Guest Post: Planting Flowers and Practicing Skills
This is a post from Amanda at Gratefully Growing in Grace who also brought us the Breakfast Basket guest post on June 7. Amanda has a great blog, so be sure to stop by for a visit!
Planting Flowers and Practicing Skills
My name is Amanda and I’m visiting again from Gratefully Growing in Grace where I write about baby, toddler, and preschool activities, crafts I attempt, recipes I manage to cook successfully, and as any good mommy blog includes, cute stories, photos, and videos of my children.
I’ve been blessed to celebrate three Mother’s Days and each year I have asked for the same thing: a mushy card, a photo of me with my children (I have a special frame for the photos), and flowers to plant. My only stipulation is that we all plant the flowers as a family. Doesn’t my husband have an easy job of thinking of Mother’s Day gifts and activities? This year was the first time my son could really help plant the flowers. He could dig the holes with me, choose which flower to put in the hole, place it there, pack the dirt around it, and water it. We had a blast and I can’t wait to have a home where we can plant more flowers and for my daughter to be able to help us – maybe next year!
We had so much fun planting flowers that I wanted to find a way for us to do it again and again. After reading an article (sorry, I can’t remember details because I usually read when my brain is tired to begin with) about preschoolers practicing hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, I came up with an idea. I’m sure it isn’t original, but my tired brain thought it was brilliant at the moment.
I bought a small storage basket with holes and a few artificial flowers at the Dollar Tree. I rounded out my artificial flower pile by having my mom donate some of her extras. I used a wire cutter to trim the flowers up to be single stems without a lot of extra leaves and stuff on them.
I washed all the flowers in soapy water and let them dry because I’m a germophobe like that. Next, I gave the pile of flowers and the basket to Mini Me and said, “Let’s make a garden!” Simple as that, we turned the basket on its side and began using steady hands to poke the flower stems into the nifty holes. Tada!
The first time Mini Me did this is took approximately 2.5 minutes and he was off and running. I was crushed that my brilliant-but-not-so-original idea was such a dud. But… he came running back to it later after I’d taken the flowers out and wanted to do it again. Then the next day, he wanted to plant his garden again. I started making him put the stems in the smallest holes for more practice. One day he lovingly made a garden and presented it to me, asking if I could keep it on the table for decoration all day. Awwww… Mother’s Day lives on and my preschooler’s fine motor skills are being fine tuned!
Amanda is the author of Gratefully Growing in Grace where she blogs about baby, toddler, and preschool activities, crafts she attempts, and recipes she manages to cook successfully.
Early Ultrasound 9 weeks 2 days
Yesterday I had another early ultrasound. This was the follow-up to the one I had two weeks ago. The baby was very small at the time so they wanted to make sure a twin wasn’t hiding in there.
Apparently there wasn’t. There’s just one sweet little baby in there. She had no trouble finding the baby this time. We saw the heartbeat and it was 167. We also got to see the little one give us a few wiggles and shimmies 🙂
(Click on photos to enlarge them.)
The head is to the right and you can see the baby’s arm buds!
After my ultrasound I went to my first prenatal appointment. It’s just a lot of talking and answering questions and whathaveyou. Everything’s good.
Below you can see me at my appointment accompanied by my friend the Bubba Keg. That is the “jug” that I drink water out of every single day…not just when I’m pregnant 😉 (I kinda love water). It always impresses the doctors but seems to frighten average citizens.
Related Posts:
*Early Ultrasound 7 Weeks
*Wordless Wednesday: Two Lines
*Trying to Conceive: Take 3: Secondary Infertility
*Trying to Conceive: Take 3 Continued
*Our Infertility Story: The Short Version
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Guest Post: Sustainable Living – It’s Not Just for Hippies Anymore
This is a guest post by Sarah from Professional Intern. Please stop by her blog today!
Beginning with Henry David Thoreau and the philosophy of the Transcendentalists, the Green Movement has slowly edged its way into the human psyche. While this way of living was originally believed to only appeal to hippies and other activists, it has now become commonplace. It is not unusual to see people drinking from reusable containers, carrying their groceries and lunches in reusable bags, and wearing clothing that advertises for this movement.
My mother was the person who started me off with this, when she taught me to recycle. She did this mostly because we lived out in the country and did not have a garbage service. We recycled cans, bottles and newspapers, burned what we could, and were left with one small trash bag every week (for a family of eight), which we would usually dispose of in the dumpster behind the local high school.
