Toddler Talk Thursday - Bedtime Routines

Toddler Talk Thursday is hosted by Family and Life in Las Vegas, Crazy About My Baybah and The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom.  It was created as a place for moms and dads to talk all things toddler.  

I absolutely love this weekly discussion as I learn so much!

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This weeks topic:

What is your toddler’s bedtime routine?

And the featured blogger is

3 Princess Academy 

Oh wait that's me!  Haha, good thing I decided to get on the computer today, I almost completely forgot!  Having 3 toddlers makes for an interesting bedtime routine around here.  That's actually the reason I chose this topic, I really need some good ideas!  

We've recently started getting into a better routine, but it's still not always consistent.  

If I could our routine would look like this

7:30pm - get jammies and brush teeth.

7:50pm - read scriptures

8:00pm - all tucked in

Now just this last week we've gotten into a better routine.  We start anytime between 7:30pm and 8:00pm.  I send Princess V and Princess C into their rooms to get jammies on, while I get Princess R into her jammies.  Sometimes Princess C needs a little extra help as well, so I always have to check on her once Princess R is ready.  

Now I am going to admit something here that I'm not proud of.  Quite often we forget to brush teeth before bed.  So when my kids get cavities I can't blame it on anyone but me.  Thankfully though, when we do remember Princess C loves it and doesn't complain at all.  Princess V on the other hand has a hard time with brushing her teeth.  She doesn't like it, and starts gagging the moment her toothbrush touches her teeth.  She is better than she used to be about it.  I used to have sit on top of her to brush her teeth, and that was no fun at all!!

Ok, so once our jammies are on, and hopefully our teeth are brushed, we gather as a family in the "Hall" (it's what we call the family room) for scripture reading and prayer.  This is definitely my favorite time of the night.  We are instilling a firm foundation of faith in our children that I feel as parents is our responsibility.  It took being very consistent with this to get the Princess' to sit still, but now they are almost angels during this part of our night.

After prayer we give hugs all around and send Princess V and Princess C off to bed.  

My other favorite part of the night is right now.  King Dad goes into each Princess and reads them bedtime stories.  Depending on Princess R's mood I try to read to either Princess C or Princess V, but sometimes all I can give them is a goodnight kiss and tell them to wait for Daddy.  I love love love that King Daddy gets involved with their bedtime.  Right now King Daddy is reading Alice in Wonderland to Princess V and he just started Pocahontas with Princess C.  

While Princess V and Princess C are being read to, I am back in the Hall helping Princess R.  We are still breastfeeding, so I latch her on, and usually start an episode of Doctor Who on Netflix.  It is really nice to have that time to just cuddle with Princess R while she eats and falls asleep.  She still needs to be fed to fall asleep and I wish I could change that.  I'd really love to be able to read her a story and then just lay her in her crib.  She protests though.  She'll actually cry and scream if I put her in bed while she's still awake.  Some nights I try it, but most nights my heart won't let me take it.  

Pretending to sleep in their toy drawers. I walked into this one day, so great!

Poor Princess C, just couldn't stay awake any longer. 

Suggestion for next weeks topic - What chores do you give your toddler?

Link Up Suggestions:

1. We ask that you follow all three hosts. That way you can keep up to date on future Toddler Talks.

2. Please grab the Toddler Talk Button and display it in your post or on your blog.

3. Stop in to other blogs that are linking up. Leave a meaningful comment if you visit, and follow if you would like.

Blogging Award

Wow, I can't believe I got an award! Did you even know they had blogging awards?!

Steph over at Baca Ohana awarded me with The Versatile Blogger.  Thanks so much!

Just a little about this blog.  I started it as a means to journal my childrens experiences in this life. I used to write in a journal daily, but when kids came, that turned into maybe once a month. I have absolutely loved talking about my 3 little Princess' and meeting other blogging moms with their own Princess' and Prince's.  I strongly believe parents are the foundation to a good life for their children. As such we can't rely solely on public schools and the community to teach our children (btw, my kids will be attending public school).  It is our job first, and our teachers job to reinforce and help teach those things we as parents aren't as knowledgeable about.

