Blueberry Muffins ~ Addictive!!!

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line muffin pans with papers or spray with cooking spray.  I recommend using papers to avoid sticking.  (Recipe makes about 2 dozen medium muffins.) 

 

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup coconut oil (melted)

2 eggs

1 cup milk

4 cups fresh blueberries

 

Directions:

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Mix in eggs and milk.  Slowly add the coconut oil (to avoid splashing) while mixer is on low.  Spoon in blueberries so they don't mash.  Fill muffin pans/papers 3/4 of the way with batter.  Add streusel topping if you desire before baking.  (*Double the streusel recipe.)  Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Enjoy!   

Air It Out!

"A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine."  -- Anonymous

And it doesn't matter when it happens, as long as it happens!

WARNING: If you're not a fan of poop stories, you may want to skip reading this post.  Last chance...you can't say I didn't warn you....

Last night my husband was changing our son in the middle of him playing with his train table; bad timing, yes we are well aware of that, but when nature calls you need to take care of it.  He was about to put on a fresh cloth diaper when I told him it was OK for the little guy to "air it out" for a while before bed.  This is nothing new; I try to give him a short break throughout the day to let his skin breathe without being confined to a diaper 24/7.  So, anyway, back to the train table he went sporting just his t-shirt with everything hanging out for all to see.  Within a minute my husband is yelling for me to grab the wipes.  It was definitely too late!  We had a lovely trail of blueberry-tainted poo around the train table carpet.  (I should have mentioned that since Sunday he has consumed nearly 3 pints of fresh blueberries during snacks and mealtimes!)  Now my husband is awesome when it comes to changing diapers and even washing the soiled cloths, but unexpected poop messes on the carpet sends him a tizzy!  I come around the corner and there my son is 5 feet in the air and an arm's length away from my husband; poor guy was trying his hardest to remain smear-free.  That doesn't happen when playtime is the only thing on this child's mind and he is attempting to break loose from daddy's hold.  I handed him his toy bucket and off to the bath we went. 

Lesson of the evening is in the quote above; he definitely showed daddy how critical playtime is day and night!

It's OK to Ask...

I was recently out shopping with my little guy when an older couple was standing behind us in the check-out line.  Of course, there was one lane open and the customer was doing a return so the line was beginning to snake through the store.  I debated leaving the cart of merchandise behind and returning on a different day, but we held out for our turn.  I've noticed since giving birth to my son that many people feel the need to say something to your child the moment they make eye contact; something I am OK with except the day a woman said she would take him home with her because she always wanted a little boy, but I will save that story for another day. 

We've been in line now for a good 6-7 minutes when the wife of the couple behind us was eagerly trying to get little man to say hello to her.  He eventually did so in his own bashful way of flashing a quick smile before nestling his face into my protruding pregnancy bump.  Her husband stood next to her looking at my fair, but sun-golden arms and poker straight hair and abruptly asked, "where did those curls come from?" his eyes now looking at my little guy's head.  I knew by the look on his darling wife's face she was not only embarrassed, but did not approve of his question being asked in public.  I gently smiled and said, "It's OK.  He gets those beautiful ringlets from daddy, definitely not me."  His wife now felt the need to follow-up his question with comments about how well behaved he was in the shopping cart waiting and his adorableness.  In my eyes, she didn't have to say anything; her husband asked a legitimate question and no, I wasn't offended by it nor should she be.  

It's OK to ask where those ringlets came from as I certainly don't have them, but surely wished I did.  It's OK to ask where he got the perfect year-round tan from too; luckily that is a perfect blend of both daddy and me.  When my then 4-year old niece met our little guy for the first time last summer at a restaurant, she loudly asked, "Aunt Mia, do you know your baby is uh whittle bwown (a little brown)?  The woman sitting near us waiting for her food turned red in the face as if she was embarrassed for me.  Unfortunately my husband did not have military leave when I was traveling and it had been some time since my niece had seen him, but a quick conversation about how Uncle Tony and Aunt Mia's skin colors made baby D's skin color cleared up her innocent question and vacation proceeded as normal.  But back to the couple out shopping the other day.  I am not offended by those questions.  I would rather you ask then make assumptions.  I am OK with who I married and how our son (soon to be plural) appears and you should be OK asking me where those ringlets came from.

Building A Bookworm

As I venture down the parenting path through life over the years I am sure there will be 415,689,372 and more things that I will feel guilty about with my boys and want to redo over and over again, but since I am only 17 months and 2 days into this humbling journey, there is one that haunts me regularly- reading to my son daily and nightly!  I don’t know, maybe it’s the teacher in me (and the fact that my master’s degree is in early literacy), but if my husband and I haven’t read a stack of books to him throughout the day the panic sets in- will his vocabulary suffer, will he learn his letters and sounds on time, will he continue to develop a love for learning and reading, and…the…list…goes…on…  Now don’t get me wrong, he isn’t quite a year and a half yet, so I am not expecting him to pick up a book and recite it to us nor am I expecting him to sit for 10 minutes at a time to listen to a variety of texts; the anxiety takes a toll when I think we played too much throughout the day rather than taking 2 minutes here and there to read a story.  Yes, trust me, after teaching preschool and attending hundreds of hours of professional development on the concept of play and a child’s development, I understand and value the critical need for play in a child’s daily routine, but how do you balance time between play and books with your children? 

