This morning, I made a video with Rosebud and shared it with friends. It was basically a video message from her telling everyone, happy Valentine’s day while playing with her build a bouquet play set.
During the video, I mentioned something about how on Valentine’s Day, you give cards and gifts to people you love. I told Rosebud that I gave her the flower set because I love her. I didn’t go into too much detail other than that, but after I posted the video, I felt guilty. I wondered if people would be judging me because I told her That Valentine’s Day was for giving cards and gifts. Would people think I’m materialistic? Yes, I’m an over thinker.
Then I thought that the more abstract ideas about Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be something that a three-year-old would understand anyway. For her, Valentine’s Day may be about gifts and cards because they are tangible, but as she gets older, I want her to understand that Valentine’s Day is about more than that. You might get cards and gifts for people you love, but the more important part is spending time with them. It’s about having fun, laughing, making memories together and showing them you care. I want her to know that you don’t need a commercialized day to do those things. They should be done every day.
I spent the majority of my day at work, but Rosebud spent it with family playing with her gifts, eating candy and having fun. When I was finally done with work, Little Guy and his mom came over to spend time with Rosebud and I. He had a Valentine for her. There was a goody bag with a crayon heart, a couple heart shaped lights and a flower. They were making quite a light show. His mom joked that it looked like a rave party. I ordered pizza and his mom brought a bottle of wine. Little Guy was too excited to settle down to eat, but he and Rosebud played. They laughed, chased each other around and argued over toys as only toddlers and preschoolers do, but in the end, they enjoy each other’s company. His mom and I talked, had a few laughs and enjoyed our pizza and wine.
Isn’t that what Valentine’s Day is about? Spending time with people you care about. It may be a day for couples, but if you are not in a relationship, you have to find a way to make it fun and that’s what I did. It’s too easy to get caught up in all that commercialization. I also think that when you have kids, holidays take on a whole new meaning. I am grateful that I spent the best parts of today with Rosebud and my new friends. Thank you for making today fun and memorable and for the reminder of what Valentine’s Day is really about.
I found this chocolate play-dough recipe several years ago and it smells good enough to eat. When you cook it, it smells so much like brownies. I’ve never tried eating it, but I’m guessing it doesn’t taste as good as it smells. Anyway, I love using this play-dough for a Valentine’s Day or hot coco theme.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups flour,
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup salt,
1/2 Tablespoon cream of Tartar,
1/2 Tablespoon oil,
1 1/2 cups water,
A couple drops of glycerin for shine.
Directions
1. Mix dry ingredients in a medium size saucepan.
2. Add wet ingredients and stir together over low heat until a ball of dough forms.
3. Remove play dough from the saucepan and knead by hand until dough is smooth and evenly colored. You’ll want to add the drops of glycerin at this stage. If you are kneading and find the play-dough is still too wet, add a little flour.
Store in an airtight container.
Rosebud loved this play-dough. She kept saying how yummy it smelled and she said it was very squishy. We made cups of coco with marshmallows. I used white beads.
We made cakes and brownies.
I made chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate roses that were quickly squished. I made objects for Rosebud to guess, even this silly shoe.
What are your favorite play-dough recipes? Tell me in the comments.
It has been a long winter and these past couple of days have been especially horrible at work. One bright spot has been the weather. It’s finally warmed up a bit and not feeling so much like the arctic. Normally, the last thing I want to do when I get home is to go outside and freeze. I get my fill of that in the mornings as my classes almost always go outside no matter how cold it is. All I want to do is sit in my favorite chair and zone out, but I don’t do that. Most days, I play with Rosebud as soon as I get home. She waits for me all day and she usually gets things set up so that we can play as soon as we walk through the door. Some days, she’ll have a picnic set up or she’ll create a pretend bakery.
