Day 1: Self Portrait

Okay, so I am no photographer, and I still haven't figured out how to upload pictures from my digital camera to my iPad, so this is what I've got... A picture of myself that I took from my phone! I will need to figure out how to get my photos from my nicer camera on here for tomorrow's picture of the day. I tried taking one on my iPad, but the quality is horrible on here. Oh well... I'll post it anyways.

30 Day Photography Challenge

Since I've been slacking on my blog updates lately, I decided that it would be fun to kick off my return with this 30 Day Photography Challenge that I saw on Pinterest. Feel free to take it yourself and comment below with your pictures so we can share what creative pictures we come up with! Grab those cameras and let's get snapping!

It's a GIRL!

I haven't blogged in quite some time! We have been super busy with the kiddos and getting all of our spring cleaning done. I guess I've got a bit of the "nesting" instinct going on as well, as we are expecting our third little one in August. The doctors said it looks like we are getting our GIRL this time around, but I'll believe it when I see it. The boy gene seems to be pretty dominant in my husband's side of the family, so we will see... But regardless, we are very excited and can't wait to meet our little bundle of joy.

We got a puppy!

Say hello to our newest member of the family: Simon! He is an 8 week old miniature poodle. Doesn't he look just like a little Teddy bear? As you can see, the boys are loving him and quickly learning all about the responsibilities that come along with a pet. I, myself, had forgotten how much work it was taking in a puppy. We (and by we, I mean I) are working on the crate training, trying to keep him on a schedule, and having to wake up in the middle of the night when he starts yelping to get out and tinkle. Kind of like bringing home a baby!

Potty Training tricks

    Since I was one of the first of my friends to have children, I have found mommy friends have been coming to me for the potty training tips since I have already "been there, done that". Since I only have boys, I can really only give advice pertaining to them, although I'm pretty sure my methods would work just fine with either boys or girls.
 

    I always heard boys were especially hard to potty train, but to be honest, I found it to be very easy and my son caught on very quickly. I bought him a cute little mini potty to put in the bathroom when he was as young as 18 months, not to start training him, but just to introduce him to it and get him familiar with it. At first, he just loved to sit and play with the little handle and pull on the toilet paper holder. After a while, I would just let him run around the bathroom naked after bath time and he finally realized he could sit on it. He would just sit and play with it, or even relax on it while he brushed his teeth (as you can see from my picture above).
 
    Around his 2nd birthday is when I really started the potty training process. I had heard that bribing with m&m's sometimes worked, but my little guy was much more interested in the sticker rewards. I printed out a calendar with pictures of his favorite Disney characters and bought a few of the 99-cent sheets of stickers from Target (or Wal-mart or any craft store). I taped the calendar on the wall right beside the potty and every time he used it, he got to pick a sticker to put on his calendar. Another helpful trick is to ask them throughout the day if they need to go to the potty. I asked my little guy about every 30 minutes or so for a while, just so he became more aware and had to start thinking about going pee-pee.

    After being so dependent on diapers, I find that they sometimes aren't even aware of when they have to go... they just go. To make my little guy more aware, I would just let him run around the house without any diaper or pants on throughout the day.  I found that this is really what made him realize on his own, when it was time to run to the potty. For some reason, if the pants or diaper was on at this phase of potty training, he either didn't realize it was time to tinkle or he was just a bit more lazy and figured the diaper or pants would take care of it for him.

    So with all that said, I hope this is helpful in some way, during your potty training journey. I had my son fully potty trained and wearing underwear by the time he was 2 1/2 years old. Although sleeping through the night with a dry butt is a whole other challenge. He is now 3 1/2 and we are working really hard to get rid of the night time pull-ups. he loves to have his cup of milk before bed, but the nights that we have skipped the milk and I make him go pee pee before climbing into bed, he stays dry. It's just a matter of getting daddy to stick to his guns and not cave with the bedtime cup of milk to get him to sleep on the nights that I am coaching late. So I will keep you informed on his (or shall I say our) progress.

    Do you have any great advice or tricks for potty training? If so, please don't hesitate to share with us.  Because what works for one kid, may not always work for another.  

Tornado in a 2 Liter!

Ever since my 3-year-old son saw The Wizard of Oz, he has been fascinated with tornados.  He will go on and on about them if you let him. After watching the Tom & Jerry: Wizard of Oz (which I absolutely recommend for your little one if they aren't quite ready for the real Wizard of Oz), they had a quick lesson and tutorial on how to make your very own tornado at home.  It's super simple, takes seconds to do and results in some fabulous little tornados that will surely fascinate your little one.

Here's what you need:

- 2 empty 2-liter bottles
- a washer (like the ones you can probably find in the garage somewhere)
- duct-tape
- water
* (optional) I put a little bit of blue food coloring and glitter in ours just to give it a little debris and add a little something extra to it

How to do it: (super simple)

1. fill one of your 2-liters at least 3/4 full of water
2. place washer on top of 2-liter opening
3. duct tape your second 2-liter on top of the water-filled 2-liter
4. flip your 2-liters (water-filled on top)
5. help get your twister started by gently wobbling the top bottle in a circular motion and TA DA! You should start to see your funnel form as the water drains into the lower 2-liter!

This is a great little science activity for the kids that will surely grab their attention.  My little guy had me flipping 2-liters for a good half-hour before he decided to take a break.  About 20 minutes later, he was back for more!!  (I had a super cute picture of him that I took on my phone, but for some odd reason Blogger won't let me add it to my post! GRR)

Please share your experiences if you decide to do this activity!  I would love to hear what your little one thought of it!  Have any other fun science experiments that you enjoy doing with your kids?  Please share!

New Trend Alert: OWLS!

They're just so darn cute!

FurniKids.com

While shopping around on the internet for Christmas presents this year, I have noticed a good amount of owl paraphernalia, and I can't help but LOVE these precious little guys! Obviously, they seem to be a trend going around right now, and I have totally fallen for them.  From computer gadgets to shelves, coffee mugs to nursery decor, and even fabulous jewelry... these owls are just too cute to pass up! So with that said, I figured I would share a few of my favorites with you all:

For that coffee or tea lover... is this not the most adorable coffee mug you've ever seen?

Pier 1 Imports Owl Mug'

Hang these little guys on your wall to keep track of your miscellaneous little gadgets.

Pottery Barn Teen Wall Hooks

 Add a little owl bling to make that outfit really POP!

Amazon Pendant Necklace

Amazon Crystal Rhinestone Pendant Necklace

 This USB plug can either sit perched on his little log, or you can attach him to the top of your computer or lap top, where he moves his head around, opens and shuts his eyes and will keep you company while you browse the web.

USB Interactive Computer Owl on Amazon

Check out how he works here:

I found these adorable crochet owl hats on Sweet Loves Creates Photography Props. I'm no photographer, but I sure would love one of these for my little guy. I just can't get enough of these cute little owls!

Sweet Loves Creates

 How adorable is this little doorstopper? I would totally sit him by the entrance to my house to welcome guests and hold my door open... or just sit him up on a shelf somewhere... just precious!!

Pier 1 Imports Door Stopper