Inside Activities for a Busy Toddler

I hate the month of January. I'm all for winter, snow and cold until December 26th, then I want summer. January drags on and on. There is nothing to look forward to, nothing to do and all the holiday stuff is over. This little boy and his momma have been going stir crazy. Thank goodness for my "mom" degree because it taught me a lot of fun things to do with little kids and a lot of them focus on motor skills. I might be that annoying mom that's always pushing education down my kids throat but guess what, he's 2 1/2 and knows his ABCs, can count to 15, learning to draw his shapes, and writing his letters and numbers so I must be doing something right.. Right?!
So here's some easy, and cheap activities to do to keep you and your toddler from going completely crazy during the winter.

1. Paint is awesome. Yeah I get that it's messy and people don't like to deal with it but it keeps kids occupied forever!  Kayden is always asking to paint.  I found this little train for like 2 dollars at hobby lobby.  Also, Walmart's craft section has a lot of little wood things that can be painted for under a dollar.

2.  Pom poms are the best!  So cheap, and you can do so many things with them.  I get out a muffin tin and have him organize them into colors, we do pictures (like making rainbows..), we count them, you can even get a straw out and blow them around through it.

3.  More paint, but this time you put it in a gallon size bag and tape it down so it doesn't move.  Bam non-messy fingerprint! Kayden is getting good with his numbers and letters with this one.

4.  A bag of marshmallows and toothpicks can sure keep this kid busy. Make shapes, snowmen, anything you want.

5.  Like I said, we like paint.  Buy watercolor paint for like a dollar at any store.  I just tear out pictures from his coloring books to give him. No need to buy "special" paint paper.  Just put newspaper or a mat under it.

6.  Our new favorite thing to do- go on a treasure hunt!  Kayden thinks this is the most coolest thing ever. A wipe container works great for a treasure box. Make a list of random stuff to read off to him. I put something random from each room in the house that he would have to think about before running and finding it.  Things like; a comb, a train, a sock.. and ended it in the kitchen with a treat for him.

8.  There is a lot that can be done with pipe cleaners.  I just get out a strainer and let Kayden do his thing.  It's fun to watch him figure out how to put them through the holes.

9.  Playdough  is always good.  No need to go into detail, we've all played with it.

10. Bathtub crayons.  Don't be hesitant about these, they wash off!  I let Kayden use them the first day we moved into our house on a brand new bathtub. It's a good activity during the winter when it's cold.  He draws pictures forever and is also learning his numbers, shapes and letters this way too.

Family Pictures2015/Kayden turning 2!

I can't believe my baby boy is turning 2 this week!  Kayden is the smartest, sweetest, cutest and most perfect little boy!  We are so grateful that we get to be his parents.  I love everything he does, from giving me kisses, saying thank you mamma, twirling my hair when he gets sleepy, singing songs, playing every sport imaginable, to even sending him to time out (because he loves it and it's adorable to see).  

This year for family pictures, I did something a bit different.  I didn't even want to try to start thinking about coordinating colors or go out shopping for new outfits, or try to be all formal- because that is not us.  What is us is that we love sports and we love our teams.  I thought what's better than wearing our favorite team? Um.. nothing!  I threw on my favorite Kansas Jayhawks shirt, Parker put on his sacred Utes polo and Kayd had to wear his "kick goal" shirt (REAL Salt Lake).  

So this is us- the Holt family!

And thank you to my good friend http://www.ourpolka.com.  Eden got so many great shots that I just had to share some!  

Happy Birthday to our beautiful blue eyed boy!

Airplanes & Toddlers

Call us crazy, but we love taking our crazy year and half little boy on our vacations with us.  I can't bring myself to leave Kayden while Parker and I go on a tropical vacation, although I'm sure someday we'll leave him with Grandma just once.  I love having the memories of Kayden playing in the sand in Florida and Mexico, seeing his eyes grow huge as he sees the Kansas Jayhawk mascot run around during a game, and watching him play with cousins in Atlanta.  To me, Kayden needs these opportunities.  Plus he's free until he turns two so why not have him tag along with us?!
There have been great times with him flying and there have been times where I want to pull my hair out, but I've learned some tricks along the way.  So if you're like us and travel with a toddler, then you might want some helpful tips on how to survive.

The Diaper Bag:

- Diapers

- Wipes, lots and lots of wipes.

