Thankful

I am thankful for so many things on a daily basis.  Today, I just want to take a moment to thank all my readers for their time and feedback.   I also want to say how thankful I am to the local businesses that have given Miss Plan It All, their support.  As I have mentioned before, running a small business is a lot of hard work, but having people around you to motivate you and support you makes it all worth it.    I just want to share what today will look like for my family and I.  We are lucky to have great friends and family around us.  One of  my good friends has invited us to his house for Thanksgiving.  He usually joins us at our house every year.  I am proud of him for wanting to be the host this year and I am looking forward to the food!  I will be bringing the stuffing and cranberry sauce that I everyone loves so much.  I am excited for my boys.  My oldest is starting to understand more and more about holidays and my youngest just goes with everything. 

My wishes for everyone are that you have a great day, enjoy the company of your friends and family and eat lots and lots of food.

Multi-tasking children’s toys…

As a busy mom and as Miss Plan It All, I am constantly trying to come up with ideas to keep my boys ages 2 and 10 months entertained while we are out.  Especially if we are going out to eat at a restaurant.  I pride myself in the fact that for the most part my boys are well-behaved.  But, like all kids, there comes a point where they need to stay busy and they will find a way.  That is why  I figured it’s best for me to keep them busy than to let them find something on their own to stay busy with.  Like, banging the silverware on the table at a restaurant.  Let’s be honest, no one likes that sound and I don’t want to be that parent who is being stared at by others who are trying to enjoy their meal.  So, I came up with a few ideas that have helped us while out in public.  I hope this helps other busy parents out there and if you have ideas to share with me, please bring them on!

Bath books- you know the ones that are plastic and kind of puffy.  These are great because you can easily wipe them down after the kids have smeared food on them and they don’t take up too much space in your diaper bag.  Or if you are like me, in your restaurant bag.  Yes, I have a bag already ready in the car with these items in it, so it’s always there for us.

Bath squirts- these usually come in a themed pack.  I like the animal ones or the little people ones because you can play pretend with them.  They are fairly inexpensive, so if you lose one or forget one you don’t feel bad.  These are great for restaurants because they are easy to wipe down, you can pretend they are eating too which will encourage your child to eat as well or try something different and they don’t make noise.  I recently found little cars.  These are great because they don’t roll off the table.

Place mats- the disposable kind.  You can find these pretty much at any kids store and even in the grocery store.  These are great because you stick them onto to the table.  They usually have characters the kids recognize and kids can write on them or color them.  Another added bonus to these, is that if you have a baby who is teething and insists on gumming the table, you can rest assured they are not actually putting their mouth on a dirty table, that while yes, it has been wiped down, remember it has been wiped down with the same towel all the other dirty tables have been wiped down with.  (sorry for the visual)

Foam letters (the small ones)- I use these in the tub as well to teach my toddler the alphabet and numbers.  Toss a handful of these in the bag.  They are easy to clean and educational as well.  And also quiet!

A special toy- right now my toddler is into Cars, with  Mater being his favorite character and Thomas train.  I keep these in case there is a delay in being seated or our food is taking too long and my other options are not working.  I have not used these often.  They are not as easy to clean because they have a lot of crevices perfect for hiding food and if we lose one, well, they are NOT cheap!  So you might regret it.

Snacks- limit these so you don’t ruin their lunch or dinner.  Usually a few gold-fish go along way or for the baby, the Puffs.  They work well too.  My toddler usually wants the puffs if he sees me giving them to the baby!

And last but not least and perhaps the most important for me:

Plastic rings- these usually come in a pack of a million.  Just kidding, but a lot.  You can connect them to each other and hang them on anything.  These come in handy because you can attach them to the toys I have mentioned above and prevent your little ones from dropping or throwing their toys all over the place.  In order for these to work you have to get a little bit creative with the toys though.  I take a hole puncher and punch a hole in the toys, this way I can thread the rings through the hole to keep them in place.

Of course most restaurants offer crayons and a coloring page to keep kids entertained, which is great.  However, my kids are not there yet.  They will not color quietly and wait until their food arrives. They will eat, break, throw and poke themselves with the crayons, crumble the coloring sheet and throw it on the floor.  So for now, this is what works for us.

Road trip day 5… chicken & noodles

Today my husband asked his grandmother to please, please, please, make him home-made chicken and noodles.  It is one of his favorite meals that apparently only she can do just right.  I was intrigued by this, one, because I have never had them and two because I have never known anyone to make their own noodles.  That is why I love her so much.  This wonderful lady can whip up a meal made from scratch in no time.  I was also very excited because my toddler would be able to eat this meal and hopefully enjoy it as much as his dad.  We took the boys to the park right behind grandma’s house and later put them down for their naps.  I took advantage that the boys were sleeping and went shopping with grandma to Wal-Mart to get some stuff that the boys are used to eating.  Not very many places to shop in where we were staying, so a trip to the store means going three towns down from where we were.  After our shopping trip, my husband and I gathered up the boys and went to the grandpa’s homes.  It was time to let  grandma work her magic in the kitchen. 

