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| 2007 - Learning well from her mother - BOOMER SOONER! |
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| 2008 - Flower fairy |
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| 2009 - Another fairy |
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| 2010 - The year of the witch |
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| 2011 - Tangled Rapunzel! |
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
11/02/2011
Wordless Wednesday: Halloween
I know Halloween just passed on Monday but I couldn't resist a Wordless Wednesday about little one's past costumes!
10/31/2011
Weekly Wrapup: 10/28/2011
This week was a whirlwind of activities getting ready for Halloween, Mommy's first catering event and the housewarming party. In between, we started learning about telling time, months of the year and days of the month.
We broke out one of the wonderful activities from SimplyFun called Tibbar's Big Board. It has the days of the months at the top, the months of the year on one side, a big clock in the middle, weather dials and the days of the week.
Days of the week were not new actually due to taking vitamins every day from my pillbox. Momma always sounds out the day of the week and asks me which days starts with a sound. Like Friday, which letter does FFFFFFFFFFFFFFriday start with? Sometimes, it is annoying to be honest!
When she brought out the board, I became fascinated by the clock. So that is what I concentrated on this week. Every, oh five minutes or so, I would ask what time it was. Momma would point out the time on the digital clock. I asked where do the hands go? So for 10:15, it was little hand on the 10 and big hand on the 3. I am still not sure I get the whole count by 5 for the minutes. I mean really who came up with that ..... it's a 3 on the clock therefore shouldn't it be 10:3. Oh well, maybe someday I will figure it out. On the other hand, I was pretty good with the month. I mean hey October is the only month that starts with O. WOohoo!
Other things we did this week, included Momma looking at cookbooks all the time and throwing out suggestions for things to make for the housewarming. Not sure what all the fuss is about but we no longer have completely blank walls in some of the front rooms. And Momma is frantic about cleaning. Okay that is true most of the time! Shoes don't belong in the living room (why not?; Daddy's are), or if you are done playing with it, put it away. Why? I might wanna play with it again soon.
Halloween parties galore this week! Lots of candy at the Trunk or Treat at Hampton United Methodist on Wednesday. I got a purple spider ring to match my outfit. I am hoping next year Mommy and Daddy will decorate their trunk!
On Saturday, we watched the OU game and I continued to learn how to cheer for them. BOOMER .................... SOONER. And I guess we won! Anyway, later that evening we went to a Halloween Carnival at a local school. As you can see, I loved playing golf!
We broke out one of the wonderful activities from SimplyFun called Tibbar's Big Board. It has the days of the months at the top, the months of the year on one side, a big clock in the middle, weather dials and the days of the week.
Days of the week were not new actually due to taking vitamins every day from my pillbox. Momma always sounds out the day of the week and asks me which days starts with a sound. Like Friday, which letter does FFFFFFFFFFFFFFriday start with? Sometimes, it is annoying to be honest!
When she brought out the board, I became fascinated by the clock. So that is what I concentrated on this week. Every, oh five minutes or so, I would ask what time it was. Momma would point out the time on the digital clock. I asked where do the hands go? So for 10:15, it was little hand on the 10 and big hand on the 3. I am still not sure I get the whole count by 5 for the minutes. I mean really who came up with that ..... it's a 3 on the clock therefore shouldn't it be 10:3. Oh well, maybe someday I will figure it out. On the other hand, I was pretty good with the month. I mean hey October is the only month that starts with O. WOohoo!
Other things we did this week, included Momma looking at cookbooks all the time and throwing out suggestions for things to make for the housewarming. Not sure what all the fuss is about but we no longer have completely blank walls in some of the front rooms. And Momma is frantic about cleaning. Okay that is true most of the time! Shoes don't belong in the living room (why not?; Daddy's are), or if you are done playing with it, put it away. Why? I might wanna play with it again soon.
Halloween parties galore this week! Lots of candy at the Trunk or Treat at Hampton United Methodist on Wednesday. I got a purple spider ring to match my outfit. I am hoping next year Mommy and Daddy will decorate their trunk!
On Saturday, we watched the OU game and I continued to learn how to cheer for them. BOOMER .................... SOONER. And I guess we won! Anyway, later that evening we went to a Halloween Carnival at a local school. As you can see, I loved playing golf!
Happy Halloween and speak with you next Monday which I am told will be in November!
10/10/2011
Weekly Wrap Up 10/7/2011
This week was a whirlwind of activities!
