Shhhh.... Can you hear that?

I can't remember the last time there was silence in my house. No yelling, no arguing, no running, no fighting, no crying, nothing.

The kids went back to school, and can I just say I am thankful?! Maybe I am selfish, but I was sure looking forward to some quiet around here. Don't get me wrong.... I miss them like crazy whenever they aren't here, but it sure is nice hearing the thoughts in my head. :-)

So here I sit... Flipping through the TV and not finding much to watch (although there was something interesting on the Disney channel. I wish the kids were here so I had an excuse to watch it). I cleaned the bathroom, kitchen, washed the floors and picked up all the toys (a never ending job), now what? I could crochet one of the 8 orders I got or I could work on some Tupperware paperwork. Maybe I should be proactive and start my taxes? Nah.... I think I am going to sit here and do nothing. Sounds good to me!!! I am going to enjoy it too!!! Shhhh.... Can you hear that? It's the sound of pure silence!

It isn’t even 8:30 in the morning!!

As I sit down to write this post, I am laughing. Laughing because I really thought at one point I could keep up with a blog. HA!! I can barely pee without kids busting in, or think without having a million thoughts interrupt. Yeah… a blog was probably not one of my better ideas. hahaha The funny thing is, I have a lot to say. Well, of course I have a lot to say, I always do. But I really do have great intentions of blogging about all these wonderful things! I have recipes, ideas, stories, adventures and so much more I want to share with the world!! Or, at least my fellow blog followers

Since I haven’t posted in awhile, I thought it would be fun to give everyone a glimpse into my day to day life and WHY I don’t have time to blog. I am going to practically dummy spell what I go through on a daily basis, so get ready to get in my brain! LOL

2:00 am – Baby C is crying. I argue with the Mr. and say it’s his turn to get up. The days I win, I roll over smiling and fall back asleep. The days I lose I crawl out of bed half asleep. I go to the bathroom (that way I can lay him down when he is done eating and I don’t need to stay awake any longer). I go into the kitchen to make a bottle, only to find they are all dirty. All of them. I wash out one bottle, find a liner, go the fridge, find his milk, open and pour it in. Walk back to the room to get Baby C and he is soaking wet. Thankfully I am married to Superman, and he wakes up to change the sheets. I take Baby C to the living room where I put him down with the bottle so he doesn’t scream while I try to find a clean pair of pajamas (with no lights on so I don’t wake the kids). I finally find a pair that I think will work, go back to Baby C and take the bottle so I can change him, which of course he doesn’t want, so he starts crying. I try to get him dressed as fast as I can, but it only makes it worse! When he is finally out of his wet clothes, I reach over to grab a diaper, only to realize he just peed AGAIN all of the floor and the pajamas I just found. Bottle goes back in his mouth, he happily closes his eyes and starts eating, while I begin a new search for pajamas in the dark (can I just say that this would probably be a lot easier if we actually folded and put our clothes away as we washed them, rather than leave them in the basket). Ok, I think I found another pair of pajamas, or something close enough. I go back to Baby C to start the process over – take the bottle, he screams, I try to hurry and change him, finally get diaper and pajamas on, get the bottle in his mouth, he closes his eyes and starts eating, I pick him up to rock with him, everything is peaceful. Then our rocking chair locks and I am jerked forward. I start cursing at the stupid chair because it’s the chairs fault we need to replace it! I decide to NOT rock Baby C because surprisingly he still in a milk/sleep zone and I don’t want to disrupt him. He is so peaceful when he sleeps and looks so sweet and innocent, it’s hard to be upset that I have been up for 45 minutes with him. Instead I give him a kiss and tell him how much I love him.

