Healthier Mud Pies / gluten and dairy free

I bought some Glutino oreo's for the boys. They love these cookies! I thought it would be fun to make them some mud pies with the cookies crumbled on top and a couple gummy worms. My mom sent them Albanese gummy worms. 

I found a chocolate chia pudding recipe on Pinterest. It was super easy to make. 

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup dairy free milk - I used almond milk

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix it all together and chill for 4-6 hours in the fridge. 

I crumbled up the cookies, sprinkled them over the top and put 2 worms in each bowl. George thought they were super cute and delicious. Cash would only eat the worms. lol

George ended up thinking it was a cute idea, but only ate about 3 bites. George isn't a chocolate fan. Cash loves all sweets, so I am not sure why he wouldn't even try them. Cash just kept yelling he wanted more worms. Next time I will just try to see if he will eat the pudding without worms. 

First Day of School Outfits

As I write this blog post I am not sure if G will have a first day of school or what exactly it all entails. We have been told Cash will have preschool in the fall. I am hoping that if G has virtual school a couple days a week I can work that out with C schedule. That way I can be able to help G with his school one on one when C is at school. If they say G school will all be virtual I most likely will home school. This is my worst nightmare. I am not a home school mom, nor am I for home schooling at all. 

Anyhow I am hoping everyone will have school. I bought them first day of school outfits with a positive attitude that we will be going to school!

I first found G outfit at Carter's. He loves dinosaurs, so I thought I would find something he loved to maybe help his nerves. The turquoise polo will bring out his blue eyes too. He will look so darling! Carter's showed the shorts with a coral colored polo too. I am tempted to get him that polo as an additional outfit. 

I found C outfit randomly at TJ Maxx on clearance. Both boys will get to wear dinosaurs for their first day of school! This is a first day of preschool outfit only. White on a preschooler is never a good idea. I learned very quickly with G that you don't send kids to preschool in their best clothes because they come back with paint and markers all over them. 

Outfit Details:

Cash Outfit: 
Carters 

G's Outfit: 
Polo
Shorts

Happy Birthday Cash!

It is hard to believe Cash is 2 today! This boy is the best cuddlier, momma's boy, hilarious, always has a smile for us, and a snarky little thing. lol

Cash snarkiness makes me laugh. If he doesn't know you he is not going to smile or be friendly. He will give you the snark. People will say how cute he is at the store and out comes the snark. It cracks me up! 

We took birthday pictures with both boys a week ago. Cash brought his snark. Man we had to work so hard just to get a little smile. He was not in the mood for pictures at all. I even offered a cookie with little to no luck. These pictures capture his personality and he is full of personality this one! 

Boys 4th of July Outfits

My boys love to match clothing. I realize my time is short to do this because it won't be long where they will be against it! They love to wear matching pajamas even. Cash insisted on getting his army pjs the other night because G had his on. 

Usually if I see things I like for them in both their sizes I grab them. G is about to outgrow the toddler sizing. We are actually pushing it with 5T clothing. When I saw these polka dot shorts at Target I thought they would be adorable for the 4th of July. Thankfully they had them in both sizes, so I grabbed them. 

Cash has some 4th of July shirts and an outfit that G wore, but let's have them match! I also like to have them match when we go places. It is less taxi on my brain to think what is G wearing and what is C wearing? So I put them in the same colors, so I just need to look for 2 boys wearing blue or red. 

G wasn't a fan of fireworks until he turned about 4. He liked to watch them, but he didn't want to touch them. I started buying glow sticks for him to have something to hold while I did sparklers. I LOVE sparklers! 

I found these adorable glow sticks in the bulleyes section at Target. I also found the sunglasses there. The boys love to wear sunglasses....although G can't wear them anymore since he wears regular glasses. Ooopps! If he decides he wants to wear them he can take his glasses off for a little bit to wear them.

Outfit Details:

Shirts: Carters
Shorts: Target 
Sunglasses & glow sticks: Target Bulleye Section

Toy Ice Cube Fun!

We have been having a lot of fun outside! My boys don't like to stay outside for long unless there is water involved. We have a water table, but G is at the age it isn't very fun anymore. Cash just loves to dump water all over himself, stand in buckets of water and haul water around the yard. 

 I went on a hunt in the play room the other day to find little toys to put in an ice cube tray to freeze. When I brought them outside the boys were so excited. First G wanted to know where I found all these toys. They had a great time melting the ice off the toys and then playing with the toys. It doesn't take long to melt the ice in 95-100 degree temps! Gotta love Texas heat! 

When I ask Cash to smile, this is the look he gives me now. 

Bedtime Routine for multiple kids sharing a room!

It has been important to me to get my boys on a bedtime routine that works for us while sharing a bedroom. They currently have the largest room in the house. It's a HUGE room! We would have used it as a master bedroom, but the closet was small and no master bathroom. By them sharing a bedroom this frees up a room to use as a playroom. I was determined I needed a playroom in our new house because I didn't like all the toys in the living room. 

I wrote a post here about hiring a sleep coach. One of the best things I did! This helped get us on a good bedtime routine. When I was first working with Cash to go to sleep we had a quick routine. I would hold him for a minute, lay him in his bed and leave the room. After 6 weeks of him putting himself to sleep I decided it was time for both boys to go to sleep at the same time.

This is the bedtime routine that works for us. 

6:30-6:45 pm Bath time and pajamas

6:45-7:30 pm Snack time, vitamins and a show

7:30-8:00 pm We read a story, I rock Cash for a few minutes, G lays in his bed, then I rock                          G for a few minutes after Cash is laying in his bed. G recently told me he likes                        it when I rock him too. Hey I am going to do this for as long as possible. 

8:00-8:15 pm I sit in G's bed while they fall asleep. Sometimes this only takes 5 min and                              others 15 min. I enjoy this time sitting in there with them!

The boys each sleeps about 11 hours a night. Cash then naps for 2-3 hours each afternoon. This schedule works great for us. Both boys put themselves to sleep quietly. Cash doesn't even cry at this point. After I rock him, I lay him in his bed with his blanket and pillow. Once in awhile he was jabber, but for the most part he lays and is asleep within a couple minutes. I have sat with G as he goes to sleep since he started climbing out of his crib at 19 months old. I've thought maybe I should stop, but you know what he will be 10 before I know it and won't want me sitting with him. I am just going to soak up this time and enjoy it. 

Kids thrive on routines! This routine has helped us set the expectation for our kids and makes night time much smoother. What is your bedtime routine?

I broke down and hired a sleep coach!

I broke down and hired a sleep coach!  My boys as babies were never good sleepers. Cash was the worst! G got to the point he would wake up 1 time a night, take a bottle and go back to sleep. Cash has required to eat around the clock every 2-3 hours since he was born. 

When Cash was 18 months old I stopped breast feeding. He would still wake up 1-2 times a night and wanted a bottle. Then he went through a HORRIBLE period where he wouldn't go back to sleep until we rocked him back to sleep. We spent about 3 weeks dealing with this. We tried laying with him, he wouldn't sleep in our bed, so he would just play. We broke every "rule" out there just trying to get this kid to sleep. I tried to let him cry it out and he would scream for 2-3 hours. He wouldn't let up. It was a freaking nightmare! 

I asked some friends for their advice. One of them suggested hiring a sleep coach Sleep Happy Consulting. I had thought about it, but seriously what could this person do that I couldn't? I just didn't think they really could help me. I was desperate though, so I started looking for one. I checked out Sleep Happy and one other company. Sleep Happy offered a FREE 15 minute consultation. I checked her calendar to see what appointments she had available and thankfully she had one for that day during nap time. I signed up! 

