Day 2: Thankful For My Guys! ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18 | 30 Days Of Gratitude

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

Day 2: Thankful For Sons & Husband | 30 Days Of Gratitude

I am having a laid back day today. Getting a lot done here on the computer, but totally grateful that everyone is calm and happy to hang out with one another. I look to the left (because I am sitting in the seat furthest to the right) and see 3 handsome faces doing their own things. One deep into the television, one looking so serious while texting on the phone and the youngest turns to look back before the other two ... I guess he felt like looking my way at the same time. There is an inexpressible feeling of love that overwhelms me. Just love with all it entails summed into one pang in the heart. How blessed we are to have one another. This one moment recognized as yet another gift from the Lord. I'm thankful for my guys!

Day 1: Thankful for you!

November is here and I want to share my gratitude as this is the time year. I am always thankful for the family, friends and blessings; even more so when I look back from November 2012 until now. I want to thank you for subscribing to Mother Baby Child and thank you for all of your awesome mom blog posts, friendships and tutorials, too. I have learned so much from you. Plus, you have stuck with me through another year and even the time when I was building my new business and I could not blog; I appreciate your support at Google+ and Facebook, too. I just wanted to thank you Subscribing and members of the Moms Community for thinking enough of my mom journey.

"Wishing you all a happy November! May it not fly by too quickly like all other months!"

I know this is very last minute, but I welcome you to post your Day 1 to share with all of us, too!


In motherly love,
Lea

Age 2 Part 2 | Lip Picking, Nose Digging, Sneaking Toddler & Poopy Diapers Flying

"I guess we're never gonna survive unless we get a little crazy ..." ~ Seal

2 1/2 is a busy age with awesome conversations, play and a few bad habits!

I have to admit that life has been CRAZY since he turned 2 1/2 years old. It has been months of him sneaking around to tear off poopy diapers, lip picking, nose picking and sometimes he even has a little taste of his finger (YUCK). I am starting to wonder WHAT'S UP with that because he is so persistent about the picking. When not the lip it his is nose. I am frustrated that I cannot make him stop and hopeful that it will resolve on it own ... sooner than later!

Here's what life is like every 10 minutes or so these days (he is just about 2 years 10 months old) and so busy! I am grateful that my husband and teen help a lot!

Me: Max, are you picking your lip.

Max: NOOOOOOO (in a very loud and matter of fact like tone), I'm picking my nose!

Me: Well, stop picking your nose. It's yucky!

(Hiding my laugh - I go to Facebook to share this funny moment with my family. I look up because it's so quiet to find that HE DISAPPEARED)

Me: Max, where are you?

(No answer. I look in his bedroom because that is the only place he could be ... all of the other doors are locked to him from getting into everything. He jumps a mile high when he sees me because ... he was picking his nose in private this time - LOL.)

Me: What are you doing Max?

Max: AH, NO, it's the nose monster!

(He sounded just like a cartoon character, LOL, now I'm a nose monster? OK?)

So, I instruct my nose picking toddler to follow me out of his bedroom (to the living room) and I sit at my desk to write a post. I look up to see if he's come out of his room ...

Low and behold he's there with his pants at his ankles and quietly taking of his diaper - YIKES!!!

Just so you know, he does not poop on the potty, so we're potty training his way (uh hum) where we have to telepathically sense when it's time to dash from the pulled diaper to the potty because he likes to work independently these days - You know?

Our toddler is almost 3. He picks his lip and nose. He pees on the potty. He rarely poops on the potty!

We've had some crazy crazy crazy potty training moments this month ...

He will pee on the potty pretty much every time and often lets us know that he has to go. On  the other hand, he will not tell us when he has to poop and he rarely poops on the potty at all.

This has been a stage of poopy diapers flying everywhere and his sneaking into Desitin, wet wipes, bathrooms, wiping poop on windows and dropping poop on the floor. It's not that we aren't watching him, but that our 2 year old is so fast. We can do nothing solo in the house any more. Going to the bathroom, doing dishes, washing clothes, typing on the computer, getting everything ready for a bath, etc., is all a two parent job with this particular son (my other children did not require this extra potty training care at all). One parent has to literally sit with our son while the other parent does what is needed.

Believe you me, there is no more poop schedule or estimating when it is time, it is like our son can make himself poop, too. For example, if he has a temper tantrum that requires our putting him in his room (he gets like this sometimes when he's exhausted), we have to listen well and peek in whether he is crying or not because sometimes we come in to a poopy mess. It is something he started when he turned 2 and is inconsistent about, therefore we cannot assume that is how his body reacts when angry.

LORD GIVE ME STRENGTH!!!

We've have to watch our little bird like a hawk these days! he's so fast, creative and independent at almost 3 years old.

In motherly love,
Lea

Goodbye Red Bird ... Awkwaaaaaaaaaaaard :)

OUR LITTLE RED BIRD :) HE LOVES DRESSING UP IN THIS BIRD COSTUME.

Dear Fuhu, Inc.,

Thank you so much for the wonderful commercial with the "Good morning red bird ..." song. It has been "played out" to the point that I thought we would never ever ever ever forget it ... every time we saw a red bird (mind you, we live in central Florida where cardinals are plentiful) ...

I imagined us singing "Good morning red bird" and the strange robotic "awkwaaaaaaaaaaaard" - over and over again - for years to come, but this recently changed for us when ...

Our son decided that he would prefer to BE a red bird than sing about one any more :)

Can you believe it? He saw that commercial every morning after Little Bill!!!

I really have to give it to your marketing team though; they must have known the song would have attracted young inquiring toddler minds because it has done a great job at reaching our son ...

