Ah, The Witching Hours

Since school has begun I noticed that the roughest part of my day is from 3-6pm. Gabby has just gotten home from school and is cranky, hyper, prone to starting fights with AJ, and very hungry since her lunch is the earliest at 11am. AJ, on the other hand, has just napped but is not sleeping as much as she needs to. She is also hungry, cranky, and hyper. Lovely.

Top all this off with the fact that I usually have other children in the house who also shows these symptoms and are getting ready to be picked up by mom and dad, what you have is none other than the witching hours. Apparently though, this is pretty common and there are some things you can do to smooth this time over.

Thanks to Megan over at Simply, she talks about her own experience with the Witching Hour and how she deals with it. One of the most useful tips that I have gained is to whisper instead of yell when things are getting out of hand. I tried it and boy does it work! The kids stop, lean in to listen to my words, and react in a much more positive way to my directions. My throat doesn't get sore from all the yelling and they actually pay attention to what I am saying... a miracle!

For me, one of my biggest problems is that while all the hysterics are going on I am attempting to get things done, which is definitely not working right now. I have dinner to make, get the house back in some semblance of order, pack up my charges bags for pickup, usually someone calls me to chat, and lately I have had to get ready to teach dance that night. All that adds up to a mommy running around like a headless chicken, and kids who take advantage of this by also running around like headless chickens- YIKES!

I am still trying to figure out how to accomplish what I need to get done while keeping the peace in my house, but until then I at least know that it is not just me that is experiencing this strange time of the day.

Is this something you have going on in your house? If so, how the heck do you deal with it??? Especially if you are trying to cook dinner, tidy up, etc....

I'm THAT Mom!

I have been reading this impromptu Blog Carnival, posted by Melissa, and decided to join in the fun!

I am THAT Mom:

*The one who lets her 5 yr old watch movies about magic, witches, Buddhism, zombies. real life looking dinosaurs, and shark attacks because I know that she has an imagination that needs nurturing and she LOVES it!

* The mom who has no problem sitting in the dirt digging for worms in the rain, even though I have my favorite jeans on. 

* The calm on the outside mom who is trying to wrangle my kids plus my "borrowed" kids at the beach, because it is more important that they get outside time and sensory activity than me have my sanity.

*The one who serves lunches in muffin tins, bento boxes, and enjoys making rainbow pancakes just because they are pretty! 

* The mom who tries to be calm like Buddha, crafty like Martha, and awesome like SuperNanny (because she reforms parents not kids!), but has a long way to go on all of the above. 

* That mom who is standing up for herself and her rights to birth her way, despite the protests of the mainstream medical community and even friends. Not only defying "orders" but happily educating others and blogging about it the whole time! 

Almost Wordless Wednesday

My little girl isn't so little anymore... tear! Off to Kindergarten she went today!!

A Little Literary Joy!

This morning was so exciting. The children's section of the Lakewood Library just opened and I was impressed beyond words. The entire area was so colorful, creative, and full of activities for children of all ages, the Burgeon Group really out did themselves this time! I adore the birdhouse theme, watched Gabby "drive" the boat, and took lots of pictures of AJ talking to the baby in the mirror. I can't wait to go back for story time or just visit on a rainy day.
I am so happy to be able to share my love of reading with the girls, especially Gabby who loves being read to every night. We are reading the Spiderwick Chronicles and starting the Harry Potter series. (AJ prefers to read by osmosis, apparently chewing on books is the best way to enjoy them!)

Happy Mother's Day!

Women know
The way to rear up children (to be just)
They know a simple, merry, tender knack
Of tying sashes, fitting baby shoes,

And stringing pretty words that make no sense,

And kissing full sense into empty words.

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I love being a mom, more than I ever thought I would. I love being able to fix hurts, calm fears, snuggle with a book, kiss boo boos, and receive kisses unconditionally. I enjoy teaching new things like how to properly pick up a kitten, fish, and dance the blues away. There is so much that goes into being a mom, and it does not consist of just having a baby. Any woman can do that, it takes so much more to be a mother.


I know first hand that not every woman who has kids is really a mother, and sometimes that breaks my heart. The news is so full of stories of kids being hurt by their mothers, it makes me run to my kids and hug them tight, as if I can shield them from all the pain and suffering. But that is another part of being a mom- to protect them when I can and to show them how to make the world a better place, to counteract all those people who hurt.


My kids are my greatest joy and sometimes I worry about what kind of world they are going to grow up in. But then I look at their faces, so smiling and innocent, and I know that there is hope in the world as long as there are mothers. Here are my favorite pictures of being a mother.
Enjoy and Happy Mother's Day!

Who Knew?

Wow, what a week! I have discovered that between being a full time mom, completing 5 graphic design jobs this week, and getting not one job, but two, that life is pretty full. I love not having to force my kids to wake up, hurry them through their morning routines, and hand them over to someone else. Gabby was so cute the other morning, she looked at me, full smile plastered on her still sleepy face and said, "No more 'Lissa's, you no leave me any more? I like you at home with me and AJ!". Nothing could have convinced me more that I made the right choices than that!

Aside from staying at home with the girls, I am also going to be caring for 2 school age children during the day. This is perfect because I can still do all the summer things that we like to do such as go to the beach, the zoo, and the West Side Market. I won't have more diapers to change or be limited on what the day can hold. The family is very nice and a great match for us, and they like animals (even giant white drooly dogs)!! I am looking forward to days filled with crafts, the sun, and lots of fun.

I also am going to be coaching cheerleading for a new dance studio, even better I get to coach stunting! I have learned that I have an advantage over other cheerleading coaches because I am an experience stunter, which many schools don't allow in Ohio. Bonus: I do it safetly. So cheers for cheerleading!!

So that is that... my life got a little detoured but I ended up in a much better place, at home with my girls, playing with kids, and cheerleading (Which is where I wanted to be in the first place!!!!)

PS: I used some creative time to create Klint some calling cards since he was so jealous of my hot cupcake Mommy cards... of course there is a zombie theme. At least I know I am safe if there is ever a zombie uprising... =)

PPS: Oh, here is a shout out to my friends in Pyro, Hola Miss Ruta! OMG!!

The Many Faces of Gabby

I love taking pictures of Gabby. Not to say that I don't like taking pictures of AJ too, it is just that AJ has two moods: happy and not so happy. Gabby is at the age where she doesn't hide any emotions. She has this huge range of emotions and, like me. she wears them all on her face. She can go from excited to sad to silly in 2.5 seconds, sometimes with no reason at all. She is also experimenting with how her face looks in the mirror which is leading to even more faces. Gabby is very adept at reading people's emotions too, she is great at knowing what kind of mood I am in. (To Klint's horror she has started asking, "What's wrong?" when she thinks someone is mad or upset!) As I said, I love taking her picture and catching all these different faces of my Gabby!