- Anti-bacterial wipes- the things kids touch on a plane or in the airport is disgusting.

- An extra outfit- because you never know.

- Hand sanitizer

- You'll want a binkey, bottle or something to chew on while the plane is going up or down so their ears won't hurt as bad.

- *Go to the Dollar Store*  - The best advice I've ever gotten was from my sister.  Go to the dollar store and buy lots of dumb little things that don't matter if they get lost or broken.  I've also heard that you can wrap them up and bring them out one at a time to make the kids more excited.

- Coloring book and crayons- the Dollar Store has the best coloring books for only $1!  I'm also a big fan of Twistable's.

- IPad- seriously a life saver.  My favorite free apps: PBS Kids (every cartoon and lots of full episodes for free!), KidsDoodle, Animal Zoo, Puzzingo, My Tom or any of those talking animals ones, and throw in a candy crush or something with lots of colors.

- Snacks, so so many snacks.  Veggie straws are the greatest thing ever for kids, pretzel sticks, goldfish, cheez its, a tube of mini m&m's, dum dum suckers, and whatever else makes your child happy.

Everything Else:

- Bring an umbrella stroller to the airport.  It's easy to stick your kid in there and stroll to the gate.  They will check it at the gate for free.

- Let your kid RUN before the flight.  Find the little airport playground or just let them run like crazy all over because you'd rather have them do that in the airport than the plane.

- Try to book your flights during nap time.

- Try not to bring a carseat, it's a hassle.  You can rent one at the rental car place, or most private car services will have one.

- Ask the hotel for a pack n play or a crib.  Bring your own crib sheet though. 

- If you're staying near a store like Walmart or Target, don't pack wipes and diapers in your suitcase.  They take up so much room.  Just go to the store when you get to your destination and pick up those things.

Try not to get too stressed about a trip with your littles.  No matter how bad the airplane ride is, I always remember the good parts of the trip over the screams on the airplane.  I think it's 100% worth it to take your kids with you on a trip to have the amazing memories.  

Feel free to comment with any tips and tricks you have for traveling with small children! 

My Most Precious Gift

My heart is so heavy tonight.  I just put my cuddly, sick baby down to bed and I came downstairs with every intention to peer review papers, but instead I started thinking about how incredibly blessed and lucky I am.  Have you ever been full of so much joy, you don't think life could get anymore perfect?  That's how I feel lately every day.  I want to write down my wonderful feelings now before I forget, and so that when I'm having a bad day I can look back on this post to turn my day around.  So if you don't like gushy mommy post, you should probably stop reading.

Growing up I had a master plan that everyone knew about.  I wanted to be married by 20, and have a kid by 21.  I wanted 6 kids, 4 boys and twin girls.  I wanted to live in North Carolina in a white house with black shutters and a big wrap-around porch.  After my husband finished medical school, we would eventually make it back to Kansas and grow old together.  Well...None of that happened.. And I'm so grateful.  I got married at 21, had a baby boy at 22, live in Utah in a cute town home, my husband is a college graduate who works very hard at a great job, and I'll probably never make it to North Carolina (I'm still holding out for Kansas).  My master plan obviously hasn't gone the way I thought, but this life is so much better.

After hours of screaming- Parker would hold Kayd up to the TV and he would sometimes fall asleep

Guys.. I'm just going to say it, being a mom is hard!  Sometimes I look at my mom (had 8 kids) and my mother-in-law (6 kids) and I think they are crazy!  And I tell them that often. We all see those moms who look like naturals and love every minute of it (I just think they put on a show for social media), but I have to work hard to be a mother.  I really thought that right when I had my baby everything would fall into place.  I, to my humor now, thought my body would bounce back in a week, my baby would sleep all day and night, and that I would be ready to pop out another one a year later.  None of that happened... Not even close.  The first 6 months of Kayden's life I wanted to quit.  Kayden never slept.  Not at night and no naps during the day unless I fed him to sleep.  He was always so alert and never seemed like he needed sleep.  Also, those first 4 months Kayden screamed pretty much all day every day.  We tried everything and didn't know what was wrong with him.  I thought my husband was going to up and leave us and I had completely lost all sanity.  We both were so stressed and short tempered and all I thought all day was- why was I given this baby when I clearly don't know how to handle him?  I cried non-stop and felt like a failure.  Well we finally figured out some medical issues going on with Kayd (poor thing was just in pain all those months) and things started getting better, but then we had to go and slap a helmet on the poor lopsided head baby.  He had to wear it 23 hours a day, but he actually handled it like a champ.  Once those first 6 months were over everything in life became 100x better for all of us.

