Party Planning

I'm not going to be posting until Feb 15. I am so busy planning Son's birthday party. I can't wait to post the pictures!!!!!!!!!

Turn Your Crib Into a Ball Pit

None of my children have ever slept a night in a crib. I don't even know how its done. Whenever I put them in there, they wake up immediately.

We co-sleep until about 1 year old and then move them to a toddler bed. It seems easier that way, but maybe I'm doing it all wrong.

Anyway, since our crib doesn't get any use, I turned it into a ball pit. I got these balls for free at my mom club clothing/toy swap:

Puzzlemania and Other Stuff

Princess got some new puzzles for Christmas.

 

I am pretty surprised that she can do a 16 piece puzzle completely by herself.  I showed her how to put the corners in first, but as soon as she understood that, she was in business. Now she does it by herself from start to finish:

 

 

 

Putting in the last piece:

 

 

 

Yesterday we went to a toy/clothing swap. We picked up these color recognition cards. She loves them. She knows all of her colors, but she really likes to talk about the pictures. The green card has a lizard. A few days ago we caught a lizard...then he escaped. She really wants that lizard back:

 

We also got another fun activity for Christmas. Lakeshore Learning Sing and Play:

 

 

It has a bunch of different props and we use them when we sing different nursery rhymes. Gizmo apparently loves "Mary had a Little Lamb":

 

 

Son loves this particular activity. He always tries to take the box out of the closet: 

 

 

 

Here is Princess playing with her Zen garden. This girl is so crazy about rocks:

 

 

 

She puts the rocks in the funnel and them takes them out and lines them up. I gave her the funnel for the sand, but she is not interested in the sand....just the rocks:

 

Spidergirl and Superman

 

I think my two-year old is becomong a big kid. Sad mommy: 

 

 

 

She only goes down the slide backwards:

 

 

Son is walking about 5 or 6 steps at a time. He is a FAST crawler. I think he just wants to crawl because he can get to his destination a lot quicker:

 

 

 

 

I thought about signing Princess up for gymnastics, but I am afraid they will say she's too tall. Those gymnasts are like 4'10. She will probably be taller than that when she's 6 years old:

 

 This is either loving or fighting. Not sure:

 

 

 

 

Like I said...Spidergirl:

 

Kid Friendly Coffee Shop

Our family rarely braves restaurants anymore and I wouldn't dare go to one with the babies by myself.

 

Princess wants to run and not eat. Son wants to follow her and not eat.

 

Sister gets embarrassed when they both start crying. Its a bit stressful!!!!!!!

 

So I finally found a place to take the kids:

 

Island Mama Java.

 

They have toys everywhere, an indoor playground, a sand table on their patio and safety plugs in their outlets. This is mommy heaven!

 

Isn't it a beautiful place?

(Photos from Island Mama Java Facebook)

 

The owner is soooo sweet. She was friendly with all the customers and was constantly running around putting toys back where they belong. She really wants everyone to have a good experience.

 

My little guy had a GREAT time crawling around everywhere!!! I'm sorry that he has a big scratch on his face from his sister:

 

 

 

 

Princess LOVED sitting at her own table and being able to get up and play as much as she wanted:

 

 

 

I wish this was in my house:

 

 



 

 

I told my MOM club about this place and we are going to have a playdate there next month.

 

I'm so glad we have another fun place to go besides Chick-Fil-A.

 

Act of Kindness Letter I

 

Everyone is sick here AGAIN!!!! I don't know how its possible, but both babies are coughing and have a fever.

 

 

ANYWAY...onto the good news...

 

We had planned to do an act of kindness for "I" this week, which was to INVITE someone for ICE CREAM, but then we heard about a 5 year old boy who was getting his tonsils out and was very scared.

 

TONSILS OUT and ICE CREAM go hand in hand, so our plans changed.

 

I made this card for the little boy:



 

I really love drawing and ESPECIALLY love making cards, so this was bonus fun for me. 

Here is the inside:

 

 

 

Then we went to Tropical Smoothie to buy a gift card for the boy so he could enjoy a good cold shake after his surgery. 

We slipped the gift card into the little ice cream cone pocket and hand delivered it.

