Sometimes I Just Need a Chill Pill

Last week, I got some news that sent me into a brief tail spin for about 36 hours (work related, not health related).  I had a vision of how I thought our family's lives were going to be for the next five years and suddenly with this new information, I felt like I had to completely readjust....immediately.

See that's the thing with me.  I HATE uncertainty.  I can deal with bad news, but I cannot deal with uncertainty.  Uncertainty makes me instantly plot out worst case scenarios.  I'm trying to find the emergency exit.  I'm really in a state of constant stress when uncertainty creeps in.  Why is that?

For me, I think it's because I am 100% goal oriented.  It's very hard for me to live in the here and now.  When you throw in uncertainty, I don't know how to achieve the goal...and whew, I go nuts.

This quality helps me achieve, but it doesn't necessarily make me the best parent, spouse or friend.  So I have to find my own chill pill (a legal one).  Not exactly sure what it is just yet - but I saw a quote this week that was a perfect reminder for me -- "Now and then it's good to pause in the pursuit of happiness and just be happy."

You should know that during the tail spin, I received some additional information which actually indicated things were better than before the tail spin!  If I had just remained calm until I had all of the information, I could have saved myself and my husband some unneeded stress.

Any suggestions for good chill pills?

Is Halloween Just for Kids?

I like Halloween just fine.  I love spooky things and ghosts.  I like going to pumpkin patches.  I love seeing little toddlers in cute animal costumes.  And from a mom's perspective, Halloween is pretty easy to prepare for.  Buy a couple of costumes and some candy, and you're done.

But this year our daughter threw us a curve ball - she wanted mommy and daddy to dress up for Halloween, too.  Actually, she started asking for this last year after Halloween.  I was pretty quick to say, "Mommy isn't really into that.  Don't you have fun dressing up with your brother?"  I didn't seriously entertain dressing up.

I shared this story with a friend, and the friend reminded me to think about this from my daughter's perspective - something that maybe wasn't "my thing" was going to be very special to my child.  I had never thought of it like that.  But it did make me remember a year when my parents dressed up for a Halloween party.   Even though I wasn't going to the party, I thought it was so cool they dressed up.

So I conceded.  Well, fast forward one year, and like every other four year old girl, my daughter is in love with Elsa.  And she decreed we must all be Frozen characters.  She would be Elsa, of course.  Mommy would be Anna.  Daddy would be Kristoff, and little brother (who thankfully still goes with the flow) would be Olaf.  She even tried (albeit unsuccessfully) to turn the cat into Sven.

Although it's not Halloween yet, we have already dressed up for the school festival and I must say we had fun!  Our daughter got a huge kick out of watching us get dressed up.  We got to trim daddy's blonde Kristoff wig, which made everyone laugh.  And my daughter felt very special that the other kids thought her mommy was Princess Anna.

So I learned two things from this experience - 1) The holidays can actually be more fun when mommy and daddy aren't afraid to be a little silly and 2) My husband looks terrible as a blonde.

Happy Halloween everyone!

5 Super Easy but Adorable Halloween & Fall Decorations

I love decorating!  In fact, it's part of what made me start a party business, because I like designing parties - not necessarily because I'm the hostess with the mostess.  BUT having two little kids (particularly the 22 month old) has taken some fun out of decorating.  It's really hard to find the time, and it's hard to find decorating ideas the little one won't sabotage.

So here are my top 5 (who has time for 10?)  simple but elegant (do not use inflatables) kid-friendly decorating ideas:

1.  Fill vases and bowls your already have with little pumpkins and gourds (buy these on your next trip to the grocery store).


2.  Spray paint pumpkins.  Personally, I love the look of white or ivory pumpkins with gold glitter tops, but you can choose whatever matches with your home.


3.  Fall Leaf Garlands.  Garlands add a big punch for little effort and low costs.  You can buy a set of 6 that are 6 feet long each at Amazon for $20.  Super easy.  Set them on your mantel.  Use one as a table runner.  Decorate your handrails with these.  You will have instant color in 5 minutes!


4.  Battery operated candles.  I love candle light, but let's face it, it isn't the most child-friendly thing in the world.  But if it's battery operated, it's safe.  And battery operated candles can be super cheap.  Get a bunch of tea lights or small candles and put them in windows or little nooks that you want to light up when it's dark or cloudy.  You can buy a dozen for $15 at Oriental Trading.


5.  Candy Corn!  Okay, this could be dangerous if you or your kids like to eat candy corn, but it makes for a great decoration.  It's cheap and at the grocery store.  Fill covered (you don't want ants) clear candy dishes, mason jars, whatever you have with candy corn.



Voila you're done!  Two online purchases.  Some extra items at your next trip to the grocery store.  And 20 minutes of setup at home.  You are officially ready for fall!

Second Child Tantrums are Funnier

So lots of things change with the second child.  They watch more TV than the first child did.  They don't get all of the homemade baby food the first child did.  They play with toys you never would have let the first child play with.  The list goes on and on.  You just don't have as much time to manage the details and perfections once there are two.  You are more focused on managing the team and the team's survival.

Well, one thing we've noticed in our house with the second child - which is quite a treat - tantrums don't bother us with the second child like they did with the first child.  Granted, so far our second child's tantrums pale in comparison to our first child's tantrums.  But nevertheless, we actually find the tantrums quite hysterical the second time around.

For example, the one that cracks me up every time.  Our 22 month old LOVES to get his ears cleaned with Q-tips.  I mean it's weird.  He just loves it.  And when I'm finished and the Q-tips are all gone, he bursts into tears every time and starts screaming "More.  More.  More."  With the first, I would have felt bad and tried to calm her but with the second, it is downright hysterical.  Seriously, it makes my day.  (What does this say about me?)

