Shopping Up A Sweat

Tonight I attempted to go clothes shopping with my 13 month old in tow.  He wanted to walk and not be carried so I allowed him to roam around the store as I followed him and tried to look for clothes at the same time.  Ha!  That was a not so smart idea.  I barely got to see what size the clothes were let alone pick up any to try on.  Not only was I following my son around the store, but he was giving me a good workout also.  I was literally sweating, or as I like to call it, glowing.  The only time he stopped moving was if he was asking me for a cracker, or he saw a mirror.  He LOVES looking in the mirror.  It's almost like he sees an instant friend once he sees his reflection.  Needless to say, I didn't try anything on or make any purchases at that store.  

I then attempted to go to The Children's Place which was right next door to the store that we were "exercising" in.  I thought, it's a children's store, so it has to be kind of child-proof.  Nope.  My son found every pair of sunglasses and shoes he could get his hands on in the 30 seconds he had before I scooped him up and attempted to hold him for the remainder of our time in the store.  I was looking to see if they had sneakers for him, but much to my dismay, they did not have anything in his size.  I was kind of glad they didn't though.  I was able to leave the store quicker and get my gumby-like son back home to run around the house, take a bath, and head to bed.  In a matter of a week he has gone from the boy who listens when you say no, or make one of those annoying noises if he touches something you don't want him to touch (moms you know what I'm talking about), to the boy who gives you a devilish look and laughs at you if you tell him no.  I have to say, it's pretty funny and so hard not to laugh when he disobeys me and my husband.  But I want to give him his space to explore and not tell him no all the time.  It's easier to do in my own home because it is childproof (except for the dogs water bowl that he is constantly sticking his hands in these days). But when we go to other people's homes who do not have children, or they are younger or older than my son, it causes us to have to tell him no constantly.  We still take him everywhere, but we're trying to teach him to not touch everything he's not supposed to.  We say words like "yuck" if he goes towards the garbage can, but unfortunately it sounds a lot like duck, which is one of his favorite words to say these days.  We also say "hot" if he gets too close to the oven, but he doesn't really understand why that is a bad word since he THANKFULLY hasn't had to find that lesson out.

Each day we all learn something new and he's learning MANY new things everyday.  They say that a child's brain is 90% developed by the time they are 5 years old.  So as parents we have a lot to do to prepare our child for everything they need to know by then.  We are the people they turn to to learn about morals, values, language, emotions, love, and guidance.  I don't know about you, but I'm having a blast showing him all that I know. Not only is he learning so many new things, but I'm learning so much along the way too.  I can't wait to see what we'll both learn tomorrow!  I'm thinking that he may try to learn (from my husband and I) that the dogs water bowl is not a mini bathtub and he cannot splash around in it, and I might learn that taking my one year old son shopping in a stroller with toys is a better idea then letting him run amok all the clothes and customers in a store.  Although the customers and employees thoroughly enjoyed his visit.  

Do you have any stories of your child running around a store and giving you a good workout chasing them?  What kinds of things are you and your child learning about each and everyday?  I look forward to hearing from you.

Is Happiness a Mindset?

I've read a lot about happiness lately.  It's been the topic of conversation on other blog posts, Facebook posts, and even on TV.  In these hard times, during what some are considering a time close to the great depression, happiness is hard to find sometimes.  People are stressed out about money, their careers, loss of a job, relationships and more.  So for some, or many, happiness is hard to find.  If that's what you think.
Happiness, like any other emotion, is a mindset.  It's how you look at your situation that allows you to be happy or stressed about it.  It is so easy for most of us to just dwell on the negative, but what about dwelling on the positive?  Granted, most of our first reactions to anything stressful or fearful is to think about the negative, but we need to train ourselves to change our mindset to positive.  If we sit and wallow in what is a dreary place in our minds, then how can we really get what we want out of life?  There is a quote: "Worry about tomorrow tomorrow."  What does worrying really do?  It stresses us out, makes us think up crazy scenarios that never happen, and makes us go crazy thinking about every possible horrible outcome to something that we don't know the outcome of to begin with.  Why not think about the great outcome of an unknown situation?  Why not have faith in knowing that everything will be OK?  This question is hard for so many to answer.  
Why do we worry?  Do we feel guilty if we don't worry?  I had this conversation with a great friend of mine just the other day.  She was worrying about a situation that she was dealing with regarding her family and I asked her why she was worrying.  She said it was more of a fear of the unknown then anything else.  I asked her if she thought that she was worrying because she felt like if she doesn't people may think she doesn't care as much as she actually does.  And it was like a light bulb went off in her mind.  Why do we feel the need to stress ourselves out about a situation that we don't know the outcome of instead of concentrating on the positive?  We still don't know the outcome, but if we choose to stay positive at least we don't have to deal with the consequences of unneeded stress.  The aches, the pains, the headaches, the fuzzy and unfocused mind.  Stress is damaging to our bodies and our minds.  
I've learned so much about positive thinking from my mother.  She is one of the most positive women I know.  When my husband was laid off from his job, we were unbelievably upset and extremely stressed out.  But when I spoke to my mom about it, she said that his last job was just a stepping stone to something wonderful for him and that everything happens for a reason.  She said that he is bound for something amazing and that the next company he works for is going to be exactly where he should be at that time in his life.  Now if that isn't exploding with positive vibes, I don't know what is!
Life is meant to be enjoyed.  Everyday.  When I had my son, life became a whole new ballgame for me.  I want to get the most out of each day because he's growing up so fast.  I don't want to miss anything.  I want to do more, travel more and just live a happier life.  Don't we all?  What is holding you back from living the life you're meant to live?  Are you happy with where you are in your life right now?  If you're going through a stressful time in your life, can you find a positive way to look at it?  Can you have faith in knowing that everything is going to work out well?  Are you able to think positively without a underlying negative thought in the back of your mind?  I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Use Your Words

My son has been saying a bunch of words here and there for about 3 months now.  He will be 14 months next week. But he does a lot of pointing a grunting also.  My husband and I have been telling him to use his words and have been showing his pictures and teaching him new words.  He loves to say "Momma" all day long and to him, everyone's "Momma".  My husband, our dog, Uncle Larry, and even his toy car.  I love to hear him say new words.  He's so innocent saying them.  When he says "apple" or "bubble" or "duck", he gets so excited.  I can't wait for him to start talking in full sentences.  He's growing up so fast, but I am enjoying every moment of it.  My nephew is only 2 and tells knock knock jokes and speaks so well.  My son loves to see him and my niece who is only 9 months old.  They're so close in age it's just wonderful.  They can learn from one another and can have wonderful play dates!
My son is in daycare during the day, so I am unable to work with him one on one unless it's in the evening or on the weekends.  But I'd love to teach him more words and associations.  Do you have any suggestions on how to get more learning into a small amount of time?  Would you suggest any particular books, videos, or puzzles that we should use to help him learn more words?  Looking forward to hearing from you all.