Book, books and more books.

Who loves doing things with your kids? I know I do. How about doing things that they will love that cost you absolutely nothing? Even better right? Yes!!! So, I am pretty sure that I have mentioned this once or twice, but me and my girls love going to the library. Especially during school time., but since I spend probably way too much money on books and right now is saving time to buy our house, I figured why not head out for a morning trip and explore our new library (its not new to the city, but since we are new, it is new).

Let me tell you ladies and gentlemen (if any men read this). When I tell you that this library blew me away from the moment that I walked in. Honey I didn't want to leave, 38 books later.

I am going to tell you exactly why I am in love. Over the last 25 years of my life I have been to numerous amounts of library's, and have never found one that has baby (0-18 months) books. I mean a full section dedicated to them. Okay! The icing on top of the cake: During the week activities for free just for them.

How exciting? I know, I am probably a little to geeked up, but when I tell you that one of our family favorite things to do is read. I am not joking. If I have $10.00 left to my name and my kids want a book, I would buy it. That is how crazy we are about books.

This library had the sections, sectioned out into easy reading to full on chapter teen reading. I mean beginner sections, baby sections, first grade, second grade and so on and so forth. They offer homework tutoring for all grades. How great is that? They also do story time during the week for different ages. Also are hosting healthy cooking for children with the college.

I am so excited to go back next time and get more books. Moms and dads if spending money on books is not something you can afford (because let me be honest they are expensive) check your local libraries. I am sure they have activities as well. Just ask the clerk for a calendar, and ask about activities for the kids.

If you have a busy schedule and cant go during the week they usually will have 1 on the weekend.

Its crazy because thinking back on my baby showers, I wish that I would have got books. They are so sentimental. You can use the inside cover as a card with a message to the little blessing (the baby) that will one day be old enough to read and cherish. Whenever I buy a special book for my girls, I write a personal message to them about the reasoning behind the book. Its just a little something that can go along way. (Leah, I hope you will enjoy this one, love you).

Love you for reading!!!

The best part of my day!!!

The best part of my day is night. Giving all my kids their baths and then choosing the stories that we are going to read for the night. Usually the girls choose a chapter book because they feel older. Anything pleases them at this age. Currently we are reading the Junie B books which are kind of amusing if you ask me.

After the girls have had their books or book read it is milk time and good night (hopefully). Going to sleep is not their favorite part of the day. That will change one day though. For now its like pulling teeth. We say our prayers together and then I hope that they will be quite enough for me to get little man to sleep.

Once I am finished with them, Logan gets his special bath then lotion time. One thing I can say is after a baby has had a bath if you spend time massaging them with a calming lotion, it makes going to bed a lot faster. Just a little tip. Anyways after getting him dressed me and him choose three kid (baby) books (yes I said, me and him). The little ones that are hard pages.

I love seeing his eyes open up so wide when we are reading. I mean this little boy become fixated with the story. So cute I tell you. We either finish bed time with "I love you, goodnight" (which I just picked up and am so in love with) or "Love you forever" (my all time favorite).

Then night light with moving pictures and music is on. I say a prayer with him and rock him back and fourth till he is out. It melts my heart watching my kids sleep. The best feeling in the world is knowing "they are mine, all mine".

It is a reward everyday to me watching them rest so peacefully. Being a mother is such a hard job. One that most get no credit for, nor do we ask for it. Just seeing them in their beds tucked in under the covers lets me know "Kayleigh, you are doing a great job". It is nice to hear those words from time to time, but as long as my kids are alive and healthy I feel accomplished.

I am a blessed women and if all else fails in my life, at least I have my children. They will always love me despite my flaws. I am grateful for them.

Be their encourager!!!

Sariah on her first day of kindergarten.

Encouraging your kids is vital to how much they actually take in while learning at school. You should not leave all the teaching and rewarding up to the teacher. Yes we send our kids to school so that they get an education., but remember that is only the first steps.

When I would pick Sariah up from school everyday I always made sure to ask three questions.

1. How was school today?
2. What did you learn?
3. Did you get homework?

On our drive home she would tell me about her day and what she learned. This probably had to be the best part of the day as a parent. I loved hearing her talk. Listen parents this is key, because had I not asked Sariah how her day was I would have never known that a little boy beat her up. If the child isn't acting normal and seems timid or has their head down, chances are something happened. If they aren't willing to talk about it, you need to turn around and speak with the teacher. This happened a few times. Riri wouldn't tell me what happened, so I would go to her teacher, and she would explain what happened and why Sariah was upset. Communication is a big factor no matter who old or young they are. Once you stop talking to them about things, don't be surprised if they keep things bottled up inside and lash out. I've seen this happen before.

