Thirsty Eyeballs

While riding home from church this weekend, I looked back from the passenger side to check on the girls. Aidann was fine & Austin, but then it looked like Asher had been crying. "Are you alright?" I asked her. "Yes" she replied with a big o' cheesy grin. A few minutes passed & I looked back to check on them once again, they were all so eerily quiet which usually means that someone is up to something. This time the tears were really flowing from Ashy's eyes. "What wrong?" I asked, this time more concerned. She just smiled as if nothing was wrong. Puzzled, I just had to take her word for it. I turned back 1 last time less than a minutes later & this time I caught her in the act! She was taking her water bottle & literally pouring it into her eyeballs!?! "What are you doing, Asher?!", I had to ask. "My eyes were thirsty too" she replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Lol. Kids minds.

-M&M Momma

NEW Product You'll Love

This product is so adorable & handy! You can snatch a great quality 1 up at Target. Toddlers love a lil' independence so why not let them start off the day with the honor of choosing their own cereal! This double cereal dispenser eliminates a lot of the mess that toddlers can make by pouring breakfast from a giant cereal box. I simply pick up 2 organic cereals from the grocery store every week, dump it in, & then when its time to have a cereal breakfast during the week, I let the girls stand on their stool with their lil' bowl & turn the knob of the cereal of their choosing. When they get to the table with their bowl, I put a lil' milk in a plastic saucer for them to pour indepently into their bowl. WARNING: It is probably best to put just enough milk for 1 bowl at a time in case they just dump the whole thing in their bowl or miss! lol. This is a great product that my kids & I love!
-M&M Momma

Accomplishments

From the moment they take that 1st breath & let out that eagerly anticipated scream, our children are off to conquer the world! Accomplishing 1 thing after the other - Their 1st smile, rolling over, crawling, talking, walking, & the list goes on & on - Its just miraculous to witness. As parents our hearts can't help but swell up with pride with each step forward made as our babies unavoidably begin "growing up". Just this past Wednesday my 34 month old Aidann, once a small 35 week old preemie with no hair to be seen, graduated a level in swim class. As they handed her that bright green ribbon I have to admit I had to wipe away a tear or 2. No more mommy & me swim time, now she was moving on to the big stuff. I almost literally had to glue myself to my chair as I watched my lil' baby venture to the "deep" end of the pool. The new teacher would have her jump in & swim to her, have her dive down for toys, & the whole 9 yards. I tried to hide my look of borderline terror as the teacher "trusted" her to just hold on to the side of the pool when it was time to attend to the other swim student in her semi-private class. I wanted to shout out, "Remember she is only 2!?!". But it was all good & I was soooo proud of Aidann & her huge accomplishment!

It is very important that no matter how big or how small, we acknowledge ALL our children's accomplishments. Whether it be them graduating from preschool, them remembering to make their bed without being told, or them simply covering their mouth when they cough. Kids hunger for approval. They want so badly to make us proud. BUT while this acceptance is VERY important, we also need to make sure we teach our children that first & foremost they need to be proud of themselves. The sense of pride and satisfaction a child should feel inside when they have worked so hard towards reaching a goal is priceless. The inner drive to press forward & "make things happen" is such a valuable trait we need to nurture - harness. We must help our children achieve a healthy balance between being proud of themselves and merely people-pleasing. Trying to constantly appease & please others is only going to leave them constantly feeling disappointed & needy, never experiencing that moment of well deserved self-satisfaction. This sense of self-accomplishment is especially important to cultivate in our children who tend to be perfectionist. We must teach our children to focus on the accomplishments (their successes and whole-hearted efforts) rather than imperfections and "shortcomings". Praise your child's efforts and encourage them to always do their best (and to continue trying/working at it). Brag about their accomplishments to others. Display their artwork, schoolwork, incentive charts, ribbons, certificates, trophies, and treasures. And as parents, in modeling  for our children, we too must focus on (and give more attention to) the successes, accomplishments, and whole-hearted efforts!

