QUESTION: Dealing with a toddler on what to wear

How do I deal with my 4 year old daughter only wanting to wear tank tops and t-shirts when we live in shitty Ohio where it's COLD??  

Getting Cloe to wear anything other than a dress or shirt with short sleeves or a tank top is impossible in the mornings.... at least for me.  She doesn't give her dad any problems getting dressed, just me.  She will wear a sweater over her "tank top" shirt for a while, but always ends up taking it off.  

We fight every morning I try to get her to wear a long sleep sweater or sweatshirt - and jeans.  It's not just that it's COLD outside, but she has all these cute clothes that she never wears. 

I get so frustrated and end up blowing up at here.  She's crying, I'm mad and we end up being late... which then ends up in a very rushed, shitty morning.  It's not a good way to start the day.

Anyone have any recommendation to get her to wear weather appropriate clothes and NOT fight with me about it?  Has anyone else experienced this?

LIVE ~ LAUGH ~ LOVE

Unplugging

Last weekend Justin and I went to Columbus.  In the past we have gone away for our anniversary and this year we decided to get away but stay closer to home. We had a really great time ... I will blog about that another time. 

With all the family drama I have going on right now, I decided to completely unplug and turn both my phones OFF for the entire weekend.  This was a decision that took me way outside my comfort zone.  We use technology in every aspect of our lives and most of it is done on our phones.  I caught myself reached for my phone multiple times for basic everyday reasons:  directions, taking pictures, looking up WW points, even to pay for coffee at Starbucks! 

As difficult as I found it to be at times, I made it through the weekend.  It got easier as the weekend progressed.  At one point I found myself just sitting in the car in silence - a short moment of meditation.  Unplugging is something I think we all need to do once and a while.  We don't take enough time to just breath or take in what's around us.  

This was a very positive experience for me, so I have decided I am going to unplug once a month.  I have set a bigger challenge to make Elijah do the same.  This will be a much BIGGER & HARDER challenge given his nose is in his phone constantly. I don't want Cloe & Blake to grow up with their faces in a computer or a phone all the time.  By the time they are 16, they won't do anything that isn't electronic.  

Technology is so important to our everyday life, but every once and a while it's nice to UNPLUG & JUST BE!!


LIVE ~ LAUGH ~ LOVE

MOVIE NIGHT

Something so basic that makes my kids SO happy. 

It continues to amaze me how such little events bring such joy to Cloe & Blake.... I wish Elijah was still this innocent.  

A while back we had a movie night where the kids laid on the floor in their sleeping bags, I made everyone popcorn and we watched The Croods.  The kids LOVED it - we all did.  Ever since then, the little ones ask to have movie night multiple times a week.... As you all know, movie night can't happen every night but we make time for it at least once a night.

I can't wait till next week, Cloe is going to flip out!!  I pre-orded Frozen and it has already shipped.  It releases on DVD on Tuesday the 18th so will be super suprised.  She sings the music from Frozen at night when she goes to bed... it's so sweet.

This simple, easy, inexpensive weekly tradition brings joy to everyone in the family - even us big kids :-)

What weeknight activities does your family enjoy?
 
Have a fantastic weekend!
Always,
LIVE ~ LAUGH ~ LOVE