Christmas Traditions

Time is literally flying because there are only 10days and 13 hours left till Christmas! Wow! Since there are only 10 days until my favorite day of the year I decided to share how we spend our Christmas. Last Christmas was our first Christmas as a family of 3! It was David's (my unofficial husband) first experience with the overall Christmas tradition of decorating the tree & opening gifts. So every year it is my goal to make it a memorable Christmas for both David & Nate. 

So we usually go to my dads & step moms house for Christmas Eve. We party with the rest of our family. The night is filled with joy & laughter! We have a couple traditions that have stuck with us through the years & they're some of my greatest memory's. I'm sure David can agree that it's the most wonderful time! 

The first tradition that stuck through out the years was the whole family wearing Christmas pajamas. My stepmom started it when she had us dress in pajamas to the Christmas party one year and the year after that everyone started to join in. So every single Christmas Eve we are all dressed in Christmas pajamas. Best part is there's no changing your clothes before going to bed lol. 

The next tradition was started about 2-3 years ago. We try to do activities so that we enjoy each other's company as a family & kill time until it's time to open presents. This one is a popular game that most people know of. I believe it's called the Elephant game, something like that. Everyone who is playing buys a gift 5$ and below. We wrap the gifts and put them on a big table. Everyone picks a number from 1 to how much people are at the party. One person chooses a random gift on the table & the next person who goes can either grab a new gift or steal a gift from someone who has already opened one. It is filled with laughter because there is always that one gift that everyone wants to steal. 

The next one also started about 2 years ago. Each family group makes a dessert that no one can know about. The family who doesn't participate in it are the judges. They judge on taste & presentation. Last year we threw a curveball & there was a secret ingredient in each dessert which was Marshmallows. I won!!! Woohoo!! It was very exciting. This year the theme is Puertorican dessert. 

We try to open the presents around midnight but usually it'll happen around 1130ish. David, Nate, and I usually sleepover my dads that night. Wake up to a wonderful family breakfast that my dad makes. We then go back home to open the presents under our tree with my mom also known as Nate's Mia. I'm looking forward to spending many more Christmases with my family & creating new traditions that Nate can remember years to come. 

What are your family traditions? I love hearing new ideas! 

The Renaissance Woman

Day 10 of blogmas!! Sorry for not blogging yesterday but Nathaniel got a random fever yesterday so couldn't find time to get a blog up. But I'm back for day 10 and I have something very interesting for you all; something that I relate to. Curse of the creative mind. A lot of people misunderstand me and my dreams, because I have so many. My ideas are never big enough. There's always something better. Another project. Some may call this a tortured artist. If you have many passions, pursue them all because if you don't, you will go on with "what if's" on your mind. I have spent the past few years just trying to find one passion. In the process I discovered many more. With every decision comes supporters and haters. We can't please everyone; most importantly, we must please ourself. When you make decisions for you, those who truly love you will support you no matter what. Today is the day that I embrace my talents. I will follow my heart even if my mind thinks otherwise. I will follow my heart even if others I love don't agree. If this sounds like you, don't be afraid to go with your heart. Be a woman of many talents. At the end of the day, we have one life to live. I'm choosing to live mine happy. 

What path will you choose? 

Terrible Twos?

This morning was one of the toughest mornings I've had so far of being a mom. Something we always tell new parents is that it gets easier after the first year. Some of you may be saying yeahh right!! Lol Boy, was I wrong. With every year the challenges get bigger. Its a learning process every day. 

So about this morning, Nathaniel is 19 months old and I feel like he gave me a preview of what the terrible twos will be like. It all started this morning when Nate was playing with his cars on top of the TV stand which is mounted on our wall. Although it is secure we don't like for Nate to play up there in case of anything, so we usually tell him not to play up there. 

When we tell him no, Nate gets mad, throws his cars on the floor, then throws himself on the floor to cry. First let me say we do NOT spank or hit Nate. We are totally against it. What I try to do is ignore his bad behavior or we read a book called "Its Calm Down Time" to show him it's time to calm down when we get mad. That usually works for him. 

So after he threw his cars he was just hysterical. Like an angry nonstop cry. I tried to ignore it but he then got louder. We put him in his room so he can calm down on his own but that didn't work. He was like flipping all over the room screaming and crying. We then went in to calm him down. I held him and tried to read the Calm Down book and it like got him more angry. He did not want to calm down No matter what I did. David and I were sure he was throwing the worst tantrum. He's also teething a lot lately so I thought that may also have something to do with it. 