I also started following Sleep Happy on Instagram just to see what this chick was all about. I read some of her posts, watched her stories and tried to get whatever tips I could get. I was hoping I could get all the tips for free without paying for a consultant. lol I'm just keeping it real folks! I am frugal and I try to save a buck anywhere I can! 

My 15 minute call with Jessica was great! I hired her on the spot. She sent me a questionnaire and we scheduled a time in the next couple days to do our 1 hour call.  Sleep Happy offers packages from $135 for a one hour call all the way up to $1650 in home coaching. I decided to go with the one hour call to start and add on if I needed further help. During our one hour call I took over 4 pages of notes!

Jessica gave us a schedule, jobs for the boys at night, signs to hang in their room with their jobs, and gave me confidence to make this all work. I was nervous! I figured the first few nights would be rough, but so had the past 18 months. lol 

The first night I sat both boys down, told them their jobs and then told Cash he would have to start going to sleep on his own in his own bed. Mommy and Daddy would NOT be coming into his room until morning. I told him he was safe, it was important everyone got sleep to grow, be healthy and to be happy. He kept shaking his head no when I said he had to stay in his bed. lol 

The first night was rough, the next night was better and after that he cried himself to sleep and stayed asleep. For me by spending the money on getting some help made me stick to the schedule and stay strong. It has totally changed our lives! I wish I had hired her back when he was 6 months old and we had moved. I can't change the past, but I can sure recommend Sleep Happy for all my friends with babies!!! 


Sleep Happy Consulting

Package 

Toys my Boys are Loving Right Now!

I am so thankful for our big back yard and the fact this pandemic hit during the best weather in Southern Texas! I can’t imagine this hitting in July. We would be stuck in the house all day!

I thought I would share some of the toys my boys are playing the most with right now. My oldest is 5 1/2 and the youngest is 20 months. These toys are great for both ages.

Duplos

G got this Duplo Set when he was around a year old for Christmas. This is the exact set we have, but doesn’t seem to be available on Amazon. There are lots of other sets to choose from - 1 / 2 / 3

G still plays with these all the time! Cash loves them too. They like to build towers, stacking them on top of each other, build a sky scraper and they ask me to build the exact items on the box!  One evening I took this entire box and dumped them in the bathtub with the boys. They LOVED it!!! The legos got a good wash and the boys had a blast!

Picasso Tiles

My boys LOVE these! They are a magnetic tile that stick together. I should buy 1 more set because there is a lot of fighting over them. G loves to make buildings for his star war characters and dinosaurs.

Cash loves when someone builds something to smash it down. A lot of times this causes problems because Cash doesn’t understand G just spent 10 min making his creation perfect. I try to make a few little buildings for Cash to crash, so he leaves brother alone.

A friend bought these for the boys for Christmas. They are played with every single day! I have added to their wish lists the wheels to be able to make cars with the tiles. I should probably add another set of these to the wish list too.

Magformers

Apparently building items are the best Christmas gifts because all of our sets were gifts. lol These are so magnetic and work with the Picasso tiles. Often times we have both sets out to build large creations as G likes to call them.

It’s nice these sets interact with each other, so the kids can create large things.

Nugget Comfort

I heard about the Nugget from a friend who ordered one last year. I wanted to get one for the boys for Christmas. Well everyone else had that same idea. I was able to get ours around February. Another great item I am so happy we have during this time! 

I bought the koala gray color. We keep it in the boys room against the wall when it's not being used. The boys are able to drag it out on their own. They practice their ninja and gym moves on it. We build houses, use it to climb, jump, flips, relax and sleep on. It's actually REALLY comfortable to sleep on. 

If you want a Nugget it's going to be very difficult to get one. They are closed during the pandemic, but you can get on their back order list. I was able to get one by ordering one in December on their back order and we received it about 6 weeks later. They did say it would take up to 14 weeks for delivery, but we got it much faster. They run about $250. I can see us using this for years! This is one of my favorite purchases we have made for the boys in the past year. 

