Sophia started showing interest in puzzles around 9 months old and as every excited parent would do, we shared videos of her completing puzzles and showed enthusiasm for wanting to buy more. However, we were told eventually children will get tired of a puzzle and lose interest so the advice was to not buy many puzzles as it would be a waste of money. Well, if you know me very well, I don't listen and that's what we did. We did not listen.

Sophia's early interest in puzzles was never forced on her, puzzles were made available to her when her PawPaw bought one and as we saw interest, we added more to our collection. We absolutely do not regret it and it was not a waste of money. Sophia is now 6 years old and still loves puzzles even the ones she has outgrown and Bubba also benefitted from all the puzzles and now has a love for them as well. Often times, they go pull out a puzzle on their own and can do the same one repeatedly without ever getting bored no matter how simple or complex it is.

Which leads to the point of this post - I think a lot of times, we, as parents, think because something is not fun to us, it must not be fun to kids. It must be torture for them because it is to us.

In this thinking, I also think we try to overcompensate these “boring” toys with toys that make all the noise or relate to a popular character on kids tv shows (nothing wrong with those as we enjoy some of those as well). However when we project our despising feeling of something on them, we don’t give our children a chance to discover something they would truly love otherwise. 

We also take away their imagination with toys that do it all or relate to characters only and I believe that is why kids get bored with those toys. I often hear parents say: 

"My kids never play with their toys."

Maybe, just maybe, because the noise making toys aren’t open ended, allowing them to move from one storyline to the next as their imagination runs wild.

The toys that look boring to you, allows them to be creative and set a scene and change the scene as they want because that toy goes beyond the beeping noise (that can also get overwhelming). The quiet of a toy allows their brain to focus on being creative and them making noise for the toy (which helps with speech and dialogue building, btw). At least that’s how I have witnessed it in watching children at play in numerous settings over the last 10+ years.

So you may be thinking, then which toys should I buy? 

There are so many great toys but you definitely don't need them all. In general I think it is great to have living books and some type of building blocks (legos, magnatiles, wooden blocks, etc.). That's literally it. 

However, I will share our favorite 2-3 toys per age group, which almost every single toy we still own and has lasted us through each age group and beyond.

6-12 months

• Shape sorter
• Rainbow stacker

Also keep in mind, you do NOT need to overhaul your child's toys overnight. Instead keep a running list of what you currently have at home and what toys you would like to add in when it works for your budget. You could also create an Amazon Wishlist and when friends and family ask for gift ideas around birthdays or Christmas, you can send them the link. 

If you are tight on space, consider donating or selling some of the other toys that you know your child doesn't reach for, to make room for the new open-ended toys.

Any questions? Leave a comment!

If you found this post helpful or know someone who would benefit from this post, please feel free to share. I also created a pinnable image so you can bookmark this post to come back to view later on.

This post has been two years in the making..

I often get asked about our worksheets or curriculum we use whenever I share stories on Instagram of my kids working on something or a new academic skill they learned.

I first want to start off that we are very relaxed when it comes to any "schoolwork" and I try not to force anything on my kids since they are still young. The only reason we started "schoolwork" was at Sophia's request when she saw me studying for my classes in Fall of 2019. 

I prefer simplicity when it comes to early learning and am a big believer in children learning through play (read more here) without the fuss of having to sit at the table for a formal lesson. Sophia however LOVES sitting at the table to do "schoolwork" so I gladly follow her lead and am very flexible with our learning time. Our table learning is always less then 30 minutes for the entire day. I like to end "lessons" on a happy, hungry for more note. The rest of the time we learn by playing, reading, screen-time and even more playing. 

To answer the big question, I don't have a set curriculum I follow. I pieced together different resources the past few years however I discovered a favorite through a friend - these ABC and Number books from Let's Play School which is a great early introduction to all the alphabet and numbers 1-20. I love that we are able to flip through and pick out which pages we want to work on - although Bubba can finish a whole book in one sitting. 

Overall, it fits my desire for simplicity and flexibility and my kids enjoy doing them. I also enjoy this Alphabet Cut and Paste worksheet by Teaching RichaRichi and this Alphabet Count and Graph by A Spoonful of Learning and the kids do very well with them. I love that each include more skills beyond just the alphabet such as cutting skills, sorting, counting, graphing, etc. 

