Simple Parenting

My favorite items and tips to make parenting simple. Bring it back to the old days in the shade. Our houses weren't overrun with artificially dyed foods and toys, plastics and microwaves, and we were better off for it. I feel that our children can benefit from that lifestyle and it also helps ease the second-to-second rush that rule our lives. These are a few of my favorite products for baby #2.

1. Read more. Of course there are some parenting styles or practices even in the best books, that just won't gel with yours. So pick the ones that work, and leave the rest. Never feel that there is one "right" way to do anything, let alone parent a child. It is a constant journey of self discovery and trial-and-error, but just the fact that you are seeking ways to improve on parenting, shows how much you care about the development and well-being of your child. Kudos! Some great books on simple parenting: Trees Make the Best Mobiles and The Happiest Baby on the Block

2. Learn what your baby needs: A great system for this is the Dunstan Baby Language System. It teaches how to understand the five cries your baby uses to tell you what they need. This is the most amazing discovery EVER and it truly helps eliminate frustration especially in those early months when you and baby are still getting to know one another.

Dunstan Baby Language -- Learn the universal language of newborn babies

3. Music-Rockabye Baby: I was thoughtfully given this as a gift when we first found out we were pregnant, by one of our really good couple-friends. MY husband is in a band (The Mission Veo) so it goes without mention that we are rather interested in music. This lovely couple purchased the compilation CD of instrumental versions of favorite rock songs. It is beautifully orchestrated so that baby will be soothed into slumber, and also fun for adults to try and guess which band is being covered. There are many of these CD's where each one is devoted entirely to the songs of one band, and thus your baby can jam out to the gentle tunes of Nirvana, U2, Pink Floyd, or my favorite- The Cure. Nobody wants a baby with poor music taste, so let your kids get ahead of the peer group.

Rockabye Baby! Good Day, Goodnight: The 5 Year Anniversary Compilation



4. Moby Baby Wrap/ Baby K'tan: Wearing your baby has more benefits than one would think.
 According to Dr. Sears, babies who are  "worn" are smarter, more attached, less fussy and learn human interactions better than those who are not.
While baby-wearing has gained popularity in Western cultures recently, it is an age old tradition in many areas of the world. I grew up in South Africa, where it is customary for the black women to strap their babies onto their back whilst they work or go about their business. We had a cleaning lady/nanny who was like a second mom to me, and I remember being very young and being strapped to her back, abd how soothing it was to hear her singing and the vibrations her voice made. I would fall asleep to the constant rocking motion.  Some more information on baby-wearing around the world: (Courtesy of www.slingbabies.co.nz)

• For instance Mexican people use the Rebozo, which is a square of woven cloth tied over one shoulder with baby usually on the back- sometimes called a Chal, depending on the length.
• Peruvians have a Manta which sits over both shoulders like a cape, and baby sits high on mother's back. 
• Guatemalans use Parraje- similar to a Rebozo.
• European mothers used a mixture of pouches, wraps and short cloth carriers.
  
• Alaskan/Canadian people have the Amauti which is a very thick arctic jacket with a baby 'pocket' in the back, baby even fits under the over-sized hood!
• Papua New Guinea mothers use a Bilum- a net bag held at the forehead with baby hanging at the back (very strong necks!) 
• Indonesian mothers use a Selendang which is a long ornate wrap.
• Aboriginal mothers used to keep their babies in carriers made of bark, similar to the cradleboards used by Native Americans but without the cloth covering. 
• Asian mothers use a variety of carriers including Mei-tai /Hmong/ Bei(China), Onbuhimo (Japan), Podaegi (Korea) plus many use a 'carrier' of long straps which go under baby's armpits and thighs for back carries. 
• African mothers use a 'Khanga' which is a short-ish piece of cloth tied around the torso, so baby sits low on the back.  

My two favorite baby wearing slings are: The Moby wrap
   

Moby Wrap Original 100% Cotton Solid Baby Carrier, Chocolate

And the K'tan: $49.99-59.99.

