We're Off And Running...Sort of...

My littlest has been working his way up to toddlerhood over the past few weeks. He's been cruising the furniture for awhile now and finally decided it's time to let go. He's still takes the occasional spill, but would rather walk than crawl now!

He seemed to get really brave, very quickly and has even figured out how to climb up onto the smaller pieces of furniture. I'm starting to see the baby slip away and the curious toddler emerging.


He'll be turning one on April 29th...where has the last year gone...

Potty Training Update

A couple weeks back I was asked for an update on the potty training situation.

The truth of the matter is things are not quite going as planned. Stomach bugs and not so nice reactions to apple juice have stalled our progress. However, we keep trying...

We have had one single success in peeing in the potty and well, several messes on the floor to clean up.

It seems he'd rather be naked than wear underwear or even a diaper these days and that leaves mommy with a bit of a dilemma. Do I succumb to the pleas to let him go to the potty (which doesn't actually happen) or do I keep him in diapers awhile longer?

Stay tuned to find out!

Happy Easter

The kids are in bed and the Easter Bunny has made his visit. We have baskets full of small toys and a bit of candy and plastic eggs full of M&Ms hidden throughout the living room.

My work for the week is done and I have all of tomorrow free to spend with the kids. Life is good, sometimes.

I'm keeping things brief tonight, as I would love to see the backside of my eyelids before 3 A.M. for once.

Hope all of you have a very Happy Easter!

Peek-A-Boo!

Well, its been an insane week or so around here and between clients and my real life, I haven't had a minute to update things around here.

I have been quite busy trying to keep up with my ever-growing writing business. That has been on the front burner lately and keeping me up nights.

Also, this past week my oldest finally hit thirteen! My baby is all grown up...or so he thinks. Like it or not though, mama still knows best!

We also had a death in the family last week, followed by another yesterday. Two of my great aunts passed away, both from pneumonia. These were the oldest and youngest of 5 sisters, one in her 90's, the other her 80's, and the first of the sisters to pass on. Keep my grandma and her remaining sisters in your prayers, as it has been a very rough couple of weeks for them.

To round out the fun over here, the middle baby had some kind of viral thing going on, which started Saturday and finally finished Tuesday night. Fluctuating fevers, a little bit of stomach stuff, all around good times. Of course, he shared with mommy, but luckily we were the only ones hit, as of right now.

Here's to a better week for us and I hope all of you are having a better beginning of Spring than we are!

Excuse the mess!

My blog reading over the past few days has inspired me to make some adjustments!

Things should be semi-normal within a day or two! :)

Great Learning Resource For Older Kids

As I have been browsing the blogs in the Ultimate Blog Party, I have noticed that many of the moms homeschool their children. My mother and I share the homeschooling duties with my almost-13 yr old and we're always looking for fun online resources to use.

Today I ran across Fact Monster and thought I would share it here, in case some of you might find it useful. I haven't had a chance to dig too deep, but from what I see, there is tons of information on almost every subject.

There is even a blog section, catering to both gender and age. Looks like a really fun site!

I'll definitely be looking here for fun quizzes and study help for homeschooling.

Anyone else have any must-see homeschool resources to share?

Party Over Here!

Hello! Welcome to everyone who has dropped by for this leg of the Ultimate Blog Party tour! I'm glad to have you here! As my blog is fairly new, this is a bit of a housewarming for me as well. Feel free to leave gifts! LOL

For any regular readers, the Ultimate Blog Party is taking place this week and is a great chance to get the word out about what you are doing on your own blog. You will find some great new reads and also have the change to win some amazing prizes. Check it out if you have a few minutes...or hours, as you'll likely get hooked into visiting some more great blogs!

Of the awesome prizes available at the ultimate blog party, I most want to win:

#1 — Rocking Horse
Provided by: A Rocking Horse To Love

#7 — Bead Dangle Photo Tile Necklace
Provided by: Elemental Memories

#100 — 3 books
Provided by: Jill Norwood

If those are not available, my other favorites, in no particular order are: 124, 30, 140, 107, 59, 60, 117, 81 or anything else that might look like it would appeal to a mom that is being driven slowly insane by her darling sons…

As your hostess, I suppose I should introduce myself. I am a 30 yr old, work-at-home mom of 3 boys, ages 10 months, 2 years, and the oldest turning 13 next Saturday. When I'm not chasing my crew, I can usually be found online, working on building my freelance writing business.

Have a look around, grab a cocktail, and enjoy the rest of the party! I look forward to visiting some of your blogs, as well!

Do Kids Close In Age Have Closer Relationships?

When my middle son was 6 months old, I found out that I was pregnant again. Terrified at the thought of having two babies under the age of 2, I pretty much panicked. However, nearly everyone I talked to with children close in age said that their back-to-back babies were much easier to deal with, as they had each other to play with. Those whose kids were grown said that this closeness lasted their entire lives and the children were each other's best friend.

I was still a bit skeptical about the idea of 2, but tried to remain optimistic about the possibilities of their relationship in the future. In less than a year since my youngest son's birth, I am convinced that there might just be something to all the hype about having children close together.

Though initially there was a bit of jealousy from my toddler, as the baby has become more mobile and interesting, I already see a strong bond forming between them. While they haven't got the sharing thing quite perfected, they are learning to interact and play quite well together most of the time. I think that the experience of having a younger sibling is teaching empathy at a younger age. My toddler usually shows great concern when his brother is upset or gets hurt.

Things were a little tough in the beginning, when the baby was very demanding and taking my focus away from my toddler. Once he was used to the idea that the baby was here to stay, however, things took a turn for the better.

All in all, I foresee a great relationship for them in the future and think that having a close sibling will help them both grow and learn.

It Only Takes A Moment...

I heard a disturbing story today about a mother who nearly lost her three-year-old daughter a few days ago, by leaving her unattended in the bathtub.

Allegedly, the mother left her two young children (one and three) in the tub and went to get their clothes. She claimed to have been distracted by "American Idol" and momentarily forgot that the babies were in the tub. When her oldest daughter went to retrieve the babies, the three year old was under the water. CPR was performed and the toddler was resuscitated, however, as of the last update, she was in critical condition.

While in this case, drugs were found in the apartment and could have been a factor, anyone can become distracted for a moment. The accidents that can happen within that moment can be devastating. Please, do not leave your children alone near water, even for a minute. The consequences can be more than any parent could handle.