Kids Road Trip Activity Packet

So, we just got back from vacation last week and I wanted to share the activity packet I put together for Marley to do. We were in the car for a total of 30 hours over the last week, but she actually used this more while we were out of the car. She mostly slept in the car, which was nice too.

First I searched pinterest and other websites for activity pages. I printed them on a fourth of the page and upside down so when I folded them it made a little book.  Then I stapled in the middle to keep them from falling all over the place. 

I also printed out some blank bingo sheets and filled those in with things I knew she would see while we were driving. I made two copies, but put the items in different spots so I could play along too. 

I printed out some coloring pages too. She had these colored in no time. 

I punched holes in all the big pages and stuck them in a trapper keeper that my mom gave me. I also put some crayons and colorwonder pages and markers in there too along with some plain computer paper so she could make her own art work.  

InstaFriday 13

We are currently on the 10 hour drive home from vacation. I'll be posting all about it next week, but here's an Instagram sneak peak for this weeks instafriday hosted by Life Rearranged.

I'm growingto4 if you want to follow me.

Birth story

Hello all! Let me begin by Introducing myself. My name is Christina Gasaway. I am a mother of two, one girl and one boy. Zoey is nine-years-old and Toby is eighteen months old. I am a full-time student/Stay-at-home-mom. That last part seems a bit contradictory to me since I am gone a lot. I wanted to share my birthing stories to others; to show that with the “bad” there can also be good!
    When I was 15 I became pregnant with my daughter. It was a problem free pregnancy with the only issue being low iron. That was an easy fix. I simply added some extra iron pills into my daily routine. I gained 21 lbs, after losing 12 lbs up until I was 5 months. I wasn’t sick all the time or starving myself. I was eating healthy and in good amounts. Because of this, the doctors said this was nothing to worry about and normal. My due date was June 5th and I delivered a 6lb 15 oz, 21.5” long baby girl on June 8th.
    I was 16 when I delivered my beautiful little girl. Being young I was unaware to all the information there was available about birth and child nutrition. I had taken quite a few child development classes prior to my pregnancy because it interest me. In comparison to the information available, those classes are miniscule. When I realized my water had broken, think kick to bladder trickle vs. popping large balloon of water gushing, we made our journey up to the hospital. I was in a small room by myself while they checked. The room was roughly 8 feet by 8 feet. Tiny! I am sitting there all alone crazy thoughts racing through my head. I had no support with me. I wasn’t contracting very much nor was I feeling them, but it’s a tough situation no matter what. After what seemed like forever, they moved me to my room for the rest of my stay. I had a LDP room. Once in my room I was hooked up to the monitors and laying in bed....the whole time. I was only dilated a few centimeters upon arrival (roughly 1:30 pm); around 7:30 pm they classified me as “failure to progress” and since my water had broken they administered pitocin. At 16 I was still optimistic in giving birth sans pain meds.
Unfortunately, when they administered the “liquid devil”, aka pitocin, my tune changed. I asked for demoral. I have never been a fan of the idea of epidurals. From the time my water broke until she was delivered it was a total of 13 hours.
    Fast forward almost 7 years later...Mother’s day weekend 2012. After three years of hoping, I found out I was pregnant. After trying for quite some time, it’s hard to process... just ask my five pregnancy tests. ;) This also was a great pregnancy. I am glad I am so fortunate to have no problems with them. I also lost weight with my son, and then...Boom! I have noticed a pattern with this. As long as I have healthy babies I am accepting of this.
    I became pregnant with my son when I was 23. With so much time between I was able to mature and become more knowledgeable in childbirth process, approaches, and pain management.  My daughter was born with a retracting chest and needing oxygen. This caused me to pursue a pain med free birth initially. However, after doing my research I feel it may not have been the pain meds that had affected her, but I still preferred the idea of no pain meds administered. As my pregnancy progressed I became more and more interested in natural approaches, no membrane sweeps or pitocin administered.
    My final prenatal appointment was on my due date. It was 5 p.m. and my doctor had checked me and said I was “definitely a 4.5-5cm”. My blood pressure was raised to a level she was uncomfortable with and suggested I head to the hospital to have my water broken. I took my sweet time... the 15 minute drive took us over an hour and a half. Oops? :) I got to my room and decided I would wander around in my room, do some squats, etc. before the doctor came to check again. When the doctor finally came it was nearly 8pm. My blood pressure was at a level that she was ok with at this point and I had progressed to a 6-7cm. I was in no pain and only had two contractions. Honestly, the only reason I knew why is because the monitor. She left it up to me whether to have my water broken or progress on my own. I had a slight fear of a dry birth, so I allowed them to do so. My water was broken at 8:30pm and contractions began increasing in intensity shortly after. About 9:45 pm they became quite uncomfortable. I still was maintaining no pain meds, even after being asked by the nurses twice already.  At 10:30 I began pushing and at 11:05pm my son was delivered. He was a “sunny side up” baby, meaning he was facing towards my pelvic bone versus facing my rear. With babies in this position, delivery could take longer and bleeding could be increased. I experienced both. The pushing with my daughter only took 5 minutes. My son didn’t nurse right after birth so I was administered a small amount of pitocin to help my uterus contract and control the bleeding.
    You know, something I didn’t know going in... after pains suck! After having my son I learned about after pains. I don’t remember them with my daughter at all; nor did I have hard, sore breasts or leaking.  The more children you have the worse the after pains, so I am told. I still used no pain meds, even though the after pains were worse than my labor contractions. It seemed like labor continued for a few extra days! Ow!
    A piece of advice for nursing moms, don’t be afraid to ask questions! There no silly, gross, or personal questions when it comes to providing the best nutrition for your child/children. Talk to someone close, someone you haven’t talked to in ages, or even a stranger! Also, take advantage of those days at the beginning when you are full and sore. I made that mistake; I was going to school fulltime and was pumping all the time to make sure I had enough milk, when I could have made a stock pile at the very beginning.
Alright! I think I have shared enough now. I hope you find my story helpful or just enjoyed the read. Happy birthing!

