Children and Crafts

As you probably noticed I haven't been blogging much. I took a little break and I must say it was absolutely amazing. I had a wonderful time for the holidays soaking up my kids as much as possible. I hope you all had a great one too!

I am big on crafts. It is what I do. I have done crafts since I was a kid. When I was little I would go outside and grab nature, bring sticks, rocks anything I could find home and start using my mom's hot glue gun. I feel crafts are an amazing way for a kid to use their imagination. Imagination is critical in a child's development and crafting for me builds their imagination. It helps them build themselves into the person they truly are. Not only are crafts amazing for their brains it is great for their motor skills. My second son was born premature and his right hand he has trouble with using so crafting for him has helped tremendously as would with any child. Now I watch The VIEW religiously. I don't EVER miss an episode. I love Whoopi, Nicole, Rosie and Rosie. Rosie O'Donnell loves crafting and always speaks about how wonderful it is and how great it is for children and adults. I completely agree. 

I set up a little craft table a few months ago for my children. I got one of our folding tables from lowes then went out and bought paints,crayons,water pastels, different paper, stickers and play dough. I really like Apple Barrel Paint because it is non-toxic and squeezable. I don't like screwing a lid off every paint color. It saves time and is faster. The kids also received Brookstone Sand for Christmas that I highly recommend. It is kinetic sand with a texture the kids really like. Castles don't stay up very long but the kids stay entertained with it longer then most other crafts.

They absolutely love it. Now aside from TV and videos games when we our home they are either outside or on the craft table. Love it!

Sorry for the picture quality. Both my cameras broke recently!

I save all my favorite picture and hang them on the wall. Eventually the walls will be covered in my kids imagination.

Laugh and Love

Christine

Crochet Cover-up

I have had this crochet cover up from Victoria's Secret for years. I originally bought it for my pregnancy pictures a couple years ago and I have worn it only 3 times! I am trying to clean my closet out and didn't have the heart to get rid of this. So I figured I would use it as a cover up. I tied a colorful fringe scarf around my waist and I think it came out pretty cute! I have been wearing it like crazy. Now I feel like I have got my money's worth! Do you have clothing in your closet that hasn't been worn or been worn only once? I have a ton and it drives me crazy ;)

Here are some pictures of the crochet cover-up. You might have seen some of these on my instagram already @mermaidsblog. Link is on the right of my page.

Laugh and Love

Christine

Linking up with Pig and Dac, Fitness Blondie

Raising Children RIGHT!

I know there are many controversies about how parents should raise their children. There are books written by doctors with WOW doctorate degrees and mothers who have had children who think they have been there done that so they know exactly how to raise the perfect child. Do I listen to them? Yes, I do but most of the time I don't agree with them and that's ok. It is not that they are wrong or I'm right but they have a different opinion then me or do things differently. Maybe just maybe both ways of raising a child might work out. I kind of look at it like cooking. You can make an amazing dish with chicken but how many different ways can you make it, boiled, bbq, fried, stir fried, etc etc and the list can go on. All of them will turn absolutely wonderful but in amazingly different ways. That is how I look at raising my own children.

I did things my way with my kids. Why because I am their mother and I go by my motherly instincts. It took me a few years after I had my first child to realize that I don't have to do what people told me to do second guessing myself (their is a big difference in being told what to do and having a loving suggestion). I hated that feeling when people told me how to raise my kids, I still don't like it, I just zone people like that out now. There are many things I did that are supposedly not good for my kids.
I breastfeed all my babies to sleep. Big NO, right?! Well I did and they loved it. My motherly instinct told me to do it, why, because they were babies and I felt I needed to baby them, hug them and hold them. So I did.
I never let them cry to sleep. I tried once with my first and a few times with my second but hated it. It felt wrong. So I stopped. Isn't it ridiculous how I second guessed my motherly instinct and even went on to my second child trying to do what the books and people told me. I'll never again make that choice. I rocked every single one of my babies to bed...... and I am so glad I did. It's a memory that makes my heart feel warm and big. I have no regrets, none at all.

I just felt like writing today. These are just a couple things I have done differently with my children. I have been thinking about my children alot. Raising them RIGHT. They are all growing up so fast. I have no more babies in the house. I am now raising young boys to be young men to be good men. I wanted to reflect back on how I felt I raised them right and how I am going to in the future. It's a tough decision deciding on what ways you want to dicipline your kids because everyone has their own way. I feel every person/child is different and only the parents really know how to handle their children. We are with them every day of their life not just someone giving their opinion looking in through a window.

Some pictures of my life.

The boys and I

Akai 4 months old

3 years old

7 years old

Mykah three days old

1 month old

2 years old

Boomer first week home

1 year old

2 years old

THE BOYS

Mykah and Daddy

At our first home in CA

NC vacation before we moved here. I was pregnant with Boomer

Laugh and Love

Christine

Life of a Stay at Home Mom

I have been wanted to post on this topic for a while. I had this conversation with a couple friends a few weeks ago and then one of them posted a blog post from the infamous Matt Walsh  that couldn't be written as well as he did.