I have also created a few of my own worksheets for the kids. I made a cutting practice worksheet that you can download for free HERE. 

I also made a name practice worksheet that you can purchase from my Etsy shop HERE.

However, learning doesn't always have to be at the table or even doing worksheets. Learning should be fun and it happens naturally as children play and get bored. That's when their imagination is ignited! Most days our play by learning happens organically but every now and then, I suggest a game (focused play as I talked about here and plan to go into more detail in my next blog post). 

Lastly, we don't have start dates or finish dates, our schooling is very fluid and just flows. There are times we take weeks off and then jump back in when we can. Again, I really believe kids learn so much just from playing and reading good books together and that is just apart of everyday life.

I hope this insight into how and what we use for our "school" was helpful. I plan to write another post talking about the types of toys we have, focused play games we play, etc. as I discussed quite a bit about learning through play and I believe having open ended toys can make the difference. 

As for reading good books, Read Aloud Revival is a wonderful resource I use often as I look for which books to check out from our local library before deciding which ones should be apart of our permanent home "library."

If you found this post helpful or know someone who would benefit from this post, please feel free to share. I also created a pinnable image so you can bookmark this post to come back to view later on. Any questions? Leave a comment!

As I played with the words to share my decision, I realized this may be a very unpopular decision especially in our modern society with high value for career minded women. However I want to be very clear:

I am not JUST a stay at home mom. 

I CHOOSE to be a stay at home mom. 

We make sacrifices in our lifestyle that allow me to spend this time with our children and I wouldn’t want it any other way. You don’t have to understand it and it’s okay if you choose differently for your family and if you don’t have the choice, my heart goes out to you.

I don’t know about you but I process things better with details. I like to know the overall picture which gives me a better understanding so let’s rewind a bit.

My first few years of college, I worked in childcare and ultimately changed my major from nursing to education right when I was about to start the actual nursing program. I loved teaching and being there with these kiddos as they learned and discovered something new (I was an assistant pre-k teacher), I wanted to experience that beyond just a college job. Anyways, every once in a while, I would be asked to relieve one of the infant room workers for their lunch break. Playing with babies and experiencing their firsts - the heartbreak I felt for the moms, that was the moment I knew I WANTED to stay home with my future children.

You combine that experience with my experience of loss and little memory of just being with my parents, this drove my desire even more to be there for every moment with my children especially those early years. 

Fast-forward, add some kids later and Anthony gets sick. Really sick. Our life is turned upside down trying to figure out what is going on. This experience takes me back to three year old Stormie who is about to turn four whose dad dies two weeks before her birthday. My daughter is two years old and in about two weeks (at that time) will turn three as her daddy is in the hospital with some unknown infection. The PTSD and anxiety was awful although I hid it very well from most.

Then we add on no income, unstable job situation for Anthony which leads to him being wrongfully terminated a few months later (he was on sick leave for 12 weeks). He found a new job a few weeks later and within a month back in the hospital with a different major infection.

Amidst this, I decided to return to nursing school because between education and nursing, it allowed the most flexible schedule for me to still be home with my kids during the day and work nights and weekends as needed whenever Anthony gets sick. Therefore I got registered to update a few pre-reqs.

Here we are a year later with everything done, prepared and ready to apply for my BSN program and I decided not to do it. 

I cannot afford to miss anymore time with my kids while they are this little because I am driven by fear. 

These past few weeks as I have dug in, I realized nursing school was my way to control and this backup plan I created became what I was putting my trust in instead of God. A good thing (a backup plan) turned into a god thing and that’s when I ultimately decided it was best to step back, refocus my trust and faith in God and His care for me whatever His plan may be in our life. This decision also allows me the freedom to truly enjoy this time I want to have with my children as they will only be this little once.

If I should have learned anything these past 3.5 years dealing with a layoff, selling our home, sickness, wrongful termination, and more sickness mixed with everything else on our plates in between, it is that God provides. 

The people God has placed in our lives, this city we settled in as a compromise, the church we “randomly” found from a google search, was all preordained by God. If He provided for us through all those dark and murky waters, He will continue to provide for us no matter what the future looks like.

Therefore I am CHOOSING to stay home with my children and actively work on trusting God with the details.