I recently read an article from The Children’s Reading Foundation that talks about reading to children starting at birth thru school-age and my mind and heart are at ease now.  Reading 20 minutes a day to your child proves to have a significant impact on their language and cognitive development.  I think it is important to remember that the 20 minutes a day doesn’t have to be a consecutive chunk of time; building it into your daily routine is up to you and how it will best fit.  Another point to consider is that while introducing and modeling good reading practices and strategies with children is an essential skill, you can build literacy into your schedule through conversations, songs, and fingerplays too.

Here are some ingenious ways to develop these literacy moments with your littles:

• Sing songs during bath time, washing your hands, getting dressed, cleaning up, etc.
• Read books during breakfast and lunch
• Visit the local library for story time
• Obtain a library card
• Listen to stories on CD in the car
• Felt Board Story sets
• Letter magnets on the fridge, talk about them while you’re cooking
• Label items around the house; point them out during the day
• During TV commercials, mute the TV and read a story
• Have books available during playtime for your child to handle

Rainy Day + Gutter = Instant Adventure!

Rain, rain, go away
Come again another day
Little sailor wants to play!

Rainy days are sure to dampen anyone’s day especially during the summertime, but with a bucket of trains, trucks and cars and a $5 plastic rain gutter from Home Depot (cut into smaller pieces) we didn’t let weather stop us from having a morning of adventure in our living room!

*We also had a bucket of balls nearby along with a second rain gutter cut the same size.  (The store associate cut the 10 foot rain gutter into two 4-foot pieces and one 2-foot piece.)  We raced the balls down each gutter!

DIY Water Wall of Wonder

Little man is finally on the upswing from his daunting adenoid surgery, stomach virus and post-op infection (yep all together!), therefore we are back outside from sun up until sundown.  HOORAY!!!  We have the typical outdoor water table with recycled plastic bottles, cups, measuring bowls, etc, but it was time to take the outdoor water play to another level; I’ll admit it, I was bored with the water table.  Since our little sailor can’t keep his fingers and toes out of anything that has even a few drops of water, I knew we needed something durable yet easily accessible for his small exploratory hands and feet.  I have seen so many of the shared Facebook posts from numerous teaching pages, mommy bloggers, etc. promoting outdoor water play pop up in my newsfeed lately, so I set off to Home Depot yesterday afternoon with no plan in place other than to purchase anything we could zip-tie to our fence that would hopefully provide endless hours of water play, investigation, and imagination!  I am not sure if I should be proud of this or not, but there is an associate at our local store who will literally walk me through EVERY step of my DIY kiddo projects offering her suggestions, improvements, etc. until I leave with a bigger and better idea; unfortunately, she was on vacation yesterday, but with no plan in place, I don’t think my project turned out too shabby.  For under $30 (don’t forget the military discount they offer!) and within 30 minutes during his naptime, I was able to construct the next best thing to golden Oreos in my son’s eyes I do believe!  (Even my husband left the remote and couch behind yesterday to get wet with us!) 

*Since we live in military housing, I couldn’t screw the water wall pieces to the fence, so I purchased extra long zip ties to secure everything in place.  Don’t have a fence to utilize?  Don’t fret; you can use a recycled wooden skid, peg board, plywood, etc.    

 

Possible items to use:  funnels, tubing, PVC pipe pieces (I spray painted mine to break up the boring white), kitchen colanders, recycled plastic containers (ketchup/mustard bottles, milk jogs, cottage cheese/yogurt containers, drinking cups, measuring cups/bowls, watering cans, etc.  Get the little ones involved- look around the house for anything that could be turned into another part of your water wall!            

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The Morton Arboretum

 

We took an unplanned family daytrip on Thursday to Lisle, IL to an AHHHH-MAZING place, The Morton Arboretum!  Their website does it NO justice!  When I was reading some info about the gardens and what it has to offer its visitors, I knew my husband really had very little interest in going, but he said we could “give it a try;” his famous words when he is only going to keep me happy.  (HA!)  I figured the worst thing that could happen would be spending the day outdoors in gorgeous Spring-like weather (finally) as a family of 3.5.  (Our newest sailor makes his appearance in just about 6 weeks- Eek!) 

