Waiting on Baby

Not mine... my friend Ali has begun induction to have her baby girl early. They started yesterday afternoon and still no baby. There is not a huge rush so they are taking it slow so as to not stress the baby. But boy, it is stressing me! We have been waiting for days!
So hopefully tomorrow, she will enter the world, when I can be there I hope!

Nothing like waiting on a baby to make her entrance!

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Pretending He Had a Rainbow!

My husband and I bought a Rainbow vacuum long before we had children (when we had money to spend on such a fancy vacuum!). It is the only vacuum my 4 year old knows. This morning I found him loading his pretend Dirt Devil with water and vacuuming his floor! He found the "water basin" and knew that was how the vacuum worked- when you added the water. Needless to say, it leaked, but it was still impossible to tell him he was not using a Rainbow! At least, he was trying to vacuum!

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The More You Learn about Technology

I have been working on transfer websites to new hosting companies and been creating a video for work from a video camera to the computer. Boy, have I learned a lot this week (and last week). I feel so talented now that I can do these things without much hassle, although it is never as easy as it seems, even if you have done it once or twice! I have been enjoying working with technology so much, I have begun exploring instructional technology for a master's degree. It is so fascinating to figure out new things!

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Brainstorming and Dreaming

Have you ever had a day when things just come to you? Thoughts and ideas that you would have never considered pop in and out of your brain. And then, you share them with someone, and they shoot them down.

That is what today was. I had a great idea- a plan for what else? A new website. Truly, the thought of sitting around all summer without something productive to focus my time on makes me loony.

I will love the first weeks home from work, and then I will get bored... just like when I was in school as the student. Summer break is great, but a bit too long for me.

Of course, I have never had children and summer break, so it could be different!

Anyway, my husband thinks I am crazy and off the wall. I think I have a great idea... even a million dollar idea! LOL! But his question to me was "what would the priority be- the new idea or our family?" What is he really trying to say? And of course, he was "not being negative." What was it then.

I think he needs to read Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! again.

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Extraordinary Women Conference

I had the opportunity to attend the Extraordinary Women Conference in Orlando this weekend. It was wonderful! I have attended other women's conferences, like Women of Faith, but the fresh air of this conference was well worth the time and effort. I went with 31 women from our community. Mark Schultz was one of the best performers, but all of them were great! If you get the opportunity to attend one, take it!

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Save $1000 in one year

You are probably wondering why saving $1000 in one year would even be worth the effort. Wat I learned today from Yahoo Finance was that $1000 a year is barely coving inflation. So if you want to at least keep up with inflation, saving some money is a good idea.

The article on saving $1000 in a year offers some practical tips for saving money. We have changed to a clothes line, I have cut my son's hair a few times after buying some professional clippers from a discount department store, we replaced our light bulbs with lower wattage bulbs. It all helps. However, I thought I was saving it for the benefit of having more money, but now I find I am saving just to break even! What a concept! What ways are you trying to save money at home and out and about?
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Overnight Illness and Mysterious Fevers

How can a high fever come and go with no other symptoms? I am so often perplexed by childhood illness. My daughter went to bed a little warm, was 101 under her arm at 10 pm, Tylenol brought that down, it went back up overnight, and she woke up fine! How in the world! And she never complained, except for being thirsty and not want medicine. My doctor has told me fevers are a way of working something out, so I gave her the meds at the 101, but not before and not again. Obviously the mystery is solved, but without my knowledge!

The joys of motherhood!

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My Beach Babies

Okay, so it is a pool, but they are too cute. We were able to spend some time in the water this week- it is warm enough outside the water, until you get wet, then it is a bit chilly by Florida standards. The water was too cool for me, but the kids loved it!

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Spring Break and Vacation

We are on Spring Break this week and have taken the opp to go to Orlando. We found a nice, reasonably priced one bedroom condo with a kitchen and a washer and dryer (which I will NOT be using). We love the refridgerator and the table and chairs. Last night, we ordered Cracker Barrel to go and brought it back to the condo. It was $24 since we did not have to purchase drinks- we had brought all the drinks from home.

