Who doesn't like to win things?

I've just recently started to get into entering giveaways. And let me tell you I was thrilled to find out I had won a little outfit for my little girl!! Thanks to SugarBob.

My newest giveaway entry is with A View From The Couch! I am so stoke about trying to get one of Old Navy Weekly's $50 off $100 coupon! Check her out on the blogs I follow list on the side -->

And good luck if you enter(but maybe just a little less luck than I, lol).

Shopping Trips

I am not too fond of shopping trips now. Maybe it's because we've had to go 5 times a week since we moved. I guess that's what happens when you become a homeowner. I never thought about having to buy things like...a ladder?! But on the other hand, stores mail you some great coupons when you move.

It seems like when I have to use a "regular" cart at the store, and not the limo, I feel like I'm working a jigsaw puzzle. How do I stick 2 children and a car seat in that? Usually it's fairly easy to have WayWay walk though. Luckily I've learned how to master carts a little easier now.

• Park next to a cart return. Usually people will have already returned theirs and you can just grab, load, unload and return fairly quickly. Plus parking a little further away you get the added perk of burning off some of those extra pregnancy lbs that came from craving biscuits and gravy at 11 o'clock at night.
• I absolutely love how most stores have free sanitizing wipes you can use on the carts now. Before I could only find them at Fred Meyers. I actually got in to the habit of carrying around Wet Ones. I think you can get them for .95-$1.50 a package? My other must have for my germ freak tendencies is hand sanitizer, but man that stuff can burn!! We found a great alcohol free kind, unfortunately we can only find it for sale at Walmart so we usually have to stock up on it. Now if only I could find a way to keep my daughter from putting her mouth on the cart...

Have any of you used those cart covers? How do you like/dislike it?
PLUS here is a link to a pattern to make your own:
http://crafts.sleepingbaby.net/cart_cover.html

Kitchen Sanity Savers

I adore cooking! More so, I adore eating! But sometimes I feel like I can't enjoy it because I'm running around like a mad woman trying to get everything to finish up at the same time. If only I could wiggle my nose and have the whole dinner appear out of thin air.

Let me take you back for a moment--*insert Wayne's World dream sound effects here..deedillydoot..deedillydoot*-- We're newlyweds, and it was the first meal I was going to make. Not the Hamburger Helper we would eat most nights because we could get a box for $1 each. But an actual meal with fresh mashed potatoes, chicken and asparagus. My husband parents were visiting and I had no clue how to keep all the dishes warm and set out at the same time. How did my mother do it I wondered? --Flash forward--Needless to say I'm sure half of that meal was cold. But I have gotten 100 times better! Not to say we haven't had our fair share of half cold or half burnt meals since then.

This is one of my all time favorite life(and meal) savers!

The Vidalia Chop Wizard
I love this thing! It's especially great on saving time.
And perfect for making bite sized pieces for

little fingers.

Moving

With this being our 3rd move in 15 months, I felt a bit like a pro. Okay, maybe not pro, I did still end up with a few "random" boxes. You know the ones, they have the junk drawer items, things found after the furniture was moved, your husband's high school football helmet that only the kids play with. I was promised though that this will be the last move for several years. And frankly I don't mind losing a bit of my expertise in this field. However I have learned some awesome tips of moving with small children along the way.

At one of my first doctor's appointments while pregnant with JoJo(#3) I was flipping through a parenting magazine. Usually I prefer the home decorating ones, but the cover caught my eye. And having my husband already living and working in the city that we were moving to I would take any help I could get. It was an article on moving and helping kids adjust. The best tip I found in there was to help the kids know their things will be there at the end of the move, even though everything is getting packed into the endless sea of boxes. It's hard enough to find out where you packed the toilet paper at toothbrushes that first day, let alone the doll that they haven't played with in months but now have to have in order to go to sleep.

- When packing up the the children's things grab crayons, markers, and stickers. Let them decorate their boxes so they can know exactly where that favorite stuffed kitty is. From being loaded in to the moving truck to part of the box fort at the new place they will always have it in their sight. This is also a great chance to take a break and spend some time with them. I can definitely tell when my kids need their mommy to stop being a crazy packing machine and give them some attention.

