Doc McElle

So, I know I've been missing for a few days. E and I are fighting Mommy-Daughter colds/viruses. It's been quite an adventure spending two straight days inside with a cranky two-year-old who both wants me and hates me at the same time. My Facebook post from this morning sums up our current sick status:

3:30am sinus explosion, and my voice is gone (I'm certain you needed to know this), but I'm ((happy)) because I can actually breathe again.

E has slept all night (so far), so maybe we're reaching a turning point!!!

Doctor says this is a nasty virus that's going around. We're clear for bronchitis and ear infections and other nasties. So that's good!

And as exhausting as it was taking my precocious toddler to the doctor's office yesterday, nothing makes me happier than watching her storm in there with her toy Doc McStuffins doctor bag and tell the nurses and doctors how to do their jobs.

"Hey, it's my turn!" "You need to check my ears now."

I can't believe this is my child!! On Saturday we were in line at the cafe, and she told an eager woman behind us to "wait her turn." I said all the things I was supposed to say per my parenting rule book (eye roll), but I giggled all the way through my lesson, because she was absolutely right. Wait your turn, Lady!

ALSO, if you've been missing us, tune in to the bvtmomsblog Instagram page (here)! E and I have taken it over for the day so that you can get a glimpse into a "day in the life" of the Strange family!

The pic above is my favorite so far. Happy E, while I draw funny pics of Daddy eating Rice "Krippies" out of a monstrous bowl.

Sea Glass and Sass

Today, my sassy toddler and I used some sea- and river-glass from my friend to make some mosaics. She gave us a bag full of pottery and glass she had found on the banks of the Atlantic Ocean in New Hampshire and the Winooski River in Vermont.

We started working on pieces of plywood, but I wanted the translucent pieces of glass to glow, so we grabbed some old glass out of frames to glue on. I really like how these turned out! I did one with a beer-glass heart, and E did the one with white sea glass.

We just used non-toxic tacky glue (which promises to dry clear, though I have my doubts, may need to try a different glue), and I put the glass from the frame on a piece of plywood so that E wouldn't bump into it and cut herself -- it was a little sharp. She picked where she wanted the rocks to go and helped me squeeze the glue bottle.

When they dry, I'm going to glue the glass back into the frame and somehow add a hook to hang these in the window. Without the backing on the frame, I'm missing that hardware to hang it.

Still, a super-cheap and fun activity! It kept E busy for two hours, and I'm sure she'd love going to the river to look for our own pieces next time. I'm also going to pick up some more cheap frames at the Dollar Tree or Christmas Tree Shops.

Altogether, about a $3 project including the glue!

Mommy Marble

We put in a particularly rough morning today. E cried and screamed over every little thing. Each time, I calmed her down, and got her to speak to me without whining and with big-girl words.

Before she left, she begged me to just cradle her in my arms and rock her. She hasn't done that in months. I held her close and cooed to her about how she would have a good day, that after day care I would pick her up, and we'd do something special like go to the park or blow bubbles.

I reminded her that tomorrow we're planning to go on the ferry boat, across the lake to see Grammie and Great-Grammie for a visit in Plattsburgh. That made her happy, but she still begged me to hold her before she left.

I pull out every creative idea on mornings like this. I give her a special "toy" to take in the car with her -- a few playing cards, or a stuffed animal she hasn't seen in awhile. I make him talk to her in a funny voice and ask if she'll please take him with her to day care. That usually works, but not today.

Finally, I grabbed a red marble from a dish on the kitchen counter. It had been hanging out there for weeks -- left over from a random, "let's just spend $1 to make her happy and make it home in peace and quiet" shopping trip from the Sugar House.

I tucked it in her hand, held her close, and said, "This is, um... uh... a Mommy Marble! If you keep it in your pocket, I'll be with you always." I waited for her reaction.

She got a huge smile on her face, reached in her pocket to hold the marble, asked for one more hug and kiss, and ran out the door happily.

