Mommy Files: Always listening. Always watching.

Let me start off by saying, I am no parenting expert. Not even close. I'll get real with you. I am a hot mess of a mama who is just trying to keep my two mini humans alive. But I have recently observed something that has really changed the way that I approach parenting them. 

Kiddos are like little sponges. They are absorbing everything. They are always listening and always watching. Noah is two and a half and he sees everything I am doing. And he is at the perfect age to start mimicking my actions and repeating my words. If nothing else makes a person take a step back to look at his or her behavior, this will. 

Its really easy to resort to yelling in parenting. Frankly, sometimes nothing else works. But the other day I watched Noah playing with Sophie and I can't even remember what she did, but immediately he was angry and yelling. I was a little freaked out to see him react like this. The whole night I had it in the back of my mind, wondering where this behavior had come from. 

It made me realize that I needed to approach reacting to Noah's actions differently. I needed to parent with more patience and less yelling. He was hearing me and thinking that yelling was the way to cope with things that he didn't like.  

Ugh. It's seriously so hard. When you have to repeat the same thing over and over and over and you feel like you have to get loud to be heard. When you are only trying to prevent them from getting hurt but they are just not listening. It's so dang hard. But they are little. They are learning. And at the same time that they are learning what not to do from you, they are taking in how to react in situations. They are seeing your response and learning how to behave and how to act. 

It has really made me take a step back and think about everything that I do in front of my kiddos. How I treat and love my husband. How I treat and love myself. How I speak about others. How I react when something isn't going right. How much I use my phone or other types of technology. What I eat. The words I use. EVERYTHING.

No one is perfect. We are all human and it's impossible to do everything right. BUT we can be more aware of how our actions and words are effecting our kids. We can strive to be better and do better for the little ones in our lives. We can at least think about how what we are doing effects their behavior and lives. 

Be patient. Be nice. Love on your kiddos. xo Britt

Mommy Files: Toddler Chores + Free Printable

It may seem hard to believe, but my two year old loves chores. I am sure that he will be growing out of it soon, but mama is taking full advantage of the situation right now. Ha. But really. I love the structure of having chores for Noah to help with throughout the day. From things like feeding the dog (with my help) to cleaning up his messes to vacuuming with his tiny dyson sweeper. I think that it is beginning to instill a certain responsibility for Noah. Which again may sound crazy, but hear me out. 

The other day Noah tripped in the kitchen while carrying his chocolate milk. I was cooking eggs for the family, so I made sure Noah was ok, but I figured I would clean up the mess after I was finished with the eggs. I turned around and Noah by himself had gone in and gotten a towel and was cleaning up his own mess. It was such a proud momma moment for me. It makes me feel like despite these crazy terrible-twos that I am dealing with I am getting through to him at least on some levels. It was just so surprising to me that a two year old without being asked went to so much effort to clean up after themselves. I could be getting totally over-excited about this, but I was so impressed. 

I don't really feel like there is a magic formula to getting young kids to do things or learn things because every child is different. But I have learned that structure seems to do well. Don't get me wrong it is a hot mess over here a lot of the time, but I try to keep somewhat of the same routine each day and week to keep us on track. The list just really helps make me feel like we accomplished something even if we've had a rough day. 

I had been just keeping the list of chores in my head and I would call them out as we would work on them throughout the day. But I decided that it may be more fun if I had a little chart that Noah could mark on every day. So now I thought I'd share it with you. There are four color options: red, blue, pink, + mustard. Just download, print, and fill it out. 

PS. I hope he is forever this excited to vacuum :) xo Britt

Mommy Files: Getting Over Being a Perfectionist

I used to be a perfectionist. Well I still am, but it's different. Being a mom of two under two it can be hard to get stuff done. If I manage to actually get it done it's most likely not going to be how I was picturing it. I have learned that's ok.

It's really freeing actually. It feels good to not get freaked out by things that I would have been all bent out of shape for in the past.

The day that I took these photos and decided that this was an important topic for me to post about, I was folding towels on my bed while I was waiting for our sheets to dry. I had several towels folded and stacked up. Noah came in and tackled everything that I had done.

