Almost two years ago, I wrote a post called Picking Out a Book about how Jack picks out books for story time. He liked a book called 100 First Words that wasn't really a story and was driving me a little crazy. It's hard to believe that was only 2 years ago. He was only 2. I know the math is pretty simple, but the difference in two years is amazing.
His taste in books has changed a bit. This week when I asked him what books he wanted from the library he said, "Books about space and books about the ocean and all the things in the ocean. And do you think you could find me one about that red spot on Jupiter? I want to know more about that red spot. It's a big storm and I want to know more about it." No hesitation there.
When I brought the books home, he inspected them all to make sure that I got everything that he asked for. These are all from the non-fiction section of the children's library. I also brought some Curious George books and a Dinosaur Train book but he said, "I don't like Dinosaur Train anymore. Casey can have it. I don't like Curious George either." I think he has since changed his mind about George though because tonight George got curious at a chocolate factory.
I don't remember learning about the solar system and the planets until somewhere around 4th grade. I made a paper mache sun and learned a lot about the sun at one point but I've forgotten it. I'm now relearning it all with Jack. Who's 4. Crazy. I didn't know (or recall) that Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were gas planets. And space seems more vast and unfathomable to me now than it did at age 9.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
My Little Decorator
After the dump truck of toys stopped by over Christmas, Pat and I were throwing around the idea of turning our front room into more of an official playroom. There have always been toys in it but it's not exclusively for toys. After deciding that I didn't want to do that, I couldn't sleep last night and kept rearranging furniture in my head. I'm trying not to be afraid of changing things and moving furniture because all I have to do is move it back if I don't like it. It's funny that I shouldn't naturally think that considering the number of times I moved my furniture in my bedroom growing up. Anyway, by the time I went to sleep last night I had come up with some good furniture arrangements and thought I might just go for it.
This morning I didn't really think about playrooms all that much given that we actually had to get up, get dressed and leave the house today to get Jack to school. I think I could have used another week of vacation. The kids weren't even getting on my nerves yet. Sometimes a big infusion of toys is all they need to get along a little better.
While Casey was napping this afternoon, I was trying to get some things done on the computer, like reading other blogs and looking at great projects other people have done and thinking, 'I should do that someday.' I paid some bills too. Jack decided that it would be a great time to bring a Lego creation over to disassemble, placing the pieces strategically around the mouse. And that was my inspiration to do a little reorganizing. I ran upstairs and dug our 2nd coffee table out of the upstairs toy closet and brought it downstairs. Before I go any further, there are no pictures of this process yet because it's still a bit of a disaster. It had to get worse before it could get better and it's just now making the turn. Pat has asked me twice already if I plan to keep a 6 foot tall bookcase in the middle of the living room.
I brought the coffee table downstairs and moved Jack's pile of Legos to the table. He went and got himself a Buzz Lightyear chair and happily sat creating a new airplane for his aircraft carrier. I was able to get back to blogland without a pile of Legos and child under my elbow. I wondered why I hadn't thought to bring the table down months ago. When Jack was a baby we baby-proofed this table and stuck the spongy rubber stuff around the sides so he wouldn't bump his head on the sharp edges. We're a little past the baby proofing stage around here now but I decided that rubber stuff is staying on. It's primary purpose now is to keep Legos and puzzle pieces on the table. Brilliant.
From the coffee table to moving a 6 foot bookshelf to moving a bunch of toys around, the room is now more of a playroom but I didn't move any major furniture beside that bookshelf. (And a small kitchen.) In the midst of this Jack thought he would help me. He just started pulling things out of cupboards and shelves and saying, "I'll put this here and this here and this here. See how I'm fixing it Mommy?" When I took some old frames and knick knacks out of a cupboard he asked where they were going. I was planning to put them back in a different cupboard but I asked him where he thought they should go. And boy, did he have some opinions. More like steadfast confidence in his decorating ability. He knew exactly where things needed to go and how to do it. I've already signed him up for the next season of Design Star on HGTV.
"Mommy, what rocks do you want to put in this jar?" he asked as he pulled out a bag of rocks and a clear vase. It was obvious that he didn't even need me to answer that because rocks were already going into the jar. He was very serious about his tasking and his end table was decorated in no time. I'm afraid to move things now.
This morning I didn't really think about playrooms all that much given that we actually had to get up, get dressed and leave the house today to get Jack to school. I think I could have used another week of vacation. The kids weren't even getting on my nerves yet. Sometimes a big infusion of toys is all they need to get along a little better.
