Random Acts of Kindness

We had a date night tonight!!

After my nephew's birthday party this afternoon, we came home for a little nap (Ayden and I did at least). Then my mom came over to hang with Ayden while David and I went out to eat and to a local ballet company's production of The Nutcracker. David got the ballet tickets from work and also won a $100 American Express gift card in their annual Christmas party prize drawing.  We took both and made it into a full, free (for us) date night. 

Our dinner ended up costing a little over $60 and instead of keeping the rest for later, we decided to leave the remainder of the balance as a tip for our waiter. We know it's not much in the grand scheme of things by he was a really great waiter and we are hoping that a 57% tip just might make his night. We've always heard of people doing random acts of kindness like paying for the order behind you in a drive through and the like but have never done it. Now we have and we can see why people do!

Have you ever done a random act of kindness?  Please share ideas!

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Back On Track"

Thank you for stopping by Life With the Ladniers!

Please take a second to:

 Subscribe via email, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter so you'll know as soon as a new post is up!

Miss seeing what Ayden is up to everyday?  Follow us on Instagram!

You can find all of the links in the sidebar.

Hurts So Good

We had a successful trip to the gym today!  Ayden didn't even look back as he went in to play with all the other kids. Someone once told us that attachment parenting would rob him of his independence and autonomy. I am positive that it did the opposite.  He is a very confident and independent child in social situations. It makes a mama proud. 

I took a class called Power Hour. It felt really good and I was already sore by dinner time. Hurts so good, right? Haha. 

When I went to pick Ayden up he was crying. They told me he started about 5 minutes earlier when a few of the other kids got picked up. I guess he finally started to wonder where I was. He held me so tight when I pulled him into my arms. I don't get to experience these types of reunions much and have to admit, I liked it. We stayed and played for a bit longer so we could leave on a good note then headed home. He fell asleep for an early nap on the way. 

I guess all the playing wore him out!  He said he waned to go back so we will see if he separates as well next time or not. I was thinking for now, until he gets used to it, I may leave my classes a little early and pick him up before other kids. 

There are pros and cons to working out at home and to being a member of a gym and for now I think we've made the right move!  

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "In and Out"

Thank you for stopping by Life With the Ladniers!

Please take a second to:

 Subscribe via email, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter so you'll know as soon as a new post is up!

Miss seeing what Ayden is up to everyday?  Follow us on Instagram!

You can find all of the links in the sidebar.

Seasons of Change

Little Man is on a constant quest to touch the our ever evasive chickens. Every now and then one will crouch down and tolerate a few strokes before scurrying away.  That's enough for him, it makes his day!

It is interesting to me how things ebb and flow and even come full circle during different seasons of someone's life.  We dropped our gym membership years ago along with cable TV, Netflix, landline phone, excessive amounts of dates to the movies, and going out to eat, etc.  We did this so we could free up money to put towards me being a stay at home mom and becoming debt free.  Now that we have achieved those goals, we are ready to add a couple of things back in.

Group fitness is my favorite form of exercise so back in the day, I put in my fair share of time at the gym.   Once Ayden arrived, my perspective was changed and I just didn't have an interest in (or the energy for) exercising much.  I've done things here and there and we even did 5 weeks of T25 back in September before falling back into our old rut.  Working out at home for an extended amount of time just wasn't making me feel fulfilled.  My choices were to workout while Ayden was awake which meant interruptions and distractions; or to do it while he was sleeping which meant that I was using valuable baby-free time that I'd much rather use for things for myself or the house that I couldn't do when he was awake.  Needless to say, any effort to work out since his arrival has been short lived since over time it seemed to add stress rather than provide stress relief.  It was something I felt like I *should* do or *had* to do rather than something I wanted and enjoyed to do.

All of that being said, I've been having a pretty big itch to work out for a while.  Since we got T25 back in September I guess, but I just couldn't get excited about anything I tried.  After talking it over for a couple of weeks, David and I have decided to join a gym again!  Ayden and I stopped by our local YMCA  today and came away with membership cards. 

 I didn't realize just how much I missed it until it sunk in that I get to go take some group fitness classes. Tomorrow if I want!  I get to make some more friends, find inspiration and be a part of a community.  Another bonus is that they offer a really good childcare program that is included in the membership.  That means Ayden gets to make new friends too and mama will still get to take nap time for whatever her heart desires.  Win, win all around if you ask me!  

Ayden was most excited about the pools.  There is a lap pool, an outdoor pool (which is closed at the moment of course) and a warm water pool.  He kept telling the guy who was working with us, "I wan see pool!" We are excited to take our first family swim in the warm water pool.  Sounds like the perfect evening activity during these cold winter days if you ask me!