You may be thinking "lash out, my kid is only in kindergarten" Yes, honey it happens. Our kids aren't like the kids we were when we went to school. This generation is much more smart. They see more,

Sariah loves school.

hear more, and do more. 

When asking the question "what did you learn"? Make sure you are asking for full details. Have them explain. For an example. If they say "today we learned about the earth" your question would be "Great, now what about the earth did you learn"? So on and so fourth. I don't think I need to elaborate any more, right? Great, hopefully you got it.

Learning is so important for them at whatever age they are. When they are babies we want them to  learn how to talk, walk, grab things. So when they get older why should it be any different?

Something that my girls loved to do was head out to the library on Wednesdays to check out books. Sariah usually would find books related to what she was learning about at school. She is so smart, and I am blessed to be her mom. We would come home and Riri would tell Kamille about what she had learned. Now Mimi was learning. Your kids can help teach the younger ones. It an added bonus.

This is the most important part of your child's day. Homework time!!! Parents don't slack on this part of the day. Yes, you had a long day at work, the baby is screaming, your husband is driving you crazy, you probably just burned the dinner. I get it, I have 3 kids its not always easy. Just remember if you don't have your kids do homework you are only setting them up for failure.

Sariah would come home every Friday with two new packets of homework, due the next week on Thursday. One would be writing, reading, home connections and the second math. Depending on how many pages of homework she had, would depend on how long we took. I usually had her do 3 a day. Even on the weekend. Our favorite part about homework time, was our one on one time together. I included Kamille in the reading portion because we did it before bed.

I learned a lot about Sariah when helping her out with homework. My daughter is very self conscious about herself and is afraid that people are going to judge her if she does something wrong. This is where parents have to intervene and lift your child's spirits up. Be their encourager!

She still battles with this, but it is something I am working with her on. I see so much potential in her, and I let her know that. If they are struggling in certain areas in school, talk to their teachers. They can give them extra work, and or recommend great "free" websites to use for pintable's.

My homemade packets for Sariah.

Kamille has homemade homework packets
as well.

My favorite place to go is Barnes and Noble. I love to buy there learning activity books. I have the member ship so I get 15% off. It is a must for how often I shop there. I buy them for both girls. They have age one or grade. It just depends on what you want.

Hopefully you have learned a few key tips, school is almost here again. Remember our kids are the next Doctors, Lawyers, Nurses, Engineers and much, much more.

How to keep the balance.

I asked for people to name topics that they wanted me to blog about for them to read. Long and behold most actually had the same concerns. Some expressed them on my "daily mom confessions" page and some in boxed me. Either way I automatically knew this is something I want to blog about.

We all handle things differently because we are not built the same. Physically, mentally and emotionally we all run on different levels. What may make me feel unequipped and get me sad and depressed might not even phase you. 

They only way I was able to keep a balance is because I battled with what one would call PPD "postpartum depression". I had a very bad case of it. Now I wasn't affected by this after Sariah, but with Kamille. It knocked me straight on my ass. Everything in me was fighting it, but nothing worked. I didn't know what to do. I ended up in the hospital so many times because I literally thought " I am dying, today is the day. I feel it". PPD is that bad. It causes you to have panic attacks and very bad anxiety. It isn't a joke at all.

Finally I took myself to Mental Health (yes I left by pride at home). They sent me to a psychologist because they said "you don't belong here, your not crazy". Well I sure felt crazy as hell. I started seeing a psychologist but noticed this is not going to work either. He was weird as ever wanting to talk about when I was a baby. Like I remembered that. LOL.

I was so lost and had no one that I could talk to about it. I've learned that a lot of people are afraid to be themselves and be open. I am not. You ask me something and I usually am an open book. What I went through I believe is to help someone else.

I went to my primary care physician and expressed my concerns about what was going on. She recommended Medication. At this point I was willing to try anything to get better. I had two kids depending on me. The first medication she started me on made things worse. I felt like the walls were caving in on me. Yes it is that bad.

