Acting

So my four year old is amazing at role playing.  He races around the house in character which change from minute to minute.  He's always been incredibly verbal and he can do amazing accents.  He also poses and does slick hand moves.  One minute he is the local magician, the next he's Martin Kratt morphing into a walrus with walrus powers and the next he is his own made up super hero.

So we've been stuck in the house for three of the five winter break days because the baby has a terrible ear infection- crying, whining, has to be in my arms.  I have not handled her being super sick and us being cooped up well.  I've been about as whiny as she has and I am not in any kind of pain. I am not in pain but I have been totally exhausted.  So while I was desperately trying to get the poor girl to sleep, I let the boys watch copious amounts of television- or what felt like copious amounts of television which brings on a fright train worth of guilt.  The one good thing that came out of all of that screen time was his copying from the fourth Spy Kid movie.

We some how found ourselves watching the fourth Spy Kid movie out of sequence.  I wouldn't say that the storyline of the movie was anywhere close to stellar but it was a nice break from watching Super Hero Squad.  There were two things that I really liked about the movie.  The first was that the cast was primarily Latino.  You don't see that enough.  Along the same lines, I liked that one of the main characters, a young boy, was hearing impaired.  The fact that he was hearing impaired wasn't a part of the story it was just a part of his character, like being short or having curly hair.  There were references to his use of hearing aides but no of it was in no way like a some sort of PSA.  The selection of the cast was also along the same lines.  It didn't need to be explained or central to the plot.

Some how Desi was quite taken with the movie and started acting out parts of it immediately.  In the movie the little boy gets annoyed with his sister who is ranting so he turns off both of his hearing aides and tells her he can't hear her.  So my dear sweet four year old does the action of turning off two hearing aides and says to me "I can't hear you I'm turning off my hearing maids."How cute is he?

I almost didn't want to correct him.  He got a little embarrassed that he got it wrong.  "Really?  Hearing aides?"  So he went to repeat the line and said it wrong again.
I hope I never forgot the cute slightly embarrassed face reenacting the movie. Pin It Now!

Someday I'll Check These Things Off My List

1.  Eat a half gallon of Ice Cream right out of the box.  I'm 40 now- am I adult enough?
2.  Make a rag rug.  I have no idea why.  It seems environmental and crafty.
3.  Get rid of all my old CDs and put the music I want to keep on my phone.
4.  Add organizers shelves and bins to my kitchen cabinets.
5.  Empty my scrapbook bin by actually scrapbooking my kids first years.
6.  Have a decent workout wardrobe in which I would feel comfortable and cute picking up and dropping my kids off in work out clothes.
7.  Buy a pair of gray pumps and black flats- why is it that I am the only woman alive that doesn't have both of these things?
8.  Have leisure time to drink my coffee and read magazines first thing in the morning.  Do I have to wait until the youngest is in college to do this?
9.  Make my kids a cute, memory filled height chart that we can eventually move to a new house.
10.  Move to a larger house- preferably some sort of colonial with the bedrooms upstairs, family room/ playroom/ 10 Forward in the basement, a garage, a foyer, a kitchen with an island bar,  Basically like the house we saw on Miracle Drive.  Another miracle, please?
11.  Go sledding with the kids this winter.
12.  Exercise 3-5 times a week.
13.  Write.
14.  Sleep at least 5 hours straight.  I haven't done that since before I was pregnant with my third and she is almost ten months old!
To be continued! Pin It Now!

Two Darths

So, the days of cute Halloween costumes are over for my boys.  Even my three year old, thanks to his older brother, has gone to the dark side.  I have two Darth Vaders this year.  In fact not only are they dressing up as one of the worst villains of the twenty century but I also bought them the costumes.  My goal has always been to have creative homemade outfits for them.  I just couldn’t wrap my head around how I could do the costume justice at a reasonable price. 

My husband was quite disappointed he thought for sure that I could whip something up.  He offered numerous suggestions including making a paper mache helmet.  I was impressed he knew the term, but seriously paper mache?  So we ordered costumes online and thought we would try our luck.  It seems that costumes have improved since back in the day.  The mask is much more substantial then the cheap flimsy ones that they had available when I was young. Those masks that broke immediately.

            Granted we do have to do some work to fix the costume.  We need to rig the straps that hold the mask on, not sure the shape of the models head they used for the design.  I also need to convert the jump suit into a two piece suit for at least the youngest.  How can you expect a three year old that was just recently potty trained to navigate a jumpsuit that opens in the back. 

So I guess the only saving grace is that they worked out exactly how there could be two Darth Vaders.  I walked into the living to hear J say to D, “Okay, we are back in your time now.”  So D stood up and very officially and seriously fallowed him into the kitchen.

“It’s his time.”

“His time?”

“That’s how come we can have two of us.  I jump into his time or he jumps into mine.”