First, we had dance on Monday. Jea is learning to tie her tap shoes. LOL that is an experience. After much searching I found the rhyme that my mom taught me (thank you Swagbucks!):
First, we had dance on Monday. Jea is learning to tie her tap shoes. LOL that is an experience. After much searching I found the rhyme that my mom taught me (thank you Swagbucks!):
Criss Cross and go under the bridge
Then you got to pull it tight.
Make a loop but keep a long tail
That is how to do it right
Then you take the other string
and you wrap it 'round the loop
Pull it through the hole
Now you got the scoopFor now we are just using my tennis shoes to pratice on with little one attempting to tie them while they are on my feet or the shoe is on the table.
Then you got to pull it tight.
Make a loop but keep a long tail
That is how to do it right
Then you take the other string
and you wrap it 'round the loop
Pull it through the hole
Now you got the scoopFor now we are just using my tennis shoes to pratice on with little one attempting to tie them while they are on my feet or the shoe is on the table.
Second, Little one went to the park everyday after Mommy's Morning Out (MMO) with Grandpa. Dad is so funny about this. He loves it just as much as she does. He makes sure to put her bike in the van before heading off to pick her up. On Tuesday, they wore themselves out with 3 hours at the park! Some of little one's friends from MMO and dance class showed up just as they were to leave. I love that they have a great relationship. I still cherish the memories of my Papa and hope the same for little one.
Third, we went grocery shopping (hush -- we are learning math) on Thursday. Little one had $3 left from her birthday money and wanted to buy something. She was not sure what it would be but the money was burning a hole in her pocket! So while at the store, she kept picking out things to buy. Our lesson was on how much $3 would buy her. She finally settled on helping with the birthday cake for Daddy (Oct 6 was his 50th) and a bottle of juice. I was so proud of her. She bought the juice all by herself and then gave me the remaining amount toward the cake. She then helped me count out the dollars needed to purchase. While we are still a ways from truly understanding how to subtract/add money, she is starting to get the concept about how much she has to spend. IE if the price has a 4 in front of the period and she only has 3 dollar bills -- it is too expensive to buy. However, those items at $2.99 and adding tax were hard to understand.
So what did we learn this week:
- Tying shoes is hard work (so is teaching something so ingrained in my psyche)
- Grandpas are the best
- Money matters need to stay with Mom and Dad for a few more years! My brain hurts.
10/03/2011
Weekly Wrapup: 9/26 - 9/30
As you may know, we have been in the middle of major renovations in our house since the end of July. It has been an exciting, trying, crying and anxiety laden time in our lives. Little one has been right in the middle of the uproar and her schedule (trying to figure out if we had one) has been messed up. Daddy and little one worked getting furniture back into our house!
For the first time in over 3 months, I had to travel for my job. I was off to Boston Monday through Wednesday. Getting back into a routine was the first order of business for Daddy and little one. Not an easy task. This is our supposed schedule :
Outside of getting back into a semblence of a routine, the big thing we did this last week is use our imagination. Bill let little one have a big box to play with. Here is what we learned this week:
Fun fun stuff and I loved that little one wanted to teach us these things. I have always found one learns more teaching another!
For the first time in over 3 months, I had to travel for my job. I was off to Boston Monday through Wednesday. Getting back into a routine was the first order of business for Daddy and little one. Not an easy task. This is our supposed schedule :
- Get up at reasonable time (around 8am)
- Eat breakfast (why is that one so hard to get done?)
- Get dressed (and take shower for little one if she did not have a bath the night before)
- Mommy's Morning out (in our case it should be Daddy's morning out!)
- Lunch
- About an hour of "school" in the early afternoon
- Play Play Play Play ("wait you need shoes to go outside"; "no don't <insert your defnition of NO>")
- Make dinner (why does it always take longer with HELP?)
- Eat dinner
- Story time
- Bed by 8pm (okay more like 9 or 9:30)
Outside of getting back into a semblence of a routine, the big thing we did this last week is use our imagination. Bill let little one have a big box to play with. Here is what we learned this week:
- How to build a tent
- Cages hold back the monsters
- Hide and seek
- Tossing the ball into the "basket"
- Tell stories about the box and her dwellers
Fun fun stuff and I loved that little one wanted to teach us these things. I have always found one learns more teaching another!
9/19/2011
Weekly Wrap up: Field Trip
This week we have my best friend here from Michigan. Thank you to her hubby for letting her come down for a whole week!
Thursday night it was a Low Country Crab Boil in Aunt Kristi's honor! It was YUMMY but we could have done without all the gnats.
Not much schooling has been done this week, however, we had a field trip to Charleston on Saturday. Little one took her aunt to The Battery, over the Ravenel Bridge to Patriot's Point, through Bill's Alma mater, The Citadel, and out to one of our favorite restaurants, The Grill on the Edge.
