In major need of updating!

My days have been going something like this, depending on the activities and tasks for the day with varying levels of chaos...

I started out the morning with Cohen pulling me out of bed by 7 am asking for "lunch" and cream of wheat. Potty training Cohen has been a task I have been resisting, just not wanting to take it on, but he seems pretty eager now, most of the time, so we are moving forward! His diaper is dry from the night, but he doesn't want to sit on the potty so I bribe him with a trip to the mall tree house if he will go pee pee first thing. (I am not above bribery, in fact I think it is wonderful!) Nursing as well as pumping to feed Ryder cereal then followed. After we all ate our different breakfasts I cleaned the kitchen and all around the house for a bit (and stopped to encourage Cohen to go poop on the potty about 4 different times, but with no success) then hopped in the shower, skipping a much needed shave, again, and threw some most-likely-clean clothes on to grab a fussy Ryder that needed to be nursed again by this time and put down for a nap. Cohen was still reminding me every few minutes that I needed to take him to the tree house, but with Ryder sleeping we would need to wait a bit so I grabbed Lilly, whose smelly face from over active tear ducts (I know...) I could no longer stand and went to give her a bath. Mid-bath Cohen came waddling into the bathroom in his Nemo underwear, mid-poop. I grabbed him to place him on the toilet and I wearing my only pair of clean pants, ended up kneeling in the poop that fell on the floor which Izzy also immediately tries to eat. Lilly is shaking all over and shivering while trying to escape from the tub. After cleaning up Cohen, removing my pants and cloroxing the tile I go back to scrubbing Lilly and trimming the goop out of her hair. I hear Cohen yelling "Help, Mem! I hurt!" so I wrap the wet dog in a towel and go running through the house worried! I find Cohen behind Ryder's closed bedroom door in his crib just wanting to get down. Ryder is crying because he was tired and didn't appreciate being woken up with a loving body slam as Cohen climmed in to be with him. I got Cohen down and got Ryder up and went to find my jeans that have a hole in the crotch and went to get the iron and an iron-on jean patch to fix them. I didn't have time to wait around to do laundry. After all, we had to get to the tree house! I finished getting ready and packed up Ryder and got Cohen dressed and we finally got out of the house by noon, but all I wanted to do by this time was nap...

Four months worth of pictures and more hopefully coming soon! (Just so I can stop thinking about how I need to blog!)

There are no words to describe...

...how a peaceful moment like this feels.

Play Group - Who wants to join?

So, I think it would be fun to set up a play group that meets once a week and I am wondering who would like to join in for those who live close.
We could rotate where we have it and for now while it is cold maybe we could have people host it at their homes or other indoor places that would be fun like the Kangaroo Zoo, the tree house at the mall or the library for story time. Any ideas would be awesome!
When it is warm, it will be a lot easier because we can just meet at parks and have picnics or do group walks up Provo canyon. And maybe go on car pooling field trips to the zoo or to Deer Creek, etc. I just don't see my friends enough and thought this would be fun. ALSO, even if you aren't a mommy yet, you are invited! I would never want to exclude anyone and everyone is welcome!
I think it would be a great thing for everyone, especially mom's stuck at home, to have something to look forward each week and to make new or closer friends and to have the support of each other.
What do ya think everyone?

On a side note, I am really happy it is the last day of January! Has anyone else got the January blues? I think this funk hits me about this time every year! Getting anxious for summer already, up until this point I have really enjoyed the winter snow, but now I am longing for warm sunny days and flip flops!

Parenting Class #2

Boredom is your WORST ENEMY
Keep 'em busy, keep 'em happy!
In the second parenting class we went over lots of ways to keep your kids moving and having fun which couldn't have come at a better time with the long winter days that still lie ahead...

Play Dough- definitely one of my favorite growing up! Here is a great recipe if you need one.

No-Fail Kool-Aid Play Dough
2 1/2 cups flour 3 Tbsp oil
1/2 cup salt 2 cups boiling water
2 pkgs unsweetened Kool-Aid (any color of your choice)
Mix dry ingredients. Put oil in the center of dry mixture. Rapidly stir in boiling water. It will be sticky at this stage. Set mixture until it is cool to touch. Knead well. It should be soft and smooth and not sticky.
Bubble Cup- this one is awesome! Let me see if I can explain and if it doesn't make sense, I can show you.

