HowToMom

Planning the Ultimate Road Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:30:00 +0000

This is my first summer as a true civilian. I don't have to report to anyone! Therefore, I am packing up the kids and leaving the state. Since I'm not burning leave and I don't have to be back by a certain time, we are going to drive across the country to see Granny at the farm!

I'm starting to think of it as an obstacle course. Here's a list of my obstacles: (Note: this list is not all-inclusive and is in no particular order.)

1. No Daddy - He's still Active Duty, so we're leaving him at home. I don't want to worry about getting everything done within a certain time frame. I'm planning for 2-3 weeks away, but we can always extend that or come home early. And if the drive takes longer than expected, no biggie.

2. Dog - she's MY dog, so I can't fairly leave her home with Daddy. This means that I need to think about grassy areas when I'm planning pit stops and pet-friendly hotels.

3. 2 kids - ages 7 and 2. Big Sister has always been excellent for PCS road trips... I'm thinking Little Brother is going to be the exact opposite.

4. Picking up Aunt Sarah halfway - I haven't seen Sarah in years and the kids haven't met her yet. So, she's basically a hitchhiker? That sounds weird. But at least I'll have an extra driver.

5. Paleo Diet - I'm still not eating grains or processed foods, so snacks and meals on the road are going to be a challenge. I'm planning on packing a TON of homemade food and having picnics instead of eating in restaurants. I've chosen hotels that offer a breakfast buffet including eggs and meats, instead of just coffee and pastries.

6. Potty Training - Little Brother is wearing big boy underoos now. I wonder if wearing diapers for 3 days is going to bother him. He still wears diapers to sleep, so it shouldn't be too bad.

7. *3* days!! - We're going from Minot, ND (practically Canada) to Troy, AL. 1,700 miles and 26 hours according to Google Maps. If the kids are amazing, we can make it in 2 days, but I'm not going to push my luck.

8. Possible trip to Washington DC before we head back to ND. This one is up in the air for now.

9. Packing for the Unknown - I don't know exactly how many days we will be gone. I don't know how long the driving part of the trip will actually take. How many pairs of pants do you pack for a trip like this? Will everything fit in my car and still leave enough room for us to be comfortable?

Mother Goose Time Wrap-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:55:00 +0000

I quit. Sorry, folks. The snow finally melted and we no longer spend any time inside. It's hard to wrangle a kid who wants to run in fresh air.

I still have everything and we pull it out occasionally, but not daily. I have the entire month of May set aside for rainy days and days like today when it's too windy to go to the playground or play baseball in the backyard. I will not buy any more months until it starts snowing again. I guess you can say that we're taking summer break.

HowTo MERGE

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Fri, 03 May 2013 20:43:00 +0000

Attention Sports Fans! Followers! Occasional Peepers!

HowToMom is too busy to keep up with 14 different blogs, kids, dogs, playgroups, FB pages, etc. etc.
HowToMom has a hard time keeping track of what to post on which page and how to keep Mom things separated from Eat things and it's wayyy too much work and not enough coffee.

SO.. I will begin merging everything to HowToMOM and will post only on

http://www.howtomom.info

and

http://www.facebook.com/howtomomblog

Please take a moment to re-adjust your favorites, bookmarks, likes, etc. I don't want to lose anyone!

Someday I will get around to figuring out which Twitter and Tumblr accounts I want to stick with. Until then, the blog and the FB will be my base of operations.

Mother Goose Time Week 1

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:30:00 +0000

Our first week of the Mother Goose Time preschool curriculum was tons of fun! The program is designed to work for ages 2-5, so there are a lot of different ways to lead the kiddos. I've been keeping it as simple as possible so that it is fun for my 2.5 year old and his 1.5 year old buddy that comes over to play. We concentrate on the hands-on, interactive things and mostly skip over the abstract thinking, problem solving activities. Little Man DID make an important discovery though, "Deserts have dirt."

We designed our own cowboy hats.

We explored the desert and learned about desert wildlife.

We combed the desert for "clues" to match to the poster.

We learned about the letter H and made hobby horses.

We learned about desert oasis and made a canteen.

We raced to the oasis! Little Man totally beat me.

We also read a few books that were included in the curriculum. And there were loads more activities that I didn't take pictures of. There are about 4 activities per day, not counting circle time and the fun games that the kiddos come up with on their own.