I am so excited about this new season of my life.  I am ready to feel strong again and ready to  take this time for myself.  Who knows how long it will last but does that matter?  What is important is that we do what we are inspired, interested or motivated to do in the moment and  then when we are ready, we have the freedom to move on and experience a new season.  

Have you had a recent change of season?  Do share!

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Night Owls"

Thank you for stopping by Life With the Ladniers!

Please take a second to:

 Subscribe via email, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter so you'll know as soon as a new post is up!

Miss seeing what Ayden is up to everyday?  Follow us on Instagram!

You can find all of the links in the sidebar.

Pin Review: DIY Shower Cleaner

I've seen this DIY shower cleaner floating around Pinterest for a while now and decided it was time to put it to the test!  

Supplies Needed:

- distilled white vinegar

- dish soap

- dish wand

We have sliding glass doors on our shower here at the cottage.  I know a lot of people take these down and replace them with a more stylish curtain but since this is a rental, we had to leave it as it is.  The reality is that these glass doors are SOOO much better than a curtain when you have a toddler in the bathroom with you when you are trying to shower!  By now he has learned that as long as the water is running he shouldn't try and open the door to say hello but I know it would have been much  harder to teach him such a valuable lesson.  Thanks to those beautiful doors (and new to him activities), I can shower in peace with him right there in the room with me!!

The problem with glass doors is this:

Soap scum, anyone??

Fill the dish wand with equal parts vinegar and soap,

Scrub,

Rinse,

and dry that soap scum away!

Verdict?

Success!!  

This will definitely be my go to shower cleaner from now on!  I find the best time to clean the shower is while I'm in it so this shower wand will find a home right inside.

What is your favorite low-toxin shower/bathtub cleaner?  Do you like to clean your shower when you're in it?

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "He's An Animal!"

Thank you for stopping by Life With the Ladniers!

Please take a second to:

 Subscribe via email, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter so you'll know as soon as a new post is up!

Miss seeing what Ayden is up to everyday?  Follow us on Instagram!

You can find all of the links in the sidebar.

Toddler Tuesday: Magnetic Name Match

I've got another quick, easy and cheap activity for your toddlers today!  I already had everything on hand but if you don't, everything can be purchased at the dollar store.

The supplies you need are magnetic letters, paper, markers in colors corresponding to the magnets as well as a black one, and contact paper.

First, you trace the letters in the matching colors, this way your child can match by color if they aren't ready to match by the shape of the letter.  Then you trace them in black for a letter shape match.  I chose white paper so the colors would stand out.  Next, you write their name in normal handwriting so they are matching the magnetic letter shapes to the more common letter shapes.  Lastly, you use contact paper to seal the name cards right onto the fridge.  

If you are wanting to introduce letters to your child but aren't sure where to start, their name is always a safe bet.  Out of the 26 letters of the alphabet, those in their name are very personal and significant.  Kids seem to have some internal need to learn those (along with the letter X it seems since EVERY student I ever had learned X quickly and easily.  Perhaps it's from "X marks the spot?)  There is no need to teach a child their letters in alphabetical order.  Sing the song with them, teach them the names in the order in which they are interested in learning them and they will easily put two and two together when they are ready.  As far as Capital vs. lower case first, the jury is still out.  I, personally, taught them simultaneously and my students seemed to learn them without any problems.

Here is another fun refrigerator spelling game that I found on Pinterest today:

{via}

A spin off on this activity would be to use photographs of your child, a few family members, pets, favorite toys, etc. The younger the child, the more basic it should be.  Just have a few letter cards and have only the letters that will fit. Older children can have an entire set of cards and the whole alphabet to choose from.  You also can use the basic magnetic letters rather than the Leap Frog letters.  Hand draw, use real photographs that your child helps you take and print, print photos from the internet or use clip art.  Anything goes!

There are so many ways to use those letter magnets!  How do you like to use them in your house??

Things are looking pretty cozy around here these days.  It's the most wonderful time of the year!

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Little Pretender"

Thank you for stopping by Life With the Ladniers!

Please take a second to:

 Subscribe via email, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter so you'll know as soon as a new post is up!

Miss seeing what Ayden is up to everyday?  Follow us on Instagram!

You can find all of the links in the sidebar.

Mid-night Tinkles

Over the weekend, something clicked with Ayden's concept of potty using.  He actually had a bit of a regression (aka LOTS of accidents) before this happened which was interesting.  We aren't really expecting him to learn to use the potty 100% this early but we do want to set the stage so that when he's ready he can.  For now, he is wearing undies (Gerber training underwear) at home and diapers at night as well as when we are out and about.  He is using his little potty for the most part, though he is beginning to show interest in sitting on the "big potty."

