The Sunday Parenting Party: Toes, Rules, and School

I don’t know about you, but I love reading the posts that are linked up for The Sunday Parenting Party.  There are so many that are SO GOOD!  How is a gal supposed to just pick a few to feature?  Last week there were posts about karma, grandparents, being a stay at home mom, playdates, coping techniques, and many many more!  I had to pin most of them for my personal use!

Well after much consideration, I found 3 this week that really spoke to me.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.  If you’ve been featured, make sure you grab a button for your blog!



1. Never Say Never: The Tale Of A Fingernail Fairy: Like Mama~Like Daughter – I love the sweetness of this post.  Seriously, look at those sweet toes!  No really, it’s about a sweet surprise this Mama  did for her daughter while she slept.
2. How To Create Effective, Loving Rules: Awesomely Awake – I pinned this immediately when I read it.  It’s a great post about how to make simple, realistic rules for a family.  So need to remember this one!
3. Back to School Blues: Here Come the Girls – This is a story about a little girl who was having a hard time adjusting to going to school, and how one genius Mom helped her handle the change.  She came up with some seriously great tactics to help her daughter adjust.

<center> <a href="http://dirtandboogers.com" target="_blank"><img alt="and then, she {snapped}" src="http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc476/amham27/FeaturedParenting.jpg" /></a></center>

Now onto the Party! Here are a few things to consider before linking up:

1. Any parenting post is welcome. Humorous, helpful, inspiring, or a tear-jerker, they are all welcome. We do ask that no posts about physical discipline be linked though.

2. Please grab a button (on my sidebar) and add it to your post so that others know about the party too.

3. We have a great Pinterest board that we share many of posts linked up. I also have a Parenting Help board that has tons of posts (and followers) that your post my pop up on.

4. By linking up you agree that the co-hosts of the party may use one picture from your post as a feature.

5. Try to take the time to check out the other posts linked up!

Playing with Apples @ The Weekly Kid’s Co-op

Fall, fall, fall…I LOVE FALL!!  While looking for fall fun activities for my family, I found a local apple orchard where we can go apple picking.  That lead me to needing apple activities.  So, I looked at the best place for kid’s activities…the Weekly Co-op!  Let me tell you there were TONS of apple activities.  Guess I’m not the only one excited about fall!

It was tough, but I picked my top 6 to share with you today.  Check them all out...they're pretty cool!

1. Fall Crafts: Coffee Filter Apple Art for Kids – Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

2. The Story of the Apple Star – Come Together Kids

3. Apple and Worm Counting – Loving My Nest

4. Apple Bird Feeder – Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

5. Apples are Not Just Red – Little Moments

6. Apple Tree Craft: Toddler Style – Blog Me Mom

Great Job Guys!  Grab a button!

Simple Water Play

I seriously debated with myself about blogging about this.  You see, it’s so simple and we do it all the time that I wasn’t quite sure if it was all that “inspiring”.  But, I figure that it’s a really fun activity that J loves, so maybe another child out there will love it as much as he does.  And really…I really enjoy sharing fun stuff, and this certainly fits into that category!

So here’s our simple water play.



All I do is take a plastic under the bed box and fill it with water.  I add a couple of containers for him to fill and dump.  This time I added blue dyed fish ice cubes (that melted as soon I added the water…oops).  Other times I’ve add sponges, plastic animals, or cups.  Really, anything works!



It started off simply enough.  Just some dumping and pouring.



Then he went inside, got his trucks, a muffin tin,and a spoon to enhance the play a bit.  Let’s say he got more than just a bit wet, but had a great time! 

This is a great summer-time activity.  I guess we should hurry and do it again before Fall gets here!

Imperfection @ The Sunday Parenting Party

Welcome, welcome  to The Sunday Parenting Party!

My favorite kinds of parenting posts are the ones that show a bit of imperfection.  My reason behind this is because as bloggers we have a tendency to sugar coat our lives and edit out the hard parts.  And hey, why wouldn’t we?!  Who likes to promote their less than perfect self? 

The bad part of this is that others who read our blog assume that our house is always clean, our children are always well behaved, and that we ease through life.  Sometimes that can make others feel like their lives are complete chaos.  Let me tell you, bloggers live in chaos too!

I found three posts that show a bit of imperfection in the bloggers life.  I don’t like relishing in other’s mistakes or hard times, but it’s refreshing to see that others struggle just I do!