Mother Goose Time also offers a "younger than 2" teacher's guide that follows along with the big kid lesson plans. I am considering ordering that next time, just to see if any of those activities are more fun for my little guys.

Mother Goose Preschool Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:38:00 +0000

I was babysitting one of Little Man's friends today, so I adjusted our curriculum to work for 2 kiddos. Mother Goose is very flexible, if you have the time and materials on hand. I just happened to have paper big enough to cut out some extra cowboy boots. We had a blast decorating our cowboy boots, square dancing to the included music CD, talking about squares, stomping our cowboy boots to spell our names, and talking about the month and days of the week.

Mother Goose Time Preschool Curriculum

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 02:05:00 +0000

The Little Man and I are starting our first month of Mother Goose Time next week! I can't even begin to explain how excited I am about this. I've been all over Pinterest and I've followed all the blogs, but this program sends me everything I need for a whole month of fun learning time! Seriously, they sent me scraps of paper and little green foam pieces for building a paper cactus! Hopefully, our schedule will go according to plan and I'll have a really great review for you all in May!

Mother Goose Time is a professionally designed preschool curriculum for use in preschools, home daycares and childcare centers. Our nationally recognized curriculum nurtures the whole child and supports the child's social, emotional, physical and intellectual growth. Inspire a joy for learning as you and your children explore our monthly theme-based kits.

Coin Play

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0000

I'm working my way down the list of activities that Montessori schools encourage. It seems like a lot of normal day-to-day chores, but they are actually very important skills for little ones to learn.

Today, I randomly grabbed: our coin jar, some measuring spoons, muffin cup liners, a makeshift piggybank, and kids chopsticks.

Once I started scooping and pouring, the kids BOTH took over. I had expected Little Brother to take an interest, but Big Sister put down her book and joined the fun.

Little Brother practiced: spooning/scooping, pouring, pinching, and putting coins in the piggy bank.

Big Sister practiced: all of the above plus, sorting by color, sorting by coin, estimating how much money was in each muffin cup, and counting the money.

Scooping & Pouring Beads

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Today we worked on scooping/spooning and pouring. I pulled out a box of beads and some items from our tea set and sat down on the floor. Little Brother was curious, but not interested. That is until.. I started scooping and pouring, then he politely took over and played for about 20 minutes.

Girl Scout Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 01:36:00 +0000

Did I mention that Big Sister is a Brownie? Did I also mention that I got roped into being her Troop Cookie Mom? Our cookie season was from February 9th to March 9th. It's over now, whew!

Coffee Filter Painting

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Let me be honest: it took me FOREVER to find coffee filters in my grocery store! I have always used a re-useable filter, so I've never bought them. I seriously walked around the store twice looking in all the obvious places: by the coffee, by the creamer, by the paper goods. They were hidden on an end cap at the END of the coffee aisle. SMH

Anywho - I've been looking up fun new craft ideas for Little Brother and found some "every day household items" crafts that required me to go shopping... for coffee filters and food coloring, two things I do not keep in my household.

I am sick and tired of snow, so I decided that we were going to make some flowers.

Painting with colored water

Finished drying - they turned out like tie dye shirts

Adding pipe cleaner stems

Fresh Spring wreath for the front door

Bonus Rainbow with pipe cleaner pot of gold for St. Patty's Day

File Folder Games

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 01:22:00 +0000

Now that Girl Scout Cookie season is over for our region, I can spend a little less time counting money and a little more time coming up with new ways to challenge Little Brother. I asked a daycare provider friend of mine and she rattled off a list of neat ideas and webpages to check out. This lead me to...

File Folder Games!

These are fun little games that you can find all over the internets, for free and to buy. They are made from a basic file folder, not the hanging kind, the basic kind. You print out an activity sheet and glue it to the folder. You print out game pieces and have the kiddos match the pieces to the sheet. Lots of people laminate theirs, but I've just thrown two together to see how Little Brother likes them. If he decides to keep them, I might laminate the pieces and stick velcro to them. The thought of losing some of the little pieces is bothersome to me.

