Dr. Seuss themes this week!

Be who you are 

and say what you feel

Because those who mind don't 

Matter

and those who

 MATTER 

don't mind. 

-Dr. Seuss!

This morning the boys and I continued on our theme this week, Dr.Seuss . If you don't know already, it happens to be the birthday of Dr. Seuss this coming Saturday, March 2nd! Although he's not here with us anymore, I love his books, I love his lessons and the love of reading he spread upon the world should continue to be celebrated!!!

I've had a different set of kids between yesterday and today so both days we read the books Dr. Seuss's "ABC" and the fun beginners book "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb" . I decided today's craft would be based on the book that focused on some useful body parts! With the help from our stuffed monkey that came with the book, we enjoyed story time and moved into our activity! 

We use all sorts of fun supplies here and we tend to paint a lot but today I decided instead of painting their hands, I would trace them and they could have fun coloring them in!  I traced both hands, one set of fingers and one thumb on each boy. We went with BROWN to match the "millions of monkeys" in the book! 

In This Moment

It's early Friday morning, dad and big brother are off to town, while my niece has Minnie Mouse playing in my bedroom, my nephew and youngest son still in a peaceful slumber in the living room. I'm drinking my some what horrible tasting coffee this morning but happily staring out the dining room window at the sunrise waiting for one of our friends to arrive. Deer across the pond eating the corn the kids laid out for them the night before.

In this simple moment I am in bliss. These little moments being some of the most memorable moments of my life I can only imagine. Its winter, so cold and unable to step foot outside without tying my boots on but the bright sparkly snow making the cold world beautiful. In this quiet moment, just me and the three doves sitting on the skinny branches among the trees. The strong blue jay coming in to eat some bird seed in front of the window.

As I stare out, thinking about all that I love and taking in the beauty of the moment, I hear a deep rumble. Is my brother downstairs moving something heavy across the floor? What would he being moving at 7:00 AM? I listen more carefully....oh! 😊 Its my nephew snoring, enjoying his time to sleep in and not have to rush this morning. I smile and as I turn back to the window, get blinded by the bright light coming from the sun reaching above the tree lines in the sky. 🌄 Awe, what a blessing it is this morning to be able to just stand and watch the sunrise. 

"I am the son, I am the heir..." My niece has got hold of the remote and must've turned the channel from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to the three witches on Charmed. I go walking into my bedroom, sure enough, but we decide on Dora the Explorer. Give her a kiss on the forehead and head back to the livingroom to suck in the quietness a little bit longer if possible! Its going to be a good day. Our friend pulls in the driveway, comes in, Samantha comes out eagerly ready to begin the day. What to put on? PBS is usually our go to but lets put something on from the past....TINY TOON ADVENTURES!

Everyone starts moving around, Maverick's eyes open up and he pulls the book "BFG" back into his hands as he pretends to read all the words on the pages. My nephew Dylan lets out a long stretch. Their Uncle Brandon comes up, does his stuff and leaves for work. Time to get breakfast going and get ready for the go go go of little feet, hands and voices. We'll have whining, we'll have I want I want I want repeated, we'll have spills, we'll have disagreements, we'll have cold hands while playing outside, but we'll also have laughs. I wouldn't trade it for the world. 

Conquering Anxiety with Yoga

Last month my neighbor started texting me asking if I'd be interested in going to one of the local churches around here for a yoga class Monday nights. At first I was immediately thinking about my excuse to give her on why I couldn't. Then thinking how fast our evenings go and all the cleaning that needs to be accomplished each evening before I can head to bed. Not to mention the time I'd lose with my family.

Then my anxiety came knocking and reminded me I'd have to not only leave at the end of each Monday but also worrying about what the neighbor and I would have to talk about for the car ride both there and back home after the class. We have great neighbors but aren't overly social with them. We do favors for each other and visit from time to time but their short and filled with distractions from either their pheasant farm or the children. My mind likes to mess with me and make me constantly over think every thing I or someone else says. Its exhausting. My whole life my mind goes to the what could go wrong or what did I do that would make me look foolish or stupid. I'm a worry wart about anything. Over stressing being my biggest flaw! I obviously don't want to live like that. I know I have a good life. I know I am blessed. I just always would seem to feel nervous. What could happen, what will happen or feeling the weight of mom guilt.

Before becoming a mother, I did try pills to help relax that were proscribed by my family doctor but I took myself off of them maybe 3 years prior to becoming a mom. I don't want to rely on drugs or put things people can't even pronounce into my body. Not to mention the scary side affects! 

