Potty Adventures: Introduction

Today Matthew is exactly 18 months old!  Within the next 6 months or so, I'll be starting a potty training series to document our trials and tribulations.  I have no clue how long this is going to go on for, as it won't end 'til Mr. Man is sporting his big-boy panties.  Dry ones that is.  I can say that I'm pretty confident that this will be a learning experience for all parties involved.

This will be my second (& hopefully the last) potty training experience, our first child being a girl.  I've heard mixed input about the differences between potty training boys and girls and I've become a little nervous to find that boys tend to take longer to train.  But, I'm going to stay positive here because I simply refuse to picture myself still changing diapers another year and a half from now.  but I'll still love him if hes not ready by then ;)

Our Potty Adventures series will be a way for me to keep track of Matthew's progress, keep us motivated and hopefully help other parents that are in the same potty training boat.  I'll be frequently updating the blog with progress news and tips that I've learned along the way.  Be on the look-out for our first post: Preparing for the Trip.  Until then, I'll continue reading the millions of potty training resources at my disposal to prepare myself for our upcoming adventure.






Incoming encouragement and helpful hints would be greatly appreciated too!  I'd like to get us through this accomplishment in life as quick and as painless as possible. >>>



Here's to potty training!







As always, thanks for reading and I hope to see you soon!

5 Reasons I'm Excited About Back2School

Labor day has come and gone, fall is on its way.  It's time for the kids to go back to school.  As a stay-at-home-mom, I'm sure you can see why I'm over-the-moon excited but I just had to type up a list anyway.

Today was Lily's first day of 1st grade and last night I was bouncing around the house because I just could not contain my excitement.  The husband laughed and joked that he wished he could be that thrilled about his upcoming day of work.
So, just to give you a glimpse of my world here are  the reasons why I'm super excited to send my kid back to school, from a stay-at-home-mom's perspective.

1. Matthew gets my undivided attention like he deserves.  Lily had five years of undivided attention.  For five years my world revolved around her.  I love the quiet mornings I get to spend with just Matthew - showing him the animal books, letting him chase me around the house with his dragon puppet and tickling him til he squeals.  When I take a minute to devote myself to him I never regret it.  With Lily away at school it's so much easier to show him how loved he is which reminds myself how lucky I am.
2. Lily gets the attention she deserves.  I know  it's been hard for Lily to adjust to having a baby brother.  It's been a year and a half and we're still having issues with trying to make sure she's getting the right amount of attention and that she feels valued.  Its broken my heart to hear her say that she feels "left out" or "you are always spending time with Matthew."  It's easy to push the older, more independent kid to the side when you have a young one that needs your attention more often.  She loves being at home with her brother, but school is her thing.  School is Lily's World - she gets to have fun with her friends and learn - which are two of her favorite things.  She goes to school to fly and soar and grow and I can't teach her all that at home.  And when she comes back, we are both in a much better mood.  In the summer by the end of the day I'm usually in a "leave me alone" kind of mood.  After school I'm excited to see her and hear all about her day!
3. I can get back to exercising 5 days a week.  This is the one I am totally giggled about.  I cannot express enough how great exercising makes me feel.  I've noticed a HUGE difference between the days that I get to spend at least 45 minutes working up a sweat and the days that I don't.  It's my time to de-stress and clear my head.  It sets my whole day up for success, makes me eat better and gives me confidence.  I feel so proud of myself when I'm done with a workout.  And losing weight, toning up and feeling sexy are just the cherries on top!  This summer I had three kids home with me most days and I wasn't left with much time to set aside for exercising.  School time means that Matthew's nap time = Mommy's workout time.  And when Mommy gets her workout, she's happy, which makes the whole house happier!
4. I can eat what I want.  If I want to eat a salad or a whole plate of broccoli for lunch, I don't have to listen to the "ewww... yuck!  I'm not eating that"s.  Furthermore, If I want to bake a pan of brownies and eat that for lunch, well that's OK too!  No more sneaking into the kitchen and stuffing a cinnamon roll down the hatch before Lily comes running in.  I can sit and enjoy that cinnamon roll.  In peace and quiet.
5. The house stays clean.  Well, for the most part.  Over the summer it has been a constant battle keeping the house even semi-clean.  Kids running in and out of the house means lots of dirt to sweep up.  It still amazes me how quick kids can tear up a house in 5 minutes flat.  With Lily gone all day and Matthew still taking a 2-3 hour nap, I am left with ample time to keep up with the cleaning duties.  I love organizing but no one else in the house seems to.  Having time to get some organizing done is like gold to me.  Unfortunately, this is going to become harder and harder as Matthew gets older and turns into a tornado like his sister.  For now, a clean house = a nicer mom/wife

And you could say my 6th reason is that I get more time to do what I love: Sewing, Crafting and Blogging.  Summer was busy.  Now that it's over I want to get back to Simply Salli and devote more time on all the projects and posts that have been piling up in my mind.  

There you have it, my excitement turned into words.  Was anyone else excited about the kids going to back to school?  Why/Why not?  I'd love to hear it! 

Braided Scarf Upcycle

In my daughter's closet you'll find a large box of old clothes that we no longer wear, each piece waiting to be part of an awesome upcycle project (dreaming big over here).    So today I made this braided scarf out of an odd-shaped top that I never wear.  Here is what I did...

This was pretty easy, no sewing machine required.  All I used was a rotary cutter (scissors will work too), and some thread and needle for a little bit of hand-stitching.  That's it!


First, I cut both of the arms into thirds and braided them.  It doesn't need to be perfect.

 I hand-stitched the ends of each braid so they don't come undone, trimmed off any flyaways and cut the tag.

Then I took the end of the left arm braid and tucked it into the armpit of the right arm (at the base of the braid).  From the inside, I hand-stitched the end of the braid onto the armpit seam to secure it.  I did the same thing with the right arm braid, twisting it once around the left braid.

After both braids were sewn in, all I had to do was gather the back and fold it like you would fold a double-loop infinity scarf.

 

Voila!  There you have it!  Recycling one piece at a time, I'll slowly but surely get rid of this giant box of clothes I am hoarding.

edited on 4/28/15