Now that the sun is out later and we had a taste of spring, she asked to go play in the back yard. When we got out there, we started testing the snow to see what we could make. We have one of those plastic molds that makes bricks out of snow. We only managed to make one brick that stayed together. The others fell apart. It could’ve been good snowman making snow, but it was too warm for it to stay together. We couldn’t make a decent snowman, but we could make some fantastic snowballs. Even though most of them melted quickly, they were perfect for throwing. Rosebud picked one up and threw it at me. Then it was on! We threw snowballs back and forth and just kept laughing. We had so much fun.
It reminded me of my childhood. Back then, we used to get a lot more snow than we do now and we’d spend hours out there. I remember helping my mom shovel snow and thinking how fun it was. Of course, now it’s not so fun. I remember making huge snowballs with my classmates. We’d just make gigantic snowballs to push around, just seeing how big we could make them. We made tall snowmen, experimented with spraying the snow with colored water, taking sleds down a huge hill on the school’s playground. I remember making a snow fort at the baby sitter’s house. We wanted to make it really strong because the kids who lived next door decided that they’d throw snowballs at our fort. I think we were going to throw some at their’s too, but we thought we were so clever when we got some water and started making ice as the top coat of our fort.
We didn’t care if they came with snowballs because we were busy seeing how strong we could make our fort.
I’d often go down to the pond with those same kids and pretend to ice skate. There were holes all over the pond and it definitely wasn’t the safest thing to be doing, but back then, kids were allowed to take risks. Maybe more than we should have, but we learned to be careful. We knew what our limits were. We learned through trial and error. We learned how to share, make our own rules and most of all, we learned to look out for each other.
Every day, I’m constantly telling kids about how this isn’t safe and that isn’t safe. We tell them not to climb the slide, stay out of puddles, don’t play on the ice, don’t throw snowballs and on and on. It gets old. I start to wonder what came first. Do we tell them not to do these things because they show us they don’t know how to be safe or are we just assuming it before giving them the opportunity to learn? We tell them not to throw snowballs, but why exactly? It seems as though that it’s just one of those childhood memories we all have. At least those of us who grow up in winter climates.
With some of the kids, I’ll tell them to stop because they always take it too far. If they throw snowballs, they go for the other kid’s face. If they play on the ice, they pick up a piece and throw it. Is it because we’ve hovered too much that they have to push the envelope even farther or does it come down to the fact that they don’t know how to play and interact with other kids? Is all this hovering crushing their spirits? Can we step back a little or is all of this necessary? My guess is the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
When Rosebud and I played outside, I thought of my own childhood and I wanted her to have some of those same memories. I want her to remember happy times even if they were just playing with mommy instead of the neighborhood kids. I let her throw snowballs and threw some back. I let her see if she could climb her slide with her boots on. She discovered that it was slippery, but if she held on tight and paid close attention, she could still get to the top safely. She discovered that she shouldn’t run on the ice or she might fall. I pulled her around the yard in her sled and her laughter was contagious. The hint of spring with the warm sun on my back and seeing Rosebud’s pure joy was the perfect ending to my day.
Recently, this brilliant article called,The Most Overlooked Reason Why Your Kids Won’t Listen, Focus or Sit Still came across my newsfeed. It discusses the consequences of children not having the opportunity to take risks and not getting enough time outdoors. It’s worth reading. What are your thoughts? Are our children missing out?
For the first 15 months of Rosebud’s life, we co-slept. While it’s not a good option for everyone, it’s what worked best for us. I will write about my experience with co-sleeping in a future post, but this post is about our transition into her own toddler bed. I have to say I was pretty lucky. Our transition wasn’t as hard as it could’ve been. I had a few essential items that definitely helped with this process.
1. The Mattress
I have to say that buying a decent mattress for Rosebud made all the difference. When I first bought her crib, I bought a relatively cheep mattress to go with it. It was one of those mattresses that made a lot of noise when you put the baby in the crib. I’d rock Rosebud to sleep, but then when I’d lay her down, the noise from the mattress would wake her up. Then she knew what I was doing, so there was no chance of putting her back in her bed. We went through this routine for about a weak until I started wondering about the mattress. I figured that since my mattress is memory foam, maybe if she had one like mine, she’d be more comfortable. I wondered if they even made a mattress like that for toddlers. After a few clicks, I purchased one from Amazon. Two days later, it arrived and that very night, Rosebud slept comfortably in her bed through the night for the first time.
