The Latest Randomness Plus An OOTD...

I have been uber busy in the last few days and have been unable to blog daily as a result. 

I have a lot of little projects going on at once, including an upcoming feature for my blog that I am pretty psyched about. I am also trying to balance finishing up some other posts that are floating around my head, taking care of the kiddos including Nelly who is suffering from a bout of nasty diarrhea. She literally blew up on my couch this morning and no matter how hard i scrub there is still a faint odour of shit. Then there's getting Coder to and from school each day in the damn snow with no car. I still have yet to finish making the lollipop Valentine's for his kindergarten class, which I will also be posting a tutorial of. 

The kiddos have been a bit sick....Poor Nelly has the runs..oops TMI?

We just got another snow storm down yesterday and school was let out early on Friday. We have actually had a pretty mild winter so far but I have still had my fill of cold and snow. Spring can not come fast enough. I just find that I get so down and unmotivated in the winter months. The short days and lack of sunshine throw my system all out of whack. I feel like I am constantly trying to find new ways to keep my kids entertained as choruses of "I'm bored," ring out. I try to bring them out to play as much as possible but getting them all bundled up is such as hassle and usually results in the youngest whining that she is cold after twenty minutes. Or one of them needs to use the bathroom and I am forced to strip it all back off. I probably sound so negative right now and I am sure all those Mom's who spend hours doing outdoor activities with their families are probably tsk tsk-ing but it is the truth. We did make a few snowmen and manage to bring Coder skating on the pond at Centennial lately so the kids have had some outdoor fun this year so far. 

 All bundled up for a car ride to visit Nana and Pappy:)

 Another thing that has been keeping my occupied is that I have been looking into getting my GED or adult diploma lately. Pretty much everyone has heard of the G.E.D but another option many haven't heard of is the adult diploma. It is the equivalent of a regular high school diploma but it is for people                                                                                                                                                                                                                          who are 21 years old and up (to old for regular high school) and it only requires nine credits to graduate, as opposed to the usually twenty-something. You are only required to earn one credit in each basic subject including Science, Social Studies, Math, English, French, one Computer course and a few others I can't recall at the moment. My sister graduated high school via the adult diploma and is now working at a high paying law firm so it is definitely accepted as you high school equivalent at many places. The reason I want to do this is because i never graduated from high school and that is one of my biggest regrets ever. 

                                                                                         

I was several months pregnant when i stopped going and swore i would go back after the baby was born, but then i ended up spending all my time raising my son so I kept putting it off longer, then i got into drugs and what later blossomed into a full blown addiction and school was the last thing on my mind. However, now that i am clean and drug free, my son is in school and my daughter is older I feel it is the perfect time to go back to school. I sit home with the kids all day anyway as I am not working now so what do I have to lose? I know that Nanny Trites will watch Nelly while brother is in school if I can attend morning classes. I want to eventually go to college and pursue a real career once my children are older so some type of high school diploma is essential. Plus, the hubby  raduated and I want to set a good example for my children as well because their education is very important to me. Anywho, I am finished yapping now so I will leave you with my latest outfit of the day. Enjoy:)

OOTD: Plaid is RAD

Plaid Shirt- Urban Planet for 4$ (Regular 24.99$)

Black Low Cut Halter Top underneath- Urban Planet for 14.99$

Distressed Jeans- Urban Planet for 29.99$

Ugg-Style Boots- Giant Tiger for 12.99$

Wide Black Belt- Urban Planet for 5$

Black and Silver Necklace- Given to me by my sister

Brown Sunglasses- Dollarama for 2$

Messy ass house in the background- PRICELESS

Here is a closer looks at my belt and necklace (and boobs...oopsie)

Drop by tomorrow for the debut of my first poetry post. As I said before I plan on poster a series of poems written by me throughout my angsty teen years through to now. They have been collecting dust in a box until now so I decided to dust them off and share them with the world (Well, at least with the blog world). Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think after you read them (Keep in mind that many of them were written when I was at the tender age of sixteen so be easy on me.) The first will go live (I love the sound of that..."It goes live at six..." I feel like a real reporter or something when I say it that way...It sounds much more exciting, AmIRight?) Later Peeps:)

30 Fabulously Fun and Free Winter Activities...Plus: Get Featured on TTT!

With the shorter days and sub-zero temperatures its easy to understand why your kids may have a case of the winter blues. Shake things up and prevent cabin fever from setting in with these super fun winter activities. All of them are either very cheap or FREE! They are guaranteed to beat the boredom and create lasting memories! 