I printed these ones for free at http://www.filefolderfarm.com

Review: Plan To Eat - Online Meal Planning

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:15:00 +0000

Brass Tacks: $4.95 per month -or- $39 per year ($3.25 per month)

So. Many. Features!!! I love this service so much that I have been putting off writing this review for a few months now. I can't begin to explain how great this service is. It does everything that every other service does, except now you don't need 10 different log-ins to accomplish all of those things. Plan To Eat does it all.

- Bookmarklet App (like the "Pin It", for Pinterest) that allows you to easily import recipes from all over the web. I LOVE ~~stealing~~ borrowing recipes from all over the internet! And now, I don't have to print them out and lose them in a folder or stack of papers. Here's a handy link for how to use it: http://www.plantoeat.com/help/kb/general/using-the-bookmark-to-import-recipes-from-the-web

- Drag and Drop Meal Planning - drag recipes from your recipe box to your calendar and place them on whichever day you plan to cook them. Days are further broken down into meals. You and easily switch and swap meals around any time you like. The menu auto-saves and is never "set in stone" or "finalized".

- Month View or Week View - shows you how many days of planning you prefer - I like to plan for 2 weeks, but then I might know a special day is coming up soon so I plan for Big Daddy's birthday dinner a month out so I don't forget to buy steak.

- Print Menu - self explanatory - you CAN print the menus if you like. I don't, I like to keep them editable just in case I forget to thaw chicken and need to shuffle pizza night around.

- Automatic Shopping List Generator: also self explanatory, but oh so awesome. It sorts all of your recipe ingredients by "aisle" and you can arrange the aisles to match your favorite grocery store. This keeps me from running back and forth!

- Print Shopping List: the print option is very customizable. You can print small, medium and large fonts and try to cram everything on one page like I do. You can opt to print a recipe key with your list, so you can reference what you're buying with what your cooking. This is helpful if you need to make substitutions in a pinch, maybe the butcher is out of chicken thighs, but you know that you can sub chicken breasts for that recipe.

- Pantry List: if you know that you already have chicken broth on hand, move it from your "shopping" list over to your "pantry" list. I like to open PTE on my iPad and run through the house checking things off and moving them to the pantry. Or if I see that we're running low on something, I ...

- Manually Add Items to list: none of my recipes call for toothpaste, but I still need it on my list.

- Staples List: this is another handy list that you can keep so you don't have to add staples manually every time you make a list.

** All of the lists are easy to maintain. Check an item or several and tell them where to go: handy "add to shopping list" and "add to pantry" buttons make it super simple. And if you're only moving one or two things, you can drag-drop them, too!

- Recipe Box: You could possibly spend an hour importing each recipe, there are so many fields to choose from. I personally am lazy, so I don't put too many details in mine. But YOU can!! From cuisine type, to serving size, calories, fat grams, time to prep/cook/total, notes, tags, 5-star ratings, etc. The list literally keeps going... forever. It all depends on how much information you need for your recipes. Honestly, I should go through mine and add nutrition facts, but... I'm too busy finding new tasty recipes to try.

- When you import a recipe from a website, it imports all the information contained within that recipe. So, if you're copying a recipe that lists calories and prep time, Plan To Eat will input all that info into your recipe. SCORE!! But... sometimes it depends on who you're ~~stealing~~ borrowing from.

- Not ALL recipes are importable. I found a really good Crockpot Tenderloin recipe that I wanted to make, so I hit the PTE Save button and it couldn't find all the right information because the site was written in "blog with food porn pictures" format rather than "recipe card" format. I still cut/copied/pasted the recipe into PTE, but it took an extra 30 seconds, le sigh! (It was totally worth it and delicious)

I almost forgot.... FRIENDS. Once you've started your FREE 30-Day Trial (and used me as your referral buddy) and you fall completely head-over-heels in love with Plan To Eat, you can convince all of your friends to join you. THEN, you can link up with all of your friends and see THEIR recipe boxes and ~~steal~~ borrow their famous cookie recipe that you've been wanting for ages. You can also link up with amazing Bloggers, such as myself, and see what they've got cooking, too.

Who else is using Plan To Eat?

Deal Seeking Mom

Org Junkie

Organizing Your Way

Simple Mom

Keeper of the Home

Money Saving Mom

... and tons more!

