! That's not a word that has a happy place in a toddler's vocabulary. Well not when it's being told to them anyway.
Toddlers are also dealing with more emotions than ever and how to handle those emotions is key. Often they don't know how to handle how they are feeling or they cannot explain it. This is where we as parents need to help them with that. There are methods for each kind of tantrum. Not saying any of these methods will work 100% of the time but they sure can help.

• Talking- If your child is old enough to understand what you are saying sometimes the calm approach is best. Discuss how your child is feeling and why. When my son gets upset I tell him to take a few deep breaths before he explodes.
• Re-direct their anger and discuss other ways they can express themselves that doesn't involve throwing a fit. Again discuss how they are feeling and why.
• Sometimes ignoring bad behavior can also have a positive effect. As long as your child's behavior isn't hurting anyone (other than maybe grating on some nerves) just take a deep breath and let it go. Say calmly and simply "No you are not getting that toy today" and leave it at that. They are throwing the fit to get the attention and bad behavior is not rewarded.

Every child wants to be in charge, but the key is to let them know that no matter what you are still the one in charge and that isn't going to change. Tantrums will still happen but will either decrease in severity or how often they happen. My oldest son knows better these days than to argue with me over getting a toy when we go shopping or getting this or that. He knows by now that when I say no it means no and crying or screaming about it will do no good.
My youngest son however has not grasped this fact yet and probably won't for a little while still. He is still learning and coming into his own. Eventually though he will get it.

So don't get stressed when your child is screaming at the top of his/her lungs. Don't be embarrassed. I guarantee there are other mothers wherever you are that have been there and done that. Don't let anyone make you feel bad about it either because tantrums are just a normal part of your child and having a child. They are going to happen whether you like it or not. It's normal and even healthy that your child is developing, testing limits, and learning his/her own sense of self. Take a deep breath and push on, the tantrums won't last forever.

Cleaning Schedule - Leslie

Right.  My cleaning schedule.  Okay.  Well, I use the terms "clean" and "schedule" loosely.  What I have is more of a guideline... or merely a suggestion, really.

What I really lack in the cleaning department at home is help.  Asking Fiance to do some laundry and then coming in to find that he washed, dried, and piled it all up on the bed for me to put away.  Or do the dishes, where he'll do one sink full but leave two for me, and all of the dishes that could have been easily rinsed out after they were used are now sitting there with dried food and paper towels stuck to them.  Little Miss A is good at picking up her toys in one room and piling them up in another.

Laundry.  That's what I really hate.  I feel like it's everywhere, all the time.  Maybe this post of mine will instead be a "Help Leslie Out" post.  What suggestions do you have to get people to help, or at least make things seem less daunting for me?  I have the kind of personality where I flit from room to room trying to get things done because having to do it ALL seems so overwhelming.  Basically, I never know where to start, especially when the piles of stuff start to grow and grow.

I try to keep up with dishes daily and I do try to do at least one or two loads of laundry per day.  Maybe I just need to learn to maintain.  If the house isn't going to kill my family in some way, that's doing good, right?  Man, this post is short.  But, really, help please!


Suggestions for topics can be sent to thecaseofthemissingcheerios@gmail.com

April Goals - Leslie

I apologize in advance for the more short and to the point post.  A is running a fever today and is very clingy, so I am writing one-handed with a whiny toddler on my lap.  My April goals are pretty typical for this time of year, what with the start of spring and all.  My strategy to accomplish these goals is to take out a big chunk this week since school (and work) is out on spring break.  That way I won't have to worry about getting the time consuming things done on weekends or try to fit them in on work days.  Now... we'll just see if that's what actually happens.

Goal #1 - Spring Cleaning
This place is a mess.  There is stuff EVERYWHERE.  It's time to go through and purge, clean, and organize.  That will be the project for the majority of my spring break.  I just can't stand all the clutter anymore.  Here is a rough schedule of things I'd like to accomplish:

Sunday 3/31 - Bathroom, kitchen, and laundry.
Monday 4/1 - Living Room and dining room.
Tuesday 4/2 - Bedroom and laundry.
Wednesday 4/3 - Deep clean and organize front of apt.
Thursday 4/4 - Deep clean and organize back of apt.
Friday 4/5 - Haul stuff to Goodwill.

Goal #2 - Health
I want to start eating better, as I'm sure most people do.  However, I'm really trying to give it a good shot and not just give up entirely if I mess up once.  My goal for April is to be mindful of what I'm putting inside my body.  I also want to start exercising.  I don't do anything more than just my day to day activity and I know that has to change.  I will take advantage of the sunshine and just walk or take A to the playground and run around with her.  I want to do something more than what I am without trying to push myself too far too fast.

Goal #3 - Family Time/Personal Time
Hopefully by getting the major cleaning tasks done this week, I can free up some much needed family time for the rest of the month.  I'm hoping that all I will have to worry about with cleaning is just maintaining, rather than starting from a super mess.  I would love to be able to sit down and read a book more often, or play with Addie, or go outside and not have to worry about the dishes that need to be washed or the mountain of laundry waiting for me. 

Goal #4 - A Activities
I want to find more things to do with A.  It's getting warmer and thus I think there will be more available to choose from.  I would love to find something we can afford to get her involved with as well, whether it's dance, an art class, a music class, a sport, or just a playgroup.  I want her to be more involved with other kids her age starting now since we are planning to homeschool.  I want her to be able to form those bonds of friendship with others.  We go to the local library toddler time every week, but she is shy and slowly starting to be more comfortable there.  I would like for her to do something else as well, if we could.

Goal #5 - Save Money
A major goal for me, and not just in April.  We've had some difficulty getting adjusted lately, but I want to start putting away some green to use in emergencies or for vacations.  S'yeah.

Those are my goals for April and hopefully I can check at least some, if not all, off the list.  Wish me luck!

If you have any topic suggestions please feel free to send them our way!  thecaseofthemissingcheerios@gmail.com