vaccum hazards...

My two (almost 3 year old) is a touch clingy. Think of a monkey holding onto his mother for dear life, and you have my Mason.

For example, one day I decided to go to the bathroom. I know, amazing right? Well here is the exciting part, I decided to go withOUT him. I ran up to my room and locked the bathroom door.

The next thing I hear is blood curtling screams. Like my child is really hurt kind of screams. Then I heard him say, "where is my Mommy?". Harmony told him and he started screaming even more shouting, "You took her, my Mommy!". I came back downstairs and the screaming and crying stopped immediatley. Then he velcro'ed himself to my side for the rest of the day.

Deciding that I needed a break from him, I decided to do what any good mother would do...get out the vaccum. He still hates it. When I turn it on, he runs. A few minutes of peace and a clean floor? Hmmm, I call that a win-win.

So I am busy vaccuming when I look down and blood is all down my leg. I didn't even feel it! I stop to clean it up but the teeny tiny scratch just kept bleeding. I was forced to sit and get it to stop, and Mason brought me a band- aid to make it all better. Needless to say...I learned my lesson.

Vaccuming can be hazardous, next time I will let the kids do it...

Mt. Washmore

Whether your family consists of 1 or 20, there is one thing that we all have in common...laundry.

5 kids +2 adults= an insane amount of laundry. From daily outfits, to my husbands pt uniforms, the rest of his uniforms, linens...you get the picture.

I spend a lot of time in my laundry room. A LOT. So while I would never declare laundry as fun...

Purex is trying to make it a little more fun with a new video series called, "Let's Be Honest" which will share fun anecdotes about life, laundry and...whatever!

They are also having a fun sweepstakes (which launches on April 30th) where you can enter daily for a year supply of laundry soap. Free laundry soap could make laundry a little less depressing right?!

So make sure you check it out at Purex

Now I am off to restart the dryer so I don't have to fold quite yet!

field trip survival

The weather here in So. Cal has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! Not too hot, not to cold. Plenty of blue skies and breezes. So with weather like that, field trips are in full swing!

My son (my only child still in public school) had a field trip to the zoo. So I tagged along as a chaperone bringing my older two boys as well. As I was getting ready, I grabbed my bags of essentials and headed out the door. Although this might be a no-brainer to some, it took me a while to figure out. (: If I keep things already packed and ready, I don't have to run around like a mad woman trying to find everything I need. Our family goes on a lot of outtings and it takes a lot to get things ready. I save time by keeping the essentials packed and ready to go!

In one bag, I have my "keeping clean" items.

In this bag are tissues, toddler wipes, hand sanitizer, hair clips, chapstick, small tube of lotion etc. My daughter was not with me on this trip, but this is also where I keep our "girl things".

The next bag is more of a "keep us safe and healthy" bag: items like sunscreen (and lots of it!) bug spray, mini first aid kit (this tin has a few tylenol also) benadryl anti-itch stick.

Depending on which child/children I have with me, also helps determine what I bring. For instance I have a bag for Mason with diapers, wipes, and an extra outfit.

A few extras I like to carry with me: an empty trashbag, permanent marker, extra batteries, a few small snacks and water bottles...and a whole container of wet wipes!

Fives

So I fell off the face of the earth for a week...sorry. Our life can go from completely boring, to crazy in an hour!

enjoying some (rare)  free time at the pool

I have also been dealing with an issue, that is starting to work itself out. It used up my emotional energy and so I am still trying to get back to normal.

Speaking of getting back to normal, the only way that I know how to do it is routines.

Back to basics. I like to have 5 things on my morning, afternoon and evening routine. They are simple. Easy. But they help keep a bit of control...

Morning 5:
1. make bed
2. get dressed (no pj's!!)
3.prayer & scriptures
4. unload dishwasher (reload if necessary)
5. start a load of laundry

Afternoon 5: (usually after I pick up my son at 2:00)
1. clean up any lunch dishes
2. clean up homeschool table & work
3. reboot laundry
4. tidy up the living room
5. nap or rest time

Evening 5:
1. tidy up playroom
2. evening dishes/ kitchen clean up (my kids help)
3. clear off  table
4. plan out clothes for my younger kiddo's
5. start thinking about the next day (ex. lunches, appts, school work, activities, dinner...)

