3 Reasons to Not Rush Into Dating

It seems like everywhere you look you see another couple in love, while you remain alone. Every day one (or more) of your Facebook friends proudly boasts that they are "in a relationship" while you probably feel like your status will forever be "Single" or ''in a relationship with Netflix."

However, despite how you may feel, and maybe what those around you have been telling you, being single is a blessing! Being in a committed relationship is indescribable, but so is not having a partner! Both experiences can be the ultimate life lesson, designed by God to teach us more about Him and ourselves. 

As a single person you may feel lonely, while you should be feeling empowered, or unloved while you should be feeling unstoppable! Here's why:

You Have Time to Learn About Yourself - While you are single you can take time to explore your interests as an individual. Many people continue to do this while in a relationship, but a single person has the advantage of personal free time. It is completely appropriate to go to the movies alone, or switch hobbies 5 times a month, because you are learning about you. What you like to do, what you like to listen to, who you choose to hang out with; those are all important things to know when you eventually do start a new relationship. If you get to know yourself (and love yourself!) you will feel complete and you will have more of yourself to give.

You Can Move Quickly Towards Your Goal - Once you find out what you are passionate about, you have all the time in the world to pursue that passion! At this point, you can put 100% of your effort into doing whatever it is that motivates you, and into working towards your overall life goal.

You Have the Freedom to Practice Financial Responsibility - By freedom I mean you can make mistakes with few consequences, which only affect you. You are one person! It is easier to practice financial responsibility because you have less expenses. This may sound technical and unimportant, but knowing how to handle your money is vital. You can learn to set a budget for travel and the things you want. You can learn the difference between want you want and what you need. You can also learn that money isn't everything, and that wealth is meant to be shared. No one wants to be with someone who doesn't know the value of a dollar. 

There are many different kinds of love! 

Learn to enjoy the form of love in your life, whether it be towards yours Creator, your friends, your family, and especially yourself.

Don't miss out on a special form of love by constantly craving another.

Teaching Toddlers 104: Playdough Playtime!

Everybody loves play-dough! It's squishy fun that molds into any shape your imagination can dream up, which is what makes it the perfect tool when it comes to toddler exploration! If your child doesn't like to color, playing with play-dough is a fantastic indoor alternative!

One of Nico's best birthday presents was this cool Playdoh Beach Creations bucket. It came with 4 tiny cups of Playdoh, and a bunch of different molds and tools to sculpt the figure of our choice. 

 

 

That little bucket included all the materials we needed for almost an hour of play time, and that best part was that Nico didn't even realize this was a lesson! 

 

He developed his motor skills, as he practiced scooping it out of the cup with the tiny shovel, and his imagination when he pretended to "feed me" his Play-doh food! 

 

 

 

Then, he tried to actually take a bite and found that it was not appetizing. 

(There are edible play-dough recipes that are very easy to make for extra sensory fun!)

 

Aside from learning that this specific play-dough is not food, we went over the colors and constructed different shapes! 

 

 

 And, as hard as I tried to avoid it, we ended up with mixed colors. 

My advice? Don't fight it.

But that's what play-dough is for; to make messes and mix colors and to fire up their little imaginations!

 

Potty Diaries: Day 3

 

Dear Diary,

Today was kind of disappointing; Nico experienced regression for the first time, which is completely normal, I just didn't expect it to happen so soon. At this age toddlers are learning how to express themselves. Nico goes through periods where he really wants to please me, and phases where he could care less whether I approve of his behavior or not; I call those, "Rough Days." 

Today was a Rough Day.

Nico defiantly used the floor when he went pee-pee, alerting me each time after he was already finished. And the times when I took him to the potty he refused to use it even when he was reminded of his potty reward, which is okay. To me, the most important thing is that he feels comfortable with going to the bathroom; it is not the time or place for strict discipline in order to avoid tears and outright refusal to even sit on the potty.

The one time he did use the potty was when I caught him in the middle of doing a number 2 on the floor. I carried him running to the potty where he finished! Afterwards, I cleaned up the mess with toilet paper and put it in the potty to show him that numbers always go in there.

3 Things I learned about Nico and Potty Time:

1. He likes to pee on the floor (I assume this is true of most boys when they start)
2. Regression is normal
3. He enjoys the Potty Song I made up to go along with Number 2's

Though I was a little discouraged to discover that he enjoyed peeing on the floor, and was tempted to give up and put him back in a diaper, I stuck it out until bath time, which is when we put his diaper on for the night.

 At the end of the day, it helped to focus on his small accomplishment, rather than dwell on the things that were out of my control. 

Sincerely,
Sabrina (aka The KUL Mom)

Potty Diaries: Day 1

Dear Diary, 

Today was a very exciting day for Nico! He was thrilled to discover that he didn't have to wear his diaper at all, and happily ran around the house in all his naked freedom. 