3 summer fun ideas for families with teens and toddlers

Hi all! I am Jo Davis, author of the blog “Surviving Teens and Toddlers: A Mother’s Tale Straight from the Trenches”—my story of raising five kids ages 17, 15, 14, 11 and 13 months while trying to keep my sanity. All of my posts touch on the gap between the teens and the toddler. Mostly, the posts are my observations, but some are tips and ideas for other parents of teen and tots. Today, I share a tip with all of you, one that I have recently discovered out of necessity. Enjoy.
It is the peak of summer. You have tried every traditional summer activity, the vacation, grandma’s house and even a few trips to the mall. You’ve scoured Pinterest and tried things so weird that your children will never trust your sanity again. You’ve performed every Facebook suggestion, Tumblr idea and Parents Magazine tip. Nevertheless, summer is still here--more than half over actually--and you have NO IDEA what to do with the couch potato teens and mischievous (probably naked) toddler for the rest of the summer.
No clue.
I’ve been there. A few weeks ago when I ran out of things to do and the kids seem to run out of energy to find their own activities. The biggest dilemma? What on God’s green Earth, can I do to engage the teens and appease the toddler? This took some thinking and a few trial runs before I came up with a formula of sorts for entertaining the gap, or planning activities to fit a family with both toddlers and teens.
3 Formulas for Summer Fun
This is going to take a little thought on your behalf, parents. The following formulas are only criteria to look for in potential activities for the family, along with a few examples. Make this your own, to fit your tribe.
1. Open Air + the Arts
You can never go wrong with activities that take place in the wide-open spaces.
These places allow room for the toddler to run, play, sing, dance, get loud and go nuts without bothering other people nearby. The teens get to talk, laugh and get comfortable as well. The arts part is a wide component to this formula. It includes anything from a drive-in movie to an air show, music festival (during the day when bands are most family friendly) or even plays in the park. It’s basically anything that engages the teens’ by the senses—which works for the toddler as well.
2. Food for the Eyes + Random Facts
      Toddlers love shiny things and colors. So do the teens, but with a little something more. Believe it or not, random facts do capture the teen’s interest. They love knowing something odd, freaky, crazy or just plain weird about some of the most mundane things. Surprising facts about history and culture can be found at any museum—art, science, history and museums built to honor special people or places. Walking tours are another option. You can strap the toddler into the stroller and let the teen navigate you through a tour of historical sites, art, or buildings. Anything to engage, stimulate and keep them moving.
3. Getting Dirty + Good Deeds
Okay, this one may a harder sell for the teens—volunteering to do anything is against their nature. Trust me, they will change by the end of the activity. Why? Doing  a good deed makes us feel needed and more connected with our fellow human race. (Don’t tell teens this. They will try to commit you if you do so.) Not even the surliest teenager can resist the feeling. The getting dirty part is for the toddler of course. You can find volunteer opportunities around you or in nearby towns such as the local parks, the zoo, botanical gardens, or beaches. Beach cleanup is an example, or trail maintenance with the local park service. These opportunities are posted on social media sites and the websites of the parks, beaches, etc.
There you have it, 3 summer activity ideas that you can use to help plan out the rest of the summer. They are designed to work for the kids on both sides of the age gap so that you can do things together, as a family. Just know that the hardest part comes after the planning. That’s figuring out the most creative way to get the teens off the couch (and if he is anything like my Mikey) your toddlers to put clothes on for entering public space. I’ll leave those ideas up to you.

InstaFriday 12

Here I am again with my 12th week of InstaFriday hosted by Life Rearranged.

I'm growingto4 on Instagram if you want to follow me.

