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You are here: Home / Archives for Livin' the Dream

How to Plan a Mother-Daughter Sleepover

June 22, 2015 By Jenna 2 Comments

Disclosure: I have received free Netflix streaming and a streaming device as part of my membership on the Netflix Stream Team.  All opinions expressed within this post are my own.

My daughter is the only girl amongst boys, so we have a special relationship. Lately, when we want to spend a little quality time together, we plan a sleepover. Here is your guide to organizing a simple sleepover that will help you connect to your baby girl. This is parenting done right. | kids rooms | i love you | parenting tips

© aliasching / Dollar Photo Club

The Plan

Choose one night to put down the devices and forget the to-do list and just connect with your daughter by inviting her to a good, old-fashioned sleepover.

The Invitation

You don’t need to anything fancy here. The idea isn’t to impress your daughter with details. She just wants to spend time with you. So, sit her down and pick a date on the calendar. That’s it!

Supplies Needed

  • pillows
  • jammies
  • nail polish
  • favorite snacks
  • favorite drinks
  • Netflix
  • a few good books

The Schedule

When Ellen (3yo) and I had our sleepover, it looked a little something like this:

After dinner (it was a simple weeknight), Mike did the clean up and took care of the boys while Ellen and I got ready for bed. We went up nice and early so we would have time to get in all of our fun.

We climbed into my bed and synced up our show on Netflix. While we watched a couple of cartoons, I painted Ellen’s nails and we chatted about the show she picked. We also ate the snacks Ellen chose: popcorn and chocolate milk. Yes, we ate it right in my bed because it was a special sleepover, and you get to do special things during special sleepovers.

When it got near bedtime, we read a couple of books Ellen had chosen, we said our prayers, and we turned out the lights. The rule in our house is that everyone must sleep in their own beds, but for the sleepover, Ellen got to spend the night in mom and dad’s room. She was pretty thrilled about the special privilege.

Tips

  • don’t stress about making this a fancy event
  • plan out some of the details (like snacks) the day before
  • get your spouse on board so you have someone to manage the rest of the house while you’re partying
  • leave your phone downstairs; don’t get distracted during this special time
  • bring your own book too; if your kids go to bed early like ours, you might find yourself bored once your daughter is sleeping
  • our favorite (calm) shows on Netflix: The Hive, Curious George, Magic School Bus, Little Einsteins, Clifford

My daughter is the only girl amongst boys, so we have a special relationship. Lately, when we want to spend a little quality time together, we plan a sleepover. Here is your guide to organizing a simple sleepover that will help you connect to your baby girl. This is parenting done right. | kids rooms | i love you | parenting tips

 

What are some of your favorite ways to spend quality time with your kids?

Filed Under: #streamteam, Livin' the Dream, Muddahood, The Children, This is how I do it.

10 Netflix Documentaries on My Short List #streamteam

January 26, 2015 By Jenna 15 Comments

Disclosure: I have received free Netflix streaming and a streaming device as part of my membership on the Netflix Stream Team.  All opinions expressed within this post are my own.

Juuuuust so we’re clear, I haven’t watched any of these yet. So don’t go watching them and find out they are totally inapropes and then blame me for it. But, I won’t blame you if you get to them before I do. Look how interesting. Seriously.

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Tiny: A young couple with no construction experience attempts to build a tiny house in this documentary that contemplates shifting American values.

Burt’s Buzz: Burt Shavitz, the co-founder of Burt’s Bees, maintains a reclusive, low-key life in rural Maine — and a complex relationship with his famous company.

Advanced Style: This documentary profiles seven stylish New York City seniors who disprove the notion that advanced years and glamour are mutually exclusive.

Happy People: This documentary explores life along the River Yenisei in Russia, where the industrious inhabitants of a rural village truly live off the land.

Craigslist Joe: Exploring whether America still has a sense of community, a man spends a month depending on the goodness of Craigslist posters for his survival.

Kings of Pastry: Venture inside the deliciously cutthroat Meilleur Ouvrier de France, a French pastry competition, to find out what it takes to be the best pâtissier.

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s: This documentary peels back the curtain at Bergdorf Goodman, the iconic New York store that’s been launching design careers for more than a century.

Mademoiselle C: Cameras roll from day one as Carine Roitfeld, French stylist and former Vogue Paris editor, launches CR, her new fashion magazine.

Detropia: As the focus of this sobering documentary, the decline of Detroit also reflects the nation’s larger failure to keep up in a modern global economy.

 

What documentaries are on your short list? Load me up, Scotty.

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Filed Under: #streamteam, Livin' the Dream

So, it looks like you guys want to embroider.