Great grandpa pulled out a box of old John Deer tractors that my husband used to play with when he was a child and gave it to my toddler to play with.  His face lit up when he saw them.  He played with each one outside in the what seemed to feel like 200 degree weather.  It did not seem to bother him at all.  In the mean time I was melting and so was the baby.  I had two portable baby fans attached to the stroller and he was still sweating.  I did slather them both and myself with sunscreen even though we were in the shade.  I was finally glad when it was almost dinner time and my husband said we had to go. 

Home made chicken and noodles here we come!  I was so excited.  When we got back to grandma’s house she had dinner ready.  She even baked a cherry pie!  Now this is my type of vacation.  Dinner was amazing, my boys liked everything, (I gave some to the baby mashed up and he took to them very well) and my husband ate so much I think he almost made himself sick.  Spending time like this with family has made this trip very special. 

 

Road trip day 4.. Indiana bound

Woke up this morning in Louisville KY after another good night sleep.  So proud of my boys.  Miss Plan It All, planned for sleepless nights, but they are really coming through for me.  We got ready had our breakfast and got on the road again.  Our drive would only be about three hours.  Which then turned into about four.  Still not too bad.  We decided we would be staying with my husbands maternal grandmother, Betty because, my husbands father’s house(where we usually stay) was already full with guests.  My husband’s sister was already staying there.  I was looking forward to staying with grandma Betty because she is an amazing cook and I knew it would really make her happy to have a house full of guests.  Especially two little guests in particular. 

After settling in at grandma’s we headed to my husband’s fathers house for a cookout.  I knew my toddler would be loving the scenery and all the land around him to roam.  I say he is my outdoor boy.  He loves to be outside no matter how hot or cold it is.  We visited my husband’s grandfather as well, since he lives close by.  It is amazing to me to see my children with their grandparents and great grandparents.  I did not have either growing up and it is important to me for my kids to be around theirs.  There is nothing like the love of a grandparent.  On a side note, I forgot that the sun doesn’t go down in Indiana in the summer until ten o’clock at night.  This is not good news to a mother trying to get kids to bed.  I said I was not sticking to a schedule, but this was putting bed time way out of line.

Another good day on this wonderful road trip.  Last week, when we were still home,part of the Miss Plan It All’s business included running errands for myself.   I ran all my errands to include little things I knew we could use on the road.  A few of those things  that come to mind right now because we have already used them are: to go laundry detergent perfect for one load and  After Bite wipes-I knew one of us would get stung by something.  Luckily it was me and not one of the boys.  Keep these items in mind for the next time you travel.

Road trip continued: day 2 & 3….

Okay, so I really am trying my best to post these blogs during this vacation but, it is kind of hard.  I feel like I need to hire Miss Plan It All to do some things for me right now.   The only time I have is when both the boys are asleep for the night.  During the day I am too busy doing things with them.  So, here it goes: Day 2 woke up at the Miller’s home,  boys slept through the night for the most part.  I am so proud of my toddler for staying in his bed all night being in a different environment and all.  We had breakfast with our friends and the kids, my husband took our toddler to their community park so that he could play before having to get in the car for another five-hour road trip (with stops in between of course), while I packed and got the baby ready to go.  By 11:30 a.m. we were all Kentucky bound.  Ready to see our friends and their kids. 

We arrived in Louisville, KY at around 6 p.m, checked in at our hotel and headed out to a restaurant to meet our friends for a little while.  My toddler gets shy around people he has not seen or met and now during this trip he handles his shyness by putting his entire hand in his mouth and gags himself.  Oh, it is great when in public and people stare like what is that little boy choking on.  My husband and I know better so we really don’t pay much attention.  Anyway, that is just a side note for those parents who go through similar things with their toddlers.  We make it back to the hotel, get the kids in bed and much to our surprise they sleep through the night.  Ahhhh… this is the best vacation ever so far. 

Day 3: We are up and at em.. ready to go the Louisville Zoo with our friends and all the kids.  Had a fantastic day at the Zoo.  I must say my baby is awesome.  He was so good all day at the zoo.  Took his naps in the stroller and was just as happy as can be.  He is such a laid back and happy baby,  we feel so lucky.   We let our toddler play in the Wet play ground at the Zoo with the other kids.  Of course I bring his swim diapers and swim gear, but don’t pack anything for myself or my husband.  So, we take turns chasing him around the pools and fountains and slides, so that neither one of us would be completely soaked.  So, I decide to help out our toddler get on one of the slides and I got completely soaked by a giant pail of water that they seemed to pour down on me as my son went down the slide.  Ahhhh… it actually felt good since it was about 100 degrees outside.  After the zoo we made it back to the hotel got ready again and headed to our friends house for a cookout.  It is so nice to be at a house that is already child proofed.  Since they have a 16 month old boy who is everywhere, their house is equiped to handle kids.  This ended day three of our trip, back to the hotel, for another good night sleep. 

Tomorrow, we are Indiana bound… stay tuned!