Reading to Cody the therapy dog at the library

Spotted a deer while out for a walk in the woods

Mike went skydiving

Unloading stuff from storage and found my beloved Todd

The kids playing with my old Littlest Pet Shop toys

Marley woke me up at 7:30am to tell me there was a deer with antlers in the backyard. When I got up a while later she had fallen back to sleep with her favorite cat. 

Slimming Down

Back in February I decided it was time to lose my baby weight. Yes, Mason is 2, but it's still baby weight.  First, I bought some new running shoes thanks to Meijer's buy one get one for $1 sale. Mike got some too.  Then, I bought a treadmill. I will say, I HATED running. I always said I would never run unless someone was chasing me, but with Marley in school and Mason at home, I couldn't really afford to go somewhere to work out so this was my next best choice.  I also downloaded the C25K app on my phone. It's a great app for beginning runners because it slowly progresses each week, until you can run a 5K.  

So once I had everything all set up, I weighed myself on the Wii Fit to see where I started. EEK!   Then I got on my treadmill and ran for 30 second intervals. It wasn't that bad at all.  Since the app has you run then walk it was so easy because I wasn't overdoing it. 

Each week has a three day schedule and then it ups its length of running and shortens its walking times.  I couldn't believe I was actually doing it.  I would just turn on some Netflix and go. So easy!  

In the 8 weeks that I did the app I lost 15 pounds!  I couldn't believe it.  I also downloaded a calorie counter app on my phone, but I wasn't super strict at all.  If anything, I had to eat more than what I normally did to get my recommended number of calories.  

I haven't ran since we moved in the beginning of May but I managed to lose another 3 lbs since then. I am officially down 18 pounds since I started just 5 months ago.   Once Marley goes back to school in another month I will start running again but this time with the 10K Trainer app.  I just need to lose 2 more pounds until I am back to my pre-baby weight!  

I usually hate when people say 'if I can do it, so can you',  but it really applies in this situation.  I really hated running before, but I did complete the 5K at the end of the 8 weeks which I never thought would happen in my entire life! 

*I am in no way a health expert and you should always talk to your doctor before starting an exercise routine.*

Mike's adventure in skydiving

Last Saturday, we headed up the airport for their fly-in breakfast. We had already eaten so we were just going so we could look at the planes and the fire station had trucks there too.  Before we even pulled in the parking lot we saw the skydivers. Mike was excited already.  We walked around for a while and then we made the decision that he would sign up to skydive!  He was so excited, but I could also tell he was pretty nervous.  He had on flip flops so I ran home to get his shoes and I grabbed the cameras too.  After he jumped we also purchased their pictures since I didn't get very good ones from the ground. I lost him in the sun light and missed all of the landing- oops! Here's the video I made of what I did take and some of the good pictures.  

I also have to share some of the funny pictures and remind you that if you go skydiving- keep your mouth closed lol 

Sorry Mike, but those pictures are just too funny to keep to ourselves. 

I would love to do this someday, but I might cry or pee from fear.  It's definitely on my bucket list and I'm glad Mike got to cross it off of his. 

School Work Photobooks

Two years ago when Marley was in preschool, she was bringing home tons of papers every day.  I hated to throw them out so I decided that I would make a school work photo book from Shutterfly with them.  Every few weeks I would just scan in her papers, and then that allowed me to recycle them without feeling bad about it. 

Once I had them all scanned in I just uploaded them to their website and kept them in order of when she did them.  The first 20 pages are included with the book, then it's an additional fee per page. I didn't want to go way overboard, since I actually got her preschool book free from Pamper's Rewards.   To help figure out how many photos per page, I just divided the number of photos by 20 pages.  Since it was an uneven number, I did add some photos from her field trips and class parties in there too.  

Some of her larger art projects required more space on the page so I just chose a different layout.  

I just finished her kindergarten book too, following the same steps as before.  However, this time I didn't have a free code, so I had to wait for a good sale.  Shutterfly's sales usually last a day or two so I really had to hurry to finish scanning everything and uploading it and rearranging it on every page.  

I had 23 pages and it was about $30 for the book and shipping.  Not too expensive for a whole years worth of school work.  

I think for next year, I will scan and upload as I go so once a good sale shows up, I won't be rushing to make it before it expires.  

On the front cover of the book is her picture from the first day of school, and on the back is her picture from the last day. It's so crazy how much she's grown in just 9 months. 

On the spine I just put her name and the grade so when they're on the shelf I can keep them all in order. 

I don't know how long I'll continue doing these for her because once she gets into higher grades they bring home less fun projects and more work. I will start making them for Mason though in just a few short years. 

Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken & Rice

I've had this recipe pinned on pinterest for a while. It's really simple to make and if you find a good sale on chicken it can be very inexpensive too.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 large onion, chopped

1 -8 ounce box Zatarain's Yellow Rice Mix, cooked according to directions

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

Place chicken and onions in crock pot.  Pour cream of chicken soup over top. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.  Mix in rice, corn, and cheese.  Cover and cook for a few more minutes.