That’s right.  My five year old baby is using time travel to explain how he and his brother have the same costume.  He also managed to explain it to his brother that is 19 months younger in way that made sense to the kid.  

I guess I have to be okay with them being bad guys with such an amazing explanation.

So is it okay that I am dressing the baby as Princess Leia?  I am going to make that costume.  I know I can make a super cute fleece hat that looks much better than the costume ones out there.  I also can’t give up on the handmade element on her first trip out.  Just feeling bad that it isn’t a terribly innocent costume.  I mean, one brother was a baby blue doggy that matched his lovey, the other went as a little raccoon.  I am trying to justify it by explaining I need the good side of the force represented. 

I don’t know.

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Starting Kindergarten

So my five year old is starting full day kindergarten next week and my heart aches.  Michigan in its effort to meet rigorous NCLB mandates has pushed schools, parents and our little ones into a full day program whether we like it or not.  As a SAHM, I am reluctant to let go of my baby and recognize I will probably have more trouble with the adjustment than he will. There is also this fear that what should be play based and social may be more academic because of the new mandates.  As a secondary teacher by training, I want my children to be prepared but I also want it to be developmentally appropriate.

 

I am fortunate that my little guy is well suited to school. He is a wonderful listener and genuinely likes doing “school work” type activities.  He loves art and astounds me with his ability to capture such detail in drawings at his young age.  He loves listening to books and anything math related.  He attended a Montessori preschool that helped nurture his knack for quiet independent play.  I realize how fortunate he is, entering into a school setting with these attributes and academic inclinations.  His counterparts with fewer fine motor skills and less attention spans may truly struggle.  As a mommy to boys I do worry about how school does seem more geared towards young girls than to boys.  Reading articles about boys being suspended for shooting finger guns at each other does have me a bit paranoid too.  My guy loves Star Wars.  We spend time in the car shooting at Imperial Star Destroyers,  it is unavoidable.  Will he get in trouble?  Suspended?  Add that to my list of questions for curriculum night and my letter to the teacher.

As we cram the last few events into our remaining precious week I reflect on our summer and hope that we did enough and shared enough quality time that he goes off satiated and prepared for his new rigorous schedule.  I have some mommy guilt because we were not as active this summer as we had been the previous two, due to the arrival of his littlest sibling in March.  In past summers we were out and about much more.  He and his brother loved spending time at the local historical village and zoo.  We hit all of the Splash Pads and park play dates.  We didn’t have to think about a baby’s nursing or nap schedule. 

I had to prepare my moms’ group calendar for the month of September and it hurt my heart a little scheduling events that he would love to do.  How can I take his brother and sister without him?  Do I start the mantra that there is always next summer?  I also keep telling myself that I can sneak him out of school on any number of afternoons if I feel it is necessary.  I have already decided a visit to our favorite Santa will have to happen during school hours because the weekend scene is unbearable.  Shh, the teacher in me hates the idea of letting my kid play hookey but the mommy is weak and tender hearted.

I am also trying to incorporate as many memory making traditions as I can to make this a fun and exciting time.  I want him to feel positive about his new schedule and not soak in my trepidation.

Here are some of my plans:

Both Boys First Day of School


• I am prepared to take his first day of school picture to then pair it with his last day of school picture. (Already old preschool pros at this.)

Last Day of School

• I am trying to plot and plan a fun first day of school breakfast and after school snack that will become a fun tradition.  Mint chocolate chip or pumpkin pancakes?  Milkshake and cookies?
• I also want to establish an after school snack, talk time and then homework routine that we can maintain over time.  I never learned to do homework at a set time every day and feel like that has contributed to my battle with procrastination. 
• I am collecting items to put together his first German traditional School Cone, we are not German, I just love Pinterest!  (I bought The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn and an awesome Star Wars T-shirt.  I have three more days to find fun school supplies that won’t break the bank.  And I also need to fill one for his brother for preschool.)
• I have to buy a copy of Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Suess and have to go back to his preschool teachers and have them sign it, because I love this idea!Oh the Places You'll Go Idea
• I want to organize and tackle his scrapbook and school work pages at the beginning of the year so that we get out from under the gigantic back log of memories that are taking over my back room.  Do I scan, shrink and mount?  Do I scan and turn into photo book?  Do I collect, cull and file?
• I have vowed to join the PTA and volunteer so I totally know what is going on and can lend a hand.  I attended the first meeting in May to get the lay of the land while we were trying to decide on schools.

Suggestions Based on My Own Experiences So Far:

• Buy LL Bean back pack early in the summer or at the end of the school year.  His top color choice was on back order by mid August.
• Also buy labels early in the summer or at the end of the school year.  Somehow my early August purchases still haven’t arrived.
• We went to all the meetings at his new school to help him get acquainted and to feel comfortable in his new digs.  I love that his teacher gave them a scavenger hunt to find their way around the room.  I love that he asked to play after it was over and ended up sitting in a rocking chair poring over a Lego magazine.  He’s ready isn’t he?