2:45 am – Put Baby C back to bed. As I crawl into bed half asleep, I look at the clock and wish I had gone to bed at 8:00. I tell myself that I will tonight. There is no way I will be able to stay awake longer than that anyway. I can’t wait to go to bed at 8! I think tomorrow I am going to clean the house, put all the clothes away, go through all the kids clothes and get rid of the ones that are too small (so I don’t have to search through so many at 2:00 am). While I am at it, I should probably clean their rooms. Which reminds me, I didn’t clean the bathroom this week! I will have to do that before anything. Maybe I should clean the downstairs bathroom too. It needs it, and maybe then I will be ready to paint it. I think purple and gray with white would be great downstairs. Too bad the Mr. won’t let me paint the upstairs purple. I think it would like nice in the living room. Or our room. Well, Ladybug’s room is purple, so maybe not our room, but definitely the living room. I wonder if the Mr. would go for that?? I could make it look masculine. You can make purple masculine, right? Actually, does purple go well with green?? Maybe I should paint the kitchen a different color…. hm… gray?? that would be along the lines of the color scheme and gray isn’t bad for a kitchen. Or, I could just skip the purple upstairs and do blue. Robin’s egg blue. That’s pretty. And it would go well with the current color scheme. I wonder what color curtains then? What time is it anyway??

3:30 am – Of course it is. I just need to go to sleep and I can think about it in the morning as I am cleaning. I should just write down all of my ideas tomorrow. Maybe I will keep a journal of sorts. I can get all my ideas from Pinterest. I guess that is sort of like a journal. I wonder if there are any purple and grey kitchen/living room photos I can look up. Oh wait, I thought I changed my mind to blue. Oh yeah! I was thinking about curtains. I think I remember seeing a pin on Pinterest about making your own curtains. Or making them out of shower curtains or table cloths or something. I am going to have to look that up! I wonder if you need to sew those? I wish I knew how to sew. I could use that skill for so many things. Even with my crochet! Oh, shoot, I forgot to respond to the gal that ordered those hats today. I will have to do that tomorrow. I wonder if I have all the yarn. I will probably need to make a yarn run tomorrow, which is fine because I need to make the blanket for (name removed) and the prop for (name removed). Oh yeah, and there was a new stitch I wanted to make… I wonder if it’s HDC or DC. I suppose it could be either, but HDC might be a little more snug. DC is way more common. I will try that one first. Ok, I will do that tomorrow, but first, SLEEP!! What time is it anyway??

4:45 am – Ok, no more thinking. I have daycare parents coming in 2 1/2 hours, I need to go to sleep. I don’t want to rely on coffee to get me through the day. Maybe I will walk up to Caribou with the kids. Well, that isn’t always easy to do. We will see how they are acting and what the weather is. What is the weather supposed to be?? I hope it isn’t too hot. Or too cold. Or rainy. If it’s perfect outside we will walk to Caribou. I wish they delivered.

6:55 am – The Mr. wakes me up and says he is leaving for work. He gives me a kiss and says to have a good day. Why did he have to wake me up? I could have slept for another 15 minutes at least!! Well, I guess I will just lay here in bed and relax. Where’s my phone. I will check my email.

6:59 am – Well, relaxing was short lived. The kids are awake, and I can hear them in the kitchen.

7:00 am – CRASH!!!! What was that?? As I bolt out of bed, I almost trip on the cat and stub my toe on the cedar chest. I swear a little, and run out to see what the noise was. “Sorry mommy. I dropped the toaster. Do you want eggs?” If only it were as sweet as it sounds – there is a mess in the kitchen…. eggs on the counter, toaster on the floor, Smooth Chopper is taken apart, blade next to it (thankfully no cuts!), coffee maker pulled out, coffee is being brewed (thank goodness we have a Keurig), bread is opened and falling all over, frozen waffles are half thawed on the counter, next to the syrup which was opened and spilled, butter is tipped and smeared all over the plate next to it. Wonderful. Can’t wait to start my day. As I start cleaning everything, I realize I have 15 minutes until the first parent drops off… the house is a mess as am I. I grab a bowl and pour some cereal in it for the kids and tell them to sit at the table. B man whines for yogurt. Ladybug whines she wants a different cereal. B man throws a fit that I gave him the orange bowl… he wants purple. I am about have a breakdown and it’s only 7 in the morning!! Don’t these kids know I didn’t sleep last night?!?