Baby K'tan Original Baby Carrier, Black, Small

I would love to hear what your favorite baby products are, so send me an email, or post a comment.
And keep your parenting as simple as possible!


Love and lightness,
Kerry, the Momster

Sweetest School Support

Can you believe "back-to-school" time is here already? Now that I am no longer a teacher, I can join the other moms and dads and be ecstatic for this wonderful time of year!!

 As a little back to school treat I am making these candy bars for my daughter. They are encouraging and so sweet (hehe excuse the pun!). I found them over at Sugar to Designs and the printable is free.

Go ahead,sweeten up your little scholar's day. :) 

 Love and lots more free time, Kerry, the Momster 

Kiwis and Kids and Krafts

This is such a fantastic idea, that I wish I had come up with it! For busy moms, no need to stress about whether you are being creative enough, or doing enough arts and crafts with your kids, the wonderful people at KiwiCrate.com do it for you.

Each month you receive a box with all the supplies, materials and instructions for easy, exciting and enriching activities. Aimed at ages 3-7 yrs, many can be done alone, but they are so fun you will probably beg to participate. You can sign up for monthly deliveries ($19.95), or buy a gift for someone for just 1,3, or 6 months. And to add siblings it's just $7.99. Each project is designed with children's healthy development and learning in minds, and list the areas of growth such as: Creating, discovering, gross motor, fine motor, communicating and caring.This is the perfect gift for the child who has it all!

Sample Box 

Dig Into Dinosaurs

Project One

Fossil Fun

Create your own fossils using special clay, sticks and dinosaurs.

Project Two

Stompy Dinosaur Feet

Design and make your own special dinosaur feet. Perfect for stomping.

Project Three

Dinosaur Tail

Decorate and wear a dinosaur tail, a perfect complement to your dino feet.

Plus 

 

Kaylee can't wait for her box this month. It is a Wild Safari theme. We will post pics of the journey :)

Order through here for $10 off 

 Love and exploration,
Kerry the Momster

Best Pie Dough Recipe on Earth

Here is my special pie dough recipe I use, from my mother, who got it from her old high school ec. teacher.:


Pie Dough/ Pastry

(500g) 2 cups cake flour
(250g) 1 cup milk or margarine- cold
1/2 tsp salt
60 ml cold water
15 ml vinegar or lemon juice
1 egg yolk

Beat all liquid ingredients together.
Cut into flour, and rub till it resembles bread crumbs.
Now roll/cut and use to your hearts desire. (I use it for mince pies mmmmm)

200C (about 380 F) till brown

Love and sugar,
Kerry the Momster

Capsualized:Wrapping up the year

As a fun family project for the end of the year, we created a family time capsule. It was a lot of fun to sit around and rehash the years activities and events, and we all had some input.

Creating the time capsule is quite simple and can be as complex or sparse as you want it to be. We used a box and added items to it. Each year I label a box (shoe box or whatever) with the year and stick it up in our office. As the year progresses I toss ticket stubs, hotel keys, brochures of places we go, random photos, funny quotes my daughter says,plane tickets, artwork and anything else I feel might be good to preserve. It's what I call my "lazy mommy's scrapbooking". So on New Years Eve we all sat around and pulled everything out of the box and talked about all the fun things we did. 

Questions we asked each other and wrote the answers for our time capsule:

• Favorite song right now
• Best item bought/gifted this year
• People we like to hang out with
• Best holiday of the year
• Hobby
• Biggest news headlines of the year
• Proudest accomplishment this year

We added a dollar (money changes over time), a grocery store ad ( its fun to see the price of everyday items years from now) and some more photos. We decided that we will open the capsule in 10 years. Although my daughter enjoyed making it so much, that she wants to make another one and open it tomorrow. (I don't think that she quite grasps the pint of it all yet, hahha)

Remember this is yours, so keep it personal and try to capture a "moment in time".