So when my neighbor brought up yoga, I thought about it hard. Did I want to commit to that? I reminded myself that we would be neighbors for many more years to come and although not every neighbor needs to be our friend, having a good relationship with our neighbors would not only benefit me but my whole household. Then I reminded myself nothing is going to change if I don't first change. I understand most of my worries or uneasy feelings are all mental. All in my head. The constant worrying isn't going to prevent any bad from coming but it is affecting my present moment. THIS RIGHT NOW IS LIFE! In this moment we are living and growing older. If not try to beat my anxiety now, then when?!

I let Ben know the neighbor had invited me to sign up for a yoga class every Monday night and that I would like him to help keep the sink from being over loaded with dishes while I was gone so when I would arrive back home at the end of the class, I would be able to relax. The whole point of going to the yoga class is to help me relax. I wouldn't want to be worrying about all the cleaning that still needed to be done when I got back home. (which there is always someones dish in the sink and the cleaning never stops!) I want to be able to come  home, read my son his bedtime story and chill out!

So many benefits of yoga that I've been hearing from other people, seeing from other people and reading about. One big lesson that stands out from doing yoga is like a tree, I bend so I don't break! I have terrible back and shoulder pain already at 30 years old! I go to a chiropractor (not as often as I should recently) but I use to go once, sometimes 3 times a week! I've gone to other chiropractors in the past but this one I use now, really helps me! I don't leave in more pain than I arrived in (I have left chiro appts in more pain but not from this guy!) After doing x-rays he seen my spine is completely twisted, my shoulders are very tight, and I apparently broke my tail bone as a child and it healed the opposite direction. My Sciatic Nerve usually hurts and I obviously can believe I carry a lot of stress in my shoulders. Twice already I have hurt my back so badly, I was in miserable discomfort and couldn't stand straight for a week! All from simply playing with my children or nieces and nephews! 

I did awhile back start disciplining myself to get up earlier every morning and do these stretches with a woman named Miranda on a PBS program. She was an ex ballet dancer who now helped people all over move around easier. During this time our family came into a few changes and instead of sticking with it, I decided staying in bed as long as I could would do me better. I do think during those more stressful times, we should be pushing ourselves more to get up and stretch or get up and take a walk. Whatever it may be for you, do it! 

I'm young! I not only want to physically continue to enjoy life and keep up with my loved ones but I also want to enjoy life and be in the moment. Not be stressing! I do find that if I continue to do yoga regularly through out the week, it * helps me focus on the now, *keep my phone put away, and *calm myself enough to where I'm training my mind to remember a lot of the things I'm stressing about just don't matter!!! Like actor Billy Murray says in more than one of his movies "IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER!"

This introvert took a step outside of her comfort zone and hasn't regretted it!! I'm just beginning to love and appreciate yoga. I hope I continue it and am able to receive its benefits! I know I have my bad hours and have days where I am pooped but with things I have learned through yoga, I have learned to calm my mind down, even if just a little bit. I'm striving for progress, Not perfection! No one is perfect. Although my life is pretty close to it!

Teaching them without them knowing they're being taught

I love having a weekly plan on what we'll be working on or learning here everyday. Sometimes I'm well prepared and other times I just have a general idea of what I want to do with the kids. Either way, I like to make the best of the time I have with them.

We work on themes such as Disney week which lands around Mickey Mouse's birthday, November 18th. During that week we read Disney books, color Disney character themed pictures and of course at least one or two fun Mickey Mouse crafts. Other themes through out the year are 
-winter animals
-bugs
-ocean
-Halloween
-thanksgiving
-Christmas and so on....

Some weeks are made to focus on each individuals strengths or whatever they are having a problem with such as identifying letters or numbers. Two boys in my group this year will be starting 4k next September and need to work on writing their names while another boy and girl need to focus on the basics such as good manners and using their words. Sometimes focusing on all that brain work, some may start to feel pressured and need to relax. Remember we want to encourage that learning is FUN! It will get easier with more practice.

Want a quick and easy way to encourage their learning without them knowing they are being taught?! I sometimes simply let them pick whatever color paper they want, write or draw something on it that they need work on (this week it was their first letter of their name) then with whatever color paint they choose, they are to follow the lines and finger paint! BAM, you got yourself sensory, motor skills and the reminder of identifying their letter all in one simple project!
After that, I let go of my controlling side, let them pick another color of paper, let them choose their paint colors and just have fun creating their own masterpiece! While doing this they are not only having fun but start seeing the different colors they make while mixing. These simple projects also help them feel they have control over something which for some kids is very much needed.

The Field Trip

Yesterday was Maverick's first school field trip and it went well! We started our day nice and slow. Enjoyed the fact that because I was off and able to bring him into school we didn't need to rush as much to get him on the bus 45 minutes sooner. Got to school, the kids with parents on the trip had already picked their field trip buddies so once everyone knew who they were in charge of and lunches got organized, we headed out! 