I am not JUST a stay at home mom. It is my privilege and joy to spend the days with my babies. I want to soak up every moment with my favorite human beings and build memories that will last a lifetime.

I encourage you to rephrase the way you look at and speak about YOUR choices, whatever they may be, in a positive way. Don’t devalue yourself.

Mini Kreg Jig Kit

Well hello whoever is still hanging around. I thought I would start posting more often after my last post but alas I have been preoccupied with house projects and adjusting to a new routine here at the house. We have been in such a good rhythm the last few weeks even amidst the current circumstances.

About two years ago, I shared all about our diapering station for a newborn and the difference of how I disposed of diapers between Sophia and baby Anthony. Since then, our diapering needs have changed dramatically. In that time, we started cloth diapering both kiddos, the eldest is now potty trained (besides nighttime) and the toddler has very stinky poop. We currently have two diaper pails for our disposable diapers: the Ubbi and the Dekor Plus. We have owned the Ubbi for about two years and the Dekor Plus for about a year or so and it dawned on me that I should share the pros and cons of both pails regarding both disposable diapering and cloth diapering (we have a third separate pail for cloth now, more on that later).

Ubbi Diaper Pail

Pros

Pros

If your new around here, you probably don’t know this but I’m not the typical blogger. I randomly take breaks from blogging because, well life happens. Real life. Don’t get me wrong I love blogging. I love writing. I love forming the connections I have made through this digital life but I have priorities. Or at least I try to because let’s me honest we all get sucked into the scrolling mindlessly through social media while life happens around you. However, I’m breaking that cycle. I won’t allow it to hold power over me anymore of having to see every single post ever posted by this person or that person or needing to know who is doing what at this moment in time.

Now hear me out, there is absolutely nothing wrong with checking in on your favorite blogger or social media influencer but when that profile or person gets the best of you instead of the people in your real life, in your home. There’s a problem. And that’s me. Hi, my name is Stormie and I am a social mediaholic. I love catching up with people on Instagram but I hate having phone conversations. I love posting and watching instastories but I’m actually an introvert and don’t like talking in person unless we are already close friends.

So this social media break has happened for quite a few reasons. The main reason was the Lord was speaking to me. I have always wondered when people would say “The Lord spoke to me” or I’m following the Lord’s command and I always wondered like how? Did you hear a big booming voice “Stormie get off social media” with an echo? Well no. It was subtle and over time. The Lord spoke to me through books I was reading, through people I was following on social media, conversations I was having in my bible study group, etc. There was a common theme being brought to my attention across all areas of my life and it felt so strong that I knew it was coming from the Lord.

Short back story, my husband was laid off (I spoke about it some here and here) and we were dealing with unemployment for 6+ months and now underemployment. Around the same time I’m hearing the Lord speak to me, Anthony and I both also feel the Lord telling us it was finally time to say goodbye to our house. In hindsight, we were wrestling with the Lord for months and months before this without realizing it (or wanting to realize) so when we did make the decision to list our house for sell, we were at such peace because we knew it was the Lord’s will.

So the time-frame for us to be out of the house lined up with the holidays which I thought taking the whole month of December off would be the best because one it would give us time to get all moved in and settled and secondly what perfect time to create a new rhythm and routine with my children. I was also planning to use this time to intentionally plan what my life would look like on social media and how I needed to create boundaries and balance my priorities on my spiritual life and my family life first.


But alas, the Lord had other plans and other familial obligations popped up that took majority of my attention in December and half of January. Now that things have slowed down on that front, I have been trying to find my way back to my initial mission. Getting the fire back in me of being intentional with my spiritual life and my kids. Creating a new rhythm and routine with a purpose. And eventually get back to blogging with a game plan.

As of right now, I have been checking in on Facebook and Instagram every so often but not being active much other then selling stuff on marketplace. I have felt I wanted to wait until I was in a good place in my spiritual life and my family life. It’s not to say my faith has been wavering, in fact it’s quiet the opposite.

During this last year and a half, this is the most dependent and closest I have felt to the Lord. I feel like when everything was going great, it was so easy to put God on the back burner and say a prayer here and there. Head to church on Sunday’s, attend bible study and go through the motions all while neglecting to ever open up my Bible. My God has shown me so much and has taught me so much in trusting in Him, leaning not on my own understanding when things aren’t going the way I planned. I try so hard to control so much out of fear and I have learned that’s not okay.