Love and memories, 

Kerry the Momster

Here are a few more ideas of what to put in them, from ivillage.

Inventory

Happy New Year!!


The end of another year and the beginning of a new one. I love New Years day.A time to wipe the slate clean, to set goals, a whole 365 days of opportunity!

There are the usual goals I have for the year: eat healthy, exercise more, sleep more, read, get organized, spend time with the important people in my life, calm my temper.... But there is one major resolution this year that will (hopefully) be the forefront of all my decision making and actions.

Buy less, do more!

As Stephen Wright said, "You can't have everything... where would you put it?" I have reached my wits end in acquiring,maintaining, organizing "stuff". 

Most of my resolutions fall under this statement, and I will make this my mantra. Mostly I hope to finally step off the consumer treadmill I have been on for the past few years. To disengage from media influence, to appreciate that which I have, to reclaim my time and place more value where value is due.

This is a big endeavor for me, so I have enlisted my husband to the cause. I dont expect to go as extreme as my influencing  Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping author, Judith Levine. But I do hope to fall out of love with "stuff" and find my highs in places other than department stores. 


This post also serves as a forewarning to all our friends and family that this year we may not be purchasing gifts, but will be making, baking or forsaking gifts. Please feel free to do the same and join us in our crusade to reduce, reuse and recycle. Some ideas:

• Reuse food plastic containers
• Reuse plastic bags
• Buy second-hand
• Buy food in bulk and divide it yourself (using those small containers you have kept)
• Reduce food portions (especially in restaurants where most of it ends up in a bin anyway)
• Buy fair-trade products
• Boycott non-recyclable packaging
• Ask yourself if you really need this brand new product
• Don’t throw away: give it to friends or charity shops
• Use goods until they die

 Our rules are simple really; buy only needed items-food, household products and children's needs but nothing frivolous (which unfortunately for me includes new clothing which I foresee being the hardest element in this endeavor). Buy second-hand when possible, borrow, rent or make do. Not so difficult right? I truly believe that every single person has the ability to change the world!


Some interesting reading:

Paying the price

Time to address...

Consumption

Every man is rich or poor according to the proportion between his desires and his enjoyments.

-Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

Love and moxie,

Kerry the Momster

Royal Babies

We had the great fortune of taking a family cruise to Mexico recently. While it was 5 days, it was still too short, and I would have loved more time to relax with the family. My little boy slept well after wearing himself out at the pool, my daughter got to see a phenomenal Ice skating performance, and my husband ate so many cones of frozen yogurt that I'm surprised he can still feel his face. I got to shop and read ( a book!!) and see some Mayan Ruins in Mexico.

Royal Caribbean Cruise line definitely makes for some wonderful family time on their ships, and so I have compiled a list of pros and cons regarding traveling with kids on their line.I would HIGHLY recommend this cruiseline, specifically this ship! We were on the Liberty of the Seas:

Pros:

• Excellent Childcare (free for ages 3 and above)- my six year old didn't want to leave the play area, and because it's separated by age groups, the activities can be tailored specifically.
• Partner with Dreamworks and Fisher price and Crayola for lots and lots of activities onboard.
• The infant childcare is so great! All childcare staff have Bachelors in Education.
• A fun looking kiddie splash area
• Early dinner time
• Attentive staff who try to cater to the kids
• Lots of menu options for picky eaters
• Cribs available on board
• Lots of shows and fun activities for the whole family- Cupcake decorating lessons anyone?
• Dreamworks Character breakfasts, parades and meet and greets
• Fisher Price Toy lending program for babies 
• Wave Simulator, Rock wall and lots of other activities for older kids
• Room service available 24 hrs a day, and eating pretty much day round, so no worries if you miss a mealtime.

Cons:

•  Childcare for under 3 costs $8/hr
• No baths for babies in room- can only shower them.
• Most evening activities start too late for children to participate in
• Childcare fills up fast
• Paper-thin walls to the hallway-not good when teenagers decide to run up and down hallways at all times.
• When babies nap there isn't much to do in the rooms (Movies were $11.99 each to watch on Tv!!)
• Drinks are pricey (this is a con for the parents!)
• Room Service has very few choices.