While Casey was napping this afternoon, I was trying to get some things done on the computer, like reading other blogs and looking at great projects other people have done and thinking, 'I should do that someday.' I paid some bills too. Jack decided that it would be a great time to bring a Lego creation over to disassemble, placing the pieces strategically around the mouse. And that was my inspiration to do a little reorganizing. I ran upstairs and dug our 2nd coffee table out of the upstairs toy closet and brought it downstairs. Before I go any further, there are no pictures of this process yet because it's still a bit of a disaster. It had to get worse before it could get better and it's just now making the turn. Pat has asked me twice already if I plan to keep a 6 foot tall bookcase in the middle of the living room.
I brought the coffee table downstairs and moved Jack's pile of Legos to the table. He went and got himself a Buzz Lightyear chair and happily sat creating a new airplane for his aircraft carrier. I was able to get back to blogland without a pile of Legos and child under my elbow. I wondered why I hadn't thought to bring the table down months ago. When Jack was a baby we baby-proofed this table and stuck the spongy rubber stuff around the sides so he wouldn't bump his head on the sharp edges. We're a little past the baby proofing stage around here now but I decided that rubber stuff is staying on. It's primary purpose now is to keep Legos and puzzle pieces on the table. Brilliant.
From the coffee table to moving a 6 foot bookshelf to moving a bunch of toys around, the room is now more of a playroom but I didn't move any major furniture beside that bookshelf. (And a small kitchen.) In the midst of this Jack thought he would help me. He just started pulling things out of cupboards and shelves and saying, "I'll put this here and this here and this here. See how I'm fixing it Mommy?" When I took some old frames and knick knacks out of a cupboard he asked where they were going. I was planning to put them back in a different cupboard but I asked him where he thought they should go. And boy, did he have some opinions. More like steadfast confidence in his decorating ability. He knew exactly where things needed to go and how to do it. I've already signed him up for the next season of Design Star on HGTV.
"Mommy, what rocks do you want to put in this jar?" he asked as he pulled out a bag of rocks and a clear vase. It was obvious that he didn't even need me to answer that because rocks were already going into the jar. He was very serious about his tasking and his end table was decorated in no time. I'm afraid to move things now.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Christmas 2010
My first resolution of 2011 is to finish this Christmas post...the long overdue Christmas post. Just when I was going to write it, that stomach bug got me and I still don't feel quite right.
On Christmas Eve, I had a strange worry that maybe Santa had slacked this year. There were no big toys like the kitchen from last year. After having spent the last couple days trying to find homes for the new toys, I don't think that's a problem. In fact, if you judge the success of Christmas on how much square footage of the living room floor is covered in toys, then it was definitely a success.
But it was so much more than the toys and we had a really great Christmas. My parents flew in on the 23rd to celebrate with us. When Pat asked me what we were having for dinner when my parents got here, he was devastated when I said, "Soup!" I made a really nice French onion soup anyway and Pat went out and got Chinese for everyone too. That's probably the beginning of a tradition right there.
On Christmas Eve we got all our cooking done early in the morning - meatballs, lasagna and cookies for Santa and then we went ice skating, which has become a tradition - 3 years in a row. I think my favorite part of skating was not the skating but all the things Jack said he was going to do when he got on the ice. He was pretty sure he was going to skate on one foot all around the rink. And Casey said that she was going to spin around and around. There was no spinning or skating on one leg, but they definitely improved over last year and we spent more time there than last year. Casey didn't really say much while we were there, but she didn't want to stop skating when it was time to leave. We also got to see the Zamboni come out and Jack kept asking when it was coming again.
My goal for church this year was for all of us to get seats so I set a departure time of 3pm for 4pm mass. Of course this was the day I had to wake Casey from a nap. We got seats even though they were in the narthax. The kids were great during church. The priest had the children come up to the front for the sermon and he read them a story. Jack had been clinging to Pat the whole time so I didn't think he would want to go up there. But all of a sudden, Jack was down and heading towards the front. He was practically running the last time I saw him. Then Pat took Casey up closer and she just kept saying, "I can't see he. I can't see he." because she couldn't see Jack.
I forgot to put the lasagna in the oven for time bake for church so we had to wait a bit before it was ready. I fed the kids some pasta and then made a little frosting for the cookies. They had a great time decorating their trays of cookies. A little frosting, some spoons, some crazy food coloring and some dinosaur and fish sprinkles = perfectly decorated cookies for Santa in the eyes of the 2 to 4 year old crowd.