I’m not saying you should never make plans or goals, it’s great to plan but it’s also very important to remain flexible because we don’t have the whole picture. God does. And guess what. His plans are so far better for our lives then we could have ever imagined. The good and the bad.

Side story about the “bad”: I do not know the reason I had to grow up without my biological parents (in case your unaware, my parents died when I was really young and my aunt who I call mom raised me) but what I do know is I would not be the mother I am today to my children if it wasn’t for that significant lost in my life as a child. For that I am thankful that I am more in tune to the needs of my children. I am far from the perfect mother but I am proud of the mother I am. No one could ever take that confidence away from me. That confidence comes from the “bad hand” I was dealt and honestly, looking my children in their faces the way I do, there is not one thing I would change in my life that lead me to this point and that is thanks to God.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28 ESV

What is something you have felt the Lord speak to you lately? Do you try to plan or control your life out of fear? How has your childhood shaped you into the parent you are (or plan to be)?

This post was created in partnership with DockATot but all thoughts and opinions are of my own.

If you don’t know my love for DockATot yet, where have you been? Haha, since we discovered it and started using the DockATot Grand with Sophia at 9 months we saw a night and day difference in her sleeping habits (read more here). We were determined to start our next baby with the DockATot right after birth and were so impressed with the multiple uses we were able to use our DockATot Deluxe for besides co-sleeping (read more here).
Obviously we are now DockATot pros and we are constantly getting questions from those considering if they should invest in one (yes you should and you’ll thank me later).

The question I wanted to dedicate a blog post to is:

Can I just buy the Grand from the start?

I mean you can do whatever you want to do at the end of the day BUT I would not recommend it. When babies come out into the world, they came from this snugly secure environment (your womb) to this big opened world. The sensory overload is typically why it’s a hard adjustment for the baby the first few days or weeks. The DockATot Deluxe is created smaller to recreate a womb like environment by being cozy and snugly.

Side note: the things we had to do to get Sophia to sleep those first few months was insane. No one was getting any sleep. Using the DockATot Deluxe with Baby Anthony as soon as we got home from the hospital was amazing. We actually slept. All of us. Yes there were middle of the night feedings because that comes with the territory of having a newborn but we didn’t have to do anything extravagant to get him to sleep at night. He just did and that is because of the DockATot Deluxe.
The design of the DockATot Deluxe is for babies from 0-8 months old. Before you ask, yes that includes big babies as well. Baby Anthony was born at 10 pounds 8 ounces and has consistently been at the top of the charts measuring ahead and the DockATot Deluxe still worked perfectly for him. At 9.5 months, we finally decided to upgrade to the DockATot Grand. We have had our DockATot Grand for about two weeks now and the transition from the DockATot Deluxe to the DockATot Grand has been a very smooth transition, in fact I think baby Anthony has enjoyed the extra room to wiggle. We always start any sleep transitions with nap times first for a month before implementing those changes to bedtime as well. This has been a fool-proof method for our family and has made all transitions easier (this is also how we transitioned Sophia off the bottle).

Side note: see my other sleep tips here.
Therefore, I highly recommend starting with the DockATot Deluxe from the beginning as it was created to mimic the womb’s coziness. Your little one will feel snug and secure and sleep better and in turn you will sleep better.

Do you already use the DockATot? Have you been considering the DockATot for your family?

Figuring out the floor situation and light fixture will ultimately depend on how long we decide to stay in this home. I would love to paint the cabinet black but this bathroom doesn’t get any natural light and the current lighting sucks plus my shower curtain of choice is dark so I think painting the cabinet white would help brighten it up so right now I am leaning more towards white, what do y’all think?

And because I love seeing a good before and after, I took a few “before” photos to share before we get started (although these were taken after I did a much needed deep clean, haha).




As you can see there are some decor elements I already have on hand that I shared in my mood board. I do want to make note that the pitcher that I have is not the one I linked, I found mine at goodwill years ago so if you are on a budget I would suggest shopping around thrift stores and goodwill before buying new but if not, the one I linked is fairly similar to the one I have. I couldn't find a similar copper tub that was the same or similar sizing as mine which is why I didn't link anything (the one in the mood board is actually ginormous) and if I remember correctly, I bought mine at Target years ago so maybe try there first.