• We went school shopping and I tried to find outfits that all sort of went together so he can dress independently and still look cute.  I’m going with a navy, light blue and orange theme thanks to Crazy 8.

• If you are planning to move to a new school district before your child starts kindergarten- move earlier than that if you can.  We always anticipated moving before our oldest reached kindergarten but life happens, and we are still in the starter home.  We are making due but it isn’t ideal.  Start researching school districts when your kid is one, start planning at two and then move by three if you can.  Or just have your stuff together before you buy that first house!  We opted for a starter home, my sister picked a forever home.  I find myself a bit jealous, granted the world was a different place when we bought seven or was it eight years ago.
• I tried to do a school work type activity every day of the summer to keep us mentally prepared for school.  Sometimes we did science experiments; sometimes we did math workbooks, cutting activities, painting or drawing , something that ensured we were sitting at the table working each day.
  
   
• I also tried to be mindful of screen time versus book time.  Reading books together should take up as much or more time than sitting in front of a stupid screen.
• We bought back to school books to help prepare for the new school year.  Our favorite was First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg.  My three year old loved There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books by Lucille Colandro.  I didn’t love it but he can’t get enough of her giant mouth.
• Take pictures, hug and love on them as much as you can.  They are only little for such a short, short time.

What are your traditions and suggestions to make the start of a new school year fun?

How did you get your Kindergartner ready?

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Our Christmas Ornament This Year

Every Christmas the boys and I try to come up with a new ornament to give to all the aunts, uncles, grandparents, great aunts and uncles.  We have made a tradition of getting our family picture taken at Christmas time so I generally like to include a picture of the boys.  I am very sentimental and like to show off how my cuties are growing.

We decided this year to embrace recycling.  It appears we go through a number of Trader Joe’s Yogurts around here.  My boys aren't big milk drinkers but do enjoy yogurt with their cereal on the mornings when Daddy is in charge of breakfast.  I generally toss all of the old cups into the recycling bin but this year we decided to turn them into Christmas Bell ornaments.

As you can see the actual painting was a task that both boys took to immediately.

This project required the following items:

• Yogurt Cups
• Arcyllic paint in Christmas colors
• Red yarn
• Modge Podge
• Little bells
• Thumb nail prints of a Christmas portrait of the two boys together.   (We printed from our inkjet printer).
• Scissors, paintbrushes, paint pallets and paint friendly work surface.

The boys loved sitting down to paint the yogurt cups.  If they wanted to use a light color, who knew that yellow was a Christmas color, we tried to paint the entire cup with a white base or primer layer.  I did my best to keep track of who painted which cup and then wrote their name and date on the inside of the cup for posterity.

We stretched this out over a couple of days because we made so many for both sides of our very large families.  It was also a project my four and a half year really got into.  Yes, we even worked on it before we got dressed in the morning it seems.

To finish off the bells I just added some yarn, a bell and modge podged the picture of the two boys on to the bell.  The only purchase we made for this project was the little bells, everything else we had on hand.

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Label It

 
 A friend recently asked for help organizing her kids' toys.  She had already purchased Closetmaid cubes and shelving units and was looking for good suggestions for labeling the cube bins.  My boys go to a Montessorri based preschool and I love that they really work hard to teach children to put away their own toys.  They do an awesome job of using photo labels to help kids remember where things go on each shelf.
    I borrowed from that idea.  I stitched Avery conference ID badges on to the bins so that I could switch out the photo inserts when we change our toy stash.  (Someone also suggested using industrial Velcro that you can purchase at the hardware store or Home Depot.  I thought this was a great suggestion as long as your kids don't realize they can pull the labels off!)

    I just did Google searches to find pictures of the items that we would be storing and then wrote down what the item was using a sharpie. If I had been willing to I could have typed out the words to make them look extra splashy but most of my projects are completed with little people's assistance or at least interruption, so writing it out worked just fine for us.

I like the idea of having both the words and the pictures on the labels so that the boys have some letter and word recognition practice.  It has also come in handy because I store their clothes in the same closet and set of drawers under their trundle bed.  Each boy has his name on his drawer or bin to help him keep track of his own clothes.  (I'll do just about anything to get help putting folded clothes away.  For some reason that is one of my least favorite jobs.)  Some bins hold communal items like pajamas, socks and undershirts because I just couldn't keep track of who wore which.  This is another benefit of a 19 month age difference!

  I am sure that there are fancier and prettier labels out there but these seem to get the job done and are even Daddy proof for the most part.