Hope this helps you decide whether cruising is right for you with kids. Also note that these cons do apply to most other cruise lines too.

If you are interested in booking a cruise, I recommend contacting Theresa Watson. She is a vacation planner and was a great help on Royal Carribbean, and makes sure you know all your options, and services ahead of time.Office: 800.859.7225 Ext 13205 • Hours:  Tuesday - Saturday  11 - 8  EST 
Email: twatson@rccl.com  
Love and travel,
Kerry the Momster

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, me up!

Gobble Gobble!

My love for cake-pops knows no seasonal boundaries. I wish I could say these were the lovechild of my own creativeness, but they are in fact inspired by the beautiful Bakerella(search for turkey cakepops on her site).

The turkey making station.

Mine were made with the left over cake from my son's first birthday, which I had frozen. Then crumbled the chocolate-deliciousness into chocolate frosting and froze into little balls. The I experimented with various candies to come up with a turkey face I was happy with. I settled on rolled fondant icing for the heads, cracked orange circle sprinkles for the beaks, pink starbursts for the wattles, and tiny rolled up pieces of tootsie rolls for the eyes. The tail feathers are candy corns pushed into the cakes after dipping in the candy coating.

It was a fun little project that my daughter and niece are going to love at their place settings at dinner.

     I am thankful for so much this year, the usual stuff:family, friends, my health- but I REALLY feel it this year. Straight through the heart. As my good buddy Bjork says (okay we are not buddies in the real sense, only in the creepy I hang on to every note she sings sense), "All is full of love."

Happy Thanksgiving Momsters!
Love and grateful hearts,
Kerry, the Momster

Kindness is a verb

Tell me, I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand.~ Chinese Proverb I am working on trying to help my 6 yr old understand what it means to be kind. Contrary to popular belief, this is not something that children are born with and I often see people aghast at young childrens' displays of anger or meanness towards others. All it means is that these children have not been taught kindness or empathy yet. Even at 6 it can often be a hard concept to grasp, as their own impulses and urges can still be overwhelming. According to greatschools.org, these are the social milestones for this age:

Social and Emotional Development

• grows more independent, yet feels less secure
• craves affection from parents and teachers
• friendships are unstable; can be unkind to peers
• needs to win and may change rules to suit herself
• may be hurt by criticism, blame, or punishment
• can be rigid, demanding, and unable to adapt
• increasingly aware that others have may have different feelings

As I have personally witnessed how my daughter internalizes any reprimanding, I know this is not the way to show her when her behavior towards others is wrong. It just makes her feel like she is a bad person, instead of a person who just made a mistake. So I have compiled a list of activities to involve my daughter in, to try and demonstrate acts of kindness:

•  demonstrate it, by never talking about others negatively, and pointing out kind acts that I do
  
• write letters of appreciation to past teachers/friends/relatives that made a difference in her life
• bake cookies of thanks for dance teacher/school teacher and talk about how it will make them feel to receive these
• pick a friend each week and talk about kind acts she could do for that child (ie let her pick the game they play on the playground, or tell her something good about herself.)
• make a backpack for a homeless person, and let her choose the things that he/she might need
• volunteer at a shelter
• draw a special picture for our neighbor (whom she adores) letting her know why she is so special.
• write a letter to one of our sponsored children
• learn about an animals environment and how to protect/take care of it
• teach her to care for our dog (giving her food and water, walking her) and be gentle with her
  
• "catch" her being kind to her brother, dog, relative or whoever and give praise for it
• lastly, I am writing a story for her, with her being the main character being kind to everyone she meets, called "The Kindest Girl in the World". Children love having stories about themselves.

For more ideas of acts of kindness, go to this website. It's fun!
Remember to acknowledge your child's age and don't admonish them for being well, children! But also give them the tools they need to navigate through life with a good conscious.