The rules of the Versatile Blogger Award are as follows:· Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
· Tell us seven things about yourself
· Award ten recently discovered new bloggers

 

1. I am a stay at home mom of 3 little Princess', and wife to an amazing king!
2. I consider myself a Jane of all trades, and master at none. I love dabbling in all kinds of arts and hobbies, but haven't focused enough on one to really master it.  I am making it a goal of mine to become really good at at least one talent this year.  I love things like cooking, sewing, scrapbooking, photography, gardening, and running
3. This year I have a goal of running two 5k's.  I use to run cross country in high school, but with kids I just haven't found the time to stay in that good of condition.  I'm planning my first one of the year on my birthday (June 4th).
4. We just bought our first home, after almost 6 years of apartment living.  I feel as if it is my dream cottage.  It's a quaint little home, with some beautiful landscaping and plenty of room for the kids to run around.
5. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was raised in this faith, and believe with all my heart that it's teachings are true.  When I put my faith to work every day I see the blessings my Heavenly Father has in store for me.  To learn more about us, you can visit the links on the left sidebar.
6. I'm all about family.  I love that I live close enough to my parents that I get to see them once a week.   I wish my brother and his wife and kids would move back closer (at least we get to see them this summer),  and I wish my husbands family would all live closer as well.  There's nothing more important than to love our families and be there to support them through each trial and blessing.
7. I love blogging.  I wasn't sure I would when I first started, but WOW! Blogging is so fun! I love getting on to find new comments and just read about other people's lives!  I consider you all my blogging family!

And now it's time for me to pass this award on to some of my fellow bloggers!  I think you are all so cool, and wish I could meet you all!

• Some Kind of Wonderful
• {trulie-scrumptious}
• Sassy Sanctuary
• QUEEN of the snot Princesses
• Rachael Renee Anderson
• My Wee View
• The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom
• Mama Chocolate
• Fun on a Dime
• Average Moms Wear Capes

Earth Day

We had so much fun yesterday celebrating Earth Day!  Despite what the weather said it was going to be (rain, snow, all over yucky) it was quite sunny, with just a little nippy wind.  So of course we spent a good portion of our day outside.  

We started the morning off with blueberry muffins, orange slices, and some bacon

Then we went out for a walk.

We spent the rest of the morning putting peas in the garden and just enjoying the sunshine while it lasted.  We pulled out the hose to water the garden and I let the Princess' grab a drink from it, we watered the garden, and then I sprayed them while they ran around, lots of fun!  Also as part of Earth Day we turned the heater down.  It's still been pretty cold here, but there's nothing wrong with walking around in a blanket to conserve some energy. 

Well, I'm off to get ready for a birthday party!  Can you believe Princess R is 1 today?!  Well, that will be a post of it's own.

Toddler Talk Thursday - Raising an Eco-friendly toddler

It's Toddler Talk Thursday! Hosted by The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom, Crazy About My Baybah, and Family and Life in Las Vegas. 

The day we talk all things toddler!  Since joining in with these awesome Moms, I have really looked forward to our Toddler Talk Thursdays.  I've gotten some great advice, and just enjoyed knowing I'm not alone in this crazy toddler world.  

This week we're talking Green (no not money).  This week we were asked

 How are you helping to raise an eco-friendly toddler?

I'm going to be honest here.  I don't go out of my way to be green.  However, that doesn't mean we're not eco-friendly.  I do believe we have been entrusted with this earth; and that means we should do our part to keep it clean, and a beautiful place to live.  

Growing up my mom would take us on a walk around our block. We took trash bags with us and pick up the trash around our neighborhood.  We lived in the country, so our block was not a normal city block.  We usually had a couple bag fulls at each corner.  My mom taught me that littering is bad, and we should do our part to keep the earth clean.  I want to teach my children the same thing.  

So what am I doing with my toddlers? Well, we planted a garden this week.  I think it's the first place to start. To teach our children where our food comes from is very important.  Plus, having your own garden saves you money.  So if you have a garden, get the kids out there in it.  I have fond memories of pulling weeds every saturday with my siblings.  I personally loved that chore (so much better than vacuuming, or dishes!).  And another great benefit of gardening, is your kids will be more willing to try those veggies! It is a thrill for children to plant a garden, watch it grow, and then actually get to eat what came out of it!  