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The Background or Backbone to Organizing My Shoebox and the Lives in It

To some extent I think I am hard wired to be organized.  When I was only a tween I would organize the books on my shelf in rainbow order.  I loved arranging and rearranging my room whenever I cleaned it.   That’s the thing though, I was born and raised in a rather disorganized household.  Both of my parents are sort of magpies, they hate to throw things away, have no interest in keeping the house clutter or dust free and honestly just aren't that neat.  I’m not saying they are dirty just scattered and cluttered.  It drove me crazy growing up.  I vowed that I would have a tidy house.  I just didn't know how to maintain it with out seeking outside help. I knew how to clean like crazy but how could I create an environment that felt peaceful and stress free?  It isn't a perfect system (I don't live alone!) but there are some basic tenants I'd like to share.  

My challenge now is that I have two preschool children, a baby on the way,  and a busy husband and we live in a house that is less than 1000 square feet with no garage, or basement and no storage space in our attic.  Luckily I am a SAHM so I do have some time to devote to organizing our little shoebox but it requires systems.

Follow a Routine- I am ever so thankful that I found the flylady.nety.  The Flylady has created a wonderful system that ensures that everything gets done to keep your house clean without driving you insane.  She has wonderful daily, weekly, monthly routines that keep your house in order.  I can’t say enough about her- follow her and you’ll see what I mean.

Take the Time to Coordinate with Your Spouse-  following some sound advice from the book  Family, Inc. my husband and I are now working better as a team at managing our household.  The authors Caitlin and Andrew Friedman have developed a system for running their household using sound business management tools.  In their book they outline how you can implement work related solutions into your own household.  I bought the book after reading an article about it.  I thought it would appeal to my husband because he likes to read “business” books.  I knew a "touchy feely" book on organization wouldn't appeal to him.  So far the solutions seem so obvious but we just weren’t doing them.  We have implemented a weekly meeting so that we can go over the upcoming weeks to do lists, calendars and issues.  We also finally synced our calendars so we don’t spend so much time trying to figure out what we are doing!  I love my big wall calendar but have now realized I can’t live without our Google calendars that go everywhere with us. 

A Place For Everything and Everything in its Place- Seriously, the old adage is true.  You really have to have your household set up so that you know where everything goes.  We have put a good deal of time and effort into creating storage solutions in our house because our space is so limited.  We have added closet organizers, kitchen cupboards, extra shelving units and all sorts of solutions to keep things organized around here.  I also label like crazy so that I get help in putting everything away.  It is one thing if I know where everything belongs but it is heavenly if the whole family can help.  I also rely heavily on the fly ladies saying that “You can’t organize clutter.”"You Can't Organize Clutter."  It reminds me to get rid of things rather than save everything.  If we aren't using it, we try to get it out!   It is honestly so much easier to keep track of important things if we don’t have clutter laying around.  Having a place for everything also helps keep our rooms neat.  Every night when I put the boys to bed or check on them, I do a sweep of their room, toys in bins, books on shelves, everything off the floor.  This way I know that the path is clear for us if they should cry out in the middle of the night and for them when they wake up far too early and race to our room.  I like that I can tidy their room, with their help, so quickly because everything is organized.  I will try to identify little tricks I use to make all of this possible.  I hope that you'll share some of your ideas as well.

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Worth Posting Since I Found Even My Dreams Were Disrupted by Current Uproar

Dear Christianity (that includes you Christian right),

Let's just take some time to focus and remember that Jesus' primary message was one of unconditional love.  He didn't have any asterisks in his message.  He didn't exclude anyone based on their sexuality for example. Jesus made a point of including everyone.  Aren't there enough parables and references to this powerful all encompassing love?

 
          Jesus seemed to focus most of his negative energy on his religion's hypocritical leaders.  I think there are a few stories in the Bible about Jesus getting frustrated with priests that are rule driven to the point of not being helpful.  I don't know maybe he told a tale or two about getting angry in the temple. The story of the Good Samaritan might be a good story to reflect on as well.

How about we turn some of our focus and attention on some truly Christian individuals and companies?  You know companies that show unconditional love for all of their brothers and sisters, not just the straight ones.

Personally I'd feel more comfortable knowing my children were

 growing up in a world without those ugly asterisks.  As a parent, I'd like to pave a way for my little ones within a church that was truly teaching how to love.  Unconditional Love is just that- unconditional.

Sincerely,
A Parent

          "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

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Prayer Board

Last fall my church had a program called Serve Strong in which we were given several challenges to serve.  As part of the amazing preschool curriculum it was suggested to create a prayer board in which we could post pictures of images that we were covering in prayer and hang it in a central location in our home.  I loved this idea to help my boys remember the people and things we are praying for every day.

