30 Days of Littles Round up

I have been meaning to put this up for a while now - oops! Here is a quick reference to all the ideas of things to do with your littles throughout the day.



1. Keeping him busy with physical work.
2. Unloading the dishwasher.
3. Trying new spices.
4. Getting head massages.
5. Mail for the boys.
6. Playing with boxes.
7. Playing with toilet paper rolls.
8. You-tube
9. Where they eat messy food.
10. Singing songs.
11. Keeping myself sane.
12. Nap time.
13. Teaching them to do things themselves.
14. Keeping a simple schedule.
15. They eat what we eat.
16. Appreciating Paul's parenting style.
17. Appreciating Paul's parenting style pt 2 & exercise
18. Bedtime.
19. Intentionally playing with my kids.
20. Swimming diapers.
21. Guest Post - chore chart
22. Stay flexible - do what works.
23. Make learning fun.
24. Shooting guns.
25. Playing with gifts beforehand.
26. Seeing a child's love.
27. Burning energy outside.
28. Toys.
29. Cheer myself up.
30. Cherishing our children and showing them Christ.

30 Days with Littles Day30

When I was 20 weeks pregnant with Judah I almost lost him. It's almost overwhelming to think back on the circumstances. But in looking back I am comforted by seeing God's hand so clearly guiding us through the situation - from the timing of everything, to the doctors that were on call, to the hard decisions we had to make. Until I was 32 weeks pregnant the doctors were iffy on whether he would make it full term or not, and while he was born 5 weeks premature he was healthy and totally normal.

All that to say - not a day goes by that I don't remember how close I felt we were to loosing him and in turn thank God for saving him and giving us our precious son.

And while Wesley's pregnancy wasn't nearly as dramatic as Judah's, it easily could have been - and I praise God for giving me two healthy boys.

Kristin mentioned in her guest post that her main survival strategy is prayer. I couldn't agree with her more. And digging a bit deeper into it - if we are thanking God each and every day for our children we will be cultivating an attitude of thanksgiving and thereby living a joyful life - seeing the Glorious in the mundane. Loving our children in a selfless way. Showing them what a true relationship with Christ looks like. For a Christian mother, that should be our goal for each day that we spend with our children - to show them Christ.


This concludes the 30 Days with Littles series! Wow!! Thanks for tagging along and adding your ideas in the comments. There were some great ideas I was going to try out with my boys!

30 Days of Littles Day 29

Children are funny.
And absolutely hilarious.

While most of the time it is easy to see the humor (funny things they wear or say!) other times it is easy to let exhaustion and the mundane chores of daily life get in the way of how I see the boys.
The other day I was exhausted. I'd drank a bit too much coffee the day before (*ahem* 12 cups to be exact. I only know how to much coffee by the pot full.) and I didn't fall asleep til after 3 am.

I haven't been that tired in a long, long time. And it was totally my fault I was that tired.
Totally didn't make me feel ANY better knowing I'd brought it entirely upon myself.

Anyways, I was crabby and exhausted and wanted to lock myself far away from my children.
But seeing as that's not really an option I pulled out this clown hat I'd bought for the boys, grabbed my camera and took some pictures.
Oh. And I ate an entire cut-n-bake thing of cinnamon rolls.
Laughing with (ok, AT. I laughed AT them) my children and eating 5,000 calories worth of yumminess made my day so much better and put things in a better perspective.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

30 Days of Littles Day 28

I don't like to have a lot of toys in the house, and so I don't. It is really hard keeping their toys to a minimum, but they just don't need lots of toys.
The toys they do have are scattered throughout the house. There is a small box in their room of toys, a small one in the living room and a small basket on the back porch. Then there's a couple cars in the TV Room and a couple wooden toys near where they eat breakfast - and that's it.

I like having toys accessible in every room we are in - whether it's to grab one to distract Wesley during a diaper change, to entertain the one who finishes his meal first or so we aren't dragging toys all over the house - I like having designated toy areas in our main living areas.
And that's not to say that dragging toys around the house doesn't happen. Because it does with favorite toys. The Abacus is a current favorite of Wesley's right now and it is so funny to watch him drag it from room to room and up and down the stairs =)

30 Days of Littles Day 27

The boys are much more pleasant and calm inside the house if they have had time to romp and explore outside the house.
I think before they came to live with us they were honorary members on the island from Where the Wild Things Are.

The amount of their arguments with each other and their disobedience are closely connected to a few factors:
How much sleep they have had;
Their diet;
And how much time they have had just running around and being boys.

Sometimes it's hard getting them outside to play. It gets SO hot here - like nostril hair burning hot. And sometimes I am just plain lazy and don't want to chase a ball or run after them. (Yes, I said it. I can be lazy.)

