How I keep my Evie bear occupied while I cook.

My Evie loves to do whatever I do.. She's kind of my mini me and shadow. So when I'm in the kitchen you can bet she'll be dragging a kitchen chair to the counter and ask to help unless she's distracted by Mickey Mouse and you know what I really do try to encourage that and 99% of the time I let her be my little helper unless what I'm cooking isn't child safe like meat or raw eggs. 

Here are some ways I get my cooking done while keeping my 2 year old happy and out of trouble. 

1. I let her help. Like I said when it's not gross I encourage her to help me. Learning to cook and help someone are really important qualities so I do my best to encourage it and try not to let my tiredness and done with the day attitude to get in the way of that. 

2. When I can't let her help I usually set up a craft for her to do such as coloring, finger painting, or playdoh. Yes, there's always a mess afterwards but I just clean it up. No big.

3. Let her "pretend" cook with me. She has a play kitchen with fake food so on the other side of the counter I let her pretend to cook with me that way.

4. She has her own kitchen drawer that is full of plastic containers, cookie cutters and things she can't break to keep her occupied.

5. And when I'm really tired that's when Mickey and fruitsnacks come into the picture. ;)

In this link up we want to share with you what we've found that has worked for us as new mamas to toddlers. Because we're experts  after being moms for a few years or so, right? Not really, but we have some experience and want to share what we've learned and we'd love to learn from you, too!

               Here's our Hosts for this round!

A Beautiful Ministry

You are more

The life of Faith

Our Family Grace

My delicious adventure

Here are the topics we will be talking about this Month!

April 2nd. Spring activities and craft ideas for toddlers.

April 9th.  How  you keep your toddler occupied while grocery shopping.

April 15th.  Potty Training.

April 22.Ways to distract a toddler while you're cooking/cleaning etc.

April 29th.  Clothes shopping for your toddler. (Where do you get the best deals, where do you shop, how do you save money) etc

Potty training.. We did it!

 My girl is now officially potty trained! It's been rough but oh was it worth it.. Having an extra 100 dollars a month in the budget is fantastic plus the less diapers I have to change the better!

This week's topic for the One year and beyond is "Potty training"  We'd love to hear your thoughts and advice on it. Whether you went through it already or are preparing for it.

After getting Mommy wisdom from all the amazing mamas I know I decided to try the Potty training in a day method.

On Thursday I pulled up all my rugs and everything I didn't want to get peed on (or worse!) and I cleaned everything the night before too so I wouldn't have to do anything that day and just focus on the main mission.. POTTY TRAINING..

Friday morning was the big day.. It was just me and Evelynne. Leon had to work all weekend so it was up to me and win this battle and support Evelynne where to go when she needed too.

The first day is always the hardest. I planned to stay in the house all weekend and let Evelynne walk around completely nood. All morning she asked me to put a diaper on her and all morning told her "Evie you're a big girl now. Big girls get to go on the potty, yay!!

On the first day I put Evelynne on the potty every thirty minutes to an hour. She wanted nothing to do with the potty at first so that's when the mommy bribes came in. If she tried and sat on the potty she got a tiny chocolate chip for effort and if she went on the potty I did the "potty" dance for her and gave her a blue chocolate egg. That was plenty of motivation for her.

She had mainly all accidents the first day but the fact we didn't give up I call us both successful winners and we treated ourselves to chick-fil-a!

We still had accidents all weekend.. More accidents than going on the potty.. I knew she got the concept but I think she kept forgetting she wasn't wearing a diaper so if she did have an accident I would hurry and carry her to the potty and remind her that she needs to remember to go on the potty.

Now my Evelynne can be a little perfectionist. She hates being dirty or having things on her. (unless it's paint.) and she hates messing up so every time she did have an accident she took it really hard on herself and freaked out. So while she was sitting on the potty after an accident I would tell her "Great job for trying baby, you'll get it next time" and I gave her a chocolate chip for trying.