This mattress is a little more expensive than the average, but it has been worth every penny. It comes with a water proof cover to protect it and more importantly, it seems comfortable. Not too squishy, but not too firm. I just want to mention that I wouldn’t have felt comfortable buying this if Rosebud were still an infant, but since she was well passed her first birthday, it was a safe option.
2. Pillow and Blanket
Rosebud was excited to finally get her own pillow.
This was another great find on Amazon. It’s the perfect size for a toddler. I got it for her for her first birthday and she carried it around everywhere.
She’s had a couple different blankets over the past year, but the most recent one I bought is her favorite. She says it’s cozy and soft.
This is her first larger blanket and she loves it. It’s warm, washes well and is extremely soft. The unicorns are also a plus.
3. Special Stuffed Animal
Since I wouldn’t be right there next to Rosebud anymore, I had to help her find a special stuffed animal. She has several on the end of her bed now, but the one she always chooses to sleep with is Miffy the Bunny.
In fact, I just got her another one for her third birthday since the first Miffy she had no longer talks. It doesn’t matter though because now she takes both of them to bed. Throughout her infancy and when she was a young toddler, she didn’t seem interested in getting attached to any of her stuffed animals, but as she’s gotten older, they have provided her comfort.
4. Rocking Chair
This has been a big one for me. Rosebud has always liked being rocked to sleep. During her first year, I had a standard rocking chair made for a nursery. The chair was good for a while, but I’d get sore after sitting in it for long periods of time. Not to mention, it was small and cramped. After it broke from being used so much, I took the plunge and bought a more expensive rocking chair. I bought the beige version as it fits better with the colors in Rosebud’s room.
Now that Rosebud is three, she usually falls asleep in her bed, but occasionally she still likes to be rocked. We also use the chair for snuggling up to read books every night. If you have an infant or toddler, you’ll definitely want to invest in a decent chair. You might be using it for years to come.
5. Sound Machine
Rosebud is a light sleeper and in our neighborhood, we might hear barking dogs, lawn mowers or snow plows depending on the season. Everything wakes her up. When Rosebud was an infant, I found this owl soother and baby night light. It plays sounds, lights up and has a projector. there is only one image of the moon and stars, but it is perfect. It’s not too bright and the machine doesn’t make loud noises like they do when they are switching images. The light can be bright or dim. There are several sounds to choose from. Our favorite is the ocean, but there is white noise, a heartbeat and lullabies. There are so many sound machines to choose from. It all depends on what you want. Whether you want a night light, just sounds or an image projector. This one has the best of all worlds and you don’t have to use the features all at once. The important thing is Rosebud sleeps undisturbed because it helps block out noise.
Extras
I also have a couple extra things I inc. into our night time routine. The first was books. We read several stories and then end with, Time for Bed by Mem Fox. In this book, all the animals are going to sleep. She asks for this book almost every night so it has become our ritual.
Another thing was music. When I’d rock Rosebud to sleep, I’d play piano music for her. She has now decided she didn’t want music anymore, but for a long time, it helped her relax before bed. I have a Spotify subscription. You can either build your own playlist or choose from ones they already have created.
We all know a well rested toddler means more sleep at night and a better day for us parents. If you have an infant and are in the process of Transitioning your baby to the crib, you should check out these tips from Cendu from Sincerely Yours. What has made your child’s bed time a little smoother? What are your must haves to help your toddler sleep? Tell me in the comments.
In a previous post about self care I’ve mentioned how I love candles and wax melts. They are little luxury items that I buy for myself. I love the cute wax warmers, all the neat wax shapes and how they make my house smell great.