7:10 am – Most of the kitchen is cleaned up, so I decide to take 2 minutes for myself and get ready. You know, put a bra on and brush my teeth. Well, I didn’t even get that far before I hearing crying. Oh jeez, really?! I ignore. I don’t care. Let them fight! It will toughen them up! Just as I start heading to the bathroom to put deodorant on, I hear '”MOM!!!” Wow! Really you guys? I continue to ignore them, finish my bathroom ‘details’, just in time to head to the kitchen and clean the remaining dishes.

7:15 am – First family of the day walks in. My kids thrive on attention from others, so anytime someone is in the house, they use it as an excuse to act like wild animals. Which they proceed to do. Literally. All the noise and commotion is giving me a headache. Which reminds me I need to drink my coffee!

7:20 am – Kids are whining they are hungry. I tell them to finish their yogurt (since they never got around to the cereal). I ask if they want eggs, which of course they say yes to. They only want to use the Smooth Chopper, which is fine because it helps them eat healthier. We drag out all of the stuff for our eggs and I tell the kids to get dressed while I finish up.

7:25 am – Both kids complain they have nothing to wear. I yell to them they have plenty of clothes, B Man can’t find shorts and Ladybug can’t find leggings. I can’t say anything… they are probably both in our mountain of clean clothes that was never put away.

7:30 am – Next daycare family walks in, cat runs out the front door. Of course. Both kids freak out that cat ran away. I explain she will come back in 10 minutes to the back patio, but they insist on going out to get her. Through all the commotion, Baby C wakes up. Ladybug runs to the room to get him, B Man runs outside after the cat half naked. I can’t win. I tell Ladybug to bring Baby C to his highchair so I can feed him in a minute, while I run downstairs to tell B Man to get in the house. I am shouting across the yard to him and my neighbor comes out to go to work. Although there is always a smile and generous wave, I know the words “crazy family” are in the brain wave.

7:45 am – The kids are finally dressed and I am getting ready to feed Baby C and make the eggs for breakfast. “Someone pooped!” Great, perfect timing. Head over for a diaper change only to find that we are out of wipes. I ask Ladybug to get me a new package, she says she can’t find them. I improvise and use Boogie Wipes. I say a quick prayer of thanks that I had those handy!! After clean diaper is put on, I wash my hand and go back to breakfast.

7:50 am – Phone rings. I will call them back. Time to make breakfast.

8:00 am – The kids are finally sitting down and eating, I am feeding 2 of the babies and the world is calm. Suddenly “Hey! Don’t throw your eggs at me!” followed a long string of naughty giggles. I turn around and tell B Man we don’t throw food at the table and that if he doesn’t eat nice, he can go to his room. Turn back around to feed the babies and hear “Mom, he stuck his tongue out at me!” followed by “nana poopy pants” followed by “I’m not poopy pants” followed by more naughty giggles. I tell the kids they are done and to go clean up. “Thanks a lot B Man! You always ruin everything” Sigh. This is the life I chose….

8:10 am – Phone rings. Shoot, I never called that person back. I answer and start apologizing, only to be interrupted by the kids. “B Man won’t stay out of my room. I just want to be left alone for a little bit” followed by “well I just want to play her DS!” EI-yei-yei you guys!!!! Tell the person on the phone I will call them back. I am exhausted… what time is it?? Oh my gosh, it isn’t even 8:30 in the morning!!

Sometimes a little crazy brings back my sanity

I had a mental breakdown the other day. I locked myself in my room and shut the world out. I think everyone gets to that point in their lives, but maybe we don't admit it. Well, I will! I have no problem letting the world know I put myself on time out. Everyone needs 'me' time, but I think so few people actually take the time for themselves. We are so busy with every day life, running kids back and forth from place to place, going to the grocery store, Target, post office and library, making sure the house is clean, getting dinner ready, giving kids baths and putting them to bed. It's exhausting just reading that, yet we all do it on a daily basis. Most of the time, by the time I sit down and have 5 minutes to think to myself, it's 10:30.