You need a Styrofoam cup, a bendy straw, Dawn Soap, an old t-shirt you can cut up into 4x4 squares (and dampen) and a rubber band.
Make a hole with the straw just under the rim of the cup. Place damp fabric over the top of the cup and wrap the rubber band around it. Then put soap on the fabric and blow threw straw up through the fabric. Lots and lots of bubbles without the mess!

Pom Poms- safe to throw in the house and use for lots of different activities!

To make: Use any color yarn (one of two) and wrap long ways around a vhs tape. Pull off and wrap and tie in center. Cut either ends and you have your yarn pom pom!

Books- Taking pictures of your kids and making them their own books using words for them to learn are just as good, if not better than other books you can buy!

Picture Puzzle- Take a 5x7 or 8x10 picture of their face and cut it into pieces to make a puzzle.
Lacing Cards/Wind Chimes/Frozen Water Balloons
Dress up/Pretend Play- pull out shirts, shoes, hats, jewelry, scarves, glasses, etc and dress up! You can also use scarves for different kinds of activities on their own.
Sock Puppets-great for teaching kids their body parts. Take a sock and glue eyes on and hair made of yard. Have the puppet kiss their knees, ears, toes, etc.
Treasure Box- Fill with rocks or anything that is special to them. (This could be one thing that they never have to share, they just can't bring it out into a group if they aren't going to share it.)
Greeting Cards- Take pictures of drawings, the kids or anything and make a post card!
Puppet Show Stage- Great way to encourage language, pretend play, etc. You can have puppets that are made of Popsicle sticks, paper bags, socks, dolls, etc.
Balloon Rocket- fishing line tied to either side of room with one side on a slant, straw through fishing line, tape untied balloon to straw and let go!
Flying Balloons- Play Keep-Up (in the air), kick around or just blow up and let go!
Finger Painting- You can use different foods that are fun to taste, but don't stain, such as yogurt, whip cream, pudding, etc. Remember, it is OK to be messy!!!
Thumb Print People/Bean & Rice Box Songs/Finger Plays- Songs like The Itsy Bitsy Spider and Popcorn Popping Stop and Go Game- (Use hand hold with pinky in place.) Stop with a stomp. Great to teach kids to walk next to you and to practice at a curb to watch for cars. "Walk with me."
Musical Instruments- Pots and pans with spoons and whisks! Oatmeal boxes. Jars or cups with different levels of water for kids that know how to be soft, spoons make different sounds.
Seeds- Plant some seeds and watch them sprout! Lima beans in a wet napkin grow too!
Magnifying Glass- Keep as a special exploring toy, if you leave toys out, they will get bored of them. Also looking at body parts or books with it can be fun too.
Blanket Play- swing them in it, drag them, etc. Make forts/huts too! Boxes are great for this as well.
Past Art Work/Jewelry- color pasta with food coloring and glue to paper or put on sting.

Shadows on the Wall- hand puppets

Dinosaur Bread- Use Rhodes Rolls and cut out stencils for different shapes!
Binoculars- Make them by duct taping two toilet paper rolls together, tie string and decorate. A paper towel roll could be used as a telescope.

Play catch with milk jugs- cut in half and using top half hold handle and catch pom poms or balls. Tape Record Household Noises- record phone, doorbell, toilet, dogs, water, etc. and guess what they are. You can also take pics as well and make a bingo game out of it.
Make Cheerio/Fruit Loop Necklaces
Flashlight Play
Body Cutouts on paper/outline with chalk
Sponge toss- throw through hole
Squeeze/Stress Balls- Fill small balloons with flour. Double up the balloon (roll up one and place inside the other) and funnel flour in.
Summer Time:
Fill the bucket- steady cup and pour water into bucket
Bug Hunts- take magnifying glass and search for bugs

Notes:
*Kids need a beginning, a middle and an end to everything.
*Put toys up or away or they will just get bored when they see them all the time.
*Special fun box and blanket: teaches them to play on their own and shows there is a limit. Use the same blanket each time and only for this. Have a special box with sorted bags of activities like coloring, easy puzzles, etc that they can do on their own. Don't bring it out any other time except for the specific time. You can use it when you need to be on the phone, as a breastfeeding box or cleaning time, etc. Set a timer for short amounts at first and make sure you are the one ending it and clean it up together.
*When reading books, have your child to sit in front of you, facing each other. You can get up on your knees to encourage them to sit on their own.