The only problem I had was that most of the store bought scents gave me a headache, so a couple of years ago, I was browsing Etsy for homemade wax melts. I found this small shop that made the cutest cupcake melts. I love anything cupcake, so I bookmarked it and a few weeks later, I placed my first order. I don’t have pictures of my first order, but I remember a heart shaped cupcake, some strawberries and cream wax brittle and a black raspberry vanilla cupcake. Since then, I’ve been addicted, placing orders every few months.
Here’s what I love about Blended With Love.
First, the owner, Ashley is a work at home mom and I like to support other moms who have a small business when I can. I hope to have a business of my own while being with my child, so I feel supporting other moms on the same mission is a way to pay it forward.
Friendly Service
Whenever I’ve had a question, Ashley answers promptly and is always friendly. She posts updates regularly in her Facebook group. She shows us new melts she’s working on, beautiful wax creations and of course, there are giveaways. If there’s a problem with your order, she does her best to fix it. There was a mix up with one of my orders and she quickly sent a refund.
Good Quality
The best part is the wax melts. The Shop is restocked at different times. There was a restock last month and the next one is on February 2nd. To get specific information on restocks, check the Facebook group. Blended With Love offers a variety of wax melts depending on the season or requests from customers. Some of the common melts include owls, penguins, cupcakes, donuts, ice cream scoops, teacups, teapots, flower pots and drip cakes. There are a variety of scents to choose from. Most of them are unique blended creations.
Blueberry muffin cupcake
Fruity Pebbles Frosting donuts
Strawberry Float ice cream scoops
Barbies Tea Party tea pot
Berry Ice Cream ice cream cone
Customization
Ashley has a long list of people who are signed up for custom orders. Fortunately, I was recently able to place a custom order and I was impressed with everything I got. I ordered a variety of shapes. Some of them with a single scent and others with blended scents. What I love about these wax melts is I can melt them many times before they lose their scent. Many of the wax melts are large and have to be cut into pieces before melting, but that just means they last longer and I can enjoy the scent multiple times. I also love the little details. They are so pretty and look so much like actual baked goods, that I don’t want to melt them. They are works of art.
Mystery Boxes
Sometimes Ashley will create mystery boxes based on a theme. I love unicorns, so when she announced a unicorn mystery box, I had to get one. Most of these scents smell like candy and the little cakes are cute. They are the perfect size for my wax warmers and I love the little unicorn shapes. She’s also done a Snow White mystery box.
Crystal Creations
One of Ashley’s most recent additions are the crystal melts. There is another list of people who want crystal orders in the Facebook group. You get to choose your crystal, the shape you want and of course, the scent. I chose a rose quartz heart with a strawberries and cream cupcake. She’s combined three of my favorite things, crystals, cupcakes and things that smell good.
I’m sure there is more yet to come. I can’t wait to see what else she creates and I hope you head on over to try some of her wax. You’ll love it! I have not been compensated in any way to do this review. I just love her products and want to support another mom doing amazing work.
Recently, I posted about the memorable books I read in 2018. I got a lot of great feedback from that post and one of my readers left me a comment wondering what I would like to read in 2019. Her comment got me thinking that a to be read list would make a great post. So, here it is. There is plenty of self help with some novels and nonfiction thrown in.
1. Take Control of Your Life
This is the latest release from Mel Robins that will be out in February. I’m a fan of her previous books. She has a direct style and practical advice. Some of the things covered in this book are fears of rejection, being alone and the dreaded, but all too common fear of change. Why not read it? Who doesn’t want to bust through fear and take control of their lives?
2. The Desire Map Experience
It’s not about the goals, to do lists or new years resolutions, but how you want to feel in every part of your life. I think this book will have a lot of useful exercises.
3. The Five Love Languages of Children
I read The Five Love Languages for Singles a couple years ago because I was curious as to what my love language was. It turns out, my love language is receiving gifts. I find the concept interesting and it makes a lot of sense. People have different ways of expressing love and of course, people have different things that are meaningful to them. I saw that Gary Chapman wrote a version for children and now I want to read it. I want to find out what Rosebud’s love language is. Maybe she’s still too young for me to know, but maybe not.