On the other hand, you REALLY should have gotten a red bird costume on the market before Halloween because - although I did not plan for him to trick or treat - I ended up at an online store ASAP when he announced that he wanted a red bird costume like 100 times (lol, yes, not a Nabi Jr, but a red bird costume). He was insistent for days and asked about it over and over until it arrived at our door. So, thank you for spiking his interest in this type of creative play, but ...

There was no Nabi Jr red bird costume, so we had to get an Angry Bird one ... :(

Thank goodness he doesn't know any better and it does not really look like an angry bird, but now we have something else to associate a red bird and that's cool. :)

It's blowing me a way every time I think about it because your commercial was so annoyingly cute ...

Yet, your effort ended up "awkwaaaaaaaaaaaard"-ly in another brands favor! :(

That's toddlers for you!!! (or maybe mixed marketing gone wrong)

Maybe one day our little bird will have a Nabi Jr in his hands and we welcome one for review :) because I think the Age 0 to 5 range is a little off and the market needs updated.

Anyways, thanks for the awesome lesson ... and memory!


Sincerely,

Mama Bird

P.S. Here's the video for what I'm referring to just in case you aren't familiar :)

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This is the time of the year for an "in your face" reminder to get a mammogram and show our support to others battling breast cancer. I believe this is the 28th year for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month ... It amazes me how long it has taken to get women on board to commit to their health - breast health in general - and there are always more to influence each year as the pink ribbons flow and once the realities of cancer hit closer to home. I am not going to make this a long post as I already have the post and resources for you on my other blog. Please visit: National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and share the information with your loved ones. Any time I hear the word CANCER my mind wonders to memories of friends and loved ones who are battling or did not survive the devastating disease. The reality is that one point or another we are either 1 of the 8 women diagnosed, or know someone that has had breast cancer / cancer. This is why I post the information each year. Please make sure to get your mammogram if you have not already and get involved in breast cancer awareness as you can as it is the 2nd most common disease that kills women. The info is on that blog post for free resources and ideas of how you can support no matter your budget.

Healthy Cookies Recipe | Chocolate Chip Oatmeal | Wordless Wednesday

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies | Healthy Recipe

Ingredients:

3 large ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups oatmeal
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

* Can use Cacao, Carob Chips or raisins

Directions:

Turn oven on to 350 and Preheat while mixing all of the healthy cookie ingredients together in a medium bowl. Use table spoon to measure out cookie sizes and flatten with the back of the spoon. Bake 15-20 minutes.

* Use Organic / Natural Ingredients

About 44-50 calories per healthy cookie.




In motherly love,
Lea @ Mother Baby Child

My Stepmother Died Peacefully Today | Cancer

Today, I received notice that my step mother - the woman I called "Mom" my ENTIRE life and did her very best to raise me as her own child - was just not strong enough to fight the cancer any more.

I had been in contact with her up until her birthday and then she became very distant the past month and a half (did not return calls, commented briefly on my post, etc). I thought she was mad at me for telling a family member thats he was sick and to pray for her ... Now, I know that she was just fighting her battle

She died peacefully today.

My heart just broke completely for all of us that loved her and are still here; especially my sister and also her sweet husband that traveled back and forth to the cancer center for months thinking that she would be all right. I thought so, too.

This is a reminder that in God's time and not ours. I will really miss talking with her and am so grateful for all that she did for me.

God rest her soul!




In daughterly love,
Lea @ Mother Baby Child

2 Year Olds Are Terribly Terrific | Time To Retire "The Terrible Twos" Cliche

Terrific 2 Year Olds | No Such Things As Terrible Twos

One would think that we would have ditched the term "terrible twos" by now. I absolutely hate it and feel like I was brainwashed to feel this way with child #1, though just did not see it that way by the time my 2nd child turned two and I certainly do not see it with child three. I think two years old is the most incredible stage in a child and parents life. It is a true transition from "baby" to "toddler" ... They are absolutely adorable in their Ds (demands, development and drama - LOL) - Two years olds are "terribly terrific" and we should start using that instead. Please make sure to LIKE and +1 if you agree!!!

I am using this post to link up to the past and future posts of what to expect when your baby turns 2 years old. From Potty training to potential potty mouth situations; temper tantrums and touching moments ... Terrific Twos!

2 Years Old Toddler Training

Potty Training (2 Years Old))
Potty Training our two year old has been quite an experience. It actually becomes more challenging as we move forward. Our 2 year old is awesome about not peeing in the pool (we know because he goes before we get in the pool and has to go immediately after his swim) and between diapers, but will not go without a diaper by his semi-tantrum choice and will not poop on the potty at all.

2 Years Old Independent Qualities

Toddler Reading, Playing, Helping (2 Years 2 months 23 Days)
This age reminds me of my 2nd son's favorite movies called Baby Geniuses. In the movie the babies had advanced universal knowledge and could speak a secret baby language, but 'cross over' at age two to become the toddlers we are all familiar with (learning to talk, reason and toddler development). I do believe our baby crossed over at 2 years one month old because he stopped talking as much as he had before (it was like he was speaking in sentences at age 1), though started doing all of these wonderfully amusing and developmentally appropriate things a few months later: reading to himself, stacking huge block towers, wanting to play trains, puzzles and drive his car without anyone pushing him. Best of all, our 2 year old became passionate about helping around the house.

2 Years Old Toddler Play

Order (2 Years 3 Months Old)
At first I thought our 2 year old was OCD or Autistic. Many moms have confirmed that his lining up cars, blocks and stuffed animals is just his toddler way of created order in his world. He continues to play like this as the months progress. By the time he was 2 years 4 months old, he would ask me to sit with him ("play with me mommy") to line up a lot of cars with the purpose of racing. He would not let me help at first, though this changed by the time he turned 2 years 6 months. He now likes us to sit and "play cars" which still consists of lining up his cars to "make em race" but every car goes in the line now.



