I know this is late and the holiday season is over, but I still wanted to share!
I am a Christian, and I want my girls to not only understand, but also celebrate what Christmas is all about…the birth of Christ!
Christmas gets so busy with presents, food, traveling, off of school and schedules, we often (yes WE as in adults and kids) forget what the whole day is about. I wanted to start a tradition that reminds all of us why we are celebrating, why we are giving gifts, and why Christmas is such a big deal.
Each year my girls and I bake a birthday cake for Christmas. We light candles and sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus. Then the girls blow out candles and we eat cake!
The first year I did this I got a few weird “you seriously want me to sing?” looks from some family members, but they are all such good sports about it, and gather round as we sing and blow out birthday candles.
I really think it helps them learn about Christmas. Even Kailani who is almost two will say, Happy Birthday, Jesus!
Christmas decorating is usually one of my favorite things to do…but when you have a little monkey running around like mine it isn’t as much fun. I was worried that Kailani (almost 2) was going to ruin some of my decorations. I still wanted to put things up, but didn’t want to spend the entire holiday season telling her “NO, don’t touch that!”
Here is what we did. First the “Big Tree” problem. I decorate my tree in layers. The top layer is full of the pretty breakable ornaments. I love to look at them, but they are out of reach of both children. The middle layer are the sort of breakable ornaments. Kares helped put these on and feels like a big girl because she can reach them, but knows not to touch. The bottom layer are the soft ornaments made of cloth that cannot be broken. I still encourage Kailani to leave the big tree alone, but this way if she doesn’t listen, no harm done!
This year I wanted to give the girls a tree they could play with. So I made one out of felt (for WAY cheap- under $9). Don’t worry, this craft project isn’t too difficult! (Thank you PINTEREST!)
I cut out a triangle out of green felt and attached it to a piece of white with iron on hem.
Then my oldest daughter, Kares who is 4, helped me make decorations for the tree. We made ornaments, candy canes and presents. It was easy to cut out and then I hot glued them together. The ornaments stay on because the felt sticks to the felt. I put a little box under the tree to keep all of the decorations in.
Now I have a tree that is perfect for Kailani to play with! She can take the decorations on an off a million times a day without hurting a thing. So when she is into the decorations on our actual tree, I don’t have to say “NO don’t touch that!” I simply redirect her to her own tree where she is free to play.
She even liked it so much she inspired me to make one for my two beautiful nieces!
Post it notes…they are one of the most important items in my diaper bag! If you have small children you know that loud noises are scary. As a woman you know that public restrooms are scary. Taking my very small girls to the public restroom…down right terrifying! So it is post it notes to the rescue!
Kares hates when the toilet flushes in a public restroom, it is loud and scares her being so close. Most restrooms have the automatic flushers and she is so small when she sits, the toilet often flushes while she is going potty. After more than a few bathroom trips ending in tears…I knew something had to change.
I use a small post it note and put it over the sensor for the automatic flushers. This way she can go potty, relax and take her time without worrying about it flushing on her! When she is all done, wiped, and clothed, we open the door and I rip off the note as we run out of the stall. It has made the miserable task of taking two children to a public restroom much easier.
What do I know? Why should you spend your time reading what I write? We all know parents are SO busy and time to read anything is few and far between.
I am no parenting expert. I am just a mom who is still trying to figure it out as I go along! (see my bio in the About section here )
Trust me I have made my fair share of mistakes but I have learned a few things along the way that I thought I would share with you. Things I wish someone told me before I became a mom. I plan to write short, to the point tips and tricks that have helped me not only survive, but enjoy this adventure called motherhood!
My first post is about a saying my husband always tells me. When I am stressed about keeping the house spotless, and feel guilty because there are toys all over the place he always tells me, “We live in a house, not a museum!” I just love this saying. He is so right. We do live in a house with two small children, the most important thing is that they are happy and taken care of, not that the house looks perfect.
10 years from now…what will they remember? Will they remember that the dishes weren’t done or will they remember me sitting on the floor playing candyland and dress up? I will choose playing with my kids…EVERY SINGLE TIME!
Only Little Once 