We went to the Weidner Center in Green Bay where the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia put on a 3 short story play based on the book "The Rainbow Fish"! The stage puppets and props were beautifully made and painted to shine while everything was blacked out. The audience of kids LOVED the part where they counted bright orange crabs one by one! My favorite puppet would have to be the neon pink squid that looked to be floating effortlessly across the stage! My son Maverick and his buddy Jace behaved great during the whole performance! 

We followed that up with going to the Children's Museum of Green Bay. Taking shifts between the 4k and 5k groups for lunch in their small but cute eating area. The museum is a circle of fun themed areas from taking the Lambeau leap in the packer tailgating corner to getting a birds eye view in the lighthouse in the opposite corner! The most popular station probably being "the mouth" where the kids climb up the mouth, crawl through (I did not have the pleasure of trying to squeeze in with the kids through it) but it takes you through the information of how the burps and farts are caused then they come out the other end down a blue slide that takes them to the toilet top attached to the carpet at the bottom of the slide. Maverick ended up getting hurt on that though. (our fun trips are never complete without an injury, tantrum or something breaking 😒 )They were going in when another boy changed his mind, turning around to get out and maverick moved to the side to get out of his way, slipping and landing head first on a giant tooth. All the parents heard it and actually another parents reaction to it is what caused me to look while I was keeping an eye on the other boy in our group. Another mom shortly after came to sit on the bench with Maverick and I, saying "this must be the crying bench" because her son had just fallen off it as well. Oh the joys of crowded kid places! All and all it went good and Maverick eventually made his way back to the mouth for a couple last slides through before having to get our coats on and load back on the buses! 

Needless to say 4 year olds were falling asleep all over that bus including my copper top bruised face boy. 

We were tired by the time we got home but we finished our afternoon with snacks, Pete the Cat games, books and some PJ Masks imaginative play (which my Owlette was weak but lets be honest, Maverick is lucky I wasn't already sleeping in the recliner!) It was pork chops for supper and then I was off to my Monday night yoga class in which I almost was going to skip but glad I decided to head out and GO! I have never regretted making myself show up for yoga yet. 

Their Little Treasures

IT'S FRIDAY!!! Warming up here in Wisconsin with temps of 17! Whoop whoop! Although sunny, there is a wicked wind out there! Despite the wind, the kids have been having a blast making their own slides on the snow hills in the yard created by the snow plow! I remember being young, around 1st grade, my grandpa would snow plow my mom out as well as our neighbors across from us, making TALL winter walls and hills. Playing at night time without a care in the world! I love watching my son and his friends getting so much simple joy from playing in this beautiful snow! 

At school, Maverick's star of the week continues! With next week having a field trip day (which will be not only Maverick's first school field trip but this mom's first field trip chaperoning!!!) and with the 22nd being a day they are off, Maverick gets two weeks! Which works out because they had another snow day on Tuesday this week, making 8 snow days just this year and he was home with a fever on another day. Today he got to bring a show and tell and the teacher read his favorite book. His show and tell was the ford truck and mustang he had been asking Santa for all Christmas and Santa brought it! (as well as his new Yoshi stuffed toy that his grandma just got him) The book being, "Little Blue Truck" an adorable book that we have been reading ALOT since he was a newborn. It was given to him by my GREAT aunt and uncle on my mom's side, with a cute note written inside the front cover. Maverick could have this book memorized. With edges tore up, the spine of the book ripping apart and being mended with tape, this book of ours shows a lot of character! Every child we share it with absolutely loves it. Its a sweet story about a friendly little blue truck who takes his time and gives a friendly beep to all his friends when this big Dump Truck comes zooming by and ends up getting stuck. The dump truck soon learns its nice to have a few good friends.

 "Little Blue Truck" has actually been hidden away in Maverick's underwear drawl for the last few months to give it a break from all the attention it receives! I recommend it for any children book fans! 

Its so interesting and fun to see what items end up being our childrens most treasured possessions. Such as this little blankey puppy. When Maverick was about 6 or 7 months old, the women in my moms family went on a shopping spree with Maverick and I. While at Goodwill, my Aunt Mel came across this small tan puppy. She handed it to my baby boy and he never let it go! 

Maverick has so many books and we love to read. Some small, some big, some long, some short. Some sentimental and some goofy but "Little Blue Truck" has stood in the number 1 slot for almost 5 years now. (Maverick will be 5 in May) 

"Beep!" said Blue. "Who wants a ride?" Everybody scrambled to jump inside."

We hope you can jump inside some great adventures and encourage the love and importance of books! 

Valentines

Valentine's Day is tomorrow! The love is in the air around here and we are busy! I've been seeing great ideas all over other blogs, Instagram, and pinterest such as valentines parties or cute class treats.