KOTM Parenting Class

We have started taking a three week parenting class through Marsha at Kids On The Move. I have found it extremely helpful and wanted to write down all of the notes from the first class so I can't misplace them. Some of this won't make sense so if anyone has any questions, let me know. Otherwise, this is more for my own records. I will add the rest of my notes as we complete the classes.

Favorite Words: "My Job." "You NEED to Listen." "Excuse Me." "All Done."
(Tone and expression are very important "No..." Straight forward. Not angry or sweet. Keep emotion out of it.)
3x5 List:
*What do you want? Not what you DON'T want. (Children do know what they want. Know what YOU want.) "I want him to sit down." Not-"I don't want him to stand in his chair." Think positives.
*Blocking - Block from front, they agree by backing up. Pull down rather than pushing, they resist.
*Two-Time Rule - Third time, help him do what you ask. They need to touch the object. Take their hand and help them to do it, sit down, lie down, walk, etc on their own so they consent to the choice. (If they are throwing a tantrum on the ground and go limp, make it not so comfortable for them on the ground by placing your foot under them and nudging. They may be more willing to stand up and make the choice on their own.)
*When a child is not listening - no eye contact, no talk (babble), no touch.
*Child Has to AGREE - place hand in yours (High 5) "O.K."
*Respond to the FIRST positive communication. (Or screaming WILL follow.)
*Use the TIMER to make time tangible. The timer is for something good, not a punishment. (Children are very literal. Timing keeps us honest.)
*If you don't want the answer to be "NO," Don't Ask! (Example: "Will you go brush your teeth?" Say, "We need to go brush your teeth.")
*When kids are fighting over a toy, don't become part of the fight. Say, "Let Go." (show no emotion) placing your hand on the toy and letting their hands be the last to touch it. Encourage children to take turns passing the toy back and forth to encourage sharing.
*Use child's name in a positive way. Use noises/words such as "Hey" "Shhht" etc instead of over using their name or they will just end up ignoring when you do say their name.
*If a child ignores you, answer for them. ("Do you want ___?" No answer. "No, ok." If you answered wrong they will let you know and it will teach them to answer for themselves.)
*Get the child into neutral or "yes mode". Give them options and choices for themselves to get them into the mode of saying yes.
*80% positive 20% corrective (teaching)
*If they can't do this WHAT CAN THEY DO? (We can't go outside right now, but we can do a puzzle!)
*If you take something away, REPLACE IT with something else.
*Don't let what they are doing work! (Whining, tantrum, hitting, etc.)
*Empower: You CAN have this, you CAN and that. Instead of "Do You Want...?" (Let them make choices, but narrow it down first to what applies. They can make a choice, verses a decision.)
*Children do NOT like being ACTED UPON. (Example: holding them down to wipe their face or forcing them to eat something.) Say "We NEED to go change you diaper. You're stinky!" Encourage them to make the choice to lay down. Yes mode, Two-time Rule, etc. Have a special toy or song for changing time, etc.
*Consistency is the KEY!
*Preventing is A LOT easier than fixing!

1 Rule: A child is not allowed to hurt themselves, others or destroy things.
~Routine with bedtime is a MUST! No negotiation!
~It's all about RESPECT. Respecting our children and in turn, them respecting us.
~We can not assume they can do anything differently.
~Empower children, (but don't give them the power.)
~If you aren't going to follow threw, don't bother saying it.
~Don't say, "Give it to me!" Because they might "give it to you." (punch)
~It is the way we Present, Respond and/or React. (We want to respond, not react.)
~If you respect their NO, they will respect your No.
~Don't ask them to do something from across the room, like "Come get your diaper changed." Go up to them and get their attention.
~If you are asking them not to do something, (example: don't climb on top of the table) don't make it fun getting down or stopping the behavior.
~Children don't want to be in control, it is too much work.
1. Know what you want.
2. Get them into Yes Mode.
3. First this, then that.
More Notes: Throwing food- have a place for him to put the food he doesn't want.
Diaper changing- set up all the supplies and do it the same each time. Have him come lay down and have a special toy that will keep him busy.
Don't coddle or pamper behavior that we don't want to support. (Example: When Cohen sees me and starts crying, don't comfort him, try to distract him instead and encourage him to focus on something else.)
We WANT COHEN TO FEEL SUCCESS!