Consistency is key I believe when it comes to potty training so after having very little success all weekend I was tempted to give up when Monday came around but I decided not too. After running around nood all weekend I put panties on her. I made quite the mistake buying her "days of the week" panties. She eventually got to Friday before the day ended. By this time we had the potty training controlled when she wasn't wearing any clothes. She went each time that day when she didn't have panties on but because she didn't pull her underwear down when she went it went everywhere. So during the evening I just let her walk around nood again.

By the time Wednesday came along my girl was officially potty trained. We'd go for walks and she'd tell me she has to go  and at home she'd come to me and ask me for help. It was amazing!

And now she officially goes by herself. She still gets chocolate when she goes but only if she asks for it.

Potty training success! 

In this link up we want to share with you what we've found that has worked for us as new mamas to toddlers. Because we're experts  after being moms for a few years or so, right? Not really, but we have some experience and want to share what we've learned and we'd love to learn from you, too!

               Here's our Hosts for this round!

A Beautiful Ministry

You are more

The life of Faith

Our Family Grace

My delicious adventure

Here are the topics we will be talking about this Month!

April 2nd. Spring activities and craft ideas for toddlers.

April 9th.  How  you keep your toddler occupied while grocery shopping.

April 15th.  Potty Training.

April 22.Ways to distract a toddler while you're cooking/cleaning etc.

April 29th.  Clothes shopping for your toddler. (Where do you get the best deals, where do you shop, how do you save money) etc

 

Mommy Moments

Welcome to Mommy Moments! We hope you all a week filled with wonderful memories! Let's keep it up by sharing and promoting Mommy Moments and the wonderful community we have here! I have enjoyed getting to know all the new mamas linking up and sharing their lives with us! I can't wait to hear more from you all again this week! 

Motherhood has its seriousness and frustration as well as its laughs. That's why we are here. Life is much easier when traveled with companions! So mamas, let's join together in the spirit of motherhood and share our moments together. We want to hear the happy, sad, tough, terrible, hilarious moments that make being a mother the best job in the world!

The top viewed link this week belongs to Micah from Deeper Life Today and her inspiring post 31 Days Of Prayer Week 4. Wow, what a great reminder that even in the midst of our never ending to-do list, time spent in prayer with God is one of the most important yet we often neglect it. Visit Micah's blog for some great challenges in your prayers life! 

The Life Of Faith

Our Family Grace

A  Beautiful Ministry

Now, link up your post!

Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

Then, explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

Please, pretty please, we'd love it if you would tweet or share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

We would also love it if you could add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up! If you are not able to copy/paste the code on your page, please e-mail one of us and we would be happy to send you the code!

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/mommymoments" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/cfa5ba11752f4e898055d03d33cf24e0.jpg" alt="The Life Of Faith" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

Colossians 3:17 
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

An InLinkz Link-up

Making grocery shopping with my two year old a happier expierence.

    I must admit I'm one of those weird people who love grocery shopping (most of the time) That's if I do it in the mornings that is. I feel like grocery shopping is so much more peaceful in the mornings when no ones there trying to push you out of the way, completely ignore the fact that you're trying to get by and they have their cart right in the middle of the walking way, and to be honest some people are just rude.. But that's okay, because I love everyone ;)

But I do love it. I love writing a grocery list, going to the store, looking for great buys and getting food. I don't know why, but I do. However, there are some crazy things that happen during grocery shopping.. Especially when there's a cool, crazy, mobile toddler in the picture who sees things she wants, knows what she wants and will use that will of hers to try and get it. All while leaving me just putting random things that's not on my list to just get out of there before you run into someone you know! .. true story.

So friends, here are some ways I've learned to keep my little bestie occupied while doing my thing. 

1. Go in the morning// I usually try to go grocery shopping before noon. Like I said earlier, I feel like it's so much more peaceful and less rushed that way. I can luxury walk through the aisles and pick up what's on my list without anyone walking too slow, trying to run me over or the kind people who like to stop in the middle of the aisle while they take five minutes to choose between JIFpeanut butter or Skippy.. The lines to check out aren't as long either and I rarely have a line when I shop around 9-10.