Outdoor Toys

Bubble flash light

The boys love bubbles!!! I found this adorable bubble flash light at Target for Easter. This is a perfect toy for Cash. He can easily use it and loves it. 

Big Wheel

When the grandkids on Art’s side of the family turn 2 Art’s parents buy them all a big wheel  car. G picked out a fire truck. We moved this car across the country and man am I glad we did. We had nooooo yard for this thing in California. He could go in a circle in our back yard or down the sidewalk. It wasn’t used that much.

Well now we have a huge yard! G drives it and Cash rides in it. G has been trying to give Cash driving lessons. It’s rather entertaining to watch.

I feel I’ve been able to teach them a lot of vehicle safety with the fire truck. Why we need to look all around before we back up. Why it’s important to sit down when someone else is driving. How doors are always kept shut when driving. All of these things sound like something a mom is yelling at teenagers. Lord help me!!!

Solo Cups

Veronika from Veronika’s Blushing posted on Instagram her kids playing with solo cups and building towers. I ordered a big bag from Amazon for around $7. The kids love to stack them up and crash them down with super hero’s or drive their cars into them.

One night I built a tower around the coffee table for them to wake up too. They love finding things I’ve built them the next morning. 

What have you been doing to keep your kids entertained during this pandemic? Are there certain toys your kids have played with for years? 

Sensory Bins

Last summer I created a sensory bin for G with some items I found at the Dollar Tree. Summer in Texas is soooo hot, so we spend a lot of our days indoors. Nap time can get tricky. I don't like G to watch tv while Cash is napping. I am fine with him watching a short show, but I do not want him to spend 2-3 hours in front of the tv. I also like to be able to rest some during this time, so I needed something that would keep him busy. A sensory bin was a perfect thing for G. He can use his imagination and it's also a quiet toy. 

You could also find a lot of these items at Walmart or Target pick up to avoid going to the store during this pandemic we are going through right now. 

I spent around $10 to create this sensory bin. There are sensory bins on Amazon, Etsy and other various sites going for $30+. By creating your own you can do it budget friendly and create it based on what your child loves. 

We used a bag of beans and glass beads as our base in a clear plastic bin. Get a bin with a lid! You will want a lid to store this box up high if you have little ones. 

G loved helping create this box. I also bought a bag of letter beads to mix in. This way you can also make it educational, by asking them to spell their name, find certain letters etc. 

A bug catching set has been a lot of fun! He uses the scoop and the net to scoop up beans or to put some of the animals inside as he catches them. 

We made this sensory bin over 9 months ago. G still loves to play with it! Cash has now started to play with it with supervision. This is not my favorite toy for toddlers because they like to dump beans all over the house. It becomes a huge mess and it's not a relaxing toy for a mom. lol It is a great sensory toy for toddlers, but you just need some patience when you pull this out!

Items for a sensory bin

1 plastic bin - we used a 28 qt bin with a lid 

1 bag of beans

Glass Rocks

Alphabet Beads

Insect Collector Kit

Plastic Animals

Squishy Toys 

Option 1 

Option 2

Play Doh

Trees

Construction Vehicles

You can be so creative with sensory bin themes you would like to create for your kids! 

If you make a sensory bin let me know what kind of ideas of you come up with! 

Bike Rides

Growing up I spent HOURS riding my bike. I wore my tires down until they were balled. I loved to rid. As long as I could be outside I would ride my bike up and down our dirt road. I still LOVE riding bike! It's one of the things that can make me smile and relax me, so quickly. 

G outgrew his bike, so we bought him a new one recently. I also found a used bike since we didn't bring my old one from CA. G and I have loved going for a bike ride around the lake. The hard part is we can't go in the morning when it's the coolest. I have been searching Facebook Marketplace to find a bike trailer. I found one this past week. I loaded up both kids and off we went. Holy cow! Hauling 50 pounds of kids is a great workout for your legs! We made it around the lake one time before I had to go in. It was also 98 degrees outside. Cashy was singing away though on our ride! G will be able to ride his bike in front of us for our early morning rides in the future. 

