Gross & Fine Motor Skills Development

Do you ever wonder if your baby is ahead or behind on their motor skill development? Or compare your little one to other babies you see? I know I do both of these things at times, I think all mothers do. Motor skills are what happens when the brain, nervous system and muscles are all working together. Babies generally follow the same pattern and time frame for learning fine and gross motor skills. These milestones are what all parents are looking for in their growing baby.

There has been plenty of opportunities for me to compare with my little man. He has a cousin who was born 5 days before him and when they were both two months old, I started babysitting her everyday (along with another 14 month old boy...kinda sounds like what I have going on right now...except now they are all mine). Anyways, she has been ahead of him in all her gross motor skills. Crawling long before him, walking around 9 or 10 months. My little man is 14 months now and still not walking yet. He took forever to crawl, too...he just does things when he is ready. 

Here is a general idea for when your baby will be doing things. Just remember that all babies learn things at their own pace and sometimes they will be ahead or behind what the general time frame is. If your pediatrician isn't worried about them, there is no reason you should worry either. In the next few weeks I will be writing about activities you can do with your baby from 0-12 months to help them work on some of these gross and fine motor skills.

Gross Motor Skills:

• Holds head up and steady (1-2 months)
• Lifts head and chest while on tummy (2-3 months)
• Sits while supported (2-3 months)
• Rolls tummy to back (3-4 months)
• Rolls back to tummy (3-4 months)
• Sits alone (6-8 months)
• Pulls to stand (8-9 months)
• Crawls (9 months)
• Cruise walking (9-10 months)
• Stands alone (11-12 months)
• Walks alone (12-13 months)

Fine Motor Skills:

• Reflexive grasp (birth)
• Ineffective pre-reaching (1-3 months)
• Voluntary grasp (3 months)
• Successful reach and grasp (4-5 months)
• Controlled reach and grasp (6-7 months)
• Pincer grasp with thumb and forefinger (9 months)
• Claps hands (10 months)
• Releases objects crudely (12-14 months)
• Controlled release (18 months)

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My Favorite Television Shows This Season

It's another hot, humid and cloudy day today. I wish we would get a nice big storm or something! It seems like it's going to but it just never does. We could really use the rain. It rained a tiny bit the other day, but we need a lot more than that. Some areas around us had baseball-sized hail, which we can do without. We just need the thunder, lightning and rain part of it! 

All three babies are sleeping, I probably should be too, but every time I try to take a nap during the day, I get super lazy and sleepy and spend the rest of the day trying to stay awake. It's better that I don't even take one! I will spend the time writing this blog post instead. The poor babies had their two month check up yesterday and of course they got some shots as well. So they've had a fever all night and still don't feel good today. 

Everything is so different with them than it was with my first little guy. He never got a fever or was cranky or anything after his shots. Their skin is much more sensitive than his ever was. In the evenings they tend to get really fussy and sometimes like to scream and cry for no reason and nothing will settle them down. Little man was never like that, I think he might have been the perfect baby. Or maybe I'm forgetting how things really were...that is always possible. 

We have been working with little man to get him to practice walking. He has taken his first few steps already, and he stands on his own just fine, he just seems to be scared to actually walk by himself. He has started walking on his knees lately, it's quite funny. I'm sure he will start walking any day now.

Since my husband works so much and by the time he gets home we have to eat dinner, give baths and get the kids to bed, the only thing we really have time to do in the evening is watch some TV. The great thing is we both like the same shows. How cool is that? Here are the shows that we will be watching this season and some we have been watching this summer. They are listed from my favorite to least favorite.  

1. The Walking Dead: This one I just started watching since the end of the last season and I love it. Never thought I would like it.