Since there were no big toys to assemble, the Christmas eve cursing was kept to a minimum. It was actually me who had the toughest time with a toy. I got Jack some toy that flings plastic helicopters into the air. I couldn't get it to work for the life of me and I was worried that he would be frustrated with it in the morning. Pat got it on the first try though and Jack has had no problems with it, so the only thing I can figure is that it had an anti-girl mechanism installed in it.
Christmas morning was great! The kids loved all their toys and got excited about all of them. Wrapping paper all over the floors, boxes ripped open, ignoring any gift that might be clothes (even though Legos were hiding underneath)...I'd say it was a typical Christmas morning with a 2 and 4 year old.
Casey got everything she could possibly need to take care of her babies - bunk beds, a swing, a high chair and a stroller. She's been taking very good care of them. She also got a camera and within a day had snapped 200 pictures already. She has no idea what she's taking pictures of but she looks really cute when she does it.
Jack got an aircraft carrier, a marble run, Evil Dr. Porkchop and a tool bench. He's so happy with his toys that he's been coming downstairs when he wakes up to play with them instead of coming into the bedroom to wake me up.
We eventually got out of pajamas (some of us anyway) and had a great dinner straight out of the pages of Southern Living. The Christmas fun was just beginning as big fat snowflakes started falling out of the sky and made for a white Christmas around here. The kids were already in bed but it snowed all day on the 26th and they had a great time playing it.
On Christmas Eve, I had a strange worry that maybe Santa had slacked this year. There were no big toys like the kitchen from last year. After having spent the last couple days trying to find homes for the new toys, I don't think that's a problem. In fact, if you judge the success of Christmas on how much square footage of the living room floor is covered in toys, then it was definitely a success.
But it was so much more than the toys and we had a really great Christmas. My parents flew in on the 23rd to celebrate with us. When Pat asked me what we were having for dinner when my parents got here, he was devastated when I said, "Soup!" I made a really nice French onion soup anyway and Pat went out and got Chinese for everyone too. That's probably the beginning of a tradition right there.
On Christmas Eve we got all our cooking done early in the morning - meatballs, lasagna and cookies for Santa and then we went ice skating, which has become a tradition - 3 years in a row. I think my favorite part of skating was not the skating but all the things Jack said he was going to do when he got on the ice. He was pretty sure he was going to skate on one foot all around the rink. And Casey said that she was going to spin around and around. There was no spinning or skating on one leg, but they definitely improved over last year and we spent more time there than last year. Casey didn't really say much while we were there, but she didn't want to stop skating when it was time to leave. We also got to see the Zamboni come out and Jack kept asking when it was coming again.
My goal for church this year was for all of us to get seats so I set a departure time of 3pm for 4pm mass. Of course this was the day I had to wake Casey from a nap. We got seats even though they were in the narthax. The kids were great during church. The priest had the children come up to the front for the sermon and he read them a story. Jack had been clinging to Pat the whole time so I didn't think he would want to go up there. But all of a sudden, Jack was down and heading towards the front. He was practically running the last time I saw him. Then Pat took Casey up closer and she just kept saying, "I can't see he. I can't see he." because she couldn't see Jack.
I forgot to put the lasagna in the oven for time bake for church so we had to wait a bit before it was ready. I fed the kids some pasta and then made a little frosting for the cookies. They had a great time decorating their trays of cookies. A little frosting, some spoons, some crazy food coloring and some dinosaur and fish sprinkles = perfectly decorated cookies for Santa in the eyes of the 2 to 4 year old crowd.
Since there were no big toys to assemble, the Christmas eve cursing was kept to a minimum. It was actually me who had the toughest time with a toy. I got Jack some toy that flings plastic helicopters into the air. I couldn't get it to work for the life of me and I was worried that he would be frustrated with it in the morning. Pat got it on the first try though and Jack has had no problems with it, so the only thing I can figure is that it had an anti-girl mechanism installed in it.
Christmas morning was great! The kids loved all their toys and got excited about all of them. Wrapping paper all over the floors, boxes ripped open, ignoring any gift that might be clothes (even though Legos were hiding underneath)...I'd say it was a typical Christmas morning with a 2 and 4 year old.