So now that you see were we are starting and were we would like to go with our hall bathroom, white or black cabinets?

Last month, I started a new mini series on the blog Cloth Diapering 101 sharing the All in Two diaper system. After taking a poll on Instastory, I went with the majority vote and am back to share all about All in One diapers. We currently only own one All in One in our entire stash and I do love the convenience and trimness of it.
An All in One diaper comes in, you guessed it, one piece and is most similar to a disposable diaper so you do not have to stuff or fold anything. We have a bumGenius All in One diaper  that we received from a friend and from what I can tell it is the bumGenius Elemental 2.0 as ours has two organic cotton inserts that are sewn together at the top and the bottom but separated in the middle and has no interior lining besides PUL (bumGenius Elemental 3.0 has one organic cotton insert and organic cotton lining sewn into the interior shell).

In theory, the inserts could be folded over to adjust absorbency where it is needed most but baby Anthony is a very curvy chunk butt baby so instead I tuck a hemp insert under the sewn in inserts for a custom absorbency whenever I feel it might be needed.

AIO Pros

• Very easy to use, similar to a disposable as there is no stuffing or folding.
• Great option for someone who may not be comfortable with the ins and outs of cloth diapering or for daycare providers.
• Depending on the brand, it can be trimmer compared to other diapering systems which also makes it a great traveling out and about running errands diaper. 
• Depending on the style, you may be able to customize absorbency (read above to see how we customize our bumGenius Elemental 2.0).

AIO Cons

This post has been a very long time coming for both topics, haha. I have been promising a Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) update since we started the method with Sophia two years ago and baby Anthony is about to be eight months. EIGHT. I figure I need to start this with a disclaimer as all parenting decisions seem to be controversial. This is our personal experience doing BLW with our children and we love it and plan to do it with all our children however this is in no way of judgment for parents who decide to go the puree route or use a combination of both. Take my experience and knowledge along with your own personal research to find what method is best for YOU and YOUR family, this method just happens to be best for OURS.

Every time we mention how we skipped over purees with Sophia and now baby Anthony, people seem to be in awe and have so many questions but two of the most frequently asked questions are what is BLW and won't they choke? I'll address the second question first and then go into more detail about BLW with the first question next.

Won't they choke?
As long as you follow certain measures, your baby isn't anymore likely to choke then when being spoon fed purees therefore always ensure your child is sitting upright in a highchair and never put food in your child's mouth for them when following the BLW method and avoid foods that are an obvious choking hazard.

• Refer to pages 46-50 in the Baby-Led Weaning book for more information about choking.
• Refer to page 42 in the Baby-Led Weaning book for information about a reflex known as "tongue thrust" (safety mechanism).
• Refer to pages 96-101 in the Baby-Led Weaning book for information on foods to avoid during early BLW. 

What is Baby Led Weaning?
For the first year of their life, babies get ALL their nutrition from either breastmilk or formula therefore food before one is just for fun (remember this cute saying no matter what route you take). There is no pressure to make sure the baby eats food in a certain order and a certain amount of times per a day. BLW is allowing your baby to explore food on their terms and decide how to manipulate it.

When following BLW, our children are offered whatever we are eating therefore there is no additional prep which was a major incentive for me. The only difference is the food is properly cut up for them to handle safely (typically this is the width and length of your pinky finger). Having it cut into finger foods allows our children to be able to have a "handle" to hold on to and still plenty of the food item sticking out to gnaw on. In the beginning, it isn't likely they will actually eat anything as they are just learning how to hold it and bring it to their mouth (hand-eye coordination) and working on the chewing motion (helps develop facial muscles that will be needed as they learn to talk). Eventually the baby learns the ability to swallow and then they even begin to realize, food helps them feel full. However breastmilk or formula is still where babies get all their nutrition from for the first year of their life so always be sure your baby has had a full milk feeding before each "mealtime" with the family. 

One of the biggest reasons we loved doing BLW was because momma got to eat while the food was still warm (although there is some sitting on the edge of your seat in the beginning of the BLW as parents are learning the difference between gagging and choking which gagging is okay, it is teaching your child how to chew food into smaller pieces to allow for easier swallowing and again as long as your child is sitting upright in a highchair and they alone are in control of the food going into their mouth, choking isn't anymore likely to happen then when they are being fed purees).