Then I prayed like crazy for God to keep her safe, to bless that marble, to keep my spirit with her -- my voice of reason, my calmness when she gets upset.

I sat on the floor concentrating long after she and Mark left. Then it occurred to me:

I just gave my two-year-old a marble. She knows not to put them in her mouth. She's really good about it and pretty much completely past that stage of putting things in her mouth. I let her play with a lot more smaller toys now and haven't had any problems. Still. She'd be in the back seat. Unsupervised.

I tried to put trust in my two-year-old, got ready, and came to work, but as soon as I got a little break, I shot Mark a quick text (right). My reaction: "Oh, thank God."

YMIS Podcast 3

Check out our 3rd Podcast! Mark and I reminisce about our childhoods growing up with technology, our family's technology policy, and Mark's history of hair-cutting adventures in Vermont. It's a mishmash.

Still, Mark has decided that we need to either go goofy or go serious... one or the other.

So, we agreed it'd be best to go goofy. To do that, we've found a random topic generator and next week will have it pick a topic for us to talk about on our podcast. I'm also giving us a 15-minute time limit. A focus without too much preparation. There's our balance! Can't wait to try that next week! Stay tuned!

Thanks for listening!

Smash Post

Download the FREE Printable PDF Here!

Okay, so let's get all caught up with this week's happenings:

1  The winner of the Extraordinary Print Giveaway was Danada! Thanks for entering!

And stay tuned for some other amazing giveaways this summer!

2  This giveaway helped raise money for the Bret Zeno fundraiser (more info at right). Bret's sister-in-law is hosting an incredible raffle over at her site, here. Check it out! The prizes are amazing, and you get to see some beautiful photos of Bret's family and the infamous baby bump! Go Zeno family!

3  It was a beautiful Easter weekend, and we were blessed with warm weather, outdoor fun, and some quality family time! After Mark and I spent most of Saturday watching Diggers on the National Geographic channel (Oh, I had forgotten how glorious it is to have cable!), Mark and my dad spent most of Sunday with Dad's metal detector searching their new property for treasure. They found: an old bed spring, a button, an old can of Bud, and some fence posts. No get-rich-quick items, but it was some good, old-fashioned, country-livin' fun!

And, it was super fun on Sunday to have all the girls together -- 4 cousins, all girls, under one roof! Mark and my dad were more than outnumbered. They were all on their best behavior, though! I even got some play time with our newest family member -- Baby Sarah. I showed her around my parents' new house -- mirrors, lights, and silly little songs to sing. I got lots of smiles and giggles out of her -- an aunt's dream! Haha!

I also got to hear my father tell E some of my favorite childhood stories. Mark got a beautiful video of it, here.

4  Now we're home, and I'm trying to jump back into Round 2 of my 21-Day Fix. I'm eating better already. I went to bed early last night, so I had time to get up this morning and get my apartment in order. I still have some picking up to do, but Mark did my dishes, and I'm feeling in control, which is just what I needed on this Tuesday morning.

5  I even have my planner all updated, so I know about the BVT Moms Twitter Party tonight (9pm our time)! Read more about it, here -- hope to see you there! AND I'm picking up some bookshelves tonight from my friend who is moving. Busy, exciting day ahead!

My least favorite thing about this planner, though, is the calendar page. I like to see a full-month calendar, so I put together this quick little monthly page that you can cut out and paste in your Moleskine bullet journal. You can download the PDF for free, here, and I made a second version with Sunday at the beginning of the week here! Print, cut-out, paste it in, and fill in your month info! I love it!

6  Check out my latest blog post over at BVT Moms Blog (here)! I reminisce about games from my childhood and talk about alternatives to technology (and why I love it so much). Ha!

7  Tonight, Mark and I will post our 3rd podcast. Yes, this time, we have planned it... (yawn). We're talking about technology -- growing up with it, our favorite video games, and how we're introducing it to our daughter -- healthy habits, etc.!