How about you? How do you recover after a busy time?

guest poster

I have been reading Angie Hodes blog, The American Homemaker for a few years now. So when she was looking for someone to guest post while she was on vacation, I raised my hand...or my laptop (:

Over on her blog today, I am sharing 10 of my favorite ways to save money at amusement parks. I hope you will stop on by and take a look!

book love

I have always loved books. My kids love books.

One day, I took some of my kids to a store that rhymes with Smarnes & Bobles. Even after getting some of the books from their value section...we still did not get out of that store without spending...I won't finish that.

So today while we perusing the local Goodwill we hit the book section.

Book after book made it's way to our cart. From cookbooks to kids books, to novels to childrens books. Childrens books are a measley .49 cents each. Love it!!

I had to laugh when the workers pointed out that one of our books was labeled as .99 and "who was tagging books in the kids section?". Seriously it was funny.

Our Harry Potter books are all in sad shape, so for .69 I replaced one of them.

I was also excited to find some great books for homeschooling, plus a book called, "Yes You Can Teach Your Children."



Do you ever shop at thrift stores for books? What was your best find?

winner, winner chicken dinner!

Thanks to Random.org we have a winner of the Nuk/Gerber lunch box!

The winner is Wendy K. Congrats Wendy! If you could email me your snail mail address (you can do it on fb or to my email hecimommy@gmail.com)!

yummm...

Living in So. California definatley has its' perks! Perfect weather, beautiful area, close to the beach, friendly people and tons of yummy produce!!

Because of our awesome weather, we have yummy produce all year round. But right now is my favorite time of the year because of the STRAWBERRIES!!

Mmm, they are huge and cheap! When they are not in season, we can usually find them for around $2-$2.50 per pint. Right now they are .99!

I bought two 3 lb. containers and spent a while cutting them all up. We like them straight up, or in a bowl with sugar,using them to make freezer jam,  or my favorite....strawberry shortcake.

Normally I crush them and add sugar, to make it more of a sauce. But these were so yummy I just heaped them on. Delish...and might I add, not too bad health wise.

Strawberries- zero fat and few calories
sponge dessert cups- zero fat and 85 calories for one
cool whip/whipped cream- you could use fat free, light or regular

quick tip

After posting pictures of my cupcakes, I was asked about my sillicone muffin cups.

 I originally bought them to use only in my kids bento lunches as snack containers. But I later decided to take the plunge and used them to actually bake with.

So, the question I was asked was, how do you clean them?

I am sure there are a lot of ways to clean these but this is what I do:

1. turn them inside out

2. toss them into my dishwasher basket

3. take them out and they are nice and clean

Easy as that (: I have also used them and then put them in a bowl of soapy water and then just simply rinsed them off.

So if you have been shying away from silicone muffin cups, don't! They are great. They also work well as snack holders in a bento box!

Happy Homemaker Monday

A little late in the day but...

 the weather: is perfect right now!! In the 70's with a slight breeze

on my reading pile: Dead Heat by Kathleen Brooks

on my tv: Oceans 12

on the menu for this week: honestly...I have no idea!! The only thing I have planned is Easter dinner!

on my to do list: organizing my coupons, spring cleaning, decluttering

what I am creating: actually I just gave away a ton of craft supplies. I just don't have time to do much creating...sniff, sniff.

in homeschooling: technically my kids are on spring break. So we haven't been doing much. Next week, we will continue working on our CA state history,our science unit on oceans (which kind of works with the CA stuff also)

looking around the house: I have piles of coupons everywhere! But I am going to ignore them and go read (:

I told my 2 year old, before heading to an egg hunt, "let's go get some eggs" and he headed straight to the fridge!

from the camera:

something fun to share: Are you addicted to Pinterest yet? It is so addicting and if you are not on there already, you really should be (: If you want an invite, I would be happy to send you one!

on my prayer list: My husband's family, who just had a death in the family. My husband who is overseas. My children.

devotions:I heard this week and LOVED it! "Don't judge me because I sin differently then you do." Seriously, it is so true to me. I need to be better about this!