This was the first time little one and I have been able to walk around Battery Park! Did you know that while it is commonly known as Battery Park, White Point Gardens is the actual park part? In the past, it has always been raining when we have been to tour around Charleston. Of course admittedly until this time, it has always been in November when we have gone.
In preparation for the trip, we did a bit of research on the bridge and how it was made. I love bridges and so this was fun research for me. Other than little one getting to learn how to use a search engine on the computer, I think the whole exercise was kind of wasted on her. But I learned a lot! For instance, there are 128 individual cables between the support piers and each of those cables can hold over 1 million pounds! Here is a link to some great photos of it since it is quite hard to take one while riding in the van.
http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/charleston-county/ravenel-bridge.html
On Sunday, we celebrated little one's 4th birthday with friends and family. One of the highlights of the afternoon was little one and her friends ATTEMPTING to break the pinata bought by Aunt Kristi! Well, let me tell you, this pinata could have been the poster child for a Volkswagen. One of the cousins finally had to bust it open with a two-handed swing. Little one was very happy with her presents and will enjoy them for the next ...... oh month or so!
So what did we learn this week?
Thursday night it was a Low Country Crab Boil in Aunt Kristi's honor! It was YUMMY but we could have done without all the gnats.
Not much schooling has been done this week, however, we had a field trip to Charleston on Saturday. Little one took her aunt to The Battery, over the Ravenel Bridge to Patriot's Point, through Bill's Alma mater, The Citadel, and out to one of our favorite restaurants, The Grill on the Edge.
This was the first time little one and I have been able to walk around Battery Park! Did you know that while it is commonly known as Battery Park, White Point Gardens is the actual park part? In the past, it has always been raining when we have been to tour around Charleston. Of course admittedly until this time, it has always been in November when we have gone.
In preparation for the trip, we did a bit of research on the bridge and how it was made. I love bridges and so this was fun research for me. Other than little one getting to learn how to use a search engine on the computer, I think the whole exercise was kind of wasted on her. But I learned a lot! For instance, there are 128 individual cables between the support piers and each of those cables can hold over 1 million pounds! Here is a link to some great photos of it since it is quite hard to take one while riding in the van.
http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/charleston-county/ravenel-bridge.html
On Sunday, we celebrated little one's 4th birthday with friends and family. One of the highlights of the afternoon was little one and her friends ATTEMPTING to break the pinata bought by Aunt Kristi! Well, let me tell you, this pinata could have been the poster child for a Volkswagen. One of the cousins finally had to bust it open with a two-handed swing. Little one was very happy with her presents and will enjoy them for the next ...... oh month or so!
So what did we learn this week?
- We aren't quite ready for history beyond climbing on cannonballs & cannons. Okay, we loved the sailboats!
- Bridge construction at this point is not an option for a career path. Little one was not as impressed as I was. Boat captain might be.
- Aunt Kristi loves to spoil me
- Preparation of crabs is hard work, messy and WET. Note to Momma... let me wear my bathing suit next time and you won't have to make me change 3 times before company shows up.
- Birthdays should be everyday.
9/13/2011
Weekly Wrap Up
I am going to try to post a weekly wrap up each week on Saturday for the previous week but I reserve the right to be late and it may always end up on Tuesdays!
We have a name for our preschool............... Anderson Academy .... LOL I know not the most original but hey we like it. While we will not formally start doing desk work in the study room in the house until October, it doesn't mean learning isn't happening. I guess most would call this k-4 curriculum "unschooling" but it works for us. Dad is the primary teacher as we start this adventure.
Last week we got the cabinet setup in the RV for our school.
In the RV, we are limited on space, so we have a few workbooks for writing and shapes, for reading we have the Usborne First Reading Set and other items include two games, one a busy bug set (colors and sets, early math) and a phonics card set.
Here is we are playing with the bug set. She is making bug soup, hence the bowl. YUMMMMMMMM my favorite is purple and blue bugs! Little one also likes having her dad or me make the soup while she calls out the recipe: - 2 blue bugs
- Stir gently
- All of the beetles
- ETC!
On Wednesday night, it was the start of FUNdamentals at church. Playing mass chaos, I was really impressed with her following directions and getting to play with the big kids. Basically Mass Chaos is a dirty, messy and hilarious time for kids of all ages.
So what did we learn?
Play = school!
Cleaning up allows us to know where to find things the next day
Getting messy can be a learning experience (gotta remember that Mom!)