When Aidann received that ribbon, of course, I was "over the moon" & kept telling her how proud I was of her, but I also had to stop myself & take the time to ask Aidy "Are you proud of yourself?". And you bet, we have that ribbon proudly displayed on our fridge as we speak!



-M&M Momma

Aidy Feeling Accomplished!

Once again...

Beautiful Quote

I saw this quote on a sign & I just thought I would share "The greatest thing you can spend on your child is TIME" -Unknown

When Should You Start Disciplining Your Lil' One?

Just when I thought my lil' curly headed toddler could not get any sweeter, I decided to go up & check on the lil' ladies before starting this post. There was Asher, hanging half way off her bed minus 1 Huggies diaper. Apparently, she had to use the restroom really badly mid-sleep. She must have gotten up & lugged herself to the Elmo potty chair to take care of business & then dragged herself as close to back to bed as her tired lil' self possibly could - The only thing, only half of her made it-LOL! Well, now that I have rediapered my Ashy, on to the blog....A question I have heard a lot of debate over recently is, "When should you start disciplining your lil' one?".  My personal opinion is that a lot of times parents underestimate their kids & start too late. Don't let those adorable big eyes fool you! When you recognize that your baby understands when they are doing wrong, then it is time to start disciplining them. For example, lil' Austin, my 9 month old, may look cute & innocent, BUT she knows very well how to make a somewhat attitude-toned yelp when she doesn't get what she wants. Mommies, you know exactly what shriek I am talking about, it's the one you hear from your baby when you know an object could potentially cause your lil' one harm so you take it away from them to protect them, but they throw a 9 month old version of a "fit" because they want it anyway. Or maybe you are not being quick enough in bringing them their food & they make sure to let you know about it. As a parent, you can recognize the difference between innocent crying & actual fit throwing. It can start younger then you think. If they are throwing themselves back with purpose & protest against you, they are ready. If they are squirming out of your hands & keep flipping over because they don't "feel" like having their diaper changed, they are ready. If they throw things down with anger & purpose or say "No" to you with intention, they are ready. If you tell them "No" but they knowingly do it, take it, or grab it anyway, they are ready.

Now while I do believe that babies (usually 9 months old is when you may start recognizing willfulness and/or defiance here or there) need discipline in some circumstances once you see in them that they are more aware of various actions being wrong or right, you also have to make sure you are correcting them to their age level & level of understanding. The way you need to discipline a 2 year old is definitely going to be different than the level needed for a 9 or 10 month old. Oh, & most importantly remember that in order for your young 1 to understand more quickly that a certain behavior is not acceptable, be CONSISTENT in disciplining that action EVERY time. And it helps especially when both mom & dad are "on the same page" as well.

Consistency is such a HUGE thing. Just the other night I was preparing dinner for the girls & Austin was doing her thing, crawling around in our carpeted living room (which is open to the kitchen) playing with her sisters & daddy close by. Well, suddenly lil' Austin got curious & started making her way over to the kitchen tile. As a mommy, it is my loving duty to teach her that the kitchen is not a safe place for her to play (especially when someone is cooking). Austin is already starting to understand some of the set boundaries & various limits, such as not pulling dvd's or books off of the bookcases, not climbing up the stairs, not purposely flipping over while having her diaper changed & so forth, so I knew, with work, Austin could also understand that the kitchen tile was off limits. So I simply picked her up, put her back on the carpet then pointed back to the tile saying, "No, no. Danger!".  I then went back to cooking with the corner of my eye right on her. She sat there for a moment just looking at me with a very quizzical look on her face before then deciding to try it again. I then repeated the exact same process of picking her up, putting her back on the carpet, & repeating the same words as before. Since this was a new boundary to Austin, I gave her this 2nd warning. She let out a lil' whimper, but then went right back to trying to crawl on the tile. This time she was crawling full speed to see if she could get past me before I could get to her. Of course the attempt failed & this time I also saw a change in her "attitude". I could now tell she understood that the kitchen was forbidden, but she was purposefully challenging it. This time I had to discipline her & then I did the exact same thing of putting her back on the carpet & telling her the same words. Now, some people might say "Why didn't you just put her down far away so she would forget about the kitchen?". I don't believe in that because it would not be teaching her anything in this circumstance. If I tell her later on not to run out in the street, I can't simply move the street. If my family goes into a store & we come across an aisle with fragile items, I can't simply ask the store to move them so that my kids don't touch or break them. It is my duty to lovingly train my kids to obey right away & trust that I have their very best interest in mind always! I kid you all not, this was repeated no less then 6 or times the other night, until my strong-willed lil' Austin realized that I was not going to back down & I meant business. So funny because today we were all making our way to the living room (my older girls walking & lil' Austin crawling) when I noticed my lil' Austin start to make her way towards the kitchen tile. She suddenly stopped herself, sat down for a moment, & then decided to head the other direction without me even saying a word or giving a look. We underestimate our lil' ones. They are SO smart if we would just give them the chance. And again, I can't emphasize it enough-Consistency PAYS!-M&M Momma

