writer's block means personal survey time!

extreme writer's block of here.  so sorry.  here's a survey because it's the best i got today.  xxoxxo

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1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
my middle name Irene was my grandmother's name (my mother's mother)

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Last week

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? 

yes!  it's a mix of print and cursive and truthfully has become more sloppy as I've aged, but I still like it and think it's pretty.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
my bologna has a first name it's OSCAR

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Yes, three and another due this June!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I think so, yeesh, i hope so.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? 

not really.  I think it's so easy for others to misunderstand and I always feel worried that I hurt someone's feelings after I leave a conversation anyway.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
no!  my sister Tasha and I got them removed on the same day, hahha, our poor mom and dad had to take care of both of us

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
I think so.  It would have been a definite YES before I became a momma.  Now I find myself hesitating for a few seconds before answering on things that could potentially be dangerous.  with our babies depending on me, my reflex is to lean toward slightly safer activities.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Special K red berries.  or Life.  or let's be serious, Lucky Charms

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
no.  efficiency, man.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
emotionally, mentally, spiritually? yes, but always interested in pushing myself to bigger, brighter, and higher heights within these categories.

physically? kind of.  I can carry a kid on my shoulders and one in a front carrier while holding two 90lb dogs' leashes...so yeah.  but holding dry wall over my head makes me want to die.  or a chin up, you've got to be kidding me, I can't even do one. 

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? 

boring vanilla cone with sprinkles.  this girl won't pass up a hot fudge sundae though either.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
their posture

15. RED OR PINK?
red

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
I like things how I like things, so it's annoying to me when things aren't how I prefer or how I think they are done 'best.'  Exhibit A:  loading the dishwasher

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
gosh, I miss my grandparents every single day.  It is ten years now for two of my grandparents passing, 6 years for my namesake grandmother, and one year for my grandfather...and still to this day, sometimes I go to pick up the phone to call them to ask them a question or tell them something funny.  I don't understand a lot about time, but I do know that when love is the frame to time; it becomes something you can't measure in standard ways.

18. ANY TATTOOS? 

Yes! I have four tattoos and would like to get a 3/4 sleeve tattoo on my left arm.  we shall see..

19. DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES?
do i ever!  I like to read, write, photograph, create family yearbooks, go on walks/jogs with our dogs, volunteer, and make plans and to do lists.

20. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
none.  i'm barefoot, like almost always.  also, i hate socks.

21. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
a pb&j, lemonade, and cool ranch doritos.  i'm 29 weeks pregnant, so i'm not kidding I could eat like three hamburgers right now, a large fry, and like half a chocolate cake.  HAH.

22. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Gemma talking in her imagination game of being a girl at her office working hard (she's typing on a broken laptop) and Law & Order SVU marathon on tv (I've seen this episode like four times but still won't change it.  I like to pretend that Benson and Stabler are my real friends).

23. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
yellow!

24. FAVORITE SMELLS? 

Brandon's neck, bacon cooking, newborns, baby shampoo, fresh cut grass, summer wind, and pine trees

25. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Brandon

26. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?
oooh, so hard to choose.  to be our home that we live every single day? mountain hideaway.  but if we're talking vacation than beach house.  I love the beach, but I love the seasons and varying weather more.

27. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
American football on tv, basketball and volleyball in real life.

28. HAIR COLOR?
dirty blonde

29. EYE COLOR?
green

30. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No, but I really should.

31. FAVORITE FOOD? 

pizza.  i'm a child.  I could eat pizza everyday.  I also love zucchini, asparagus, and build-me-own salads at Hoss's.  also, chocolate, all the chocolate.

32. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
happy endings.  Rom Coms make me feel smiley and mushy inside.

33. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Before We Go (it's on Netflix right now).  It was sweet.

34. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Brandon's white v-neck tshirt.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER?
all the seasons!  right now because we are just finishing winter, I'm looking forward to summer.  but I also love winter and spring.  and Fall is my favorite of all of them.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? 

Huggas

37. FAVORITE DESSERT?
it's just so hard to choose, i love chocolate and dessert so much, but walnut chocolate chip cookies tend to never fail me.

38. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?
Cardio

39. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION? 

computer

40. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin and The More of Less by Joshua Becker and listening to Tell the Wolves I'm Home on audible. 

41. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? 

I'm on a laptop, silly.