9/02/2011
5 Years and Counting
Happy Anniversary were the first words I heard this morning. "I Love you" coming right after. I can hardly believe that five years ago, I was saying "I do" to my best friend and love.
I remember moments in time of our wedding day.
I remember moments in time of our wedding day.
- I was the driver of the boat (Lincoln Continental) to the hairdresser's and to brunch. hey it was huge compared to my Kia Sorrento!
- Standing at the top of the stairs waiting on my dad with my bridesmaids telling jokes so I wouldn't cry
- Seeing Bill's Dad with a grin that about split his face open -- he is the one on the scooter in the background behind Bill.
- Standing over the a/c vent while pictures where taken and breathing a sigh of relief --- wedding coordinator forgot to turn on the a/c 2-3 hours before we got there. Mind you the temperature outside was about 102. That was down from the week prior when we were stuck in the 110's!
- Two of my dearest friends picking up my Mom's wheelchair and carrying her up the stairs so she could sit with friends and family in one of the reception rooms! That made me cry when I saw them.
- Lots of beer and wine flowing freely at the post-reception get together back at our house.
- Trying to find a restaurant on a Sat Evening which could hold 20 people easily when June, mother-in-law who was soused but good, announced it was time to feed the crowd. And no, buckets of fried chicken were not to be served!
- Revenge on my matron of honor later that night. Who else but me would decide to go toilet paper a house on their wedding night?
- Watching our wedding video and laughing my butt off at the antics of my father and my father-in-law lighting the Unity Candles! Bill was not so amused as me when it was happening LIVE!
8/25/2011
Waiting on a Hurricane
Being from Oklahoma, I am used to watching the weather and the current satellite imagery and paths of storms. Thunderstorms and tornadoes are common. As a native Oklahoman, I have been the idiot standing outside watching the sky while the sirens are going off.
Now I live in South Carolina about 50-75 miles inland from the coast. I have been watching Hurricane Irene imagery. Reading information on what Hurricanes can do and have done. It's like a train wreck, I can't stop watching. On the other hand, watching the predictions is an agonizing process.
The biggest difference is TIME.
Tornadoes spring up over the course of an evening in an area. Warnings are in terms of minutes. Hurricanes develop over days. Warnings start a week in advance. Three days ago Hurricane Irene was modeled to be coming straight for us. Now we may get rain on Saturday.
Check out the latest satellite animation from The Weather Channel at http://www.weather.com/maps/news/atlstorm9/spec_floater3_large_animated.html. We are basically just north of the HA in Charleston. We are praying for family and friends in the path of this storm. Batten down the hatches and stay safe!
Now I live in South Carolina about 50-75 miles inland from the coast. I have been watching Hurricane Irene imagery. Reading information on what Hurricanes can do and have done. It's like a train wreck, I can't stop watching. On the other hand, watching the predictions is an agonizing process.
The biggest difference is TIME.
Tornadoes spring up over the course of an evening in an area. Warnings are in terms of minutes. Hurricanes develop over days. Warnings start a week in advance. Three days ago Hurricane Irene was modeled to be coming straight for us. Now we may get rain on Saturday.
Check out the latest satellite animation from The Weather Channel at http://www.weather.com/maps/news/atlstorm9/spec_floater3_large_animated.html. We are basically just north of the HA in Charleston. We are praying for family and friends in the path of this storm. Batten down the hatches and stay safe!
8/04/2011
Renovation Day 1 - Demolition starts
TODAY is the day! Demolition of the kitchen, living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen area, weird double entry foyer and hallway has begun.
I foresee lots of Wordless Wednesday posts coming out of this renovation! For today I will outline what we are doing and how it is going!
To understand what we are doing, please take a look at the existing floor plan. Can you see a major design flaw in the kitchen? Wait for it................. yep you guessed it, the cook top island. If you think it looks bad in a flat drawing, it is nothing compared to the reality. Both Bill and I have lost over 200lbs from our largest weight, and we still can't get by it without turning sideways. And heaven forbid you have someone who wants to come into the kitchen when the oven door is down!
Here are some of the highlights of our new plan, come back later this week to see the floor plans!
Today, the carpet in the hallway and the molding from all of the front rooms is being removed by Bill and his nephew.
I foresee lots of Wordless Wednesday posts coming out of this renovation! For today I will outline what we are doing and how it is going!
Here are some of the highlights of our new plan, come back later this week to see the floor plans!