We were pleasantly surprised when paying at the gate that with my husband’s active duty military ID card both of us received free admission- bonus!  (Our little sailor was free since he is under 2.)  I knew the arboretum was well over a thousand acres, but what I didn’t realize was what it offered for children.  The “Children’s Garden” is absolutely incredible!  In fact, we spent more than 3 hours in just HALF of this area!  Our son went wild in the Sound Garden, playing with the old-fashioned water pumps, exploring the in the Frog Fountain, and so much more!  We had no idea how large the children’s garden was until we were ready to hit the road, loaded up little guy in the wagon and walked through the remaining children’s spot.  There are play areas to climb, run, jump, slide, and simply be a kid among the beauty of plants, trees, water, insects, and anything else part of the natural world!  The toddler garden maze is simply just the cutest activity, but of course our little adventurer was more interested in the large garden maze and getting lost among the tall bushes and shrubs giggling away as he ran along the dirt paths.  While we were following our 16 month old maze guide, we were discussing how taken aback we were with this landmark.  At one point my husband actually made the comment that if we weren’t a good 45 minute drive away we would visit each weekend!  The day of learning, discovery, and enjoyment we had together was truly one we will never forget and hope to recreate again in the near future! 

 

 

 

Frozen Raspberry Yogurt Pie

Growing up, our house was always filled with homemade goodies.  I am sure my brothers and I took them for granted then, but now that I have a little one running around, I want him to enjoy sweet treats made from mom over anything that I can bring home from the grocery store!  I'm not saying store-bought desserts are banned in our home, but my preference is definitely something I can whip up in the kitchen.

I thought summer weather was finally upon us with temperatures in the upper 80's, but it looks like Mother Nature took a detour; we are back in the 60's.  I guess you could say I made this frozen pie with hopes that the heat returns.  (Crazy to think I am looking forward to the heat at almost 33 weeks pregnant, but after the winter's deep freeze, warm temperatures are needed!)

Frozen Raspberry Yogurt Pie was a summertime staple with my mom.  I can't remember a time there wasn't at least 1 pie, if not 2, in our freezer.  Yesterday, on a last minute trip to the commissary, I grabbed the 4 ingredients to make my own.  My husband is not a fan of sweets, so I had my fingers crossed my son would at least enjoy this easy-to-make yumminess!  One taste and our little sailor was hooked!  Now if I can just remember to make this for our summer get-togethers.   

Ingredients:
1 16 oz. bag of frozen raspberries (or any berry of your choice)
1 raspberry Yoplait Light yogurt
1 tub non-fat Cool Whip (thawed)
1 ready-to-use graham cracker crust

Directions: 
Mix raspberries, yogurt, and Cool Whip together in a large bowl.  Pour into graham cracker crust.  Cover and freeze.  Enjoy frozen or slightly thawed!

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EASY Crab Cakes

 

When I met my husband, I lived within 15 minutes of the beach and some of the best crabbing spots in Virginia.  Crabbing at the pier became a weekend favorite of ours shortly after meeting.  Living in the Midwest has been a lot of fun, but we miss our weekend trips to the pier with our crab traps and nets in hand for a day of crabbing and soaking in the warm sunshine.  It was no surprise to our families when our wedding took on a patriotic color theme (for his military career) with a touch of crabs on our cake, centerpieces, and favors.  On one of my famous Google searches, I came across a family owned and operated spice company (J.O. Spice Company) to make our favors- wooden crab mallets and personalized seafood spices for each guest.  Their spices add the perfect touch to this easy crab cake recipe that I "borrowed" from my mom!       

 

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Mother's Day Frame

Who doesn't love a homemade gift from a child?!  My little sailor and I made these for my mom, mother-in-law, and our grandmothers on both sides of the family.  Grab some popsicle sticks, a glue gun, some puzzle pieces, a Sharpie marker, and a picture!  (We bought our popsicle sticks at a craft store, but I found the same pack at the Dollar Tree; much cheaper too!)  You can easily make it a magnet by adding a sticky magnet to the back or maybe you would rather hang it, so add a piece of string to it!  Either way, it is easy and fun to make and will be cherished for a lifetime! 

 

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Easy DIY Tiered Flower Pots

I don’t have exactly what you would call a “green thumb,” BUT I am working on it.  Last summer we traveled a lot to visit family on the East coast so my time in the yard and gardens was limited resulting in sad, wilted plants that I spent a lot of time picking out and planting perfectly in our gardens.  This year, with baby boy #2 due in July, we won’t be traveling so I am dedicated to keeping up with the watering, fertilizing, weeding, etc around our home to keep my plants from looking neglected and mistreated. 

I do love using fresh herbs, veggies, etc. from the garden so this year I planted some herbs I know we will use regularly in my tiered flower pots; lemon mint, peppermint, Italian parsley, oregano, stevia, and sage.  Luckily, our NEX Home Gallery sells plants at a reasonable price in their garden center.  I put this project together last year for a patriotic display of flowers, but this year I changed it up a bit and added our herbs in it.  This flower pot arrangement is so simple, yet classy to dress up your porch area! 

