Trending: January

Here's a little bit of what's been trending with us this month:

Of course for Grady this month was no different from the last, I don't know---6 months...all Wild Kratts and Animals, all the time.

 He even watches the Wild Kratts, with his Wild Kratts.

The two of them are pretty fun when they interact together. Marshall loves to do what his big brother is doing, much to Grady's dismay at times. Marshall also loves to give Grady hugs whenever he wakes up, it's pretty sweet

Marshall's also into helping. He likes to ride the vacuum and likes to help change the laundry. It is so fun to see him understanding language so much more and communicating with us even more. He loves to take my phone and hold it behind his ear and say, "ello" over and over again.

The weather has been really great the last few weeks, which has allowed for some really great outdoor time. Fresh air and Vitamin D are amazing!!

              

The gorgeous weather has also allowed us to spend some days at the Zoo.

 Then there was also this possible broken nose incident...

 So hard to believe that we are already wrapping up the first month of 2016, but we are looking forward to February and the celebrations that it will bring!

Adventures with Papa

We headed to KS for the day yesterday. We didn't really have a reason to go, but those trips are often the best. Hanging out and a simple family dinner for no reason other than to be together. It was pretty chilly, but that didn't keep the kids and Papa from exploring.

 

Headed for Papa's woods.

 Papa's hiding spot.

 A stop at Erika's playground for some trampoline shenanigans.

 What does a princess wear when it is too cold for just a tiara? A fairytale hat, that's what.

 

I am so glad I grabbed my camera and tagged along. My face literally hurt from smiling and laughing so much. I cherish these simple moments.

Starting love and logic

I started a Love and Logic class this month. I really am enjoying it, and truly believe in the philosophies that go with Love and Logic. Thy concepts are pretty simple, but it is proving difficult to break some of my bad ineffective parenting habits. I have to say having a three-nager and recently becoming a stay at home mom has opened my eyes to some of my shortcomings as a parent. I am super conflict avoidant...which has made discipline a little stressful for me. That's why I really want to try Love and Logic.
A couple of key points I really like are:
1. Adults set limits without anger, lectures, threats or repeated warnings.
2. When children cause  cause problems, adults hand the problem back in a loving way.

So I am working to move away from timeout, threats and bribes and working on using logical/natural consequences. I am terrible at the whole logical consequence thing. I feel like I just go blank in the moment. So I wanted to make a jar that goes with the Love and Logic "energy drain" technique. Basically, when there is a behavior that I can't think of a logical consequence for I can say. "Wow, _________ (behavior) is really draining my energy. How are you going to help me re-charge my energy?" Since G is only 3 I filled a jar with ideas. Then he can pull two and choose one of them. I totally saves me from having to think on the spot. (although delayed consequence is okay, too)

When I logged on to the Love and Logic website to look for a list of possible "re-chargers" a Love and Logic employee sent me a message and asked if they could help. I asked if they could come to my house and help me...they declined, but they did share a document with some potential re-chargers. They also said to remember that the re-charger just needs to help the parent and be age appropriate, they don't necessarily have to be something the child doesn't like.

So, here is my version...

 And my personal favorite re-charger:

I love that I can add to the jar as ideas come to me, or as he is able to do more around the house. I will update as I use it, so far today it has worked pretty well!

There is so much more to love and logic, so if you want more info here is the website. Just a heads up they won't come to your house.

If you would like the simple file that I use shoot me an email and I'll send it to you!

Cub love

It brings me so much joy when my little Cubs play nicely together. It doesn't happen all the time, believe me, but it is so sweet when they do. I love to watch them play, giggle and even wrestle...although I am using yelling, "careful" or "gentle". This afternoon when Grady woke up Marshall said, "gay-dee" grabbed his head with booth hands and kissed his forehead, he loves his big brother. I pray they are best buds throughout life!