So my question to my mommy viewers is How do you discipline? How do your children react when you tell them no? Nate used to listen when we told him not to play with his cars on top of the TV stand but now he throws his cars every time. I appreciate any advice. Thank you in advance. ❤️

Oh, Christmas Tree

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Now just waiting for lots of snow!!! Today was a very exciting day for us as we decorated our tree. It is Nathaniel's second Christmas so I couldn't wait to see how he was going to react to the decorated tree. He smelled the tree, danced to Christmas music, and played with the ornaments as if they were balls. Can't wait to fill the tree with Christmas presents. Hope everyone had a great weekend & a beautiful Monday tomorrow. 

Ocean in a Bottle

It is super rainy and ugly outside and I have my sisters Stephanie and Geanese over for the night. We have been extremely bored and since we can't go out anywhere I decided to do a little fun experiment that will be fun for any kid (I found it cool too lol) So here is an easy activity to distract the kiddies with easy supplies that everyone has in their house.

Items you will need:

Clear Bottle

Water

Blue Food Coloring

Oil 

I used the a small vinegar bottle so its small enough for Nate to hold. First you should fill the bottle with 1/3 of water. Then drop a few drops of the blue food coloring. Include the child as much as you can so I let Nate do all the shaking to mix the water and food coloring together. 

Then fill the rest with oil and the image above is what it will look like. Once you flip it upside down then you will get this... 

You can add glitter, rocks, whatever you'd like. Makes a fun sensorial activity for your little one on a rainy day. 

Nate's Wish List

Yayyy for day 5 of Blogmas!! That means there are only 19 days till Christmas! For this blog I'm going to write Nate's wish list which is a Montessori gift guide for toddlers. You may notice that all of them are wooden but that's because most Montessori activities come in wood and wood is less likely to contain dangerous toxins that are found in plastic toys and I have a bit of an addiction(I'll admit). So with that being said, lets get into this wonderful list! 

1. Montessori Cylinder Blocks - $36.94 Each

This is one of the most popular sensorial lessons. Your child will learn pencil grip, sizing, dimension, and matching. Most websites sell all 4 under one large price but you can buy them separately on the link I provided here. Each block is different. The first blog teaches diameter where as the second one teaches both diameter and height. Once your child has master the first block, you can then move on to the second one. I can't wait to see Nate try this one. 

2. Plan Toys Cone Sorting - $21.98 

3. Plan Toys Dancing Alligator - $15.98

Nate loves wheels and dragging things so I know this will be a complete success! 

4. EverEarth Jr. Size Ramp Race - $16.99

5. Melissa & Doug Deluxe Pound and Roll Tower - $16.99

6. Melissa & Doug Stack and Sort Board - $9.99

7. Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Cube - $14.99

8. Plan Toys Water Blocks - $32.99 

9. Hape Pound and Tap Bench - $19.51

10. Have Walk Along Puppy - $17.14

11. Melissa & Doug Cutting Fruit Set - $15.69

This is a great practical life activity that Nate absolutely loves. Between each piece is velcro so when the child cuts it sounds like he's actually cutting. One of his favorite toys right now. 

12. Kid Kraft White Vintage Kitchen - $119.99

As you can see, the list can go on and on or at least I can go on and on. There are so many wonderful wooden educational toys. Just search some of the brands above and find any items that suit your children. Hope this helps! See ya tomorrow! 

What is the Montessori Method?

 I first learned about this parenting method in a psychology class I had in college and everyone in the class thought of it as a ridiculous method. When Nathaniel turned one I knew I wanted most of our day to be filled with fun and educational materials. I wanted to redo his room into a toddler independent fun room. Doing lots of research I came across the Montessori method again and it was like a lightbulb went off in my head! 

So let me introduce you to the wonderful Maria Montessori who created the Montessori Method. She was an Italian doctor and teacher who introduced the method to US classrooms in 1904. She believed that children learn best when they "choose" what activities they want to participate in. She considered children from the age of birth to 6 so have the ultimate "absorbent mind." During this period children have the ability to learn and assimilate from the world around them. 

Children have a natural desire to teach themselves and become independent. In a Montessori classroom the child is given the freedom (within boundaries) to do as they want. The teachers are there to assist and direct while the materials and activities are specially designed to stimulate a child's intellect. Each child works at their own level. 

In a Montessori classroom you will see that everything has a purpose. It is our job to prepare the environment for the children, so there isn't anything that the child can't see or touch. All of the furniture and equipment is scaled down to a child's size and is always within reach. It is a very organized environment so that the child doesn't get overwhelmed. You will mostly see everything made out of wood. 

I have brought the Montessori method into my home for Nathaniel. We will have some Montessori blogs coming up so wanted to explain what it was first before jumping in. If anyone has any questions please feel free to comment below or on my Instagram @FlawlessGlam.