In motherly love,
Lea @ Mother Baby Child

New F Word - Do You Know What It Is? | Proverbs 3:5-6

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man." ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

Father is the new F word ... Does this mean more prayers answered!

Father's Day is just around the corner, yet I still find it ironic that I should come upon a linky dedicated to Fathers because I typically miss the link up / blog hop reminders. Plus, my Grandmother and I were discussing Fathers just the day before, so I feel a little emotional and want to share with you.

Over the years the word Father became the most painful and then beautifully significant word to me ... It is not that I did not have a father ... I have always had my Father in heaven as well as my paternal father, grandfather and eventually a step father while growing up. My grandfather has always been the best to me; it was my relationship with my biological father that was damaged over the years and made me very bitter in my younger years. As a result, I did not find value in my older sons having a father in their lives. I figured if he did not want to step up and be the man / father that God said he should be, then there was no place in my sons lives for him, as I could be a mommy-daddy. I learned to prefer this independence and had very little respect for the role that a father places in a childs life.

Little did I know - just as I felt being a girl abandoned by my mother - my boys felt the same without a father in their life. Despite how hard I tried to comfort and replace this emptiness in their hearts, I could NEVER be a father to my sons because I was the mother. Consequently, no other man in our family could replace that longing in my sons lives because only a father could be that person to them. They used to tell me to marry Adam Sandler (their ideal of a great father from movies) and I would tell them that I did not want to get married ever again. That I did not need a husband and they should be happy for me to be an independent woman. Meanwhile, as much as I was oblivious to the fact that I could not carry the roles of both mother and father, I was clueless to the reality that my sons were really longing for a father more than a husband for me. They were acknowledging that they missed having a father in their lives to let them know they are wanted and maybe even loved regardless of the character of the father. I did try to connect each with their father, but the relationships were short lived over the years. I guess the original fact that I was not willing to mold from the beginning was disappointing to all. I say this because I have seen some women keep the father of their children in the home no matter how much they had to deal with because they felt it best for their children. I did not and  am still torn by those situations, though now understand the faithfulness and obedience it takes to hang on per the word of God, and our children.

My grandmother caught me out of the blue the other day ...

Grandma said, "Do you know about the new F word?".

I was really taken aback when she said that because I have actually never heard my grandmother say nor refer to the "F word", so I held my breath (keeping in mind that she just turned 85 and anything is bound to come out of her mouth). I held my breath and wondering what would come next --- LOL :)

Grandma said, "FATHER is the new F word, Lea."

My grandmother proceeded to explain how she heard this on a talk show and how much she loved hearing it. Not just because she has witnessed a shift from so many fatherless families in the community; tenants, neighbors, church members, etc. over the generations, but also how happy she was that my husband is being the father she prayed he would be to my children. I would like to say that "this is a given" for my youngest child as this is his biological father, but single parenthood has taught me that there is no "given" when it comes to fatherhood and family structure in my and younger generations. I have had a lot of friends and associates that still are / were single mothers, too. Being and having a father in the home is not a given these days; yet, God's word, grace and blessings are for his children.

So, the fact that my husband is a present and excellent father to his own 2 year old son, as well as my 14 year old son, is not a given. Yet, my husband is that present and excellent father to both boys. In fact, he was father to the older child first as he came into my life with a promise that no matter whether we came together in a Godly union or never made it past "just friends", he would be a mentor to this child. I did not ask that of him, he just understood what I was going through with my oldest son and that my middle child could very well follow suite. Although my husband did not have the perfect upbringing and teen years, his heart felt compelled to be this person for my son. It took me years to believe, not live with a skeptical spirit and "exhale", per say, about this situation. This is why I quote Proverbs 3:5-6 and encourage everyone who struggles to give God the control to read Proverbs 3 in general. I struggled for years with that, especially when it came to my single parent role and my children. Despite my not knowing what was best, God made sure this valuable person - FATHER - was there for my children. My husband gets all of the good and bad just the same the same as me. Now that our son is a teenager, I tease my husband by reminding him not to take offense "he hates us both the same right now and will be back in 5 minutes like nothing happened", and that is what happens.

The point being that my son - which my husband calls "our son" - loves him for being the father that his biological chose not to be. I know because I asked him when he was 10 and then a few times over the years. His replies went from a "he's an ok guy" to "I don't know" to a sheepish "I guess" to a sarcastic "well yeah!!!". My husband can no sooner get to the door without him being there saying, "can I go, too" and it has been like that for years. Although my teen has somewhat outgrown the desire to go fishing (not so much his cup of tea), he still eagerly jumps up to go when my husband decides to fish. I guess he just likes to hang out and do "his thing" while my husband fishes. He is also outgrowing the need for my husband to be there at his activities (cause there are girls there he likes to impress), yet he never tells him not to come with him and my husband normally just waits and proudly takes pictures of him when our teen is not looking. They sometimes have conflicts over our teen trying to stay up all night or doing his chores ... He is a real and loving father no matter what!

It is just as beautiful to see this son's love for his father as it is for me to see my husband feel comfortable taking that position because it took me quite some time to "let go" and let him be that father my son needed. It was at that time I realized that not just BOYS, but all children really do need two parents in the home. My husband is extremely patient and loves these sons of his. I am grateful that God did this for us because I know I am not worthy of all of these blessings especially this, but our children are to Him.

Most importantly, during this process, our teen accepted Christ again and was baptised last year; he possesses a genuine love for the Lord with all of his being and tries his hardest to live by the word (sometimes quoting to us how we should be as parents as we remind him of Exodus 20:12 and more --- I am sure parents of teens will understand what I mean). We all do our best to acknowledge God's Word as the family he has made us to be.