Finally we found a medication that actually worked for me. The only problem was now I was sleepy all the time and hating life. I had to figure out what I could do. I decided that I needed to find an outlet to help me.

I knew that I didn't want to be on the medication anymore. I stayed away from excess amounts of coffee, made sure to keep the house bright. Get out of the house and do stuff with the girls. I learned what worked for me. I stopped taking the medication. Now I use to keep it on me just in case, but thank God I never needed it again.


If I felt like I was about to have an attack, I would suck on a hard piece of candy, and it worked.

This is how I learned how to keep the balance.

I was always to fixated on what the girls needed that I forgot about myself. You cant do that it will only make your life miserable. Just because you become a mother doesn't mean that you die. If anything it just starts a new chapter in your book. I mean that's what we are doing here, writing our book. Our stories aren't the same ever because then the book would be boring and not unique.

When the girls take a nap, I get some "Me time in". I watch my shows, surf the web, catch up on YouTube. Things that make me happy. That make me "ME".  I noticed that when I would work I never bought myself anything. I literally got paid and took the girls out shopping. This is a good thing to a certain extent. You have to treat yourself to something. Now don't get me wrong please provide for you children, but if they don't need anything and you do, make sure to choose you this time.

It is hard, I know. I love my kids with all that is in me, but mommy has needs too. Once you stop doing for you, you've already messed with the balance. It can and will have a negative affect on you. My girls know mommy needs space and they try to help I can tell., but remember they are kids don't expect too much. This is were the saying "it takes a village to raise kids" comes in.

Never be afraid to ask for help. If you have great friends and you are loosing it, ask. If you aren't a single parent tell your husband or boyfriend what's going on. Don't bottle it up and keep it in. It isn't healthy at all. No one is going to judge you, and if they do, they aren't any good for you.

Another great way to stay balanced is find other moms with kids around your kids ages. Schedule weekly play dates and let the kids be. While they are playing you and the kids mom can have some adult time. Trust me talking to kids all day, this will do you some good. I love hanging with other moms because they get you and understand certain frustrations.

Find your outlet. It can be writing (which is my favorite), singing, dancing, reading. Anything that allows you to just openly breath and get back to "YOU". You aren't dead, you are very much alive. Becoming a mother is the best thing in this world and also the hardest., but it isn't rocket science.

In staying balanced we are all going to have our own ways. Remember are make ups are different. No two people are the same. Not even twins. I promise you it only gets easier as time progresses and you learn more about yourself and kids.

I hope this helped someone, anyone. I am always here to help talk if need be. Who am I to judge?

My day!

Today was a great day. Do you remember my frustrations with trying to get scheduled to take my placement tests out here? Well I called and was able to find out that I had to sit and wait for them to release more dates and times. At midnight, but I did it and got my appointments. Thank God. It is two weeks out but hey it is a date.

This morning I woke up and made the best breakfast burritos ever in life. Seriously they were that good. Nom, nom, nom... LOL. Today my little man turned 4 months so that was a big deal for me. All that we have been through with him, it is a blessing to watch him get older.

Dinner was amazing, easy and yummy. It brought back so many childhood memories. I loved it and so did the girls. Riri wanted 2 of them. What a big girl.

Sariah had been bugging me to buy her these little Legos from target so I figured she deserves it. She has been being so good. I am proud of her. I mean they are only $3.99. That isn't exactly breaking the bank. So we went and they each choose something. Logan got a new book.

Logan has been pretty fussy lately because he is starting to teeth already. My poor baby. We got everyone ready for bed and it was time to read some books. The most important thing that you can do with your children, is keep a routine. It really helps the kids. After 3 books everyone was ready for bed.

Now it is "mommy me time". I am watching my pretty little liars and enjoying the silence in the house. Then shower and hitting the sheets. Its been a long day. My body is drained, thank God Shawn is off tomorrow I can sleep in. Yeah right... Nighty night everyone reading. If anyone is reading.

My day

Today was a pretty laid back day for the most part. Not really much to do. I took the girls out to the pool for a while. It was fun. We had the whole thing to ourselves. I wasn't mad at that. Little man didn't get in, he just watched from the side lines with his daddy. Sariah and Kamille are doing so well in the pool. They took off their life vests to show me that they are able to swim without them. My girls are growing up so fast. I feel like just yesterday they were being born. These are the moments that you have to hold onto, because before you know it they are going to be off to college and out of your house.

