Now my mom says that I am a slave to my children's schedule but I disagree. I believe that the kids are on the schedule I have set for them based on their age, number of naps and how their behaviour is affected.
Currently my youngest needs 2 naps a day and luckily he is somewhat adaptible. He has a certain rhythm that is natural for him but at least a couple days a week I am not able to have him in bed at the time he needs because of another childs activity and he goes down an hour later and there are days I have to wake him up so we can meet up with friends for a playdate or go to the gym. Obviously my older 2 don't have morning naps but we do hang around the house while the baby naps. On the otherhand my older son needs one nap in the afternoon and my daughter needs quiet time and lets be honest so do I, so we all rest or sleep during this time. The days we go out, I make a point to have us all home by nap/rest time
I think of it as our schedule not their schedule. A little give and take to keep everyone healthy and happy. I find it amazing the difference in their behaviour based on their sleep or lack of it. There are definately people in my life that would prefer us to be available more hours or different hours of the day but OUR schedule does not afford us that but those same people like the fact that my children are well behaved. That comes with some sacrifices and really it won't always be that way will it?
Oatmeal Breakfast Bar - Revised
I grew up with a terrible diet that has left me with weight problems my whole life. Obviosly I didn't want my children to suffer the same fate so I was very strict with their diet. Vegetables, Whole Grains, Fruits, etc.
Not only do I think breakfast is the most important meal, I feel that oatmeal is a very important part of that. It is whole grain and packed with lots of healthy stuff and digests slowly so that child doesn't get hungry soon after. Of course I have the best of intentions but my middle son didn't like it and this made every morning an unpleasant experience. Being a fix-it mommy I had to find a way to get my son to eat oatmeal without a fight. I went to the internet and found a recipe that had less sugar and more good stuff and it was for Oatmeal Bars. As you will see you can add whatever seeds, nuts or fruit your children enjoy. The only negative is they are quite crumbly while he eats them.
That was my original post but I have revised the recipe and now find that it does not crumble and he doesn't complain about the large chunks of dried fruit. He is eating them without too much of a fight now.
Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
2 cups 9 grain oatmeal, uncooked
1 cup oat flour (can be made by pulverising quick cooking rolled oats in a blender or food processor)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup packed currant or raisins
1/2 cup finely chopped apricots, dried apple slices
1/4 cup chopped nuts, pieces
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9 inch by 13 inch pan, or two 8 inch by 8 inch pans.
3. Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix well.
4. Put mixture in prepared pans and spread evenly and press down.
5. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and cut into squares while still hot.
7. Wait until the bars cool before trying to remove them from the pan.
Not only do I think breakfast is the most important meal, I feel that oatmeal is a very important part of that. It is whole grain and packed with lots of healthy stuff and digests slowly so that child doesn't get hungry soon after. Of course I have the best of intentions but my middle son didn't like it and this made every morning an unpleasant experience. Being a fix-it mommy I had to find a way to get my son to eat oatmeal without a fight. I went to the internet and found a recipe that had less sugar and more good stuff and it was for Oatmeal Bars. As you will see you can add whatever seeds, nuts or fruit your children enjoy. The only negative is they are quite crumbly while he eats them.
That was my original post but I have revised the recipe and now find that it does not crumble and he doesn't complain about the large chunks of dried fruit. He is eating them without too much of a fight now.
Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
2 cups 9 grain oatmeal, uncooked
1 cup oat flour (can be made by pulverising quick cooking rolled oats in a blender or food processor)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup packed currant or raisins
1/2 cup finely chopped apricots, dried apple slices
1/4 cup chopped nuts, pieces
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9 inch by 13 inch pan, or two 8 inch by 8 inch pans.
3. Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix well.
4. Put mixture in prepared pans and spread evenly and press down.
5. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and cut into squares while still hot.
7. Wait until the bars cool before trying to remove them from the pan.
The Great Toy Purge
From December to the end of February we have had Fake Christmas, Hanukkah, Christmas, my daughter's birthday, the joint friend party for both Madison and Jack, the joint family party for Madison, Jack and me and then Jack's birthday. Now that is a lot of excitement and a lot of presents. It happens every year and the children get very overwhelmed and start to act erratically and misbehave more. But I started a new tradition last year, the Great Toy Purge, and it seems to calm everything down.
I have explained to my children that we only have so much space and therefore we can only have so many toys downstairs so they decide which toys they will be leaving downstairs and which are going up in the toy closet for the rest of the year. Then once a month they can swap something of equal size for something in the closet. This way they have new toys to play with every month. This also gives my children a sense of choice and responsibility for their own toys. They make a lot of the decisions together as a team and therefore teaches them to work together to get what they want.