"FATHER is the new F word" said Grandma as she exclaimed how happy she is for my family.

Not only is this her testimony of prayers answered; it is mine for a plea that God take me back to the person that I used to be. I am still a work in progress, but the hurt and resentment towards my own father went away when my husband became the father that I could not be.

Please make sure to share this heartfelt blog post. Maybe this testimony will help a single mom that could benefit from my experiences.

In motherly love,
Lea

Best Bath Toy for Toddlers | Perfect Gift

Munchkin Foam Letters and Numbers - Toddler's Favorite Bath Toy

I would love to share the video of our baby in the tub, but my husband would kill me. So you'll just have to imagine our toddler's excitement at bath time based on what I explain here. He absolutely loves taking a bath and it is a fresh experience after going through the pre-teen years with a son that we had to bribe to take a shower - LOL. Our toddler loves swimming, bubbles, dumping his water cup and playing w/ his other toys, but the majority of his time and excitement from taking a bath is based on playing with his Munchkin Bath Letters and Numbers. It has been like this since he turned 2 years old and depending on whether your child is still "chewing", this could be the best bath toy for him / her, too. These Munchkin Foam Bath toys also make affordable toddler gifts for friends and family members. What I do with our toddler, is separate the letters and numbers for him so that he is not confused nor overwhelmed while playing. I also break up the letters into about 12 at a time when we are using those for bath time. He prefers the foam numbers right now, so that makes it a bit easier to keep him focused and consistently learning the numbers / number combinations.

I didn't think to share this info until last week when our son started counting on his own. He is not always sequential, but what he was doing is pairing up the foam numbers and saying "2 reds, 2 orange, 2 purple, 2 blues, 1 green, 1 yellow", so counting in pairs basically. We normally line them up on the side of the tub or wall to count the numbers in order or play games with them. He loves playing with the foam bath toys!!! We love the time spent with him, too. Plus, it was SO REWARDING to watch him do his "own thing" and it end up being something that I did not think to point out to him, yet. It is just too cool how our children love to show us what they learn on their own.

Additionally, the Munchkin Bath Numbers and Letters and Numbers are non-toxic and the recommended age is 3+ but we started using them at 2 years old to break up flash card time. 

I chose to use them for our toddler and buy them for his cousin's 2nd birthday because they were both so crazy about flash cards and learning their colors that I knew it would not be long before they put the foam letters and numbers to good use. My husband and I just avoided any biting by using them bath time only. As I mentioned above, you will have to gauge when your child is ready, but just know that you can have hours of educational fun each week by using these in the tub :)

NOTE: The Little Tykes foam bath toys have a history of being toxic, so please be careful.

I think we got ours at Walmart, but you can save time and check out Munchkin's other foam bath toys by using one of the Amazon links in this post.

I hope that your toddler enjoys as much as ours does. If you have already used foam numbers and letters in the bathtub, please do not hesitate to share your experience with them, too. Do / did they make learning colors, letters and numbers easier for your child?


In motherly love,
Lea @ Mother Baby Child

Start Getting Into Shape Before Summer - Exercise Contest / Weight Loss Giveaway

Are you TOO READY to take off some weight before summer and then keep losing weight during the summer, so that you can make this the last year? It really stinks being overweight each summer! I say this from experience and pray that this will be your year to take control of your health :)

Many of us feel this way each day and just do not have the support to get started! If you struggle SO HARD to lose weight, this may be the excitement and weight loss support you need to get started TODAY ... Here are 2 super easy ways to get started in accomplishing your fitness and weight loss goals.

Fitness Challenge (Free / Online)

This is a easy and steady fitness challenge for people that want to get started on a steady exercise routine that is not boring and does not take a lot of time to do, BUT CAN HELP YOU start getting into shape and learning how to exercise regularly in just a few minutes a day! All you do is go to this Facebook Page or this Google+ page and get started. The challenge just started today (May 3rd) and if you missed this start date, you can start on another day as long as everyone is done by the end of the month. This means that if you start between now and next Friday, you can still partake in this months fitness challenge AND you are entered into a contest to win a prize for your steady participation.

CONTACT ME --- FOR DETAILS ABOUT BOTH THE FITNESS CONTEST & WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE SPECIALS

Fun Weight Loss Challenge

In addition to the fitness challenge, there is a 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge to help you stay on track for losing weight / inches, as well as a few giveaways associated with this challenge. So, not only will you start an all-natural supplement and weight loss challenge, but you will get free products and a REALLY special gift from the distributors hosting a fitness / healthy lifestyle giveaway in addition to what the company offers. It is a beautiful package for people who do not like Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and other type programs but want to be a part of and have the support of an official weight loss program.

* You can submit questions and get started from over there!


Have a fit and fun weekend :)
Lea @ Mother Baby Child

Mother's Day Art - Really Cute!

Mother's Day Art & Craft Idea That Will Touch Her Heart

I found this beautiful art piece cycling around Facebook and then ended up connect with the super creative and artist mom that designed it. Her name is Amy Stone and her website is http://www.MittsPiggysPaws.com. You can see all of the beautiful custom art, as well as
heirloom-quality ceramic pieces (like the one above) created by this Memphis artist. Amy Stone creates one of a kind Baby Hand & Feet Impressions. This particular piece is glazed and fired twice in a large kiln at well over 1000 degrees from low-fire ceramic clay.

You can try to recreate this adorable craft (using the recipe below) to do with your child as a gift for yourself or other special someone. It will not turn out the same as the picture above because that is a professional ceramic art work.