While I will readily admit I enjoy the hustle and bustle of all the running and chaos, my brain does fry once in awhile. I decided to take a bath using Arbonne's Unwind Bath Salts and finally get started on reading "The Shack" by William P. Young that a good friend borrowed me last fall. My mind never shut down and I couldn't concentrate on the words in the book, and I found myself getting slightly crabbier than I already was. That's the opposite of what I was trying to do, so I decided to go to bed for the night.

The next morning, I packed up the kids and we headed off to get lunch, go to the Minnesota Children's Museum and bring Ladybug to my mom. I started to stress before we left... packing for 3 kids plus daycare, as well as making sure my daughter had everything for grandma's house wasn't exactly relaxing, and the state of mind I was in (FRIED!!) certainly did not help. I was determined to get out of the house though!! Three bags full of 12 diapers, package of wipes, two bottles, two kinds of formula, bottles of water, snacks, change of clothes, first aid kit, diaper cream, lotion, sanitizer, sunscreen, blankets, teething toys, sippy cups, etc, etc, etc, we were off and ready to go. The kids are excited and screaming, bouncing off the walls and I am ready to rip my hair out. But we are still going....

When we get there, there are a ton of families dealing with the same thing - kids are crazed maniacs! Running from thing to thing, trying this and trying that. Making paper, blowing bubbles, driving the bus, pushing mini carts at the grocery store, cooking dinner, playing guitar, painting their face. Pretending to be a bird, an ant, a skunk. Playing with Curious George and climbing the rocket. Sounds like pure chaos, doesn't it?

It wasn't.

Look at the smiles on the kids faces. Look at the smiles on the parents faces. Kids are having fun and making memories, all while they are learning hands on. They are pretending to be adults, while the adults get to be kids again! Watching their kids glow with excitement and some of them getting involved like their kids - making paper, blowing bubbles, driving the bus, pushing mini carts at the grocery store, cooking dinner, playing guitar, painting their face. Pretending to be a bird, an ant, a skunk. Playing with Curious George and climbing the rocket. Sounds like pure fun, doesn't it?

It sure was!

I couldnt' help but smile as my kids played and learned and explored. Their smiles were contagious! With all the happiness I saw through my kids eyes, I forgot about my stress and crabbiness. Just more proof that sometimes a little crazy brings back my sanity!!

FREE Tupperware Give-A-way!

 

One of my favorite things to do is sell Tupperware! Another one of my favorite things to do, is give a way FREE stuff! If I was rich, I would give stuff a way all the time!! I am not joking, I really would. My dilemma is, I am NOT rich. I need to get there, but right now, I am not. So…. I am going to promote my business so I can get rich! Then I will have FREE give a ways all the time!  

 

My first ever Tupperware give a way is here!!

Crystal Wave Divided Dishes are great for leftovers, lunches and on the go! You can win one now! All you have to do is share my Tupperware Facebook page with friends and family. Tell them to leave a comment saying you sent them. The first 2 people that have refer 5 people will win a FREE Tupperware Crystal Wave divided dish!

It’s that easy!!

 

Do you want TONS of FREE Tupperware?!

Host a party with me in your home in August and I will give you $100 surprise gift pack FREE just for hosting! That’s ON TOP of all the great products you earn with Tupperware – free gifts, 1/2 price items and host bonus items.

Hosting an in home party not your thing? Not in Minnesota, but still want the perks? Have an online catalog party, a Facebook party or set up a fundraiser. Email me for details at christinahines@comcast.net

 

 

Ever thought about becoming a Tupperware consultant?

I would love to have you join my team, so you can earn extra money and still have time to do everything you love!

Have Your Kale & Eat It Too!

 

Kale. It just sounds healthy, doesn’t it? I have always been afraid to try it, probably because it was so healthy, but a friend of mine was telling me how they put it in everything and the kids don’t know the difference. Well, besides the bright green color, of course. I decided to test the theory and see for myself.