I am currently having a giveaway, and so I would love it if you would stop by and enter! You can find it here

Easter traditions

Ivan with the EB...and my shadow (:

Like Christmas, the true meaning of Easter often gets overlooked.

Filling those baskets & hunting for eggs seems to be a main priority for a lot of people.

I am not saying these are bad things. They aren't. We participate in quite a few of them.

I admit that it is really hard for me to not get caught up in it also.

But I really, really want to make sure that my kids know the true meaning of Easter.

Since my kids were little there has been one thing that has really helped our family keep our focus.

We celebrate the Easter bunny on the Saturday before. Then it is OVER. They get a basket filled with goodies and little toys. We don't talk about it. The EB is just not a priority.

Sunday morning, we go to church, eat a nice, big traditional dinner and talk about Christ and His resurrection.

However, we can all use good ideas for our kids baskets, right?

Besides candy, I like to put in inexpensive movies (or maybe something I just got a good deal on). Outdoor toys like balls, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, bubbles...

I also like to look in the dollar section/ $1 stores for stickers, notepads, glow sticks (one of my kids favorite things!) playing cards, crazy straws, crayons, markers...

Things like lip gloss, hair things, fun socks and little items like that usually make it into my daughters basket.

So what about you, what do you do for Easter?

Autism Awareness

I remember the day like it was yesterday.


I was sitting in a doctors office, overlooking the ocean, my 4 kids were running around the room. The visiting doctor, declared, "Mrs. Turner, your son is on the Autism spectrum."

I was in shock. I walked away without a word. I somehow got my kids in the car. Drove home. And cried. My husband was deployed. I had to call him and tell him. I felt alone. Scared, lost, overwhelmed. I held Ivan and cried. The only thing I remember from that night, was an awful headache from crying so much. He was only three years old.

What I thought were "only" developmental delays turned out to be so much more.

I read blogs, websites, books, articles...anything I could get my hands on.

I got him enrolled into a special ed pre-k program.

Every day was a challenge. Every day was different. Things that had worked one day, no longer helped. Taking him anywhere was a nightmare. He had to use the same plate and cup every day. No one else could use them.He lined everything up. If he went off his routine, he couldn't handle it. He would only eat certain foods.  He didn't speak. He was 5 years old before I heard him say " I love you, Mom." It was 1 step forward, 5 steps back.

4 years later, Ivan is a talkative, fun and adorable 7 year old. I have learned so much from him. I have learned so much about patience, love, being judgemental and accepting help.

Today, every day is a challenge. Every day is different. He still wants to use the same plate and cup. He still will only wear red. He will still only eat certain foods. He struggles with talking to kids. He struggles with his temper. He struggles when his world isn't in order. He doesn't know limits and has the scars to prove it.

But he has grown up. He has made amazing progress. He is a math whiz, an amazing Lego builder, he runs everywhere he goes. He loves McDonalds cheeseburgers. He gives the best squeeze hugs. He is a good reader. He is trying to convince me to let him walk home from school by himself because he is a big boy.

My sweet boy has been judged because of his behavior. Behavior he can't help. He has been laughed at. He has been called names.

 I have been judged by my "lack of discipline" or "letting him get away with everything". It is hurtful.
If his diagnosis has taught me one thing, it is to not judge others. We never know what they are dealing with.

April 2nd is Autism Awareness day. Autism Speaks is asking us to "light it up" for the day. If you feel the desire, wear blue. Change your facebook profile picture to the one above. Have your kids wear blue. Have blueberry muffins. If you want to learn more about autism, and lighting it up, you can find it here