As much as I would love to master a cute Valentine's Day party here, I've been keeping it pretty simple. For Maverick's class valentines I just let him pick whatever he wanted to do. Its his first year and its not about me. Maybe in the future we get a little more creative together! This year he picked minions with tattoos! We got them in enough time where he had enough days to do a little bit here and there. Like I've wrote in previous blogs, my son is not one to sit for a long time at the table with me doing an activity. On the weekend we made a goal of getting 8 done then yesterday we finished the list! Today we completed some extra valentines for other friends including an older girl from his school (4th or 5th grade?) Sylvia. My little boy gets all bashful and butterflies in the stomach when this girl is even mentioned. Luckily I've met her and she seems like a very sweet girl. 

As for our friends here, we've been basing our craft this week off the children's book "Splat the Cat" which is from my previous blog that listed some of our favorite Valentine's Day books. This project could be fun and easy as long as you plan ahead! I have multiple kids that did it and although easy, the cutting of the shapes was time consuming. In my case I cut most shapes out but allowed my two older boys to take a beginners scissors and cut their own circle for Splat's head and the hearts for their valentine out on their own (with occasional assistance) then on the valentine is written what they told me Love is. The 2 year old started reading the letters "I, s, e" in which we wrote his love is ABCs. 
The other two said LOVE is snuggling with their favorite stuffed animal (which happens to be curious George) and LOVE is giving kisses! Each Splat the cat valentine turned out unique and adorable! 

My niece was gone when we started making these so today I had her pick off my Pinterest boards what she would like to make. She picked a valentines puppy! Purple being her color of choice of course! 

To make the day sweeter, Ben had flowers sent here again this year!! He surprises me every year! His go to flower place is www.ProFlowers.com and they are beautiful!! One year they didn't bloom as well but flowers in the house specially during the winter months are FABULOUS! He always gets me a different style with an added love note. Close to Scrooge during Christmas but Cupid during Valentines! 

I hope everyone has a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY tomorrow! Rather you're sharing it with someone you love or showing some self love and drinking your favorite wine! 

Snow Storm Destiny

Snow Storm Destiny hit here in Wisconsin causing plenty of accidents but such beautiful scenery. I feel for the people who need to venture out and drive in it. I'm grateful I don't have to travel for work. Of course we got another snow day which at first I was like oh man cause some of our friends have been absent due to the storms causing the same small group to be, majority inside, together and occasionally having one too many arguments or injuries than any mom wants to listen to. Not to mention Maverick woke up very stuffed up and coughing which made him feel crummy. Then he starts acting goofy then he decides to think he can snap at me. I was feeling my patience throw their hat on and walk out the door but then I got myself motivated to have a good day!

After cleaning up from their breakfast, I went into cleaning mode while they played a bit.
Getting the every day endless chores such as laundry and dishes done has a nice temporary relieved feeling! Then it was GETTING OUTSIDE TIME!! 

"Some old-fashion things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat" 
-Laura Ingalls Wilder

While outside with our dog Goose, the neighbor dog came over to play then proceeded to pee and poop everywhere so he needs TO GO! He just started coming over recently after his owners moved in down the road a few months ago. Hes nice but can go back in his yard to poop! We also don't know them very well yet so better safe than sorry. Then  although fluffy and beautiful, it is not good snowball or snowman snow (although the boys still love throwing it at eachother )! King of the hill, snow angels, free falling, and of course snow snacking are still great ways to get your fresh air.

Lets not forget the shoveling. There is definitely no short supply of snow. Its always fun after shoveling and the kids feeling the urge to find so much joy on the edge and kick the snow back where you just shoveled. Lucky for them when the snow is so bright and pretty, it can sometimes make my mood more bright and pretty! Get buried in the sand on the beach? How about get buried under the weight of a Wisconsin snow storms snow!? 

Once they started getting cold, we headed inside and I made, by request, grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch followed up with a small quiet time watching " Scooby Doo Winter Wonderdog!"  Now our friends have been picked  up, we're chilling out and I now need to get in the kitchen and get supper started. Green Chile Chicken. 

Hope everyone traveling in this snow storm gets home safely! Take the advice of the sloth, take it slow and relax....

Star of the Week!

Our 4 year old son is having his first Star of the Week at school! It's insane how fast this past year has gone. EVERY year for that matter. I know time flies but once I had my son, it zoomed by. He is going through all his "firsts" of everything we think about when they are growing inside us and everyday after that. I always wanted children and couldn't wait to experience all the fun events and milestones with them!

Maverick's first roll over, crawl, first dance moves to the first steps. Accomplished.
Maverick's first tooth, first water slide, first camping trip to first two wheel bike and so on! Accomplished. 
Maverick's first day of school, first morning getting on the bus (which took my breath away!) Done.
 This mom's first class party to volunteer for! (Halloween! We dressed as Hercules and his mom whose name is Alcmene !) I made the fun snack which was fun! Can't wait for next Halloween!)