2016 a year of JOY

I've always enjoyed New Years. I like the reflection, fresh start and of course the list making that comes with the start of the new year. This year I really wanted a word for the year. It feels like a theme, and we all know I love a good theme. I really struggled to come up with a word that really encompassed my hopes for 2016. So I waited and this week it came to me- JOY. Here's how I plan to use the word JOY to guide different areas of my life this year, and some action steps for each area.

In 2016 I want to...
- BRING JOY to God by the way that I live my life.
     Actions: Spending more time with Jesus daily and seeking his will in all things.
- CHOOSE JOY
     Actions: practicing gratitude in the midst of the chaos, celebrating the little things,
- SPREAD JOY
     Actions: send more cards, share more meals with others, celebrate other's accomplishments, phone      calls, texts, ect.
- CAPTURE the JOY
     Actions: Blog more, take pictures, finish baby books
- SEEK JOY
     Actions: Invest in relationships, pursue passions

I'm really excited about my guiding word for this year. I have to laugh that since choosing JOY as my word the last couple of days have been more challenging in the Choosing Joy department, but that's how it works, right?

Do you have a word for 2016? 

How are some ways you seek JOY in your life?

-Mama Bear Megs

The Adventures of Zippy and Wink- Week 1

Allow me to introduce our Advent Elves... Zippy and Wink. They are returning for a second year with us. They are our version of the Elf on the Shelf. They give us an idea on how we can show kindness and Christ's love each day during Advent. This year they installed a cute door! I struggled a little this year, worrying that this might detract from the really meaning of Christmas, but I think that it is really adding to it.

 Here is the letter they brought when they arrived Dec. 1st.

Here is the box we decorated to fill with acts of love and kindness...our birthday gift to Jesus. Funny thing about the box. I, of course, was thinking the ribbon/tag was nice. Grady insisted on adding stickers, and even said, "I just want it to look cooler than you do Mom." Ok then. #Jesuslovesstickers It has been fun to ask after Jesus tree what we can add to our box.

 So far this week they had us make cards for friends...which we still need to mail. Whoops.

 They also had us pick up trash at the Zoo. Side note, the OKC Zoo is very well kept!

 They had Grady shop for a gift for Marshall.

And, they had us pull an Angel from the tree at church. They also had us pay for some other people's fines at the library.

I keep it pretty simple, and try to do something that goes with our day. I am going to have to get better at putting them out the night before though!

Happy Advent,

Mama Bear Meg

'Tis the Season

'Tis the Season

We attempted to do a couple of our holiday traditions this weekend. I say attempted because we have a threenager and 10 month old...it's always a crap shoot! As with every Christmas, my internal Advent/Christmas clock is ticking away. I don't want to just check things off a list and go, go, go...but I do want the season to be meaningful and memorable. I love lots of time spent as a family, enjoying the sites and sounds of the season in our own home, as well as a few fun adventures together.

Friday night we wanted to go to an event that sounded really sweet online. Its hard to know when you move to a new area which events are good. It's hit or miss...and this was a miss. But we made the most of it anyways!

Matching jammies...check.

The saving grace of the night is that when we stopped and asked directions for the event we were looking for they sent us to this drive thru light show. Grady enjoyed the lights and Marshall enjoyed driving.

Can you tell my Hubs is not feeling it? Could it be that we were in a "park" that was basically a large median area in a shopping mall? Nah. 

Oh, Oklahoma, you're going to have to do better!

Saturday night was a hit. We put up our tree. Grady really enjoyed looking at the ornaments, and was actually a great help.

 He really liked our peanuts ornament collection.

Marshall loved getting into everything.

 We also learned a little about St. Nicholas and left the boys shoes out.

All in all it was a great weekend. It kinda reminds me of one of my favorite quotes. "The difference between an adventure or an ordeal is your attitude." I have no idea who said it, but I like it, and I try to keep it in mind when things are not going as planned! Which seems to be pretty often for this little bear family!

Mama Bear Meg