- Kitchen wall where the refrigerator is today will be gone, at least the upper portion
- New door to a new deck on the sink side of the kitchen
- Flooring refinished darker throughout the house
- New cook top, oven/microwave/convention oven combo on the wall
- New cabinets, sink and counter top
- Today's dining room will be the study and Jea's classroom
- Today's Eat-in kitchen area (also known as the den by Bill and his sister) will be the dining room
- Living room wall that makes the hallway is gone
Today, the carpet in the hallway and the molding from all of the front rooms is being removed by Bill and his nephew.
8/03/2011
Wordless Wednesday: Grandpa's Girl
I decided to try this out... in honor of my Dad leaving today to visit his brother in Topeka and the fact that my daughter already misses him.
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| June 2011 Planting the container garden |
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| May 2011 In Grandpa's hat |
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| December 2010 At the Christmas light tour and village |
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| July 2011 Here he is with his oldest granddaughter |
7/14/2011
Renovation Decisions
It's starting! Bill asked me to decide what I must keep out of the kitchen in order to survive cooking in the RV. We start demolition of the kitchen this week! One of my goals is to document the transformation. We decided on the following over the last month ...
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| 713 Fireside |
- Cabinets
- Carpenter: Scott Smoak out of Walterboro will build our cabinets
- Style: Shaker flat panel with solid drawer
- Wood: Maple
- Stain: Fireside is the name from Gemini
- Layout: Only 4 lower doors and lower cabinet bases will be 28 inches deep
- Flooring
- Living, Dining, Kitchen, Hall & Study: Oak flooring with variable plank sizes to incorporate what we already have and adding in larger plank size
- Stain: Fireside which when on the Oak will be about 1 shade darker
- Appliances
- Cook top: Gas from Kenmore with 5 burners in black on black
- Wall Oven: 30 inch electric Kenmore brand in black on black
- Wall Microwave/Convention Oven combo: Kenmore brand in black on black
- Dishwasher: GE 24 inch black on black with utensil drawer in the door
- All purchased through a wonderful program offered by my employer for all employees. The program is a benefit and allows us to purchase these items at a lower cost through Sears Commercial Sales. Thank you HP!
- Refrigerator: We will keep our current ones with one in the house and one in the laundry room.
7/07/2011
4th of July Weekend
It was a whirlwind of travel, laughter, food, sightseeing and family. The whole family including the new addition, Chase the puppy, loaded up the van and headed north to Newark, Delaware. We left on Thursday evening after I got off work.
Our weekend schedule was packed with seeing family: Uncle Jim & Aunt Becky, Cousin Jake and his family, Cousin Elizabeth and her family and Niece (Dad's oldest granddaughter) Rena. It was good to see and stay with Beck and Jim; they have a beautiful house.
Meeting with Rena was wonderful; we had to fit it in with her schedule of heading to DC for drum corps parades/competitions. Dad and I had not seen her since 2002. So we met her at the Delaware House Service Area.
On Saturday, we went sighseeing in Amish country about 45 minutes from Jim's house. We stopped at a yard sale where Bill and I found 37 books from the Hardy Boys series. All the books are hardbound and range from 1940 - 1955 editions. It is not the complete set but we couldn't resist after reading the sign that said $2 a book. Bill haggled a bit and we got all of the books for $50. Woohoo, can't wait to start reading them to Jea. Not only to let her enjoy books but also to reacquaint ourselves with the series. We will also have to track down the other books in the series! This just might entice Bill to go garage saling with me. Oh, Uncle Jim loved telling the story to everyone we met about our purchase.
Jake and his family drove down to see us on Saturday afternoon. Traditional 4th fare was on the menu with hamburgers, hotdogs, and grilled corn. Seen here are Jake and Bill shucking the corn! The kids had a great time, playing outside in the sand and inside with the playdough!
We also got to have a date night on Saturday, well okay, dinner out by ourselves while our daughter stayed with the three grands (Jim, Becky and Dad!) We had wonderful tapas at Ole Tapas Lounge and Restaurant. If you are ever in the area, you should check it out. I highly recommend the lamb chops! They also have paella on the menu and while we didn't have it (it states on the menu it serves 2-3), another table had it and oh my the aroma was fantastic!
Sunday, we went to church and then over to Elizabeth's. There we had a great time visiting and hearing about their trip outwest to the Grand Canyon. We also had a great meal. Do you see a theme?
On Monday we headed out. We drove from Newark, down through DC and over to Skyline Drive, VA. Our goal was to continue on down the Blue Ridge Parkway but with the rain that started we jumped off at Swift Run Gap and over to I-81. We stopped in Staunton VA for the night. We saw some wonderful fireworks at Gypsy Hill Park. Thank you goes out to our waitress at Shoney's for giving us the heads up on that one. Then on Tuesday we visited Frontier Culture Museum and Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library. A great time was had by all. If you have kids, the library offers a scavenger hunt and a small play area including dress up items from the 1920-1930's. The frontier museum was a wonderful look at the houses and cultures that make up the early settlers and frontiersmen. Jea even helped sweep in the English house.
