Attack of the Candy Monster!!!

     How do you keep your children from stuffing their faces with the Valentine candy that comes home from school? Or the candy the Easter Bunny brings?  Better yet, Halloween candy?  I can tell you what I have been doing for the past 10+ years – Treat Fairy.  I am sure you have heard of this or something similar because lets be honest, there realy is no original idea out there.  I am not even sure how I came upon this idea because heck I started it pre-pinterest era!  

     The idea is simple.  My children get to pick 5-8 pieces of candy from their stash and the rest goes in one huge bowl.  They write a note and in the morning their bowl of candy mysteriously vanishes and is replaced by a slew of different things.  They can get a book, gift cards, a toy (under $5.  I have 4 children, I have to be economical!), a gift card or when the Treat Fairy isn’t on her “A” game and forgets to go to the store, money.  The children love it!  Often, their candy they set aside doesn’t even really get eaten because they forget about it.  And I’m going to be honest, the Treat Fairy candy goes to me and my husband.  Shocker, I know, we are the Treat Fairy.  Lol.  But we actually don’t eat it all either.  We pick out a couple of our faves (mine being Twix and Reese’s cups) and the rest is happily donated to our office collegues. 

     In all seriousness, the biggest thing about the Treat Fairy and our goal as parents was to teach our children moderation.  Life is about balance and some treats every now and then, but it is not about going hog wild when you have a bucket full of sugar.  I am happy to say that our practice of using a Treat Fairy has worked.  Our children seldom ask for candy and when they do get a treat, more often than not they cannot finish it.  An example, my just turned 4 year old son was eating a snack sizepack of m&ms (his favorite) and he could not even finish it.  He told me he was done, threw the rest away and asked for milk.  Teaching them a healthy lifestyle is priceless.  

     I would love to hear what other ways parents are handling the candy attack?  What tips and tricks are you using?  

 

Kapow!!! Party Time!

I LOVE party planning.  Yes, I am usually a kookie, crazy woman for about 4-6 months before the actual day because I am searching and buying things to make my “vision” come true.  And yes, I said 4-6 months ahead.  Heck, I have 4 kids, I am on a budget.  I need to buy things over time.  My latest kid party was a superhero theme for my 4 year old who originally asked for a villain party but I’m going to be honest I did not have 4-6 months to plan for this one so some mommy manipulation had to happen.  Ta-da, superheroes!

This party had to be planned in 2 weeks.  It is the curse of having a birthday right after Christmas.  What you get is one tired mom who is still decompressing (and cleaning) from the holiday madness.  Yet I put as much time after work that I could into this party and I think the pictures speak for themselves, especially the first pic with his HUGE smile.

Luckily I have a party reserve of supplies.  I strongly encourage all moms (and dads) to think about making some “investments” into party gear over time.  When folding tables go on sale I make a purchase.  I had already two 4 ft. adjustable height tables that I used for the children and for them to sit on, I purchased a couple years ago $5 white stacking stools from IKEA.  I also was able to drap over all the tables white tablecloths that I have been stocking up on for years.  Having those items already helped to cut down on cost, which I needed because I generally do not use plastic tablecloths but buy fabric and hem to add a more personalized affect.  And even doing that proves to save money in the long run since I reuse tablecloths for other parties.  My biggest expense for this party was buying the fabric and making 20+ capes for babies and four year olds.  They were a huge success too!  Overall, the party cost me a little over $250, including food.  I had to pat myself on the back for keeping the cost reasonable.

Families were greeted outside the door with lawn signs saying “Kapow” “Bam” “Pow” and so on.  As the children arrived inside they took a superhero photo against the photo wall that my husband created out of newspaper (not pictured) using the props then quickly grabbed a cape and pretended to fly.  I had game stations around the house to try to keep their attention and to hopefully prevent my home from being destroyed by little hands.  I kept the party moving with those games food (healthy snacks were a success!), a birthday circle time and cake.  Honestly the two hours seemed to go by so fast and in the end the party was a blast!

Mom Truth

Is a caption really needed? Spent a long, sleepless weekend at Disneyland only to come home and have the 3 year old sick in the middle of the night. Sleep, oh how I miss thee!

New Year, New Me

Every year, like everyone else I try to commit to a few New Years Resolutions. I have the classic, cliche ones – save money, lose weight, blah, blah, blah. BUT I make another one every year that is huge to me and the most challenging:

“Let it go” 

Simple words but a tremendous feat for me.  One of my strengths (others may see it as faults) is I have some type A OCD tendencies. I can’t sleep at night if something in the house is out of place, if there is a dish in the sink, laundry needs to be folded, trash needs to be taken out, etc. it stresses me out. I have been known to stay up to the wee hours of the morning “tidying up” before I can go to bed. Before vacations, I spend days cleaning baseboards, behind appliances and so forth. I like cleanliness and order.

Good, yes but can be overwhelming to my family. And it can sometimes inhibit me from living life. Hence, “let it go”. Every year I make this resolution and work on letting the kids pick out their own clothes, leaving a dish in the sink, letting the trash get fuller. Little things, but huge for me and each year I make progress. Each year, I allow the unimportant parts of my life be just that, unimportant and in turn it allows me time to truly cherish the important. More time to bake with my boys, snuggle with the baby, go for run with the husband and so much more.

I encourage everyone to take on this idea, this resolution. “Let it go”.  Time goes by too fast, time is too short. Cherish the moments, build memories, enjoy the important parts of life.

Changing and Growing…too fast!

     We are a co-sleeping family. There I said it!  I used to be ashamed of admitting that, even fibbing to my kids pediatrician. But I strongly believe in co-sleeping, but my soapbox on co-sleeping can be saved for another day. 😜

     I love to cuddle with my children, especially when they are in the sweet infant phase (and they can’t wriggle free).  I loved and currently love, with my 6 month old, being able to nurse in bed and watching him drift off to sleep. It’s simply the best!  But they must all leave the bed at some point, right?