At the farmers market, we found an organic stand that had kale. Not having any clue what to look for, I had her just throw a bunch in a bag. I already felt healthier. Honestly. You can laugh, but I really felt ‘healthier’. If only thinking about healthy foods actually worked for all the actual health benefits  

When we got home, I realized I had no idea how to store, clean, cook, etc with kale. So I checked my favorite healthy food site The World's Healthiest Foods and searched kale. They had tons of great information, and I suggest anyone take the time to bookmark that site for future reference.

First things first… wash the kale. I loaded up the sink with cold water and threw it all in there. I washed each piece to make sure all the dirt and bugs (yes, bugs. It’s a natural thing, so of course bugs get in there) were gone.

After the kale was washed, I decided to steam, boil, bake and chop it for various recipes and ways to try it.

Boiling the kale was great for pureeing it. I was able to add it to my homemade spaghetti sauce (below).

We’ll see what the kids say when they get green spaghetti sauce! When I tried it, I could hardly taste a difference. I enjoyed it, and knowing the health benefits I was getting made me like it even more!

I saved a big portion to chop up and put in my smoothies.

The first smoothie I made was kale, plain Chobani yogurt, 4 strawberries and 1 banana. Yummy! I drank most of it before I remembered to take a picture!

Last, but definitely not least, kale chips. I got this idea from a friend of mine and I have to say I was impressed!! Even the Mr. liked them. They are surprisingly addicting, and the picture I have posted here is actually our second batch. We ate the first one before I had a chance to take a picture. Yes, they were that good. It was no potato chip, but I don’t love potato chips to start with, so this was a great alternative! We added sea salt, there was a perfect amount of crunch and salt for my taste. I can’t wait to buy and make more! Maybe next time I won’t tell the Mr. and keep them all to myself. Nah, he could use the health benefits too.

Since I am a kale newbie, I would love to hear any recipes or favorite meals and kale ideas people have! Leave a comment and share with everyone. I am thinking I may even add kale to Little C’s baby food next time around…

Can I Just Brag About My Beautiful Family?

 

As time goes on and new blogs are posted, I know I will talk a lot about my family. So if you don’t mind, I would like to have a brag session and show off my beautiful family

_{Ladybug photo taken by Kari Layland Photography}

This is my little Ladybug. It’s hard to believe she is going to be turning 9 and starting third grade this year. Man, that doesn’t seem possible! Ladybug is my sweet girl in every angle you view it. She is kind, generous, thoughtful and sweet natured. Don’t get me wrong, she has a little sassy-pants side to her, but lucky for us, we don’t see it all that often!

Ladybug plays fastpitch softball and she absolutely loves it! Her favorite position is catcher, although lately she has been showing interest in pitching. We’ll see which path she chooses. She is going to try soccer this fall to see if she likes that. She tends to complain about things, so it will be interesting to see her reaction when she learns soccer is a lot of running.

My crochet business My Ladybug Love Designs is named after her because is my Ladybug love!

_{B man photo taken by Kari Layland Photography} 

This is our B man. Don’t let those beautiful blue eyes deceive you, he can be a handful! B man just turned 4 and my Mr. keeps saying he is in his terrible two’s. Wonder how long that is going to last…

Despite B man being a handful, he is very sweet. He is also one of the funniest kids I met. He is so funny, that he cracks himself up! All.the.time. It’s adorable to watch. He has energy like you wouldn’t believe and he always wants to be doing *something*, so relaxing on a rainy day is not his thing. He would rather try to find ways to climb a wall, or move furniture around to build an indoor jungle gym.

B man is also starting soccer this fall and he is very excited! Grandpa and grandma bought him his first shin guards, soccer ball and shorts for his birthday, so he looks like the next David Beckam.

 

This is our Little C. The tiny man of the group. Well, all of our kids are small, but Little C is barely on the growth chart (which is better than a couple months ago when he wasn’t on the chart!). Little C is going to give us a run for our money I think. He has been crawling since he was 4 1/2 months old. Yeah. Ask me how thrilled I was for that? I was determined to make Little C a mama’s boy and cuddle him up all the time, but he had other plans. He is into everything, but I am not complaining because that baby is HAPPY!! He is always smiling and he has the greatest open mouth smile and laugh that you can’t help but smile at him. It’s contagious. Really!

