La La La La La La, La La La La La....

Oh My Gosh! I totally forgot about this.... Today we went to get the new Barbie movie. Of course we had to go out in the pouring rain to Target to get this thing on the very first day that it is released because we just HAD to.... Sitting right next to the Barbie movie was this

Yes! Season One of the Smurfs is finally out! I showed it to the little monkey's and little Maddie monkey says, "Mom, I'm not sure I will like that one." Well too bad, this one's for Mommy! :)

What Every Mother Needs

I might be alone in this, but I have found that clear packing tape is the biggest lifesaver where my little ones are concerned. I can't even tell you how many books I have repaired with it. My kids love their books. The baby is beyond board books now because I can fix almost anything. But we do still have some of the board books that come apart at the binding and I have saved them for another couple months by just a cleverly placed strip.

It's just like duct tape, only it looks better.

Do you have something you can't live without?

10 Things I've Learned from Childbirth & Children

1. If you think that when you are pregnant you are being taken over by some other life force and that it will just end when you deliver said "life force", you are sweetly mistaken. It is just the beginning of the fun.

2. When you are in labor and you think that you are just going to explode (you really won't) but you should project all your energy into pushing. Of course if you are in the car and on your way to the hospital or you are walking down the hall to your delivery room, don't push yet. Wait till the doctor/midwife/nurse/janitor gets down there to catch the "ball".

3. Sleep when the baby sleeps. I know that everyone says this and you probably won't because you will think, "Hey, I'm only a little tired. I can handle it!" Just SLEEP! If you are only having one child then you might be okay, but if you are planning on having more than one, then this will be the only time that you will be able to sleep.

4. Say goodbye to uninterrupted sleep for the next 7-8 years. Even if you get the kid to sleep through the night, you will still get woken up in the morning far before you are ready to wake up.

5. Sometimes you see those sweet little perfect children who follow and obey their parents every waking moment, at least in public when you see them. Those children don't really exist. They are a figment of your imagination and once they step foot into their own houses, they become exactly like your children. (To make me feel better, I like to imagine that they are actually WORSE than mine.)

6. If you think that you have a husband that you have to tell things to over and over again and that he doesn't listen... this is hereditary and your children will be the same way.

7. Be ready to laugh more than you thought possible. They are the funniest little creatures in the world. Even when they aren't trying to make you laugh, you should laugh at them anyway. It will make you feel better.

8. Babies with hair look cuter than bald babies. :) I'm just saying...

9. Childproof your house now. And continue to do it. And keep vigilant. Stay at least 5 steps ahead of them because it will save you alot of time, tears and hospital copays.

10. Pray for patience every morning. Then when it runs out at 7:15am, pray again, and again, and again.

11. (Hey, this is my blog, I can have 11 if I want!) The final thing is to just try and have fun. It won't always be, but if you try, you are more likely to succeed than if you don't try at all. You can't change it by complaining about it, so suck it up and deal with it!

What Do You Think?

So, I'm curious. What do people think is an appropriate age to have your child stop using a sippy cup, a pacifier, a bottle, a crib...

I know that probably only 5 people read this blog (and not with much regularity, at that) but I'm curious...

Sippy Cup - I personally think 4 is the cut off. That being said, my middle child has issues with his grip and holding onto things and just within the last 3 months has been able to use utensils (he just turned 4 in January). We are just starting with the real cup and he is a dribbler. And an impatient dribbler at that. If he spills on himself, he starts to cry.

Pacifier - I think this is the reason why I decided to do this post. I saw a child in the grocery store that was no less than 4 and had a pacifier in her mouth. Trying to spout out full sentences with a piece of silicone and plastic stuck in her mouth. It was ridiculous. Now, I have children. They are not the best in the behavior department even sometimes. But I wouldn't let them keep a pacifier to let me have a few minutes of peace and quiet. That's what their rooms are for. For me, if the kid is younger than 2 years old, I guess it's okay to have one. My oldest was the ideal situation. She had it in her bed until 18 months but at 12 months I took it away completely during the day. My 17 month old, littlest monkey, has one pretty much whenever she wants it. I've become more relaxed on it in my old age. But I'm starting to get rid of it more and more every day. One of these days, I'm cutting a hole in that puppy...

Bottle - This is another one that I have seen a child that is older than I personally thought appropriate and still had a bottle. Older by ALOT! I am a total stickler on this one. When the kid switches over from formula to whole milk at one year, the bottle is gone. Completely. No question. I won't point and stare unless the kid is older than two, but personally, one is the oldest for me. Sorry.

What do you think? Do you care? Do you just wait for the kid to want to move on? I'm not even going to go into the potty-training realm... I'm having my own issues with that one...

Homeschooling Looking Better

Seriously. Did you see the latest rampage by a crazy psycho person on the news? It makes my heart break. Oh wait, not that one, the other one. I know that it was a college campus, but I'm so sick of it! When are they going to start taking the term "open campus" to mean a negative thing and making everything closed campus and start securing our schools as well as they secure our airports? The domestic morons are just as bad as the international terrorists.
But then again, I can homeschool until my monkeys are 25, but then they will someday have to go out into the craziness and take their chances with everyone else.

Sorry to be the wet blanket of the morning. It's just hard when the first thing I hear this morning was about all the horrific things going on in the world. Good thing there's a "power off" button...

What's This World Coming To?

I now have a tv in the kitchen so when I'm making food or cleaning up , I can watch it and just see the nightly news or the morning news. Most of the time the kids are off and playing and I can actually watch without worrying about them being exposed to anything too bad. Except tonight... stabbings, killings, robberies... I know that it's not just in this area and that alot of places are like this, but still... It's really sad. I have to shuttle them out of the room or mute it or go to the cooking channel real quick. Now, I'm not going to shelter them completely forever, but they are all three 5 years old and under... There's no need to make them neurotic before there's a need to be.

I do wonder whether it's really that bad... There uhave always been bad things happening, but it seemed the media didn't really report on such things. Then there was the change to sensational journalism and let's see who's opening headlines could sound worse. If the tops three stories are about murder, abuse or Britney, turn it off right now. You will be better off.