Casey got everything she could possibly need to take care of her babies - bunk beds, a swing, a high chair and a stroller. She's been taking very good care of them. She also got a camera and within a day had snapped 200 pictures already. She has no idea what she's taking pictures of but she looks really cute when she does it.
Jack got an aircraft carrier, a marble run, Evil Dr. Porkchop and a tool bench. He's so happy with his toys that he's been coming downstairs when he wakes up to play with them instead of coming into the bedroom to wake me up.
We eventually got out of pajamas (some of us anyway) and had a great dinner straight out of the pages of Southern Living. The Christmas fun was just beginning as big fat snowflakes started falling out of the sky and made for a white Christmas around here. The kids were already in bed but it snowed all day on the 26th and they had a great time playing it.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Twas the Weekend Before Christmas
Last week I posted on Facebook that the kids were starting to ask if they could open just one present, "Pleeeease, just one present Mommy!" I think we were all in luck because we headed to Ocean City to celebrate Christmas with Pat's family and we all got to open some presents.
We had a great weekend in Ocean City with Pat's parents and brothers/sisters-in-law and the quickly expanding brood of grandchildren - 5 kids and Jack is the oldest. Naptimes and any semblance of a good diet quickly went out the window.
On Friday evening, the oldest kids got to open their presents from Pop Pop. Jack got the latest and greatest Hess truck and claimed, "It's just what I wanted because it's a truck aircraft carrier!" It was a Hess tractor trailer truck with a jet that could fly off the back. He also melted some hearts when he said, "My Pop Pop is the best Pop Pop!"
The kids got to go swimming on Saturday morning and then there were a few impatient moments before it was time to open some presents. I think all the kids loved their new presents and were happily playing with them most of the afternoon. We then headed out for a tour of lights at a local park. We got to ride along in a tram car and see all the lights. Casey was especially excited when she saw some pink Christmas lights - "It's my favorite color!!!" She really said it so that it required 3 exclamation points. She was also excited to see lights in Jack's favorite color.
We also went to see Santa. Jack had been talking about going to see Santa and sitting on his lap since Thanksgiving. This was the year he was going to tell Santa what he wanted and not be afraid to sit on his lap. We were going to get a great picture of all the grandkids on Santa's lap. Casey looked like she was amazed by him as we moved forward in line. She just stared at him like she couldn't wait for her turn.
All talk. No action. Jack backed out at the last minute and I think that made Casey back out. So there is a lovely picture of the 3 youngest grandkids, but no Jack and Casey. In the end, Casey ran up and told him that she wanted a baby dolly but no sitting on the lap and no picture. It's a good thing Bob the Elf is here to let Santa know what Jack and Casey want for Christmas. Maybe next year Santa.
On Sunday I hosted brunch and then the guys watched the Eagles game. Pat's Mom and I loaded the kids into the car and headed up to Philly before game was over but we apparently missed some ridiculously joyous reactions when the Eagles won at the last second. We were happy because our guys were happy. And I'd like to leave it like that...a happy ending to a great weekend. But in the minivan, things were about to get ugly. Jack got sick - all over himself and his carseat. And he continued to get sick all the way to Philly. We had no buckets handy, but Pat's mom was resourceful and we had some blankets.
Jack is a trooper though. Between "getting the yuckies out" into a blanket, he chatted with us like there was nothing wrong. He also said, "Casey likes to put her head in this blanket" right after he threw up into her blanket. We assured him (and her) that the washing machine would work its wonders before anyone else touched that blanket. He was also very interested in a car fire that held us in traffic for a bit. After we finally got to Philly, he went straight into the house and sat on the couch. When we asked what he was doing, he said he was waiting for the news to come on so he could find out what happened to that car.
Jack was fine after that car trip, but then Casey was sick the next day. She seemed to have recovered and then got sick in her carseat on the way back to Virginia. The silver lining is that they both have clean carseats now. And I'm still amazed at how they were both such good kids for being sick the way they were. A yucky ending to our great weekend, but it doesn't diminish any of the great memories we made at our Ocean City Christmas.
We had a great weekend in Ocean City with Pat's parents and brothers/sisters-in-law and the quickly expanding brood of grandchildren - 5 kids and Jack is the oldest. Naptimes and any semblance of a good diet quickly went out the window.
On Friday evening, the oldest kids got to open their presents from Pop Pop. Jack got the latest and greatest Hess truck and claimed, "It's just what I wanted because it's a truck aircraft carrier!" It was a Hess tractor trailer truck with a jet that could fly off the back. He also melted some hearts when he said, "My Pop Pop is the best Pop Pop!"
