Pre-School at Home

In an attempt to try not to sound like I'm whining I want to talk about Pre-School and how my child isn't old enough. At first I was very upset that she wouldn't be able to start school. She's ready. After looking up all the schools in our area I learned that the birthday cut off is September 1. Since her birthday falls two weeks after that she wouldn't be eligible for any of the programs this year.

I even looked at putting her in some of the highly recommended private programs. They had programs with curriculums for three year olds, but your child has to be three by September 1. Bummer. I then considered putting her in one of the Mother's Morning Out programs. I figured it would be good for her and she would still be able to learn in a group setting. Once I learned that the MMO program didn't follow a curriculum I decided to take a step back. I was told that the MMO program offers learning through play and that the three year old school is the first time curriculum is offered for students. So, with all that information... I decided that it would be best to continue teaching Savannah at home.

She already participates in activities. We go on play dates and I plan to start taking her to a weekly playgroup once the older kids here go back to school. There is also a program here called Ready Set Learn that's pretty awesome. It's a pre-school type class that meets once a week. We'll be starting that too. My goal is to have her doing something learning related every day. Between the resources that I have available to me thru play groups and Ready Set Learn, her dance class and the activities we'll be doing at home I feel pretty confident in my decision to not put her in a MMO program. Why would I pay for her to go somewhere twice a week when I can get that same learning environment for free? 

I have already started collecting our supplies for our at home learning days. Of course I've been on Pinterest looking up different activities too. I also found a book on Amazon I plan to use as a guide along with a book that I've had since I was a child. I think this will be a good start for us. Here are some of the supplies we have so far. I've been getting paper bags for my groceries for arts and crafts. I love the Leap Frog Learning Skills books for handwriting and worksheet style activities. There are still some things I need to get but I think this is good for now. We already had crayons, paint, playdough, chalk and lots of other art supplies so I didn't have to get much of that. I do however need to stock up on more crafty items like beads, pipe cleaners, colored tissue paper and all those types of materials.

How did you go about getting your little one ready for Pre-K and Kindergarten? 

31 Days 31 Photos 31 Stories of My Favorite Things

Here are my photos for the My Favorite Things photo challenge from over the weekend.

Day 3: Food

I am a sushi lover. I consider to be a social food. Something you can enjoy with others before a meal or late at night with drinks. When we were living in DC sushi was one of my regular lunches. I had to have it at least once a week.

Day 5: Shoes

I don't have a favorite pair of shoes so I decided to share the shoes I wore on Sunday. I've had these gold Nine West sandals for years. I love them. They're the right amount of gold and sparkle.

Day 5: Person

I couldn't pick just one so I included my entire family for today's photo. I am so lucky to have such a funny little family. I can not believe Sav will be three next month and little man is already almost two months old. Time is flying!

- posted from my chic iPhone

31 Days 31 Photos 31 Stories of My Favorite Things

Happy Friday! I'm participating in the My Favorite Things photo challenge. This photo challenge was created by the writer of the blog Inspired By Beatrice Clay. She writes a beautiful blog about truth and pretty things. I also follow her on all social media and her Pinterest is to DIE FOR! You will swoon and drool and gasp over her findings. Please join me in this photo challenge. Leave your Instagram name in the comments if you decide to play. Visit her blog for all the details on the challenge. She's giving away goodies to some of the lucky players.

Day One: Self Portrait

Here I am in all of my fresh faced splendor. I don't normally wear make up to play dates. Mainly because it's over 100 degrees here in San Antonio every day. It's too hot to have your face beat to the heavens. So. This is the real me with a splash of an Instagram filter. 

Day Two: Color (Black)

I can not express how much I love the color black. I gravitate towards it whenever I'm shopping. I have to make a conscious effort to choose colors and prints. Even though I love color I just can't escape my love for black. Black with gold accessories. I could wear it everyday. I have even considered having an all black Fall/Winter. Just because I love it so much. We'll see. The jury is still out on that. I don't want my husband to think I'm going through a dark phase. I might just do it.

Video Diary 7312013

I wanted to share my plan for getting back into shape after the baby. I am going to attempt to use the same plan that I used after having Savannah. My goal is to be in great shape by the time I turn thirty in February. I don't have a goal weight or size. I just want to feel good and be as toned as possible without looking like a body builder. 

Ab Workouts

This app makes you watch a twenty minute video before you're able to do any of the work outs. That was kind of irritating but it might be helpful to you. 

Nike Training Club

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this app! There are several workouts to choose from within the different categories. Each workout is broken down into minutes. I like that feature because I can break down the work outs if I'm short on time. You can also try the workouts in the Get Focused category if you need a shorter workout. Those workout target a specific area for about 15 minutes. This app works. Trust me. I  used it after I had Sav and I had some really great results. 

What are some of your favorite ways to workout?

The Thing About Parenting That Surprised Me The Most...

*I have received product or compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

Today I wanted to take some time to reflect on what surprises me the most about being a Mom. All your life you hear these stories about parenting. You might hear a parent with a new baby talk about the sleepless nights. You might hear a Mom or Dad talk about having to drive around the block all night to get their little one to sleep. Since I grew up with a baby in my home I was pretty familiar with babies. 