Ayden has been woken up by nighttime pees alot over his two year little life.  It is yet another contributer to his frequent night waking.  Our cloth diaper amonia issues help us put two and two together here.  We'd smell pee and he'd wake up or he'd wake us up crying and we'd smell pee.  Well last night he, after a pretty amazing potty using day (he asked to use the potty EVERY time, even for #2) he continued requesting the potty into the night.  

This poses a delima for us.  Do we go along with the eagerness to potty learn and get up with him in the night for him to pee?  Do we encourage him to just go in his diaper at night even though we are so excited and proud for him to use the potty during the day?  We ended up getting up with him twice.  The first time he went and the second time he just wanted to read books (hence our hesitation to take him to the potty in the night).  The times we did not get up with him he cried himself back to sleep.  

One thing we are changing is that we are starting to use books as a reward.  He can pick a book and look at it himself while he is on the potty and the we will read it to him once he's gone.  We are making this change because he had started using the potty as  and extra story time opportunity without actually using the potty MANY times throughout the day. We don't want mid-night story time to become a habit.... If he were old enough to tell him the story about the boy who cried wolf we would, haha.  

Needless to say, today was really rough for us.  I was super exhausted because I had stayed up late on top of the midnight tinkle issue and Ayden was SUPER clingy and fussy all morning.

He spent most of the morning like this.
I can't even count the amount of times baby wearing has saved the day!

When he started showing signs he was ready for a nap around 10:30 it made my day!  I, of course, joined him and an hour later woke up feeling like myself.

It will be interesting to see how tonight goes.  We like to make sure new behaviors really are new "things" before we worry too much about how we are going to handle them.  Overall, we are really excited about and proud of his potty using efforts and definitely want to encourage them.  

Did your toddler start waking up to potty in the night?  How did you handle it?

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Proud Papa"

Thank you for stopping by Life With the Ladniers!

Please take a second to:

 Subscribe via email, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter so you'll know as soon as a new post is up!

Miss seeing what Ayden is up to everyday?  Follow us on Instagram!

You can find all of the links in the sidebar.

Deck The Halls

Homemade hot cocoa

Elf

A little boy who is very excited about all things Santa, reindeer, snowman and Jingle Bells
(and who is also wearing a super festive... Halloween shirt.)

And the cutest little tree we ever did see.

We had a great stay home family day.  We took the day slowly, decorated for Christmas and had some much needed downtime.  Ayden was running a little bit of a fever (it never got above 100.4 and he was acting pretty normal) so we decided we shouldn't go to the dinosaur exhibit.  Come to find out, our play group meeting has been postponed to Friday this week.  The little girl of the host house this week had the same little stomach bug over the weekend and her mom didn't want to risk exposing the rest of the kid to the lingering germs.  She was the only other member of the play group who came to story time on Thursday so there must have been a bug that got passed around there.  I was glad it was moved to Friday because we were going to skip tomorrow.  The teacher in me can't help but keep my child home until he's been fever free (WITHOUT MEDICATION... some parents often "forgot" that part) for at least 24 hours.  That is when you know you are in the clear and won't risk passing things along.

We actually have a larger tree but it is a "ball and burlap" tree (aka a live tree) so we can't bring it inside until the week of Christmas and then have to move it out ASAP afterward.  Live trees are accustomed to cold, moist environments and don't like the inside too much.  My family has had the tradition of getting live trees every year then planting them and we are starting that tradition for ourselves this year!  We plan to plant it on our property and will continue to do so every year. We are hoping to eventually have a pretty nice privacy wall of Christmas trees along the roadside where our little cottage will be.  Anyway, I digress.  I really had a hard time accepting the fact that I'd only have a Christmas tree inside for a week or two.  I'm one of those gals who likes the twinkle and cheer to be around for at least a month.  We gave our artificial tree to the Good Will when we moved because we knew we'd start getting real trees.  This little guy was what I came up with to provide the cheer of a Christmas tree and it is doing the trick!  I picked up a table top Christmas tree at Whole Foods for $20 and we decorated it with some extra lights and ornaments we have.  When we bring the big guy in we'll move it to the top of a cabinet in our TV room.  Right now, our real tree is right outside our living room window all tucked in (we had to wrap the root ball in blankets last night).  We considered putting outdoor lights on it while it's out there but this cottage doesn't have any external electrical outlets.  We're already running extension cords out to heat the chicken coop so decking the exterior of our home will have to wait until next year.

Which traditions from your childhood have you carried on with your own family?

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Holiday Traditions"

Thank you for stopping by Life With the Ladniers!

Please take a second to:

 Subscribe via email, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter so you'll know as soon as a new post is up!

Miss seeing what Ayden is up to everyday?  Follow us on Instagram!

You can find all of the links in the sidebar.