Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Holiday Photos

I can't believe that Christmas is right around the corner.  This year I was totally not prepared but I've managed to get it together just in time and now I can't wait!! I'm kinda glad that I waited so long to prepare because I'm like a little kid right now and can't wait for the kids to see everything!! Christmas is always such a fun time of year and by far my favorite! It's time with family all gathering together and sharing great food. Although this year is special to our sweet little family as this year is our first Christmas together as being married. We have had quite the year so far and some days it's still hard to believe that we were married just two short months ago.  Time sure does fly by and yet slowly creeps away, funny how that works!  We are so excited to embark on this life together and the holiday season is just the start!!
I live in awe every day that this is my life and that this is my tribe.  I'm truly blessed to have these guys surround me everyday and support me through life. Now don't get me wrong we are all human and we have our moments where we may "love them" but not necessarily "like them right now".  Although I will say these are far and few between as we learn more about each other everyday and choose to live our life full of fun and laughter instead.  Brandon and I find ourselves saying that life is to short to be serious all the time so why not have fun (although I'll admit, he's way better at it then I am!)! I'm slowly getting caught up but sometimes I find myself sitting back and watching him with the kids, and it just melts my heart and brings tears to my eyes.  This is what life is, happiness.  Pure happiness filled with kids being kids, playing, laughing and being silly.  

We all had so much fun taking these holiday photos and I'm in love with the way they all turned out!  We wanted some silly one's (because why not?!) and some more down to earth normal one's (but who are we kidding, we aren't the average normal family)!  I had a hard time choosing which one's I loved the most as they represent our sweet little family oh so well!
Ha absolutely love this one!! This show's all our true colors for sure!!! Why not have fun with your kids? They only get one childhood and we need to make it count!! Now don't get me wrong we do have discipline but we pick our battles with them and teach them the important things.  I believe that they need to be kids and play, have fun and goof off.  Which is why I can't wait till Christmas too as their gifts this year was a theme of "imagination", so many great things to build up their imaginations and let them be little! (Side note never did a "theme before but have to say it was an awesome idea and makes shopping oh so easy!)  Brandon and I can't wait to have them open every thing up (and maybe because we both want to play with it all too, as we bought a lot saying, "hey this looks like so much fun that I want to play!").  But if we are honest with ourselves don't we buy some gifts for them only for that fact?  We can't be the only ones?!  My kids are my world and with Brandon coming into our family he has brought us so much joy that I never imagined possible!  The kids love him and run to him with open arms and it's just the best feeling in the world to see them act this way. But aren't these photos just oh so precious?!
I started this blog to keep track of things on our new journey and so that one day I could look back and read all these again and reminisce on those sweet moments. (And this is way easier the trying to print them all off!)  To be able to share them with my kids and show them how blessed we truly are when we loose our way and life gets tough.  We need to remember the good things in life and stay positive. The kids are adjusting and they aren't huge fans of taking photos or doing videos (well who am I kidding Elise loves it, but Riley not so much!) but that's something we are going to work on so we can have all these beautiful memories!! I also want this blog to inspire others as we are all in this life together and most of us can relate to others with just knowing more about them and what they have been through.  This is a goal or a dream per-say and I'm happy to share my life and fun silly stories and events (the good and the bad) with all of you! Stay close to your family and hold tight to what is near and what you have.  Never think for a moment that your life isn't worth anything because look at the people that surround you, they are your life!! Make the best out of what life hands you and above all things laugh!! Laughter is worth so much and is so precious!  
So from our happy little family to yours we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Years!! 

And again here is a little song that I heard just the other day and it's again oh so fitting!!! Enjoy this Holiday Season everyone!!

Sunday, December 11, 2016

How I do what I do

From time and time again I get asked how I do what I do.  I get asked how I manage everything and how I got to where I am today.  How I have the patience, the energy, the time and most of all, how I pack that all into a day.  Now if I was being completely honest I would say I have no idea how I do all these things. But then that wouldn't really be fair and I wouldn't be giving any advice or crazy knowledge to what I may have experienced.  I'm no expert on any of these topics (as I have mentioned that before) and I'm no motivational speaker.  But, what I do know has take me a very long time to learn.