This concrete visual reminder has had an incredible impact on our lives.  My Uncle Fred was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and fought it for almost five years.  He and his family lived in Australia (along with the rest of my Dad's side) and my boys haven't made the trek down under yet.  Although my oldest had never met my Uncle Fred, because his picture was on the prayer board he became a very real person to my son.  My son constantly reminded us to pray for him.  He even reminded my Dad to pray for him at the large family Thanksgiving dinner.  Month after month my son prayed so earnestly for my uncle, that it often brought me to tears.

When my uncle did pass away a few months ago, it was easier to tackle questions about heaven because we had been praying for my uncle for so long.  Just to share the true impact the prayer board had on my son, during a discussion about my uncle, my son paused and said "Now that Uncle Fred is in heaven someone should name a baby after him."  I agreed and smiled to myself because my uncle was actually Greek and had three boys.  There is the possibility that he will have three first born grandsons named after him.  After his passing we also learned that Fred is actually his Aussie nickname.  The prayer board made it possible for my son to really get to know and care for someone that he had never met who lived thousands of miles away.

This visual reminder helped keep our Christmas intentions at the forefront of our minds too.  I would like to think it kept some of our wants and "gimmes" at bay as a result.  

This board has been helpful to me as well.  I included a spot where I can write down all of our intentions.  I try to change the board each month which also gives me a chance to reflect on which intentions will be repeated and which prayers have found their answers.  I always ask the boys what we should which keeps me tuned into what is on their spiritual radar.  Since it is on the wall in the kitchen we always have a visual grace at hand for each meal.

I made the prayer board using a cookie sheet, some decorative clips (any office supply clips would work), and ribbon.  I change up the paper background, pictures, ribbon and magnets depending on the season or month and our intentions.  You could definitely paint the cooksheet to spice it up.  I know that Hallmark sells fancy metal boards that you could use but I opted for a cheaper route.  I do love the seasonal magnets they sell though!

So what is on the prayer board this month?
I volunteered this past Saturday evening for a couple hours when our church hosted the SOS Homeless Shelter and the experience continues to weigh heavily on my heart.  I spent some time playing with a four year old brother and three year old sister.  They were beautiful children with wonderful vocabularies and boatloads of energy.  My heart broke for their mother who was growing more and more agitated when it was ten thirty at night and she still couldn't settle them down and get them to sleep.  I couldn't help but imagine myself in the same situation.  How frustrated I would be with people cleaning out the adjacent tarped section of the family room or the eleven year old that kept turning on the bright overhead florescent lights.  So many things were out of her control and directly impacting her children's lives.  
There were also two pregnant women that made my heart ache, knowing how the nesting instinct would be kicking in yet they are in such a hopeless place for nesting.  How can you raise your child without a home?

It is also true that there would be no way to tell that the assembled group of people were homeless.  They looked exactly like anyone else.  How close we are to being in their shoes is something I often forget.  The group was largely women and children too.  I had a brief discussion with one gentleman about how different our church may seem to people but why I love it.  I learned that four of the volunteers I met worked every night of the week and the directors actually take the week off of work in order to run the program for the week!  I was humbled beyond belief by everyone I encountered.  The man I had the discussion with also chided me for showing up on the last night and told me to work again in January.  One volunteer even used the expression "break yourself open and pour yourself out."  God was at work that evening.  I pray that he continues to work on me and more importantly that he can help the people I had the privilege to meet.  I pray their housing and work situations improve drastically. They will stay on the board and in our hearts along with our other intentions.


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Happy 4th of July - Patriotic Muffin Tin Monday!

Admittedly I could have been  more creative for this holiday lunch but as so often happens around here I was a bit pressed for time and hungry children = cranky lunch, so here is the best I could do under the circumstances.  To help celebrate the fourth we used red, white and blue latex cupcake holders, salami cut into stars, star (and space ship) gold fish and strips made of string cheese and red peppers.  The big hit was the star shaped salami.  The boys loved it!  It really is the little things in life that bring about the sparkle. We also decided that making little sandwiches out of the pita, hummus and red peppers was really yummy.

 For dessert I filled cake cones with whip cream and strawberries.  To my great surprise Little Brother hated the whip cream on his strawberries and demanded washed off strawberries instead.  Big Brother in turn decided to just eat the whip cream.  He is sticking firmly to the notion that he only likes strawberries that we have hand picked.  I will consider the actual lunch a success that they didn't go crazy over the dessert.

If I get good at this muffin tin thing I will cut my cucs and bread in star shapes too.  

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Every Child is Unique and Potty Training Proves It

Big Brother extolling the merits of big boy pants.  Little Brother looking super cute in them.  Gerber trainers reinforced with extra cotton and  a tie dye PUL section = homemade training pants that really work.