4. The Woman in the Window
A novel written by A. J. Finn, about a woman who lives alone who spies on her neighbors. She believes she has seen a crime, but has she? The book is a best seller and I want to read it to find out why.
5. The Perfect Roommate
Last year, I read a couple of books by Minka Kent and this is the third one I found on Audible. It doesn’t have as many good reviews as her other books, but I figured, why not give it a try? A girl knows some dark secrets about her roommate.
6. Writing creative nonfiction
The title makes it obvious what this book is about. It’s more of a course than a book, but I’m interested in ways of making my writing better. Even though it’s not my day job, why not improve my craft? These lectures include writing samples and exercises that help you with all stages of the writing process.
7. The Best Friend
This one is by Shalini Boland. A woman has a new best friend who seems to have it all, but as she learns more, she finds out her best friend has dark secrets.
8. The Introvert’s Way
A book that helps us introverts to embrace our quiet nature and honor what is unique about us. This book has been on my wish list for a while and I’m hoping to read it this year. It sounds like it will be a refreshing perspective on those of us who are quiet.
9. The Boy who Loved Too Much
A boy has Williams Syndrome. I’m not familiar with it at all, but it causes him to be trusting and overly friendly to everyone he meets. He doesn’t have the natural skepticism that we usually have with strangers. This book is about him and his mother’s challenges in parenting him. Like all parents, she has to choose when to be protective and when to let go, but his condition adds an extra layer.
10. Chicken Soup for the Traveler’s Soul
It seems as though there is a chicken soup book for everything and of course, they have one for travelers. I don’t get to travel these days, but I like learning about other places, so reading about it will have to do for now.
In reality, I have a wish list a mile long, but I’ve picked these ten to start with. I’m sure I’ll read more than ten books this year and will end up reading plenty that aren’t on this list. What have you read so far this year? What books are you planning to read? Tell me in the comments. Happy reading.
I have a master list of post topics. Usually, I don’t need to fall back on it because I get the best inspiration in the moment. Something will pop into my head and a couple days later, it’s out here on the blog. However, this is different. This situation happened years ago, but I was reminded of it recently because of some posts I’ve been seeing. People are making assumptions and are forcing help when it is not needed or wanted which is why I’m writing about it now.
If this is the first time you’ve come across my blog, you might not know that I have a visual impairment. I mostly focus on parenting, teaching and personal development, but occasionally, I write about some of life’s challenges like the most recent time I was discriminated against and my negative experience in the hospital when Rosebud was born. My visual impairment has shaped my life in a lot of ways and while I don’t focus on it, other people do and that’s where these experiences come from. Unfortunately, many of them are negative, but I write about them so that people will understand where I’m coming from and not just assume that I’m an angry and ungrateful person.
The crossing
Back in 2001, I worked in a childcare center in a smaller city. On most days, I’d walk to and from the childcare center without incident, but one afternoon, I was walking and minding my own business. Everything was going fine until I reached a busy intersection. This rout crossed several streets, but this particular intersection was the busiest. For those who don’t know, most blind and visually impaired people rely on the sound of traffic to signal when it is a safe time to cross. Many intersections have audible signals now, but they don’t always work and in many cases, they didn’t exist until recent years. I am able to watch the traffic to a certain extent, but I rely a lot on the sound as well. I can’t see when the lights change color. Especially in the day time so, when I’m waiting to cross, I really need to stay focused on the traffic cycles.
I was watching and listening. When the light changed. The parallel traffic started moving and that was my signal to cross. Suddenly, a guy jumped out of nowhere and started yelling at me and grabbed my arm. He was telling me he better help me because I was going to get hit by a car. I told him to let me go and that I was fine, but he wouldn’t leave me alone. I didn’t like the way he was grabbing my arm and I didn’t like his insistence. Meanwhile, the traffic was moving along and I was totally distracted. At this point, I thought it was still safe to go, but I was so distracted by this guy and my instinct to run that I wasn’t sure. My only thought in the moment was to get away from this guy so I started running across the street. There was a car that had started going across as well and luckily it had stopped in time to let me run across. I felt bad for the driver and he or she probably thought I was an idiot, but I didn’t know what else to do.