So how do I do what I do?! A question I hear a lot!! I hear it from everyone and it's the most common question that people ask after they learn I have and run and in home daycare.  Now as I have shared briefly before it can be rewarding and yet challenging.  Some days are amazing and the kids are great and they play and get along, and some days are the complete opposite.  With running a daycare you really never know what your going to get! You have to be on your toes and be ready for anything, kids can do things in a second (as mom's know this happens all the time).  One minute the kids are playing and are quiet and the next they are running around with buckets on their heads and running into walls (literally).  The kids can be so sweet and melt my heart and other days they make me want to pull my hair out.  But with everything they do on a day to day basis the good, the bad and the ugly they are my sweet daycare babies and they are my world.  But how do I do it?  With the old old saying....."Pick your battles wisely" and "Don't fret over the small things".  I know I know a lot of you are thinking oh that's so easier said then done...and your right, it is.  It takes so much practice to learn these simple old sayings.  I'll admit I wasn't the best at following these sayings too, but again with an old saying, "practice makes perfect" it really does.  Learn to let things go, know that the kids are just being kids.  Know what you need to teach them and instill that on them, don't nag them about what they are doing wrong.  Kids are inevitably going to drive you nuts and make you sit there thinking, "what where you thinking!?", but instead of exploding at them for spilling milk, or dumping out the toys or even hitting their sibling, sit back and take a deep breathe and instead of reacting think of what you are wanting them to learn and again instill that in them.  It's hard, trust me I know I've been there way to many times.  But what I have learned not only by practicing this with the daycare kids but also with my own kids is that the reward is so much more!!  These kids have only one childhood and we need to make the best of it.  We need to fill their lives with joy, fun, laughter and smiles!  The more we learn to "pick our battles" with the kids the more we all find joy in the life we are given!!  So again this is something that I've learned to manage and practice and I will say that over all life is better!

So what about just everyday life and how I have gotten to where I am.  Life isn't measured by success and how well we are doing in our jobs (at least we shouldn't think like this!) and my life hasn't been exactly how I imagined but this is the life I was given and I need to make the best of it.  I've learned to live in the now and not to fret over the life I want or what the future holds. I have to stay focused on my life, on my goals and be happy with what I have.  Now that doesn't mean I still don't daydream about what life could be or what if I was to do something different, we are all human and we all think this way from time to time.  But what I do know is that it's best to set life goals and do whatever it takes to achieve them.  Don't let things get you down when life gets hard or something goes not as planned.  This is also like the old saying of "don't fret the small things" and this took me a long time to learn as well.  There are things that happen in life that make us go crazy and we find our first reaction to freak out and stress.  We just need to learn to know that "everything happens for a reason" and that "with every door shut another one opens".  Stressing over things not going our way really isn't going to do anything for you besides being more stressed!  Now i'm not saying I live a stress free life as we all know life is stressful!  But what I am saying is that "when life hands you lemons make lemonade!"  Stress leads to so much more issues and we don't want to do that ourselves so why even stress over something that is out of your control?!  But learning to funnel your stress to something it really helps you live the life of joy and peace.  Just like the kids you only get one shoot at this crazy life so you have to make the best of it and live the life you've always wanted and imagined.

So with all this being said it's how I get through my days, it's how I manage life and all the things life throw at me.  In my house we have learned so much by "not fretting the small things" and by "picking the battles" and by most of all laughing!!! Life is to short to be serious all the time so we laugh!! And a family that laughs together stays together right?!  We are family and we are in this together and though we may not have it all together as a family we have it all!


So you all will learn soon enough, and maybe you have picked up on it already but I love linking songs to almost every situation that I am faced with.  And let's face it there is a song for everything!! So embrace it and listen and just enjoy life as it is handed to you!
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGB7IWklW3s

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Dream wedding and Blessed Life

I've had my share of crazy, the ups and the downs and living on the roller coaster. My life has seen a lot of things happen, some good and some bad. The one thing I can take away from all of it is that I'm truly blessed to have the life I have. I'm blessed to have the things I have and the people that surround me. The people that surround me are way more important then the things that I have. The people that surround me, are what keep me going in this crazy life of the roller coaster and that bring me back to down to get off. After recently being married on October 9th 2016 these people that surround me are my LIFE! My hubby is what keeps me grounded and my kids are what keep me on my toes! I still can't believe that we are married and while it seems like just yesterday, life has made the time go by way to fast already! I still find myself looking at the wedding photos and remembering every little detail from that day. It was our dream wedding and something we always wanted!