Our weekend schedule was packed with seeing family: Uncle Jim & Aunt Becky, Cousin Jake and his family, Cousin Elizabeth and her family and Niece (Dad's oldest granddaughter) Rena. It was good to see and stay with Beck and Jim; they have a beautiful house.
Meeting with Rena was wonderful; we had to fit it in with her schedule of heading to DC for drum corps parades/competitions. Dad and I had not seen her since 2002. So we met her at the Delaware House Service Area. On Saturday, we went sighseeing in Amish country about 45 minutes from Jim's house. We stopped at a yard sale where Bill and I found 37 books from the Hardy Boys series. All the books are hardbound and range from 1940 - 1955 editions. It is not the complete set but we couldn't resist after reading the sign that said $2 a book. Bill haggled a bit and we got all of the books for $50. Woohoo, can't wait to start reading them to Jea. Not only to let her enjoy books but also to reacquaint ourselves with the series. We will also have to track down the other books in the series! This just might entice Bill to go garage saling with me. Oh, Uncle Jim loved telling the story to everyone we met about our purchase.
Jake and his family drove down to see us on Saturday afternoon. Traditional 4th fare was on the menu with hamburgers, hotdogs, and grilled corn. Seen here are Jake and Bill shucking the corn! The kids had a great time, playing outside in the sand and inside with the playdough!We also got to have a date night on Saturday, well okay, dinner out by ourselves while our daughter stayed with the three grands (Jim, Becky and Dad!) We had wonderful tapas at Ole Tapas Lounge and Restaurant. If you are ever in the area, you should check it out. I highly recommend the lamb chops! They also have paella on the menu and while we didn't have it (it states on the menu it serves 2-3), another table had it and oh my the aroma was fantastic!
Sunday, we went to church and then over to Elizabeth's. There we had a great time visiting and hearing about their trip outwest to the Grand Canyon. We also had a great meal. Do you see a theme?
On Monday we headed out. We drove from Newark, down through DC and over to Skyline Drive, VA. Our goal was to continue on down the Blue Ridge Parkway but with the rain that started we jumped off at Swift Run Gap and over to I-81. We stopped in Staunton VA for the night. We saw some wonderful fireworks at Gypsy Hill Park. Thank you goes out to our waitress at Shoney's for giving us the heads up on that one. Then on Tuesday we visited Frontier Culture Museum and Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library. A great time was had by all. If you have kids, the library offers a scavenger hunt and a small play area including dress up items from the 1920-1930's. The frontier museum was a wonderful look at the houses and cultures that make up the early settlers and frontiersmen. Jea even helped sweep in the English house.
12/08/2010
How to get your preschooler into the kitchen and live to tell about it.
My mother and grandmother started allowing me to help with making dinner and desserts at the tender age of three. By the time I was eight, I was making dinner for the family at least one night a week. Some of the best times of my life were while in the kitchen cooking and baking with my mom, grandmother and various aunts during the Holidays. I want my daughter to have memories like me.
But how does one do that? This question started my journey to figure out how to teach my daughter the art and the joy of cooking. Here are the easy (or maybe not so easy as it turns out) steps that I have incorporated into my cooking routine
But how does one do that? This question started my journey to figure out how to teach my daughter the art and the joy of cooking. Here are the easy (or maybe not so easy as it turns out) steps that I have incorporated into my cooking routine
- KISS -- Keep it simple stupid works here! Don't plan an elaborate project.
- Each activity that I plan lasts no longer than 5 to 10 minutes.
- I start small and keep it fun.
- Look at recipes and determine tasks that a preschooler can do independently or with minimal supervision.
- Assign tasks
- Baking usually has the best and most tasks that can be assigned. And as we all know baking is a big part of the Holidays!
- Pour liquid or dry ingredients into a bowl. Of course its usually from the measuring spoon or cup after I have measured it out.
- Sprinkle cheese or bread crumbs on top of a casserole before it goes into the oven
- Use cookie cutters.
- Use the metal cookie cutters to cut PB&J or cheese sandwiches. I avoid lunch meat sandwiches as I quickly found out it is not easy to cut!
- Use plastic or metal cookie cutters with biscuit dough
- Pounding out or punching down dough, especially during bread and biscuit making.
- Stirring the ingredients in the bowl. I use high sided bowls now!