January 19, 2014 By Jenna 11 Comments

Mike is on a last minute business trip to Georgia, so the kids and I packed up our belongings and made the trek over to my parents’ house because not a one of us was really sure if we could do it alone.

Before he left, we made sure we made a trip to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit – a yearly spectacle where Mike drools over road appliances, and I people gawk and mentally figure out how I am going to cash in all of the wife-points that I rack up at this event.

So. Now, I’m kickin’ it in my childhood bedroom while I take advantage of my parents some more. It’s a wonderful life.

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Before our great exodus, I made sure I grabbed the essentials (my computer and embroidery) so that I could overstay my welcome in peace. And, it sounds like all y’all are thinking about taking up embroidery yourself.

Annie and her daughter jumped in head first, or she jumped with both feet, or she jumped wither her right foot. I don’t know. She just went for it though.

Carrie also got the bug, and she is thinking about organizing a quilt project where we can all put our skills together. More details over at the clan.

Grace is all about it too, but she thinks it might be better if I just opened an Etsy shop. So now I am thinking…tote bags, wall art, baby items, I just don’t know.

Simcha wants a hobby, but she ruled out embroidery. Let her know what’s up.

And, Dweej found all sorts of ways to cheap out and cop out but still make it alll werk.

Who else? Who else? Are you going to do it?

You know what would be cool? A stitch-a-long. I’m just shooting from the hip here, but we could all use the same pattern and share photos of our progress.  Just words I’m sayin’.

Excuse me. I have to go have nothing to do because I am in my childhood home where I immediately have no responsibility. Or so I like to think.

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Filed Under: Embroidery, Livin' the Dream

Jenna Says, She’s Goin’ Away to Spain

November 12, 2013 By Jenna 5 Comments

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Jenna knew she wasn’t going to make it home that night. She had decided to make a day trip out to her parents’ house to visit, get a haircut, maybe pawn off the children. But, she started to get The Sickness. The one that her kids have dramatically been suffering from for tedious minute after tedious minute for days upon freaking days. So, when 6:30 rolled around and she found herself falling asleep in her dad’s favorite tv-watchin’ spot while soothing a sore throat, she knew it was all over. That hour drive back to her house was not happening.

She called Mike and let him know that he had the all clear to play video games at full volume without his old-lady complaining about the racket. He acted very disappointed, bless his heart. Then, Jenna decided to call it a night so she could get ahead of this virus. And God laughed a hearty laugh.

First Ellen went to bed, and things were looking up. The two-year-old didn’t put up a fight, and Jenna thought she might get a solid sleep in. But Sam. Oh Sam. Sam had never been sick before. He is new to this world, and to him, the sniffles are suitable cause for watching the world burn.

Jenna tried it all: sit down, stand up, rock, nurse, white noise, Tylenol, lay on ground, lay on bed, lay in carseat, lay in crib, lay the frack down. But, nothing. It wasn’t until Sam was sufficiently cried out that Jenna was able to climb in bed. It was midnight, and she was ready to sleep.

No sooner did she climb under the covers did Sam pop back up. And, of course, since Jenna is sometimes a good mom, she popped back up with the little cherub. They played this game until two in the morning, and the mother and son finally dreamed a dream.

What seemed like 15 minutes later (and, if we’re not being dramatic – which we are – was actually two hours later), Jenna heard a knock at her childhood bedroom door. It was her mom, and she was bearing a gift. It was Ellen, awake and ready to play. “I can’t do this anymore. She is crazy,” Jenna’s mom said. And, with no energy to respond, Jenna grunted and took the toddler into her bed.

Ellen chatted and danced and thrashed and jumped until Jenna finally said, “Lay down and close your eyes or I will put you in the Pack-n-Play all by yourself for the rest of the night.” Eyes closed. Toddler asleep. “Nothing a little threat can’t fix,” she thought.

Then, because life is not fair, Sam decided it was time to feast. He awoke with crocodile tears and the screeches of a thousand owls, and he woke his sister up along with him. This hilarious back and forth went on for another hour or so until the three were able to coordinate their Zzzs.

If the dear reader is calculating things, the reader would know that it was soon time to wake for the day. All Jenna wanted to do was get back home and change into clean clothes, which she was finally able to do…at three in the afternoon.

Now, there is something about carseats that when a child is inserted, said child hates life and will vocalize those feelings. Jenna’s children are no different. So, she headed over to Tim Horton’s for a hot chocolate to sip while her children wrote the lyrics to all the screamo songs. Filled up on chocolate and sugar, she could surely handle this ride.

Just as she thought, the kids finally cried themselves into a nap, and Jenna was finally able to crank up the Ja Rule like a d-d-d-d-drummer chick.