Love and parenting power,
Kerry, the Momster

Mommy Meditations

According to how-to-meditate.org, "if we train in meditation, our mind will gradually become more and more peaceful, and we will experience a purer and purer form of happiness." That's all well and good, but as a mother of two, working at home, and enjoying a social life, I do not have time to meditate. Even if I happened to carve out 20 minutes a day, there would be so much chaos and noise, I don't think I would find much peace.

But I do have my own form of mommy mediation.When I have been rocking my baby to sleep, and that moment when he finally drifts off. His eyes close, and a peace overcomes me. My heart rate slows as I watch his tiny lips pucker, and listen to his steady breathing. I get stuck somewhere between wanting to finally get things done while he sleeps, and needing to hold him longer.As I sit mesmerized by the beauty of my child's face, thoughts of all the spit-up, screaming, and poopy diapers dissipate. These are the most peaceful, happy moments of my life-- rocking my babies to sleep.

So next time you finally get into the "sleep zone", take those moments to really ingest the beauty of your baby, revel in the awe of motherhood, breathe slowly and smile :).

Love and peace,
Kerry the Momster

hearts for pappap

A little craft we turned into a card for our beloved PapPaps birthday. Made from one of those pixos heart shapes and then glued onto cardstock. The rest is pretty self explanatory ;-). But we like how it turned out. Hope everyone is havinga wonderfully relaxing long weekend!

Love and craftiness,
Kerry the Momster

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Kiddies off to Kindergarten

My oldest child started kindergarten today. A huge step... for mommy that is! She just came home from the hospital, and what's next? Driving a car?? Dating?? I'm not ready for this. Such sweet sorrow, watching your little daisy blossom.
She was completely fine and gave me a kiss and sent me on my way. I did not want to leave her classroom. Infact, I would still like to call her teacher and ask how much of her lunch she ate,does she miss me and has she made any friends? She is easily adaptable though and before we had even left the room had already made a friend at her table, and had located the bathroom, so I know she will be fine. Me? Not so much :(

Here she is in her uniform, cuddling one of her "friends" :

Here she is with her daddy and brother, in her new class, doing the robot, because apparently, this is what you do in school:

Cherish every day, because they fly by!
Love and growth,
Kerry, the Momster

Summer Fun: Little Javas Part Deux

Some people have requested some pictures from my review on Little Javas in Weston, Fl.

Here are some of my little goose on her favorite bounce house at little Javas. It has two slides. There is also a great toddler area (not pictured) and other various bounce houses.

You good girl, you!

How often would you tell your child how awful they are? How well would negative reinforcement work to motivate their behavior to change? Then why do we do it to ourselves? "I am so lazy! I am way too disorganized!I wish I could stay on top of birthdays! I always lose my temper!"

How about"catching" yourself doing something good today!

"I only ate 2 cookies, instead of the bag!"
"I went for a walk, good for me!"
"I played a ballgame with my child"
"I made something creative"
"I put together a healthy meal"


I made this cute decoupage toy storage for my daughter's room which I am celebrating today :). Quite cute, if I d say so, myself!

However big or small, reward yourself for the many achievements it takes to keep lives running smoothly.
"I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be "happy." I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter and to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all."

- Leo C. Rosten

Love and happy, usefulness,
Kerry, the Momster

Take it slow, take it easy on me!

Don't let the things that you can't do stump you doing the things that you are able to accomplish. Too often I find myself getting caught up in the "all or nothing" approach. If I can't get the house spotless, then why bother? If I can't get throught the mountain of laundry, then why start? But it's easier to tackle little bits of projects than to face huge mountains, especially when strapped for time and resources and energy (as most Momsters are!).

