Ah- Ha Moments

*Please disregard my errors.  I am delirious.  In fact, I should make that a blanket statement for all my blog posts.  Don't judge me on my sentence structure, conventions, or quality of writing, as most of my entries are completed right before bed and with one eye on the TV screen.  Thank you kindly. *

I have been by myself for the past two weeks, minus the 30 hour stint Ryan was home over a week ago.  These two weeks also perfectly coincided with my occupation change from teacher to stay at home mom.  I consider myself to be a pretty competent person.  After all, there are a lot less capable mothers out there and I do have a degree in elementary education, a masters, and eleven years of classroom experience.  However, I must tell you, all bets are off when it comes to your own children.

Here is what I have learned/ noticed:

1.  My kids are constantly the kiddos who leave the house with unbrushed hair, a dirty mush and soiled clothes.  As a result, my goal for the upcoming week is to make sure we leave the house looking respectable.  At all times.  Plus, we will put our clothes on for the day AFTER breakfast.  DUH!  (This might also help with my massive pile of laundry... bonus!)

2.  Presetting expectations is a must.  This is so obvious in the teacher world and so necessary with a toddler.  Everywhere I go I say, "If we have a tantrum we go home."  Ella now fills in the blank and she knows I mean business.  We have left the library and just this past week, a birthday party due to tantrums.   That simple phrase is my mantra.  I bet I say it in my sleep.

3.  Scissors are a godsend.  Seriously.  Ella can snip away happily for twenty minutes.

4.  If I shower at all, it is a good day.

5.  Drive-thru Starbucks can make anything better.  Seriously.   Our regular order is a petite vanilla scone for Ella and a grande vanilla latte for moi.  Twenty minutes of driving, sipping on coffee, and listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is sometimes the break we all need.

6.  My dishwasher is worth its weight in gold.  We were without if for 2 days and I thought I was going to have an anxiety attack every time I put a dish in the sink.  Not sure why, but life is better when my sink is empty.

7.   Amazon delivers toilet paper.

8.  Costco is a great outing.  This I knew, but everyone is happy at Costco so I thought I'd add it to the list.  Plus, they have this awesome Princess Sticker book right now that I am using to bribe motivate Ella to get into the water at swim lessons.

Some shots from the week:

All in all, it was has been a GREAT two weeks.  I feel like we are in our groove.  I am happy to be staying at home with the littles.   My confidence has grown.  I can keep my kids happy and entertained, my house somewhat clean and organized,  I can cook wholesome meals (this was my biggest worry about staying at home), and I am back at the gym (yay).