The kids got to go swimming on Saturday morning and then there were a few impatient moments before it was time to open some presents. I think all the kids loved their new presents and were happily playing with them most of the afternoon. We then headed out for a tour of lights at a local park. We got to ride along in a tram car and see all the lights. Casey was especially excited when she saw some pink Christmas lights - "It's my favorite color!!!" She really said it so that it required 3 exclamation points. She was also excited to see lights in Jack's favorite color.
We also went to see Santa. Jack had been talking about going to see Santa and sitting on his lap since Thanksgiving. This was the year he was going to tell Santa what he wanted and not be afraid to sit on his lap. We were going to get a great picture of all the grandkids on Santa's lap. Casey looked like she was amazed by him as we moved forward in line. She just stared at him like she couldn't wait for her turn.
All talk. No action. Jack backed out at the last minute and I think that made Casey back out. So there is a lovely picture of the 3 youngest grandkids, but no Jack and Casey. In the end, Casey ran up and told him that she wanted a baby dolly but no sitting on the lap and no picture. It's a good thing Bob the Elf is here to let Santa know what Jack and Casey want for Christmas. Maybe next year Santa.
On Sunday I hosted brunch and then the guys watched the Eagles game. Pat's Mom and I loaded the kids into the car and headed up to Philly before game was over but we apparently missed some ridiculously joyous reactions when the Eagles won at the last second. We were happy because our guys were happy. And I'd like to leave it like that...a happy ending to a great weekend. But in the minivan, things were about to get ugly. Jack got sick - all over himself and his carseat. And he continued to get sick all the way to Philly. We had no buckets handy, but Pat's mom was resourceful and we had some blankets.
Jack is a trooper though. Between "getting the yuckies out" into a blanket, he chatted with us like there was nothing wrong. He also said, "Casey likes to put her head in this blanket" right after he threw up into her blanket. We assured him (and her) that the washing machine would work its wonders before anyone else touched that blanket. He was also very interested in a car fire that held us in traffic for a bit. After we finally got to Philly, he went straight into the house and sat on the couch. When we asked what he was doing, he said he was waiting for the news to come on so he could find out what happened to that car.
Jack was fine after that car trip, but then Casey was sick the next day. She seemed to have recovered and then got sick in her carseat on the way back to Virginia. The silver lining is that they both have clean carseats now. And I'm still amazed at how they were both such good kids for being sick the way they were. A yucky ending to our great weekend, but it doesn't diminish any of the great memories we made at our Ocean City Christmas.
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| Casey loved holding the babies! |
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| Jack too! |
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| Adorable babies! |
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| Watching Nana opening a present. |
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| Jack unwrapping his new Hot Wheels track |
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| Casey loves her new baby. |
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| Jack & Daddy at dinner |
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| Bad picture, but we're both smiling |
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Getting Ready for Christmas 2010
I've been going a little crazy trying to get all my Christmas projects done this month. I'm almost there! I wanted to have everything done by tomorrow so I can relax and enjoy the next week or so. The house is decorated, most of the presents are wrapped, Christmas dinner is planned, it's fairly clean around here and most of my crafty Christmas gifts are made.
We've received many boxes this week and the tree has a healthy sprinkling of presents under it. I pull the presents out of the boxes and they place them under the tree. Jack and Casey love when boxes come and continually ask, "Is it for me? Is it for me?" when they hear the doorbell ring. Which reminds me of a funny story - One day when we were coming into our neighborhood Jack said, "Mommy, I just saw a No Trucks sign! But that's funny...because how is the UPS man supposed to come in our neighborhood?" I had to try to explain that they didn't want just any trucks barreling through our neighborhood but that the UPS truck was allowed. I think he was relieved.
Today, Jack and Casey started begging to be able to open just one present. It's fun to see them so excited...I remember begging to be able to open "just one" present when I was little. I have even been tempted to peek into some of the bags this year, but I've been good.
And now for a random picture that I've been meaning to post:
This is Jack in his turkey costume! When I was getting some things ready on Thanksgiving Eve, he found this brown bag sitting on the counter and asked if he could have it to make a craft. A few minutes of hard work later and he donned his turkey costume. If it looks like it's greasy, it is...I had originally put the popcorn in it for the popcorn turkey at Jack's school Thanksgiving party and realized that it was a little greasy. I switched the bag right before the party. I think it just makes it look more like a real turkey...right?
