It’s a Toddlers World…

Being a mom of a two year old is not easy, being a single mom of a two year old is definitely not easy. Out of nowhere my sweet loving little monkey has turned into an angry gorilla on a rampage searching through the jungle we call a kitchen for juice and snacks. Patience (and a glass of Moscato) have become by best friends. My heart hurts to see my son go through his daily turmoil all because I said no to more fruit snacks or a cookie, but I think in time he will learn limits.

I realize the world to a two year old can be frustrating and I’ve adjusted to giving my son his space while still being very available to him. I’ve also learned that his levels of frustrations can vary from mildly annoyed that the car won’t stay on the top of the pile-up he constructed to the I can’t take this and I’m kicking and tossing all the toys out of my way but you still can’t help me figure it out because I want to tackle this on my own stage.  The kid knows what he wants and how he wants it but still can’t grasp the concept, if at first you don’t succeed try and try again.  But I know it will eventually click but  for now we have to tread  through the waters of having a toddler in the house.

Some insight I have found from reading endless articles online is:

1)      My toddler is trying to establish his independence- what does this mean? Independence!? He is only 2. But to him he wants to tackle the jobs he sees such as eating with a fork and drinking out of the cup. Pick the time and place he will use the bathroom and decide that he would rather have yogurt for dinner rather than the green and yellow veggies on  his plate. His imagination is running wild with ideas. Which leads me to point 2.

2)      My toddler will get frustrated, over and over and over again. He has the end result in his mind but as much as he tries he cannot make it happen. And his only outlet at exerting his frustrations is the screaming crying fits he goes into. I’ve learned to notice the signs of frustration and try to avoid the melting point. I’m also being more reasonable. Sure he refused to eat his dinner but I will  still give  him the piece of fruit he might request.  I’ve also mastered the art of letting him know why something is not getting done. And of course, if it reaches the point of no return my arms are there to comfort him until he decides to try something else.

What have I done to help my toddler be a happy toddler:

Of course I make sure he gets plenty of rest. Just because he’s bigger does not mean he gets less naps. When my little man was around a year old he started to just do one nap during the day and sleep through the night. Now at almost 3yrs old he is still doing his nap during the day. On occasions the nap might get skipped due to our activities and on those days this mama is looking at an early bed time. WOO HOOO. His nap can range from 45 min to about 3 hours but when he wakes up, he wakes up eager to see what the world has to offer him. Not cranky at all.

I give him more choices. What cars or trains we play with, what books we read at night, if he wants to sit down and draw or play with play-doh. Plain and simple choices. This works out well because we can still control the environment without having a bunch of things going on at once. Also he is learning that to move on to the next activity we have to clean up. This has been a difficult concept to have him learn. I know he’s really good at cleaning up at daycare but for me: not so much. But I know we will get there. I use this technique especially when he starts to show frustration with his current task. The blocks are not building as high as he wants, he just keeps at it but I can see his anger building. If I try to just say ok we won’t play this anymore he seems to get even more upset. With him knowing we have another option or toy to play with he seems to accept the change better and allows me the time to clean up and bring out the other toys.

And finally, when he does melt down, because he will melt down, I’m there open arms kissing and rubbing his back letting him just cry his heart out until he feels better. Most time I feel like the bad person because I can’t quite figure out what he wanted. My heart melts every time he sheds a single tear but I also know that it’s a part of his development to go through the process.

I have found some great websites that help me navigate the toddler world. Most have great forums where you can post and ask questions and get responses from other like minded moms who have gone or are going through the same things. Remember we are not alone. No reason to feel like you are.

Helpful websites:

http://www.babycenter.com

http://www.newparent.com/category/toddler/

http://www.circleofmoms.com

How did you navigate the terrible 2’s or 3’s? What were your tips to a happy toddler?

Cheers,

Letty

Reading and Wine’n – 50 Shades of Giggle.