It is quite special to have two boys because it helps to illustrate the differences between siblings.  From day one, minute one, they were such distinctly different little creatures- looks, personality, temperament, build, you name it.  I have my curly brown haired, brown eyed boy and my straight blonde blonde boy with blue eyes.   I think the difference is also very apparent when addressing things like potty training.  Since they are so different in every way it makes it easier to know that younger brother may just be a bit more of a challenge when it comes to potty training.
My oldest has a bladder of steel so potty training was effortless.  Seriously.  When he was two and half my husband was changing a particularly nasty diaper and was annoyed that there were no clean diapers in the boys' room.  He turned to my son, asked if he'd like to start wearing his big boy underwear, my son said yes and the rest was history.
Now that is the abbreviated story.  We did spend a decent amount of time hyping the merits of big boy pants.  We had a couple of potty books and had practiced going potty on the little potty, so it wasn't unfamiliar territory but when he made the choice we never looked back.  He never had set backs or crazy accidents.  He immediately slept through the night without a wet bed.  Again, the kid has to be reminded if he starts to get a bit agitated that maybe it is because he hasn't peed in eighteen hours so he is an unusual case.
Younger brother is two and half and I don't quite see the same thing happening. He is running around in training pants right this minute but I am keeping my hopes in check.  I recognize that his bladder is not like his brother's steel trap.  I also don't want to push it.
Every friend that pushed the potty training had disastrous effects.  There were so many set backs to their adventure- especially those that followed that three day force feed your kid candy and don't leave the house program.  Sorry, that is just my perspective.  EC may be a very different and a more natural progression so I'll exclude the two people that are following that "movement."
Potty training and/or potty waiting is for me another opportunity to celebrate the fact that my kids are not cookie cutters of each other or of my husband and me for that matter. They both have their own lives to live and their own time lines.
Being a somewhat anxious person, I am also proud that I have learned to give them some space with these milestones.  I guess because I am so baby crazy I really haven't pushed any developmental markers.  I let them sit, walk, and talk when they were ready because no amount of fretting would have changed those outcomes.  This revelation has not worked for so many other areas of my life that I can not control yet continue to perseverate over so allow me some bragging rights, please.
Recently I have noticed a few mothers get so anxious about potty training that it makes me sad for them.  I worry that they will have issues if they turn it into a battle of wills.  My first was so easy but he is such a different person from his younger brother that it isn't a surprise.  It also isn't a strike against my little guy that he will with out a doubt train at an older age either.  He is just a different person.
He can't stand to have bunched up socks in his shoes but he is completely unfazed by sitting in a wet diaper.  I also know that he'll eventually wear the big boy pants full time, so I won't fret until, say, after he is four.
Having said all of that he does look super cute in his homemade training pants!  I also wouldn't mind a break from diapers but hey, it is a journey.
And as a perfect post script before I finished editing this I noticed the kid had wet his training pants.  "Hey buddy, did you go pee pee?"  
"No."
"I think so, look at the front of your training pants.  They are wet."
"No they aren't."
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When Pressed for Time - Left Overs!

So the last few weeks have been a bit crazy and we are still trying to establish a summer routine.  The boys were so exhausted yesterday that they fell asleep on the way home from a playdate and didn't eat lunch until four o'clock!  This insane development derailed my Muffin Tin Monday pledge.  So here is a day late post with an even older lunch!  The following lunch just shows that left overs get a big facelift when stuck in a muffin tin!  This lunch is classic luncheon fair- city chicken, mostaccioli, salad, veggies, and even a piece of pie.  The only item not sampled was the potatoes.  I may be the only Mommy here in the states whose kids refuse to eat potatoes.  I have no idea where the aversion stems from.  I keep serving them although I am thankful that my boys aren't big on things like french fries.

I can't wait for next weeks Patriotic lunch theme!  (I was always fortunate growing up that both the U.S. and Australia had similar flag colors.  My boys would just need to add a little green for their Italian heritage from their Daddy to be totally equitable.)   I'm not sure what I am going to do theme wise but I have a feeling that I can employ blueberries and strawberries some how.

I am also slowing adding to my collection of items for muffin tin meals.  My new find that gets the boys totally engaged in eating? Tooth picks!  It is the little things in life isn't it? Pin It Now!

Mighty Monster Trucks

One of the best things about being a mommy is falling in love with all of your kids' wild and wonderful obsessions.  My sweet four year old is all about Monster Trucks right now.  We think it originated from a segment of Mater's Tall Tales and from watching Mighty Machines.  It gave me a little pause that he was outgrowing a sweet and innocent Thomas the Train phase for one that seems a bit more brutish and not terribly bourgie but I've learned to get all into the monster truck madness.  The History Channel's documentary on monster trucks also helped convert me to being a fan.

In an attempt to be creative and pretending to save money I created some of my own monster truck items for his birthday party.  I am particularly taken with my template for the invites, paper products and thank you cards.  Here is my handy work:

We also turned it into a few t-shirts for the family the day of the party.  If I was super smart and rich, I would have made some for the guests.