What I wanted to talk about today were the little things that have surprised me. The stuff I didn't grow up hearing about. The stories that don't necessarily get told all that often. For starters, I am very surprised at how selfless you become once you become a parent. I've heard this before but no one ever made the degree of selflessness that clear to me. I remember when there was a day when I'd shop and shop and shop. Ever since I became a parent I don't have the desire to buy things the way I did before. Of course I still love trend watching and treating myself to something every now and then but I have to make a conscious effort to shop for myself. I want to do things for myself and take time out for myself but the truth is whenever I do have free time I use it to do something fun with my kids. Being selfless goes far beyond these two examples but you get where I'm going...

I'm also way more cautious than I've ever been in my whole life. I've never been so aware of how to prevent something from happening. Before I had kids I don't remember using sunscreen unless I was at the beach. Now I'm rubbing everyone down before we leave the house and then spraying everyone every two hours while we're out. Since babies have sensitive skin I've already started thinking about rubbing a little diaper rash ointment on Baby M's bottom at night to prevent diaper rash. I would hate for him to have any discomfort. I plan to use Dr. Smith's diaper rash ointment for long car rides and overnight sleeping. We'll be going to the beach in September and I've already started gathering things for water safety and researching baby tents for the beach. These are some of the little things that surprise me about parenting. There are so many little things you'll do just to prevent something else from happening. From choosing the right car seat to finding the perfect beach tent I'm so much more cautious then I ever thought I would be.

Another thing that surprises me about parenting is how much it has made me appreciate my own parents. Before I became a Mom I don't think I ever really thought about how hard it must have been for my parents to raise my brothers and I. I had a great childhood but I'm sure it came with some sacrifice. I think about my parents in a completely different way now. I am so much more understanding. Now I know for sure that everything they did for me (whether I liked it or not) was done out of love and in consideration of my well being. I am so much more appreciative of every time they told me no or changed my curfew. For every Christmas and family vacation. I can definitely get where they were coming from. 

What has surprised you the most about parenting?

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How to get through the next day after a Sleepless Night...

I can barely keep my eyes open to type this post. That's how sleepy I am. You know how it is with a newborn. They sleep all day and you get minimum sleep at night. This is the part you forget about when you see that positive pregnancy test.

So far this week I think I have gotten maybe a combined total of ten hours of sleep. Yep. You read that right. I think I've slept for about three hours a night this week. Not complaining, just stating the facts. Baby M wakes up every few hours to be fed and changed. That's to be expected. What I didn't expect is for Savannah to start waking up during the night. You remember all the hard work I did to get her to sleep all night after we moved to Texas? Well. This week has been a recurring nightmare of those days.

I think she's a light sleeper like me so she wakes up if she hears the baby crying too loudly. Not only does she wake up but she gets out of bed and comes to check on him. Sweet, right? It wouldn't be if you were me. Last night they were both up for a while and I had this feeling of defeat. They were beating me at my own game. No worries though. I have a game plan that will put an end to all of this night waking. More on that later...

I have been amazed at how easy it's been to still get through the days while I'm past tired. Here are some tips that I've found very useful. Thank you for everyone that made a suggestion via our Facebook page....

~ Stay Busy

As crazy as it sounds staying busy when you're exhausted helps the time fly by. You won't feel as sleepy if your occupied by another task. This is my go-to method for getting through the tired days after a sleepless night. I clean, cook or take the kids out. It helps keep that sluggish feeling at bay until you can actually sleep.

~ Drink lots of water

This may not be true for everyone but drinking ice cold water throughout the day keeps me alert. I have been doing pretty well staying off of caffeine. Caffeine tends to make me feel less energized, or maybe it's the crash from the sugar in a soda. At any rate drinking water has done wonders for my energy level.

~ Sleep while the baby is sleeping

Everyone has heard this. Unfortunately, I've never been a good napper. Napping actually has the opposite effect on me. If you are a person that does well with naps try sleeping when your baby does. Since Sav doesn't take naps anymore I can't sleep during the day, but if you're able to do it GO FOR IT!

~ Don't feel pressured by your checklist

If you're like me you feel the need to get things done during the day. When you're super tired throw that list in the garbage. Take your time getting things done. Ease into your day. Don't rush it. If you can get a load of laundry done, great! If you can't, don't sweat it. Try to keep your day as calm and carefree as possible. Staying in a relaxed state will keep you from exerting more energy. I take the pressure of cooking dinner off of my plate when I'm really tired and it helps me.

~Rest when you can

Try doing some stationary activities with your kids. Read books, color, paint or work on some fine motor skills if they're old enough. If you have a child that will watch a movie throw one on. Even if you can't sleep just sitting and resting does wonders.

I use all of these during the day to help me stay mentally sane after a sleepless night. It's not easy but you can do it. As soon as both kids are asleep at night I go to bed too. A couple hours of sleep is better than no sleep at all.

What are some of your tips for getting through the day after a sleepless night?

Video Diary 7232013

This video is a little bit (or maybe a lot) of a rant. Hopefully it helps someone or maybe it will give you a good laugh. Enjoy! 

What are some of the things you get from strangers while out? Share them in the comments!