And back to Christmas things. On Sunday, we went to the Children's Christmas Party hosted by Pat's ship. Unfortunately, Pat was stuck on the ship working, but Jack, Casey and I managed to have a great time. There were 3 craft tables and since Jack hasn't met a craft he didn't like yet, he had a great time. We decorated Christmas cards with stickers, made snowflake ornaments for the tree and made snowman photo frames. The kids also got presents. Jack got some cars, colored pencils, a notepad and some Beanie babies. Casey got two dolls and she loves them so much. They were so good at this party and we had a great time!
We've received many boxes this week and the tree has a healthy sprinkling of presents under it. I pull the presents out of the boxes and they place them under the tree. Jack and Casey love when boxes come and continually ask, "Is it for me? Is it for me?" when they hear the doorbell ring. Which reminds me of a funny story - One day when we were coming into our neighborhood Jack said, "Mommy, I just saw a No Trucks sign! But that's funny...because how is the UPS man supposed to come in our neighborhood?" I had to try to explain that they didn't want just any trucks barreling through our neighborhood but that the UPS truck was allowed. I think he was relieved.
Today, Jack and Casey started begging to be able to open just one present. It's fun to see them so excited...I remember begging to be able to open "just one" present when I was little. I have even been tempted to peek into some of the bags this year, but I've been good.
And now for a random picture that I've been meaning to post:
This is Jack in his turkey costume! When I was getting some things ready on Thanksgiving Eve, he found this brown bag sitting on the counter and asked if he could have it to make a craft. A few minutes of hard work later and he donned his turkey costume. If it looks like it's greasy, it is...I had originally put the popcorn in it for the popcorn turkey at Jack's school Thanksgiving party and realized that it was a little greasy. I switched the bag right before the party. I think it just makes it look more like a real turkey...right?
And back to Christmas things. On Sunday, we went to the Children's Christmas Party hosted by Pat's ship. Unfortunately, Pat was stuck on the ship working, but Jack, Casey and I managed to have a great time. There were 3 craft tables and since Jack hasn't met a craft he didn't like yet, he had a great time. We decorated Christmas cards with stickers, made snowflake ornaments for the tree and made snowman photo frames. The kids also got presents. Jack got some cars, colored pencils, a notepad and some Beanie babies. Casey got two dolls and she loves them so much. They were so good at this party and we had a great time!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Facebook Status Updates
Pat had duty today. And even though I usually talk to him at the end of duty days, my thoughts end up as facebook status entries in my head instead of things I tell my husband at the end of the day. Mostly they don't ever become status updates for a variety of reasons - I'm not near my phone or computer, I don't think anyone would really care about it or it's not really that interesting or it would have been too wordy to explain it all. But I figured today if I put them all into a blog post, it would be little snippets of my day. So here's what I might have posted:
8:50am - Why does it seem like everyone is late for dropping their kids off at school and early for picking them up? I'd rather be the opposite and get a few extra minutes. (Although I'm usually early for both.)
10am - Casey saw a man in the commissary who looked just like Santa - he had a red jacket and red hat on with a long white beard. When he talked to her, her mouth just dropped open in shock. It was the best reaction. She didn't know Santa has a military ID.
10:30am - Quadruple whammy at the grocery store - diapers, wipes, toilet paper, and paper towels!
12:15pm - Jack said that he played knights and princesses at school today. Then he said, "Casey you're always a princess!" And she said, "Uh huh. Yes I am."
1:30pm - I'm making homemade bread.
2pm - Jack can sometimes be way too crafty for me, as in wants to make elaborate crafts way too often. I just gave him an egg carton and he has been cutting, taping, looking for cardboard and other crafty things while talking tohimself me for half an hour trying to make a cow. He thought the egg carton looked like it would work well for a cow's udder.
2:30pm - Holy Chatterbox! Jack won't stop talking. I've had to put Ruby and Max on to get a break.
3pm - Casey's not into napping today. Time for some Dora now.
4pm - Might as well make some gingerbread men as requested by Jack. I warned him that they have to go in the fridge before they become "men" so hopefully there are no meltdowns.
4:45pm - Started picking up all of the random construction paper/wrapping paper around the house and decided we should make festive paper chains. It required a lot more work for me than I thought it would but Jack thought it was awesome. He said, "Don't bother us Casey - we're working on an experiment." We hung it from the mantle as Jack wanted.
