Life As of Lately- July Updates

This blog post is going to be a little different from many of my other blog posts. 

Most of the blog posts that I’ve shared in the past have all been about sharing helpful information, tips, and tricks to be organized, stay productive, and be efficient. 

I haven’t shared too much about my personal life because I feel as though everyone is more interested in finding information and reading about stuff that interests and benefits them. 

In this blog post, I’ll be sharing some of the things that I have been doing lately and what life has been like with two toddler boys. 

Crazy, overwhelmed, and nuts can all be used to describe what life has been like in this household. But blessed, happy, and special also deserve to be in that line as well. 

It’s definitely been amazing and wonderful being at home with the boys and caring for them but it’s also crazy and challenging at times. 

It can be challenging because they’re so young, need and demand so much of your time. 

I’m trying and doing the best that I can and that’s all that anyone can really ask for right?

Right now, we’re focusign on trying to potty train my oldest. He’s 30 months now and we’re having him sit on the toilet daily. We want to get him comfortable to sitting on the toilet and not be terrified of it. 

We’ve also been reading different books about potty training to him. Some of the books that we’re reading to him are, Dino Potty by Rainstorm Publishing and P is for Potty by Naomi Kleinberg and Christopher Moroney.

Dino Potty is a cute book with colorful images, 

I’m considering doing the three day potty training method but am deciding to do it after we return from our San Diego trip. I’m afraid that he will be stressed and the change in environment will be too soon for him after learning how to potty train that he  will just have accients while we are out sightseeing. 

Read 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

I signed up both of my kids for a reading challenge that was offered through our public library. The reading challenge is to read 1,000 books before kindergarten. 

The boys have read a lot of books before but I just never logged them. Its unfortunate because those ones won’t count towards the reading challenge. The plus side is that we’ll just be challenged to read even more books before then. 

I think it’s very doable as long as we read 2-3 new titles or books everyday. Apparently, if you reread a book, that counts towards the goal as well. There is some confusion as to whether it is read 1,000 titles before Kindergarten or just read 1,000 times in general. 

I think they just want to encourage you to read. 

As part of their Kindergarten readiness program, this reading challenge is something that they offer to kids and families in the communities. Studies have shown that kids who enter kindergarten with basic math, vocabulary and reading comprehension tend to better in school, thrive and excel. 

I want to encourage my kids to really have a love for learning, reading, and growing. I want them to be diverse in their knowledge and be open minded to everything that the world has to offer. 

There is a vast array and wealth of information out there. We just have to be willing to seek it. 

We’re checking out different types of books. Even though the boys are both into trucks and cars, we did check some books out related to fire tucks, busses and construction trucks. However, I also checked out some other books about dinosaurs, giraffes, llamas, zoo animals and a few Dr. Seuss books. I want to encourage them to open up their thinking and to challenge their minds. 

I understand that kids love what they love but it’s also good to look and be open to other things too. 

Nap Time Struggles

My oldest is only 2 1/2 now and I still feel as though he could nap during the day. He puts up a fight and it is such a struggle to get him to sleep. 

I’ve tried taking him to the park, having him run around, and wearing him out. By the time that nap time comes around, he’s tired and ready for a nap but he fights it. He starts crying, screaming, and yelling at me, “no nap. No nap!” 

I’ve tried reading on different blogs, tried different techniques to get him to nap and it is still a struggle. I’ve tried to lay there next to him without interacting with him. I’ve tried to tell him that he needs to nap because it’s good for him. I’ve tried to tell him to just lay down and close his eyes. He fights me and just hates nap time. 

I really wish he would nap. Napping is so good. If I could nap in place for him, I would. 

Since he hasn’t been napping, we’ve just been taking him to bed a lot earlier. It’s been working and he’s been sleeping close to 12 hours through the night. 

I love it when he sleeps a lot. He’s just a happier, more playful, and loving child when he gets enough sleep. When he doesn’t get enough sleep, he’s this cranky little monster that picks on his brother and is so irritable and whiny. 

Social Media Breaks 

I’ve also been taking breaks from social media. I enjoy zoning and tuning out and one of my guilty pleasures is just scrolling through my Instagram feed to see what everyone else is up to. However, I realize I waste so much time doing that and I don’t learn anything. There isn’t much to benefit by just spending time on 

Reading

I’ve been spending more time reading and enjoy finding little gems of wisdom when I read. The last two good reads that I’ve read are The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod and Dopamine Detox by Thibaut Meurisse. 

Both books are great personal development and productivity books. I’ve always been more of a morning person and so getting up early in the morning isn’t a problem for me. The books aren’t difficult reads and they’re pretty easy to breeze through. 

I enjoy reading books where it sounds like they’re just talking to you and that it’s just a conversation. No fancy language and no random words that I need to look up. 

Some of the information is nothing new to me but the presentation and delivery is what matters. It’s not groundbreaking information that the earlier you get up, the more time that you will have in the day and the more that you can accomplish. However, what really stands out to me is the person you become in the process of disciplining yourself and training your mind to do what’s important. 

You must hold yourself accountable and 

Back to Daily, Monthly, and Weekly Planning

I love planning and I plan everything. I plan what my family eat for the week, I plan my kid’s meals and snacks the night before, I plan their activities and everything that we will do in between. 

I just purchased an adorable planner for my planning needs. It’s a dated planner with a gorgeous layout and lots of pages for me to make lists- grocery lists, shopping lists, to-do lists, all sorts of lists. 

I also ordered some new stationary stickers for decorating my planner. I have a few encouraging quotes stickers, some poems, and some positive statement stickers. I love having fun, being creative, and decorating my planners. It makes it more fun to plan my week. 

Not only that, but I can customize my planner according to how I’m feeling and what is going on that week. 

I highly encourage everyone to have their own planners and to have fun with it. If you just want to use your planner to write down the basics and you’re okay with just plain black ink, then you do you. For me, I personally love using different colored pens, highlighters, and stickers to be creative and decorate my planner. It’s fun for me and it’s a creative outlet for me.

So that’s life for me as of lately. Just doing my best to take care of my boys and plan my life accordingly so that I can be mindful and present with my kids.