**Instructions on how to enter to be Featured on this blog are posted at the bottom of this list! You get a post featured, your blog name with a link back to it, your blog button featured on my homepage and an "I Was Featured..." button for your own blog:)**

30 Fabulously Fun & Free Winter Activities

1) Have a camp out in your living room. Spread out your sleeping bags, make s'mores in the microwave (Adult supervision required). Tell spooky stories, play camp games or sing camp fire songs.

2) Make Creamy Hot Cocoa with marshmallows. (Try this Valentine's Day Marshmallow trick by Martha)

3) Build a snow fort and "paint" it with Kool-Aid powder mixed with a bit of water in a spray bottle.

4) Make a Snow Measuring Stick to track the amount of snowfall. Graph the amounts on a chart.

5) Have a talent show. Give each family member a turn to show their talents and then vote for a  winner.

6) Go sledding! Grab your toboggans and have sled races on a nearby hill. Just don't slide near traffic.

7) Visit your local public library and cuddle up for story time. Many library's also have special activity days for different age groups. Call to find out!

8) Snuggle up for family movie night marathon! Pick winter themed flicks such as Jack Frost, Ice Age or Happy Feet!

9) Bake some cookies together! Designate each child a job such as dumping ingredients, mixing,
     spooning onto cookie sheets. Try this great recipe HERE. When they are done dip them in milk and enjoy!

10) Take your kids to try a class such as tumbling. Call around, many places such as My Gym offer a free trial class with no conditions.

11) Have a treasure hunt!! Place clues around these house with each one leading to the next. Clues can range from a simple picture to a riddle they must figure out. Have a small prize at the end such as a treat or new coloring book, it can be anything really...The real fun is in the chase! Smaller children may need a bit of assistance to stay on track.

12) Make a bird feeder from a pine cone. Directions HERE. Hang it up in your yard and bird watch. See how many different species of birds you can spot.

13) Go skating!! Play a game of hockey..Designate kids too small to skate as the "cheerleaders" or score keepers.

14) Make your own snow cones with REAL snow! Here is a great recipe for Snowcone Syrup. Keep it in the fridge in a squirt bottle and poor it over fresh snow or shaved ice whenever you want a treat.

15) Build a snowman together. Or even a whole snow family!!

16) Have an indoor snowball fight with wadded up paper! You could even make paper snowflakes to make it "snow"!

17) Go viral! Make a funny home video. Have the kids put on a skit and then post it on Youtube!

18) Have a family game night! Play classic family board games like monopoly or snakes and ladder. For some real laughs try Twister!

19) Play an interactive video game such as Rock Band or Dance dance Revolution. Have a friendly competition and crown the winner as the "Video Game Champion."

20) Give each other silly makeovers then have a fashion show at the end to show off your new looks. Take "Before" and "After" pictures.

21) Have an indoor picnic. Spread a blanket on the floor and have your lunch there! Don't forget dessert, too!

22) Make homemade valentines with your kids to give out to their classmates. Get some inspiration HERE.

23) Go swimming!! Let the kids put on their bathing suits and go swimming in the bathtub! Washing is optional!

24) Make Edible Play-doh and have fun making (and eating) sculptures.

25) Make a countdown to Spring paper chain and remove one link per day! Have a spring activity planned for when you reach the last link.

26) Get a huge empty box such as one from a refrigerator and transform it into a rocket ship (or whatever you want). Use your imaginations to act out different scenarios like pretending that you have just landed on the moon. (Ask around at local furniture stores to see if they have a box they were going to throw out that you can have...Most will be happy to give you one!)