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
rain, thunderstorms, the rhythm of our children's breath after they've fallen asleep, country music on the car radio when the windows are down in the summer, windchimes, the song of the mourning dove

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
a love of the rolling stones are in my genetic make-up, but I also can't deny the beatles.  this isn't a very nice question.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Thailand

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
making up songs or stories for the kids on the spot.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? 

Johnstown, PA

47. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW? 

Johnstown, PA

48. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE?
Brick

49. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR?
green (and it's a truck)

50. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THIS EVENING?

nothing! joy of joys.  playing outside with the kids, dinner, a walk with the dogs, The Voice, and reading before bed.  bliss.

Around Here Eleven: 03/11-03/18

A glimpse at what our life looks like just this moment: 

Intentional Hours Outside:  (31.5 hours of 1000)
We did quite a bit of hiking this week as it was so beautifully sunshiny. We headed out for a walk to the 'big rock' of my childhood with my parents, and then the kids were overjoyed to see that our neighbors (two horses and a pony) were finally out this week for the first time.  When we went to see them again another evening, they weren't out so we climbed trees, collected pinecones and ran wild in the fields instead.  Because of my outdoor hours goal, the girls and I were motivated to attend Grey's first outdoor baseball practice on Thursday night where we shivered as we explored the various empty dugouts and added another hour to our weekly count.
...and this week, I can add a new tracking point...

Collective family tick count to date: 3
Gemma, Greyson, and I each had a tick attached this week from being outside. I got a great suggestion on a kid-friendly bug repellent (No Bite Me cream from SallyeAnder) that I'm ordering this afternoon to try to keep us tick and mosquito free as we continue with our outdoor adventures this summer!

Reading our Inspired Readers book club choice for the month Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin and loving it.  I've decided to work on three habits 1) being consistent on a nightly routine and in bed by 11p 2)cleaning clutter and 3)taking time to write for an hour daily.  Still listening to Tell the Wolves I'm Home on audible and finished Dear Mr. You by Mary Louise Parker, it was just wonderful and one that I'll hold on to for my own library to revisit again later.

Learning to make my Mum's enchiladas!  They are so so delicious and one of her signature dishes that was passed down to her from her Aunt Mary.  We spent Tuesday evening at my parents' house where we made enough to eat for dinner and TWO frozen enchiladas meals for after Studerbaby4 arrives!  I also got to check off Number26 on my 100 Small things list!

Supermomma moment this week came from my solo trip to the vet with our two nearing 100lb dogs, a four year old, a 17 month old, and my 28 week pregnant belly.  The vet nurse literally looked at me with panic in her face and asked, 'how are you doing this right now?!' hahahhahaha.  When I have hard tasks to do, I make myself feel better by creating mental lists of all the things that could be worse, like it could have been raining...but it wasn't!  One of the girls (or worse, both) could be sick that day...but they weren't!  Then before I got out of the truck, I gave myself a final confidence boost by whispering, 'if this is the hardest thing you do today, you are blessed.' and it wasn't so so bad, and Gemma was such a big helper girl, and now the dogs are all caught up, and it's d.o.n.e, done.

Being bested by a pesky leprechaun once again this year!  The two big kids set up their trap on Wednesday night which included a spot for the little guy to sit and rest and a place for him to put his gold where a box would fall on the gold and trap it!  But, the leprechaun was too smart for us and tricked us by leaving marshmallow cereal instead!  So not a total loss.

Chugging my glucose drink this week with both girls in tow.  Longest hour of my life.  They weren't too bad really, just a lot of finding things to do.  Since out and about are considered handheld free zones for us (sports games and practices, waiting rooms, restaurants, etc), we did some walking in the halls and they had a little snack, and said hello to about 150 nurses and patients that were walking the halls.  I know it would be so much easier to put an iPad or phone in their hands, but I'm old school and think they need to learn how to deal with boredom on their own (and it's good practice for me too; the dealing with boredom!)

Flabbergasted about Gemma the fashionista who when I asked her to please go upstairs and get dressed, fifteen minutes later had not changed at all and had only color-coded her clothes in the closet.  She also rolled her eyes at me on St. Patrick's day and explained, "Mom! Some people wear green on Patrick's day, but I don't!" I also had to make the statement this week, "Roey, high heels aren't really the best shoe choice for the baseball field, honey." There's a whole lot of drama crammed into that one little girl.