Materials: 
-3 different size flower pots for each planter (I use the self-watering pots.)
-Potting soil
-Flowers, herbs, etc.
*You could use clay pots as well.  I have read some gardeners use a rod through the hole in the middle to keep them together, but I haven’t had any trouble with mine. 

Directions: 

1.  Fill your largest flower pot 3/4 full with soil.  Place the medium pot on top of the dirt and add soil around the outside, leaving room to add plants later.  
2.  Repeat the above step for the medium/small flower pots.  

3.  Add plants & water. 

*If you’re planting herbs, allow space for the herbs to grow outward and trim regularly. 

 

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Tommee Tippee Product Review

Disclosure:  I was not compensated for this review.  I received the products from Tommee Tippee and the review is based on my own personal experience and opinion of the items.

Tommee Tippee holds a special place in our hearts.  Our was diagnosed with reflux (a happy spitter) when he was only a few weeks old.  He was exclusively breastfed, but did receive feedings by bottle so daddy and other family members could participate in his feedings, too.  When he was about 2 months old, we decided to give a Tommee Tippee (TT) bottle a try. Within a few days, his reflux seemed to lessen and by the end of the first month using their products, his reflux was a world of a difference!  *Happy dance!* 

I reached out to TT about trying and reviewing other products for our now 15 month old.  The representative I was in touch with was just as lovely as their products!  She sent us a few things to try with our little sailor and his soon-to-be baby brother in July. 

Our lil guy is very independent especially when it comes to feedings, but I was a little skeptical about the size of the spoons we were trying.  They were geared towards babies in the 4-7 months age and going through the weaning process; that didn't stop him!  While I was making a cup of coffee for myself, I turned around and he started feeding himself applesauce with his new spoon!  They were soft and flexible and definitely a hit with him!  I was impressed!  He was a great self-feeder with forks, but he couldn't get the hang of a spoon...until now!

We also gave their "Truly Spill Proof Drink Cup" a whirl too.  The first few days we offered him one of his new cups, he turned it away because he couldn't get the hang of it.  Our little sailor is used to one sippy cup or a regular cup.  Eventually, our lil man got the hang of drinking from his cup, and like most little people on the move, the cup goes everywhere and anywhere with him.  I was pleased not to see milk or water dripped throughout his path!  What I love about this cup is the fact that it truly is spill proof!!!  Another added bonus was the thermal-effect.  His milk stayed colder much longer than in his old cup which is awesome for running errands and traveling!

Tommee Tippee has proven themselves to us again!  We will continue to use their products throughout the early development years of both of our boys because we have been nothing but pleased with their products!   

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DIY Self-Feeding Bird Feeder (Perfect for little hands!)

We had a ton of water bottles that were headed for the recycling bin this week and I pulled a few out for an unspecified art project with our little guy.  I had no idea what I was going to do with them until we were at our local NEX Home Gallery and I saw a simple bird feeder.  It was easy to recreate with the water bottles and 2 plastic spoons/sporks I had in the kitchen.  The best part about the bird feeder is that when the birds land on the spoon/spork it releases food from the bottle making it a self-feeder!  How awesome is that?!

Living in the Midwest and near the lakefront, weather is always a surprise.  Unfortunately, the day we decided to make these the temperatures were only in the mid-40's.  No worries though; I placed a table cloth on the kitchen floor and we had a no-mess craft space!

(*This project requires some adult-preparation before turning it over to small hands to finish.) 

Materials:

• empty water bottles
• birdseed
• plastic spoons (or sporks)
• funnel
• bowl/cup (to pour birdseed)
• string
• scissors
• box cutter/sharp knife

Directions:

1. Slice 2 sets of holes (4 holes in total) with the box cutter/knife to put the 2 spoons/sporks through
2. Put the spoons/sporks in place
3. Pour birdseed into bowl/measuring cup
4. Using funnel, pour birdseed into bottle
5. Tie string around the neck of the bottle and hang in tree
6. Enjoy watching the birds visit! 

 

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Snack-In-A-Box

We all know little ones are like squirrels when they eat; they gather their snacks and nibble here and there throughout the day.  We are lucky to have a little guy with a big appetite in the morning, but as the day progresses, his desire for food is much like a hunt-and-peck game.  (Fortunately, he is gaining weight perfectly and is a healthy boy!)  During one of my Pinterest journeys I came across the ice cube tray idea to store food in for little ones who like to eat frequently throughout the day.  I tried it and it didn't work for us.  When the tray was unattended, it always mysteriously ended up on the floor, spilled on the table, or our furry friend was sneaking treats.  While I was shopping at our local NEX I came across a "utility box" better known as a mini fishing tackle box to me.  (Only $2!)  I picked up 2 of them- one for the diaper bag and one for at home and so far, we have a tidy "snack-in-a-box" keeper for our little sailor.  I fill it with his favorite treats and let him visit it as needed throughout the day after breakfast.  No more mess for us and when he isn't eating a snack, he simply closes the lid keeping our 4-legged friend away from it. 