2. Sherlock: So excited for this one! If you haven't seen it you have to.

3. New Girl: Hilarious and weird, that's why I like it.

4. Under the Dome: Summer show, not much like the book at all, but still very good

5. Once Upon a Time: I am in love with fairy tales, so this is the perfect show for me

6. Supernatural: I didn't like this show that much at first, but after watching all the seasons on Netflix, I'm kind of hooked

7. Castle: My husband's favorite and it is pretty good.

8. Bones: Getting a little old after being on so long, but I am still a fan

9. Dexter: I've only seen the last couple of seasons, but I want to watch the first ones. I wish it was still on Netflix. This one is also a summer show.

10. The Big Bang Theory: Another of my husband's favorites. I watch it mostly because he does, but it's pretty funny at times.

11. Burn Notice: Another summer show, very far-fetched but awesome at the same time

12. How I Met Your Mother: Loved the first few seasons so much, but it has gotten a little meh lately...

(Click on the photos for sources)

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Slow-Cooker Taco Soup

So remember my post about staying motivated last week? Well I think I need to read it again, today I have not been motivated to do anything at all! It probably has something to do with the grey, dreary weather outside because that never helps. I did finally get some stuff done but it took me alllll day before I started. The good thing is we finally got some raid that we desperately needed.

This delicious soup is a perfect meal to have on days when you don't feel like doing much. It cooks in the slow cooker all day long and you don't have to do anything else once you start it! It's also very good (and fairly spicy). It made a lot of soup, for us it was about three meals worth. We had corn bread with it one time, you can pour the soup over the bread and it's really good. Another meal we had rice with it and I put that into my soup which was also very yummy.

Taco Soup (adapted from examiner.com)

• 1 pound of ground beef
• 1 Tablespoon minced onion
• 1 (16 ounce) can of chili beans, with liquid
• 1 (15 ounce) can of kidney beans, with liquid
• 1 (15 ounce) can of whole kernel corn, with liquid
• 1 (8 ounce) can of tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 package of taco seasoning mix

1. In a skillet, brown the ground beef and drain the grease.

2. Combine everything in your slow cooker, mix to combine and cook on low for 8 - 10 hours. 

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Raising Imperfection Link Party!

It’s Sunday! ~ Welcome to Week #34 of Raising Imperfection!

ANNOUNCEMENT: NO link party next Sunday the 2nd {It's Memorial Day Weekend!}

It's your favorite post Sunday link party!

We hope you all enjoyed having last Sunday off but we are back to see what you've been up to the last two weeks! Please view our very short introduction video for some announcements.

Be sure to come back for Feature Fridays! Leslie and I choose our favorite links from the link up and feature them!If you missed the last features, you can see them HERE.

Please grab our link party button!

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Please also visit your co-hostess for the month of August:

Erin - Unconventional Mommy Tails

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Favorite Fall Fonts

I love fall, it's my favorite time of year. Right now it still feels like summer out and I wish it would cool off just a little, I'm ready for some autumn weather! Another thing that I love is fonts. It takes me forever to find just the right font for my projects. Here are my favorite fonts for any fall projects! These are all free fonts, check out the links below to download each one.

Janda Apple Cobbler // Blood Crow // Return to Sender // Marketing Script
American Typewriter // Little Lord Fontleroy // Cooper Black // Army Stamp
Clive Barker // Dream Orphans // All Things New


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How to Stay Motivated

I don't know about you, but I have so many different goals I would like to accomplish around the house, with the kids as well as fitness and other personal goals and it can be a challenge sometimes to stay motivated. Being able to stay motivated is the only way I can get anything done, otherwise I would end up sitting around all day thinking about what I want to do but never actually doing it! Here are some ways that I stay motivated to accomplish as much as possible in between feeding and taking care of my boys.

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Make lists. I love making lists! I probably make way too many of them. I have so many lists everywhere, sometimes I don't remember what they are for. The key with this one is to make your lists manageable. If I have a super long list for the day that I can't possibly get done, I'll probably end up being discouraged when I can't get everything crossed off. Of course, for this to work, I actually have to do the things on my list as well. It's a good way for me to organize my thoughts and make a plan for the day and I get to see what kind of progress I'm making as I cross things off!

