The "no cry nap method", and our schedule going out the window

So, two big changes have been made in our household this week. The first one was me throwing our schedule out the window. (Not literally, and I don't condone litterring, by the way) This is a BIG deal to us. I had a large poster with our day mapped out in 15 minute increments. I am a schedule freak. I seriously have a schedule for my schedules LOL. So, case in point, this was huge! But it is a good thing so far. We are still following somewhat of a schedule that I have in my head, but the girls don't notice it so they feel a little more "free", if that makes any sense??

I had to come to the realization that not everyone loves schedules like I do. It's great for them to know what to expect, but controlling every part of every day doesn't work for some. We are going to try it out this way for a little while. So far, so good.

The second BIG change?? No crying at nap/bedtime!! Our middle daughter, Gracelynn, likes to be GREAT all the time until nap time and bed time. She then transforms into this evil little creature that cries, screams, and throws a fit... just because. I mean, she will say "Mommy, I'm tired".. and we are like SCORE!! because we think she's going to go to bed. Wrong. This child does NOT like to sleep. She has never liked to sleep. The rest of us... we love sleep. Maybe it's a middle child thing? Hmmm.

The way I got them to stop crying was .. well.. bribery. *Sigh* I admit it, I'm bribing my kids to do what they should be doing in the first place. But, before you start throwing things at me, hear me out. I'm bribing them without actually bribing them!! Awesome, right???

Before, with the schedule, they expected fun things every day because the schedule said so. They started to take fun things for granted: movie time, arts and crafts time, coloring time, etc. However, with no schedule, they don't really know what to expect... so when I said "Girls, listen... I'm really excited about this so pay attention. We are going to do a CRAFT PROJECT after nap time!!" Insert their excited gasps here. "Yes! Really.. a cool, awesome, spectacular art project! I can't wait!" By this time, they're sitting on the edge of their seats.. just begging for more. "So, this is what we need to do. We need to take a nice nap. By nice nap, I mean no crying, no fussing, no whining. Just lay down, chill out.. grab a baby.. and go to sleep. Just for a little bit. We'll make it a short nap, okay? How does that sound?" They, of course, went nuts for the idea.

SCORE!!!

So, for two days in a row now (which is a record for us, by the way), we have had ZERO crying at nap time!

Now, it's time to start the routine for bed time. I'll keep ya posted. ;)

In other news, my weight loss blogging contest will be closed to entries on 2/28/10 (that's Sunday!), so please email me your story (sadielankford(at)ymail(dot)com) if you'd like to be considered for one of my prize packages!!

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A bad dream, a cough, and a recipe-ish...

Last night, I had a dream that our youngest daughter (Sapphire) DIED. Yes, actually died. I've never had a dream like that and it was absolutely horrible. I left her at daycare for 4 hours, came back, and they were like "Yeah, sorry, she didn't make it". Um, excuse me?! Didn't make it? At daycare? So, long story short, I spent the next few years trying to have a baby through a surrogate (which is odd, because I have been a surrogate). And then I finally gave up. Thank God I don't send her to daycare or I'd be too afraid to send her again!! It was such a stupid, awful dream. I think it had more to do with me being a surrogate than anything. I am talking to a couple and their son died. I think it was at daycare, too. He was still a toddler. I guess it was me feeling their pain in my dream. Thank God I woke up from it. They weren't able to. :/

Okay, sorry for the sad starting note. I don't usually do that. But it was creepy and I had to share it. Then after I thought about it, I think it was a lesson or maybe a sign. Score!

Gracelynn has a cough today. Our kids VERY (very) rarely get sick. We don't vaccinate, and we don't do antibiotics unless absolutely necessary, and we try to keep them as natural as possible. That has worked out very well for us. But Grace just got this icky cough and can't seem to shake it. It's only been a few days, but it *hurts* when she coughs. :( We finally broke down and got some cough syrup. I am going to try and bribe her into taking some honey if it's not better by tomorrow.

It's Recipe Tuesday. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do, so I figured sharing recipes would be a GREAT idea. Um, wrong. I cannot motivate myself to post recipes. Why? Because I don't USE recipes. I just make stuff up. I guess I didn't realize that - until now.

Now, these aren't really recipes but we eat them a lot so I will share pictures and some directions on how to make them. First, is buffalo chicken salad. It's not really a recipe because it's like DUH of course that is how you make it. You take a boneless skinless chicken breast and cook it in a skillet with spray butter, then you cut it up into inch size cubes and add hot sauce when it's done cooking. You cook it for another few minutes to let the hot sauce soak in. Let the chicken cool off, and then add it to your salad. If you cook a BUNCH up ahead of time, it's GREAT to keep on hand in the fridge. Plus, it's not SO spicy that the kids can't eat it. Our kids LOVE it. Top it off with southwest ranch sauce and you have an awesome lunch.



Stop eating cardboard pizzas!! We used to buy a few of these a week because they were easy and cheap... or so we thought! We have been making our own pizzas for a while now and they are much cheaper. Grab a few packets of the pizza dough from the grocery store (they're like 50cents a piece), and then grab a stick of pepperoni (cut it yourself and it's cheaper) or whatever toppings you like. The shredded cheese is JUST as cheap as the block cheese where we are, so we buy the shredded stuff. Then of course, mushrooms, black olives, etc. Things we already have on hand. It literally takes 15 minutes start to finish to make your own pizza. About the same time it takes to make the frozen cardboard pizzas!! You mix the dough (which entails mixing water in with the dough mixture in the packet), let it sit (covered) for 5 minutes, and then cook it for 5 minutes in the oven. Add sauce and toppings, and then cook for another 5-10 minutes. The great thing about these is that you can make a thin crust, a thick crust, whatever kind of crust you want - you aren't limited by what the store has! You make your own! w00t!



Cream cheese corn. It is heaven. No, seriously. It is. Try it. You take a can of corn (or use frozen, whatever) and drain the water/juice/whatever from it. Cook it with a teaspoon of butter until it's almost done. Add a half of a stick of cream cheese (4oz?) and stir until it's melted. OH. MY. GOSH. I know it sounds weird, and I almost didn't try it when it was served at Thanksgiving, but it's the best thing ever. No, seriously. Go try it. Now. :)



Okay, so I typed WAY too much. I know I have like 5 people who read my blog. I won't blame you guys for not reading the whole thing. But at least try the cream cheese corn. K??? :)

Can't wait for giveaway day!!! Stay tuned, and remember to win you have to be following my blog! :)