Hello, My name is Lily and I’m an Apple-Juice-aholic.

Lily is hitting “The Terrible Three’s” in two weeks. (Yes, “The Terrible Three’s”. I don’t believe that 2 is a terrible age. 3 is much, much worse because they can speak and have full opinions.) She’s is now clever, verbal, and able. It’s awful. She knows how to throw a fit, how to move chairs to climb on counters, how to undo most baby locks, and mainly how to get her way. Lately, it all comes down to those damn Juice Boxes.

See, Lily loves Apple Juice more than, probably, anything in the world. She begs for it several times a day. “KiKi, I NEEEEEEDD Apple Juice!!! III NEEED it!” But not just any Apple Juice. No. Apple Juice Boxes. If it comes in any other form she isn’t having it and a full on meltdown breaks out. I don’t stand for this business. The rule is 1 A.J. box a day, if you were a good girl. If we are out of boxes, tough cookies munchkin. But Lily’s dad is pretty typical. He can’t stand the meltdowns. And after Lily refuses breakfast once or twice, usually demanding “mushrooms” (aka marshmallows), he caves and offers up the A.J. box at 9:30am leaving us no bribes to use later in the day. I don’t know how I feel about it or how I’m allowed to respond. Having been with them for 2 years, I have the urge to turn around and say “Seriously?! You can’t enable her and offer up all the goods every time she cries or she’ll never stop. Plus, we need to save our amo for later in the day.” But instead I stay silent. And so does Lily’s mom.

How do you handle the A.J. addiction?

Adventures in Potty Training...

Lily is potty training. Or maybe I'm the one learning something new. We all assumed this would be easy. She gets every other concept. She has full conversations, memories, and can give me directions to her favorite places. How is potty training a concept she wont latch on to? Maybe she is just refusing?

We have tried everything. The weekends in., the surprises for successes, the DVDs, the pull ups, and even sitting on the Elmo potty for an hour at a time. We rarely have success, she doesn't even seem to notice when she pees herself, and she refuses to talk about it.

She isn’t connecting the idea of actually going potty to the prize. She’ll sit on it, wipe, flush nothing, and say its time for a prize. She loves diapers and hates diapers changes. She’ll be 3 next month. I’m at a loss. I’ve been googling all morning and her mother has read every book and article.

Today, I will actually venture out into the world with her in "Big Girl Pants".  Maybe she'll take note of an accident if it happens around strangers.

Who has ideas?

5 Things I learned... From HelloGiggles.com!

I found this wonderful article on HelloGiggles.com (a blog I'm newly obsessed with) and I wanted to share it with you! 

5 things I learned about being a Mom, from Peg Bundy

by Danielle Hampton

Married With Children was one of those shows that my Mom wouldn’t let me watch growing up, alongside The Simpsons and Beavis and Butthead. But sorry Mom, a girl wants what a girl can’t have, and over those years living at home I secretly watched hundreds of episodes, amassing a veritable vault of Bundy knowledge that can be applied to all aspects of life. And to this day, I still get a little thrill when I successfully make it through an entire episode of Married With Children without flipping quickly to PBS when someone walks into the room.

If we’re going on style and attitude, Peg Bundy may be the best television Mom of all time, and I (half-jokingly) can credit some of my Mom knowledge to this impeccably dressed, immeasurably funny woman. In future columns I’ll be discussing the legacies of many other favorite television mamas, but today, it’s all about Peggy.
So, here are 5 things I learned about being a Mom, from Peg Bundy.

1. You have to look good, to feel good. High heels, huge hair, and tight pants worked for Peggy, and they work for me too. On days when I feel like I got run over by a two-ton truck and need about seven more hours of sleep, if I just put a little time in with the blush brush or curling iron, I feel like a million bucks. Even if I’m just hanging out at home with my son, a little red lipstick can go a long way.  And seriously, I’m sure you fellow mamas can relate- it’s so easy to fall into a rut, and taking a couple of minutes to feel beautiful always puts a little pep in my step.
2. A little indulgence never hurt anyone. Now, I’m not advocating smoking here (I think it’s disgusting), but Peg knew what worked for her- and let herself really enjoy it!  For me, it’s dark chocolate and the occasional ice cream cone. They keep me going. At the end of a long day, once my son has gone to bed, curling up on the couch with a delicious chunk (okay, entire bar) of dark chocolate with sea salt is my own little slice of heaven. For Peg, it was cigarettes for a while, always shoes, a new tube of lipstick- really anything and everything her heart desired. Peg always put Peg first, and while that isn’t really my style, I do like to put me first every once in a while. Peg reminds me to do this.
3. Keep your girlfriends close. Peg and Marcy may have had their squabbles, but Peggy knew that when life got tough with the ever-grumpy, sex-refusing, wallet-closing, insult-throwing Al, Marcy would be there for her. Their friendship got them through a lot, and with me it’s no different. Some days you just need your girlfriends, whether it be a long phone conversation full of laughter, or a fun night out on the town. We all need a little Marcy D’Arcy in our lives.
4. It’s never as bad as it seems. Peg always takes everything in stride. Seriously. From Kelly’s escapades with every guy in town, to Bud’s incessant whining, to Al’s crass remarks, Peg knew when to shrug it off (and go shopping!).  On days when she felt like she couldn’t get ahead, Peg always managed to come out on top and realize that it could definitely be worse (but not much worse).  Being a Mom and wife could get tough at times, but Peggy never got down for too long, and truly realized that it wasn’t ever as bad as it seems. Sometimes when I’m feeling not-so-happy I need to remember this. Whatever sad or bad mood I’m in, it would be good to take a look at the way Peg lives her life (some of it at least) and realize that this too shall pass.
5. Laughter is always the best medicine. Life in the Bundy household may be a bit more vulgar/extreme/ridiculous than most, but the common thread is laughter. Sure, my husband Hank doesn’t make jokes about not being about to distinguish my chest from my stomach or constantly put me down for not working outside the home, but we do joke a lot. Laughter abounds in our house, and even when life seem a little dismal or when things aren’t the best, we always seem to find the humor in situations. This has helped us get through many hard times, and being able to rely on the other to make us laugh is the best. My husband is definitely no Al, but we’ve absolutely taken a page out of the Bundy book in terms of infusing humor into our day-to-day.