Then, he had his first accident. He came to me saying, "Nico pee-pee!" And I was excited, until I found a small yellow puddle on the tiled playroom floor. I calmly told him that we pee-pee in the potty, and had him bring me paper towels to help me clean up, which he was very happy to do. 

The second time he had an accident, I caught him, and was able to get him to stop midstream, a thing that is difficult for him to do at this age. We ran to the potty where Nico finished his number 1! We sang a song, and I gave him lots of high-fives and endless praise. 

When it was time for his nap, we visited the potty again, though he didn't use it. It is unreasonable to expect these little ones to stay dry during nap time, or to be able to wake up and alert their parents if they need to use the potty; so, I put a diaper on him to avoid a smelly disaster. When we went to the potty after nap time, he successfully made another pee-pee!

We visited the potty several more times that day. Before and after lunch, snack, and dinner, without much luck. I was careful to not show disappointment when he didn't have to go, so that he wouldn't associate potty time with guilt. However, when he made a number 2 on the floor, I made sure he knew that it was not okay. While he helped me clean the mess again, I sternly but kindly told him that we must use the potty next time so that we can keep the floor clean.

3 things that Reassured me that Nico was ready for potty training:

1. He was able to tell me when he was finished using the potty
2. He knows the difference between going number 1 and going number 2
3. He recognizes the sensation and tells me either before or after he does his business

Overall, the first day of potty training went better than I had excepted!

Sincerely, 
Sabrina (aka The KUL Mom)

The Extremely Awesome DIY Cars Birthday Party!

This year was Nico's last birthday he will have while living here in Puerto Rico, so we decided to do it BIG! 

He turned 2 years old and I'll admit, my mom and I got a little carried away! 

 

 I made the invitations using Microsoft Publisher and pictures and fonts downloaded from the internet for FREE! It cost me about $10 to have them printed on glossy paper at Office Depot.

  

There was one side with the information in Spanish and one with information in English for our bilingual birthday bash. 

 

The theme was cars (not the movie) since Nico has an obsession with toys cars, and to save money we DIY'ed everything we could, even his candle!   

Regular Candle + Sharpie       

Most of the decorations were done by hand also.We used a lot of paint and a very old hot glue gun.

 

To make other party favors and decorations we used sheets of foam, construction paper, glue, and printed pictures of the birthday boy. 

 

The goody bags were just plain black bags from Party city with construction paper to create the lights and a little flag was later added to keep the bag from folding open. 

For his cake table, we used table cloths and banners that were ordered from Ebay. 

 

I would like to personally thank my aunt who made and decorated Nico's delicious birthday cake! 

  

Based on some adorable ideas from Pinterest, we made cute little labels for each dish that we decided to serve. I created each label on Publisher and downloaded the fonts and images from the internet. 

We served hot dogs, french fries, chocolate doughnuts, pigs in a blanket, chicken nuggets, sandwiches de mezcla (traditional Puerto Rican party food), and chips and dip! 

The food was such a hit that our guests gobbled it up before I got to snap a picture of the lay out, but I have included a few labels to give the idea. 

The Iced Tea reads Motor Oil, the Lemonade reads Anti Freeze

 

 

My extremely talented mother and I my this piñata togeteher using an old box, super glue, tissues paper, construction paper, and tape! We were very proud that it at least resembled a car!

Though all the really mattered was that the kids had a blast destroying it!

 

 Nico was the only one who wasn't very enthusiastic about scrambling for the candy. 

I guess he is wise beyond his years, knowing that there was plenty to go around!

 

However, after some encouragement on my end, he eventually reached in and picked up just one toy. 

 

I think what he enjoyed most were the games, crafted by my mother and me!  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Each little player tried their hardest and each little winner got a mini prize!  

 

What I enjoyed most was the beautiful photo booth once again made by my mother using a sharpie, a large box, and construction paper.

Nico and his lovely Grandmother AKA The Artist

And even though I was against it in the beginning; when in doubt, get a bouncy house. 

As much as I hate to admit it, it was a huge success! All the little ones who were too shy to participate in the games enjoyed bouncing to their heart's content. 

*Tip!!*

Make the older kids and the younger kids take turns.

(Learned this the hard way after my poor little guy got trampled, basically my worst nightmare)

Baby Bounce!

 

 We enjoyed spending an amazing day with family and friends...

My cousin's gorgeous daughter

 

and we were blessed enough to be able to take such a memorable picture! 

Primos = Cousins!!

Nico is holding the "O"

 

I honestly could not imagine a more perfect 2nd Birthday Extravaganza!  

**All of the inspiration for this party came from Pinterest pins all saved to my board Nico's 2nd Birthday Party **