- Rolling meatballs or dough balls by hand.
- Forget about the mess
- This is the one I have the hardest time with!
- Everything can be washed.
- Wear aprons or old clothes!
- Put down newspaper under the table or stool being used by the child
- Purchase kid-friendly utensils
- Jea loves the Head Chef tools we have purchased. They are a Fiesta Product (http://www.fiestaproducts.com/head-chefs.php). They can be purchased online or like us, find them in a kitchen supply store.
- Clean up as you go. This is a great teaching tool so that the kitchen isn't a complete mess after cooking. Of course, if you are lucky like me, you have a husband who does the dishes so cleanup as we go is putting dishes in the sink and wiping the counters!
- Last but not least is Have FUN
11/22/2010
Jea's Christmas Wishlist
Jea and I worked on her Santa List this weekend. I will type it up and send to Santa after Thanksgiving but thought I would post it here first. Maybe Santa will pick it up without me having to mail it! LOL He has to be online by now, right?
Jea's Christmas List:
What is on your child's Wishlist for this Holiday Season? I am sure we can all share some great ideas with each other.
Jea's Christmas List:
- Books and Games
- Usborne Books Wishlist Jea loves books and games. She is not reading, yet, but does memorize new books after about the second time it is read to her. She loves to pick out letters and is starting to be able to accurately trace her name and other capital letters. She is well on the way to reading, in my opinion! Rhyming books are some of her favorites and we have started to introduce chapter books into our storytime. I plan to keep on reading to her for a long time.
- SimplyFun Wishlist (okay they don't have a wishlist function so I had to put together individual games she wants): One of the games on this list is family oriented and two are more educational to help her with her reading and math skills.
- Others
- Jigsaw Puzzles of 32 pcs or more. She loves these things and is so good at them. The puzzles she got for her birthday (24pcs each) are put together in about 15 minutes. And this was true after the first time Bill or I helped her with them. She has even helped me put together a 150 piece puzzle at the dining room table. Admittedly, she helped in spurts as she is only 3 years old and her attention span is not that great!
- Dirt Devil Jr Upright Vacuum: Jea loves to use my little hand held rechargeable vacuum and wants to run the big one. I say more power to her as I hate to vacuum although as we all know cleaning must be done. Bill and I have already determined that vacuuming will be one of her household chores as she gets bigger! She was so excited this weekend when we were looking through the toy magazines/online sites everytime she saw a vauum and said "Mommy, look my size vacuum!"
- Crayola Beginnings Color Me a Song: Combining two of Jea's loves, music and coloring, into one! Who can beat that?
- LeapPad Learning Games: I got a leappad last month at a garage sale for $7 along with two books. Jea would like more. However, I have had a hard time finding more games/books for this thing. If anyone has any thoughts on this, please comment!
- FisherPrice KidTough New Digital Camera : Maybe with this, I will get my camera back and be able to take more pictures. Jea always wants to see and to take pictures with my camera. It is a bit bulky for her and I scared she will drop it! So my compromise is to maybe get her her own camera!
- Clothes
- Socks: Jea is her mother's daughter -- she loves socks and wants them to match her outfits!
- Winter clothes: Long sleeves, dresses and pants.
What is on your child's Wishlist for this Holiday Season? I am sure we can all share some great ideas with each other.
11/13/2010
What is Heaven?
For the last 9 months, Jea has been inside more hospital waiting rooms than a three year old should have to see. Many times Grandma has been in a hospital or in ICU where Jea was not allowed. So those times, we were allowed to let Grandma and Jea see each other were precious. Of course, we now have a daughter who can point out hospitals faster than most adults. The long road of illness and seeing the inside of hospitals is now over. Grandma passed from this life into Heaven on Monday morning.
Bill and I told Jea about Grandma on Monday afternoon. Her first words were "Grandma is like Nytrex." Nytrex being our cat that we lost a year ago. We agreed with her. She happily accepted that and went on to play with her cousins.
Fast forward to Thursday evening at the setting up or viewing for those not from the South. Many people came and paid their respects. During the course of the evening more than once someone mentioned about Grandma being in Heaven. One of those times, Jea heard and turned to her Daddy and said "What is Heaven?"
How do you tell a three year about heaven? I am sure that many have had this question asked and know that the answer has to be age appropriate. Our answer, "Heaven is a wonderful place where you go when you die. And our Lord is waiting with open arms to welcome you." Jea's first response: "Oh okay." A bit later she came back and told us "I know where Grandma is. She is in a hospital in Heaven and we need to go there to see her."