Our monthly meeting has come and gone. Thanks to Marcia and her Audible books and Molly for lending me her nook I have gotten thru the trilogy by E.L James, Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades Book 1), Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades Book 2) and Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades Book 3). Ignore the blazing blush my checks carried since I started this series of books, we started our meeting with giggles and wine. A book club is not a book club without some spirits.

As usual our book club is an all day affair, reviewing books we read, books we want to read and contemplating other subjects that life might bring us. We also enjoy the best homemade fare. I have to say we all made something super mouth watering yummy. We had fried chicken wings, mashed potatoes, turkey meatloaf, garlic bread and yummy mac and cheese. All homemade and all made with love.

I won’t ruin the books for you my darling readers but if you are open minded and like erotica I would highly recommend this series. I had a mixture of awe, dislike and love for the main character. It opened my mind to the possibilities in exploring ones limits. I am glad I found this series once the author finished writing them. I probably would have gone crazy with anticipation of the next book. If you are anything like me, your emotions will be all over the place but as my book club ladies kept saying to me “KEEP READING”  I did enjoy how the author followed the story from one book to the next not missing a beat, or leaving me feeling like I missed a huge chunk of life. This is defiantly not all “Hearts and Flowers”, but it will make your blood boil.

We also had the pleasure of having Gabriela picked to host a Sparks Party by House Party. Thus giving us our next book to read; The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks, turned into a movie starring Zac Efron. I will be reviewing this book at our next meeting. We as a group love hosting themed parties, as it gives us a chance to demo products we might not have normally purchased on our own. I’ve found some great products I gladly purchased after I was  introduced to thru a House Party event.

Reading and Winen April meeting.

If you are a part of a book club or love reading let me know if you have any suggestions for our club.

Where have my nails gone?

Things that happen when I feel stressed:

1)     Hair falls out.

2)     I become a grazer… Fatty statues..

3)     I day dream a lot – it’s the Pisces in me.

4)     I bite my nails. To the stub. Major ouch factor.

 

What I wish would happen

1)     Cleaned like if I had OCD.

2)     GOT SKINNY

3)     LOSE MY APPETITE.

 

But ideally not being stressed would be the best. I need to focus my mental energy to positive thoughts and actions. Find the peace I need to stand and fight. But here I am a stressed mess.

So I’m done moving, which means I moved my stuff from one place to another but it’s all still sitting in boxes piled in the living room and I am still rummaging thru my bins to dress myself in the morning. I concentrated more on moving my sons’ clothes into his room but me.. I look like a dam chicken without her head in the mornings trying to stick to my normal routine. It was horrific seeing all my stuff accumulate in the living room waiting to be unpacked. So of course when I come home I see the boxes and immediately my mind thinks MANANA or Tomorrow.

So back to my stress and the results.. NO MORE NAILS. So I ran out and purchased Nutra Nail – Touch of Color Strengthener with Green Tea Antioxidants. I’m coating my nails daily in this stuff in hopes that my new nails grow back stronger. I am totally stalking those fabulous nail colors out for the spring. I used to get acrylic nails done every other week but I’m so afraid I’m going to scratch my munchkin so I’m sticking to being all NATURAL!

But ok. A quick update on what the stress of moving has done to me. LOL I’m hoping to finally have everything done by the end of the month. Cross your fingers and toes.

TTFN.

 

Hanging head in shame..

OK so Monday weight in was a no show. Since I have been in the process of moving I packed up the scale and now can’t seem to find it. But next week’s weight in will be in on time.

I am also so behind on my reading. With me moving I have lost grip on getting the books. I tried to borrow one book from my nook buddy Molly, but it’s not working. So I’m hoping I have enough time once I move in to read. I would hate to go to my meeting and not know what everyone is talking about.

But ok. Just wanted to update everyone on why no weight in this week.  But the moving is almost done. I cannot wait to be set up and have a place to call HOME!

I’m Moving. Nuff said.

