The Most Wonderful Time of Year (or is it?)

http://www.air-tan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Most-wonderful-time.png

Christmas use to be my favorite time of year and I'd go all out crazy decorating with my totes and boxes of Christmas decorations. I thought having a little one would make me even more in the Christmas spirit. The 1st Christmas was great and I looked forward to her getting older and understanding what was going on. Unfortunately, there was some personal issues last year that made Christmas hard to get through and now this year I keep thinking back. My daughter is 3 so I'm really trying to put all my sadness in a bottle and focus on her excitement, which there is a lot of!

http://www.burgerweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/christmas-tradition.jpg

I never had Christmas traditions growing up and so I've started some that I hope to continue every year. The first one is Christmas books. I love reading and so far, my daughter is following along in my "book" prints. So I wrapped 23 Christmas books and put them in a basket under the tree. Each night before bed she gets to choose one to unwrap and have read. On Christmas Eve she will get a gift with Christmas PJ's, a Christmas movie and popcorn.

What kind of Christmas Traditions did you have growing up?

Do you still do any of them today?

Buy books online

Ever wonder where you should go to buy books online? 

Check out this page to find a bunch of different site that offer printed books, ebooks and even audio books. 

It doesn't matter how you read, as long as you are able to do it.

If your looking for books for Thanksgiving click here.

https://www.better-beginnings.com.au/sites/default/files/resources/Read%21AAA_colour.jpg

Audio Books

I am into reading so much right now. I wonder how I ever went without out. Oh ya, that's right - life. Many people have so much going on that to be able to sit and read a book for even 30 minutes isn't possible. For anyone with that type of crazy schedule in life....did you ever try an audio book? I have never tried one, but I am considering giving it a try.

If you want to try an audio book use this link and get a 60 free trial from Audio Books.

Read Along Event

I've decided that I am going to host events for people to read along with me with whatever my current book is. After I am done reading the book and leave my review on my Facebook page, I encourage others to leave a review as well. Just because I don't care for a particular book doesn't mean that it wasn't someone else's favorite.
I was hoping to give each book a month long event (because not everyone is a fast reader), but unfortunately Facebook only allows 2 weeks. People don't have to finish the book in 2 weeks though. Anyone can comment on any of the books reviewed on the Facebook page.

If you are interested in the current read along for "The Door To December" by Dean Koontz you can join the event here.

 

If you are interested in the current read along for "Once Craved" by Blake Pierce you can join the event here. 

Play-doh....seriously? What's you most un-favorite Toy?

https://cache.fivebelow.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/800x800/17f82f742ffe127f42dca9de82fb58b1/p/l/play-doh-rainbow-starter-2_ECOM1601.jpg

Who thought that Play-doh was a good idea for kids to play with? I absolutely HATE Play-doh and of course my 3 year old always wants to play with it. I mean for starters it smells weird, it can get all over and you either play with one color at a time or you have a batch of rainbow. 

The smell isn't a huge deal, although it's definitely not something I want turned into a candle. When I do let my 3 year old play with it, I have her sit in her highchair to keep it on the tray. I am always amazed at the tiny little pieces that are constantly all over the tray that I'm always trying to pick up with a larger piece of the same color. And speaking of color. No one wants to play with just one color at a time....can you say BORING? But once you start putting colors together you can say goodbye to that color ever being by itself again. Try explaining to a 3 year old that she can't have just yellow now because it had green, red, blue or any other color mixed in with it now. 

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51uda4OB%2BRL._SY355_.jpg

Let's not forget the toys that you can buy to play with the Play-doh. Ugh. You have to have the strength of 10 men to use those presses. Ok, not really 10 men, but more than most toddlers have. I bought a kit similar to this one thinking my daughter could play a little more independently. I couldn't have been more wrong. First was teaching her the right amount to put into the press. Next was trying to explain that you can only do one "shape" at a time. Then the actual press itself. Even I have to really "push" to get the Play-doh to come out. So now it's, let mommy warm up the Play-doh, you put some in the press, then mommy will press it out. 

I'm not even going to get into trying to clean all the Play-doh out of it.....

Babies, Toddlers and Sleep

Everyone, even people that don't have kids, know that when you have a new baby you get no sleep. Trying to get a newborn on a schedule is the biggest part of trying to get any rest at all. Then, when they start to finally sleep through the night, you get so excited thinking that you'll be able to catch up on getting some sleep. My daughter is a little over 3 years old and I could probably count the nights she slept all the way through on my fingers. First is was the typical newborn stuff, then it was night terrors, then the moving to a big girl bed and now......potty training.
Here's the thing. Everyone talks about no sleep with infants, but no one talks about no sleep during potty training. As if potty training isn't hard enough, now it's a whole new learning experience for your little one and for you. We want them to be successful so we never tell them no when they ask to use the potty. That even means during the middle of the night when they wake up and think they need to go.
I have given up on any hope of getting a normal night's sleep until she graduates from high school and moves out. Of course at that time I will probably lay awake wondering if she's ok and still not get a good nights sleep.

#PottyTraining #ZombieMom #SleeplessInMyOwnHouse

Life Choices

www.everydayinterviewtips.com

There comes a time in our lives when we have to make important decisions that will affect not only us, but our family as well. I have come to this point in my life and although it may seem like nothing to others, it is very hard for me.
I am the owner of a small store that I have ran for a little over 1 year. It was always my dream to be a small business owner and I knew it would be hard work from the beginning. Did I mention I haven't received a paycheck the entire time the store has been running? That definitely makes things very hard. I have been fortunate enough to make enough to cover the store expenses up till now, but that is all. A few months ago I moved into a bigger storefront. The original place had a landlord that didn't hold up their end of the deal and the place was just way too small. The new space is perfect and the new landlord is wonderful. Unfortunately, there is some kind of electrical issue (that the landlord is trying to figure out) which caused a bill larger than I can pay. So now I come to making a decision.
I have posted on social media that the store will close Jan. 28th, 2017. A part of me wants to close it down because I haven't made any money and am very frustrated. At the same time, I don't want to leave because this was my dream. I know that I can always open back up, but it's a lot of work to get started. On the plus side, if I stay home I can spend more time with my 2 1/2 year old and my house will be cleaner and more organized.
So this is how I'm starting off my New Year. How about you?

*UPDATE*
I really wanted to keep my store open, but there were forces beyond my control (electric issue and Obama care bs) that have made it impossible for me to continue living my dream of being a small business owner. My doors are going to close on Jan. 28th and I honestly don't know if I'll ever be able to open a store again.