But really, the boys NEED time to let their energy be exhausted. I see such a difference in their attitudes when they have had that time outside to just be crazy, playful, wild boys - shooting at cars, hiding in the grass, chasing balls, rolling down the hill.

30 Days of Littles Day 26

Judah takes great delight in doing things for me and giving me things - on a daily basis.

Picking me weeds.
Clearing his dishes and spilling food along the way.
Pulling all the diapers out of the box while trying to get me *one* diaper.
Coloring me pictures on documents I need.

Those are just a few examples.
There is a true joy that he has when he thinks he has done something to please me and I cherish his boy-ish love and enthusiasm.
It would be easy to get frustrated with the extra mess he makes, but he has such an eager spirit to serve and I think any frustration or negative response on my behalf would discourage him from trying to help.
It could be easy to overlook the weeds he picks me - but he doesn't look at the weeds as weeds. To him they are as beautiful as any expensive bouquet Paul might bring me home. (And honestly?! They do the same melt-my-heart-thing that Paul's flowers do too!)

Sometimes, while going through the same day-to-day activities, it is easy to overlook the little things Judah does in an attempt to help or be sweet- and not just overlook them, but see them as more work and frustrating.
It's been on my heart a lot more lately about being encouraging to my children.
Purposely, each day, encouraging them.

"Therefore encourage one another and build up one another..."
1 Thess 5:11

30 Days of Littles Day 25

I keep a stash of presents for the boys Christmas and birthday gifts that I collect from yard sales and sale items throughout the year - it saves money and time and they end up with nicer things of greater value than if I were to pay full price for a gift right before the occasion.

That being said, because of their age they really aren't that into gifts. What I did last year with Judah and am doing this year with both of them is occasionally pulling out their Christmas or birthday gifts one by one for an afternoon of fun. They play with the item, figure out what it does, entertain themselves for a few hours and then I put it back away - then come Christmas morning they'll KNOW what their present is and actually be excited about the gift =)

30 Days of Littles Day 24

Judah is all about guns and has been for a long time.
Paul and I don't have a problem with him "playing guns" - bananas, markers, spoons, toy trucks and empty toilet paper rolls have all served as play guns for him recently. Judah has this amazing ability to make a gun out of *anything*. I am choosing to believe it's a talent =)

To keep from going totally crazy with his play fighting and to teach him distinctions in male and female, Paul and I made a rule early on that he is NOT allowed to shoot women. He sometimes forgets in his excitement but he is daily reminded that women are to be protected and not shot. His daddy and brother and all the imaginary bad guys are allowed to be shot. But never mommy.

It melts my heart to hear him growl "Judah manly man. Protect Mommy. Die bad guy."

30 Days of Littles Day 23

While I certainly don't take advantage of every opportunity to teach Judah (whew! I'd be exhausted!) I do try to teach him in various scenarios and make it fun.
Like when we are in the car and stopped at a red light I ask him what the letters are on the signs around us. Or if we're playing in the front yard I ask him the colors of the cars that drive by.

Or the other day he was eating Cheerios and had 5 left. I asked him if he could count his Cheerios for me and tell me how many there were.
He looked at me, looked at the Cheerios, out them all in his mouth and said "None - all gone!" =)

30 Days of Littles Day 22

While a schedule and routine is important for structure in a young child's life flexibility is just as important. I am learning that in this time that Paul is away (we're one week down, two more to go!) Paul's never been away from us for quite this long before and the times he has been away he has been able to call us several times throughout the day.
This time he isn't able to call til after 11pm, and then only for a few minutes as he needs to get to bed so he's ready to start the next day.

I think the lack of talking to Paul combined with the fact that Judah's getting older is making him miss Paul a lot more than he has in the past.

A couple of times this week I have let Judah stay up late so he could talk to Paul when he called. While Judah just chattered on and on about motorcycles (his current favorite thing in the world!) it cheered him up to hear Paul's voice.
Judah's also been refusing to eat much of anything, and while it concerns me, I definitely understand. I have a hard time wanting to eat or do anything when Paul is away too! The other evening I took the boys to the grocery store just to pick up special things so Judah would eat - peaches (his current favorite fruit, I think because it's sticky and makes a mess!), cheese strings (he won't eat just cheese, but cheese strings he will - go figure!), drinkable yogurt, pepperoni, pumpernickle bread and animal crackers.

Those foods, in addition to eggs, are all he will currently eat.

So while I earlier said that the boys eat what we eat and they go to bed on schedule each night, being flexible and adapting to meet their emotional needs is very important.

And while it is fairly unique to military families to have the dad go away, every family goes through situations where you need to be flexible for the sake of your child's well being.