1. Sherlock Mom and the “Bird Poop Eating” Mystery – True Aim: What is my deal with featuring posts about poop?  Anyway, this one is about how one Mom found out that she was wrong after the punishment was doled out.

2. Is an Imperfect Mom the New Normal? – Life Happens Then Write: It’s ok to say "Not now, maybe later, mommy's tired... here, have some juice."

3. Mommy Reflections: Yes, We Were THAT Family! – Mamas Like Me: When the night doesn’t quite go like you expected.

<center> <a href="http://dirtandboogers.com" target="_blank"><img alt="and then, she {snapped}" src="http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc476/amham27/FeaturedParenting.jpg" /></a></center>

Great Job Ladies!  Grab a button!

Now onto the Party! Here are a few things to consider before linking up:

1. Any parenting post is welcome. Humorous, helpful, inspiring, or a tear-jerker, they are all welcome. We do ask that no posts about physical discipline be linked though.

2. Please grab a button (on my sidebar) and add it to your post so that others know about the party too.

3. We have a great Pinterest board that we share many of posts linked up. I also have a Parenting Help board that has tons of posts (and followers) that your post my pop up on.

4. By linking up you agree that the co-hosts of the party may use one picture from your post as a feature.

5. Try to take the time to check out the other posts linked up!

Fall Fun @ The Weekly Kid’s Co-op

Pumpkin spice, hot apple cider, colorful leaves, and the cool crisp air of fall are coming soon, and I am so ready!  I was thrilled with all the fall fun activities linked up at the Co-op last week.  Goodness know I can always use some more ideas to do with J and my family.

There were  ton linked up, but I chose my favorites.  There were a few big round ups, so all together I found 172 fall activities to share with you!  Exciting huh?!

 

1. 15 Fun Ways to Play with Pumpkins – Growing a Jeweled Rose

2.  Fall Sensory Bin – Learning to be Mom

3. 45 Fall Sensory Play Activities – Nurturestore

4. Fall Sand Table Exploration – Cute and Peculiar

5. 100 Ideas for Your Fall Bucket List – Creative Family Fun

6. 10+ Fun Fall Activities for Kids – Helping Little Hands

Going on a Road Trip

Hey guys, my little family is about to pile in the car and drive for 2 days back to Texas to see our family.  I tried to schedule posts to the blog wouldn’t sit empty for a week, but other things had to take priority over the blog.  Remember this post where I explain my new priorities? 

Buy print of image here.

The Kid’s Co-op and The Sunday Parenting Party will still be posted, but that’s about it.  Hope you all have a great week, later y’all!

Pregnancy Update

 

To understand more about HELLP Syndrome, click here.

Setting Up a Playroom So your Child will Play with Their Toys!

My son has been driving my husband and I batty recently.  I know that sounds bad, but he has been having a very difficult time playing independently, and therefore always under foot. He wants to be where we are and wants us play with him all day long.  Seriously, he can’t play in his playroom for more than 5 minutes without seeking one of us out.  I know that developmentally it's pretty normal at his age, but it was very abnormal for him…and frustrating for us.

When this would happen before I would rotate his toys, and problem solved (at least for a few weeks).  However, I had rotated his toys not long ago and I saw little improvement.  I also noticed that he’s been struggling with independently playing since we moved into our new house.

One day out of complete frustration, I decided to go ahead and do another toy rotation.  In the middle of it, I stepped back and took look at his environment to see if anything needed a change.   I found 3 major problems with how his playroom was set up.

Parenting Toddlers

I am just thrilled with the outcome we’ve had so for The Sunday Parenting Party!  Thank you all so much for supporting us, and this party, by linking and sharing!

This week the posts about toddlers really jumped out at me.  Maybe it’s because I live with one.  Anyway, all 4 of these are awesome posts that I hope you’ll enjoy.


1. Top 5 Things To do with Toddlers You Won’t Regret – Domesblissity. I love this post so much!    A wonderful reminder to treasure the toddler years, they go by so fast! 

2. How My Twins Potty Trained Themselves – Caution! Twins at Play.  We’ve been thinking about when and how to potty train J.  This post really helped me sit back and relax about potty training.

3. Racing Stripes – Twodaloo.  Speaking of the potty, this is a humor post about poop.  Because what parent of a toddler doesn’t have to deal with a bit of poop?  It’s really funny, but not for those with a weak stomach!