5:30pm - My new go to meal when Pat is gone will be baked potatoes with broccoli, blue cheese and cheddar cheese. Maybe some bacon next time, but that would add more work. So yummy.
6pm - My new game is "How many toys can we pick up in 5 min?" Jack thinks it fun and can't believe we can clean most of it up in 5 min. Of course it helps when you don't hear the buzzer go off.
8:30pm - The bread is finally baking...2 hrs of rising turned into 4ish.
9pm - I'm baking bread and making a quilt. Maybe later I'll sweep my dirt floors and you can call me Laura Ingalls.
10pm - Mmmm! Warm bread fresh from the oven.
8:50am - Why does it seem like everyone is late for dropping their kids off at school and early for picking them up? I'd rather be the opposite and get a few extra minutes. (Although I'm usually early for both.)
10am - Casey saw a man in the commissary who looked just like Santa - he had a red jacket and red hat on with a long white beard. When he talked to her, her mouth just dropped open in shock. It was the best reaction. She didn't know Santa has a military ID.
10:30am - Quadruple whammy at the grocery store - diapers, wipes, toilet paper, and paper towels!
12:15pm - Jack said that he played knights and princesses at school today. Then he said, "Casey you're always a princess!" And she said, "Uh huh. Yes I am."
1:30pm - I'm making homemade bread.
2pm - Jack can sometimes be way too crafty for me, as in wants to make elaborate crafts way too often. I just gave him an egg carton and he has been cutting, taping, looking for cardboard and other crafty things while talking to
2:30pm - Holy Chatterbox! Jack won't stop talking. I've had to put Ruby and Max on to get a break.
3pm - Casey's not into napping today. Time for some Dora now.
4pm - Might as well make some gingerbread men as requested by Jack. I warned him that they have to go in the fridge before they become "men" so hopefully there are no meltdowns.
4:45pm - Started picking up all of the random construction paper/wrapping paper around the house and decided we should make festive paper chains. It required a lot more work for me than I thought it would but Jack thought it was awesome. He said, "Don't bother us Casey - we're working on an experiment." We hung it from the mantle as Jack wanted.
5:30pm - My new go to meal when Pat is gone will be baked potatoes with broccoli, blue cheese and cheddar cheese. Maybe some bacon next time, but that would add more work. So yummy.
6pm - My new game is "How many toys can we pick up in 5 min?" Jack thinks it fun and can't believe we can clean most of it up in 5 min. Of course it helps when you don't hear the buzzer go off.
8:30pm - The bread is finally baking...2 hrs of rising turned into 4ish.
9pm - I'm baking bread and making a quilt. Maybe later I'll sweep my dirt floors and you can call me Laura Ingalls.
10pm - Mmmm! Warm bread fresh from the oven.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
How To Be A Preschool Party Planner
Or at least how I plan a preschool party.
I volunteered to plan Jack's preschool Thanksgiving party. The instructions for the party planning parents are "Parties begin at 10:30 and run smoothly with a story, finger foods, a craft and a game."
The original volunteer was unable to plan the party and I had seen the Halloween party and how it flowed, so I decided I could jump in and plan a great Thanksgiving party.
About two and a half weeks before the party, I started to browse the internet for ideas. I thought I had it figured out pretty well. I went to Jack's teacher and told her my plan. Then I walked away and felt like my plan was only the start of a plan.
I think preschool teachers have a huge cache of ideas just in their heads. Meanwhile all my ideas came from hours of searching the internet. She started talking about making a teepee out of pvc pipes and how much the kids would like that. The "finger foods" turned into more of a lunch. She said we could go out to the playground for the game or move into a bigger room and that it would be great if it was something physical. I think she said something about a high ropes endurance course. Maybe. Oh, and maybe some Thanksgiving music while you're at it. I'm sure the library will have something.
So I did a little more planning. Added some more food to my menu. Decided I needed some help making all that food. Couldn't decide what to actually ask other parents to bring. Finally sent a note home asking for some food contributions. Messed up when I put the notes in the lunchbox and not everyone got the notes. Didn't want to ask parents to help at the last minute. Ended up making all the food myself anyway.
For a week, it felt like I did nothing but prepare for this party. Pat laughed at me. I merely pushed by him to get the scissors to make crafty things. The night before this party, my kitchen looked like this:
Something on every bit of counter space, a frozen pizza for dinner and obviously that was a great time to get some mopping done too.