 Our amazing wedding was a dream come true. To not only marry the love of my life, but to also have our fairly tale ending.  The words to have and to hold are words that are dear to my heart as the feeling of being held by my hubby makes me feel safe, secure and loved. To have and to hold isn't only for me it's for my kids. As I am to hold my sweet little babies in this walk of life and that Brandon will hold their hands as well and guide them through life. We are all in this life together and we will all take our turns on holding each other.  Looking back on the wedding and living through the memories of the photos always make me feel blessed, happy and so overwhelmed with joy for the life that I have.
Looking at these photos of Riley looking up at Brandon and Elise looking at me are more then precious. It's symbolic of how we are living our little lives. They look up to us and learn from us. We are to show them what Love is! We get the privilege to walk them through the crazy life and show them how to ride the roller coaster and when to get off.  Life isn't always easy but I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else then this crew right here. These are my people and i'm beyond blessed to have them in my life, doing life with me.


 My life is completely BLESSED! I'm in awe everyday that this is the life I was given to live! We have our days that make us feel lost, upset with the crazy day, sad when things don't go as planned and just confused but we are all human. We will all have those days but it's so important to hold onto the days that fill us with laughter, smiles and pure joy! To make the best with what life is handing us and to not let it slip away. Live the life you have always imagined for yourself. Be grateful for the little things and praise God for getting you through. Hold onto to the loved ones surrounding you, your people, as life is short and we should be thankful for every minute we have, to have and to hold, forever and ever.

This song we stumbled across when we searched for wedding songs. It wasn't our first dance song but we have all fallen in love with this song and every time I listen to it, it stills brings tears in my eyes. Perfect ending for my blog post so I hope you enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an4ySOlsUMY

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Drowning in a Busy Life with Crazy Kids

Life is busy.....very busy! It is for everyone and that looks different for everyone too. I'm no expert on this subject as I too am still trying to find the balance in this crazy life! I'm trying to find the time to do the job (well job's) that I love and balance that with a family and all the things the kids do through out the week! I run a daycare out my home so that keeps me busy on a day to day basis and on my toes for sure (but not a lot of time to tackle any daily tasks of my own). Then I do Young Living Essential Oils so that includes classes, vendor events and following up with a lot of people! Plus add in the kids both doing gymnastics and then Elise has a dance class during the week (which Riley now wants to take up soccer again too). Oh my goodness, how do I make it through my week sometimes?! Well it's not always easy and some weeks are way more busier then others but in some weird way I kinda like it like that. I can remember the days before kids where I would have ample time to get whatever it was that I wanted to get done....DONE! The days of scrap booking while watching some TV and having a glass of wine, oh those were the days. Now, I'm lucky if I ever get a project done (on time). Most days there are loads of laundry to get done, dishes, cleaning, things I want to get done and oh yeah, the load of laundry that I left in the washer from the other day! With the amount of things that need to get done in a day I feel like some days I'm completely drowning! But aren't we all?! I'm slowly learning how to handle and manage my crazy life so that it works for everyone (which is the hardest part). We all have our own needs and figuring out what works best is proving to be difficult! I have to, those days that I feel like I can't keep up and that I'm drowning in a sea of things that I can't seem to catch up with. Balancing is for sure a thing I need to work on and everyday I learn something new on how to handle it. I have to balance out work, events that I'm doing and putting on, time with my husband, time with the kids and well just LIFE! Most days I carry that mom guilt that all us moms feel. The feeling of maybe I did something wrong, did I yell or get after them?, did I spend enough time with them? Those feelings can haunt us and pull us into the drowning feeling we all feel. As I learn to balance out my life I'm also learning that I need to just try my best everyday and that's all I can do. But the bottom line is my life will always be crazy in a variety of ways until I'm old (at least I hope at that point it's not crazy!) I just need to embrace life as it is thrown at me and go with the flow of things rather then spending my time worrying about what I did wrong that day or what I could've done different. Life is to short to be serious all the time and now is the time to have fun! As I'm also learning the balancing act with life I do feel like some organization needs to come with it! So therefore my house shall become organized!! It kinda already is but this is my goal over the next couple months (well would love for it to be before Christmas but that't pushing it!) I'm going to do a little task at a time and go from there, one thing at a time. With the plan of organization I also plan to redo the kids rooms and make it more like their playroom area with imagination and fun! As they have to share the play area we have now with the daycare kids it's becoming a top list priority for them to get a space that is for them (besides it just being their rooms). I have big plans for them and I really hope they like it! My overall goal with doing that is to bring me back up for air and reality. To enjoy the things in life with my kids and embrace it. To stop drowning in the sea of craziness and spend the quality time with them in their space of imagination! We will all get through our life and make the best out of what we were given. Reality is we will drown from time to time and that's ok. We will all be ok and come back up for air. Balance is key and once we all figure out what works for us, that's when you jump in and embrace it and don't ever let it go!