Maverick's first school picture and Christmas concert and now the star of the week! LOL! It's all special. We live once and I am absolutely living to be a mom first and foremost!! I try so hard to cherish these moments. 

As the Star of the Week in his class, they do something special for that student each day. Today, Monday, he was to present his poster we completed together. It included sheets for him (with help of a parent) to fill out including his favorite food, favorite activity, how old is he, what he wants to be and more! They are to decorate it however they want and have fun with it. Stickers and pictures encouraged!!! The poster got sent home two weeks ago which is nice because Maverick is not one who will sit for long doing an activity with me at the table. We worked on it a little bit each day. He was given a pile of pictures of himself and our family to choose from to apply to his poster and colored pencils to take turns with me writing out the answers on the sheets. Then he picked some Blaze and the Monster Machine stickers! All AJ! Today in class he then presented it and it gets hung up on their special board!

Tuesday he will bring his favorite book and they will read it to the class! (Lets see if we get another snow day though) 
Wednesday he gets to bring his favorite stuffed animal to share with the class
Thursday  he wears his favorite color! 
Friday  he gets to bring something special that he would like to share with the class..(.a show a tell! ) 

I know sometimes at the end of the day we just want to do what we need to do, get our things done and relax as much as we can but taking time to sit with them and enjoy these homework assignments (especially since it  only gets harder from here!!!!) is so special and only here for a short while! You don't need to be perfect, you just need to be there and let them know they are important to you! The posters are their opportunity to show off what they are proud of or what they love!

Saturday School

Saturday morning is here!!! I was able to sleep in a little. I love it! A great feeling to wake up Saturday morning and not have to rush either to clean for visitors or rush out the door for plans. 

Unfortunately for Ben and Jonah, this Saturday they didn't' get to sleep in. Our preteen decided to lie to us again about homework. Shocker! Anyone else have a preteen or teenager that  seems to think they're smarter than us? Lie so many times then act completely hurt and shocked when we double check work and need to start personally emailing the teachers. If so, you're not alone!

Jonah had a 5 page book report due weeks ago! He had two weeks to complete it and never brought the book home. (we're always told he's doing it in his study hall hour) That's when we got the email cordially inviting Jonah to attend SATURDAY SCHOOL! He then had a week to complete the book report otherwise he needed to go to Saturday School. Did he bring the book home you ask? Nope! Seemed to think consequences weren't going to catch up with him. Although our boys did receive more snow days this past week, he did have a couple days of school that would have been perfect to bring the  book home. I remember being in school. Homework is lame and not always fun to do but when I was a kid, I was way too nervous to just not do it. Any work turned in is better than no work.

I think as time was passing on, Jonah thought since we live further away from his school, that no one would feel like driving him into town on a Saturday. Lets be real, of course no parent wants to drive into town when they don't need to specially on the weekend BUT taking away a discipline that the teachers are providing for your child to catch up would only end up in more lies and missing assignments. 

So he needed to get up early, make his dad some eggs for breakfast and off they went. Ben will drop Jonah off at school where he will stay from 8am to 11am while Ben goes into work for some over time. Hopefully this will calm down the lying and lack of bringing homework home! He is only 12 so I can only imagine what hormone city has planned for our future.

Bad morning Good day!

Happy Friday Jr!! Here's to a beautiful Thursday, although its slippery around these parts. Both boy's schools canceled and they got yet ANOTHER snow day! Where were all these snow days when I was in school? I don't mind the snow days too much though. Some are rough but on the positive side, we don't need to rush the kids out of bed at a certain time.

I actually woke up in a not so bright mood. I had a conversation with someone last night that bothered me. Not just a casual friend or anything, it was someone I really care about. Instead of holding it in and thinking about it all day and into next week, I brought it  up to that person this  morning and told them exactly how it made me feel. You know how it turned out? Just fine! Once things got cleared up and I said everything that was weighing on my chest, we were both able to continue the day on a much more positive note! I take things to heart most times, specially when its someone dear to me but at times you just don't want to cause drama or you don't know how to bring it up. In this case I just needed to get it out and be able to move on. If they truly love you unconditionally, they will hear you out and clear any misunderstandings that happened. In this case, it turned out good and reassured me we have a pretty good relationship. 

That's a relief! So I did what any normal mother does on a cold snowy winters day....."I LET IT GO!" Got the kids in their winter gear and we headed outside to walk the trails with the dogs. Beautiful scenery with the snow laying over the ground and covering the trees. Peaceful feeling. I'm glad I talked things out instead of letting thoughts linger in my head. Because of that simple action, I was able to show the boys a much better morning! Instead of being inside my head, I was noticing bird nests. Then some of the others started finding bird nests and looking for deer trails. Free falling, landing on our backs to make snow angels. I'm glad we got outside and did the trail walk because I imagine with the mix of snow and rain we are getting, its just wet and heavy outside in the snow now.