Finally, it was time for the show. And I think it went well although I'm happy I don't have to do another one until Easter. (Probably should start planning that now.)
Craft:
Turkey headbands - I cut out strips of paper to wrap around their heads, turkey heads, eyes, beaks, and feathers. Probably should have made a model for the kids to copy but I just told them to do what they wanted to.
Games:
Pin the feather on the turkey - I created a turkey out of posterboard and cut out a feather for everyone
Thanksgiving Pumpkin Roll - I got this idea from a website called One Charming Party...give two kids each a broom and a pumpkin and see who can roll the pumpkin to the other side of the room faster. The kids loved it and asked to do it over and over.
Feast:
Ritz crackers with cream cheese or pumpkin butter spread with chow mein noodles on top to look like a turkey track
Turkey roll-ups
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches
Pumpkin Butter Sandwiches
Pumpkin Pie Pudding
Cranberry Oatmeal Bars
And finally, the part that got the most oohs and aahs, the turkey!
Another fabulous idea from One Charming Party...
Brown paper bags, filled with popcorn, scrunched up a little, placed in a roasting pan to look like a turkey. I started off snack time by telling the kids that first we were going to carve the turkey. Jack kept saying, "But I don't like turkey. I don't like turkey!" I told him I was pretty sure he would like this one.
I think the kids all had fun based on the decibel level in the classroom. I came home, put Jack in front of the computer playing Sesame Street games and took a nap. I couldn't even bear to think of preparing a Thanksgiving dinner or really doing anything except recovering.
I volunteered to plan Jack's preschool Thanksgiving party. The instructions for the party planning parents are "Parties begin at 10:30 and run smoothly with a story, finger foods, a craft and a game."
The original volunteer was unable to plan the party and I had seen the Halloween party and how it flowed, so I decided I could jump in and plan a great Thanksgiving party.
About two and a half weeks before the party, I started to browse the internet for ideas. I thought I had it figured out pretty well. I went to Jack's teacher and told her my plan. Then I walked away and felt like my plan was only the start of a plan.
I think preschool teachers have a huge cache of ideas just in their heads. Meanwhile all my ideas came from hours of searching the internet. She started talking about making a teepee out of pvc pipes and how much the kids would like that. The "finger foods" turned into more of a lunch. She said we could go out to the playground for the game or move into a bigger room and that it would be great if it was something physical. I think she said something about a high ropes endurance course. Maybe. Oh, and maybe some Thanksgiving music while you're at it. I'm sure the library will have something.
So I did a little more planning. Added some more food to my menu. Decided I needed some help making all that food. Couldn't decide what to actually ask other parents to bring. Finally sent a note home asking for some food contributions. Messed up when I put the notes in the lunchbox and not everyone got the notes. Didn't want to ask parents to help at the last minute. Ended up making all the food myself anyway.
For a week, it felt like I did nothing but prepare for this party. Pat laughed at me. I merely pushed by him to get the scissors to make crafty things. The night before this party, my kitchen looked like this:
Something on every bit of counter space, a frozen pizza for dinner and obviously that was a great time to get some mopping done too.
Finally, it was time for the show. And I think it went well although I'm happy I don't have to do another one until Easter. (Probably should start planning that now.)
Craft:
Turkey headbands - I cut out strips of paper to wrap around their heads, turkey heads, eyes, beaks, and feathers. Probably should have made a model for the kids to copy but I just told them to do what they wanted to.
Games:
Pin the feather on the turkey - I created a turkey out of posterboard and cut out a feather for everyone
Feast:
Ritz crackers with cream cheese or pumpkin butter spread with chow mein noodles on top to look like a turkey track
Turkey roll-ups
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches
Pumpkin Butter Sandwiches
Pumpkin Pie Pudding
And finally, the part that got the most oohs and aahs, the turkey!
Another fabulous idea from One Charming Party...
Brown paper bags, filled with popcorn, scrunched up a little, placed in a roasting pan to look like a turkey. I started off snack time by telling the kids that first we were going to carve the turkey. Jack kept saying, "But I don't like turkey. I don't like turkey!" I told him I was pretty sure he would like this one.
I think the kids all had fun based on the decibel level in the classroom. I came home, put Jack in front of the computer playing Sesame Street games and took a nap. I couldn't even bear to think of preparing a Thanksgiving dinner or really doing anything except recovering.
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