2. Pack entertainment and snacks// Evelynne usually never asks for things when I come prepared. I pack a little coloring book with crayons so she can color while I shop. For snacks I usually pack things she likes like Fruit snacks, Horizon graham crackers, juice boxes and fruit to keep her occupied from the cookie aisle. 

We do have a special thing we do though, I take her to the craft section and let her pick out a 50 cent wooden craft she can paint when she gets home.. That little thing makes her happy throughout our grocery shopping experience.

3. Go to the park before// Sometimes I take Evelynne to the park before we go to the store to tire her out a bit which helps her to want to sit in the cart and not get out.. Because we all know that's a horrible idea!

4. Get them involved// If you have a toddler who loves to be included maybe you could let her help by giving her options.. I often let Evelynne choose what fruit she wants, or would she rather have honey grahams or chocolate grahams. I think it makes her feel included and happy that she's being included plus it can be a bonding moment.

   

 

Have a grocery list that's in order// I have a plan every time I go shopping. When I go I start with non perishable firsts, then I go to dairy and fruit afterwards. And I try my best not to back track. I always go there with a list or else I'll forget something and come back with things that I didn't plan to get... like those sweeties. Which brings me to my next thing....

Don't go hungry// It's a no brainer, really. Just don't do that to yourself!

Link up with us and share ways you make grocery shopping a happier experience in the link below.  We'd love your advice and mommy skills.

In this link up we want to share with you what we've found that has worked for us as new mamas to toddlers. Because we're experts  after being moms for a few years or so, right? Not really, but we have some experience and want to share what we've learned and we'd love to learn from you, too!

               Here's our Hosts for this round!

A Beautiful Ministry

You are more

The life of Faith

Our Family Grace

My delicious adventure

Here are the topics we will be talking about this Month!

April 2nd. Spring activities and craft ideas for toddlers.

April 9th.  How  you keep your toddler occupied while grocery shopping.

April 15th.  Potty Training.

April 22.Ways to distract a toddler while you're cooking/cleaning etc.

April 29th.  Clothes shopping for your toddler. (Where do you get the best deals, where do you shop, how do you save money) etc

Our Easter.

Leon and I celebrated our Easter that Wednesday due to the fact he usually works holidays, blah! But we made the most of it and my girls had two Easter days because of it so they weren't complaining. :)

So, that morning Evelynne was so excited to have watermellon for the first time this year. It has always been her favorite fruit obviously because she remembered it from last year. I cut it into cute bunny faces!

For dinner we grilled burgers, hot dogs and all the goods. My big papa Leon certainly knows hot to grill a burger. I could eat them all the time and for desert I made chocolate and vanilla bean cupcakes which was supposed to have strawberry frosting buuuuut, the consistency wasn't right however, it was still good. I still have not yet mastered the art of homemade frosting. Then we did Easter baskets! I wish I would have gotten pictures of the baskets before they Evelynne got to them lol. But I was too excited to think about pictures but I'll share what each of them got.
Evelynne got: a crochet bunny made by me, a Jesus calling Devotional book, a Minnie mouse hair brush, and a new Minnie mouse lunch box.

Liya got: her first Bible, a crochet bunny, a Zebra leather teether, binkies, and a baby doll rattle.

 Afterwards we went to the park and got one of those Birthday cake frappes.. It was such a nice day out!

P.s If you didn't get one of those Birthday cake frappes you totally missed out.. Pink whip cream people. Pink whip cream.

 That Saturday night my girls and I made  Easter eggs with salt, water, and four and painted them. It was fun and a new tradition instead of the egg dying. My girl has broken out my touching egg shells in the past and I certainly wasn't going to risk it.

 

On Easter day I went to church with my Dad. It was wonderful. We stopped by Dunkin donuts and grabbed coffee and donuts and headed to church. Afterwards we headed back to my parents house/farm. Evelynne loves going there. She knows Poppop and Grammy's house are where the animals are at. There's horses, goats, rabbits, pigs, dogs, cats and lots more. I think the bunnies and piglets were her favorite. I actually wouldn't mind giving her a bunny.

Afterwards my parents took me out for Chinese. It was really nice.

 

 How was your Easter?