"Not every day is good but there is something good in everyday!" 

It's a chore to enforce chores!

Our oldest, Jonah, is actually Ben's son from a previous relationship, making me the "the step-monster" lol. I'm only kidding. I believe Ben and I do a pretty good job at being partners both in life and parenting. Although there has been the typical joys of step parenting, such as the child playing the houses against each other (or trying to!) as well as me being hated in the past because we  give him (as well as the 4 year old) weekly chores. In Maverick's case he has to feed the animals everyday and once a week clean their bathroom sink. Jonah is with us every other week. He arrives Monday after school and goes to his mom's house the following week on Monday. So Jonah has his board with magnets that have the chores written on them in the "To Do" column then has the whole week that hes here, to move them to the "Done" side. As you can imagine, they don't get done unless we say, "get them done!" At the MOMENT our 4 year old has been doing his chores cheerfully. *knock on wood*

I wish they understood its not a punishment and its FAR from a good time for dad and I to have to remind them and see the instant slump of the shoulders and major pout grow upon their face. Do they think its going to make us feel bad and change our minds? Chores are good. It not only is helping the family but it provides them with the lessons of responsibilities. Life isn't going to go easy on them after they leave us, so as much as we love them and I as a mother, do enjoy taking care of them....they need to learn, sooner better than later, how to handle responsibilities. 

You want a pet? Well mom and dad won't always be around to feed, bath and pay attention to the pet. They need to learn pets are responsibilities. I hate how our oldest asks when we are getting a new pet, knowing we have 5 already then acts like its complete garbage that he has to brush the dog for longer than 2 minutes. Does that make us not give him the job? Nope. Its not hard. The dog is a good girl and well, if you want more, learn to help more! 

You want more things? Well learn a good WORK ETHIC! Things such as clothes, toy trucks, fishing gear, toys, games cost money. Doing chores for money hopefully shows them the value of a dollar. Shows them the more you save, the more you have! The more you spend, the less you have saved! Just doing the work isn't going to cut it either!! Employers are going to see how well you work. How well you work with others debating the job, how hard you work. Do you try or best or do you rush it, just for someone else to need to come and finish it? An employer isn't going to keep you around for long if you think rushing is doing a good job. Granted some reading this may say, well they're young, let them be kids. OF COURSE! I don't want them growing up fast. I wish they'd stay small or time would slow down. I encourage sleeping in while they can, eating almost everything they want, using their imaginations....but time flies and soon they will be adults. 

One of the most important things I learned going to school for early childhood education is that THE FIRST 5 YEARS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT and I've seen it play out with experience. Outside of the books. I'm not saying, if you don't give your kids chores, they will be bad people. NOT AT ALL!!! I'm just saying there are so many benefits of chores and trying to teach them about responsibilities while they're young and their brains are like sponges, absorbing everything they see and hear from us. 

At the end of the day, I love them. I want to enjoy my time with them and I take pride in taking care of them. Being there for them. Washing their bedsheets and timing  them in the dryer  so they're warm still at bedtime for them. Making their lunches and so on but I want my time with them to be not only special but preparing them for their lives ahead. No matter what path they choose,  I want them growing up as happy and good men! (as moms, I think we can all agree, their future wives will appreciate the help around the house too!)

February reads for kids!

Valentine's Day is next week! We don't go all out around here for Valentines Day but Ben does usually sweep me off my feet while showing his romantic side during that special week every year. I also enjoy the fun crafts I can create with the kids in February as well as making Valentine's. This year is Maverick's first Valentine's Day class party! We haven't decided on what kind of treat he will be bringing for his classmates but I plan to just let him shop around and pick out what makes him excited to celebrate!

Another thing I love about February is the transition of the books! I  pack away all the Christmas books from Maverick's book shelves in his bedroom and replace them with the valentines themed books! Not only does it feel good to reorganize what we have during that time but finally packing up the Christmas books, is a sure sign of spring getting closer!!

I'd love to share with you some of our favorite books we read during February!

1) "Llama llama i love you" by Anna Dewdney
We don't actually own this book but its Maverick's most recent library book. Have you ever seen the Netflix show Llama Llama? If you haven't, its based on the books and adorable! Maverick has watched every episode atleast 5 times! Any Llama Llama book is a HIT in this house.

2)" Splat the Cat Funny Valentine" created by Rob Scotton
This story is a fun lift the flap book about a friendly cat who invites his friends over to create a special valentine! 

3) "Love Monster" by Rachel Bright
We love this story. Not only does my son adore his love monster stuffed animal that came with the book, but the story has such a sweet message. Even when times get dark and you feel alone, good things can happen unexpectedly! Its definitely a repeat read when its out on the shelf! 