The true feat was creating the hot pink monster truck pinata.  My son was instrumental in the color choice and painting.  Despite my efforts to make it easy to open, the under five crowd did struggle to break it open.  We filled it with small monster truck toys, pencils, stickers, tattoos and trinkets but I did break down and fill it with candy too. My son insisted that candy was absolutely necessary.

I also owe a great big thank you to our neighborhood Tim Horton's staff for making a special batch of chocolate glazed doughnuts for us the day before so we could finish off our monster truck cake.  I would say it isn't my prettiest cake but the taste of my buttercream/cream cheese icing is getting pretty yummy.

I absolutely love playing with all of these ideas and creating things for my boys.  It warms my heart to put time and effort into creating memories however silly it may seem to someone else.  My mom did the same thing for me growing up so it seems only natural.  

Plus look at the pay off:

Yeah, I can handle monster trucks.  You bet.

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New Monday Routine- Muffin Tin Mondays

For the last few months the boys and I have been trying out a fun lunch time routine on Mondays called Muffin Tin Mondays.  I found a few blogs a while ago that post and link their muffin tin meals spearheaded by the website Muffin Tin Mom: Muffin Tin Mondays.
 There are some amazing participants that really go all out with their lunch time presentations. (We found one that was a pirate theme that we so want to try!)  I am not that creative -yet, but the boys and I enjoy our Monday meals.
I am a huge fan of the program for many reasons.  I have fairly picky eaters so using the muffin tins turns trying new things into a game.  The rules for MTM include tasting each section.  You have to try each section before you are done or before you get seconds on a favorite section.  This actually works.  They will at least try each section.  Which is all a Mommy really cares about at meal time- trying new foods, aquiring new tastes and being open about new culinary experiences- right?
This process also helps us think about different types of foods and ensures that we are thinking about how good meals come in rainbow colors.  Trying to ensure that my kids get the required servings of fruits and veggies a day takes some work on some days but seems effortless for lunch on Mondays.  I also love this process because I manage to use leftovers without drawing attention to the fact that I am using left overs!  A true testament to the merits of this lunch time routine is that my kids actually ask to eat at home if I ever suggest stopping for a quick (and shameful) fastfood lunch.  They insist they prefer "slow food."  It warms a Mommy's heart.  

This was a red and white meal.  We had buttered star noodles with carrots and corn, quesadilla strips with salami and munster, a piece of left over fish stick, watermelon and strawberries.  Plus a few of our favorite snack- gold fish.

At some point I would love to get all fancy with cup cake holders and cookie cutter sandwiches but right now this is where we are in our journey.

We get a bit dip obsessed around here but the veggies do get consumed no matter what Daddy says about it.

I guess this is a good example of using up left overs.  This meal included  pulled pork sliders,  quinoa salad, melon and left over birthday cake.  Happy fourth Moo Moo.

 Dare I pledge to post our Monday meals each Monday?  Here is my pledge. Pin It Now!

Bride and Groom Aprons

Here is an unusual wedding gift that I created for my youngest sister's Trousseau Tea.  I made her and her fiance wedding day aprons.  When she first explained that she was going to have barbecue fair for her wedding I joked that I would make her and her fiance bibs.  After some careful thought and consideration, I deemed bibs far to impractical-- when would they ever wear a bib again?  So I changed it up and made them aprons.  I thought that they might actually use aprons again, as they both like to cook. To my delight they actually used the aprons during their wedding reception because they opted to bar tend  to greet their guests instead of having a receiving line.  This was just one of the many unique things they did for their celebration.

 For her apron I used a store bought white canvas apron and added my own embellishments.  I used netting that I had left over from some packaging, ribbons and fake pearls.  I made a net overlay skirt to give it a bridal dress feel.

 For the groom's apron, again I used a store bought black apron and attached a baby boys white button down shirt and boys black suit jacket that I bought second hand.  I cut down both articles of clothing to fit the bib front of the apron.  I then had to make a black bow tie.  I made this from lining from the suit jacket.  The most time consuming aspect of the project was cutting out the lining and hiding my stitches.

I hope they have the opportunity to wear their aprons again and in doing so have wonderful memories of their amazing wedding.

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Pinterest Challenge Continues

Okay, I have had a rather insane two weeks since I last posted.  On the trip back from my little sister's medical school graduation my parents had a horrendous car accident.  Their injuries were minor considering how bad the accident was and the complete destruction of their car.  Although they were injured enough to require some surgery and supervision so they spent the week at our little shoebox.  I tried to nurse them as gently as I could but I guess we live a much more rigid and structured life than my parents could handle.   So they demanded independence, and are attempting to recoup at home.  My other sister spent the night with them and we delivered their lunch, so it isn't complete independence but we'll see.  Personally I think they are insane for going home.  My Mom can't walk and my Dad can't use his right hand. There are steps leading to each of their home's bathrooms but if Mom prefers using a portable potty and my Dad doesn't mind changing it- go for it parents.  If that is better than me harping on you about putting your foot up and taking your medication.  How could I dare stop you?