My parents bought G this little Radio Flier trike for Christmas when he was a year old. When he opened it he gave the box a big hug and LOVED that trike! Now Cashy is big enough to ride in it and boy does he love it. If everyone goes outside he starts yelling that he wants to go outside. He knows if we take him out back we will put him on the trike. 

I have also been going on walks around the lake with the boys. G rides his bike and I push Cash on the trike. Houston heat is no joke! We make it around the lake once and will usually stop at the play ground for a little bit. Then it's home to drink a gallon of water! 

When we first moved into our neighborhood I struggled with how quiet it was. It was eerie to me. In CA we lived on a pretty busy street. Now that it has been a few months I LOVE how quiet our neighborhood is! I love that we can walk around without worrying about traffic. The lake is great to walk around. There is plenty of shade through the entire neighborhood from all the trees. The only thing I wish we had was a neighborhood pool. I feel there are always some trade offs though. You can't have everything, so we will find splash pads to visit in the summers. 

It's very nice to go out for a bike ride or walk and not stress about G staying right beside me. I lived in the country with absolutely no traffic until I was 16. I was able to run and play all day. I like that the boys will be able to go fishing at the lake, ride their bikes, and have space to run and play. 

Motherhood!

A little over a year ago my friend Chelsea asked if I would take some pictures with G for a mother's day promotion she was doing. Free pictures...of course I will do it! I was 5 months pregnant at the time with Cash. She wanted me to wear white or light colors. What you don't see in these pictures are the numerous dresses I ordered and outfits I tried. I ended up just using stuff I had. I used a belly band to wear my regular white pants. I never imagined how much I would cherish and how special these pictures would end up being to me. 

These pictures are some of my very favorite pictures of G and me! When I see them I just smile even a year later. They were laid back, we had fun in the flowers. At one point G wasn't sure he wanted to take anymore pictures, so we just started goofing around. 

These pictures are motherhood to me! When I look at them this is how I feel about being a mom. I struggled for so long to just become a mom, then it happened and the amount of love you can have for one person is crazy. I didn't worry if I could love a second child. I knew that love would come. It's amazing the type of love you have for your first and then a whole different type of love comes for your second. Your heart grows again with each child. You develop different types of love for each of them. 

I spent 6 years struggling to have a baby. It was a loooong 6 years! It was exciting, but scary when I would get pregnant. Excited that maybe this was the time, but terrified I would see blood. Even when I was pregnant with G I felt this one was going to make it, but I still worried in the back of my mind a lot. It took us awhile to decide on a second child. I didn't expect to deal with loss again. I had 2 miscarriages after G. I was told G was a miracle and I would most likely never have another child. That was heartbreaking to me. I spent almost a month mourning the loss and the fact I wouldn't have another baby. I felt like cancer once again was robbing me. Then I got pregnant....I didn't tell Art for a few days. I cried when I saw that positive test because I had just went through a miscarriage and I was told I would just keep having them. I wasn't sure I could handle it emotionally or physically. 

Weeks went by and nothing was happening. I finally went to the doctor and there was this amazing little flutter on the screen. My miracle little Cashy! It shouldn't surprise me that my boys are so strong willed because they have been fighters from the start. 

Motherhood is this dance in life where you are trying to balance so many things. All moms are working moms. The majority of moms keep their families running. Our world would not be running without the women juggling!

Colic Game Changer!

I have been thinking about writing a post on colic for over a year. Long before I ever got pregnant with baby #2. When G was a baby I remember when his colic started so vividly. It was on Halloween. My mom had left on October 30 after being with us the month. I spent the entire day holding him as he cried. Finally in the evening he was able to release some gas and was so happy. I was exhausted! Over the next few months the colic only got worse. 