I am sure we will have more questions as we continue to go to Grandma's house for family functions. But at least right now, Jea is content to think that Grandma is in Heaven's hospital. And we as parents have done our job to explain at her level Grandma is no longer with us.
Bill and I told Jea about Grandma on Monday afternoon. Her first words were "Grandma is like Nytrex." Nytrex being our cat that we lost a year ago. We agreed with her. She happily accepted that and went on to play with her cousins.
Fast forward to Thursday evening at the setting up or viewing for those not from the South. Many people came and paid their respects. During the course of the evening more than once someone mentioned about Grandma being in Heaven. One of those times, Jea heard and turned to her Daddy and said "What is Heaven?"
How do you tell a three year about heaven? I am sure that many have had this question asked and know that the answer has to be age appropriate. Our answer, "Heaven is a wonderful place where you go when you die. And our Lord is waiting with open arms to welcome you." Jea's first response: "Oh okay." A bit later she came back and told us "I know where Grandma is. She is in a hospital in Heaven and we need to go there to see her."
I am sure we will have more questions as we continue to go to Grandma's house for family functions. But at least right now, Jea is content to think that Grandma is in Heaven's hospital. And we as parents have done our job to explain at her level Grandma is no longer with us.
9/28/2010
Story Time associated with bedtime
Well we have had to find a new scheduled time for reading to our daughter. We have had a bedtime routine with Jea for a long time and part of that routine includes (most nights anyway) a book or two or three. That is until about 2 weeks ago when she started to balk at getting a book from her shelf for story time. Guess that is what we get for having a routine at bedtime, Jea has now figured out that getting a book off the shelf equals bedtime shortly. And what 3 year old wants to go to bed? hmmmmm not mine no matter how tired she really is! Story time should not be a power struggle and one that has us, the parents, frustrated beyond belief and her, the child, in tears or throwing a tantrum!
So I have decided to move story time to earlier in the evening, ie at least 2 hours away from bedtime. Both Bill and I love to read and want Jea to have that same passion for books and the ability to imagine from words on a page, travel to far off places or "be" a superhero or whatever. We are starting that new routine this week and will see how it goes. Jea loves her books and is at the stage of memorizing favorites. If she knows the book, heaven forbid you miss a word or line or a page! I want that to continue and her interest in reading to grow.
So I have decided to move story time to earlier in the evening, ie at least 2 hours away from bedtime. Both Bill and I love to read and want Jea to have that same passion for books and the ability to imagine from words on a page, travel to far off places or "be" a superhero or whatever. We are starting that new routine this week and will see how it goes. Jea loves her books and is at the stage of memorizing favorites. If she knows the book, heaven forbid you miss a word or line or a page! I want that to continue and her interest in reading to grow.
9/15/2010
Potty Training Saga
Well, this has been an on-going saga for awhile now! As of July of this year, our daughter has been accident free on the #1 side of the equation. She just got it after about 2 weeks of moving from pull-ups/diapers to cloth training pants. On the other hand, #2 (poop) has not been as successful! I will say that on that front, she has never been bothered by a dirty and stinky diaper. In fact, many times since she learned the word NO, it has been a fight to change her when she is dirty. Moving away from diapers did not change this!
About the 15th of August, we moved Jea from training pants to actual little girl panties includig those with Dora the Explorer or one of the Disney Princesses on them. I thought this might entice her to keep those panties clean and be moved to poop in the toilet! No such luck. And her dad and I were getting very very tired of cleaning out the panties. We did make the pact that we would not put Jea back into diapers or pull-ups, however!
Move forward to about 2 weeks ago. A friend related the trick that worked with her oldest. She has 4 boys so I decided that it couldn't hurt! Her trick was to take away pants and underwear if her son did not use the toilet to go #2. This is how we implemented it:
About the 15th of August, we moved Jea from training pants to actual little girl panties includig those with Dora the Explorer or one of the Disney Princesses on them. I thought this might entice her to keep those panties clean and be moved to poop in the toilet! No such luck. And her dad and I were getting very very tired of cleaning out the panties. We did make the pact that we would not put Jea back into diapers or pull-ups, however!
Move forward to about 2 weeks ago. A friend related the trick that worked with her oldest. She has 4 boys so I decided that it couldn't hurt! Her trick was to take away pants and underwear if her son did not use the toilet to go #2. This is how we implemented it:
- Told Jea that as of today (Saturday, September 4, 2010), if she poopd in her panties, they would be taken away and in the house she would not be allowed to wear them again until she pooped in the potty.
- If she pooped in the potty, then she would recieve a sticker on the chart. 5 stickers = a trip to Bouncy Bratz!
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