If you prefer to have one just like the picture above or to have a custom art piece created by this artist, Amy Stone, please LIKE her Facebook page - www.facebook.com/MittsPiggysPaws - and contact her by clicking the Message button from that page.

Salt Dough Recipe

1/2 c salt
1/2 c flour
1/4 c water ( give or take )
mix together, roll, press adults hand in first, then child's hand
bake @ 100 degrees for 3 hours

Paint desired colors.

Wouldn't this make a beautiful memoir?




Have a relaxing weekend :)
Lea @ Mother Baby Child

$10 Business for Moms | Get Healthy & Secure While Making Money From Home ... Ready?

7 Months Later & Excited To Share This Business Info With You!

I don't know if you remember or not, but I wrote a blog post about needing to lose weight and a 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge I joined at the end of July 2012. I was really excited to get started in losing weight. After a few months of getting results via weight loss and decreasing my blood pressure, I became even more excited to share the information and build a work at home business with this company. I started sharing the product information as well as the changes that I was making in getting healthier. My business grew over the months from 1-2 hours a week invested. All I did was share the info through my personal weight loss blog and then share the blog post link at my social networks. People really liked the information :)

I have been blogging here for years and never shared anything like this with you before, therefore you can take it to heart as valuable business information if you have been looking for a work at home business - not job - with products that flat out work. I have been on the Internet for many years and tried a lot of things. This is a business that I am proud to stand behind and I have not done that with any other business for years because I just did not have the same experience with other ones I tried. Additionally, if you have been looking for a good work at home business, though did not do well in another company in the past or had a bad work at home experience, keep an open mind because I would never post anything unless I knew it was a good business.

BENEFITS OF THIS $10 WORK AT HOME BUSINESS

• No parties! No confusion! Family type business culture!
• No need for products on hand unless you want them! 
• National and International business potential for you!
• No stressing out family and friends; let them contact you!
• Affordable, fun and totally at your own pace :)
• Complete virtual office for building and managing your business.
• One time $10 to become distributor with product purchase.

Not only is this a work at home business with real products that work, it is a company where people with no experience in direct sales or online marketing are doing very well, too. This is a totally legit and debt free company that pays each week and is affordable to do. Unlike companies that tell you they will help you and do not, you will get full training, free resources and even team support from our company, as well as direct help from me. All you have to do is want to help people that use our products and 90 day challenge, as well as have the commitment to build a business during whatever hours you set each week. There is a system in place that works for everyone in the business if they follow instructions, and you're a blogger, therefore you know the power of sharing information when a product or service is working well for you :)

You can visit my other blog to learn more about the products, business and read my blog posts (found on the left hand side of the homepage) ... everything you need is there. You can contact me directly with any questions that you have; we can email or chat by phone; whichever is most convenient for you.

www.whygowithout.biz

* I won't post my earnings here because I think it is tacky, but will confirm that you can easily make a PT or FT income with this business with just a few hours a week by just copying what we do.

Here's to your starting to fulfilling your health and financial goals before summer :) If you just want to join our 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge, that is cool, too. The info is there on my other blog ... we welcome you :)


Hugs & Blessings,
Lea @ Mother Baby Child

Toddler OCD | Wordy Wordless Wednesday

Cars Turned In The Same Direction ... Always!

I know this is Wordless Wednesday, but I am wondering if your 2 year old does this, too? This picture was taken a few weeks ago when I noticed that he was walking the cars over and facing them in the same direction. He has since graduated to lining the cars up against the wall with the fronts facing outwards or directly beside each other on the floor.

Today our toddler lined up 6 signs from his train set. He really took his time to line them up meticulously and facing him), slid the little train past it once. As soon as the train went past, he picked up 3 at one time and looked. He then picked up the other 3 signs (all 6 in hand) and put them away.

I love watching all of the quirky "things" as much as the athletic and creative gifts he has, but he has been doing things that make me wonder whether it might be OCD or not because I do not remember my other children doing the same things so young. Does this look familiar to anyone?

Anyways, Happy Wordless Wednesday to you :) Thanks for stopping by!


In Motherly Love,
Lea @ Mother Baby Child

2 years, 2 months, 23 days | Our Toddler Is Loving, Playful, Smart | Not Sleeping All Night

Our baby is now 2 years, 4 months and 23 days old.

This is an incredible time in our lives. Our toddler is a busy little 2 year old boy that consistently demands that we understand he's a person capable of thinking on his own. The best part of it all is that he starting to share new talents with us. This makes 2 years old such beautiful stage and makes me appreciate life so much more. He loves to play outside, color and tumble. All of the sudden, he has begun counting everything and the alphabet has became extremely important to him. Our 2 year old does creative things to let us know what he understands now. For example, he uses exaggerated body language for words he does not know or if we do not understand what he says. This increased communication makes attending to his needs easier and he knows it. I really like that our little guy is so energetic that he can hang with me on walks; he loves to run and explore nature. The only major problem we have is sleeping. Our toddler crawls out of the crib and fusses for at least an hour at bedtime. Our 2 year old is still not sleeping through the night and we are getting tired of being tired. Aside of the sleep problems, all is well in our 2 year old toddler world. We are all enjoying him :)

The following are some of our 2 year old milestones ...



Our toddler becomes more loving each day and always wants to "ELP"!

