Just an average summer day!

Little guy was so zonked after his first real swim in the pool that he passed out with both feet in the air!

It was a seemingly restful sleep until his wonderful siblings woke him and I discovered welts on him! He was bitten several time by Army Ants! 

Yuck! Ow!

Soccer & Gelatto

MY MOUTH HURTS

I can't talk or eat or move or breathe!

Gosh darn Wisdom teeth!

I WANT MORE!

WE ALL WANT BETTER FOR OUR CHILDREN… BUT BETTER DOES NOT MEAN MORE STUFF I was clearly born into the wrong America, the wrong generations of Americans… We live in an America where I don’t feel pretty until I put my earnings in… I want to chew bubble gum, play baseball, salute a solider and have a pop at the corner store, NOT blab about celebrity relationships, and attire.

I'm dating my husband

We've hit over ten amazing years, and we've still got that flame, however "free" "alone" or "dating" time is no longer a luxury we can afford.

We have always had our date nights, at least once a month in order to 're-connect' and share the value of our relationship, because the BEST things we can be for our children are not only good parents, but good models of a relationship built on mutual love and respect.

In addition to our date nights, I have created a self-imposed challenge of NOT talking about work, or the kids when we are on our dates.... without television to fall back on, that pretty much leaves NOTHING for me to talk about, unless he wants to know how much I just spent on a 1/2 lb. of string beans, I am all out of ideas.... or at least I thought was. That was until I asked some of my mom friends, and their ideas reminded me of what it was like to "date", and the awkwardness of finding converstational topics that were not to risque, yet revealed something about the partner...

I decided to compose a list of questions:

• if you were granted one wish, what would it be
• if you could spend one night alone with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be
• if time travel were possible, where would you go
• if you found out for certain there is/isnt heaven or hell, how would it change your life
• if you had to name one thing in your life that you feel the most guilty about, what would it be
• if you could rid the earth of one thing, what would it be
• if you had the power to hypnotize anyone, who would you pick and why... what would you ask, say, do
• what one thing gives you the most comfort
• if you had to give up your favorite food forever, what is the amount of money you would demand in exchange
•  what frightens you most about growing older
• if you could be more ambitious in one aspect of your life, which would it be
• what is the most sensual part of your body
• if you had to make one for a public place, what would your nonverbal sign be
• if you had to grab the buttock of a famous person, whos would you
• what is the biggest turn off
• if you could only be intimate at the same time of day, forever, what time would you pick
• if God were to grant you one favor, what would you ask for
• where do you think your fears come from
• what is something you intended to do today but did not
• what is one word to describe you, me
• what do people do in traffic that bugs you
• what is your biggest parenting goal
• what is something you have never done, but want to, why
• what is your favorite memory of our wedding day
• whats your favorite smell
• what type of volunteer work do you think you are best suited for
• what attracted you to me before we married
• what is the most romantic thing i could do for you
• if walls could talk what would ours say
• what makes you feel loved
• what could i do to help you best for the next 30 days
• if you could change anything about the way i treat you, what would it be
• in what way would you like me to change personally over the next year
• what causes most of your stress
• if you had only 6 months to live, how would you spend it
• what do you see as your greatest strengths, mine
• what action of mine provides you with the most pleasure
• what do you enjoy doing with me
• what is the craziest dream you ever had

Relatives Day

I always seem to find the strangest "holidays", thanks to my neat little phonw app & BrowineLocks.com.
For National Relative's Day, my children read "The Day the Relative's Came", and we had a great time discussing the story and members of the family. The funniest part was naming the members of our family and the characters of the book that reminded us of them.
Our next task is to create a 'family tree' using photographs.... Taking silly pictures is the MOST fun and definately the most time consuming!

MAY grocery shopping deals!

Now that it's May we can shop for seasonal products at reduced sale prices. In May look to buy:

• Memorial Day: BBQ Sauce, Condiments, Charcoal, Salad Dressing, Potato Chips, Dips, Grilling Meats, Hot Dogs, Hamburger Meat, Marinade, Salad Greens
• Paper Products: Plates, Utensils, Insect Repellant, Sunscreen
• Cinco De Mayo: Salsa, tortillas
• Seasonal Produce: Artichokes, Asparagus, Avocado, Beans, Green, Beets, Blackberries, Carrots, Sweet Vidalia Onions, Peas, New Potatoes, Raspberries, Strawberries

Flower Month

In conjunction with other activities, children will explore flowers.