There are numerous benefits and I won't get into every one but I will highlight the ones that were important for us:

• everyone is able to enjoy family mealtimes together, sitting together at the table for dinner is an important part of our family that we started when we first got married so being able to all sit together and eat at the same time with babies at the table is just beautiful.
• no mealtime battles, our babies eat or refuse whatever is offered to them. We still offer the same food they may have refused at one mealtime at another mealtime in the future as refusing is not always an indicator that they don't like something. We typically find our children just aren't in the mood for it at that time therefore we do not force them to eat it once refused at that sitting as this develops a trust for food.
• a positive attitude toward food, as mentioned above we allow our children to accept or reject food and because they are in control, food phobias and food refusals are less likely (Sophia will at least take a bite of something majority of the time we ask her to before refusing and that is all we ask for her is to at least try something before saying no).
• appetite control, since babies are in control of the food that enters their mouth they develop the ability to stop eating when they are satisfied and are less likely to overeat.

Overall, I highly recommend BLW to all families and suggest you read the Baby-Led Weaning book before starting your journey to ensure this method is right for you and your family.

Six Month Update

Have you done (or considering) Baby-Led Weaning for any of your children? Or do you prefer starting with purees?

This post was created in partnership with PicassoTiles but all thoughts and opinions are of my own.

I absolutely love learning and am a huge advocate for early childhood education except I don't think learning has to mean sitting down doing worksheets or flash cards at the early age of two (and this is what they do in most day cares even before two, trust me I have worked in quite a few of them). Children learn by their environment and their surroundings and by playing. There is honestly nothing extravagant you have to do besides spend quality time playing with your young children.
 As you pick up toys to play with, you naturally discuss the object in hand which could be the color and shape of it. You can ask yourself questions that you of course already know the answer to but your child may not: "does it bounce?" "does it have wheels to push back and forth?" "does it make noise?" All these questions and discussions help build their vocabulary and overtime they catch on to colors and how to identify them. Children will catch on to the different basic shapes. There isn't a need to drill or give them a pop quiz on colors, numbers, shapes, alphabet, etc. During these early years, it isn't about mastering all the concepts as soon as possible or being the smartest two year old because trust me they will have plenty of time to master them. As parents, we want to foster a love of learning and how can that be done if we are constantly doing drills or pulling out the flash cards (not that there is anything wrong with flash cards as some kids really enjoy it). The point is to find your child's favorite activity, be involved and just make conversation with them as you play, even if you think it's over their heads. You don't have to "dumb" stuff down or talk in "baby language" use real words to help expand their vocabulary and their thought process.
This is where toys like PicassoTiles come in handy as their brand truly fosters learning by playing. Sophia loves building and while she is playing with her Alphabet Set Magnet Tiles, our conversations can go so many ways. We can discuss the letter that is on each individual tile, we can discuss the color of the tiles, we can go around the house and see what we can stick the magnets to. We can create 2D or 3D shapes. Our options are really endless as we are fostering early foundations in reading (alphabet), math (shapes, 2D and 3D objects), science (magnetic polars), creativity and imagination (open-ended play possibilities) all while playing.
Tip: You can easily add on to the magnetic tiles just like the bristle blocks I talked about last month as PicassoTiles sells different sets.

We also love playing with PicassoTiles Engineering Construction Set, to push Sophia's creativty even further as she can build whatever her mind can dream of (I have always joked that she is my future engineer since she loves building so much) and if you are stumped like me because my imagination is limited they do have an idea book to get your wheels turning. While you are creating and building, you can discuss the color and the amount of pieces you need: "I need one more yellow piece with three holes" as you grab the piece or "can you pass me that red screw" while pointing at the one you need are all great ways to continually build your child's vocabulary and helping them discover colors, shapes and numbers.
Again, you don't need to create a curriculum to last you through the year and you don't need worksheets galore, just get on the floor and play with your kid with good quality toys that have open-ended creative play like PicassoTiles.

If you know someone who would benefit from this post, please feel free to share. I also created a pinnable image so you can bookmark this post to come back to view later on.