The other night after seeing the moon, as usual, he wanted "More. More. More."  I explained there was only one moon but it's beautiful, and we can enjoy it.  This did not sit well with him and again the tears started.  Seriously, how could you not laugh at that?  He's angry that mommy can't produce a second moon for the earth.

Last one, because I could go on... We were at the pumpkin patch this past weekend.  They have built a very elaborate climbing structure for the goats to climb on.  I must admit it does look awesome.  It's in a fenced-in area with the goats, of course.  Well, my son thought it looked like an awesome playground, too.  And I literally had to carry him out of the pumpkin patch kicking and screaming, because I wouldn't let him climb on the goats' playground.  Again, I would have been mortified with number one but man, that was adorable with number two!

So the lesson here (if there is one) is - having the second child can simplify things, because you don't take everything so seriously.  You can see the humor in things you might not have seen the first time around.

Anyone else have funny toddler tantrums?  Please share!

Family Trips - Are They Survivable?

When I first decided I wanted to be a parent and have kids, the thing I envisioned doing was taking family trips.  I wanted to take the kids to Disney World, show them DC, go skiing, and maybe even be the cool parents who take their teenagers to Europe.  Once I actually had the kids (by kids, I mean more than one), I thought, "Am I insane?  How are we ever going to leave our house?"
Well, this weekend we took our 4.5 year old and our almost 22 month old to the Gulf (not a fantastic beach, but it's close).  We have traveled with our kids before, but never with just the four of us and never a car trip.  This was really a family proof of concept.
And guess what?  It wasn't totally awful!  In fact, many parts were fun.  Unfortunately, it rained and was 75 degrees the whole weekend, not ideal for the beach, but the kids still thought it was fun.  We were in a different place.  They got to play in the mud (AKA beach).  They got to swim in a new pool.  The condo had new books and movies.  Our 4.5 year old even thought the ocean was awesome, which shocked me since it required her to get sand on her and potentially be near a jelly fish.  Granted, our 22 month old quickly decided he did not like the ocean when it almost swept him to sea, so he just stood there and yelled "Sissy" at his sister out of extreme concern for her well-being.  So cute.  And he consumed an unhealthy amount of dirty, rain water from the oh-so-clean Texas beach (but hey, no vomiting - that's a win).
Anyway, so what I realized yet again is that the worst part was what I built up in my mind.  I feared every worst case scenario happening, when in actuality, very few of those scenarios came to be.  Now was it relaxing and like a kid-free vacation?  Not in the least.  But it showed me we could do this again and still retain our sanity.  And I remembered why I initially wanted to have kids?  So I could share these experiences with them and see them have as much fun as I did as a kid.  And that made it all worth it.

Holiday Stress - Already?

So the holidays are just around the corner - you know how I know?  Yes, of course, I have a calendar and know how to read it.  But what I meant was Lowe's and Home Depot already have Christmas decorations.  Ughhh.
Now I should tell you that Fall has ALWAYS been my favorite season - it gets cooler, you get to wear pretty boots, there's football (well, there's tailgating), and there are lots of awesome holidays I get to decorate for and celebrate.  LOVE it!
But something weird happened about 2 years ago.  My son was born.  No, that wasn't the weird part. The weird part was that once I had the hustle and bustle of two little kids, suddenly the holidays started feeling very stressful.
Now when I see the Christmas decorations at Lowe's, I mentally start preparing my to-do list.  AHHHHH.  So I pondered this the other day while my kids were miraculously entertaining themselves for five minutes.  How can I enjoy the holidays with two little kids and not let the stress take all of the fun out of it?
I decided to make a list of all of the FUN things I want to do with my family, not all of the things that have to be done (i.e. sending Christmas cards and buying gifts for my mother-in-law - nothing personal, Linda).  I'm talking about going to the pumpkin patch, decorating pumpkins, making Christmas cookies, and looking at Christmas lights.  I'm going to put those things on my calendar - they make me happy.  I'll get to the other stuff, too.  I didn't give up my Type A card after all.  But if my to-do list starts out with the fun stuff, hopefully, that will keep the fun in the holidays!
Anybody else have good holiday stress-relieving ideas????

Celebrating 40!

In just three short days, I will officially leave my 30's.  That's right the big 4-0.  It's a big milestone, so I felt like surely I would have some big epiphanies or reflections, right?  But really, I don't.  In fact, it hasn't felt as monumental as I thought it would.  I'm not sure what that means - is that good or bad?
BUT - I did feel like it was an occasion that should be celebrated.  I'm not a big birthday person in general (very ironic given the business I started), but I felt I would regret just letting it pass by as a typical birthday.
So why am I not a big birthday person?  Well, it requires a lot of effort and work to plan a party, because my husband probably isn't going to do it.  And well, I guess I always want to give my energy to other things (like my party business!) but not to celebrating me.
So this year I decided I should celebrate me!  And quite frankly, my business, Piece of Cake Parties, is what has helped me find the energy to celebrate this milestone.  I know this seems like a shameless plug, but truly, this is why I started this business - to help people have fun planning a party.  To make it easy!  But easy when you are still happy and proud of the outcome.  Not easy like, "I didn't do anything" or "I just threw some crap together" easy.
So I'm celebrating with a wine theme!  Wine is the perfect 40th birthday for me - love everything about it - the taste of it, the look of it, the varieties of it, everything.  And my husband did hire an Italian restaurant to cater it, which is easy and very coordinated.  So here are some highlights of the party - super easy, and I'm going to be very happy I did celebrate me and my 40 years on this earth.  Here's to 40 more!

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