It is a week later and I have seen a drastic change in both my older children towards me and towards each other and their younger brother.
I have explained to my children that we only have so much space and therefore we can only have so many toys downstairs so they decide which toys they will be leaving downstairs and which are going up in the toy closet for the rest of the year. Then once a month they can swap something of equal size for something in the closet. This way they have new toys to play with every month. This also gives my children a sense of choice and responsibility for their own toys. They make a lot of the decisions together as a team and therefore teaches them to work together to get what they want.
It is a week later and I have seen a drastic change in both my older children towards me and towards each other and their younger brother.
Awsome Mommy Trick #3: Bag Balm
The baby started getting a diaper rash just before my husband and I went on vacation to Mexico. I tried 4 different diaper creams and it seemed to hold it at bay so we dropped him off at my MIL and when we were away it got increasingly bad so my MIL called our dr and he told her to get Canesten because it might be a yeast infection. She used that 6 days and would leave him bare bum whenever possible to dry it out but there was no improvement and it was BAD. He had ulcers that bled and red bumps from penis to back. I thought well maybe its a bacterial infection so I tried Polysporin for 2 days and Hydrocortisone .5% and again no improvement. I took him to the doctor and he gave us a prescription for a Hydrocortisone 1% and Canesten compound, Maalox in the diaper and we added baking soda to the bath. We tried it for 2 days and again no improvement. Finally I googled 'home remedy for diaper rash' and I came across a posting board for which mentioned a product for Bag Balm
The funny thing about this is that Bag Balm was created and is used to fix cracks and engorgement in cow udders. You can purchase it at large animal feed stores and Lee Valley for gardener's hand issues. The mom claimed that her son had the same rash as my son and she had tried this product and it had started to fix it in 3 hours. Now I was a bit skeptical so I read the comments from other parents and 20 people made the same claims so I bought it ($12) from my local pet food store. I started using it on a Thursday afternoon, in 24hrs I did see and improvement and by Saturday the red bumps had turned to pink skin and the ulcers had improved. Not the 3hr miracle but definately a diaper rash cure I will use again.
The funny thing about this is that Bag Balm was created and is used to fix cracks and engorgement in cow udders. You can purchase it at large animal feed stores and Lee Valley for gardener's hand issues. The mom claimed that her son had the same rash as my son and she had tried this product and it had started to fix it in 3 hours. Now I was a bit skeptical so I read the comments from other parents and 20 people made the same claims so I bought it ($12) from my local pet food store. I started using it on a Thursday afternoon, in 24hrs I did see and improvement and by Saturday the red bumps had turned to pink skin and the ulcers had improved. Not the 3hr miracle but definately a diaper rash cure I will use again.
The Bib Skinny
Bibs are a necessary item for most babies. We all know it but before you have a baby you have no idea what you will really be using them for. So for all those moms-to-be this should save you from drawers stuffed full with bibs you will never use.
1. Cotton bibs - virtually useless. For newborns and infants that spit up or drool this bib easily soaks through to the baby's clothes and usually has to be changed a couple times a day. It can be made of terry material, sweatshirt or t-shirt material. You can get them with back or side closure or pull over the baby's head.
2. Cotton vinyl lined bibs - this is my favorite for spit up or droolers but not good for new eaters because they have to be washed after every use.
3. Vinyl or plastic bibs - Great for new and seasoned eaters that make the occasional accidents because it can be wiped clean between uses and disinfected but not absorent for drool or spit up.
4. Sleeved bibs - Great for little artists and particularily messy eaters but only the ones made of plastic or vinyl otherwise you have to wash between every use.
At this time, I have drooler, a messy eater and a little artist so we are packing the arsenol of bibs. So save yourself the laundry and expense and buy only what you need. Good luck!
1. Cotton bibs - virtually useless. For newborns and infants that spit up or drool this bib easily soaks through to the baby's clothes and usually has to be changed a couple times a day. It can be made of terry material, sweatshirt or t-shirt material. You can get them with back or side closure or pull over the baby's head.
2. Cotton vinyl lined bibs - this is my favorite for spit up or droolers but not good for new eaters because they have to be washed after every use.
3. Vinyl or plastic bibs - Great for new and seasoned eaters that make the occasional accidents because it can be wiped clean between uses and disinfected but not absorent for drool or spit up.
4. Sleeved bibs - Great for little artists and particularily messy eaters but only the ones made of plastic or vinyl otherwise you have to wash between every use.
At this time, I have drooler, a messy eater and a little artist so we are packing the arsenol of bibs. So save yourself the laundry and expense and buy only what you need. Good luck!