The unpacking of this move went great(minus a few scratches in my paint). We had help from the congregation of the local chapter of our church, and it was done in 45 minutes! Everyone was great but I did notice things could have gone smoother while putting boxes in rooms. One of the guys unloading let me in on a little secret:

- When they had moved they used color coded tape with the names of the rooms already printed on it! ~Now is the moment I've had several times in my close-children mommyhood, "why didn't someone tell me about that sooner?!".~ Sheer genius! So instead of having to make sure my kids didn't get ran over by furniture AND telling people where boxes went, I could have just hung out with the kids.

My Tip: If you are blessed enough to have help loading and unloading then baby gate up a room and play a movie on the laptop, color, or play with some empty boxes(outside is great for forts). This way you don't have to worry about the kids getting hurt.

Postponed...

Life got crazy there for a bit, and I had to postpone this blog. But luckily we've moved in to our house, and those family members that had medical issues are doing much better. So on with the show this is it.....

Intro

My name is Tatiana and I am a MaMa to close-aged children. My kids are "WayWay - 3.5yrs, "Tizzy" 2yrs(in one week), and JoJo my 8.5 week old. And YES, they were all planned, very much so!

My close parenting journey began after I had fought the erge for several months that it was time for our second. A million and one thoughts went through my head during that time. I thought I must have been crazy! That we wanted to have our kids be 2-2.5 years apart. That I wouldn't be able to handle it. That my son wouldn't have me to himself. All these thoughts were laid to rest after I broke down crying to my husband, and the wonderful discussions that followed. We had made our decision, but I still needed a little reassurance.

So I did what anyone in this day-and-age would do...I google it! The search "Close pregnancies" brought up a site forum that truely helped me. I knew if these women could do it, planned or unplanned, that I could too! The forum was the Close Pregnancies discussion board on JustMommies.com. I believe they have now changed it, something to the affect of "Close-aged children", I think? Though I'm no longer a regular on the site, it helped me so much to get advice from those been-there-done-that mothers. And to not feel so crazy thinking it was time to have another. I hope that I can pass forward some of the knowledge I have recieved from not only those mommies, but all the close-aged parents I've come in contact with.

*To those who know me personally, please use my children's nicknames(at the top) when commenting. Message me about our family blog. This is an open blog*

"You've got your hands full!"

As a mother of close-aged children, I've probably heard this phrase almost as many times as I've changed poopy diapers. Well, that may be an exaggeration but it sure feels like it. Sometimes I wish I would hear things like "wow, you must be super mom", or " you're one tough cookie". But alas, I get the generic "you've got your hands full". Thank you, thank you for noticing.

But while one ponders the phrase, you must admit it sounds rather silly. Why of course my hands are full, wouldn't anyone with more than 2 children have their hands full? Or sillier yet is hearing it while you have one in the world and one in the womb. As was a constant in stores from the sweet old grandma types. All the while trying to holding your 16 month old and trying to maneuver his body around the orb that was soon to be his little sister. But with each and every encounter with the silly remark I became more accustom to just throwing out a quick "yes" in response. As time has gone on, and one more child has entered my arms, I feel inclined to now smile with my biggest cheesy(slightly sarcastic) grin I say "YES they are!" .

I'm no longer aggravated when I hear the repetitive verbiage. In fact, I'm proud to hear it! Yes, my hands may be full, but my children clothes are all matching(minus the sock that occasionally ditches their mate), and they aren't running around the store screaming " I want those mocho-cocoa -gummy-yummy-tutu-swirls". Though an occasional "I want to hold what ever ___(insert opposing sibling's name here) is holding" is a common store occurrence. So with my "full hands" comes my oh so Full, and sometimes overflowing, heart.

In writing this blog I wish to enlighten those who don't understand, put a smile on the face of those who do, and give hope to and encourage those who feel like they may not survive it!