I have been afraid to tackle my closet since I moved homes a few months ago. I have had tubs of pre-baby clothes to go through, tubs and "out of season" clothes to go through. My jewelry was a beautiful sight for junk collectors, necklaces that were clumped into colorful balls of helpless looking tangles, earrings missing their friends and various hodge-podge items interspersed throughout the box. Then I saw this lovely idea for a cork board jewelry sorter and just happened to have a cork board lying around and some old fabric AND some push pins. The whole process took me about 10 mins and I love it so much! It added instant glamor to my closet and even inspired me to sort through two (yes TWO!!!) tubs of clothes afterwards.

So remember Momsters, don't feel it has to be perfect... Just tackle little bits at a time, because as the turtle knows, slow and steady wins the race!

Love and steadiness,
Kerry, the Momster

Rain Rain Here to Stay!

Oh summer how we love your lazy days by the pool, your endless popsicles and .... afternoon thunderstorms??

If you,like me are blessed with the Florida sun and showers that can keep children indoors for hours on end, here are some indoor summer ideas:

• Clay animals- even better make claymation films for the bigger kiddos, where you take one second film shot of an animal and then move it ever so slightly and take another still... it takes hours! but you end up with a movie of a walking animal.

• Make a book and write a story- using photos or pictures and can even publish on Shutterfly

• Paint a self portrait- or trace around each others bodies and make clothes out of various textures such as pasta and fabric scraps

• Book store- yummy treats and as many books to read as you like ( even mags for mom)

• Museum- discovery science is our fave

• Recipes from around the world. Pick a country and have a whole theme night! Dress the part, decorate, rent a foreign movie ( just be careful it's not too raunchy!)

• Make forts

• Play Freeze dance

• Bake something new, or invent your own recipe.

When I was teaching first grade I had a little girl tell me that her mom says she is never bored because when she thinks she is, she looks at her craft closet and ideas jump out. Luckily I have never been in a position to feel bored, but if I did it sounds like a pretty good doorway out of it, and it is one Iplan to teach my children: There is no such thing as bored, only boring people!

Love and liveliness in the rain,
Kerry the Momster

\

Summer Fun: Little Javas

Little Java's is a coffee house/play place in Weston, Florida.

Age group: 0-7 There are many bounce houses for big kids and a smaller play area with lots of toys, building items and a slide for the little ones.
Activities: Bounce house, mom and me classes and play area for toddlers, video arcade games.
Selling Point: Lots of "counselors" around helping to keep kids safe.
Food: Coffee and food available , but not that great and quite pricey. I say eat after! (Menu)
Cost: $7 per child that can walk.
Overall: Both children had a lot of fun, especially my older girl. I will definitely be going again.


www.littlejavas.com
2750 Glades Circle suite 100
Weston, FL 33332
(954) 372-0989

Love and jumping monkeys,
Kerry the Momster

Insurance, but not assured.

Insurance.
A simple word that should bring peace of mind, making you feel that no matter what, at least you are covered.
Unfortunately,I have had no peace!
It started with my fabulous insurance I received, gratis, as a teacher. I am covered for every scratch and sneeze, but don't try add a dependent as they charge $377 a month for each child, on the basic plan!
So I didn't add my daughter and paid out of pocket for her appointments, and then I had my baby. I decided to add the baby and resigned myself to to the fact that I'd be paying $377 for each of his first two months as I could not get him on another insurance until then. (Some insurances make you wait until your child is 6 months old before they will insure them!)
Then came my first blow: as I am on maternity leave till the end of the school year, my benefits end when he is a month old. So I said, that's fine, I'll just add him for that first month. They told me no I couldn't because they give me the first two months free as an incentive to add my child to their plan, and I am required to pay at least an extra month or I will be denied his coverage from the day of birth. Okay so how much is my insurance to keep paying for the extra 2 months(my coverage ended when he was a month old, so I would need an extra 2 months of my insurance, plus his costs)? $600 a month! So I would need to pay $1,000 for two months to insure my son.
So because they try to offer me a "Benefit" of paying his first two months of insurance I need to give them $2000! Who is this benefiting?