One bad thing- we decided to run to Walmart, which is around the corner, for a few things- it took over 30 minutes just to get through the line! The people in the line had issues, but it was mobbed! We could not believe the amount of people here. Of course, my husband decided that you canc ome here with the clothes on your back and buy it all Walmart, leave it, and go home!

We will have some fun these few days and with no worries. No scheduling or rushing around. Just time to enjoy the break!

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Bunco

I have an couples Bunco group that gets together once a month to play the game. I love it- no thinking, just rolling the dice. We have a wonderful time and I look forward to it each month. And, we do contribute money so everyone has the opportunity to win! I did not tonight, but my husband did. Always good when we at least make our money back! If you have never played, it is simple. Get 12 people together, 3 sets of 3 dice, and three tables with 4 seats each. Follow the rules, although we have altered them some, and play three rounds. It is great fun and a great parents night out!
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Downsizing and Budget Cuts

This is my first year back to teaching. And with Florida's budget crunch in educational, people without tenure are not guaranteed a job for the coming year.

That was the message I received today. My position as a gifted resource teacher for middle grades will not be allocated for the coming year. I am not at all worried- I know a job will be available, but I am disappointed. I am very good at my job! And to think they think they can do it without me makes me sad (I am the only person in our county in my position).

I am eagerly awaiting to see what jobs become available and what jobs I am interested in. I know I prefer middle school, but that may be a thing of the past. I have taught many things in many grades- and I am certified in exceptional student education and middle grades integrated (meaning I can teach anything in middle school or 9th grade). I am sure something will come up that is good. This was a great job for my first year back and I am thankful for the flexibility and the experience I have gotten!

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7 Up

I got this idea from Scenes from the Crooked Maple- a great blog for moms.

7 Up
Say anything you want in 7 words or less.

Lost is on tonight, I can't wait!

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Food Connect for Recipes

This is the coolest thing- I submitted a recipe on my free account to Food Connect. It was a recipe I mixed together with a combination of an old cookbook and some healthy substitutions. I call them Whole Wheat Oatmeal Griddle Cakes. Food Connect did all the nutritional analysis so I know now that one serving is 244 calories. That is too neat. It fits right into my diet!

Share your recipes and find out what you are eating!

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Toddler Constipation

This has been my last few months. Ever since we started potty training, we have had constipation problems with our 2 year old. She does not eat too many fruits and veggies, but she does eat whole grains. I think one bad event sent her over the edge to now she is withholding the poop. We have allowed her to be in pull ups when she needs to go, but it is not helping. I got some great advice online to share:
WebMD
At Home Dad Forum
and The Baby Center

Symptoms and Remedies for Toddler Constipation
By Kathy Gupton
From late infancy to about age three, our twins had bowel movement problems and experienced constipation off and on. Since I had never heard of toddler constipation and our friends and family were only too quick to point out how they had never had any problems with this, we automatically jumped to the conclusion that we were doing something wrong or that there was something wrong with our children's digestive tracts. After consulting with our pediatrician and doing our own research, we discovered that toddler constipation is a relatively normal phenomenon.

In fact, it is estimated that about half of all toddlers will experience toddler constipation at one point or another. Symptoms of toddler constipation include infrequent bowel movements (going 2-3 days between bowel movements), hard stools, straining during bowel movements, and trying to stop a bowel movement from happening. Toddler constipation actually becomes a vicious cycle: the bowel movements hurt, so they try to hold them back, which makes the stools harder, which makes them hurt more. Fortunately there are some simple things that you can do to help alleviate toddler constipation that just involve a few lifestyle changes.

The first thing you need to do is to give your child high fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, breakfast bars that are high in fiber, fiber cereals and even peanut butter all are good foods to give your child to help toddler constipation go away and help keep it away. Make sure your child has a good fluid intake. Sneak in a glass of water or fruit juice during the morning or afternoon playtime. You might have to cut out the milk and cheese for a few days until the bowel movements become regular again. Start implementing a 5-10 minute potty time after meals, which seems to be the best time to get them to go.