Limit your time on the computer and social media. Yeah, I'm still working on this one. Time has a tendency to slip away unnoticed while I'm looking at pins on Pinterest or reading updates on Facebook. Before I know it the entire morning is gone without having done anything productive.

Listen to awesome music. Listening to music is a very big motivator for me. It can keep me going when I just want to sit down and be lazy.

Focus on the end result. Maybe you just don't feel like cleaning up the kitchen or working out today. Don't think about how hard it is, think about how great it feels when you have a sparkling clean kitchen or you finish up a workout. You are one step closer to your bigger goal!

Make it fun! Try to think of ways you can make this task more interesting and enjoyable. I think a lot of this is just having a great attitude. For me, when I have a good attitude towards something, it's much easier to accomplish and I can even have fun doing it!

Try a new approach. Maybe the way you have been doing something all along just isn't working for you. Try something new! There's no reason to keep doing it the same old way if it's not really working. Don't limit your options by refusing to try something different!

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I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago and since then have decided to add a little more:

One thing I have to remember is that there is only so much time in the day and I can't always get everything done that I wanted to do, especially right now with so many babies to take care of. It can get frustrating but then I try to remind myself that taking care of my boys is just as important as folding the laundry or washing the floor. Being motivated to get lots of stuff done is great, but all the little things count too, even though I might not realize it at the time. They will only be babies for a short time and I need to enjoy it while I can! 

I hope these tips inspire you with ways to stay motivated! What are some other ways that you have found to help you when you don't feel like doing anything? 

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Learning Shapes: A Fun Project with Duck Tape®

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walmart. All opinions are 100% mine.

Since school is about to start soon (it’s already starting on Monday here) I’m sure everyone is buying lots of back to school supplies. If your kids want to have some fun and personalize their notebooks, pencils, locker mirrors or really anything else, an inexpensive and creative way to do that is with Duck Tape®. You can buy Duck Tape at Walmart, where they have an awesome assortment of colors and patterns. We found it in the paint department when we were there.  

Along with decorating your school supplies, you can even use Duck Tape® to create new things like lunch money holders or small bags. I found tons of great ideas on Pinterest, if you are looking for inspiration. Since we don’t have any kids who are school age, we don’t really need to buy any school supplies. There are many other uses for Duck Tape®, though. I used it to make a great learning activity for my little guy.

We cut out some simple shapes from cardboard and then I used Duck Tape® to cover them and make them more fun and colorful. It is a pretty simple process; I just measured and cut the Duck Tape® the size we needed before putting it on. The hard part was picking out the colors and patterns to use, there were too many to choose from! Little man had a lot of fun playing with the m, and now we have something to use to teach him shapes.

Duck Tape® is a great creative and inexpensive tool for both kids and teachers to use to decorate and personalize anything. Make sure you add it to your back to school shopping list when you are shopping at Walmart. If you are looking for even more creative inspiration you can follow @TheDuckBrand on Twitter!

Fall Bucket List

I know its not officially fall yet, but school has already started here so even though it is about 95 degrees outside, it feels like fall is pretty much here. Besides, it's always good to plan ahead, right? That's something I need to get better at...

It's really strange that just as school is starting we get just about the hottest weather we've had all summer. It's been a weird year for weather, that's for sure. Summer is great, I love being outside in the sun and going to the lakes and all that fun stuff, but fall is my favorite season! I love the crisp air and the crunchy leaves! I miss Minnesota for that, we barely have any trees here and none at all in our yard. No raking leaves for us sadly. 

Another reason I love fall is that my birthday is in November. (Which means I'm only a couple short months away from thirty, yikes!) Every few years it falls on Thanksgiving which is awesome, I get pumpkin pie for my birthday! I used to not like cake, that has recently changed, although I hate white cake still. I also don't really like ice cream. I know, I'm way too picky. Want to know what else I secretly don't like: peppers, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and olives. I don't like to tell people this because I sound like a little kid! (Except my kid loves these things).