Normally one could continue benefits through the FMLA leave ACT (12 weeks unpaid leave required), but as I was put on bedrest prior to his arrival, my maternity leave technically started before his birth, and I only got 4 weeks after his birth of coverage.

So we decided he would have no insurance for his first 6 weeks of life, and we would end up paying out of pocket for his hospital costs, circumcision and all his doctor visits.
Now I try to get coverage for myself and my family through a private insurance provider, as I no longer am covered through group insurance. They said it would be $400 a month for all of us. "GREAT! "I think. .. until I fill in the application, and I am denied due to a pre-existing condition. So I am unable to get insurance ever, because of a condition that doesn't even effect my health today! "But what about Obama's health reform bill that covers pre-existing conditions?" I ask. "oh, I'm sorry maam, that doesn't take effect until 2014."!!!

So I will be uninsured I guess, until 2014 and just rely on the grace of God for my health. I better hit the treadmill!

Love and health,
Kerry the Momster

We didn't start the fire....

it was always burning since the worlds been turning! That fire that escalates from parental fury and seems to grow and grow with every whine, until you feel your eyeballs may explode out of your head. News flash! If you get to this point, you've lost the match (I often lose the match, but then I've never been very good at sports anyway).

One of my NY resolutions was to try keep my cool, and not get so angry with my preschooler. It has become increasingly harder since my baby boy arrived, as she usually acts up when he begins screaming, or when I've had a particuarly sleepless night and have no patience to begin with. Today was another one of those days when I was in the middle of dismantling the Christmas decorations, and had to go feed my baby in the other room. I came back to a living room where I left my daughter (which had been cleaned 2 days prior by our cleaning lady) with pink glitter sprinkled everywhere! Well, we can say mildly put, I lost it!

So how do I refrain from unleashing every sort of punishment at my disposal in these moments (hers are: time out,  moving back on her behavior chart, losing a toy, even a spanking!)? This is my new emergency card (Yes it's printed out for me to have close at hand).

1. BREATHE: 3 deep breaths, inhale and exhale for as long as possible. If it doesn't calm you, it will at least keep you from yelling for a few seconds, giving your precious little one time to apologize.

2. DISTRACT yourself:  Just as you do a melting down toddler. Do something quickly for you. A cup of tea, a gossip mag for 5 mins, a great song to dance around to, take the kids for a walk. The problem will still be there to deal with afterwards, but at least you'll be in better spirits.

3. ALLOW: Acknowledge you are mad, all emotions are allowed, all actions are NOT! I love researching, so I guess for me, if I can distract myself from the emotion long enough, then I should look up new ways to deal with the issue: ie sibling jumping over baby brother.

4. DECIDE on which areas and behaviors to tackle, and let the rest slide. If you have a clear view of what is essential and what isn't ahead of time, you won't blow up over every action and hopefully your child won't feel like they are constantly being reprimanded.

And remember, your little human is not the enemy, they are just little and immature. I have to remind myself of this on a regular basis using a strategy I learned from a magazine where you say to them, "What are you, 5?" (insert app. age here) as a reminder that yes, they are only just little and still figuring out how to deal with life. My daughter reminded me of this the other day when I was going off over picking up after herself and she responded sadly, "I'm just a child!" It snapped me back to reality and showed me I really need to be more gentle and forgiving of her actions.

Hope this helps another momster (and her children) on the edge!
Love and control,
Kerry the Momster

Stuff those Stockings

Just a quick post on some cute little things going in my daughter's stocking.
She has her own little tree in her room, so I got her some My Little Pony decorations, perfect for girly-girls who love animals.
Then anyone who knows her, knows her obsession with hot-chocolate, so I put in a little sack of candycane hot chocolate.
Last item pictured is some glitter nail polish by the perfect-for-christmas-brand " Elf".
Of course there will be candy too, and some seasonal lip gloss (gingerbread) and  mini Santa-shaped lotion both from Avon.

Love and cuteness,
Kerry the Momster