We try to recycle what we can.  Our city doesn't pick up recycling, and I just can't spend the gas money to drive it out, but we reuse a lot of items.  We're at my moms 1 day each week, and she has a stack of papers just for the Princess' to color on.  These papers all have something on one side, but are blank on the other.  I save paper towel tubes, and toilet paper rolls, to use in our crafts.  Old drink mix cartons (you know the koolaid cartons) I wash out and use for things like beads and buttons.  We turn cardboard boxes into storage bins (which saves on the ridiculous cost of plastic storage), and they work just as well!

This week I have pledged to do something for the earth with B Kind 2 Earth Day.  They sent us some awesome shirts to wear on Friday (which by the way is earth day).  So I've been trying to come up with what to do.  Many ideas have crossed my mind, and we'll just see how much we can fit in.

- Take a nature walk. We have a trail here, that I've been wanting to go on. 

- Plant some more stuff in the garden.  We still have a blueberry bush I need to get in and the carrots

- Color some earth day pictures

- Cook some earth friendly recipes like Asparagus and Potato Soup

Whatever I do, it always involves my 3 little Princess'.  We are bound to have fun, laughter, and a whole heaping of love for each other and the earth.  

Topic Suggestion for next week: Toddlers and Sport, where's the balance?

    

Link Up Suggestions:
1. We ask that you follow all three hosts. That way you can keep up to date on future Toddler Talks.
2. Please grab the Toddler Talk Button and display it in your post or on your blog.
3. Stop in to other blogs that are linking up. Leave a meaningful comment if you visit, and follow if you would like.
4. If you want to post the link up on your blog – please do! Maybe we can draw in more people to participate and share tips!!

Easter Week Days 1 & 2

Like I mentioned last thursday (I'm slacking I know!), I wanted to really help the Princess' focus on Christ around Easter instead of on the candy and easter bunny.  These lesson ideas came from Sugardoodle.

Day 1

We started it all yesterday with an introduction to why we celebrate Easter in FHE (family home evening).  I *hid* some eggs around the living room each with a letter of Easter in it - e in one, a in one, etc. I left one e out though, and kept that egg empty.  The computer decided to stop working on me last night when I was preparing this, so I had to kind of wing it. As they found each egg we opened them up and talked about the letter, while they ate  a piece of candy inside (candy helped keep them paying attention). Here is what I came up with since I couldn't get online
E- everyone. The Atonement is for everyone!
A - Atonement.
S - sin. The Atonement makes us clean from sin
T - tomb
E - this egg was empty to represent the tomb being empty, and Christ rising again
R- Resurrection
It was a great lesson that I believe the Princess' enjoyed and understood. The only distraction was Princess R trying to take all the eggs.  Every good FHE has refreshments! So we made edible tombs.  We weren't as fancy, but an upside down Hostess Cake and vanilla wafer worked for us! I gave Princess  V and C a spoon to make a hole, and they had fun.  King Dad and Princess R just enjoyed eating the cake and cookies.

Day 2

We started our lesson by reading the story of Jesus washing the apostles feet.  When I finished the story I asked Princess V to tell me what happened to.  I find doing this helps them pay more attention, and helps me know where they may be confused, or not understand.  Princess V got it almost perfect.  In her words "Peter Pan asked Jesus to wash his feet".  Well we had mentioned Simon Peter, so it wasn't that far a stretch for a 4yo mind.  I gently reminded her that it was Simon Peter not Peter Pan.  

Following the story we had a "Last Supper" type of lunch.  I served honey on bread, pita chips (like unleavened bread), grapes, and apples. I'm throwing the idea around to have lamb for our easter dinner instead of the normal ham.