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14 month old Pablo Picasso

 

This post is a little late; I have been meaning to write it, but something else always popped up first.  Anyway, a few weeks ago, my son and I had the privilege of visiting "Make a Messterpiece" in Glenview for a day of creativity, painting, bubbles, cooking and appreciating art in different forms.  I really wish he wouldn't have fallen asleep 2 minutes before we parked because he had a blast and we certainly could have stayed longer, but I could see the need for sleep twinkling in his eyes after 2 hours.  If you have the opportunity to visit "Make a Messterpiece" GO!

We explored the art center with the messiest package, meaning we had access to all of the activities.  Learn more about it here:  Make a Messterpiece

 

 

Some of the activities were geared towards older children, 3-4 years old and up, but that didn’t stop our little guy from participating!  The first activity we visited was a mini cooking class where he learned about plants and what they need in order to grow while making his own dirt pudding.  He got a kick out of crushing the graham crackers!  From there we moved onto the Science experiment.  My girlfriends jokingly say that all my years teaching 3^rd and 5^th grade Science have turned me into a female Bill Nye so initially I may have been a little more excited for this activity than he was, but in the end I think there was equal enthusiasm!  Maybe I have a future scientist on my hands?!  The young girl conducting the experiment was energetic and patient while the little learners explored what an oil spill would do to a bird’s feathers and how to clean them.  Our little scientist just didn’t want to stop!  In between the scheduled activities we visited the bubble machines to make bubble art.  This was really neat, but I was disappointed so many of the shorter bubble stations were out of order.  Our little guy LOVES bubbles (we currently have 15+ bottles of bubbles in our home!) and watching them pop on his paper to make artwork was exciting to him, but it was difficult to get a variety of colors because of the machines not working.  This was a bummer!

 

The open art area- easels, painting at the table, creation station (recycled materials), and play-doh were the biggest hit with him!  In fact, it has prompted us to order an easel for our home!  He was so content and focused when painting at the table and easel.  It was darling to see our Pablo Picasso in the making hard-at-work!  We spent so much time in this area we never made it to the play area.  There was also a room called “Drum Roll.”  I am not sure what takes place here because during our visit there were older kids playing in there and I didn’t want to put a damper on their fun by bringing our munchkin in there. 

 

   

 

Overall, we had a fantastic day of painting and getting messy!  If you take a trip there, make sure you were clothing that can get messy without a fuss!   

A bonus to military families: they offer a military discount! 

 

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Breaking the Traditional Easter Basket-Look

After scrolling through countless number of traditional Easter baskets in my newsfeed on social media over the past week, I knew I didn't want to become that parent who filled a brightly-colored basket with everything our little guy didn't need or already had in the snack closet.  I am not saying I am 100% against the traditional Easter basket, but I remember growing up and each year my brothers and I would get these humungous Easter baskets filled with all our favorite sweet treats and stuff we never touched until it was time to toss it in the trash.  Thinking back and talking to my mom about this she admitted she fell into the trap of giving us large baskets filled with anything she could throw in the cart that was bunny and spring-time related. 

As I looked at the 2 bags of play sand my husband picked up from Home Depot I knew I could easily turn this into our son's Easter basket- it was both practical and made a perfect toddler gift.  It wasn't something I would toss in the trash in a few weeks nor was it something he would never touch, well unless he hated sand, but luckily that wasn't the case here.  I even tied in the basket-look to complete it. 

My goal is to continue to provide non-traditional, yet practical Easter baskets to our little sailor and his soon-to-be little brother.  I don't want them to look back on their childhood and think about all the candy that was left uneaten for the trashbags to consume because mom and dad felt they had to stuff their baskets full. 

Hope your Easter was filled with happiness and love!

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EGG-celent Idea: 5 Learning Games to Make with Upcycled Egg Cartons!

Easter is only a few days away and if your house is like ours, you have empty egg cartons you are probably going to either recycle or toss in the trash.  STOP!  Upcycle them into learning games! 

Kids love simple, DIY projects with objects lying around the house and this is an easy way to build learning in at home over the holiday and spend quality family-time together!

 

Below are 5 educational ideas you can make with your egg cartons.    

1.  ADDITION, SUBTRACTION, & MULTIPLICATION:  This has multiple variations depending on the level of your child.  First, number each space (1, 2, 3…) with a marker.  Next you will need 2 buttons, coins, bottle caps, or anything else to use as a marker.  Place the 2 objects anywhere in the egg carton, close, and shake a few times.  Open the egg carton.  Now, have your child add, subtract, or multiply the numbers depending on their skill level.  Variation:  Number the spaces with 2 or 3-digit numbers.  Have your child add, subtract, or multiply these larger numbers together.  Another way to play the game could be to round the 2 and 3-digit numbers to the nearest tens or hundreds place.