4. The Power of 100 – Prickly Mom.  Didn’t I feature her last week?  Either way, I love this post about how one Mom handled a tough situation with a little counting.  It may not be totally geared toward toddlers, but would totally work for them too!

<center> <a href="http://dirtandboogers.com" target="_blank"><img alt="and then, she {snapped}" src="http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc476/amham27/FeaturedParenting.jpg" /></a></center>

Great job ladies!  Grab a button.

 

 

Now onto the Party!  Here are a few things to consider before linking up:

 

1. Any parenting post is welcome.  Humorous, helpful, inspiring, or a tear-jerker, they are all welcome. We do ask that no posts about physical discipline be linked though.

 

2. Please grab a button (on my sidebar) and add it to your post so that others know about the party too.

 

3.  We have a great Pinterest board that we share many of posts linked up.  I also have a Parenting Help board that has tons of posts (and followers) that your post my pop up on.

4.  By linking up you agree that the co-hosts of the party may use one picture from your post as a feature.

 

5. Try to take the time to check out the other posts linked up!

4 Awesome Treasure Hunts for Kids {Kid’s Co-op}

J’s new favorite game is Hide and Seek.  He loves to hide and have me seek him out. Honestly, it’s pretty easy for me since he’s not all that great at hiding yet, his giggles usually give him away.  It’s so much fun for both of us.

When going through the posts last week at the Kid’s Co-op, all these fun treasure hunt games kept jumping out at me.  I think that any four of these would be a great extension on our hide and seek game.  Don’t they look like some serious fun!?

1. Outdoor Adventures Animal Hunt – Lessons Learnt Journal

2. Frozen Dino Eggs – Atkinson Drive

3. A Garden Treasure Hunt with Painted  Eggs – One Perfect Day

4. Discover the Seasons: I Spy Bottles – At Home with Mom

 

 

Now onto the party!!

Please don’t forget to grab a badge and put it on your post to let others know about the party!

 

Fall Cookie Cutter Painting

I am super, super excited about all the fun fall things I have planned to do with J this season.  Forget summer…Fall is my favorite season by far!  We started off the Fall fun with a little Cookie Cutter Painting.

Painting with cookie cutters is wonderful for toddlers.  It’s easy for them to do and it turns out looking so cool.  J loves getting messy and really likes to paint.

The set up was really simple.  I covered the table with white paper and put some paint on paper plates.  I then laid out the fall shaped cookie cutters.  I also added some circle sponge brushes just for the fun of it.

Painting for J is a full body experience sometimes.  Lately he has really enjoyed painting his hands and making hand prints.

The finished piece!  A few good leaves, a few dots, and lots of handprints! 

So it’s not gorgeous, bit J loves it and so do I. We’ve hung it up in his playroom so he can admire his work.

Now I’m off to plan even more Fall fun!

Don’t miss out on all the fun!  Come on over to Facebook to keep up with us and join in on the conversations!

A Jar, Being Prepared, and Entertaining Kids {The Sunday Parenting Party}

I am totally thrilled with having so many entries last week for our first-ever Sunday Parenting Party!  I hope you found some posts that were inspiring, helpful, and thought-provoking. 

Being a host of the party, it’s my job to highlight some of my favorite posts from last week.  Let me tell you, it was not easy!  I found so many that I loved and wanted to share.  So, I have featured a few here, and I pinned the others to our Pinterest board. 

 

<center> <a href="http://dirtandboogers.com" target="_blank"><img alt="and then, she {snapped}" src="http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc476/amham27/FeaturedParenting.jpg" /></a></center>

If you've been featured, please grab a button for your blog!

 

Parenting Tips: Refill Mom’s Jar – This post gives a great tip for what to do when a child starts calling a parent bad names.  It’s really a brilliant idea!



Be Prepared: Little Moments – A post all about handling behavior problems by being prepared for potential problems.  She gives 4 wonderful tips that you must read!


Am I Some Sort of Clown?: Prickly Mom – Ever feel like your child expects you to entertain them 24/7?  Um…yea, I do.  Read this Mom’s thoughts and struggles with this and how she handled it one day. 


Now onto the party! If you link up, please add a badge to your post (or somewhere on your blog) so that others know about the party too. Thanks!
 

 

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Getting Artsy @ The Kid’s Co-op

I love being creative and J likes making a mess, so really we should be doing some messy artwork every day.  So, I went looking for some artwork inspiration in last week’s co-op…and I found some! 