So here it is, our bucket list for this fall. Hopefully we are able to check off most of these things!

So what about you? What is on your fall bucket list this year?

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Cheesy Dorito Casserole

Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. It was pretty hot here for once. Lately it's been a bit cooler than normal but it actually felt like August the last couple of days. I think it is supposed to be nice and warm all week long. Our weekend went by really fast, as usual. We tried to get a few projects done and do our errands. 

Little man is getting his first molars in and has been rather crabby all week. We tried to skip his morning nap on Saturday and I guess he just isn't ready for that yet. He was very tired all day long. He turned 14 months on Friday and we've been trying to get him to practice taking steps with us but he just doesn't want to do it yet. I'm sure he will soon, for now he is happy crawling. 

This week I have another easy chicken recipe that your whole family is sure to love. When I made it I wasn't sure how it would end up tasting because it looked a little weird. It ended up being really good though! I will definitely be making it again. The recipe is adapted from one on keyingredient.

Cheesy Dorito Casserole

• 3 cups cooked chicken, chopped
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/2 cups salsa
• 1 can of whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 bag nacho cheese Doritos 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

2. Crush the entire bag of Doritos and cover the bottom of the pan. 

3. Mix the remaining ingredients, except one cup of cheese, together in a large bowl.

4. Pour mixture over the Doritos and bake for 20 minutes. 

5. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake an additional 5 minutes. 

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30 Day Fitness Challenge

Want to know some awesome news? I decided to try on a few more of my regular jeans this week and they fit this time! How exciting is that?! I haven't really lost any weight in the last few weeks, it's been about the same, so I figured my pants still wouldn't fit right. That is why I was so surprised. This working out must actually be working a little bit. It's very slow, much slower than I would like, but eventually I will get to where I want to be! 

I decided to come up with a 30 day fitness challenge. I'm starting today and very excited about it! If anyone wants to join me, feel free to check it out. It's really fairly easy I think, and shouldn't be too hard for anyone to do. I'm sure it is way too easy for anyone who has been working out regularly. I think last time I talked about doing sit ups I wasn't able to do one, but thankfully I am now able to again. Now this isn't the only thing I'm doing for a workout, but just a fun challenge for myself to try to do. It helps me to have a goal to work towards and who doesn't like a challenge? (Maybe that's just me, I'm way too competitive.)

I have also been eating more fresh fruits and vegetables than I ever have before and trying to drink one full glass of water before each meal. I even decided that I like cucumbers, which previously I didn't really care for. So here is my 30 day fitness challenge for myself and anyone else who wants to join me. If you have any suggestions about it, please let me know. Remember if you are working out after a pregnancy and your abs are still separated, doing sit ups and crunches will only make them worse, so you probably won't want to do this challenge.

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10 Awesome Playroom Ideas

This post is all about some awesome ideas for a children's playroom. Some day I am going to do something cool like this down in our family room. Right now we never even go down there because it's a lot of work carrying three kids up and down the stairs all the time! So instead we stay upstairs; that's where everything is right now anyways. When they get a little older we will end up playing downstairs instead, but that will be a little ways off still!

For now I will just have to settle to planning it out in my head and looking for more great ideas. It's too bad you can't use every awesome idea that you find, isn't it? There's just not enough space...

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A fun little castle playhouse built into the corner of a room.

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 I love these shelves for books on the wall!

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 This looks like a lot of fun for older kids.

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 I really like the bookshelves and bench together, and the poster on the wall is my favorite part!

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 Here is another idea for putting the alphabet on the wall. I love the bright colors.

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 These colorful shelves are fantastic! I would love to have something like this in the house. And the second awesome thing in this picture: that huge Spiderman figure. I want that.

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A really cool houseboat playhouse and I like the way they have the curtains dividing up the room.

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Cheri over at I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar has an awesome idea for artwork to use!

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 Another Spiderman one. Can you tell I have a thing for superheroes?

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I love the maps on the wall and the globes hanging from the ceiling.

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