30 Days of Littles Day 21

I asked my bloggy friend Kristin if she would like to write a guest post for this series and I am so happy she agreed! Kristin blogs at This is the Life and I have really enjoyed her honesty and real-ness in her posts. And her children are adorable, as you can see in the picture below! Here is Kristin:

When Jessica asked if I wanted to do a guest post for her 30 Days of Littles series I was unsure. I mean, what do I know about parenting? I just muddle through from day to day. And I pray a lot. That’s my main survival strategy for parenting: prayer. Without that I’d be lost.

Alright, let me introduce myself. I’m Kristin. I’ve been happily married to Chris for almost 8 years. I am the mother of two adorable children: Helen, who will be 3 in September, and Patrick, who was born in March. I am very lucky to be able to stay home with my kids…it’s the greatest job ever.

One thing I think is important is that every member of the family contributes to the running of the house in some way. My husband goes to work every day to provide for our financial needs. He is also responsible for most of the outdoor work around our place. I keep the house as clean as possible with two young children (and to help with this I have a pretty strict schedule… every day has a job that needs to be done), I feed everyone and I take care of the grocery shopping and other errands, etc, etc, etc.


So, one day I was preparing dinner with a two year old underfoot (as usual) and I realized that she was old enough to have responsibilities as well. So, Helen has a job chart. She is responsible for making her bed in the morning, setting the table for dinner, putting her clothes in her hamper before her bath and picking up her toys before bed. Helen need incentives and reminders to do her jobs (don’t we all) so we have a chart on the refrigerator that lists her jobs and she gets a special princess sticker when she finishes one.

She gets lots of help doing all of her jobs and my expectations take her abilities into account. When she “makes the bed” she is mostly pulling the sheets up and putting her pillows in place. I help her every time and show her how to do it and how it should look. We do this every morning because I want it to be a habit she keeps as she grows up. When she sets the table I hand her each plate, cup, fork, knife, spoon and we put them on the table together. I show her how a place should be set. Someday she’ll set a perfect table on her own.

In some ways these jobs are more time consuming with her help than if I just did them myself. But Helen lives here and she needs to be a part of life here. Patrick has responsibilities too. He’s three months old and he is responsible for learning to control his head, rolling over and, eventually, walking. That first year is full of some pretty difficult responsibilities! Including everyone in all aspects of family life is an important part of life with littles. The great thing is, little love to help so teaching them to work now is helping develop good habits for later (I hope).

30 Days of Littles Day 20

Last summer we spent a good number of days swimming and one of my main hang ups of going swimming was the cost of swim diapers - they end up costing about $1 a piece, which is insane!

Earlier this year I had Judah in swimming lessons. Lessons were twice a week and we were going through disposable diapers like mad. (I know I said earlier that we don't do scheduled activities- swim lessons are the only thing I have scheduled with Judah and honestly, it was a lot of work! It interrupted Wesley's sleep schedule and made for a hectic morning trying to get there in time. And he still can't swim. Maybe if he was an only child it would have worked well, but it was too much for us and I wouldn't do it again anytime soon. Now we go to the outdoor pool about three times a week for fun as it's a short walk away from us.)

And then I noticed another mom at the pool had her son in reusable waterproof diapers.
I asked her where she'd gotten them from and she said Target had them, so right after that lesson I raced over and got Judah a pack. 2 pairs for $7!

Since then I have bought one other pack, for a total of 4 pairs of water proof training pants for $14. We have been to the pool many times - probably over 30 times since I bought them.
He has had accidents in them twice and the downside to them is you can't tear the sides like you can on regular swim diapers to pull them off, so unless you have something to cut the sides with it is a bit of a mess getting it off.
Maybe some moms would be economical and wash them out, but the ones that have gotten dirty I just toss.

I do wash them after each swim time to get out the chlorine and any urine accidents he may have had, and they do just fine in the washing machine. I have never put them in the dryer as they're plastic and I think they would melt. I let them air dry.

Maybe I am the only person on the planet who didn't know about these as an option for swimming (our pool doesn't allow regular diapers in the pool.) But maybe I'm not, and hopefully this post will help someone find a more economical way to spend your summer with little ones at the pool!

30 Days of Littles Day 19

Chillin' in our super cool fort.

It is easy for me to do things for my children. To give them kitchen tools to play with. To pull out some blankets and other odds and ends and build them a fort. To hand them empty toilet paper rolls for them to use as trumpets. Those things don't take much effort from me.

What is hard for me is taking the time and sitting down and playing with them in their creative play. That, for me, takes a much greater effort. On the one hand I want my children to explore and play independently. But on the other hand I want them to know that I delight in them, and in delighting in them, I enjoy doing the things they enjoy doing.

Paul's been away for a few days already and the boys are missing him terribly. In an effort to cheer up the boys a bit (and give myself something to do!!) I have really been trying to get down on their level and truly play with them.
Not just hand them the mixing spoon and pot, but sit down and be a part of their band.
Not just build the fort for them (over.and.over.and.over.again), but sit in it and help destroy it (and then build it over.and.over.and.over.again.)