I didn’t want to run in another direction because then I probably would’ve gotten lost. I didn’t know the area that well, but I did know it wasn’t a nice neighborhood. Of course that was on my mind when this guy grabbed me. When I finally made it across without being hit, I ran for the next block or two until I knew for sure no one was following me.
What you should do
When I refused the guy’s help, he seemed to get irritated that I didn’t want him helping me, but the fact was he made me feel unsafe. First, because he’s a strange man grabbing me on the street and second because he distracted me during a crossing. For people who are primarily relying on sound, this can be extremely dangerous. While the man may have thought he was being helpful, it was the complete opposite. If you see someone and you get the urge to help, please ask them if they need help first. If they say no, respect that and understand it has nothing to do with you. Maybe they really don’t need help or maybe they aren’t comfortable accepting help. Also, don’t touch someone before you’ve even spoken to them. It’s really for your own safety plus it’s common courtesy. Do you want to be grabbed by a random stranger? If you do have to touch them to get their attention, tap them on the shoulder.
I’ve always had an independent streak and never wanted to ask for help. When I was a kid, people always told me to ask for help, but I saw that as a weakness. I couldn’t ask for help because people would see me as less intelligent and inferior. Even though the message was always, you can ask for and receive help, the message I got was that I have to ask for help because I couldn’t do things on my own. I know part of that was my own thought process, but I felt like if I asked for help, I would be looked down upon even more, but if fully sighted people needed help with something, they wouldn’t necessarily be treated differently. It was just a part of life.
I have learned that everyone needs help at some point. It is a strength to know when you need help and to ask for it. It can take a lot of courage depending on the situation. There have been so many instances in my life when people have offered help. I really appreciated it when it was offered in a kind and respectful way. Other times, I have refused and resented it because I felt it was not necessary, but that time, I actually felt like I was in danger.
Should we be grateful?
Several years ago, I happened to see a post online where someone complained that a disabled man in a wheelchair refused help. I can’t remember the specifics, but one comment stuck with me. “Handicap people should be grateful for any help they can get.” Really? Do people have to accept help when doing so causes them to lose their dignity or puts them in danger? Should disabled people really be grateful for that? I’m sure this commenter would’ve had a problem with me refusing this guy’s help. In his eyes, that person was a kind soul who offered his help and should’ve graciously accepted it even if he took me the wrong way or assaulted me. In my case, the stranger on the street got the hint after I ran away from him, but that’s not always the case.
Another comment I remember from the thread was saying how angry that man in the wheelchair was. Well, maybe he had a good reason to be angry. Maybe he was having a bad day and got tired of people assuming he needed help. The fact is we don’t know. The total strangers on the thread didn’t know and neither did the person trying to help him. We never will truly know what’s in someone else’s head, but what we do know is that he is a human being with a range of emotions. He had every rite to be angry, annoyed or frustrated.
Not everyone accomplishes tasks in the exact same way. That’s the beauty of living in a world where there is a lot of diversity. Underneath, we are all still people who think and feel. This is so basic that I don’t know why it’s so hard for some people to understand, but I hope that one day they will. It all goes back to what they taught in elementary school. How would you want to be treated? If more people asked themselves that before interacting with other, the world would be a much nicer place to live.
Valentines day will be here before you know it. The holiday is so commercialized, but for me it’s about spending quality time with those I love. I try to do that anyway during the rest of the year. When I was a kid, my mom would always buy me a little Valentines gift and I have been doing the same thing with Rosebud. If you are wondering what to get your little Valentine, here are some ideas.
Valentines Day Themed Books
Books make great gifts. There are so many options, they are educational and they are relatively inexpensive.
Stacking cups are simple, inexpensive and babies love them! They can scoop, they can pour and they can stack. These cups have little holes on the bottom. Rosebud would use these in the pool and pretend it was raining. These even have numbers inside if you wanted to do a counting activity. We’ve had these for a couple years and she still uses them in the water.