He showers us with kisses and hugs all day long. It is so cute because he will sometimes kiss the full length of my arms (on both sides) and feel very proud about it. On the other hand, our 2 year old has also become very clingy and demanding of moms attention. He has gone back to digging in my shirt and snuggling in like he did a year ago after weaning. Regardless, he is one sweet loving boy when he is not having a "NO" tantrum :) There is also not a day that goes by where he does not offer to help. Our little guy has an innate desire to "help". He is sweetly insistent and always shows up at just the right time to do his part. This is something that I will continue to foster in him for sure. He now knows how to make smoothies, sort laundry by color and make sure that mommy does not forget the bubbles per load, and he will help load or unload the dishwasher with the quickness (I always feel like we are playing that timed pop up game, Perfection - LOL)



Our little boy loves playing cars and trains and trains and trains ... 

We noticed that it was time to retire some of his infant toys when he started pushing cars all over the house while making the "vroom vroom" sound. This was around his second birthday, so we struggled on what we could get him to help manage his time. We ended up buying a train set a few weeks after his 2nd birthday. Our toddler has been entertaining himself with this type of creative play ever since. Sometimes the train set stays together. Most times he reconstructions what his brother created as the perfect rail road world. It is not unusual to have days where every inch of the living room, kitchen walk way and office becomes his train table. I love looking to the right while working and knowing that he is over there using his imagination. I hear him saying all kinds of things :)

He is just starting to speak clearly, though can sing the words of his favorite songs. BOY does he have a lot to share loudly. He loves music and dancing so much!

Max went through a phase where he stopped speaking clearly. It was like one day I could understand him saying that he wanted to go outside or "I like dat", and then it just stopped. I was like freaking out by his second birthday because his cousin was speaking so clearly over the holidays and he was not. Now, I cannot believe the things he is saying. For example, today he was excitedly screaming, "Mum an octopus an optopus. It is so cute". This little boy is counting everything (mostly 1 to 10 though missing number 5 each time; sometimes he will count up into the 20s). He also says his ABCs with pride. He starts off in order and then shouts out pieces of the alphabet in different orders except when singing. I signed him up for AbcMouse.com and he loves it. He has absolutely no desire to use the mouse to do anything on that site (he will only touch it when I don't want him to), but he will sit through 1/2 of their alphabet books in one sitting. This is not because of me. He loves them that much. He will loves the number activities and does them both at the same time. Max also loves to sing. He knows the words to a lot of his favorite songs. His favorite TV shows are very theatrical like Sesame Street, Umizoomy, Super Why, Barney, etc. I find comfort in the fact that he can express himself these ways.

He started getting good at larger puzzles around his 2nd birthday.

There is an alphabet one that he is particularly fond of and will sit in his high chair playing with it for over an hour. By now he knows pretty much all of the alphabet and characters on the puzzle pieces (i = ice cream, x = xylophone, etc). He can do this a few times without getting bored with it because he loves the pictures so much. It is so cool to see how he started recognizing the alphabet all of the sudden and I have to attribute that to Your Baby Can Read, Super Why and our working with him a little bit over the years.



He loves playing blocks and letting us know that he can associate the letters and picture.

We bought him wood blocks a little over 2 months ago because I felt that he was ready to build more than what he was doing with the mega blocks. That is when I noticed that he found great satisfaction in stacking and there was no changing it. He immediately started building little 5 block towers. He built his first 21 block tower just 8 weeks after and counted them out loud with me. He is extremely meticulous about how his blocks stack. He prefers that they are not twisted at all and all having the same type of pictures showing on one side (the side of the block tower that faces him as he builds). Anyways, I was totally amazed when he grabbed a bunch of cars and trains to drive them carefully around his tower of blocks. He did it just once to see if he could and then was satisfied. I have to believe it was to see if he could do this without knocking down his tower of blocks because I went to disassemble it just after and he went crazy when I removed a block. He spends quite a bit of time showing us that he knows which letters and pictures are on his blocks. This week he has been lining them up and counting blocks on his own.



Our 2 year old LOVES to read ... In fact, he LOVES books.

A great portion of our day is focused around which book Max wants to read or not. He also relocates them from the bookshelf to the floor and furniture every single day. He will sit and read on his own. He has recently started stacking books at the corner of my desk. They are usually around the same size books and he is perfectly content to leave them with me after he has about 10 or so stacked up. Sometimes he just counts as he stacks them. Sometimes he will excitedly chant what he likes about them as he is stacking them. He will scream if I remove or adjust any of the books while he is stacking them. It is a trip. Our toddler is also extremely passionate about reading the store flyer. It is really cute when he is sitting with us, though can become rather frustrating when he insists on going through the grocery store ads while I am working or need to do something else. It is not like the books where he will sit to read on his own, Max will insist that you read store flyer to him before he claims ownership. After we go over it with him and spreads it all over the place to read for quite a while. TRUST ME, it is not cute when you are trying to go to the bathroom and the flyer starts coming under the door while your toddler is screaming his head off to read. Regardless, I am grateful that he wants to learn everything - that I do not want him to eat - like Tombstone pizza, Weight Watchers ice cream and all over the produce specials about 10 times in a row :)

Our toddler started climbing out of his crib last week.

Meanwhile, he had just jumped on our bed for 15 minutes beforehand. I never let my two older ones do this, but our toddler is so energetic that it helps wear him out. Plus, Max loves to jump and count. The fact of the matter is that our son climbed out of his crib 4 times that first night. I tried doing everything from putting him back without a lot of attention to being firm, there is really not much I can do when his mind is set to climb out of the crib. I just push the crib against the wall because it blocks his favorite climbing side. We do feel fortunate that he has stretched crib sleeping out this far, though are a bit overwhelmed as to what to do with him at bed time and in the morning. He gets up at the crack of dawn and cries until I put him in the bed with us. He beats me up for a while until I let him crawl down as start to our day. What is even worse is that our toddler still does not sleep through the night. I am like 2 years without more than a few good nights of sleep and it is really taking a toll on me; especially since I am still trying to lose the rest of my "baby weight" and know I need my 7 to 8 hours sleep to lose weight (check out my weight loss journal). The kicker is that our 2 year old cries SO VERY LOUDLY that if feels like a fire alarm goes off each night and morning. UGG! It is rather frustrating. Yet, my middle child has always had sleep problem (not as loud). It might be that our toddler has ADHD.

