Every year I purchase initial ornaments for myself, the kid, and his dad.  This would be a cool DIY ornament for this year.

DIY Salt dough ornament!

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The dreaded Bat Cave

I have never been a fan of plastic toys, I think they are a waste and quite harmful to the environment.  I try to stick with wooden or metal toys that can be given away or recycled when the kid is finished with them.  As he has gotten older the influx of plastic toys has come in the form of gifts from friends, my family members know better.   His increasing access to these toys makes him want more of them.  After all something that lights up, sings, vibrates, and goes fast is way more fun than a wooden block set or a puzzle.  As each of those plastic toys break I cringe knowing that it will just end up in a landfill somewhere.

This year the kid has a fascination with the Batman batcave that one of his friends has.  He has asked me several times if he could have a batcave and each time my answer is NO!  When he asks why I try to explain environmental responsibility to him and of course it doesn’t work.  Everytime we go over to a friends house the kid plays with every single toy as if he’s never seen toys before.  Sometimes I actually do feel bad that he doesn’t have the exciting light up, plastic toys that everyone else has but I have to stick to my guns.  He and the universe will thank me for it later.  Plus, I think he uses his brain much more when he has to create a fun way to play with the toy vs a toy just entertaining him for entertainment sake.

Eagle Talon Castle

As of right now we are doing pretty well.  There is only one horrific thing on his Christmas list and that is this Eagle Talon Castle thingy which is a never in life will I ever purchase this for my child toy.  Other than that he wants a cleaning lady for me, a boy cleaning lady for him so he can be his handy helper, and a camera. Let’s hope he keeps it that way so we can avoid the inevitable meltdown at target in the shiny plastic toy aisles.

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How cute is this?????????

When I was pregnant the kid’s dad and I decided that we wanted a girl.  There are no boys in my family except for my dad so I didn’t really know what to do with a boy.  The kid’s dad thought a girl would be easier just because.  It was settled, we were having a girl.  Four months later when we did our ultrasound to find out gender, the penis threw the whole girl thing out of the window so it was back to the drawing board.

and this……

After having the kid I was elated that I had a boy first.  He is the most fun person in the world!  He is just happiness topped with awesome sauce.  I figured God gave me a boy first for a reason.  If for nothing else just so I could have a challenge and live to tell the tale.

i would only get this for crawlers. other than that if anyone else sees the bear, it’s a problem.

As time continue to progress and I got more into my mom of a boyness, I realized there were lots of differences between boys and girls and none had to do with their actual physical differences.  Shopping for girls is much easier than shopping for boys.  That’s the short of it.  In Target the toddler section is probably 70% girls stuff and 30% boys stuff.  I’ve been in certain targets where the ratio is worse!  It’s pretty much like that in all stores.  Today while I was browsing online and I saw the Gap girls holiday collection it hit me!  God gave me a boy first to preserve my income!  There would be no way in winter wonderland I could leave some of the pieces on the shelf.  If I had a girl we would be living out of a cardboard box but she sure would look pretty!  In my moment of realization I say, thank you God for knowing what is best for me and my family.  Greatly appreciated sir!

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Butter London Holiday nail polish remover collection

Yesterday I went to Ulta to pick up some nail polish remover.  I went straight to the Essie section to pick up normal Essie naturally clean remover.  On my way to the cash register I got distracted, which is not new and I ended up in front of the Butter London section.  I saw this cute little nail polish remover set and when I picked it up I was sold.  It contained pumpkin pie, peppermint and cranberry scented nail polish removers.  I promptly put the other back and went to the register.

this one smells like coconut & mango!

When I got home and used my remover and can now say that I am hooked and this makes me blissfully happy!  I used the pumpkin pie spice one and after 2 hours and about 3 hand washes my nails still smell like pumpkin pie!  I can’t stop smelling my nails.  I have had to stop and think at least 4 times where that smell was coming from.  When I realized it was my nails all I could do was laugh.  I will absolutely pay $19 for this kind of happiness.
Small things man, small things!

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No ipad, no TV!