Things were no better once she got home, but Jenna knew that Mike would be home on time that night and there was one glass of chardonnay left in the fridge. And, despite their wicked bad attitudes, she knew her kids were pretty damn cute. Good thing.

 

Jenna is joining Kelly who also likes to write in third person.

Filed Under: Livin' the Dream, Muddahood, You Know?

Baby Whimsy

November 4, 2013 By Jenna 5 Comments

No doubt you’ve seen some of Queenie Liao’s photography. She takes advantage of her baby’s naptime differently than most moms. Instead of reading a book or doing the dishes, Queenie is busy creating a whimsical dream world for her child which she captures in her photography. Check it out.

But, Queenie isn’t the only mom having all of the fun. My friend Kristen’s newest addition has been captured saving the world, exploring space, deep sea diving, going on a moonlit stroll, and taking a hot air balloon ride:

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Kristen is a SAHM from Pennsylvania. Quinn is their 4th child and 1st boy!

Filed Under: Guest Posts, Livin' the Dream

My SAHMantras

November 1, 2013 By Jenna 2 Comments

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I’m fairly certain you have read Matt Walsh’s latest post about being a stay-at-home-mom. If you haven’t, log into Facebook; someone posted it. Or just read it here. It caused a lot of discussion and controversy as posts like that are wont to do. And in a few days, Miley Cyrus will pull another stunt or Congress will shut something else down, and we will forget all about the article and move on to the next sensation.

But, while everyone is moving on, moms (working in or out of the home) are still doing work that will never make the news and never win them any awards. Hardly anyone will ever talk about her job, and that’s ok. We don’t do it for the fame; we do it for our kids.

And no matter where we spend our 9-5, raising kids is a battle, and moms need mental armor to win the daily fight to raise outstanding human beings. I feel blessed that I was able to choose to stay at home with our kids, but on days when I know I am blessed, but I’m not really feeling it, this is what I keep in mind:

Head over to Messy Wife, Blessed Life to hear my favorite stay-at-home-mantras.

 

 

Filed Under: Guest Posts, Livin' the Dream, The Children

I learned ONE thing in 365 days

October 21, 2013 By Jenna 6 Comments

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I did a photo 365 project. I just completed it, and while I felt the app I used left something to be desired, the whole project helped me come to one important realization:

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You see, I spend a lot of time during the day thinking that I am not doing enough for the house, enough for the kids, enough for myself and so on and so on. I think other moms must certainly be doing much more productive things with their lives. Other moms would never let their kids watch this much tv. Other moms aren’t as lazy as me. You get the idea.

And, if we are being honest here, I still do think those things. But, after doing a photo 365 project, I am starting to realize that I do a lot. In one short year, we have done a lot of really fun things. And, even with all of that fun, I have managed to cook dinner and keep a house fairly clean. That’s not so bad.

So, I showed you a day in my life, now take a look at a year:

sept12

oct12

nov12

dec12

jan13

feb13

mar13

apr13

may13

jun13

jul13

aug13

sept13

Filed Under: Livin' the Dream, You Know?

A Mom-Spot.com Guest Post: 7 Great Kid Spots in MPLS

May 7, 2013 By Jenna 2 Comments

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You *might* know our family just made the big move from Minnesota back to the great mitten state of Michigan after being gone for a whole year.

Mike and I both lived in Michigan most to all of our lives, but darn it if I know anything about family fun around here. Minnesota though? Minnesota is where our gal started to really get into children’s activities, and I know a whole heck of a lot about kid-friendly fun there.

So, what are our favorite kid activities around those parts? Check out my guest post at Mom-Spot.com to find out. The suspense!

 

Filed Under: Livin' the Dream

What Minnesotans Do For Fun

February 18, 2013 By Jenna Leave a Comment

How would you spend your last few days in MN? By going to a castle made entirely of ice, of course. It’s what we do in the winter. And yes, we keep our kid on a leash.

ice

Filed Under: Livin' the Dream

Can You See My Bathing Suit?

May 29, 2012 By Jenna 7 Comments

So, I tried on my bathing suit for the first time since having Ellen. I’m not going to complain. It wasn’t that bad. Just a little side spillage.
I made a few decisions. 
I will no longer be baring my midriff in a swim suit. I don’t want anyone to be concerned that I may have been mauled by a tiger. I have not.
I will be wearing something a bit more full coverage, but I refuse to look a fool. No no.
Instead, I plan on wearing this. Hello $15 at Walmart! I am pretty happy with it.

Ellen, Mike, mi madre and I enjoyed Memorial Day at the splash pad complete with picnic, swinging, Frisbee and bubbles. Ellen had a hard time keeping track of where I was. Not.

This post is part of the extraordinary-ordinary link up!

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Filed Under: Livin' the Dream

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