You get the idea. Intentionally playing with my kids.
While no amount of attention from me can take away the fact that Paul isn't here right now it has helped to distract them (specifically Judah) from his absence. The boys both love when I sit and play with them in "their house" (the sheet tent!)

And ya know, it's pretty fun to be down on their level, totally immersed in their world of play. It's pretty funny to be a part of it and not just a spectator of it.

30 Days of Littles Day 18

I have almost no pictures of my boys sleeping because they wake up at the sound of the camera shutter. They're light sleepers for sure!

We don't have family nearby to watch our boys and we very rarely get babysitters, and yet we maintain regular date nights at home by getting our kids to bed early and at the same time each night.

It took us awhile to find our nightly routine, but it's been working well for us for several months now. The boys know what to expect at bedtime - teeth and potty time (though admittedly I forget that part sometimes...), diapers and pajamas, three story books, prayer list, prayer, cuddle time with Judah while Wezzy gets swaddled, put in their beds, lights out and then a song of Judah's choosing.


It is nice knowing that after 8pm every evening it is our time.
I am working on a post for at home date night ideas for a future blog post :)

30 Days of Littles Day 17

After yesterdays post about valuing the important, and different, ways that dads contribute to their kids lives I thought I would share this video of Paul.

Paul does various exercises with Judah each day as a fun bonding time for the two of them (and as a way to burn off some of Judah's energy!!)

Paul made this video for Judah while he's away so that Judah can continue doing some of their exercises. Judah has been walking around the house growling "manly man" for the past two days. It's so funny!

And I kinda think Paul sounds a little mean at the beginning of the video, but he really isn't mean! He was just doing a mean Drill Sgt voice because that's just how my guys do their exercises! Barking orders and "Yes Sirs."

I think they do it to make me giggle.

30 Days of Littles Day 16

Have you noticed how differently your husband parents than you?
Paul has definitely made my heart race faster with some of his ideas - from how high he tosses the boys in the air to the spicier foods he lets them try to the more daring things he teaches them to the gross critters he lets them touch.

I'll be honest, sometimes I am tempted to say NO! You can't do that to my son.
But then I (usually!) remember - he is Paul's son too. Paul loves him just as much as I do. Paul is just as concerned for their safety, well being and character development as I am.

Paul, in his daring, adventurous, so unlike me style is teaching our boys how to be boys. He is teaching them how to not be squirmy when it comes to bugs and critters. He is teaching them how to use their excessive energy in fun and safe ways. He is building strong bonds with his sons.

I appreciate the time Paul invests in our boys and the things that he is teaching them that I never could.

While this isn't really an activity idea to do with your little one(s), in honor of Father's Day I want to encourage you to encourage the relationship between father and child. It is invaluable.

30 Days of Littles Day 15

Another big sanity saver in this house is that the boys eat what we are eating. When they're just starting on foods they either get jarred or mushed vegetables, but once they're table eaters, they eat what we eat.

I grew up with that, as did Paul, and it blows my mind that some moms make TWO meals for each meal time - a kid friendly one and their own. Whew, that exhausts me just thinking about it!

30 Days of Littles Day 14

Another big sanity saver is that I don't do scheduled things with the boys. Or at least very rarely.
I don't belong to any mom-groups or toddler play groups. I don't take them to the park unless the fancy strikes. And it doesn't strike very often.

We have a fantastic backyard for them to play and imagine in.

I suppose in a few years telling them to imagine they are swinging on swings and going down swirly slides won't work anymore. But for now it does. And they are so happy playing at their own house. And I am relaxed and un-rushed.

30 Days of Littles Day 13

Another sanity saver is teaching our boys to do things themselves.


Judah wants new hardwood floors? He can put them in himself.

Just kidding on that :)

But real examples would be when Judah finishes with something (a cup, a toy, a crayon) he generally brings it to me and says "I don't want it."
It would be easy to take it from him and put it away, but I don't.
I ask him what the proper way to say that is, and he says "No thank you." And then I ask him what would I do with the item, and he then runs dishes to the sink or crayons to the table.

We go over situations like this a dozen times a day, and he is slowly but surely learning to clean up the items himself.

30 Days of Littles Day 12

I think the biggest stay-sane measure I have taken is to get the boys to nap. Every day. At the same time. It took awhile to find our groove, but for the past 4 months or so we have had great success with our napping schedule.

Wesley sleeps for 2 hours in the morning, and in that time I spend one on one time with Judah and clean up. Then in the early afternoon both boys go back down again. Sometimes they chatter to each other for awhile, but they always fall asleep and sleep anywhere from 2-4 hours.

There are very few exceptions to their napping schedule, and we are all happier people when they are consistent with their napping. And I firmly believe the better the children nap during the day, the better they will sleep at night.