The Days of Sleeping In
I remember those days. Don't you? I think that was the first thing that occurred to me when I had my first baby. It wasn't the lack of sleep because I was prepared for that but the choice of what time I was going to wake up. I had and still do have an issue that. Of course we are all controlled by our children's needs but this is the one that bugs me the most. I am waiting for the day my kids can get themselves up especially on the weekends. We all mean something different when we say 'I can't wait till my kids grow up', amoung other reasons this is a biggest reason for me.
Awsome Mommy Trick #2: the Podee Bottle
The Podee Bottle!
http://www.podee.com/
Need I say more.
Today I went to pick up my oldest at preschool and just as I was leaving a very common scene in every mother's life, when you have small children, my youngest starts to cry because he is hungry. Well I couldn't stop to feed him so I filled up the podee bottle with warm milk and gave him the bottle's soother. He finished 3 quarters of the bottle and was content, at least till we got home an hour later and I could feed him a real bottle.
For those of you that live in Canada you will have to purchase on eBay but I think its worth it, especially if you have multiples.
http://www.podee.com/
Need I say more.
Today I went to pick up my oldest at preschool and just as I was leaving a very common scene in every mother's life, when you have small children, my youngest starts to cry because he is hungry. Well I couldn't stop to feed him so I filled up the podee bottle with warm milk and gave him the bottle's soother. He finished 3 quarters of the bottle and was content, at least till we got home an hour later and I could feed him a real bottle.
For those of you that live in Canada you will have to purchase on eBay but I think its worth it, especially if you have multiples.
Ode to my Husband
After a hard days work he travels home
Through endless traffic and the bc dome
When he arrives at the door his children cry
'Come see, come play' and 'We want more'
The sweats come on, the bath is run
and after the book his job is done
His wife makes food and he sets the trays
They watch their shows and talk of days
He wants to rest yet one thing must be finished
He has to clean the kitchen and finish the dishes
He watches his sports and Seinfeld in numbers
Then ends his day with minimal slumber
He returns to work more tired than some
but he works hard so she can be a stay-at-home mum
They love him lots and appreciate for
what he does for them so they can have more.
We love you Daddy. Love your family.
Through endless traffic and the bc dome
When he arrives at the door his children cry
'Come see, come play' and 'We want more'
The sweats come on, the bath is run
and after the book his job is done
His wife makes food and he sets the trays
They watch their shows and talk of days
He wants to rest yet one thing must be finished
He has to clean the kitchen and finish the dishes
He watches his sports and Seinfeld in numbers
Then ends his day with minimal slumber
He returns to work more tired than some
but he works hard so she can be a stay-at-home mum
They love him lots and appreciate for
what he does for them so they can have more.
We love you Daddy. Love your family.
The Journey of a Weight Watcher with Babies
So if you have been following my blog I mentioned that I would be starting my journey again and this is the 411 on my situation.
Weight loss after baby can seem impossible, believe me. I have been on a neverending journey of lose weight, get pregnant, gain weight, have baby, lose weight, gain weight, lose weight for 3 babies now.
I heard from a friend that she is 18 weeks pregnant and only has gained 3lbs. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I gain 3lbs just saying I am pregnant. In 2000 I started Weight Watchers because I was over 200lbs and eating terribly. I wanted to learn how to eat healthy and of course lets not kid ourselves, who won't love to be a few or many pounds lighter. I worked at it for 2 years and lost 57lbs, yah! But then I met my husband and got lazy and I started to fudge my diet a little and by 2003 when I got married I had gained 12lbs back and by 2004 when I got pregnant I had gained another 5lbs.
Through my pregnancy with my daughter and sick and tired and I ate to make myself feel better but 44lbs later here she was 8lbs 13oz and I had only lost 10lbs. How can that be right? Then I breastfed and gain that 10lbs back. After 5months I stopped breastfeeding and tried losing weight on my own and really only lost about 7-10lbs so I went back to WW and lost another 32lbs before getting pregnant with my first son. I was one pound from where I started with my daughter. Again I gained 44lbs and was up to 214lbs when he was born and 198lbs when I went back to WW when he was 1 year old. Six months later I had only lost 24lbs and was now 4lbs up from where I started before I had kids and I was pregnant again. This time I only gained 30lbs but that still put me at 208lbs on the day I delivered my second son and over the next month I lost a total of 24lbs and my son weighed 9lbs and 1oz but then I gained 19lbs back. Can you imagine? So frustrating!
So again back to WW I go. I started at 203lbs again. So I am right back where I started 9 years ago but I am up 3 kids which is totally worth it. I have gained about 135lbs and minus my occasional slip up that cost me a pound or two I have lost approximately 150lbs. And although I am not naturally blessed with a slender body I am aiming to get my curves back. You know the ones we all had before we became moms and stopped being women.