Plan To Eat is a family business. I love that! I got one of their automated "How's your free trial going?" emails and being the silly person I am, I replied to it. THEY REPLIED BACK!! Clint sent me a little note thanking me for trying the trial and asked me to share this article when I posted it. (That was back in September 2012, so I'm only a LITTLE behind. Better late than never!) That means a lot to me. I really appreciate these wonderful people and the amazing service they have built.

Helping Explosive Children

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 21:49:00 +0000

I recently borrowed a book from the library called, "The Explosive Child". I sat down the same night and read it cover to cover. It made sense... for me, at least.

An explosive child is one who frequently exhibits severe noncompliance, temper outbursts, and verbal or physical aggression.

The author, Dr. Ross Greene, has written several books on the subject. His method is called "Collaborative Problem Solving".

The approach sets forth two major tenets:

First, social, emotional, and behavioral challenges in kids are best understood as the by‐product of lagging cognitive skills in the domains of flexibility/adaptability, frustration tolerance, and problem‐solving (rather than as attention‐seeking, manipulative, limit‐testing, or a sign of poor motivation). In other words, challenging behavior is a form of developmental delay.

Second, these challenges are best addressed by collaboratively solving the problems that are setting the stage for challenging behavior (rather than through reward and punishment programs and intensive imposition of adult will).

The main reason that I like this method, is because it explains why Big Sister has problems at school, but not at home. At home, I can give her the individual attention she needs to work through her problems at her own pace... in a sense, I enable her instead of correcting her "lagging cognitive skills". At school, everything runs on a tight schedule and the teachers simply cannot wait for her to catch up. Her lack of adaptability plus the "trigger" of abrupt changes leads to her explosions.
I am working with her teacher and guidance counselor to devise a plan of action for strengthening her adaptability and problem-solving skills. A few moments of pre-emptive training may save the teachers a lot of time that is usually wasted trying to diffuse her emotional explosions. Here's hoping.

For more information on collaborative problem solving visit http://www.livesinthebalance.org.

HowToEat

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 02:24:00 +0000

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls!

I have created a new website about nutrition and wellness called,

HowToEat.

I finished my Nutrition and Wellness Certification and am in the process of starting my own home business which will someday (too soon!!) be my new career when Little Brother starts Kindergarten.

It took awhile for me to decide on how to name my business venture. My sister actually gave me the idea of branching off from HowToMom. Thanks, sis!

I hope to serve my local community and possibly branch out to the rest of the world. I've also created a new FaceBook page too if you follow on FB.

http://www.crystalcapitano.com/howtoeat

http://www.facebook.com/pages/HowToEat/441513269229334

Seasonal Dresser Cleaning

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 02:51:00 +0000

Up here in the Far North, seasonal clothing is a strict requirement. At least twice a year I have to rip through every dresser, closet, and storage box we own to find the proper attire for FOUR people!

This year, I put Big Sister in charge of her own room. These are the instructions I made for her.

** WARNING: Printed instructions are not sufficient. Hands On Training is required. Big Sister and I have been going through her seasonal clothes together for a few years. This is the first time she has gone solo.

Weekly To-Do List

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 20:28:00 +0000

While I was in designer-mode working on my household binder, I made up this little beauty. I put it in a sheet protector and used wet-erase markers to fill in my weekly schedule and reminders. I actually printed two of them and use one for This Week and one for Next Week, so I could stay on top of things.

HowTo Pack Your Lunch

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 22:09:00 +0000

I found this on Pinterest via Rage Against the Minivan. It has been super useful for Big Sister during this school year. I've also used it to help guide me in making lunches and snacks for myself and Little Brother.

Cookies for Santa

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 17:47:00 +0000

Have you seen these on Pinterest?

http://www.make-it-do.com/cook-it-bake-it/cookies-in-a-jar-for-santa/

I totally did it! They're going to make great gifts for Big Sister to give to her teachers and friends. These do not get featured on eat.howtomom.info because they're full of chocolate and sugar. They're a good cheat snack, but the oatmeal doesn't make them healthy. ;)

Sooo much chocolate!

Big Sister was at a friend's house, so I enlisted the help of the M&M thief.

These are crunchy and crispy and om nom nommy!
*I* don't like the M&M flavor, but they are still soooo good.

We made extras for Big Sister's teachers and friends.

Quarterly Cleaning Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 01:39:00 +0000

My other chores lists have been pretty popular, so here is the Quarterly list as well.

