You know....

You know you are a mom when, you find this:

 ....down your shirt.

As in between your boobs.....

...............while sitting at your desk as work.

I can't believe I just admitted that just yes, apparently my child threw a ball in there this morning and I just realized it was still there.

Yes, I fully recognize that my day is halfway over and I just noticed it. Hey, at least I now have a super secret hiding spot.

Mountain Dew Sippy Cups

 That first year was hard but as Brady gets older, life gets harder in different ways.  I really think books like, "What To Expect The 2nd Year." should be titled, 'How The Hell To Survive The 2nd Year.'

You wonder each day if you're doing the right thing but find yourself picking battles and playing Charades and The Guessing Game.

A few things you might need to survive life with a toddler.

• Wine. Vino. Booze. Chocolate. Whatever your vice, you  need something at the end of a tantrum filled day.
• Patience: Waiting for little minds to 'I do it,' takes forever.  Patience is hard to find and it's often worn down or nonexistent so good luck with that!
• Think about wearing a full body armor and/or a helmet. The bruise on my arm is proof of this if you have a curious toddler and a mouth full of chompers. This comes in really handy when your child accidentally (or purposefully) head butts you or during a really nasty diaper change.
• Enough food to feed a smallish army. He might look small but the kid can put away some food, in fact, he is a bottomless pit and even after the kid eats a full meal, he wants to eat again 10 minutes later. I've learned that some grocery stores give free cookies to kids under a certain age and know I know why. Food=distraction and mom can shop longer which means more money spent at the store. If you leave the house, arm yourselves with stashes of grub. It will save you, I swear!

They are unpredictable. Today, he loves strawberries and the next he's hurling them across the room and I wonder why I fed them to him in the first place. Oh  that's right, he ASKED for them.

The kid cannot seem to hear me when I ask him to stop dumping his snack all over the floor but the second I say, OUTSIDE, he can hear me....even if I whisper it FIVE miles away with "Bubble Guppies" blaring in his ear.

Tantrums. Yeah, so those are fun. No longer are we in the cute tantrum stage but a full blown side show for the whole Toilet paper aisle at Target to see! They are tiny little ticking bombs and you never know what will set them off. Today? It's because you gave him milk when he wanted juice but asked and pointed to milk. Ten times. I apparently suck at The Guessing Game.  The best part is his new 'fake' cry. Who does this kid think I am, Grandma? That is the only person that might fall for that one.

Speaking of grandparents, they do things that drive you crazy. It's in their job description, I'm pretty sure.
 Do you see my child jumping up and down with that high amount of energy like he just downed a Red Bull? Well, that is how he is the moment he wakes up at the butt crack of dawn to the second he passes out at night. Do you think it's a GOOD idea to give him SODA? I mean, I hope he sports the rotten teeth look as much as the next mom but next time just put a little mountain dew in his sippy cup, why don't ya!

The other day, some friends and I got in a conversation about birth control. When they asked what kind I used, I replied, "Brady." It was deemed reliable and a few said they used that same form thanks to the stories they've heard me tell.

There are good things about having a toddler but I'm just too tired to you tell about them. The look he gives me sometimes like, "This is my momma and she is my world!" is enough to get me through any tantrum, even without wine.

Making like easier on the go!

Summer months are just crazy. My child is not even in school yet and summers seem to be the most hectic time of the year. It probably doesn't help that it's a busy time for my job but it seems that the summers are filled with fun outings to the park, pool or zoo and it seems like we are always on the go.  Regardless of all the why's, we moms need time to find little things that make it easier for us! We moms need to have some time to wind down and breathe too!

Ten tips for making your life easier and more efficient while on the go

1. I've posted about this here but individually prepping snacks that are easy to grab before we head out of the house are essential. My child eats about a hundred and ten times a day so if we are without food, things can get kinda crazy and in case of emergency, we break a prepackaged snack and the day has been saved. Once I learn how to actually sew, I'm going to make some reusable baggies too!

2. Pack a beach bag that is filled with all your necessities. Sunscreen, snacks, floaties, towels so that you are ready to go when the pool is calling your name and you're sure that you always have the essentials. When we get back from the pool, I take out the dirty towels and replace them with clean ones and fresh snacks (obviously, sealed items like raisins, fruit bars, etc)

3. Keep spares handy. I have a tote in the back of my trunk with spare sippy cups, sunscreen, change, extra clothes diapers, wipes etc so that if we forget something (and we always do!) it's there when we need it.