If you have moved in the last 5 years you might remember the horror of trying to pack your life in the amount of boxes and bins you purchased while trying to organize it all. With the inevitable move out day approaching I hope not to grab my Glad strong garbage bags and just shovel it all in. After 5 years I have accumulated so much stuff, blankets, frames, kitchen spoons, colanders, cups, glasses, throw pillows, DVD’s, and of course BABY ITEMS.

Wow having a kid sure bring not only a crying, pooping baby to the house but a huge amount of crap that I never really used. If I ever do have another child I will not buy things like, a bottle warmer, or diaper organizer, blankets made for only swaddling, baby shoes, and baby wipe warmer. All great items, but as I’m trying to grab the diapers from the organizer I kept pulling them all down because I tried to warm the wipers. Eventually, I just lugged the diapers around with the bin of wipes. Now that Ian is 2 ½ years old I barely even look at the baby stuff still sitting in the drawers. I found so many pacifiers that he never took, baby mittens that he McGyver’d out of every single time, swaddle blankets and tiny shoes that I never put on him since he seemed to always be sleeping. Duhh babies sleep.

Well after all my discoveries I have had to honestly sit and tell myself. “ ok Letty its time to KEEP, DONATE, TOSS” of course first round is mostly keep. Then because the universe if funny like that I stumble on an episode of hoarders and think I should do that again. Now some stuff have moved to the donate bin . Good, feeling better about my decisions I start to pack it up. That’s where I’m at now. The packing part. Boxes as far as my eyes can see. So much stuff going in boxes that I lose track. Can’t forget to label them because one day I will be saying, “ I swear I saw that wooden spoon when I was packing”

This weekend I’m getting a storage unit and some bubble wrap and finishing the final stages of packing all items, including clothing. Wish me luck because right now I need all the luck I can get.

Happy Packing..

Opppss looks like I might accidently have packed my monkey..

Cheers,

Monday weight in and my hair brain idea..

Monday March 19, 2012 weight in was 191lbs. No loss or gain since last week so that makes me very happy. Like I mentioned in my last post I have stalled with my lack of exercise and not following a diet. But I did brainstorm on ways to help motivate myself to get stuff done.

Here are my hair brain ideas.

1)     April will be no soda month. I will take it one day at a time but I’m giving myself a mini goal of just one month.

2)     Where ever I go I will take the stairs. I work on the 5^th floor and the café is on the 8^th floor a few of those a day will work just fine to do mini exercise.

3)     WATER WATER WATER.. enough said!

Those will be my April goals. I will find suitable substitutions for my soda addiction which will include a simple suggestion I got from one of the ladies in my book club over the weekend. She shared that some juice with sparkling mineral water will be super yummy. I will also try to infuse waters with flavors so I can get my water and my sweet taste in. I’m still working on the menu to my diet, tons of veggies fish and chicken. Fruit for snack and breakfast. Defiantly thinking no bread, dairy, or refined sugars like candy and or soda. Most of my meals will need to be made ahead of time as making meals in the AM is not my best asset. I’m usually like a chicken with my head cut off in the morning. Trying to get me out the door looking decent and getting the kiddo up and dressed.

I’m actually hoping that moving in with my mom and sister will be more help with Ian so that I can actually work out before midnight. LOL I am usually so tired that I don’t get a chance to work out once Ian is out for the night. I usually do dishes, clean up toys, prepare my monkeys bag, my clothes and then it can be close to 11pm when I start to get ready for bed. I’m sure no working out at 11pm I’ll be up all night if I do that. Plus, I love sleep so at 11pm I’m already counting down the hours I will get since I’m usually up by 5am ok 5:45am because I’m snoozing every 15 min.  But like I said. I LOVE SLEEP!!! And since I had the love of my life, Ian, I’ve gotten close to no sleep. Fine I have slept but, it will never be the same kind of sleep I used to have before my monkey was born.

So that’s the plan.. let’s hope I stick to it this time. Get up.. get going.. burn baby burn.. YOU CAN DO IT!!!! I CAN DO IT!!!

