Up up update on Monkey

The appointment went fabulous, even though trust me, there were many times when I thought "what a bunch of wackos we are!"

Having constant anxiety can make you feel like a prisoner in your own body, you are often frozen by fear and unable to think rationally. You want to scream and run away. With me, it is large crowds and too many different sounds at once. Sometimes I find myself wanting to shout "shuuuuut the f_ck up!" It is complete "fight or flight." I hate to think that Monkey is going through this experience, but I am glad that I know enough about it to get her the help she needs to calm her nerves.

What a pain to be hindered by irrational fears. Monkey must have peaked in the door 5 times to make sure I was still there during a time when the doctor wanted to speak to only me. She is afraid that I will leave her a often times runs in the room strickened with fear of the thought that I might have left her without telling her.

The doctor mentioned that we would be learning to manage her anxiety and panic. She plans on teaching us ways to keep anxiety and panic attacks from taking over. Right away, I was thinking "great, here we go...123....321...what the heck is bothering me?" I was pleasantly surprised when she was able to share an exercise with Monkey that I could actually see has the potential to work!

My top favorite non lame cheap activities to do with kids

Sometimes I look up cheap things to do with my kiddos, and see tons of suggested lists. Most of the time I come across suggestions that would make my kids look at me like I was crazy! It is because of this that I have compiled a list of my top 10 cheap things to do with you kids. Some are specific to Houston, but if you ever visit the Houston area, you will know where to take the kids without breaking the vacation piggy bank.

Remember all 10 are my top favorites...in no particular order.

1.) Visit a kids Museum. This needs to be a museum that is geared toward kids and what they actually want to do. The Houston Children's Museum offers specials on Thurs. night for free admission to everyone! If you prefer to attend on a non chaotic day, a regular day will cost you only $7 per person and $5 for parking if you choose to use their parking garage.

2.) Check out the park! Not a lame park ether! If you are in Houston, Discovery Green is an awesome spot to walk around and let the kids tumble down the hilly grass or check out the free activities that are often offered at Discovery Park. They host free events such as family yoga, puppet shows, movie nights, and art festivals, plus many more! Check out the calendar HERE!

3.) Rent a DVD and have a movie night complete with popcorn and other junk you usually don't allow them to eat. Let them pick the movie!

4.) Take your kids to a used book store. I take my daughter to the nearby Half Priced Books store, and at $1, $2, and $3, a piece for kids books, we both walk out with tons of books. I always set a budget for myself of about $15. $15 gets you a lot of kids books! You might want to jump it to $20 if you think you might find some books for yourself too.

5.) Play loud music and dance around! This sounds simple enough, but think about how often you do this? That is what makes it special for your kids. Mine love to do this, especially to the Kids Bop CD's!! (you can find these on itunes for as little as $1!)

6.) Pimp up your old t-shirts to make them new again! Okay maybe you wont actually wear them...but its fun! Get ideas for t-shirt pimpin' here!

7.) Remember the Library? If you have small children, check out the libraries calendar of events and they will most likely have "story times" for your kids to listen in on.

8.) Splash it up! You can of course visit a pool, but with smaller kids there are some really neat options. Buy a sprinkler types attachment or toy for your water hose and let your kids run in circles under the spray! ( I suggest the Ultimate Beach Ball Sprinkler by Little Tikes for only 14.99) I know I am taking it back old school...but someone had to.

9.) Finger paint or sidewalk chalk it! These possibilities are endless!! For the clean freak mom...I would suggest the Crayola Color Wonder Finger paint that is clear until it is on the special paper.

10.) Try a craft. I know this one sounds obvious, but it hardly ever fails. That is of course as long as you let your kids help in deciding what the craft will be. Here is a place to start!

my first time...

Can we do it all? I would really like to think so. Are we strong enough to juggle a job (home or office), toddlers, and crybaby husbands? The answer is yes! The excitement of getting it "all done" is what keeps us going, right? Check out some awesome ways to take care of yourself in the process.

• Relaxation in just 10 minutes!
• Stretching just for mommies
• Glass of wine to relax...yes or no?
• Spa? Yes please!
• Anxiety breathing techniques (let me know if this works)