Thursday, November 3, 2016

What do I feed my kids......Lunch Ideas!

What do I feed my kids??? A question I hear a lot and honestly a lot of people seem to get stuck in this area. It doesn't have to be fancy but it does need some variety, so that in hopes they eat better and more. So, I get a lot of questions on what I feed all my daycare babies.  And it can be a handful at times feeding 8 plus kids for breakfast, lunch and snack and I too, quickly run out of ideas! So I'm left to make it fun and interesting for the kids so they are hopefully a little less picky(which who doesn't have a picky eater!) So I've decided to share a weeks worth of lunch ideas to hopefully inspire you to make some fun meals and maybe find and try something new!

So I'm required to give my daycare babies a variety of foods with fruits, vegetables, protein and bread, which sometimes can make meal planning a little easier! I plan out all my meals from daycare to home (including Elise and Brandon's lunches). That way I have a game plan and options for the week and can stick to a shopping list. Plus it also helps me not over buy when it comes to the dreaded grocery store shopping, my least favorite chore! Although I've recently come to love of online shopping and that makes grocery shopping a little less of a pain!

So what do I feed these kids? I only pictures Monday's meal as you probably get the idea of what everything looks like! So here it is:
                                                                               Monday- This was Halloween so 
today was a little bit more special lunch
They had spider PB/J with pretzel legs
grapes kabobs, banana and blueberries
cheese stick and kettle corn.

Tuesday-
So this is a huge favorite and we make this several 
different way, but today it was simple.
Cheese and black bean quesadillas (sometimes we add in grilled chicken and kale and it's awesome!)
corn, pineapple, salsa and
tortilla chips for dipping. 

Wednesday-
So this is kinda a fancy lunch (sorta) but they all love it!
Their "fancy" consist's of:
Grilled Chicken (just with salt and pepper)
white rice, green beans, peaches and everyone's favorite
garlic bread!

Thursday-
So this is a complete "duh" meal, it's a meal that kids LOVE, 
you can probably guess what it is....my son asks for this all the time.....
If you said SPAGHETTI the your right!!!
Sometimes I will add tiny mushrooms and they never notice!
So with that they had apple slices, salad with ranch and
honey carrots! (these are awesome and sooooo yummy!)

Friday-
Chicken Enchilada's
(I make this in the crock pot and cheat and layer tortilla, sauce, shredded chicken and cheese and repeat) you can also add black beans and kale!
it takes only 3 hours so I can usually get this in in the morning and we are set!
I serve this with tortilla chips so they can scoop it up and ranch ( they usually eat anything with ranch!)
We also have corn, steamed broccoli and mandarin oranges

So obviously some of these ideas either you probably already try or do but it just gives you an idea what I do for my kids! I do give my kids breakfast and snack and those ideas I honestly usually just put on a rotation so that it makes planning a lot easier! But here are some ideas:
Breakfast ( we also have to give them a side of fruit with whatever is listed!):
Cinnamon Rolls
Pancakes
PB toast
Cereal
Egg tacos
Banana Bread
Blueberry Muffins
Biscuits and Gravy (everyone's favorite!)
Just to name a few

Snacks:
Trail mix (chex cereal, kettle corn, marshmallows, peanuts and pretzels)
Pumpkin muffins
Brocomole and tort chips (sooo yummy!)  
Pizza Bagels (homemade)
Rice cakes
Cottage Cheese and fruit
Pepperoni, cheese and crackers
granola bars and yogurt

So hopefully those give you some quick simple ideas when you are thinking of planning on what to feed the kids and family! I'm already looking at next week lunches and have the base planned and they are:
Monday-Chili Mac (great for fall weather!) and cornbread
Tuesday- Cinnamon french toast with eggs and sausage
Wednesday- Open face Chicken pot pies over biscuits
Thursday- Re fried bean (homemade) and salsa tortillas
Friday- Ham and cheese roll ups with broccoli salad

So that is what goes on at my house at lunch! It's a lot to make 8 plates and any given time and feed two babies! That means lots of dishes, cleaning and tons of messy chairs and floors! They are precious little tiny humans though and even though they are messy they are the best!
Enjoy!









Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Kids.......

Kids.....oh my sweet little kids, I love you more than you'll ever know. I wish I could say that I completely understand you all the time (because let's face it, I'm your mom and I should know right?!) but, the fact is.......I don't. I so badly wish I could go into your little minds and figure out your thinking and why you do what you do. I wish I could figure out why my adorable, sweet little son feels the need to run up to me and say, "Hey mom, take this!", while bending over with his little tush and farting and running away (can we just say, gross!) Now mind you he is only four and at his age farting is amazing and fascinating to him. And I know I'm not the only mom that has a kid that thinks farting is awesome, as my daycare kids feel the need to tell me every time that they do it. But kids are fascinating to watch that's for sure and they are also hilarious to watch. I just wish I could figure them out!

So I'm still learning about the weird things kids do, as most parents probably are, and almost every day they do something that leaves me with the deer in the headlights look. For example.....look at these blocks and capes.....




They look exactly the same don't they?! But oh no.....I guarantee that they are not the same. You see the ones on the right were in someone else's hand, being played with, so therefore that makes that toy (which is the exact same as the other) WAY more important then the one on the left. Anyone else just completely astonished about this?! I mean no matter what I say or do to convince the child (the one that is screaming and crying because they want the "cool" toy) that it's the exact same toy, they will never be convinced.  That would be like me going into a store and I see someone in the aisle with the product that I'm going for. Just doing the weird grown up thing, holding it in our hands and reading everything about it before we make the decision to buy it (we are all guilty of this) and I come up and take it from them because they touched it and so therefore it has to be WAY better then the one on the shelf right?! Well of course we wouldn't (well I hope that you wouldn't do that). And I know, we as adults wouldn't think to do that, but why is it that kids do this over almost everything!? Does the other toy have magical special powers? Is it that in some way the kids are secretly jealous that the other child made something way cooler?! Whatever it is that goes through those little tiny minds when they do this, I wish I could figure it out! I wish I could somehow make a collar that reads their minds, you know like the collar for Dug the talking dog wears in the Movie Up? Wouldn't that be awesome???!! But instead the only way I found to resolve the issue was to ask the child (in this case, the child with the way cooler version of the toy) if they wanted the other one (you know the exact same replica) and switch......doesn't sound easy does it. But what would you know....it worked! The kids switched the toys and in some odd way the world is fine again! I mean what just happened??

Like I said I wish I could totally understand why kids do things and why they are at sometimes a little complicated. But then again if I knew how to really understand them, then life wouldn't be full of craziness and fun right?! Although I'll admit, I would go through a lot less wine. But none the less I sometimes enjoy the chaos and silly crazy things they do (even though I want to pull my hair out and possibly start wearing a gas mask due to Riley), but it makes me laugh and therefore that makes me HAPPY! So the lesson I learn every time the kids are just the slightest bit crazy is to sit back and laugh (that and have a glass of wine), as they are silly tiny humans and let's just face it, they are the best tiny humans in the world!




Sunday, October 23, 2016

Seasons of life......for some reason I keep hearing this phrase and also find myself giving this advice to friends. But yet this is so true! We are all in a season of our lives and everyone's season will look different. For instance your season of life may be starting a new job, finishing your senior year in college, moving to a new city or state, having a newborn, starting a new life being married or even just finding yourself in a complete rut. Whatever your season is just know that it's just that, a season...it won't last forever and it will change just as seasons do.