<3 The HEARTships of being Ian’s mom <3

*The title was inspired by mommy 5 as she listens to mint condition. Taking it back to the old skool

Hello.. I know I have been neglecting my lovely blog. So many things have been going on and let me tell you when it rains it pours’. My mother’s health is still a big concern for me especially with her recent stay at the hospital. It’s more difficult that because of the need to make money and being a single mom of a two year old I was unable to really go visit my mom as much as I wanted. Unfortunately I exhausted my vacation earlier this year and now I’m in a pickle. But I’ve been trying to come in early and on weekends to make up my time. AHHH, the woes of a single mommy-hood. Once I’m sure about what my mother actually has, I’ll write a post about it. This all happened out of nowhere so I want to sit and think if maybe we missed symptoms or she did anything different that would open her up. My mother has a theory about what brought this on. She blames the Flu shot she received last year. Ever since then she’s had phenomena and her health has gone down hill. But, I have faith in the doctors at the hospital that they will find what afflicts her and what the proper treatment for her would be.

 As far as the weight loss goes, I think I have failed big time. I am now down to 191, which is not the big loss I anticipated. But then again I have not worked out or really watched what I eat. I normally don’t eat that much and I believe that’s one of my major issues. Growing up with the recommendation from my pediatrician that I watch what I eat, keep food journals and not eat so much, I’ve developed a complex where I hate to eat, I love food but I hate to eat.  Then why am I big? I once was told that in order to lose weight I have to feed my system so it works and not store the food turning it into fat. I basically say my metabolism is hibernating and only active when I actually eat. So theoretically, if I eat around 1500 cal a day, (that is mind blowing to me) and exercise moderately for 1 hour a day I’m sure the pounds would just drop. But how do I go from tracking my calorie intake from 800 cal a day to incorporating 1500 calories. And don’t get me wrong I’m sure a few trips a day to McDonalds will do this, but I don’t see myself being a fast food junkie. I have to eat healthy meals full of fruit, veggies and lean meats. IMAGINE the amount of food that is. Overwhelming for a person who has spent most of her life watching what she eats.

The next thing in my life right now that has taken me away from my precious blog is~MOVING~. Yup I am moving back home to help care for my mommy and its so overwhelming to me. I swear if I had the money I would have already paid someone to come organize my stuff, pack it and move it out. I look at the stuff I have accumulated and I freak out. I think how in the hell did I accumulate this stuff. I figured most, if not all of my furniture will be placed into storage. The goal is to eventually sell off most of it. I have absolutely no attachment to any of it since my now ex- boyfriend purchased all of it. Of course I was present to give my opinion but since it was his cash-olas that were making the purchases I went along with it.  Now if I have someone that wants to buy it, great and with what I make I’ll get a chance to slowly purchase items I will value and treasure. It’s not just my crap either. For a 2 year old Ian sure has a growing collection of clothes, toys and books. All items I will need t o also organize.  Thankfully Ian will have his own room so his crib and dresser will have a place, the closet will hold most of everything else he has and I will have to consolidate his toys and donate anything else he has outgrown. I had hopes to sell off some of his clothes that he hardly wore and/or are in great condition. As for my clothes, I will take this time to organize my items, determine what I really want and get rid of the rest. All my friends tell me make three piles, TOSS, KEEP, DONATE. This whole process will be a fresh start for me and my son. Leaving behind everything that brings me down. Ill keep you posted on how this whole moving thing works out for me. I’m starting to get the shakes just thinking about it. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Someone please pass me the vino

On a super positive side, this weekend is our monthly book club meeting and I will be welcoming the ladies with open arms as I need some good time with my dear friends , good books, great conversation and of course yummy food. It’s going to be Saint Patties day so we will be wearing green, eating Irish food and drinking Guinness with some Baileys in it, I believe that’s called Irish car bomb. MMMMMMMM. Now I’m off to find my favorite passages from the two books we read, which was our assignment. Yes my book club gives assignments.