You should not give your child an over-the-counter laxative. In fact, you shouldn't give your child any medicine for constipation without consulting the doctor. Fortunately, there are a lot of natural remedies for toddler constipation so that you don't have to rely on medications.

For information on over 70 natural remedies for constipation, visit http://www.stopconstipation.info/

Get your copy of 77 ways to alleviate constipation online now.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Gupton

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Outside Clothes Dryer, i.e Clothesline

I have wanted the old fashion clothes line for a few months now. We have tried really hard to decrease our power bill and become more ecofriendly in our home. Our dryer quit working last week, so now I have the reason to go get my clothesline! For about $50, probably as much as the dryer part is going to cost, I can get my clothesline at our local Ace Hardware. The big companies, like Lowe's and Home Depot did not carry them according to their websites. There were lots of good advice online for making your own, but it costs almost as much and it will save me the labor! I am running out today to pick it up and hope to have it in the ground by the end of the day. Witht the extra hour of sunlight each night, there is plenty of drying time after work hours are over. I remember my grandmother drying clothes outside- it is a good memory!

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Scategories for Moms Part 2- Come Play!

Play Scategories With Me-

The goal is to try to complete as many sections as you can with the given letter. Try to make your word unique- double letters (tommy the truck for t) give you twice the points! You cannot use the same word twice for two different letters (ie. taco and taco bell). But think outside the box!
If you play, copy and paste this list on your blog and post the link in the comment section or post the list as a comment in the post.

This weeks letter is R. This is a new list from last weeks. (I choose the letter at random and this one was hard- maybe you will do better!)

Baby Aliment runny nose

Piece of Children’s Clothing romper

Term of Endearment could not think of one!

Threat You had better RUN!

Punishment could not think of one!


Kid Food ramen noodles


Word to Describe a Baby rambunctious


Item of Baby Equipment rocker


One Thing Found in Your Car radio


Toy Rubix cube


Type of Physician radiologist


Mommy Break rummy (if you are an old mommy!)



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Weird Things Your Child Does

I have always said my son is odd. He just does some crazy things that I would never thing about. Like, ketchup goes on almost everything (my brother did that one). He cannot go the bathroom if the light is off... the 2 year old sister has to turn it on first (and today, she asked me to turn it on). He will rewatch a movie until he has memorized the lines. And he is very particular on the foods he will eat, even though he ate every baby food known to man! Even stinky broccoli and cheese! YUCK!

Today I read blurbs from other parents on the weird things their children do- and my son seems a little more normal now! LOL!
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Day Light Savings

My brain gets so confused on day light savings time. I love that there is light in the evening, but it takes a few weeks to remember to go to bed earlier and get dinner on the table before it is dark! I love the extra sunlight in the evening and the chance to be outside longer. With spring just around the corner, there is plenty of nice weather to take advantage of!

But my kids will take a week to get up and to go to bed at the right time!

Kids and animals- they are even slower to respond!
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My Scategories!

This week, the letter is T.
Here is the list...

Restaurant Taco Bell

Artistic Material Toothpaste (depending on the child!)

A reward Toothbrush

After school activity TV

Dinner Tuna Helper

Medicine Tylenol

Way to Say No Time Out!

Item Found at the Grocery Store Tang

One Thing Found in Your Purse/Bag Tampon

Vacation Location Tennessee

Type of Snack Food Triscuts

Type of Drink Tea
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Scategories for Moms Part 1- Come Play!

Play Scategories for Moms...
Either cut and paste this onto your blog or copy it and paste it into the comment section. We will play a few times over the next few months- with different categories or different letters!

The goal is to find as many ORIGINAL words for the selected categories. You can review the selected posted entries to see what was already stated. Every word must start with the given letter. The first word cannot be the same as another section (ie., taco bell as a restaurant, taco as something in the grocery store). Double words are allowed with either the first or second word beginning with the letter, but extra credit is given for double words with the same letter as the first letter twice.

This week, the letter is T.
Here is the list...

Restaurant

Artistic Material

A reward

After school activity

Dinner

Medicine

Way to Say No

Item Found at the Grocery Store

One Thing Found in Your Purse/Bag

Vacation Location

Type of Snack Food

Type of Drink

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