Thank you Tashi (seesy) from www.joiemilangroup.com for sending me this.  We had a parent/teacher conference at the kid’s school last week.  His teachers had all glorious things to say about him and he is developing just fine, minus the fact that he believes the world revolves around him.  At the end of the conference she pulls out a “things that need to be improved” list.  On the top of that list it says in all caps iPAD and TV.  All I could do was laugh.  I knew his dad was going to freak out.  She asked that we limit tv and ipad time to the weekends only.  Sometimes during work time the kid matter of factly tells his teachers that he learns better on the ipad.  I am 100% certain that subway surfer is not teaching him his letters and colors.

No ipad and tv means we actually have to find creative things for him to do and/or do things with him.  For me, this is not a problem.  His dad on the other hand has the imagination of a grain of rice.  His upbringing doesn’t give him much kid fun stuff to go on.  His crutch is the ipad.  If the kid is bored, give him the ipad, if he is being rambunctious, turn on the tv, ect.  Since that is no longer an option, I have decided to come up with “things” for him to do both with us and by himself.

My first thought was playdough!  He’s never really had playdough and I’m not certain he will actually play with it.  I’m expecting to find it in his bird’s cage, stuck to the bathtub, stuck in all the nooks and crannies of his legos and other random places it’s not supposed to be.  I figured IF we made the playdough maybe he’d be more interested in playing with it.  Just as I thought that my seesy sent me this blog post for home made play dough.

view full blog at www.modernparentsmessykids.com

Mix all of the ingredients together in a small saucepan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously until it thickens into a ball of dough.  This step does take a little while.  Just keep stirring, you’ll know it’s ready when won’t be able to stir anymore.

Once it is cool (at least 20-30 minutes) let the little ones knead it, adding in flour until it is no longer sticky (about 1/2 cup).  At this point, you can add in extra food coloring to make the colors more vibrant, or even add glitter.  I like to keep things simple, so this is how it looks with just the Jello.

Now let their little imaginations run wild.  My little one will literally spend hours playing with her play dough.  I love seeing what games she comes up with, and what tools she picks out to use with it. We don’t have special play dough tools, I let her rummage through the kitchen and use whatever plastic container or other child safe object she finds.

 view the full blog at www.modernparentsmessykids.com

BBC alfredo!

This is a super easy go to meal for me using a variety of ingredients.  This particular night I used soy chicken, broccoli rabe, and butternut squash.  Pair if with a salad and you have instant success!!

We eat a lot of Alfredo in this house so my attempt to make it healthier is by swaping butter and eggs for cornstarch.  The butter and egg yolk are used to thicken the sauce.   To us, you can’t taste the difference:-)

Chickenless BBC alfredo.

Recipe

1 package of Gardien chicken strips

1 1/2 cups of cubed cooked butternut squash

1 1/2 cups of chopped cooked broccoli rabe

2 cups of any kind of pasta you like.  The kid’s favorite is crazy noodles aka cellentani noodles

2 cups of heavy whipping cream

1 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1 tbsp of cornstarch

pepper, salt, and a pinch of nutmeg

Gardien meatless chicken strips

directions

prepare noodles according to package directions

prepare chicken according to package directions. chop into bite sized pieces when finished

in a small sauce pan heat cream until hot through out, do not boil

slowly wisk in parmesan until melted

put cornstarch in a bowl, take two tablespoons of parm mixture and add to cornstarch. stir until cornstarch is fully incorporated.

pour cornstarch/parm mixture back into pot whisking continuously. once done turn heat off

drain noodles and add chicken, squash and broccoli.

pour sauce over noodles and voila!  you have dinner!

I must warn you that because I make this so often I do not use measurements.  This is to the best of my guestimation, I’m sure it’s quite close:-)

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Making Halloween bags for the kid’s class and pushing Meek Mill albums. A mother’s job is never done.

To the kid, today is the day before his Halloween party.  To me it’s an all nighter.  It’s the day I have to finish all of his Halloween treats for his school, make food for his party tomorrow, and set up the yard and house for the festivities.  Today is also the day that one of the biggest releases of the year comes out on our label.  Today Meek Mill Dreams & Nightmares comes out.  I am on 100% coverage mode.  Making sure all my radio stations are on point for the album release.  I am BUSY!

Tonight, there will be no dinner cooked.  Everyone for themselves.  Tomorrow will be more of the same.

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Auntie’s book!