How to Clean a Bathroom

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 02:54:00 +0000

While I was making up all my chores lists, I whipped up this little beauty to display in the bathroom. Now, when I enlist the help of Big Daddy or Big Sister to clean the bathrooms, I know it'll be done right.

**WARNING: Posting instructions is not sufficient. Thorough training must be accomplished. The instructions are merely a roadmap to follow when they get lost.

Monthly Cleaning Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 02:50:00 +0000

Apparently, my Weekly Chores chart was a bit of a hit, so here's a peek at my Monthly Chores chart.

3 Bean Chili

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 22:09:00 +0000

I just got off the phone with my younger sister. She specifically requested this recipe, so I figured I should share with you all, too. She visited us back in August and fell in love with this stuff. Even though she initially snubbed her nose at the idea of "meatless" chili, we forced her to try it and now.. she's going to learn how to make it herself. It takes about 15 minutes. A cave man can do it.

Traveling with Children

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 19:46:00 +0000

We recently got back from a fun trip to Pennsylvania/New Jersey. We flew out for a wedding and stayed for a Hurricane. Luckily, I packed enough toys and games to keep the kiddos occupied for 4 plane rides, 6 flight cancellations, several hours of Turnpike driving, 2 days without electricity, and a partridge and a pear tree.

I've always thought the Trunki was a cute idea. I never knew how amazingly useful it was until now! Little Brother scooted all over the airports without complaining or kicking and screaming. We enjoyed exploring the airports during our layovers. Philadelphia International has a few exciting downhill rides which were very enjoyable. I attached the leash to the front of the Trunki and lead him all over the place, but he did all the scooting, so I didn't have to do much work.

I opted for the Trunki tote bags, one for each kid. I knew that opening a suitcase full of toys would be a potential disaster on an airplane or in a car. The bags kept everything tidy.

Bonus: we took the totes out of the Trunki and put them in the kids' seats in the car. They could easily access their toys without the hassle of opening the trunk.

I filled the pink bag with Big Sister-appropriate surprises. Doodle books, fashion creation books with stickers and stencils, card games, a puzzle, colored pencils and markers, and of course, her nook.

I filled the green bag with Little Brother stuff. One favorite book, three new books, silly bands, dice, one electronic "noisy" toy, crayons and paper, his favorite trains, and a few new cars.

I had some felt and a few extra minutes, so I made a "man purse" for his cars. It was too snug for the trains, but the matchbox cars fit perfectly.

Here is a view of the car tote folded closed with the handle on top.

The Trunki is the perfect carry-on, because you don't have to carry it! After I filled it up with toys, it was heavy, but we didn't have to carry it anywhere. I didn't dare stow it in an overhead compartment, out of reach. It slid perfectly under the seat in front of me and was relatively accessible during the flight. It also served as a nice footrest for Big Sister when she napped in the car.

The Island of Nodor!

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:52:00 +0000

Little Brother is obsessed with Thomas the Train. And as we all know, Thomas lives on the Island of Sodor. I wanted to buy a train table, like the one they have at Barnes and Noble. He LOVES that thing. Mommy does not love the price tag. Ouch! And we don't really need another piece of furniture in the getting-crowded-playroom.

That's when I saw the train table rugs! Too cool. No furniture, just a rug. And then I got crafty. It just so happens that I have a rug that I hate. It always gets caught under the doors and dragged across the floor. Then it's not at a perfect 90-degree angle to the walls and Mommy starts twitching. Hate. that. rug.

I grabbed some tape and paints and got to work. I think it turned out rather well.

Fall Decor

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Capitano) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:04:00 +0000

I'm starting to get the hang of this stay-at-home-mom, domesticated-wife thing. I've even started decorating for seasons/holidays!

These are upside-down tomato cages wrapped with white lights and dollar store garlands. The "flags" are brown-orange-yellow fabric scraps that I had in the closet. On the steps are two dollar store buckets painted gray, filled with local pinecones and wrapped with dollar store fall leaf garlands.

I didn't get a good picture of the door, but I made paper leaves and letters that spell "FALL" and hung those on the windows. I also have a wreath on the door that is currently wrapped in fall ribbon.

As soon as October 1 hits, I'm going to spookify everything with spider webs and creepy eyeballs. I'm going to cover the tomato cages in white sheets and turn them into ghosts. Boo!