With that said, what television Moms do you love?  I’ve been known to do a little admiring of Claire Huxtable, and who can forget Vicki’s Mom, Mrs. Lawson, of Small Wonder fame? (She always treated V. like a real girl).

So do tell, who are your fave T.V. mamas? I’m looking forward to discussing more of them, from Roseanne Conner to Mona Robinson (points if you know who that is!).

Danielle Hampton is a high school English teacher turned stay-at-home Mom, living in Arizona. She blogs daily at Sometimes Sweet and tweets too much via @danihampton. Come say hello!

** Click title for direct link. :)

Ouch.

 

In first grade, I was used as an example for “what happens when you don’t wear sunscreen”. I’m not sure if it was the blisters or the embarrassment but I called home sick right way. Before you judge my parents for not applying sunscreen I would like to stop you. They were RELIGIOUS about putting sunscreen on my extremely fair skin. But I had spent the day before at the next-door neighbors, who were lucky if they put sunscreen on once through out the day. I came home looking like a lobster. And even my principle made jokes about my mother boiling me in a pot the next day. It was bad.

20–ish years later I wear sunscreen everyday but I have my moments when I think I’m some hidden golden goddess, like my sister, and I decide to only wear sunscreen on my face. Like yesterday.  Luckily I flip-flopped a lot and only got red in a few places during my 45 minute endeavor. My boyfriend stayed on his back the whole time and his stomach now resembles a tomato. This got me thinking about my younger days. And  home remedies. Especially ones’ safe for children.

In the Florida Keys, my dad used to break open an aloe plant and rub it on me but that isn’t exactly applicable in other parts of the country. So here are the remedies I’ve gathered.

• Vinegar seems to be a common thread. You can rise off and pat you or your child’s body dry and then put vinegar in a spray bottle, with or without cool water to lighten it up. The vinegar relieves the sting of the sunburn and helps with the inflammation.
• Plain or even chamomile tea bags come in handy as well. Steep a few bags, cool them off in the fridge, and then you can either spray the ice tea on the burn, apply a tea-soaked cool towel, or even step into a tea bath. For children I would suggest the spray bottle or the bathtub. The less you have to touch the skin the better!
• Cool washcloths soaked with milk. Rinse off within an hour. Otherwise the milk will start to smell a little funky. (I just saw this method used on Tabitha’s Salon Takeover after a “beautician” burned the bejeezus out of a lady’s eyebrows. It seems soothing.)
• Vitamin E is also helpful! I have the liquid version in our home. So we both took a few drops of it to helps the skin heal. I use Nature’s Bounty, which actually taste good. It has a slight lemon flavor to it. You can mix it with water or even juice if your child won’t allow you to drop it in their mouth directly. 
• This isn’t an exactly “natural” solution but I use Neosporin Wound Cleanser for Kids on my burns and wounds. There is no sting involved, which makes cleaning out wounds and burns easier for everyone involved, regardless of age.

Leave it to Martha...

Leave it to Martha Stewart to come up with not 1 but 28 summer craft ideas for kids!

Here's the link :)

Bottle Fairy!!

Lily is turning 3 next month, and while doctors have told us she probably should have ditched the bottle a while ago, we pick our battles. She only has a bottle 3 times a day; one when she wakes up, one at nap time, and one before bed. It’s made life simpler for a while but she obviously can’t be on the bottle forever. So! her mother has come us with a genius plan.

Enter: Bottle Fairy!

On Friday night, Lily will have her last bottle of milk. She will clean it and place it in a box with all of her other bottles, and go to bed. When she wakes up in the morning, the bottles will be gone and a prize will be left in their place.

It’s similar to the tooth fairy (or Santa) and helps ease the pain of loosing her dear bottles. Hopefully, it will go swimmingly. I’m sure I’ll hear “Kiki, I need a booootttle” a few more times but I have high hopes for this fairy and her career.  

* Apparently Lily's mom did not invent the Bottle Fairy, BUT I still think it's genius!

Home is Where ever I'm with you...

This is the type of video that not only makes us nod our head while googling the song, but also gives us an amazing look at parenting. This is a newly single dad of two little girls. He sings with her every night as a means to ease the pain of divorce for his child while building and bond and giving her tools and passion. On Ellen he said “his house has four guidelines: Family, Community, Art, and Music.” I can’t think of a better way to raise a child. I’m so grateful that my friend shared this video with me. I hope you pass it on.

Click here to learn more about Jorge and Alexa.

Click here to see more videos of them.

And here to hear the original song!

Lily Starts School Today...

Lily started school today. As a nanny, you may not think this bothers me. You may even think I would come to work and say “Less work for me. Only one baby.” But instead my heart sank and I almost cried. I started with Lily when she was teetering around and now she’s at Mommy’s Morning Out with her elmo backpack and a whole group of new friends. She is becoming a big kid. I can’t even imagine how hard this is for actual parents. I can’t wait to hear about her day at school. I hope she has a blast. That’s all.