     My oldest was the hardest at nearly 3. Pregnant with my second child, there simply wasn’t anymore room. Yet, it was a challenge. There were tears, from everyone, daddy sleeping in his bed with him, heck we even put his mattress in the doorway and slowly moved it closer to his room directly across the hall. Hot mess I tell ya!  Easier with the second and third because they all transitioned into the room across the hall. Here we are in a 4 bedroom house, but only using 2 rooms!

     So the decision was made – the boys will be moved to separate rooms. It was getting harder at night with the boys chatting to each other, laughing and playing when they were suppose to be sleeping. It took a weekend, but they are settled in. And guess what?  They did fine, even the 3 year old!  No tears (except me), no night lights, no giggling just goodnight prayers, a story and they all are asleep with ease. 

     I, on the other hand, stayed up the first few nights. Worried about nightmares, walks down the hall that ended up with a fall down the stairs (the 7 year old sleep walks and it’s creepy), cries that I wouldn’t hear and so much more. Yet, besides the almost heart-attack when the 7 year old pulled a Paranormal Activity move and sleep walked to the end of my bed in the middle of the night, it’s been all good!  

     Big time stuff happening over here. Growing up stuff…for everyone. Transitioning stuff. Heart wrenching stuff.  My family is moving into 2014 with “big boys in big boy beds” and I have to be ready, but I’m not completely ready. Luckily I still have the baby and I can cherish those sweet co-sleeping moments even longer

Kookie Taming

 

You are looking at my family’s peace maker!  Yes, these shoe inserts have saved van trips near and far.  As you know, I have four boys, the fourth is an infant so luckily we have a brief reprieve of the “toxic foot stank”.  Yes, stank NOT stink.  My three boys can  knock you out with their stinky feet.  We have tried everything from powder to special foot powder to “odor preventing” shoes.  Guess what?  None of that worked!  Until we stumbled across Bergies.  These little miracles are just thin, disposable liners with a fragrance.  They come in youth and adult sizes and a variety of scents.  We purchased Down to Earth, Under the Big Top and Monkey Farts (the kids got a kick out of this title but it just smells like bananas).  Since we made our purchase they have expanded to many, many more scent options.  

The day we got them in the mail, I could hardly wait to open the package!  We put them in immediately and my children wore their sneakers, in the hot summer weather WITHOUT socks!  By the end of the day, I admit I was skeptical, but they took their shoes off and I didn’t almost faint from the smell.  It just smelled like the Bergies scent.  I was in heaven.  The packaging says 2-4 weeks between replacement, but I think they have not met my kids just yet.  We had to switch them after a week.  The next switch thought was at about 10 days.  Worth the purchase, though.  We take countless roadtrips and these have brought peace to our home, van and hotel rooms.  No longer am I yelling to the back, “Who took off their shoes!” or “Oh my goodness!  Roll down a window” or “Please go wash your feet!”.  

(Bergies for kids and adults are $10.95 plus tax and shipping.  They come in packs of three sets.  www.lovebergies.com )

 

Kookie Konfessional

OK, let me honest here.  I am having moments of longing, missing being pregnant.  Natural, right.  What’s not natural is sad or “missing” the post-pregnancy body!  I was active throughout my fourth pregnancy, as I was with all my pregnancies, but this time around I stepped up my game.  I continued to run races of varying distances, practice yoga and do light weight training.  As a result, I lost my post-pregnancy body really quick after baby.  

Yes, I can hear the groaning now, see the eye rolling and feel those who just want to slap me. Trust me, I want to slap myself!  Who in their right mind misses the post-pregnangy belly pooch, the thunder thighs, the tearful mornings trying to find something to wear that is not maternity, is nursing friendly and doesn’t give you a muffin top?  But hear me out.  This is my last pregnancy (LAST people, I don’t care that everyone tells me I should try for a girl.  That’s a vent for another post) and I wanted to cherish every aspect, even the ugly parts.  And let’s be real, there are a lot of ugly parts of pregnancy.  Having  bounced back so quickly makes it seem as if he is growing up to fast.  Time is flying by and the entire 9 months are starting to seem as if they were a lifetime ago.  However, I know my longing for the post-pregnancy woes of “when will I fit into my old jeans again”, “I refuse to go up a size”, etc will subside and I will shamefully look back; feeling like a fool.  For the most part, I feel proud of maintaining my fitness and at all moments feel incredibly blessed to be a mom to four wonderful, healthy boys!

Meet my family…

I love my little (actually big when measured by today’s standards) family.  I am proud of my boys and am happy to introduce them to you!

My sensitive and creative 10 year old, Gabriel.

My charming 7 year old philosopher, Jacob.

My confident and adventurous 3 year old, Elias.

My quiet and cuddly newborn, Asher.

And last but certainly not least, my supportive and loving husband, David

A few bites…

My first entry!  How exciting and intimidating.  I have been wanting to create a blog for quite sometime.  I guess I feel that I have something to contribute and someone out there may want to read it.  Who knows.  I am a mother of 4 boys…yes 4 kids and they are boys and no I am not sad that I do not have a girl.  My oldest is 10 and my youngest is 6 weeks.  I have quite a span there!

I absolutely love my family and we try to spend as much time together as possible.  We are lovers of anything Disney (we go to Disneyland practically every month and we live about 7 hours away) and enjoy running.  This blog will be about just those things – my love for my family and are “hobbies” along with the crazy and chaotic things that go along with being a full time working mom with four young children trying to get by day to day.

Enjoy!