After spending time in the pool, we got cleaned up and headed out to do some grocery shopping. We spent about an hour or so getting food for the week and standing in line for what always seems like a life time at food 4 less. I am not sure why they cant hire people that know what they are doing. It so frustrates me. Now for the fun part putting everything away. I have to be honest downsizing so that we can save money to buy our house can make a girl go crazy.

Anyways, after doing so I noticed that I didn't have anymore trash bags. Well wait I did have one and I was holding onto it with my life. Okay just kidding. Seriously though. I really didn't want to leave, but my big girl Sariah said that she would go with me. So out again we went. Heading to our favorite store "Target". Well one of them anyways. On the way Sariah wanted to listen to music. Can anyone guess what we put in and turned all the way up?????

If you guessed Tamar then ding, ding, ding you won a trip to "getcha life"... and honey boo me and Riri got ours. I am almost sure everyone next to us and or driving past thought we were crazy. We didn't care because we were enjoying ourselves and having fun. This is what I live for. Seeing my kids happy and all from the little things in life.

I came home to find that my little man was already for bed, so it was mommy time. I put him to sleep pretty much every night. One thing that I just started doing, is reading him his own books at night because I notice that he actually enjoys it. Trust me I get he is only 4 months (in 6 more mins. as I am writing this) but you should see his eyes glow and get big, his feet start to move and he laughs. I am so in love. After reading him 3 books off my favorites list, I held him close and told him "Mommy loves you". I looked down to see that he had already fell fast asleep. In my arms he was safe and warm.

I got the girls ready for bed, then we cleaned their room. Now book time for them. Tonight it was a "Junie B" Book, which they love. Something about chapter books make them feel like big girls. So cute. Now it is time for me and my honeys guilty pleasure "love and hip hop". Nighty night. Until tomorrow.

Must have in your kids library!!!

If you don't already know books are my favorite thing to buy, now you know. I believe that they keep children grounded. If there is one thing I remember most about my child hood it was my mom reading me books. I make it a point to read 3 books before bed, unless it is chapter night. Then ill read a whole book to them. That's another book topic for later.

Today I want to talk about the 10 books every parent should have in their children's library. Starting with my favorite. Now narrowing these down was very hard. I almost love every book just as much as the other. If I could list all of the books I would, but then we would be here forever. My kids own that many books. So here we go, get your iPhone or pen and paper. Or maybe you already have a few already. Anyways hope you enjoy the quick read, and these books will take you back down memory lane.

TOP BOOKS EVERY MOTHER SHOULD HAVE IN THEIR CHILDRENS LIBRARY!!!

1. LOVE YOU FOREVER: Written by Robert Munsch
2. GOODNIGHT MOON: Written by Margaret Wise Brown
3. CORDUROY: Written by Don Freeman
4. IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE: Written by Laura Numeroff
5. ARE YOU MY MOTHER: Written by P.D. Eastman
6. THE LITTLE RED CABOOSE: Written by Marian Potter
7. THE NAPPING HOUSE: Written by Audrey and Don wood
8. DADDY AND ME: Written by Karen Katz
9. BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR, WHAT DO YOU SEE?: Written by Bill Martin jr/ Eric Carle
10. FIVE LITTLE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED: Written by Eileen Christelow

NOW FOR A BONUS BOOK: WACKY WEDNESDAY: Written by Dr. Seuss

Hope you will enjoy these books as much as we do. I read these books to the girls as well as my little man. They all equally love them.

Purging time isnt only in spring.

This is after I pulled all the clothes out.
The crazy mess.

Are you like me and hoard everything? I always am afraid to get rid of clothes and old toys. So today I finally went through the girls room and got rid of everything that was unnecessary. OMG, when I tell you that it felt so good to purge. Who made up the saying "spring cleaning"? I am talking about summer cleaning, okay! I never knew how relieving it is to purge. I instantly felt good about myself because I finally let go and got rid of things that I have literally had since they were first born.
Sariah and I had at least 7 bags full of clothes, toys and old shoes. Crazy right? The only thing that I wont get rid of is books. I totally believe that those should go with you forever. I have started their very own library of books. I love it. So let me tell you how I did it and why it worked.

Everything is off the floor.