Lastly, is the expected "NO" and 2 year old tantrums.

Yes, he is pretty good at both of these, though is not as persistent as my older two were. I guess it is because his NOs mean "No" most of the time, so we do not deal with a lot of tantrums because he is frustrated that we should have understood "yes" ... this can get challenging at times. I have learned to stop asking him if he wants to do this, or if he wants this or that. I now say, "OK, it's bath time. You love taking a bath" or I brink both types of cereals because he usually just waves me off with the one he does not like and it's a really nice non-verbal / non-tantrum way of communicating :) C'est la via!


Well, that's about it for 2 years, 2 months and 23 days :) I hope these 2 year old milestones were helpful and / or entertaining to you. I know they are for us each day, so I couldn't wait to share!

Don't forget to check out 2 years old (part 2) - Poopy Diapers, Lip Picking, Nose Picking


Happy Wordless Wednesday :)
Lea @ Mother Baby Child

Florida Beach Boys | Wordless Wednesday

Happy Wordless Wednesday :)
Lea @ Mother Baby Child

Don't Spread Yourself Too Thin - Monday Marketing Tip - How To Be Successful WAHM

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me." ~ 1 Corinthians 15:10

FOCUS is Follow One Course Until Successful

Whether it is blogging, working from home or working out of the home, spreading yourself too thin is of no benefit to your business, blog, marketing or family. Don't get me wrong! There is no harm in wanting to do and be your best (i.e. maybe you add a lead generation program to your business and make it available to your team; maybe you need or can handle 2 blogs and their marketing). That is not what I am referring to here. I am writing this Monday Marketing Tips blog post for those who are trying to build and manage a bunch of business opportunities at one time or a bunch of blogs at one time or taking on more work than your job entails ... and thinking it will make you more successful. You can only wear but so many hats and have people take you seriously. You can only do so much on your own and think that you can be the best at all. This is especially true in marketing. Most of all, God will only bless your best as he sees fit and he is not a God of disorder. You cannot spread thin on working hard for Him!

Business marketing, blog marketing, services marketing - All 3 take planning, focus and time. Unless you have a team of people that can do what you do and the way you want them to do it - so that you do not need to baby sit - Spreading yourself thin between business ventures and business marketing is just not effective. You make yourself look inefficient and end up feeling that way, too. That does not create long term winning experiences. Sorry, but YOU WILL NOT create the multiple streams of residual income that you desire by selling yourself short in these areas: focus, planning, organization, dedication, consistency, etc.

"Jack of all trades, master of none"

Focus on doing your best at one thing instead of spreading yourself too thin trying to be magnificent and successful at so many things. It just does not work that way. You can Google "multitasking" and see what Forbes.com, Psychology.com, and PBS.org have to say about this. I am not talking about cooking, washing the dishes and doing laundry at the same time; I mean trying to build multiple businesses on your own or multiple time consuming marketing tasks on your own. You cannot focus on being successful at the most important goal if you are bouncing around and spreading yourself thin between one, two, three, four, five ...

Yes, it is awesome to want to create multiple streams of residual income and / or multiple marketing resources and / or multiple creditably. You just have to knock them out one at a time - unless you have a team - opposed to spreading your valuable time between a whole bunch of projects and generating nothing. For example, if you start a home business for one type of product or service another awesome "once in a lifetime" business opportunity pop up. There is always going to be "something bigger and better" in your eyes if you cannot fully commit and focus on more than you can reasonably hand at one time. Why would you want to? More does not always equate to successful. Why take from any area of being and doing your best to be less and master of none?

"Either you run the day or the day runs you" - Jim Rohn

There are only 24 hours in a day. This is something that just does not change over time, therefore we need to make the most of the waking time in those 24 hours. Moms obviously have less time for self and work because children / family need your time, too. You have to focus and prioritize on what is the most efficient and rewarding in your life, so that you can have time for all that is most important in your life which is GOD, YOU, FAMILY and then work / money.

Learn from the experience of other and grow from doing what is proven to work!

I am going to end this Monday Marketing tip with the one last point. Learning from the experience of others will be helpful to you in work at home business and business marketing. Ideally it would be to learn from people who are successful as you want to be, but we can certainly learn as a spectator of failure as well. It is often that we learn from our own failures that create success in us. I am sharing what I have learned over the years from those who have been successful in business, family, life; where I failed and was successful, too.


(This video is short and sweet about this Monday Marketing Tip; Tyler Perry witnesses nothing but the grace of God and focus on the one task at hand)

Start one business and do well at it before you move on.

Start one blog and do well at it before you move on and start another.

Start one marketing plan / marketing process and do well at it before you move on and add another.

Share your experiences with others ... 



In Motherly Love,
Mother Baby Child

Potty Training 2 Year Old Toddler Boy - Dad & Mom Are Doing The Potty Dance For Sure

It's a joyful week in the Hunt home :) Our toddler has started potty training; WOO HOO!!! Our younger teen has gone to bed at a decent time for the past few nights. My oldest son (who is sadly not talking to me) just had a baby girl named Harmony. Our dog made his first "autotune video", web work has been steady for me and I started a work at home business that is starting to grow. In fact, quite a few new people joined our 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge this week and I am excited for them. All in all, not everything is perfect around here and I will get into that another time, tough I have remained faithful that the Lord will resolve all issues and grateful for the blessings despite storms.