As of November 2nd I have started the WW journey once again and will keep you updated, if anyone cares, as to how I am doing. If anyone is out there reading this and would like to join me, I would love the support and lets face it so would you. Its going to be a struggle with no time to exercise and food always around with my 3 kids and a skinny husband but I am going to work my way back to 165lbs, maybe even 160lbs. So far 7lbs down and 36lbs left to go.
Weight loss after baby can seem impossible, believe me. I have been on a neverending journey of lose weight, get pregnant, gain weight, have baby, lose weight, gain weight, lose weight for 3 babies now.
I heard from a friend that she is 18 weeks pregnant and only has gained 3lbs. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I gain 3lbs just saying I am pregnant. In 2000 I started Weight Watchers because I was over 200lbs and eating terribly. I wanted to learn how to eat healthy and of course lets not kid ourselves, who won't love to be a few or many pounds lighter. I worked at it for 2 years and lost 57lbs, yah! But then I met my husband and got lazy and I started to fudge my diet a little and by 2003 when I got married I had gained 12lbs back and by 2004 when I got pregnant I had gained another 5lbs.
Through my pregnancy with my daughter and sick and tired and I ate to make myself feel better but 44lbs later here she was 8lbs 13oz and I had only lost 10lbs. How can that be right? Then I breastfed and gain that 10lbs back. After 5months I stopped breastfeeding and tried losing weight on my own and really only lost about 7-10lbs so I went back to WW and lost another 32lbs before getting pregnant with my first son. I was one pound from where I started with my daughter. Again I gained 44lbs and was up to 214lbs when he was born and 198lbs when I went back to WW when he was 1 year old. Six months later I had only lost 24lbs and was now 4lbs up from where I started before I had kids and I was pregnant again. This time I only gained 30lbs but that still put me at 208lbs on the day I delivered my second son and over the next month I lost a total of 24lbs and my son weighed 9lbs and 1oz but then I gained 19lbs back. Can you imagine? So frustrating!
So again back to WW I go. I started at 203lbs again. So I am right back where I started 9 years ago but I am up 3 kids which is totally worth it. I have gained about 135lbs and minus my occasional slip up that cost me a pound or two I have lost approximately 150lbs. And although I am not naturally blessed with a slender body I am aiming to get my curves back. You know the ones we all had before we became moms and stopped being women.
As of November 2nd I have started the WW journey once again and will keep you updated, if anyone cares, as to how I am doing. If anyone is out there reading this and would like to join me, I would love the support and lets face it so would you. Its going to be a struggle with no time to exercise and food always around with my 3 kids and a skinny husband but I am going to work my way back to 165lbs, maybe even 160lbs. So far 7lbs down and 36lbs left to go.
Your life will get easier.
You have a baby and you think 'Finally she's here. Lets get this party started' and 24 hours later reality sets in and you think 'OH MY GOD. I want my life back.' It does get easier and little at a time. With every milestone comes a rebuild of your life because lets face it your life is never going to be the same now that your soul is out in the world but it does get easier. This is what I found.
- At 3 weeks feeding gets on track and you get used to not sleeping
- At 3 months baby usually settles easier and starts to be more reactive and you're understanding the signals better
- At 6 months they can sit and can play for short periods of time independently
- At 9 months crawling and is more mobile and less dependant and sleeping through the night if not before
- At 13 months walking
- At 18 months walking and running independently
- At 26 months talking and can communicate what they want.
- At 2 and a half they can competently fetch things for you.
- At 3 yrs they can turn the tv on then change it to the correct channel themselves and eat snacks without making too much mess
- At 4 yrs old they can get food for themselves and play independantly for hours.
With every milestone your life gets easier.
- At 3 weeks feeding gets on track and you get used to not sleeping
- At 3 months baby usually settles easier and starts to be more reactive and you're understanding the signals better
- At 6 months they can sit and can play for short periods of time independently
- At 9 months crawling and is more mobile and less dependant and sleeping through the night if not before
- At 13 months walking
- At 18 months walking and running independently
- At 26 months talking and can communicate what they want.
- At 2 and a half they can competently fetch things for you.
- At 3 yrs they can turn the tv on then change it to the correct channel themselves and eat snacks without making too much mess
- At 4 yrs old they can get food for themselves and play independantly for hours.
With every milestone your life gets easier.
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- CFS Fairy
- A Canadian Stay-at-Home mom of 3 beautiful and awsome golden cupcakes. I have been a mom since 2005. This is the best job in the world but it is sure tough sometimes, don't you think? This is my journey.