My mother is a pack rat of sorts and keeps ridiculous amounts of “stuff” from when we were children.  After the kid was born I was going through a few boxes at my mothers and I came across a box of books.  As I pulled the books out I had the hugest smile on my face remember the books I used to read to my sisters.  The books I used to make fun of my younger sister for reading, and the books that I can still recite the stories from.  I packed a few of them away so that the kid could enjoy some of the same stories that myself and his aunts enjoyed.

hand me down books still good 20+ years later

At the ripe old age of 4, two of his favorite books are A my name is Alice and The day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash.  Every time I read this to him it warms my heart.  I told him that these used to be poopers’ (that is what he calls my  younger sister) books.  He was excited to find out that she too knows how to read.  Apparently reading is only something that mommy and his teachers know how to do.

my sister’s doodling

With a kindle or whatever other electronic physical book eraser there is you don’t really get this.  The kid can look at the name and see that this belong to his aunt.  I can look and it and reminisce.  If he doesn’t destroy them maybe we can even give them to my nephew.  You can’t pass an e-book down by hand.  Or if you could there would surly be a new version that your kid won’t have and you can’t find because it’s to old.   There is just something warming about tangible heirlooms including books.  That is why I still buy books for myself and the kid.

books are family gifts, that keep giving!

Long live the books!!

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Since the first day I had crispy delicious waffle fry and lemonade my relationship with chick-fil-a has been an ubreakable one.  I have traveled near and far for a #1 with no pickles and honey roasted bbq sauce.  My love affair with chick-fil-a is real, it is the longest lasting adult relationship I have had.   I have cut out all fast food restaurants from our diet EXCEPT chick-fil-a.  It doesn’t hurt that I love the cows.

While I was on the road last week driving through Indiana, I saw the signs in chick-fil-a for Mom Valet.  I had no idea what was so I inquired.  It is a service where you can order your meal through the drive through window.  Pay for your food there, park, and when you come in your table with be ready with  your food!  How wonderful is that?  For someone who is not a parent it may just seem lazy but trust me it’s not.  When you have a hungry kid who thinks it’s ok to have public meltdowns, sometimes that 5 minuits in order food can be the difference between a calm night and an alieve night for a mom.

I applaud chick-fil-a for this and I love them even more than I did yesterday!

Long live the waffle fry!

sidebar:  I do know my post have been kinda late but I have an album in stores in 5 days so momma is BUSY!  I’ll be better in November:-)

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TV in the kid’s rooms?

Having a TV in a child’s bedroom is one of those endless debates where each side is generally committed in their view.  I was just having this conversation with the kid’s godmother about the tv.  We have been a one tv household for the past 3 years.  Before I had the kid I only had one tv, I’m not fond of the TV in the bedroom so there was never really a need for more than one.

We have gotten to the point now where the kid’s dad has bullied us into getting another tv so he can watch basketball uninterrupted.  There was no fight from me at all.  A basketball less dad is a grumpy dad!  We have decided to put the second TV in our bedroom.  Not where I want it but since he has no man room, the bedroom it is.

I was on the phone with the kid’s godmother telling her about our new tv situation and she asked about putting a tv in the kids room, to which I replied “absolutely not!”.  She says “oh of course you’re one of those”.  Yes, I am one of those.   I didn’t have a tv in my room until my teens!  I don’t think there is any reason for my 4 year old to have a tv in his room.  I need to be able to see what he is watching and what he is doing.  On top of that I feel having a tv in his room promotes separation and decreases family interaction.  I also try to keep his tv time to an hour a day max during the week and on the weekends it’s a free for all.  I am also 100% convinced that my child would wake up at 2am and turn on cartoons as he has done before in the living room.  We are not doing that!  Even IF I decided to put a tv in his room which I will not.  Being the rambunctious kid that he is I’m sure that it will be broke within 6 months.  Someone will have thrown a ball at it, tried to jump on it,  ride it, or some other random ridiculousness that only boys think of.

I was with a group of moms and we were talking about tv time.  One of the moms said that her 3 year old has a tv in her room and you could hear the audible gasp from the other moms.  I pitched in to save her and said that while my kid doesn’t have a tv in his room he does watch a lot of tv.  While it is my personal choice not to have a tv in my kids room, I won’t judge someone who does.  Every family has to do what works for them.  The only person I will judge is the kids’ godmother!  I feel her mission in life is to melt my kid’s brain and feed him bacon.  C’est la vie….

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