2.  COLOR SORTING:  You will need an empty egg carton, 6 different colored plastic eggs, and a variety of small objects of different colors (pompoms, beads, buttons, etc.)  Open the egg carton and place one egg in each space in the back row.  Now, have your little learner sort the small objects by color and place in front of the plastic egg.  Variation:  Use tweezers or tongs to build fine motor skills!    

3.  SHAPE SORTING:  Provide your child with a variety of edible objects of different shapes.  (Think about cereal, crackers, candy pieces, pretzels, etc.)  Have your child sort them by similar shape.  Check for accuracy and enjoy a quick snack together!  Variation:  Use tweezers or tongs to build fine motor skills!    

4.  FINE MOTOR SKILLS: Cut off the lid of the egg carton.  Poke holes throughout the bottom tray of the carton.  Give your child pipe cleaners (cut them in half first).  Have your child make designs and patterns reinforcing those fine motor skills by pushing/pulling pipe cleaners through the holes. 

5.  MINI GARDEN:  Cut off the lid of the egg carton.  Fill the bottom with potting soil.  Plant your favorite flowers, fruits, or veggies.  Plan ahead:  when cooking, save the seeds of fruits and veggies and use those to plant in your carton!    

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Longer-Lasting Strawberries!

My family loves strawberries and most of the time we can't keep them in the house long enough, but Target recently had them on sale for 94 cents a pound and I couldn't resist buying 2 pounds.  One thing I hate about buying berries though is how quickly they spoil if they aren't eaten immediately, so I decided to try the vinegar and water bath my mom always talks about.  I filled the kitchen sink with 8 cups of warm water and 2 cups of white vinegar.  I swished the strawberries around for a few minutes with my hands, then let them soak for about 20-30 minutes.  I drained the vinegar and water bathwater, rinsed them clean with warm water and placed them back in the containers I bought them in, but first lined the containers with paper towels.  We are a few days in so far and they are still tasting and looking quite nice when we get them from the refrigerator!  Yay for longer-lasting berries! 

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Rainy Day Water Fun!

Last week we had a day of Spring-time rain; so much better than another snowstorm!  It was too cold to play in the rain, but we still managed to get wet in our sailboat water table.  When I purchased the water table from an online yardsale group, my husband thought it would go outside this summer; little did he know, it would become a central part of our playroom.  My mom completed it with one of her surprise packages for our little guy when she sent him a waterproof smock!  (Available at http://stores.ebay.com/quickdrawsupplies/; Awesome smock, awesome price and it arrived quickly!  We will be ordering more sizes for him!)

I had an empty gallon milk jug that I cut the top off.  I filled the bottom halfway with water, added some vanilla extract and plastic shapes, and froze it during his naptime for sensory discovery when he woke up.  Seeing his love for bath time and his need to fish out ice cubes in my ice water, I hoped he would enjoy the ice block in his water table as much. 

The pictures speak for themselves.  My husband had a conference call for work that afternoon/evening, so I joined our little sailor in the playroom for the water extravaganza.  He became obsessed with trying to break apart the ice block with his water tools to get the plastic shapes out.  The added vanilla was a treat for him; it was adorable watching him smell and taste the water! 

 

Suggestion:  If you have an indoor water table, I highly suggest purchasing a washer/dryer tray from a home improvement store like Lowes or Home Depot to place it in.  Saves a lot of clean-up time and extra messes! 

 

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Tomato & Basil Bruschetta

 

This is one of our favorite recipes when my grandmother is visiting or we are visiting my parents.  I have always been spoiled because mom and grandmom usually make this for us, but with neither of them nearby and my husband craving it, I decided to give my mom's recipe a whirl.  It was a success; so simple to prepare!  This makes me eager to get some tomato plants in the ground this year; there truly is nothing like fresh veggies from the garden!  Mmm...

 

 

 

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Our Child-Lead Weaning Experience

When I started my breastfeeding journey I took it session by session.  Having a preexisting medical condition I anticipated a difficult career with it, but my husband and I were pleasantly surprised with the unexpected outcome; 100% success with little man latching & nursing with a shield (on both sides) and an over abundance of breastmilk. In fact, we had such a great supply of milk, it became part of his fruit/veggie purées and later an ingredient in muffins, macaroni & cheese, smoothies, pancakes, oatmeal, you just about name it, we made it with mama's milk! In fact, homemade yogurt was a staple for him! Anyway, we knew we were blessed with what I was producing daily, but we never took it for granted, knowing my supply could drop significantly, of not vanish altogether, at any moment. My only hope was for baby boy to have the opportunity to self-wean rather than being forced to stop nursing.