4. Toys. We all know what happens when a toddler gets bored and a bored toddler always results in something being broken, destroyed or someone is injured or upset. Emergency stash of toys is always carried with me. I keep a zipper pouch filled with some toy cars, a pack of crayons and a pad of paper. When a wait in line gets to be too long, It buys us a little time before he gets to the point of embarrassment.

5. First Aid is well, essential. Being on the go and having an active toddler often leads to boo-boos. We keep a first aid kid with us in our car stocked and I always keep some band-aids in the diaper bag.

6.  Summer seems to be the busiest time at work for both of us. We keep a little white board on the fridge to not only let each other know what day's we will be home late or have a special activity planned and it helps our sitter know as well. Communication is so important for our busy lives and for us it is key to survival!

7. Get a little help from your friends. Planning a BBQ or outing? Have a list and divide it up among yourselves! Have one person be in charge to bring juice boxes and another one bring snacks.  It makes for a much easier outing!

8.  Keep a tote in your trunk! Extra bags or storage are always needed. I keep a zipper pouch for wet clothes handy too.

9.  Water. I always have a resusable bottle with you. This is a easy tip and many of you probably already do this but we freeze the water bottles and when we are headed to the zoo or park, we throw one in a waterproof bag and that way we don't have to spend $5 on one AND we are using one less piece of plastic!

10. This one is for the mom's. Whether it's your favorite drink or a song, pack something that will give you a little 'me' time or help you through the craziness. For me it's a little thing called, caffeine. My life would not be complete without it and I'm a bit coffee drinker. An Amy without coffee is not pleasant and when it's 1,000 degrees out like it is in July, an iced latte is my favorite go to drink. A can of Seattle's Best Iced Latte would be perfect to take with me!

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“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Seattle’s Best Coffee blogging program for a gift card worth $30. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Ten for Today

1. Brady learned how to flush the toilet this morning. I learned this immediately after I found him crumpling up pieces of toilet paper and dropping them in one by one. Then, I heard the toilet flush....again and again and again....I'm sure this will be a good thing in the future but right now all I can think of is making sure to have a plumber on speed dial. 

 2. A Language explosion happened over at our house. It literally makes me love that kid so much more if that could even be possible. Hearing his little voice just makes me smile. "Momma's phone." He knows exactly what is momma's and what is daddy's in our house! My favorite new word he says is 'boom, boom!' (we've had a lot of thunderstorms lately!)

3. We took Brady to his first parade on Monday and even though we got rained on for a good ten minutes, my child was in complete heaven. From the horses, to the music to the candy being thrown, he was quite entertained.

He spent almost the entire parade like this. In pure awe. He got so excited and there was a giant bubble blower and  now says so cutely, 'bubble'

4. Speaking of toddler heaven, we finally bought a blow up pool. While he was not too sure swimming in a big pool at Nana's...he had the time of his life. I think he has a future in life guarding.

 

The kid who hates getting water on his face was dunking his head!  

  

5. I already knew that my child hates to get water in his eyes. What I didn't expect was that he would use my swimsuit top to dry them off! Good thing we were in our backyard. Good thing.

 6. After he swam on Saturday, we almost had a trip to the ER. He has had issues with eczema this past year and lately sunscreen has been a big issue. Well, shortly after he woke up from his nap, I noticed his back was full of welts and was flaming red. Luckily, a small dose of Benadryl helped but it definitely freaked me out. He's had reactions but never something so bad. Sadly, I have tried several different kinds and most of them are all natural or chemical free.  I'm thinking of just making him wear a UV shirt and a hat the whole summer :(

7. Brady had a little playdate with my cousin's son and it was so cute to see him with a younger kid. In a way, it was cute to see how he'd be as a big brother (not that it convinced me to go there, trust me!) but it also made me realize how dang big he is.

8. I've talked about Brady's little fashion sense before.  I'm sure he might chuckle at this picture when he's older but momma had to!

 He likes to pick out his own clothes as you can see, right down to the accessories!

9.   I was at someones house the other day who has children that are all much older, high school and college aged. I saw tons of pictures of the kids growing up at all ages and stages. It made me smile because I know that will be our house one day...full of happy times and years of memories.

10. Long weekends are the best. Especially when they are filled with those kinds of memories that get put up on the wall for years to come.