I found myself really pondering on this thought as we did some furniture shopping this weekend. As we sat there, we were faced with a reality of getting either a leather couch (that let's face it, it's easier to keep clean with kids) or a fabric sofa (with in all reality the possibility of having crusted little boogies on it from the kids). I sat there really thinking if I really knew what this phrase meant to myself. I'll admit i'm no expert in this area but I do know I've learned a lot over the years and through my own experiences with the phrase. I've learned to let things go and not to hold onto everything bad or bitter in my life. I've learned that what I may really want, may not be a reality for awhile. For example the fact that I would love for my house to look like a picture from a magazine (but let's face it who wouldn't!) but that's just not our season right now. Our season is most definitely that our home is most functional and kid friendly. That our sweet little home is more based on my job (having to run a daycare in the living room and main area of the house) and that in this season we are giving up some of our space in order to run my business. We are in the season of life that is based around kids. Everything we do is based on our kids and putting them first and having fun!

As I went through my week I found this "season of life" phrase running through my head. I tried to sit back and observe everything, everything from the way I found myself thinking about life, the piles of laundry that need to be done, the cleaning that is eagerly awaiting for me and the way the kids play. As a mom and like all moms you know that your kids grow up way to fast! Elise was home from school two days this past week and I realized she's not such a little girl anymore. Even though she's only 7, she displays a little "grown up" personalty. She's not always a fan of having a house full of kids around while she's home and already tends to do the teenager thing of resorting to her room all day. Although there are times where she becomes a child again and plays outside with the others and colors to her hearts content. Although I'm not ready for her to really grow up, for her this is her "season of life". I often look at her and remember the sweet little baby girl I brought home. But she's not so little anymore and although I'll always hold onto those memories, I have to jump into this season of life with her before this to passes way to fast and changes.

As I continued to ponder this thought all week, I am too, in a new season of life with just being newly married. My sweet little family is in this new season together as we all learn and grow with the season. We may not have all the answers to this season that we are in, but we have to remind ourselves that it won't last forever as seasons come and seasons go. We get through them by having high hopes and dreams for the future. We hope to one day have our dream home that really does function well for our families needs and that one day I won't have to work as much so that I can spend more time with the kids. But for now we are content with the way things are as we can't rush this season. We just have to embrace it and enjoy the season we are in. Enjoy it by making sure we are spending time with the kids and making new traditions with them that they will remember, having fun and laughing at dinner, being silly and not serious all the time (Brandon is a pro at this, while I'll admit, I'm still learning) and making time for each other. Making it a point that we have date nights and not just date nights by ourselves but with friends. To make fun days with the kids so that they won't remember me as the mom who is always telling them to clean up their mess. We need to just sit back and let life happen.

It took me a long time to really understand it, but by the end of the week, I'll admit, I felt much better. I was able to look back at the week and truly feel comfortable with my new season of life. Ready to embark on this new season and just live life with a new perspective. Living my life with a daily reminder that this won't last forever so I need to embrace it and remember every moment and make the most out of it. Hold onto everything (even if it's not what I had planned). Because a season is just that, a season, it won't last forever as it will change just as season's do.
I remember hearing this song way back in high school and every now and then it comes up in my head. After listening to it again it's a perfect fit for our new season of life.



Tuesday, October 18, 2016

My new Journey

Welcome to my Journey, my new journey and a fresh start on life.  I've recently gotten married to my high school sweetheart and the Love of my Life! We were married on Oct. 9th, 2016 and we are still reminiscing our gorgeous, dream, fantasy wedding!  Not only am I a new wife embarking on this journey with my handsome new hubby, but I'm also a mom of 2. My 2 beautiful (but also a handful) kids are Elise age 7 and Riley age 4. They are the most complete opposites personalities, as they are true girl and full on boy. We most certainly have lots of make believe and fairy tales as well as Nerf  gun wars and fighting the bad guys.  Although they can be a handful at times they are the best kids ever! And now they have the best step dad ever as they have welcomed Brandon into their lives to share all the fun and make believe that he can handle!


After having my little girl I really wanted to stay home and not work but the timing just wasn't right. So Since she was about 2 years old I've run a daycare from my home. I've continued the daycare to this day and work along with my sister. We are always getting the questions of, "how do you do what you do?" or "how do you have patience for that", but my most favorite and one we get all the time is, "how many do you have?" Well on any given day we watch a total of 11 kids ranging in the ages of 7 months to 7 years. And yes you read that right we watch 11! That does include my two kids of course though! I'll be honest some days are crazy and some are wonderful. We get through the day by laughing at the small things, picking our battles and a lot coffee! I love all my daycare kids and even though they may drive me crazy at times I wouldn't change it for the world!