(starting top left)

1.  Art with Bubbles – Lessons Learnt Journal

2. Paint with Spaghetti Brooms – Blog Me Mom

3. Circle Painting and Injections! – Mummy Musings and Mayhem

4. Kid’s Art – Circles Painting

5. Alex Nguyen Photography – Fall Activity Tree

 

Get Organized: Kid’s Clothes

Kids grow so fast!  All that growing means lots and lots and lots of clothes.  I have bins and bins of baby clothes waiting for Baby #2, and it’s honestly a bit overwhelming.  So, I’ve done some research and have found some great posts about not only storing clothes, but organizing clothes still in use.  I thought it would be nice to share all these great posts with you too!

 

Big Art: The Ocean

One of my favorite invitations to play is big art.  I simply take a large piece of butcher paper and lay it on the floor with some art supplies.  From there the child gets to create and expand upon the project as they want to.  Sometimes I’ll add a basic scenery that they can add to, sometimes I leave it blank. 

Today I made a beach scene for J.



The art supplies: dot markers, paint, markers, glue, sand, and felt stickers.

Books of the Month: David

Every month I share with you the books that J can’t seem to put down.  It always seems like he has a new favorite book.

This month, it’s been all about No David!

I first read the original book when I took a children’s book class in school.  I remember having quite the discussion with my classmates about whether this book set a bad example for children or could teach them how not to behave.  I decided to go ahead and introduce it to J and see how it went.  Well, J really, really, loves it.  He talks all about how David gets in trouble and and the things David shouldn’t do.  It seems to be that it’s not causing harm, so why not allow him to read it.
If you’ve never read the book and it’s sequels, you really should give them a try.

 

 

What do you think about the No David! books?  

Top 5 Parenting Posts and A New Party!

I have a secret….

I’ve been working behind the scenes with 4 other fantastic bloggers (Taming the Goblin, The Golden Gleam, One Perfect Day, and Play Activities) to bring something special to our readers and the blogging community.  We noticed that there was a serious lack of places to promote great parenting blogs.  Besides Pinterest and Facebook, there isn’t a designated place just for parenting posts. 

You know the posts I’m talking about…the posts that you read and say “Wow, that’s exactly how I feel!”.  The ones that bring a tear to your eyes, make you laugh out loud at the hilarity of raising children, or that help solve a certain behavior problem you’ve been having with your child.  These are the posts that truly make a difference in this adventure we call Parenthood, and we thought that they needed a special place to shine.

So, we have decided to highlight these posts by starting a weekly linky party just about parenting.  We will each be featuring our favorite posts from the prior week on our blogs, plus pinning to our board, and sharing them wherever we can!  We hope that it’s a great resource for you and that you find some inspiration along the way.

 

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Since this is our first linky party, I thought I’d start off by highlighting my top 5 parenting posts I’ve come across.  I found all these posts from my Parenting Help Pinterest Board. They each have a different flavor and are special in their own way.  I hope that they show just how vast of a topic parenting can be. 

 

1. On How to Make Friends – Crayon and Freckles. This post is a personal story about one Mom who wants to help her child with something that she struggles with herself.  It’s a beautiful post that is a must read.

 

2.  Toddler Diaper Changes – Parenting, Illustrated with Crappy Pictures. Every post by this blogger is amazingly funny.  Not just a little chuckle funny…a serious laugh out loud funny.  This post is one of my favorites, but I suggest you stay a while over there and read more of her posts…they are great!

 

3. A Better Bedtime – A Mom with A Lesson Plan.  I read this post and thought “brilliant!”.  Such great advice on how to make bedtime easier for everyone in the family.  Great tips!

 

4. Dear Mom Who Feels Like She’s Failing – Finding Joy.  This comes from one of my favorite parenting blogs and is in a fantastic series of “Dear Mom” posts.  I believe that any Mom can relate to this post. It’s one of those posts where you swear she’s talking to you, and she gets it.  It’s like having an old friend comfort you right when you need it.  This is another blog that I suggest you spend lots of time reading.  It’s amazing.

 

5.  20 Ways to Reset When Your Kids are Having a Bad Day -  The Pennington Point.  We’ve all had those days where you need to just start over.  You wish that you could just begin the day again (or get it over with as fast as possible).  This post gives 20 fun ways of resetting and getting the day back on track. 

 

I hope you enjoy theses posts and that you get a little taste of what Sundays are going to be like around here.  Now…

 

Welcome to The Sunday Parenting Party!!!!