Finding the Right Babysitter

The time has come that we have started to look for a babysitter for the girls. It will be nice to have a night out every once a month or so but also with our work schedules getting only crazier it is good to have someone that we can count on. Sure we have lots of friends here that watch the girls for us but I don't want to strain any friendships over it as it has happened to me (the one being strained) in the past.

So with this babysitter thing officially decided I need help! What questions do you ask your potential babysitter? I know obvious ones...Are you CPR/First Aid certified?  Do you have any references? etc. But what are some good ones you have used or can think of?

We are also looking to go through Care.com to find one but has anyone else found one a different way? I am not looking for a teenager in high school because if for some rare situation I need them during the week and I'm at work til midnight I know they wouldn't be available.

I am excited to have a more permanent sitter that the girls will get used to and have fun with but let me tell you this overprotective momma sure is nervous! Makes me wanna put some nanny cams all over my house when I leave!

So please pass along any advice you may have! 

Why Consigning is the Way To Go

Quick what is the one thing that you dislike the most about garage sales? Picking the date and hoping it doesn't rain? People haggling you to lower the prices? Or maybe having to sit outside all day for that one person that shows up two hours after everyone else has left. 

Well have no fear consigning is here! Seriously it is everywhere. 

There are a few consignment sales that come through Arkansas but my favorite by far is Rhea Lana's. It originated in Conway Arkansas in Rhea Lana Riner's own living room with a few of her friends. Since then it has grown to a national consignment sale company. 

The beauty of consignment sales is that you get so much more for your clothes than what you could imagine at a garage sale. The best part is that there isn't any haggling of prices, sitting around for hours or hoping it doesn't rain during your sale. 

This past weekend I sold 33 outfits and 2 small toys and made almost 72 bucks. That is pretty awesome for not having to do the selling myself and even with 30% of it going back to the company and a $9 participation fee I still averaged 2 bucks per item! Much better than any garage sale I've ever had!

Thank you Rhea Lana's!

What Do You Tell Your Kids??

So what exactly do you tell your kids when they question whether Santa is real?

Taylor has asked me before if Santa is real or if I believe in him which I of course reply that I do and she pretty much leaves it at that. And thankfully she hasn't inquired any further because to be honest I don't know what I would say. The best answer that I can think of is to tell her is that if you don't believe in Santa then no more presents from Santa come...other than that I am at a loss! 

We have already established with her that the "Santas" at the malls isn't the real Santa because she knows that he can't be at every mall at the same time. I explained to her that they are Santa's friends that help him out so he can stay at the North Pole longer and finish all the toys. She of course replied that she knew all along that "Santa" at the mall by our house wasn't the real one because while he was out "feeding his reindeer" she saw him go into the bathroom area and a few minutes later come out in real clothes!!! Kids don't miss a thing!

So this year we have decided to do Elf on a Shelf with the kids in hopes that Taylor can hold onto the innocence of Santa for at least another year. Last year was just too hectic to do it with my hubby deployed and Olivia was only a newborn. I have already been given lots of good ideas for our Elf and found some funny ones on Pinterest too. Have you all done Elf on the Shelf with your kids and if so what are some of your favorite places you have found your elf at?

 

Where Have All The Kid's Show's Gone?

Today I was watching one of my 8 year old's favorite shows on Disney and part of the story line was about one of the girl's boyfriends was cheating on her...?!?!?!? Seriously Disney this is what you have lined up for my 8 year old now? Why should that even be apart of the plot? That sure doesn't help me in stopping my daughter into already acting like a preteen! 

Sure they have good shows for toddlers but this is what they give me for elementary age kids. Not cool Disney not cool. And you know what even Disney isn't the only one who does this. Nickelodeon is guilty of it too. Between iCarly, Victorious on Nickelodeon and Wizards of Waverly Place and Good Luck Charlie on Disney it is becoming glaringly obvious that PBS will be my channel of choice for the girls!

PBS offers learning in a nice innocent way that children need nowadays. Never when I was a kid did Rainbow Brite worry about a boy cheating on her or did My Little Pony. In fact I think I might do a little searching on the internet for classic Mickey Mouse episodes. I do like when they will show small clips of that in between shows and Taylor likes it too. 

So please pay attention to what your kids watch because while you may not be ready to explain something to them just yet if you aren't careful you may not have a choice!

Are You Even Paying Attention??...

I swear I feel like a broken record sometimes..."Taylor please put your three pair of shoes away where they go." Twenty minutes later..."Taylor your shoes are still out here what did I ask you to do with them?" That is pretty much how my lift seems these days. She is 8 and for the most part is an awesome kid but I swear if she could just pay attention for longer than 5 seconds I wouldn't have to repeat myself 100 times a day.

So...this is where you all come in. What tips and tricks do you ladies have so you don't have to tell your kiddos a million times a day to do something? I am running out of ideas and I know this is one the best places to get new ideas from! There are even times where I will tell her something and she says ok and then five minutes later she hasn't done it and I ask her what I just said and I get the deer in the headlights look from her. 

Please help!!

My Not So Fun Week

Yes that's right this week has been pretty stressful! Ever have a week that you wish would just hurry up and go over with and hope the next week is a million times better? Me too!

So my three month old Olivia woke up on Saturday last weekend with a bit of a cough. Not really any other symptoms going on so I thought ok I'll just watch and see how she does. Well by Sunday night she was running a slight fever and the cough was getting worse. 

Off to the doctor I went on Monday. Diagnosis: Bronchiolitis. Fun..NOT! So no daycare and I had to stay home from work. Follow up appointment on Wednesday.

On Wednesday my week got even better (insert sarcastic look here). Diagnosis: Double Ear Infection.

I felt just awful for Olivia and thankfully the meds are working for her ear infection. If you would see her in person you would never know that she is this sick until you hear her cough. She still giggles and smiles and is playful. Expect maybe for a little bit in the evenings when the fever will creep back up.

Well back for another followup today. Official diagnosis: RSV. I have to be honest and say I wasn't totally surprised. After the Bronchiolitis diagnosis I did some online research and RSV and Bronchiolitis are quite similar so I was prepared to hear it at the appointment today. However that doesn't make it any better!

So we have to continue the antibiotics for the ears and the inhaler treatments for the cough and hope that she gets better over the weekend! 

The one bright ray of light is that Daddy gets home from deployment in two days! Help is on the way!

Here's to hoping everyone has a great weekend!