27) Bundle up and go on a nature walk in a local park. Look for animal tracks, acorns, fallen leaves and whatever other treasures you can find. Bring them home and make a nature collage or scrapbook of your findings!

28) Get active and play some energy burning games indoors (or outdoors if you don't have enough room) such as Hide & Seek, Freeze Tag or Red Light, Green Light.

29) Go outdoors and blow bubbles in the cold. If the temperature is below zero or colder, the bubbles with harden in the air and then shatter when they hit the ground! Make your own Bubble Solution.

Frozen bubbles are SO cool!

30) Try to make a list of 30 MORE fun winter activities!! Post it in the comments her e or email it to me at babygurljrl23@gmail.com. I will  publish my favorite list with the most creative ideas as part two of this blog post! Don't worry you will get the credit for it, a link back to your blog and have your blog button posted on my homepage:) You will also get an "I Was Featured..." button to post on your own blog!So start brainstorming!!

Sunday Snapshots: How NOT to Supervise a Toddler.

With all the hustle, bustle of preparing for the holidays, I admit I probably haven't been giving my children the same amount of supervision I normally do.

That is not to say that I ignore them or leave them to fend for themselves. It is just that I will be so consumed in a project that I don't check in on them as often as I should I usually do.   Usually their giggles and shrieks assure me that they are, indeed, alive and well. It is the silence that terrifies me. So imagine my suspicion when in the middle of trying to fill out, address and stamp my ten thousand Christmas cards I become aware of the eerie silence that has cloaked my usually deafening home. I got up and began cautiously checking each room, shouting for Nelly, with no response. My heart begins to sink with dread as all kind of horrible scenarios run through my mind. What if she got outside? What if she is hurt and unconscious? What if she was abducted by aliens? Suddenly, I heard some shuffling around from the kitchen...What the? I turned the corner and paused right before the kitchen entryway, bracing myself for the very worst. I stepped around the threshold and came face to face with this:

If only I can get this goddam nail polish open...

Wait, shhh...Did you hear that?

Oh shit...I mean...Hi Mommy! Just tidying things up for you.

Apparently, Nelly decided that she was due for a manicure. I had a few of my favorite nail polishes on top of the stove. Well, she must have opened the oven door, and used it as a step to hoist herself up onto the top of the range. I watched her for a second as she struggled to open the nail polish, until she finally turned around with a looked on her face that clearly said "BUSTED." Thankfully, my oven and burners are next to impossible for me to turn on, let alone a two year old. You have to screw around with the timer for like five minutes, jiggle the dial, kick it three times and shout at least four profanities before the oven will work. Don't even get me started on my schizophrenic burners. I took her down and gave her a stern talking to: (*In meanest baby-talk voice* "Nooo, Neh-wee-poo, dat's badddd durl...It will burn da wittle babyyy...You no touch dat, oh-tay?" She looked at me like I had lost my mind and toddled off. Thankfully, we haven't had a repeat of her little adventure...yet. I am sure we will though, now that she knows she can use the oven door as a stepstool. If I am being totally honest I must admit that I hesitated before posting this. I was worried that all the other blogging moms would chastise me for being a shitty mom who lets her baby play on top of the stove. But then i decided fuck it, shit happens. (Pardon my french) I don't have eyes in the back of my head and cannot keeps tabs on both kids and get everything done i need to at the same time. And if there are any moms out there who can do so, well then I secretly think you're full of shit applaud you.

**There is a Christmas gift post in the works that consists of the gifts I bought my rugrats, and what I think some of the top toys of 2011 are. I am sharing this because I figure if you are anything like me then you are one nosy S.O.B and want to know what every other mom is doing, buying, wearing, cooking etc. I mostly enjoy these types of posts because I can then steal all these fantastic mom's ideas and claim them as my own, wowing my family and friends with my ingenuity in the progress:D Although I cannot guarantee a specific day, it will be posted this week for sure.**