Rubber Duckies
How about these Valentine themed rubber duckies. There used to be this cool online shop called Rubber Duck Land that no longer exists. That’s where I found these cute little duckies, but I have found something similar to link to. It’s just a cute little novelty.
Stuffed animal
I’ve gotten a lot of Valentines stuffed animals over the years, but you don’t even have to stick to a Valentine theme for this one. Anything soft, cute and cuddly will do.
First Valentines Day Play Set
These are cute during the first year. I bought Rosebud the birthday play set and she loved it. They have these for most of the holidays. They are little soft toys with different textures to touch, colors to see and sounds to hear. They make great keepsakes as well.
Flowers
This flower toy from Green toys is a neat idea. It’s flowers. It’s spring. It’s educational and Green Toys is a company that makes all their toys from recycled milk cartons. Rosebud has a dump truck made by Green Toys and she likes it. Their toys are sturdy and well made. I’d recommend this toy for older toddlers.
Homemade Gifts
More often than not, the best gifts are free. If you are the creative type, take out the craft supplies and create a beautiful card or a meaningful keepsake that will be saved and treasured later. You can work together with your kids to make Valentines for loved ones. If you are looking for something that your kids can give to others, try these salt dough keepsakes.
Quality Time
The number one gift is quality time. Just be in the moment with your kids. Whether it be playing outside, reading a book or curled up on the couch watching a movie, take the time. They will treasure it more than any physical gift just as we would. The memories together is what they will remember.
I started this blog in March of 2018 and I’ve learned a lot since then. In my welcome post, I mentioned my previous blogs. One was dedicated to early childhood education. It focused on my experiences in the classroom and educational activities. My other blog was more about day to day life. My early childhood blog had a small following, but nothing substantial. I think what helped was all the time and energy I would put into it. I had time to build up a Twitter following and interact more. I had more time to comment directly on other people’s blog posts. Although I was proud of that blog, I lost my passion for working in the classroom and the blog basically died out. I knew nothing about SEO. I didn’t use Facebook and wasn’t apart of a community of any kind. It was very basic. It was fun in the beginning and then I let it go when it wasn’t.
This time around, I’m definitely more excited about my blog. I’m passionate about being a mom, creating content and sharing experiences that might help others. I’m happy with my blog, but it could always be better. In order to make anything successful, you have to plan and set goals. Even if you change the goals, you should have something to strive for. Eventually, I want to incorporate this blog as apart of my business. Whether it be childcare, coaching or both. So, I’m keeping this in mind when I think about my blogging goals.
1. Find additional ways to increase traffic
My main goal is to increase the amount of traffic to my blog. Since March, this has been a challenge. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I am unable to effectively use Pinterest. This puts me at a disadvantage. Many mom bloggers I know use Pinterest as their main source of traffic. I think my content would do well on Pinterest, but since it is inaccessible to me and I do not have the means to pay a virtual assistant to create and schedule pins, I have to think of other creative ways to promote my blog. Most of my current traffic comes from Facebook groups. In 2019, I need to work on finding other traffic sources for my blog.
2. Make posts more SEO friendly
As I’ve already said, I knew nothing about SEO before and not much has changed. I use tags, but I haven’t done my research on which key words I should be using to bring more traffic. I have increased the amount of back links which can bring up my ranking with Google, but it’s not just about back links within your own blog, if reputable sites link back to your blog, that brings the ranking even higher. My goal is to read more articles and maybe take a course on SEO in 2019.
3. Write at least one guest post
On some of the Facebook blogging groups, I see posts asking for guest posts. Guest posting on another blog is a great way to promote your blog because you get exposed to a wider audience. I’d like to guest post, but I don’t know what I’d write. Do I just take one of my post ideas that have been floating around? What if they don’t like what I write? What if it’s not good enough? This thought process may seem irrational, but these are the questions that go through my head. Of course, I don’t have to guest post, but it would be a great opportunity to reach a broader audience. The whole idea makes me uncomfortable, but I could start by hosting a guest post on this blog and simply return the favor.