1. I got a bunch of trash bags
2. Made separate piles for clothes, shoes, and toys.
3. Any and all unnecessary papers went straight in the trash, no keeping them.
4. Got all the hangers in the closet that didn't have clothes on them down.
5. Moved furniture around
6. Hung up decals and pictures.
7. Vacuumed the floor.

I had Sariah help me out because it is her room and she is at the age were you must instill good
behavior. Now some may think that 5 is to old to just now start, but I have been working on her for a while (trust me, she is like me. I hate cleaning but, it has to be done). So we made a pile of toys that she said she wanted to keep, and a pile of the toys that she knew she had to keep ( Nintendo DS, Innotabs, Leap Frog and all electronics). Then we dissected the want pile down to 1 container that we would keep. This probably was the hardest thing to do for me, because I spend a lot of money on toys. Probably way to much.

Sariah made them all by herself,
she was very proud.

The clothes and shoes were easy. If they had a rip on them or you could just tell they were run down it was trash. You never really know how much junk you have until you go through everything. Even though they are clothes they still can be considered junk. So look through them all and make the decision to keep or donate. One thing I learned is that to free up some space separate the clothes into seasons. If it is summer pack away all the winter clothes or vise versa. It will help make the closet not look so packed.

Now with all your hangers use them to hang up the clothes that you are going to keep so that your floor is clean. Move the furniture around to the spot that you want them to go. Then you can asses the area so that you can hang up pictures and decals if you have them. After that is done then it is time to bring out the vacuum. Now get to it. It is very important that you go under the bed to vacuum, and around all the corners of the room. My kids closet also has carpet so for me in there as well.

After that is all done you have a beautiful room. It will make you feel so much better and the kids will be in heaven like it is a new room. This worked for me because it gave me a mind set of the items that we needed to keep and the items that we could probably get rid of. A big thing was that Sariah was able to see how much junk they had and why it is important to purge every now and again. This is definitely something that I will be doing every month and with the girls.

Kids Fun for all.

Kids are simple, they don't need $100 dollar toys and big shopping sprees. All they want is to have some fun. The girls favorite thing in this whole world, is arts and crafts. Side note: It is mine too, ever since I was little I've loved creating things.



You can pick all these items up and allow your
kids to use their imagination, or use pintrest for
Some crazy cool ideas.

 My favorite place to go and buy things from for arts and crafts is the dollar tree. I know you may be thinking "Kayleigh, they don't have much to offer". Yes they do, trust me. My children love to paint, color and decorate any and everything (even walls, LOL). Set a budget for what you want to buy. Arts and crafts can add up very fast. Just because you are shopping at the dollar store doesn't mean much, a dollar adds up eventually.

When you have kids there is a motto that I like: Stay, Play and Walk Away. It is very simple.

1. Show them a few idea for things they can make.
2. Make a few with them.
3. Then allow them to have fun and enjoy themselves and walk away.

I love pintrest for new ideas on projects for children. Type in: Ideas for home activities with kids. You will be in pintrest heaven. I promise!!!

Another thing that my girls like to do is read books. Either it be at home with the trillion that we own,

Barnes and Noble kids section.

or going to Barnes and Noble to read. A side note: All Barnes and Nobles have a day for story time, call your nearest one and find out. It is totally free and the kids will love it. My girls even love the library (just not the being quite part). I am a firm believer that books help our children to become better people. I buy books that tell stories about change, friendship, love etc.. I never buy a book before reading through it. Now a days we parents have to watch everything we let our kids do, because the content is sometimes a little to raw for them, if you know what I mean.

Today we live in a generation of video games, I pads, Kid notebooks. You name an electronic and most kids have at least one or heck all of them. Now I am not against electronics by no means. I am learning how to cut their play time back on them

ABC Mouse is worth every dollar.

though. A good place I recommend for younger children is ABC mouse. Now it isn't free, but if you can afford to get your nails and toes down then you can buy it for your children. It will help teach them how to read, and add. It also gives you free pintable's. Which I loved. You can customize them or print out the premade ones.

The girls made this for when Logan was release from Loma Linda
Hospital after being there for a week because he was so sick.
They had a blast with grandma, and they were so proud of there
craft.

Now depending on the area you live and how old your little ones are, depends on some of the activities. When I lived in Long Beach I loved taking the kids to the park, beaches and museums. We had so much fun. There is a lot of places to go all you need is handy dandy Google and you can find anywhere to take them. Remember they are simple, we parents are complicated.