Sanity Savers

My patience have really been getting a workout lately with little Miss Avery wanting more independence and testing her boundaries. I have really been trying hard not to damage my child's psyche by constantly yelling at her because she's yelling, or screaming, or whining, or getting into something she shouldn't on a constant basis-all the while I'm trying to also take care of and pay attention to my other child! There are honestly days where I go so much that I forget to eat-my body doesn't slow down enough to tell me it's hungry! It has been a real learning experience with discovering myself and what I can be capable of-children have a way of bringing that out in you. I wouldn't change me getting to be home with my kids in these special early years for anything-but sometimes a parent needs help...when I don't have an extra set of hands to turn to, I have found a few material things that have been helping!

So, yes, my 22 month old daughter LOVES Hannah Montana-I really thought she'd be older before getting into stuff of this nature, but I'm telling you this child is WAY beyond her years! She loves this movie-it's been put right up there with Enchanted! She demands Disney is put on in the morning while she's having breakfast and if I ever try to introduce her to anything else-i.e. Nickelodeon, Noggin, PBS, etc.-she tells me to put it back on Disney...my child probably watches too much TV, but what can I say, it works for me-and she's not a couch potato, so I'm not too worried!!

Avery loves the Imagination Movers show on Disney and when Artie and I found and brought this CD of songs from their show home to Avery, she insisted I unwrap it and put it in because she knew it was Disney!! This CD is so great for getting kids to dance to and I don't feel like the songs drive me nuts, like some children's music-they're educational too!

Well, being the Notre Dame lovers that we are, we had to pick this up on our last trip to ND and I'm sooooo glad we did. The kids love it. If you don't have this, I really recommend it-the O'Neill Brothers did an awesome job-let me tell you the fight song sounds incredible as a soothing lullaby for the kids to fall asleep to...and it's getting them subconsciously pumped for football to start!

So this is pretty much my go to reading right now. Whenever I feel really on the edge with Avery I refer to this book to regroup. It has some really good advice and even has situations to read to see how to deal with similar things...it's the best discipline book that I have found-though I'm no expert, I'm sure there's better. However, this is a quick reference, and most of the time that's what I need!

Maybe these can help you too or inspire you to find what works for you or encourage you to share your 'sanity savers'!!