I get so dumbfounded when I hear people say to me that I get to stay at home and I don't do anything all day. It's so absurd I can't even speak when someone says it to me. I've always told my husband that I think going to work is just as hard, but my job as a stay at home parent is JUST as hard. It is just in a different way. My husbands job is more physical, hard labor and I feel mine is more mental but at times can also be physical labor. No job/career will ever be exactly the same but work is work and it is all tiring at the end of the day. There are many things throughout the day I feel people take for granted that mom's would LOVE to have again. 

For example a shower by yourself, no door left open to hear the kids or kids running into the shower screaming and playing or one of them got hurt so you have to get out dripping wet with soapy hair. Must be nice to take a long hot shower in pure silence. Going to the restroom without knocking or banging on the door, the knob turning over and over or fingers slipping through the bottom of the door trying to get in. When I go to sit and eat by myself after the kids are done, I can't because they want to sit by me and not next to me, ON MY LAP! When I do want to just sit down and drink a cup of coffee they are either sitting on me or of course when you sit down someone got hurt or the kids are fighting over a toy and then it's up again. I'm sitting here as I write and the kids are sitting on me sliding down my leg, getting off and on me. Now Mykah's head is in my face and Boomer is getting jealous so now his head is in my face,  my phone to the sky as I write this. There is no privacy what so ever. Is that it? Ohhh no. 

From the moment I wake up I am non stop on the go. I wake up and cook breakfast just to do the dishes and clean up food spilled by messy toddlers. Then take my oldest to school.Then it is off to put some laundry in then clean up toys (that will just be out again an hour later), clothes on the ground and whatever else that needs to be cleaned. When that is done it is lunch. More cooking, cleaning up their mess and then dishes. Now maybe nap time but no there is laundry to be done. Fold it and put it away.Then when they wake maybe the kids want to go outside and play, just to track dirt and mud into the house.  As I take their clothes off to give them a shower dirt comes pouring out of the pockets and sometimes for me even worms. Time to vaccum. When they get out of the shower it is time for me to put some clothes on but "I am a big boy mom, I can do it". So I let them change by their self just to take all the clothes out that I just folded away. Time to go pick up Akai. Then back home for dinner and more dishes. Then there is homework and reading. Then shower, brush teeth and bed ×3 for me.

Awwww bed. A break right! No not a break because every mother is always thinking about their kids even in their sleep. Once you have children sleep will never be the same.  A mother is always worried even when they don't realize it. It's like being half awake and half sleeping just in case your children wake up in the middle of the night because you need to be there for them. You need to hear them because having children is always like having a newborn. I still check my kids to see if their breathing. Not like when they were babies but as a mother that worry never goes away. It is VERY exhausting but VERY much worth it.

Now I am not saying everyday is crazy. Yes I get to go hang out with my girlfriends and have playdates. Maybe drink a glass of wine, relax and have fun. Yes I do get to be home with my kids and spend time with them and watch them grow but most days are what I explained above and if your someone that thinks we sit around all day and do nothing you need a reality check and I would love for you to come take a day in my shoes and see how much work it really is.

Here is me the stay at home mom in my pajamas just woke up. I probably stay in my pajamas half the day unless I leave. When I drive Akai to the bus stop I am still in my pj's ;)

The kids room. We have 5 bedrooms and I still stick two of them Iin the same room because I don't need another room for myself to clean . I am taking advantage while they are young.

The kids eating lunch.

We have forts on a daily basis whether It 

Is inside or out.

                                                           

Boomer helping us chop and stack the wood.

Walking back from the bus stop.

 

Laugh and Love

Christine

Link up with More Pieces of Me ,On the Daily Express, Pig and Dac, Fitness Blondie

White Ice

We got some snow! Well it was more like ice but we made the best out of it. Although we couldn't make a snowman the kids got to sled and play around in the cold. Being from California it sure was cold for me. If any of you didn't know, we moved from California last year and the weather is quite a change. A change I love, though. Being in North Carolina is doesn't really snow. Last year we had no snows so this snow is pretty rare from what I've been told.

Myself, Akai and Boomer (nickname)

Sledding in our homemade sled made of a boogie board and trash bag, lol!

Akai fell trying to surf!

Snow fight!

Myself looking like an eskimo

Sitting by the fire after a hard days play

More sledding

Laugh and Love

Christine

Life as Little Boys

There is nothing more crazier in life then my three little boys. From the moment they wake up it's nonstop laughing. They immediately in the morning come wake me up jumping and wrestling on my bed reminding me of what my day is going to be like. As we speak they are jumping around, pillows are hitting my face as they are playing. From potty training, cooking three meals a day, cleaning up toys non stop, laundry and deciplining there is hardly a break. I barely have ten minutes to write this blog but I'm glad I make the time documenting this little boys. Once I get something done it's on to the next. It's funny when my Father and sister come over they always say something similar to "you never sit down" or "you have a lot of patience". I just laugh to myself. It is such a crazy life having All BOYS but I love them sooo much ♡.

Playing Pool Side

Nothing like your couch getting taken apart for a fort.

Boys in potty traing but would like to help mommy bake naked!

My 3 year old. 95% potty trained day and night!