None of this has anything to do with my Pinterest challenge so forgive the digression.  Just a little venting after a very challenging couple of days.  Okay, I'm done.

I hope to have some cute father's day project posted soon as we will be celebrating with the grandfathers' a week late due to the accident.  For Daddy we framed an art project he helped create and both Poppy and Daddy got ties that were fabric painted at a church festival a few weeks ago.  So poor Daddy doesn't have to wait a week he did get a few gifts (and his own bed back).  We'll see if he is brave enough to wear the tie to work!

Since I didn't put together a cool Pinterst father's day project, what could I use for my challenge this week?  Well to help with our summer activities I did find a great pin about free Montessori printables!  

Source: simplymontessori.blogspot.com via Annelyse on Pinterest

So far I have printed the daily routine chart, puzzles for matching lower and upper case letters and cards on the body parts.  I also signed up for the email because the site looks great.  My oldest attends a Montesorri preschool,and the youngest will start in the fall, so this was a no brainer. I just need to laminate these suckers so we can start getting good use out of them. I am super excited.

Now when will I ever get up the nerve to test out the freezer meals I keep pining?

I wish everyone a wonderful Father's Day and some quality time with your loved ones.  I am ever so thankful that I am venting my frustration about how silly my parents act rather than having to pour my heart out over their loss.  Give your family some extra loving and take good care of yourselves.  Life is precious.

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Putting My Pinterest Pins to Use

About a month ago I decided that I needed to make good use of my Pinterest surfing to ensure that I didn't go overboard with my surfing or collecting.  Two dear friends had commented that their new hobby had become pinning not actually doing any of the crafty things that they were pining.  This scared me.  So I decided to put myself to the test.
The deal is that I can not go on Pinterest more than once a week.  I also can not return unless I actual do one of my acquired pins.  I should add that in most situations I am pinning things that I can make relatively cheaply, most often using things I already own.  It wouldn't fly if every project required making purchases.  The project has really worked.  I've made two recipes (pretty good as I am a novice foodie), numerous kid art and educational projects, a new hair style and several sewing projects.

I have now challenged myself to post here about said pins.  I hope that I can not only develop pinning projects but also a reporting habit.  Pinterest is such a great source of material.  I can't believe all of the great things that I have found.

Today the boys and I made a variation of :

Source: oneperfectdayblog.wordpress.com via Annelyse on Pinterest

I say a variation because I only had gel food coloring and no droppers so I was forced to dye the salt rather than have the boys drop the food coloring on to the salt to create the colors.  I definitly need to invest in some eye droppers.  This is the third project I had to modify because I don't currently own any.  The sad thing is thinking about all of those baby pain relief bottles I got rid of with out a second thought. I digress.
I ended up placing the salt into Dixie cups because I thought the boys would enjoy pouring and spilling the salt. Both boys enjoyed dripping glue on their paper, pouring the salt and starting the process over and over again. It was a great project because they were able to do much of it on their own. I will admit that I helped with the final glue design but this was after three sheets of their own making. You may find from my pictures that my youngest lost patience after twenty-five minutes and did make a bit of a mess. I was thrilled he made it to the twenty-five minute mark.  I generally brace myself for very short production times.  There is usually an inverse ratio of how much effort I put into setting up a project versus how much time they actually spend on it.  This project was highly successful.  They worked longer to complete it then I spent making it.  Although little brother did make a mess, I am fortunate that big brother likes helping with the dust buster! Here is our results:

Their first attempt included nice neat piles of salt.

Subsequent pictures were messier but still engaging.

Here is the final project for little brother and his mess!


I am also quite proud of my first Modge Podge project for Mother's Day that I will also include in this post.  I recreated this fantastic project:

 

Source: homemade.tipjunkie.com via Annelyse on Pinterest

Here are my final projects.  (I actually made an extra pot for myself.  A lesson learned from coveting projects I made for the grandmothers in the past- always make one for yourself.  The other lesson I learned?  I totally love Modge Podge!

Here are the pots drying in the mud room.

Here are three of the pots after plants were added.  Big brother picked out different plants for each person.

There are so many other projects that I have tried and enjoyed but I'll save them for another day.  I need a little practice with embedding and cutting and pasting.  Needless to say forcing myself to actually use the projects I see on Pinterest has really been an enjoyable motivator. I don't have to feel guilty every time I hop around in Pinterest.  I also don't have to look at my dear friend R's amazing ideas for play date crafts and feel completely jealous.  I am wracking up the fun and experiences too.

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