Activity ONE -
Children will create "Muffin Flowers".
Using:
# Construction paper
# Muffin tray cup liners
# Glue
# Markers, crayons or paint
Children draw or paint flower stems and leaves on their paper. Students then glue muffin cups in the center of the flower for a 3-D effect.



Activity TWO -
Creating Tissue paper carnations -
1. First you take about 5 to 6 pieces of tissue paper squares, depending on the thickness of your desired depth of the flower.
2. Stack all sheets together one on top of the other.
3. Begin folding your paper back and forth like an accordion or a fan.
4. When complete secure in the middle with a rubber band or twist tie.
5. Now its time to peel up each sheet one at a time. Work from side to side, left to right.
6. Bring all sheets to the middle until your done.
7. If you want the flowers smaller cut the sheets down by length.
8. To make different shapes clip off the tips, only a trim. (triangle, points, wavy, square, etc..)

Easter

The Easter bunny stopped at our house, TIMES THREE!

Date Night

Parents need nights off, and together time. Even if it is the night before a big important race, with  baby in tow.
At least we can enjoy each others company, good food and little man can sleep through the whole thing!

Palm Sunday

In families there are always traditions, like dinners and Easter Egg hunts... The later is becoming more fun as the children are able to participate...

I dressed up my little cuties and off we went to Aunt Sue's for a little Palm Sunday fun...

RUN for the families

My first 5k after Christian was born and it could not have been for a better cause! Matt and my friend Katie worked diligently creating the Sandy Hook Run for the Families and participating in the race could not be missed!
It was so cold, so we bundled. It started to sleet, so we bundled more, but we did not stop running. We could not stop running in the memory of those poor babies taken too soon.

It was so hard to keep moving, and that had nothing to do with the temperature or the fact that I had a baby weeks earlier and was running with him strapped to my chest while pushing the 'big' kids in a double jogger... I couldn't stop, not while I was thinking about how lucky I am to be running with my babies, when other moms, will never again have the ability to do that.

The race was put together very well, down to the stuffed animals awarded to every child participating in the kids fun run race.

Bowling Buddies

Its about time we got these monkeys together!

A little duck-pin bowling and Fro-yo was JUST what we needed!

Too minivan or not to minivan

I am torn between the space I could have and the comfort I have gotten used too.
I enjoy some of the options available in a mini van, but I really don't know if I want to be one of those mini van driving moms.

A great number of my friends have converted... to the dark side. They have become moms of two or more and subjected themselves to mini-van-dome.

I have always sworn I would not convert to a min van driver, but with three kids and two jobs that require loads to transport ... I just might have to.

The sliding remote-controlled doors, the ample storage space, the captains seats (far away from siblings)... ugh, what is happening to me?!!?

Breakfast with Cousins

This morning my cousin, RJ invited us all over to share a breakfast together. He has a 6 -year-old daughter, who gets along smashingly with Jacks AND Trina, which considering the age difference is quite awesome!

I love that they get to play together, and RJ and I can pick up where we left off years ago.

PARENTING

It’s not easy being a parent. No matter if you work outside the home, inside the home. No matter if you have one, two, three or fifteen children. No matter if you have a small house in a big city or a big house in a small city. No matter if you have money coming out your ears or very little money.

Raising children is hard work — at least it is if you are doing it right.

And yet our children don’t care how fancy we are, or how many messages we get in an hour on our blog. The smaller they are the more they need us. The bigger they are, the more they need us. Sometimes, the more they need us, the more we want to slink away and find some blanket to crawl under. But it doesn’t have to feel that way.

Breaks for parents are absolutely essential.

Absolutely.

There is a time and place for media and screens and technology.  It’s about being conscious, as a parent and a human being, about when and how we are turning to the computer or TV for simply boredom or laziness.

To truly be awake to this life — these few fleeting impressionable years — we have but one choice to make each day: embrace our blessings and honor those around us. Practicing mindful choices each day is something that we have to model for our children.

There are many ways that you can just be with your children that are not hard work, challenging or tiresome. You may discover that your child will reach out to you simply because you are suddenly available. The magic in this list is that it’s just simply being together for a solid half hour or so but it offers up the most beneficial memories we can offer to children. Here are some of our family’s favorites:

• Turn off the TV/computer/phones for one hour. (In our house, we limit daily screen time to a total of one-two hours on our weekly movie nights).
• Have a work hour — they do homework and you work on a hobby like art or reading while sitting at the same table.
• Just listen to music. At our house, we call this a dance party.
• Surprise them with a celebration for trying hard on a test or homework and eat cookies and milk, or ice cream or hot chocolate.
• Sit on the couch while they play and read magazines. They will sit next to you eventually and ask, ”Whatcha reading?”
• Grab two balls and challenge everyone to find something fun to do with them outside.
• Snuggle under a blanket or put a puzzle together.
• Ask them open-ended questions about their day.
• Tell them something surprising about your day.
• Draw together, taking turns adding new lines on the same paper.
• Take a drive, taking turns picking the direction and sitting in silence as the unfamiliar landscape passes you by.
• Look at their baby photos.
• Tell them a funny story from their younger days, or your own childhood. In fact, tell them any story you can think of telling.
• Ask them to teach you how to do something. This is big. Very big.
• Announce that there will be no cleaning for just one day.
• Give them a coupon for a hug to use anytime they need it.

BIG surprise--- SNOW

We had so much snow fall that the kids needed to dig and tunnel to escape the house!
M

My dad

National Bubble-Wrap Day

Hug Day

National Hug Day or National Hugging Day is an annual holiday created by Rev. Kevin Zaborney. It occurs on January 21 and is officially recognized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office,but is not a public holiday. The holiday was founded on January 21, 1986 in Caro, Michigan, and has since spread to multiple different countries. The purpose for the holiday is to help everyone show more emotion in public. There is only one way you are supposed to celebrate the holiday, offer a hug to anyone and everyone you want. While National Hug Day and the Free Hugs Campaign share many similarities, there is not actual association between the two. Whether you hug a family member or a stranger, the mental and physical health benefits are the same.

Vocabulary: Children need to understand what they are feeling. There are a range of books you can use to help with a child's emotional vocabulary. My favorite is "Today I Feel Silly: And Other Moods That Make My Day," by Jamie Lee Curtis.

In order to teach emotions, one effective tool is to help them by labeling how they feel. When a child cries, tell the child you know he or she is feeling sad; when someone takes away a toy, say you bet he or she feels angry. This way, your child will begin to associate feelings with the words that define them.

Put a Face On It
Children need to learn to relate facial expressions with emotions.
Help children with this skill by calling out emotions during morning meeting and asking children to make faces that go with those emotions. You may also ask them to draw those emotions on paper or to point to a photo of someone experiencing that emotion (from a selection you will provide). When you watch a movie together or read a story, you might pause and ask how a character is feeling and how your child knows that.

Own Your Emotions:
Help children identify how they feel by letting them express it regularly.

• When they walk into the classroom every morning, have them put their name next to their emotion on an emotions board.


• On a sheet of poster board, put names and facial expressions of several common emotions.


• Kids can have their names on cardboard with velcro or written on a clothespin. Their task is to identify how they feel and put their name next to that emotion. They can always change their name position as their emotions change.

When conflicts arise among children, ask them to explain how they feel to the other child or children. Teach children that if someone is sad we should not laugh at them; if someone is angry, we should try to understand why. Help them learn to positively express themselves without physical violence or negative reactions.

Ask “How do you feel when…” questions:

• You just found out that your grandparents are coming today and bringing you a very special surprise.


• You dropped a big object on your foot.


• Your little brother/sister broke a tower you just finished making.


• You picked up all of your toys without being asked.


• A group of friends won't let you play with them.


• A friend calls and invites you to come over and play.


• Some people you don't know are coming over today for supper.

Each question may have more than one answer. Have the child explain why they chose each emotion.

Tin Can Craft

Create tin can luminaries....