Last, but of course not least, this is my Mr. and I. I love this man more than most people think possible. We have been through A LOT in the 8 years we have been together, but it has only made us stronger. We are a great team and compliment each other in every aspect of life. Of course we aren’t perfect, but who is? We don’t always do things the way other people think or say we should, but what’s important is we do things together. As a family, and for each other. We have each other’s back and support and that’s what gets us through. He is my rock when I have needed one, and I can’t imagine getting through this crazy (in a good way) life without him.

 

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to be a wife and mother, but never in a million years did I dream that I would love someone as much as I love my husband and kids. They are the reason I wake up every night…

…and the reason I go to bed! LOL This photo is a true description of my days, but I love my beautiful family!

No Fruit For You!

 

(Note: As I started typing this blog today, I thought it may be fun to introduce our family. Maybe I will add a second post today and have a little brag session about my beautiful family!).

Well… I tried my hand at home made baby food today! I have to say, it was surprisingly easy. From the day I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to make Little C’s baby food. However, you all remember how crazy busy I am right? So I am going in with an open mind. If we feed him store bought foods, so be it, but I can do my best and make what I can and freeze it. Let’s see how this goes…

Little C is a tiny lil’ guy. He is *barely* on the growth chart, but he is gaining weight every day! YAY! Turns out my milk supply never fully came in, so he was starving for the first 5 months. Poor guy (guilty mommy moment right there)! He was such a happy baby that he never fussed for more food. Aside from him losing weight, we never would have known he was hungry! We decided to start solid food just shy of 6 months to see if it would help with his weight gain. I have been reading non stop on home made baby food and have found some wonderful sites! For anyone wanting to make their own food, but not knowing where to start, check out Momtastic's Wholesome Baby Food and Homemade Baby Food Recipe. Those two sites have been great information sources for me. I learned you can give your wee one things like avocado for their first food, not just rice cereal. Who knew?

With great first foods in mind, I went to the farmers market and the grocery store to get started on Little C’s meals. I blindly bought avocado since I know little to nothing about what’s ripe and what isn’t (thank goodness for my iPhone and Google), and we bought pears, carrots, peas and sweet potatoes. Not that I am setting myself up for failure, but *just in case* my home made versions didn’t work out, we bought a few jars of Wild Harvest Organic Baby Food.

Life went on as normal and we found little time in our crazy busy schedule to make baby food. Little C had the avocado (he ate it, so hopefully that means I bought a good one), then he had a jar of bananas (which he did not like), a jar of pears (which he did not like), a jar of peas (which he loved) and a jar of sweet potatoes (which he loved). Hmmmm….. I starting to wonder if Little C likes veggies, but not fruit…

I had a little time to make a batch of baby food, so let’s see how he likes carrots. They have to be his favorite because they are home made with love (insert cheesy sigh here).

At the farmers market I picked out the best of the best carrots! Well, that’s not completely true, my kids picked them, but they looked great to me too!

I came home and chopped them up into small chunks.

We don’t own a steamer, so I improvised. Good thing I sell Tupperware! Their double colander works perfectly!!

While the carrots steamed, I got out my Smooth Chopper and Freezer Mates ice trays. The Smooth Chopper doesn’t need electricity, so I can easily use it while the kids are napping and it won’t wake them up. The ice trays are nice because they come with a seal (not shown) to keep out any odors!

The carrots looked done, so I mashed one with a fork to make sure. Easy peasy squishy, so that means they are good to go!

I put the carrots in my Smooth Chopper…

…pulled the cord 3 times (no joke. 3 times)…

…added a little water and pulled a few more times…

And wah-la! Little C’s Made With Love Carrots.

I stored them in ice trays for individual servings and freezing and we are good to go. In case you are wondering, Little C loved them! Of course, because they are vegetables. Maybe we will try apples next…