Toddler Talk Thursday - Easter Baskets

This week on Toddler Talk Thursday we're talking Easter Baskets.  The question is What are you going to put in your toddlers Easter basket?
My answer, I honestly don't know this year.  In the past we've always put their new easter dress in their basket.  I'm not sure id we'll even be buying new easter dresses this year.  They all have so many dresses, it just doesn't seem necessaryPrincess R is going to get her basket on saturday.  I am actually making it for her from this tutorial I found. Isn't that cute? Eventually I want to make one for each of the Princess' but I only have time for one this year.  The day before Easter is Princess R's birthday, the big 1. What I'm thinking of doing is making the basket, and then filling it with her birthday presents.  Which, by the way, we don't know what we're getting for that either!Ya know, maybe I should head to the store today.  Look around and figure this out.  I guess with the move, we just haven't thought that far ahead.  This was from a couple years ago, but here's Princess  V and Princess C in their Easter dresses 2009
What I mostly want to do this Easter is a week long focus on Christ.  The real reason why we celebrate Easter.  I want to make sure the Princess' know the importance of the holiday and that it truly is special.  I plan on doing this by using this idea from sugardoodle.net.  Each day is a little mini lesson on Christ leading up to His death and resurrection.  I sincerely hope my Princess' will come to learn and love Christ the way I do.  Easter baskets are fun, but Christ is truly important.

SUN!

OH how we have missed the sun.  With moving and the crazy weather, the Princess' have gone a little stir crazy. So it was very nice to have the sun come out today.  I decided I needed a break from unpacking as well, and we just enjoyed ourselves!  I helped Princess V get going on her bike, kicked a ball around with Princess C, and watched as Princess R was truly happy without needing to cling to my leg.  I also enjoyed taking lots of pictures of course!

YAY SUN!

Kicking around a ball

Finally a place to really learn to ride a bike!

Now that looks like fun. Great way to learn some balance too.

I sure hope the weather stays this nice the rest of the week.  It will be so very good for all of us to get some sunshine and fresh air.

Toddler Talk Thursday

I am so excited to be linking up with some great blogs to talk all things toddlers!  Thanks Family and Life in Las Vegas, Crazy About My Baybah, and My Life as a Sippy Cup Mom.

This weeks topic is
What are you and your Toddler reading before bed?

A lot!  Seriously we are really into books over.  I have to thank my parents for giving me such a strong love for books.  I just hope I can instill that same love for books into my kids!  Whoa, sorry a little off topic.  What do we read before bed?  Most nights become a storytelling session.  We leave the books aside, and tell our favorites - The 3 little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella.  The great thing about this, is it leaves room for their imagination to grow.  They have to create a mental picture of the story, and they can help tell it in their own words. So much fun!!!!
Now we do read from actual books too. It just changes every night.  We just finished reading Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh.
 

It is a chapter book, but I wanted to introduce the Princess' to longer books, in hopes to teach them to sit still, and really listen.  It wasn't until about halfway through the book that they really started listening, but when they did it was great.  Princess V and C both usually fell asleep while listening to me read!  

Princess V loves looking at her Peter Pan: Mini Books.  

Princess C loves any and all Princess Books.  A recent favorite is Polite as a Princess

 

Princess R loves books, but I find myself reading the Usborne Touchy Feely books like 

and

Now that I've finished reading Harriet the Spy to the Princess', King Daddy helps puts the girls to bed and has been reading Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll to them

Next weeks topic suggestion - Setting a bedtime routine.

Link Up Suggestions:

1. We ask that you follow all three hosts. That way you can keep up to date on future Toddler Talks.

2. Please grab the Toddler Talk Button and display it in your post or on your blog.

3. Stop in to other blogs that are linking up. Leave a meaningful comment if you visit, and follow if you would like.

4. NEW THIS WEEK (lots of new stuff huh?!) – If you want to post the link up on your blog – please do! Maybe we can draw in more people to participate and share tips!!

get the InLinkz code

Too Many Monkeys

Awhile ago we got some card games from Sonic in the kids meals (tot editions).  I had completely forgot about them until Princess V found them on the counter (maybe it's time to clean that counter?).  So as soon as we got Princess R down for her nap, we opened them up and learned how to play.  The first one we tried was Too Many Monkeys.  Before we even started I had Princess V and Princess C find the M's on the box.  I'm happy to say that was a success!  Then we played.

Too Many Monkeys is a fun counting game.  A bunch of monkeys are having a sleepover party, and it's our job to get the #1 monkey back to sleep.  Everyone gets 6 cards that through a series of flipping and placing you have to put in order from 1 to 6.  It's really a game of luck, since you have no control over what card you get, and how many you will get to flip over.  Princess C won 3 rounds in a row before she was bored and didn't want to play anymore.  Princess V did great matching her numbers and only mistook a 5 for a 3 once (otherwise she could've won that round!).  

I definitely see us playing this one a lot!