About Me

My name is Katie Norris and I am so thrilled to have you here!  I am the author of The Happy Mommy Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide on Keeping Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Busy, Out of Trouble, and Motivated to Learn.


I write about my life with my two preschoolers, who are very cute, but sometimes are crazy!  Within this blog, you will find engaging preschool activity ideas and toddler activity ideas. When my son was born, my daughter was 2 years old at the time and she quickly began a downward spiral into bratty town.  She started acting out and getting wild and I knew we had to do something, and fast.  I began researching child development and I became inspired by the idea that kids won't act out as much if they spend even a short amount of quality time with Mom or Dad, doing activities that are truly interesting and challenging, such as pouring sand, water, or rice, or even making a simple craft.  I was amazed at how quickly my daughter became well-behaved again.  When my son was about 18 months, he began acting very wild as well so I began including him in our little experiments and again, I witnessed a new child.  This chain of events is what inspired this blog and eventually my book, which I co-wrote with former Kindergarten Teacher and Author, Susan Case.


My husband (Hubby I will call him) is a doctor but still a resident and is gone ALL the time.  Since he's a resident he hardly makes any money so I am the main "breadwinner". Yes, my husband isn't home much.  Yes, the kids fight sometimes and thus cry.  A lot.  Yes, my house is often a mess and I hate traveling for work and being away from the kids.  Yet my life is sooo FUN.  I made the decision two years ago to never focus on the negative and it has made life so much easier.  I have devoted myself to the pursuit of worthwhile activities.  I research and come up with projects that help them learn, work on fine motor skills, social skills, or are just plain fun.  You can keep up with my projects and ideas through my blog and through Pinterest.  I love having new things for my kids to do and if I can give other Moms 30 minutes of blissful free time to do dishes, pay bills, or even eat bon bons, I've done my job!

To learn more about my preschool activity ideas or toddler activity ideas, you can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and RSS!

11 comments:

  1. Susan CaseSeptember 25, 2011 at 7:06 PM

    My daughter was a premie and weighed less than 3 1/2 pounds. People thought I was carrying around a doll instead of a baby! She is the joy of my life. Residents do spend a lot of time at the hospital with little pay. I admire doctors for their dedication - and their wife for helping them through school! I can't imagine running barefoot so good luck with that. I do enjoy walks.

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  2. CherylJanuary 27, 2012 at 9:27 AM

    Hi! Following you on Pinterest to see your craft activity ideas. Thanks for sharing!

    Found your site through the Blog Hop.

    ~ Cheryl at http://www.momsandmunchkins.ca/

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  3. CelesteannFebruary 22, 2012 at 9:35 PM

    From one ortho-wife to another, it gets better, right? Nice blog. I have kids the same age too.

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  4. UnknownFebruary 26, 2012 at 4:12 AM

    Celesteann nice to meet you! Fun to have another ortho wife! You know how it goes! :-)

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  5. LisaMarch 24, 2012 at 10:48 AM

    I'm not a Mommy yet, but I stumbled onto your blog on Pinterest. I teach Preschool and am always looking for crafty ideas and such, and Pinterest is a fabulous place for it. I've read through a bunch of your posts, and burst out laughing! (Especially the Cocoa story!) Thanks for making me smile on a Satruday morning. :)
    Lisa

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  6. UnknownMay 15, 2012 at 10:43 AM

    Hi! Glad to find you. I can pray for you since I, too went through med school and residency w/ my hsuband…It gets much better, I can assure you! :)
    I'm not such a crafty mom, so I can't wait to check out your ideas. Thank you!!
    Aloha--

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  7. LauziJune 9, 2012 at 4:49 AM

    Hi there, found your blog from a post at Tiaras and Bowties, and love your honesty and candour! I just wanted to let you know I'm a new follower and have grabbed your button. Please feel free to stop by my blog happylittlemunchkins.blogspot.com and say hi! :D

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  8. HollySeptember 27, 2012 at 6:20 PM

    Hi! I love your blog! I am a mommy to a 4 year old boy and 18 month old boy. My husband is in his last year of interventional radiology residency (a fellow now) hallelujah! Can't wait to see where we will be next year for the official job. I stay at home with our boys and do a "homeschool preschool" with them and totally agree that we have to have things for them to do to keep busy, active, playing, learning... I actually have a corner set up and we do a "morning circle time" where we do calendar, pledge of allegiance, prayer, reading, spelling, singing, etc, every day and then we move onto other activities. It totally keeps them happier to have things to do rather than just free play, pushing trucks around and watching cartoons all day. I am all about your ideas because I try to not spend a lot of money going out to do expensive things, rather, just crafty, homemade, simple, fun things at home. I will love your ideas, thanks for sharing!!

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  9. Jodiveldheer@yahoo.comOctober 20, 2012 at 6:23 PM

    Hi!
    I just found you via Pinterest! I also have two little kids 4 and 2. My husband is never here as well, was a lawyer and in business school now the Chief Revenue Officer of a company. I'm wondering if you have a sample schedule of your day with your boys? I'd also be interested in knowing how you manage everything else...when do you cook, clean, plan activities, shop, etc? I sometimes feel like I have tunnel vision because it is so overwhelming. I cook, clean, grocery shop, break up fights. Sometimes I don't have the energy to plan and execute the activities I'd like to be doing with my boys. I'm having horrible mommy guilt from not being more organized and a better teacher to them. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

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  10. pricklymomJanuary 4, 2013 at 5:48 AM

    Hey, I'm married to a doctor, too! By the time we met, though, he was just finishing his fellowship so he's been an "attending" (aka "real doctor" lol) for our whole marriage. It's because of his dedication that I'm able to be a crazy SAHM blogger.

    Is your husband done with his residency yet?

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  11. UnknownNovember 28, 2016 at 12:05 PM

    We found your blog on Top Mommy Blogs, and we love it (even though I'm a dad :) It's full of practical advice and really helpful hints!

    I'm a father of four, my wife is a lactation consultant, and we recently wrote a parenting book ourselves. We hope it has some humble suggestions for your awesome blog.

    The eBook is free on Amazon today only (11/28) by searching: "How to Raise Great Kids - 101 Fun & Easy Ideas" or we'd be happy to mail you a free paperback copy if you send us your address.

    We admire your work very much and hope you'll appreciate ours here soon, too. Thanks and keep up all your outstanding efforts!

    Hope you had a great Turkey Day!!!

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