 

Here is Princess with her shake (Kindness gets rewarded sometimes):

 

One Mess at a Time

Today we worked on letter sounds with a puzzle. Princess matched the letters with the puzzle board and we sounded out the letters and words. Here she is with the Melissa and Doug See and Spell, which I picked up at a yard sale for $1.00. You can find it here:

 

 

 

Here she is sounding out a letter:

 

 

 After that we worked on a little scooping:

  

 

And pouring (with a crown, of course):

 

 

After we were done, I got out the broom to clean up this:

 

 

 

 

While I was cleaning up the corn, Princess rearranged my diaper stash AGAIN. So I went to clean it up:

 

 

By the time I got back I realized I left the broom closet door unlocked: 

  

 

  Never a dull moment here. I am so blessed to be entertained all day.

Clothes Cart

I have no clue WHY Princess does this, but she insists on putting all her clothes (or her brothers clothes) in this cart and pushing them around the house.

Why...oh why do I fold them???????

Happy Birthday Sister!!!!!!

My baby turned 13 today.

 

She is such a good girl and I'm so proud of her. She gets good grades and is well behaved and helps with her brother and sister. Im so lucky to have such an amazing daughter.

 

Favorites as of today:

 

Singer: Bieber
 

Color: Purple
 

Book: The Fault in Our Stars
 

Possession: Justin Bieber Guitar Pick
 

Movie: This is Us: One Direction
 

Actress: Ariana Grande
 

Actor: Channing Tatum
 

Website: Wanelo.com

 

She chose not to have a party this year so we went on a shopping spree this past weekend.

 

But just to make her feel special today I hung a big "13" in balloons on her door:

 

I also put special messages on hearts and attached them to 13 helium balloons.

 

 

Then I spread the balloons around her room:

 

 

 

Here she is with her balloons:

 

 

 

And since it is her birthday, I guess I should post a picture of her and her beloved Bieber. Twins?



 

 

Touch and Feel Alphabet Cards

We got these cards for Christmas and Princess loves them! I hold up each card and she says the letter. Then she and her brother take turns feeling the fabrics on the cards. This is a great way to learn letters because the kids are using more than one of their senses. Princess knows all the letters and all but a few of the letter sounds. I think we are going to start working on sounding out small words next.

Just Pictures

We went to Barnes N Noble yesterday just to get out of the house. The babies had fun playing with the Thomas train. Sister was busy "researching" the band, One Direction, since she is saving money for a concert ticket.

Our group got a little wild, so we didn't stay too long. Princess wanted to take a Cookie Monster stuffed animal home and well, it wasn't a pretty exit from the store.

P.S. I think our kindness theme is developing a following:

Southern- Style Banana Pudding

I made this pudding for a few people and have gotten pretty good reviews, so I figured I would share. It only takes about 15 minutes and there is NO COOKING INVOLVED!!!!

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

 I don't have a picture, but trust me...its good.  It's not even remotely heathy...

8 ounces sour cream

1 (8 ounce) container  Cool-Whip, thawed (Do not ruin it with the low-fat version)

1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

2 cups whole milk

1 (16 ounce) package Nilla wafer cookies

4bananas, peeled and sliced

 

Directions

1. In large bowl combine sour cream, Cool Whip, pudding mix and milk. Stir well. In the bottom of a trifle bowl or other glass serving dish, put a layer of cookies, then a layer of pudding mixture, then a layer of bananas. Repeat until all ingredients are used. Refrigerate until serving

Theme of the Year

I've been thinking a lot lately about life. Surely we aren't supposed to just go about our day going to work or cleaning the house or completing to-do lists. Its so easy to get wrapped up in "getting stuff done" that you are actually not getting anything done...at least anything important. 

So this year we are practicing taking our mind off ourself. 

Pretty hard in a world obsessed with words like self-esteem, self-actualization, self-promotion, and self-worth. And don't forget about all the "selfie" Facebook photos.

Our plan is to continue our acts of kindness, but to go beyond that by changing the way we see the world. I want these babies, as they grow, to constantly be looking for ways to make life better for others.To smile, to be on the look out for people who need help, to clean up trash on the floor even if we didn't leave it, to pray for people we don't know, to encourage others...

Maybe my babies are too young to understand, but maybe they aren't. Either way, one day they will be old enough to understand and they will already have developed good habits.

Saw this prayer today about kindness: