Summer Reading Kick Off Party

Day with Gia

Is the grass ALWAYS greenier?

Do you ever look at your ex's and their current life status' and think, "Woah, I dodged a bullet there!"?

Not that any of them are in a 'bad' place, just different than where I am or where I would choose to be at thirty. I'd definately not be happy single & dating, married withOUT children, traveling the world on exotic adventures, living with my parents to save a ton & do nothing but have fun or living in a big empty house with my spouse and spending money on spas and fancy things. NONE of those things are bad or a bad idea or a place I wouldn't or haven't seen myself ten years ago or ten years from now, but right now...right NOW, I am in the BEST place for me.

I love hearing "momma," from a tiny voice down the hall, washing dishes and laundry and floors nearly constantly, making dinner, packing lunches and refilling sippy cups, waking up early to 'play', and I don't even mind steping on the occassional lego or washing some mysterious 'goo' off my hands, coaxing a monster out of the closet or waiting in line for a water slide that I cannot even ride.Yup, when I look out my window every morning, my grass is pretty darn green...its got some patches of slightly different shades of green - but green never-the-less.

I never planned on staying home for more han three years and making ends meet with odd jobs of babysitting, tutoring or curriculum writing. I never imagined my night's out would be demonstrating and consulting for Pampered Chef... I never thought I would become a good, quick cook who never seems to follow a recipe... I certainly never thought I would be making my own soaps, laundry detergent or diapers. I could have never guessed that at thirty I would be the happy mother of two, expecting number three, cleaning and teaching by day and framing an addition by night. I never thought I'd have a handsome, smart husband working (unnessacarily) 50+ hours of overtime a week because the company he works for trusts no one else...I never imagined waking semi-rested after less than 4 hours of sleep to do it all again would make me smile. But, it does. Everyday I smile. I smile because I wouldn't have it any other way....

Macaroni Art

BUTTERFLY ART

What You Need:

* card-stock paper
* smallest shell noodles
* curly noodles
* medium shell noodles
* bow-tie pasta
* glue

What You Do:
The children will learn about butterflies with this lesson.
The smallest noodle is the egg of the caterpillar.
The curly noodle is the caterpillar.
The medium shell noodle is the cocoon and the bow-tie pasta is the butterfly.

Carribbean Day

Drums are an important part of life and ceremony in many cultures. Here is a simple method for you and your students to create a fun sounding drum as you celebrate the cultures of the world.

What You Need:

* An empty coffee can with a plastic lid (small, large, whatever you have).
* Construction paper, glue & scissors.
* Paint or markers.
* Paintbrushes & water.
* Dowels or sticks from trees in the park.
* String, leather, feathers, beads ... any bits of scrap material you might have.

What You Do:

1. You have two options here. Either paint the coffee can with paint or cover the can with construction paper. Leave the plastic lid on the coffee can ... this will be your drum head.
2. If you cover the coffee can with construction paper, you can paint or draw designs and creatures on the coffee can. Have a look at pictures of different kinds of drums and the images found on them. (Try covering the can with aluminum foil for a neat effect.)
3. After the paint is dry, you can glue all sorts of wonderful things to your drum.
4. Using wooden dowels or simply wooden sticks, drum away on your new coffee can drum.

Let's talk diapers

For most moms, its a grab what you have a coupon for, whatever is on sale, given to you or comes in the best bang for your buck ratio.

But, for some moms it is a bigger decision than that.

To cloth or not to cloth? Will I dispose or reuse? What brand works best? How do you clean them? What detergent do you use? How often do I wash them? Wear should I wash them? How many do I need? Which materials are the most absorbent? Which fabrics are the most comfortable? Does cute-ness really matter to me? How many styles are there? The most scary part is, every baby is different. Their legs, and behinds are contoured a bit different. They 'go' at different intervals and in different amounts. Their skin may be sensitive to different materials.

You can buy a million diapers before the baby arrives and see that none of them work, once the baby is in them.

Will I be wasting money or saving it? Is it more of a hassle than it is really worth?

Am I becoming a bit too 'crunchy'?

And what if I made my own?

Vacation Bible Camp

When I was looking to register Jack's for school, I thought good introduction to the environment would be Saint John's week-long Vacation Bible Camp. He LOVED it, he came home everyday with a hand-made craft, a story about the day and a smile on his face... I am certain it was a GREAT CHOICE!