My initial reaction was to have a mini freak out and try to quickly fold everything while attempting to distract him. And then I realized that I didn't care if I got all of the laundry folded. Hey. Getting it clean is the important part, right?

We instead decided to have a pillow fight right on top of the towels. We wrestled and had a tickle fight. We had so much fun! After Noah lost interest in those shenanigans, we started playing a game that consisted of me messily folding the towels really quickly while Noah tried to knock them down. Ha. But hey I got them folded, no matter how messy they were. 

I think its important not only for you as a mom to feel ok with having things messy or not perfect. But I think it is more important for your little ones to see it too. I like that Noah + Sophie have changed that for me. They have helped me realize what is really important. And that even if I want things to be perfect, they aren't going to be, so we might as well embrace the crazy and the mess. Because frankly its more fun anyway.

Thanks for letting me share with you. xo Britt

Mommy Files: Tips for staying sane as a work-at-home mom

Being a work-at-home mom has proven to be the hardest, yet most rewarding thing I have ever taken on. Some days are harder than others, but in the time that I have been doing this I have learned a few key things that help me stay a happy momma, for the most part :)

1. Embrace the chaos.
I used to be a perfectionist. Well I still am, but it's different. Being a mom of two under two it can be hard to get stuff done. If I manage to actually get it done it's most likely not going to be how I was picturing it. I have learned that's ok.It's really freeing actually. It feels good to not get freaked out by things that I would have been all bent out of shape for in the past.

2. Put on real pants.
There are plenty of days that I don't have time to change out of the clothes I slept in. It happens more than I'd like to admit. But the days that I feel most accomplished are days that I take a second to put on real pants. Even if I didn't get a chance to shower before the kids woke up, it feels good to have on real clothes. I know it's silly, but I swear it helps.

3. Ask for help.
It wasn't until I had Sophie that I realized the importance of asking for help. When it was just Noah, I basically refused to ask for help. I don't really know why. I can't explain it. I just was not an option in my mind. 
But then comes miss Sophie. I am taking care of a baby and a toddler. I am SO TIRED. It still took my mom asking me if I needed help to admit that I did. But she took the kids for the night. And I got to sleep. IT WAS AMAZING. Maybe it was because my brain had enough sleep to actually function properly, but I realized that I needed help. And it was ok for me to need help and ask for it. 
There are days that I just can't get work done unless I have help. I have learned to embrace the awesome family members that I have around me that are available and willing to help when I need them.

4. Go on adventures.
Get out of the house! It's important for everyone's sanity. Days go so much better when Noah and I get out of the house and run off some energy. Let me rephrase that. When Noah runs off energy and I watch him. Hahaha! :) It can be going to the park, or the zoo, or just going out to my grandparents land to just run around, its necessary.

5. Making a schedule (sort of)
Creating a schedule does not mean that we are going to come anywhere near following it. Blame it on the list maker in me, but something feels good about having a list of guidelines to try to mold my day around. There are days that we disregard the list completely, but it still feels good knowing that I have a goal for each day. 

6. Activities.
If I have to get work done while Noah is awake, activities are a necessity. I put him in his highchair and pull out the box. I have a collection of things for him to work on or play with that are specifically for activity time. The activities vary from coloring books, to blocks, to different sensory and sorting activities. Having this basked of goodies makes it possible to get work done when necessary. Its pretty great!  

This work-at-home momma thing can be rough. There are some days that I feel totally defeated. And there have been days that my husband comes home and I burst into tears. Those days are few and far between, but they don't even begin to compare to the other days. I am beyond blessed to be able to stay at home with my mini crazies. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Hopefully this little bit of information will be helpful to another momma thats works at home. Or it may just give you a little insight into how I attempt to stay sane on the daily :) xo, Britt

Friday Fun: Adventures at Fun Farm Pumkin Patch

To help get you through your afternoon and to the weekend, we thought we'd share some photos from our recent trip to the Fun Farm Pumpkin Patch in Kearney, Missouri! The funny thing is that there are no photos of pumpkins at all because there were so many other fun things to do there 😂.

Happy Friday! xoxo, Britt + Sky