It’s so easy to forget that sharing REAL life is so important. Sharing what goes on in the day to day is what I think helps me connect to you, and you to me. It’s what proves that I’m real, and it’s what (I hope) gives you strength to get through your day. 

Three truths about me this week: 

• I didn’t work out at all last week. Blame it on Thanksgiving or my husband being home or whatever. But it didn’t happen.
• I didn’t sleep last night. My croupy two year old is currently laying next to me and I doubt I’ll sleep much tonight. Because of that, I was a real ***** to my kids today. They watched TV or played on their tablets all. day. long. And you know what? That happens some days. It just does. That’s life. It’s not always perfect, and it’s not supposed to be. 
• hmmm number three. I have no food in the house. none. Well I have like four eggs, and some left over Turkey from last week. And malt o meal. So malt o meal for breakfast it is! 

Me and my croupy baby

I’ve been stressed about money. About life. About what’s happening next. I’ve been trying to make things work on MY time table, and I’ve been neglecting to ask God what He wants. Because HE knows what’s next. He knows where the next meal is coming from <most likely the bank of mom right now.> And He knows. He just knows. And because He knows, and because He loves me, I know that I don’t have to worry. I mean, I forget that, all the freaking time, but I DO know that. 

We finally had some break through moments in the finance department. Our only income right now is my online income, and I’m doing a few different things to make ends meet. Most months I’m able to ALMOST make it. I’m grateful to have parents who are helping us at the moment, but I’m trying hard to be able to increase our income so we don’t have to rely on their help. Andre’s classes are tough right now, but hopefully next semester he’ll be able to work a bit as well. 

BUT. Things happened today that make me really feel like things are looking up. Like everything is going to be okay. 

I heard once that if something is right when you pray about it, it’s still right, even when it gets hard. We prayed about being here, in Colorado, and we knew it was right. We are supposed to be here. And I know that the Lord will and is taking care of us. 

I know I’m rambling. That’s because I’m running on zero sleep and it’s 11 pm. But I needed to write down theses words. I needed you to hear them. 

So thanks. Thanks for listening. 

You’re the best. Thanks for listening to my rambles. 

The post It Always Works Out In The End appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

You know how bedtime is torture with toddlers? The screaming, the excuses, the whining ahhhhh I get anxious just thinking about it. Okay, maybe it’s not like that at your house. But let’s pretend like it is. 

My daughter routinely fell asleep in places other than her bed after a long fight with me and herself before she finally fell asleep. Exhibit A.

Let’s pretend like even when you do the vitamins-brush teeth-pajamas-stories-kisses-prayers-tuck you in routine, it is still torture. You’ve bought night lights, cd players, teddy bears, everything you can think of to make the routine run smoother and it’s just not happening. 

Because that’s what life was like at our house. With a barely 4 year old and an almost 3 year old (and a 1 year old) bed time was the dreaded time of each day. 

Until my mother told me a suggestion her friend gave her. I kind of thought it was silly at first, but we tried it anyway. 

And it friggen works. 

No joke. 

Each night, we still do the vitamins-brush teeth-pajamas-stories-kisses-prayers routine, but I added just ONE little step at the end. 

I lay in bed, or next to the bed, and count to 100. During those 100 seconds, I don’t answer questions, I don’t talk at all, other than counting very rhythmically and slowly from 1 to 100. 

I’ve been doing it for about a month now and it is AMAZING the difference at bedtime. I now walk out of a room and there is no screaming that follows. There is no kicking the door or threatening to lock them in if they don’t lay down. There is literally no fight at all. That 100 seconds is just long enough to calm them down and help them transition into sleep. 

It works amazing for us. 

I’d love to hear if it works for you as well! Or if you have any other tips for a smooth bedtime routine, share those in the comment section of this post! I LOVE new ideas  

The post The Two Minutes That Changed Our Bedtime Routine appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

We live about 3 hours from the airport, it’s a two and a half hour flight, and the another 3 hour drive to my parents. I knew it was going to be a LONG trip, but we decided to stay for 10 days to make it worth it. To my surprise, the traveling went pretty well! I figured that I would share a few of my tips to help anyone else that finds themselves in a similar situation! 

1. Pack light. Especially if no one is picking you up at the airport. I was able to fit all of our clothes in one suit case, and I just had a backpack for a carry on. I didn’t have the kids carry anything. 

2. If possible, get a flight without layovers. Layovers are hard anyway, add little kids into the mix and it gets that much worse. 

3. Back healthy snacks. Junk food makes my kids insanely hyper. That is NOT a good thing if they’re trapped on an airplane! 

4. Don’t pack a ton of toys. In my experience, little kids get bored faster when they have more options of toys. If they know they only have one or two toys, and that’s it, they play with those two toys so much better. 

5. Pack headphones. A lot of planes have built in TVs, which are a HUGE life saver, but not if they can’t listen to them! 

6. If you need help from the flight attendant, ASK. Often times, they are busy helping other people and don’t realize that you need their help, too. 

7. Don’t worry too much about what the other passengers say, do, or the way they look at you. This is huge. Seriously. My kids were REALLY good, but at one point my 3 year old started kicking the chair in front of him. The lady looked back and gave him the meanest look you’d ever seen! Do your best to keep your kids happy, but don’t stress over the things you can’t control. 