4) "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Rose!" by Jared Lee
What kid doesn't love the "there was an old who swallowed a...." series?! We have a couple of this lady's books not to mention a fun rhyming game as well! This is a fun read for the kids to see what all the supplies such as glitter and lace are being swallowed for to make!

5) "How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You" by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
I LOVE THE HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY...SERIES!!! This books are absolutely adorable! Not only do I have a house full of boys who LOVE dinosaurs but its fun for the girls as well. How many moms can agree with me that as much as we love our children they can act like some destructive cranky dinosaurs?? We love the pictures, I love the message and I do believe its a fun way to interact with your kids and teach them about good behavior! "'But when you smile sweetly and hold back your roar, when you kiss me and hug me once, twice even more...." 
After reading these books, I love kissing my son and saying I love you my dinosaur! 

Then as bonus, I bring back out books such as Maverick's hard copy of Nancy Tillman's book "On the night you were born" because her books are lovely! 

Mom trying to beat cabin fever

Well we woke up AGAIN this morning to news of our boys having snow days. This would make my youngest son's 6th snow day which if we had decent weather, atleast the kids would be able to run around outside in the snow but we haven't had decent weather. We've been stuck inside and to top it off, today is cloudy and wet! 

Our morning involved a random tantrum as I served breakfast and the boys asking me questions just to end up drowning my voice out with their high volume screeches. Oh, how I love repeating and being ignored! NOT! Then of course theres the fact they're boys and they seem to find it impossible to KEEP THEIR HANDS TO THEMSELVES!!

I decided, before I lose it, we needed to beat the cabin fever!!
So we did a fun science experiment after story time which to my delight, worked out! The boys were thrilled to see the reaction of the ingredients mixed together. I can't wait to show it to you on a later post! Stayed tuned! Then as I  was letting our dog Ruby out, I discovered how packy the snow was. Called the boys up, we all got our gear on and spent about an hour outside THANK GOODNESS!!! We each built our own snowmen. Although its gloomy, wet and slippery...it was so nice to get outside with them and finally BUILD A SNOWMAN!!!! I wish we could get a White Christmas where we can build a snowman on Christmas break but it just never turns out like that for us here. The snow is either too fluffy and falls apart easily or theres no white Christmas at all. The boys and I really enjoyed building our snow people and clothing them with hats or scarfs. I don't know how long those snow people will last but fresh air is most definitely the best medicine!
It may be wet and gloomy out but its perfect snowman/ fort snow right now for this small town in Northern Wisconsin!

P for Polar Bear

P for Polar Bear! 

Supplies:

Blue paper

White paper

Scissors 

Black marker /crayon

Glue! 

Looking for an educational and easy craft to get through this winter?! After the excitement of the holidays are over, I like to focus on the winter themes such as winter animals. P FOR POLAR BEAR! It’s perfect and simple to do! Get blue paper, glue your white P on it. In my case I let the kids glue the back of the P and place it on the paper, some needed a little direction but the more independence, the better! It’s a craft for THEM to feel proud about. I then found 3 different size objects in my kitchen that were shaped like circles to trace on white paper. Two big circles for the feet. Two medium circles for the polar bears hands and two smaller white circles for the polar bears ears. 

Before gluing your circles on their Appropriate spots on your polar Bears body ( the letter P) decide if you want to use black construction paper for the black of the paws and nose. In my case the black paper was downstairs in my art supplies corner and my black marker was in a drawl in the kitchen so I went with black marker. This gives the kids the opportunity to make their own paw prints on their bears hands and feet and make the bears nose themselves.....(lazy or pure genius?) 

Encourage the kids to glue their circles on their letter P. During this time you can use it to quiz them and praise them when they answer the shapes and colors correctly!! It’s so simple and helps make the kids feel intelligent. 

Once the circles are placed, show them where to dot their eyes on the letter P and draw the nose and mouth part. 

Celebrate Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is here!

Did anyone tune in to see what Punxsutawney Phil determined today? Well if you haven’t, according to what they say, Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an EARLY SPRING!! Which is a nice thought. I hope it happens! I love Wisconsin and having all 4 seasons but the last couple of years have just seemed to have long winters, skip spring and move on to summer!

To make today a little special, my son and I snuggled on the chair and read his new book, “GROUNDHOG gets a say” and it’s pretty cute! Has facts about groundhogs and the pictures are enjoyable. It was a fun and educational read as groundhog explains to crow and squirrel his many talents!
Scholastic book orders ROCK!

Mom wants to watch Fifty Shades of Grey!

Ben is out of town this weekend. I use to miss him and eagerly await is arrival back home. Now days, I still adore him and hope he gets home safely but like to use his time away as my time to do whatever I want....or even just control the remote!! I usually do a GIRLS NIGHT and have my mom take Maverick over night but this weekend we are keeping it chill at home. We've been busy every weekend since Thanksgiving so its nice to not have any plans!