Potty Training A Boy Is Not Hard - Just Wait Until They Are Ready!

Potty Training has been a walk in the park compared to buying the best potty chair for our son. Although, Max had only "let go completely" and had a full pee one time on our potty, has gone a few drops twice in his potty chair on many occasions and had one full pee today, too. He has always liked to sit on the potty and loves the extra attention that he gets when he does his "duty". Yet, it has taken Max a week to fully comprehend that he can pee it all out at one sitting. He is doing really well so far!

Knowing When Toddler Boy Is Ready To Potty Train

We introduce potty training a few times over the past year. We started around 1 years old, and have kept a potty chair in the bathroom ever since. He loved the entertainment of the potty chairs, as well as using them as a seat and stool while in the bathroom. Yet, our son was totally uninterested in potty training prior to his second birthday. I know that our 2 year old is ready to potty train because 1) he keeps taking his diaper off when very wet, 2) he pulls at the elastic on the thigh areas of his diaper (stretching it to get in the diaper), and 3) our toddler gets extremely cranky if he wakes with a saturated diaper. Another contributory factor, as to why he can start potty training now, is that he is really good at not urinating when not wearing a diaper. On the other hand, his "gift" at holding his pee prohibited our toddler from fully releasing while sitting on the potty chair. It took his over an hour of holding his pee before he released all of the way. I am thinking that he will get over this as soon as a potty routine has been established for him.

Choosing The Best Potty Chair / Worst Potty Chair In My Opinion

Regardless, today, we received our BABYBJÖRN Potty Chair and BABYBJÖRN Toilet Trainer in the mail. One would have thought that my husband struck gold when our box arrived; I have never seen him so excited. We ordered the both the BABYBJÖRN Potty Chair and BABYBJÖRN Toilet Trainer from a woman on Ebay. Aside of a few Thomas the Tank Engine stickers on the potty, both were in perfect condition and cost just a little over $20 for both potty seats; saving us over $40 including shipping. We wiped them down with bleach, set the potty in the living room and the seat on the toilet, took our baby our of his diaper and proceeded to familiarize him with both of them. We were all so excited to see that our baby fit comfortably on the BABYBJÖRN Potty products because this is our 4th potty chair. I really do not feel like buying another one. NOTE: Aside of our son having to learn how to sit on the BABYBJÖRN Potty Chair without bumping his private area (took a few independent attempts to sit alone) on the high pee guard, he was more comfortable with using it. We chose the BABYBJÖRN Potty Chair because of that high pee guard; most of the animated potty chairs were lacking in guard areas and seat room. We chose the BABYBJÖRN Toilet Trainer because of the decent sized pee guard and seat with a whole that looked large enough for a toddler. It snaps to the toilet seat securely, our son fits in the contoured design well and sat in it comfortably today. I think it will work well for him, but I will have to report on that later. NOTE: I did notice a red impression line on his bottom and this bothers me. I do wish that the BABYBJÖRN Toilet Trainer was made with a softer seat.


BABYBJÖRN Potty Chair and BABYBJÖRN Toilet Trainer

Our first potty chair was the older version of the Fisher Price Cheer For Me Potty. I bought it about a year ago from a local garage sale, and it was our best potty chair. It was in excellent condition, with an awesome pee guard and was very sturdy. Our baby loved sitting on this potty chair for extended lengths of time. He listed to the music and played with the flusher a lot. Unfortunately, his older brother broke the sound button on the back of the potty chair. Our baby lost interest in this potty chair when it could no  longer entertain him.


Original Style & Newer design of the Fisher Price Cheer For Me Potty

Our 2nd potty chair was a newer model of the Fisher Price Cheer For Me Potty. It was not of the same quality as the older model. The plastic was not as solid, the seat / guard area seemed smaller and the sensor did not work as well as the other potty. Most importantly is that Fisher Price had replaced the pretend toilet paper holder, that he LOVED because it played music, with one that really held toilet paper. We could not possibly use that toilet paper holder as intended with our adventurous little boy; he wanted to play with the toilet paper too much.



Our 3rd potty chair was The First Years Disney Pixar Cars Potty. Aside of the colorful design, stool capability and very soft seat, The First Years Disney Pixar Cars Potty was pitiful to say the least. Although this potty chair has a very soft seat, it is way too small for toddlers and has an extremely small pee guard that makes it almost impossible for a 2 year old boy to use. The seat cushion is removable thus prompting our son to remove and try to play with it all of the time. The one interactive feature on this potty chair is a little clutch that makes a "rev" car sound. This feature kept coming loose when he used it thus encouraging him to get up and lift the seat (very annoying when trying to get toddler to focus on potty training). The whole plastic area under the seat cushion would pull apart at that time. This potty might work for boys potty training 1 years old or younger, though has not been a comfortable and reliable option for our son. We wasted our money on The First Years Disney Pixar Cars Potty.

Well, this is all that I have to share about our potty training experience so far. I hope that this information was helpful to anyone trying to decide which potty chair is best and some details on potty training a 2 year old boy. I would love to hear about your potty training experience through the comment section of this blog or our new Google+ Moms Community. See you there!



In Motherly Love,
Mother Baby Child

Happy 2013 New Year

2013 New Year Blessings

I didn't get to write much towards the end of 2012 (busy busy busy) and started the 2013 New Year with the flu (yuck). I feel like I've really missed out on a lot in this short time. I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas. I miss hopping and chatting with you.

Please make sure to leave a comment with your blog,
so that I can read your Xmas posts and catch up with you!

Wishing YOU a very Peaceful and Happy 2013 New Year!

The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
~ Numbers 6: 2-26

Hugs & Blessings,
Mother Baby Child