Who says girls can't tackle?

Like 2 seconds later lol

Love

Silly ladies

My Messy Lil' Rose

This lil' ray of sunshine never ceases to make me laugh or smile!

-M&M Momma

Odd Sleeping Habits

If you have been reading for awhile then I am sure you have experienced the absolute craziness of Asher's sleeping habits (sleeping while standing, under the dresser, completely covered by the blanket from top to bottom, book over the face, while eating her dinner & the list goes on). Well, my girls have a few other odd habits that have just popped up. Asher & Aidann do not like to sleep in their own beds, they like to sleep in each others!? Aidann sleeps in Asher's bed while Asher insists in sleeping in Aidann's bed. Its so odd. When Asher gets into bed (stuffed animals beware) she wants nothing extra on her bed (blanket & pillow only). She pushes everything off the bed as she politely states "No thank you". Now Aidann does not like to sleep in the normal position, she sleeps with her head where her feet should be & her feet where her head should be. It doesn't even matter if you reposition her in the middle of the night because by the time morning comes she magically turns right back around. Aidann also likes to sleep with 2 blankets, summer or not!? Sweat could be dripping down her forehead yet she would still request the 1 blanket too many. Lol, it makes me laugh. Then there is lil' Aussie. She has to sleep with something in her hands, simply, has to! Usually she will reach for one of her lil' rattles in her crib & then fall asleep. Then in the middle of the night, in her sleep, she will randomly start shaking the thing for like 5-10 minutes & then suddenly just stop. Craziness I am telling. The PM is always full of interesting things at our house I tell you what.  :)-M&M Momma

Ice Cream Truck!

For a few days now my lil' toddlers have heard the faint music of the ice cream truck every afternoon at around 5pm. The concept of an ice cream truck was somewhat foreign to them, so today I decided to show them what it was all about. They were so excited when they learned that an ice cream truck represented endless flavors, shapes, & sizes of 1 of their favorite luxuries (minus birthday cake) that drove right to their house!?! At 1st a lil' overwhelmed by the numerous options, Aidann eventually settled on Dora (I think because it is a lil' girl like her but looks like her sisters lol), while Asher went straight for Shrek.

It was the cutest thing ever to watch them pay the man, their lil' faces light up as I ripped open their lil' packages, the pure joy as they sunk their teeth into the ice cream, & then their faces as they winced from the total brain freeze. Asher stayed true to her personality & finished that bad boy in 2 minutes flat, while Aidann took her time & ate it just like a lil' lady while the disagreeable sun made it melt all over her legs in the mean time.

The littlest things can just amaze lil' kids, it really doesn't take much. My heart was positively filled with joy today as I got to watch my lil' girls throughly enjoy getting ice cream from the ice cream truck for the first time. These ladies are the greatest joy of my life & every day I am so thankful I get to spend it with them. Tear...

-M&M Momma

Head, gone!



Brain freeze!



D-d-d-d-Dora

Ice cream kisses anyone?

Yummy

Gone :(

Its gone already!?!?!

Come back...lol