8. If you haven’t given them Benedryl before, DON’T! Even if your doctor suggests it. I made the mistake of doing this the first time I flew with my son. His doctor told him the Benedryl would help his ears and would make flying easier. It turns out my son (and many children) has the opposite reaction when it comes to some medication, and he was crazy during the flight. 

9. If you have a young child, consider using a baby carrier instead of a stroller. Strollers are one extra thing to take care of when it gets time to get on the plane. I use an Ergo, but there are many good options. 

10. Whatever you do, don’t tell your kids you’re flying until the day you go! You’ll never hear the end of it! 

If you’re driving instead of flying, be sure to check out this post!

Those are my tips! Do you have any to add to the list??  Leave a comment and let me know! 

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I recently went on a 1800+ road trip with my kids. My THREE kids. My three kids that are three and under. BY MYSELF. Yes, I’m giving myself a HUGE pat on the back for this. I mean… serious Super Woman status here guys. 

But seriously. 

I thought I would write down a few things I learned during that trip to help anyone else who might be thinking about doing the same thing. 

1. Bring TVs. But keep them hidden. If you can help it, hide your TVs for the first few hours. They are the “pinnacle” of entertainment for the car ride, so you don’t want to bring out those first thing. Instead, get in the car and a start driving. No music, no tv, no snacks. Nothing. See how long you can hold off. When the kids start getting onnery, pull out a new CD with kids songs on it. Play that as long as you can. Pray that the kids sleep. And THEN, after everything else, turn on the TVs. 

*note: This will ONLY work if your kids can’t see the TVs. If they can see them, they are going to want to watch them. 

2. No toys. I know. This sounds crazy. But I did the whole trip without toys. Why? In my experience, toys make the kids bored and they want MORE toys. If there are none, you might get a little whining at first, but they figure it out pretty quick. 

3. Stop at rest stops. This one was important for me because with a 3 years old, 2 year old and 4 month old, getting out at fast food places was not a good idea. Can you imagine trying to get them all back in the car when they could be playing on those toys??? Yeah. Not going to happen without a fight. But leaving a grassy area is MUCH easier. So when it was time to eat, I’d pull through a drive through and sit in the back with them while I nursed the baby and they ate their food. Then I’d eat my food on the drive. 

4. Bring snacks that are easy to throw. This is important if you’re in an SUV (I was in a Suburban). I would open up a granola bar and chuck it at the kids. They can’t open their own snacks, so things like fruit snacks would have made a big mess on their ride back to the back of the car. So I got things like crackers and granola bars and squeeze things of apple sauce that were easy car snack. 

5. Take your time. Realize that it’s going to be slow going. But that’s okay. You’re going to get there eventually. 

6. Podcasts. I used the app Stitcher on my phone and had downloaded a bunch before I left. Then when they were watching TV or listening to their music, I was able to listen to something else. 

7. Don’t think about it. Just do it. Think about all the things you’ll miss out on if you never go on your own with your kids. If I can do it, ANYONE can do it. Seriously. You can do it. 

Do you have any tips to add to this list?? 

The post Traveling Long Distances With Little Kids appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

As I reflect back on today, I think about all the things I’ve taught my children in their short lives. My son is almost three. He is so smart, but his language skill hold him back. I’ve been working with him each day for the last few weeks and have seen huge improvements. Every day, he is adding new words to his vocabulary. Sometimes, I am amazed at the words he picked up and sometimes I have no idea where he got them from. Other times, like today, when his new phrase was “Oh. My. Gosh.” said quite dramatically, I know EXACTLY where he got it from. 

He learned it from me. 

I didn’t repeat that phrase with him over and over again like I have other phrases. I don’t even remember saying it directly to him. But he picked it up anyway. I know he got it from me, because I say it all the time. He got it from me because I am his teacher. I am his mentor. I am his role model. He wants to be just like me. From carrying around a broken ipod touch pretending it’s a phone to pretending to make food in his play kitchen, everything he knows about being a person comes from me and my husband and the few other adults he is around. 

My daughter today showed me that she is also watching. She’s only 20 months old, but she already mimics my moves. She was sitting next to me on the couch waiting for dinner to get done. I scratched my head, she scratched her head. I folded my arms, she folded her arms. She wants to be like me. 

It’s not limited to just me. Today when I was doing laundry in the bathroom, my daughter came in, lifted up the toilet seat, and spit. 

She learned that from my husband. 

So what else are we teaching our children?

Are we teaching them that they are important? Are we teaching them that people are more important than things? Are we teaching them that patience is important? That there are consequences for breaking rules? Are we teaching them that love matters, that relationships matter? Are we teaching them how to be good people. Not just smart people, but good people? 

And are we teaching them by our actions? 

Because we are responsible for lives. LIVES! We are responsible for the freakin’ future. I see so many people taking this parenting thing lightly. Please, please, please don’t. Those precious little ones are the most important gift you will ever receive. They are looking to you for guidance. Guide them. They are looking to you for love. LOVE THEM. They are looking to you to learn how they need to be. Be good to them. Because they deserve that. And because that’s what you agreed to when you became a parent, whether you knew it or not. 

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