Like most parents, I read up on the weaning process, both mother & child-lead, to be prepared or to at least have some knowledge of it. (My husband's motto is to wing it, so he wasn't keen on preparing for this moment.) A lot of articles discussed the emotional roller coaster the mother experienced saying goodbye to that special bond between she and baby. I immediately started analyzing what I read. Was I prepared for that stage of development? How would I react to it? Would I too hop on that emotional roller coaster of saying goodbye? Surprisingly, I'm dealing quite well with the weaning process. Little boy is 14 months, 2 weeks old and he has started this process on his own. I'm far from emotional; I'm actually one proud mama!

Our little man overcame mom's need for a shield on both sides through this entire journey. He learned to adjust to my forceful letdown. He gained weight perfectly from day 1 and is healthy. He went the entire first year of his life without any illnesses, fevers, etc. (First sickness was a terrible case of RSV at 13 months.) And, me, I too have developed in the past 14 months. My body produced more than enough milk to provide regular daily feedings. I gave my son the best nutrition I could provide him with naturally. I learned to adjust to a feeding/pumping schedule that worked for little boy. I developed cooking skills and a creative, outside-the-box mentality when it came to make homemade baby food with mama's milk as an added bonus. I stuck with it!

So rather than being sad about our bond slowly coming to an end, I'm happy it happened for many reasons, but ultimately because, like his conception, it's something we didn't think was possible! Like the famous quote reads, “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” ― Dr. Seuss. And, I'm one smiling mama!

More information on weaning:  http://kellymom.com/ages/weaning/considering-weaning/how_weaning_happens/

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An Oldie, But a Goodie

Last evening we went to the fresh market to purchase our produce for the week.  Right now our little guy is hooked to strawberries and luckily they were on sale so we bought double what we typically bring home.  They were sitting on the counter today and looking and smelling too scrumptious to pass up.  I sliced a bowl of strawberries for the little sailor and me.  I also whipped up my all-time favorite dip- marshmallow and cream cheese!  It is an oldie (recipe), but definitely a goodie and it is super simple!  Every time I make it, it takes me back to my preschool days.  I remember eating this with apple slices as a little girl.  YUMMY!

 

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Unexpected Career Change

Dear past 11 years,

      Apparently you knew something I didn’t know and you were secretly preparing me for it.  I imagine I owe you a “thank you.”  Eleven years ago I was preparing to start my career in the ever-changing world of education.  I graduated with my BA in Spanish and certification in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from a small liberal arts college.  I was ready to take on whatever was thrown my direction; I mean it is what I waited for my entire life!

     When I was a little girl I longed for two things: my own classroom and to be a mom (obviously way off in the future).  I knew one was in the cards- my own magical place where I would teach my heart out, inspire children, and mold little people who loved learning (especially Science) as much as I did.  As for the other, well those chances were slim to none according to almost every doctor and specialist I ever saw, so why focus on it when I could devote 100% to my teaching.  Excellent, I no longer had to share myself between two dreams.

     I worked in an urban district in Pennsylvania teaching Pre-Kindergarten, 3^rd and 4^th grade over a 5-year span.  I took on other responsibilities too; I had the spare time and energy to do so!  I taught both the before and after school programs, summer school, night school at the high school level (not really sure what I was thinking that year), and I was a homebound instructor for kids who were medically excused from school and needed an in-home teacher.  Life couldn’t get much better career-wise. 

     Needing a challenge, I moved to Virginia where I taught in a larger urban district and completed not one, but two master’s degrees from two different universities simultaneously.  Again, I devoted everything to teaching; taking on leadership roles in the school building, teaching after school and through the summer, and facilitating Science programs at a local museum and zoo.  I began exploring new avenues in education; writing project proposals and seeking out grant money to find them for my students. 

      With every success, came less hours for sleep and more time to focus on making a difference.  Teaching truly became my life!  I would stay late at school teaching the afterschool program, helping with family nights, analyzing data and trying to find ways I can move my learners along and build upon their successes, talking to parents about the things they needed to hear, delivering forgotten homework assignments to doorsteps, and anything else I could do to make that little difference in one life. 

     Sure, my days were long, mornings were early; caffeine became a good friend of mine and so did the lack of sleep; worrying about principal observations, lessons going smoothly, getting yet another new student, planning the perfect field trip, parent-teacher conferences, kids having breakfast/lunch money and anything else on a teacher’s plate.  My family would always tell me to slow down, take a break and stop spreading myself thin, but you were preparing me for something bigger, something I deserved. 

      Shortly after meeting my husband, we were living together and engaged.  Then, the news came; the real reason coffee you made coffee my hobby and my alarm clock beep earlier for so many years.  Past 11 years, you were preparing me for the unthinkable, the dream I forgot about because of my career, the dream I was told wouldn’t be fulfilled, the dream that meant the most to me, but cared little about revisiting; we were expecting our first child!