Making for the first time these Cranberry Banana muffins.  We had two mostly brown bananas left and I wanted to make banana-blueberry muffins, but alas no frozen blueberries on hand.  We always have dried cranberries around (they are our favorite salad topping!) and so I tried them out and we all loved the muffins!  We also Irish'ed up our chuck roast on St. Patrick's day by adding sauerkraut and it was a big family hit, one of Violet's favorite meals this week! and for dessert I made Brookies (half brownies, half cookies) and my baking streak of perfection has thus officially ended.  Boo.  I have been whipping up some great desserts and breakfasts as of late, but not with these brookies.  They turned out edible, but certainly not up to snuff on my recent baking and it was a little disappointing, I had high hopes.

Twenty quick and practical tips for raising little kids

In my experience as a Mum over the last six years raising three kids (and working on growing our fourth kid), I have scoured the web, highlighted books, and interviewed my family, friends, and other moms about a variety of parenting topics.  The thing is there is no manual for raising kids and it's not because there is a lack of suggestions, but rather there is nothing that works for every kid and every family and every situation.  It's all just a guessing game (hah, sorry kids) until you find something that works for your kid, for your family, and for your specific situation.

Along the way though in my personal journey of mommahood, there have been tips and tricks that have been helpful to me to adopt - things I've heard from the moms I admire, or pinterest, or blogs I read.  I heard about the tip, I tried it, and miraculously it worked!

But sometimes, the trick has had to be adapted to suit us a little better but were definitely inspired by another momma's advice.  It didn't work exactly the same for us, but with a little tweak or by a little inspiration, it has become something that is ours.

And, well, sometimes the tips and tricks simply are born out of trial and error or one of those rare eureka (!) moments.

Today, I'm sharing twenty of my favorite quick and practical tips for raising little kids.  I'm being specific about the age of the kids, because that's where my experience so far has been contained.  These are the quick tricks I use to stay above the daily overwhelming blur that comes with loving and raising and managing a house of wild little ones.

1. a pizza cutter is an excellent tool for plating kids' breakfast foods quickly: pancakes and waffles

2. setting 'screen free zones' is an easy way to stay consistent and vigilant to screen time hours.  (our screen free zones are mornings, cars, and bedtime)

3. somehow kids whine less about eating the meal when it's divided up and put in weird little bowls bento-style, this works especially at lunchtime

4. having a 'hygiene day' (ours is Thursday) means that you at least know for sure the last time the kids' bodies and hair were washed and their nails were trimmed

5. an ice cream scoop is an excellent tool for quickly filling muffin and cupcake tins and filling it half way is a great way to put raw cookie dough to the pan for baking!

6. meal planning makes a difference in both the financial sense and the momma-emotional sense

7. the slow cooker is the best invention of all time

8.  a bath can usually turn cranky kids into cheerful kids

9. always pack pajamas in the diaper bag

10. sleep begets sleep in children ...it also seems to work the other way around: not sleeping begets more not sleeping

11. the kids will always find the 'circle' in your house, you can use this to your advantage.  babydoll strollers, cars and trucks, and when they get bigger in the winter, have them run 'laps' while you count them out. (our 'circle' is the hallway, past the kitchen, through the dining room, and back around through the foyer)

12. try baby.sign.language.  even if it's only a few words (we taught our kids: more,all done, play, bath, sleepy, hot, please, thank you, and sorry).

13. nothing cures bad moods like being outside

14. when you go to the park or playground, PACK SNACKS

15. as hard as it can be to swallow, sometimes the quiet and play it brings can justify the mess it makes

16. when a kid hurts another kid, this is the phrase we use:  "I'm sorry, how can I fix it?" and the hurt child can ask for a hug, high five, space to be alone, or a joke.

17. keep an extra toothbrush and toothpaste for the kids in a kitchen cupboard so they can brush after breakfast downstairs when you're running late

18. never underestimate the power of recalling memories with the kids, from when they were babies to even something that happened yesterday.  this is particularly helpful at mealtimes, riding in the car, or passing time in a waiting room.

19.  to learn to put on a coat independently when very young, have kids lay the jacket on the floor, stand above the hood, put their arms in the holes and flip it over their head

20.  when you are unsure of how to answer your kids' questions, a good place to start is by asking them, 'hm, what do you think?' their answer will provide a framework of what they already know and what is appropriate for their current thought processes.


Maybe the most important tip to remember is that even if something works a million times, some days there are no rules or tricks, some days it's just hard and the best thing to remember on those days is that bedtime will come and then you'll get to try again tomorrow.

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What are some of your tried and true tips and tricks as a momma?  Please share in the comments, or on your own blog.  We mommas need to stick together and share our best practices either to copy or to be inspired!  xxoxx