I love movies, I usually take the time to watch the movies I can't watch with Ben while Ben is gone. Unfortunately the movies I would LOVE to finally watch, are not movies I can watch with my son home, let alone my brother who is staying with us. Have you read the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy?! I finished them about a year ago and like most women, fell for Christian and Ana's love story. I have access to, I believe all 3 movies....and I can't watch them. As I write this, Maverick is yelling 'MOOOOM!" and I keep having to set my laptop down and go cater to him (which I wouldn't trade for the world but how many moms wish they could finish something beginning to end without always stopping) so here I am, drinking my coffee, scrolling past "Fifty Shades of Grey"  yet again and clicking on Owen Wilson's movie "Father Figures" which has given me quite a few laughs!! It is not a movie for a 4 year old but atleast if him or my brother walk through the livingroom, its not awkward and I don't have to feel like a terrible dirty mom if my son sees something he shouldn't.

One day Christian and Ana, I will see your story played out on the screen. Seriously great writing EL James. It was the first trilogy I finished. A book that I would tell myself, "after this chapter I'm putting it down" and I would have to continue to see what happened next, until reluctantly I would have to put it down to get back to responsibilities. 

So, here's to watching Dakota Johnson hopefully make a great Ana....someday. Until then, Reese Witherspoon will have to entertain me with movies such as "Home Again" during my moments of sitting down while Maverick is enjoying PBS! Here's to a lazy weekend!!!

How Having A Routine Works For Us!

Happy Friday!

We have another snow day. This makes the 4th snow day just this week! The sun has been shining, the snow has been begging to be rolled around in but the temperatures just won't allow it. Keeping us inside with cabin fever creeping up. This weekend is suppose to be a little warmer so hopefully we can get some fresh air....we will see.

So with that, I need to keep these boys entertained just enough where they don't get too stir crazy being cooped up! It helps that I, for the most part, have a routine that we stick to pretty well Monday-Friday. It's absolutely great to switch things up a bit and have those special days. Whether its having a chill day or going off and finding something different to do, going out of routine sometimes is important and exciting for the kids. With that being said I love having a routine with a house full of kids. It's pretty much me against them and when a kid has an idea of what to expect everyday, it does make the transitions during the day go smoother (but face it, not every day is perfect, right?!)

I've worked in the school settings and public daycares so I did get my idea of sticking to a routine from my experience working in those environments. I love it! To give you an idea on how our Monday- Fridays go, here's a quick time line.

Our friends start arriving at 6:40 AM 

🚍 Bus pick up is roughly around 7:00 AM 

( when school is in session)

The kids who don't attend school yet and I chill until Breakfast at 8:00AM

- potty breaks and clean up proceed after that.

PLAY TIME!

We do our story time Roughly* around 9:00 AM 🕮 📚

I never know how that's going to go!  We do definitely have our days where some kids like to see how far they can take a joke or just simply don't want to pay attention at that moment. For the most part, it goes good!

After story time we put on some nursery rhyme videos or just listen to music 📻

Then it's activity time! Either a craft that everyone will do that day or individual time to work on something one on one, rather it be my kids or our friends who come over. That runs roughly 9:30-10:00ish sometimes later.  

PLAY TIME!

🚍 This year my son, Maverick is in 4k so he isn't in school all day. Bus drop off 11:04 AM ish

Ideally, the kids and I can enjoy some outside time for a little bit. In the winter it all depends on temps and kids moods. Otherwise we do have a play area downstairs!

LUNCH TIME!!

potty breaks and clean up.

Quiet Time is at 1:00 PM sometimes it doesn't start till 1:30 PM 

I like routine and feel its important but I do try to go with the flow and just enjoy the day!

Quiet Time goes till 3:00PM (doesn't always mean the kids want to shoot up at 3:00PM)

🚍 Bus Drop off for one of our friends (and sometimes my nephew!) is 3:20ish PM

SNACK TIME!!!

Then we just go with how we're feeling. Sometimes we go outside (specially in SUMMER!) other times the kids want to color or do puzzles. Sometimes they just want to bum around and chill out.

Our friends get picked up anywhere from 4:00PM-6:00PM 

Ben and our oldest, Jonah, arrive home anytime after 4:00pm 

Then its just our family time in the evening. Besides supper usually being ready by 6:00 PMish and school year bedtime routines... can't really predict how our evenings will go 🙂

My day flies by with this routine. Some days I am on the ball, on time, kicking the days butt and other days I fall behind and the day slips from my fingers or I'm just not feeling motivated. Either way, just need to find what works best for your household. Not every family is the same but this routine really works for us!!