He would be colicky in the evening from around 4pm through 7 or 8pm. It was rough! Once I had gone back to work I would come home and hold him for hours. I would try not to move him once I would get him in a position where he wasn't crying. Occasionally the colic would let us if he sat in the Bumbo chair. Whatever position relieved his pain I would try to leave him as long as possible. 

I tried numerous gripe drops. Colic Calm was my favorite. It helped some times to help relieve the colic for G. It would help the colic from screaming to just fussing, but it didn't take the colic away for him.

I started taking him to the chiropractor maybe when he was about 2.5 months. At 3 months old I added a probiotic to a bottle once a day. I bought Flora Infant's Probiotic at Whole Foods or Sprout's. It was in the refrigerated section by the vitamins. I would not recommend buying this online. I would go to a store and buy it from the fridge section and keep it in your fridge at home. I started off with maybe a 1/8 of a teaspoon once a day and worked up to 1/4 teaspoon. Between taking him to the chiropractor and the probiotics it was a TOTAL game changer!!! 

We went from screaming between 3-4 hours a night to laughing and cooing within 1-2 days. If he skipped a day or two without probiotics his poor little tummy was in trouble. Once he was a year old he didn't require it anymore, but I still continued to give it to him. I noticed what a change in his health. If he didn't have a probiotic he would get sick. Probiotics are so important for a healthy gut! I will be starting the new baby out on a probiotic from day 1. I will have Art bring some to the hospital after he is born. I will add the probiotic to a bottle of breast milk each day. I also take a daily probiotic myself.

I wonder at times if maybe he had a reaction when I ate dairy. I am not sure. I didn't even know that I should try to eliminate foods from my diet to see if it made a difference. Looking back now that I eat Paleo grains and dairy cause me a lot of problems. I had asked his pediatrician if he had reflux which the doctor didn't think he had. 

This is my recommendation for anyone dealing with colic or any type of stomach issues with their infant. A probiotic won't hurt anyone. If you have to give other medicine the doctor recommends a probiotic is always helpful too! 

Miracle!

Last week I announced on social media that we are expecting a baby in July! We are so very excited! 

This baby is a true miracle and our rainbow baby. I haven't shared on my blog about wanting another child or our struggle. We had been told by numerous doctors G was a miracle and we probably never would be able to have another one. I went through a period of where I was grieving. It was a very difficult time for me. I feel I haven't been able to make very many choices when it comes to my health. They have all been made for me over the past 5 years. 

I am so very thankful for little G. He is seriously the brightest miracle in my life! 

I found out I was pregnant right before Thanksgiving. I honestly didn't have much hope this pregnancy would continue.  A lot was going on right then. I had my sister coming to visit. I was going with my mom to Mayo Clinic for some health issues. I just tried to continue with life and I would go to the doctor after to see what was going on with the pregnancy. I didn't tell anyone I was pregnant. I just didn't want people worrying or giving me their opinion on things. This one wasn't planned at all and was a surprise. Yes, Yes, I know where babies come from and how they can happen. lol  I am not going into the details of the 6+ months before, but there wasn't much hope. 

We waited awhile to tell family and even longer to tell our friends. 

G felt he had to tell everyone! He was with us at a doctor appointments when the doctor was talking about the baby and we could hear the heartbeat. G says momma open your mouf let me see that baby? He thinks the baby is the hangy thing in the back of your throat. lol

He then went to school and told everyone he was having a baby sister. He told the people at Sonic when we got our soda water he is having a baby sister. I had my friends little girl with me the day I picked up G from school, so his teachers thought that is who he was talking about. 

He has been so excited. He keeps asking hasn't the baby been in your belly long enough?

At night he will pat my belly. He said I need to pat the baby, so it won't cry and go to sleep. 

What will little Post be? Boy or Girl? We will find out later today!