      And now I thank you.  Thank you for teaching me to appreciate every moment I am given; even when I am lying awake worrying about what will be.  Thank you for teaching me to sing when I do everything- if I am awake, I am a singing a tune, scratch that, I think I sing in my sleep now.  Thank you for making me throw away the notion of having a perfectly tidied home round the clock; let’s just put it this way, we have a 6.5 foot teepee in our living room- I will let your imagination run wild with the rest.  Thank you for temporarily replacing my teacher bags with a diaper bag, snack bag, and a toy bag.  Thank you for preparing me for my toughest challenges and the unknown that comes before me with every new moment.  Thank you for making me appreciate the hundreds of parents I worked with over the past 11 years and for teaching me patience, compassion, and determination when I wasn’t sure of my own decisions.  Thank you for teaching me that the smallest achievement, like picking up a waffle piece with a fork, should be celebrated and not go left unnoticed.  Thank you for teaching me how to work to constantly improve myself.  Thank you for teaching me about best practices in the classroom so I can instill those practices at home.  Thank you for teaching me how to plan for the most beneficial field trip and real-life learning experience I could offer my students and now my son.  Thank you for showing me what it meant to multi-task even when I wasn’t sure what direction I was headed.  Thank you for teaching me that although I did my best today, tomorrow I will do better.  Thank you for teaching me not to take a break from what I am doing because that might just be the time I miss something I am destined to do, see, or feel.  Thank you for showing me anything is possible!

Sincerely,

Full-time teacher gone full-time mommy/part-time teacher 

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KidKraft's Deluxe Activity Cube

Disclosure:  I was not compensated for this review.  I received the Deluxe Activity Cube from KidKraft and the review is based on my own personal experience and opinion of the item. 

When we received the package from KidKraft, I was impressed with the size of the box and the limited amount of excess waste.  As a parent who wants to assemble my son’s toys IMMEDIATELY and not take the time to look for the tools needed to put it together, I love that KidKraft’s products come with all of the hardware and tools needed for immediate assembly.  Trust me; this is a huge bonus, not to mention the simple, step-by-step directions with pictures rather than words that totally lose me in the first step.  I think total assembly time for the Deluxe Activity Cube was under a minute- 4 screws and I was finished! 

My son has had the activity cube in his play area downstairs for almost 2 weeks now and it’s one toy he navigates to regularly throughout the day!  (I won’t lie, I do too!)  He loves pushing the wooden beads (shapes) across the paths on top as well as spinning the ABC blocks.  As a teacher, the ABC blocks with pictures on the opposite side are an added bonus and definitely allow us to build in that literacy time each day!  Furthermore, the abacus is introducing him to colors, patterns, and counting!  In the short time he has been playing with the discovery center, I have seen improvement in his hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills as he is pushing, pulling, and manipulating different parts of the cube.

The only downfall to the Deluxe Activity Cube for us is the difficulty turning the gears.  He loves watching them go around while we talk about colors and how they work together, but they are a little tricky for him to turn independently which causes some frustration for him, but I am confident the more we reinforce this skill, the sooner he will be able to turn them himself. 

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Spring-time Family Bucket List

Spring is finally in the air (I think and hope)!  There is so much to do around the house to make it look alive and fresh again, but most importantly, it is time to get outdoors with my family!  I love this time of the year; everything is green, blooming, and children are outside playing!  As much as I enjoy wintertime and snowy days, I was secretly wishing Spring would arrive early so our little guy could get outdoors and explore!  One thing I love about our area is how family-friendly it is and the accessibility to a variety of outdoor venues like playgrounds, zoos, nature trails, Lake Michigan, forest preserves, botanical gardens, petting zoos; I could go on!  We take full advantage of weekends and evenings for family time, so to maximize that time together this Spring, I put together a "Spring-time Bucket List" to do with our little sailor outdoors so he can soak in everything Spring has to offer through his senses!   

 

*If you would like a copy emailed to you, please "follow me" and leave a comment on the post. 

 

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Throw the Paint Brush Away and Get Creative!

When I had my own classroom expressing ourselves through art was a daily component of our learning process.  My son is 14 months and I have been trying to introduce art to him in various modes like footprint painting, edible paints on a canvas, bathtub crayons, etc.  I recently found an art studio nearby that offers art classes for children starting at the age of one.  Now that the subzero temperatures are hopefully out of sight until next winter, I plan on getting him in there a few times a month.

There are numerous benefits of incorporating art into the lives of young children such as:

• Math awareness- colors, shapes, forms and lines.
• Development of fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
• Individual expression.
• Social skills; talking about their own artwork as well as their peers. 
• Decision making and problem solving skills.
• Science Awareness- mixing/changing colors, textures, bubbles, solids/liquids, etc.
•  Pre-writing opportunities.

We have started an art box with washable paint, paper, canvases, chalk, etc.  Painting doesn't always have to be with a paintbrush in hand.  There are many everyday household items lying around that can turn into a new method of painting. 

 

 

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