He pulled the helmet off pretty well if you ask me!

Besides those first 6 months being hard for the reasons above, it was hard for another reason.  Parker and I aren't huge baby nuts.  I'm not one to sit and hold other babies for hours and enjoy it and neither is Parker.  To us, babies are kind of boring.  They don't do anything.  So once Kayden started interacting, talking, smiling and playing, motherhood turned into what I've always dreamed of.  I can't even begin to describe how brilliant my son is.  He started crawling at 5 months and could do things 4-6 months earlier than others his age could  It blows everyones mind who sits and interacts with him.  I just love to sit back and watch him figure things out and see his little brain working.  He knows when I'm in need of a kiss, he melts his daddy's heart while running into his arms every day when he walks in from work, and he chases our dog around, which I think Teddy liked, most of the time.  He truly is the sweetest boy.

Kayden amazes me every day.  I can't believe my Heavenly Father has entrusted me with this little angle to raise and love and I thank him every day for this blessing.  I truly am the luckiest girl to have the cutest one and half year old, blonde headed, blue eyed, crazy little monster as mine forever.  That first year was so hard and I was defiantly tested.  I learned so much, gained a lot of patience, and learned to love in the hardest of situation.  Blessed I am.  And no I don't know when the next one is coming.  I just want to enjoy my time with my buddy one on one for a while before going through the baby phase again.

I'm here to say that it's okay for moms to complain every once in a while, to have bad days, to go have a girls night out or date night without feeling guilty.  I'm pretty much in sweats all day with dried snot wiped across my sleeves and nasty hair.  But you know what?  I love it.  I love knowing that my child needs me every minute of the day and that everything else in life can wait.  So next time you see me out in public, try no to think of me as a slob, but as a mother who would rather read books to her baby than curl her hair.  Every parent goes through hard things with their children.  My hard time (for now) was the baby stage.  I can't even imagine the sort of trials other moms are going through that I see.  We're all just trying our best.

And now after writing this- I want to go get Kayd out of crib and cuddle with him!  Gosh I love him so much!  

Alright... Enough procrastinating.. Back to papers..

A Pinch of Chaos: Is a look into my chaotic every day life.  I LOVE to cook and bake but find it hard to make big, detailed meals every day.  With everything going on in my life, I don't have time and most days the energy to cook fancy meals.  I'm all about simplicity.  I try to use as little ingredients as possible in recipes.  I don't like to spend all day preparing a meal.  I love using the crockpot (it makes life so easy!), and I'd rather spend my time with my family.  Most blogs I've found, use ingredients I've never even heard of, and take three hours just to cut a radish into a flower.  Not me, I want fast, easy and affordable!
  My chaotic life: I've been married to my wonderful husband for 2 1/2 years, I have the cutest baby boy in the entire world, and I have one crazy dog.  Although my life doesn't seem too busy with just a small family, my days always seem to end with me trying not to pull my hair out.  Although insanely adorable, my baby doesn't sleep and is crazy!  Even when was a day old, every picture we have of him in the hospital, his eyes are open.  For some reason this kid does not need a lot of sleep day or night.  He has also been pretty advanced for his age.  He started crawling before he was 6 months old!  So now my days are spent just chasing him around from room to room, which I love!  My dog also requires just as much attention.  But only we can be blamed for this, we treat him like a human baby.  I'm also trying to finish school, which seems more impossible every day.  I've always been one of those people who goes to bed early, sleeps in, and loves naps.  So this being a mom thing has been quite the adjustment.  Being a mom is the greatest thing in the world, but man, am I tired!
Now, I have to give a lot of credit to my mom, sisters, aunts, cousins, and friends who are all amazing cooks!  I use a lot of their recipes and always tweak them a little, but I will give credit where it is due.  In the end, I'm just trying to help other mammas and busy people out there by providing easy recipes that they can enjoy.

*Disclaimer:  I am not a professional photographer.  If my pictures don't look amazing it's because I'm horrible at taking pictures.  Hopefully I'll get better as I go along!