4. Rejoin Amazon Affiliates and make the required three sales
As you may or may not have noticed, some of my posts had Amazon affiliate links. In my older posts, the links are still there and will take you to a product, but I do not get a commission. Unfortunately, I did not make any sales in 2018 so, my account was closed. The great thing about Amazon Affiliates is that you can reapply. I’m waiting until the traffic to my blog increases before I try again. Now I post links to products for your convenience and I love sharing the products that I use and believe in even if I don’t make a penny. I’m planning to reapply for Amazon Affiliates within the next few months depending on the traffic.
5. Create and follow a schedule
Back in December, I had a final session with my coach and we discussed my blog. My main focus was creating a schedule. At the time, it seemed that Tuesdays and Fridays were the best days to post. Now I’m rethinking it. I still want to post twice per week, but I’m wondering about rearranging the schedule. I’m so worn out on Mondays that I can’t seem to find the energy to put together a post for Tuesday. I try to write on the weekends, but Rosebud is no longer napping so, it’s harder to find the time. Maybe Mondays and Fridays would work better, but then again, there’d only be two days between posts and then nothing for several days. I need to get my butt in gear and schedule posts ahead of time, but as a multitasking mom, when do I have time for that? This goal is a lofty one, but it’s one I really need to work on.
To recap, my goals are to find additional ways to increase traffic, make blog posts more SEO friendly, to write at least one guest post, to rejoin Amazon Affiliates and to create and follow a posting schedule. What are your blogging and or business goals for 2019? Tell me in the comments.
One of Rosebud’s stocking stuffers this year was a bottle of water beads. I’ve been seeing these things on early childhood blogs for several years, but have never seen them in person. They always looked so cool and I’ve always wanted to try them, but never had the opportunity with any of my classes. Well, I finally got the chance to play with them with Rosebud and she loved them.
I’m a big fan of sensory play. We do a lot with play-dough,sand or just plain water. There are so many benefits to sensory play and it really captures childrens attention. These water beads are definitely a different sensory experience. The ones we have are a little smaller than the standard sized marbles. They start out about the size of a sprinkle. At first, I thought of a grain of rice, but I think they are even smaller than that. I love dessert and sprinkles was the first thing I thought of. Anyway, they are tiny, but they start expanding soon after you put them in water. I think they were at full size after soaking for about an hour.
I poured a bunch in the tub, added water and when it was ready, I brought it to Rosebud. She loved the different texture. They are squishy and slippery. They can fall easily and role all over the place which makes them more attractive to kids, but makes a bigger mess for us to clean up. I included little scoops and cups, so we did lots of scooping and pouring. We counted how many scoops would fill each cup. We looked through the water beads and discovered that we could see light through them. We saw them bounce off things in the tub. I added a large funnel. The opening was big enough so that one bead would fall through at a time. Rosebud had fun filling the funnel and watching them fall down.
I’m looking forward to playing more with the water beads and tying them into different themes. I also want to look for larger ones. Have you used water beads? What cool things have you done with them? Let me know in the comments.
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This morning, I made a video with Rosebud and shared it with friends. It was basically a video message from her telling everyone, happy Valentine’s day while playing with her build a bouquet play set.
What are your favorite play-dough recipes? Tell me in the comments.
Every day, I’m constantly telling kids about how this isn’t safe and that isn’t safe. We tell them not to climb the slide, stay out of puddles, don’t play on the ice, don’t throw snowballs and on and on. It gets old. I start to wonder what came first. Do we tell them not to do these things because they show us they don’t know how to be safe or are we just assuming it before giving them the opportunity to learn? We tell them not to throw snowballs, but why exactly? It seems as though that it’s just one of those childhood memories we all have. At least those of us who grow up in winter climates.
We all know a well rested toddler means more sleep at night and a better day for us parents. If you have an infant and are in the process of 
Fruity Pebbles Frosting donuts
1. Find additional ways to increase traffic