Upon graduation, I moved to the nearest city and took the available trash service for granted for several years. I threw out anything and everything, never giving much thought to recycling or reusing. I wish I could say that this was due to an inability to do so, but the truth is that I was lazy and unaware of the impact that my actions had on the environment.
All of this changed after I took a fascinating social philosophy class. There, we discussed at length the green movement, sustainable living, and the past, present and future impact that living wastefully and thoughtlessly has on the Earth. This class reminded me of the importance of making responsible choices throughout my day, and I made a commitment to start making changes immediately.
Some of these changes were easy to implement: I had some broken laundry baskets that I was about to get rid of; instead, I labeled them “plastic,” “glass,” “metal,” and “paper” and was able to reuse them. I bought recycled goods whenever possible (there are trash bags, paper towels, toilet paper, etc., that fall under this category). I made my own cleaning goods whenever possible, and bought environmentally-friendly products when I could. I shopped at a local grocery store that allowed and encouraged its customers to take their groceries home in the boxes that the store would otherwise throw away, and I then reused the boxes for storage, crafts, and to start fires.
After all of the obvious bases were covered, I brainstormed for other ways that I could be more environmentally conscious. I started using cloth diapers for my daughter. This may not seem like a big deal to all of you non-parents out there, but I was throwing away between four and six diapers a day, which equated to an average of 150 diapers a month. This not only helped my local landfill, but my pocketbook as well. I paid nearly $100 for twelve cloth diapers and additional inserts, and never had to buy another disposable diaper again. In fact, they were so durable that I passed them on to my sister-in-law, who made good use of them before passing them on to her sister-in-law.
I’m a homeschooler, and I discovered that many of the things I was throwing away could easily be reused for a craft project of some sort. Milk jugs can be made into bird feeders, as can empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls; paper with printing on just one side can be used for its other side; paper that has been thoroughly used can still be used in collages and the like (along with used magazines).
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises I had was when it came time to buy some patio furniture. We had a plastic set that was slowly falling to pieces, and when I looked into recycling it, I was dismayed to discover that there were no local places that would accept it for recycling. After so many months of scrupulous green living, I felt defeated when I ended up throwing our old furniture away. When I shopped for new furniture, I eventually settled on cast aluminum patio furniture, partly because of its attractiveness, but also largely because aluminum is 100% recyclable, unlike plastic.
My husband started off as a large impediment to the changes I was trying to implement. He had grown up in the city and had a “sustainable living is for hippies” mentality. I frequently had to dig his soda cans and glass bottles out of the garbage can. However, when he no longer had to pay for diapers and saw that I was making money from the aluminum cans I was recycling, he changed his mind and started helping out a little more.
Now, it is commonplace for my family to recycle and reuse whenever possible. My son has actually caught me mistakenly throwing away something that I could have recycled, and he gleefully reprimanded me for it. My daughter is still a little too young to understand about living green, but we have moved back out to the country, and it is my hope that she will grow up thinking it is normal, and that “wasteful living is for losers,” whereas sustainable living is for everyone.
Guest Post: ABC Photo Essay
This is a guest post from Pamela at Reviews She ROTE.
Stop by her blog today!
Having an ABC day is a fun way to keep your kids busy all day or, as I did this time, all week. Last year at the end of school I was looking for ways my kids could stay active all day so I didn’t have to hear “MOMMY I’M BORED” I did a day last year, but this year I stretched it out for a whole week!!! We didn’t do it alphabetically but every letter was used, to keep track I had a list and when we did the activity I filled in that letter, some were planned others just happened and the kids found it fun to find ways to fill in the last few letters.
Here’s a photo essay to show you all the fun things we did. Don’t worry there are NOT 26 photos (sigh of relief from all LOL).
Doing a little Artwork
Blowing Bubbles
Cuddles with Cat
Making up some Dumplings for Dinner
Hayden on the High slide and enjoying some Ice-cream
Climbing on the Junglegym, Kisses for Dad…Kayleigh having Lemon aide from McDonalds and Nuggets
Outside fun
Ravishing Pancake Smile what a Qt!!!
Talking to Uncle then enjoying Veggie chips.
Washing the car
a little X-box when the rain came
…and making Y‘s on the lawn.
At the end of the day TIME for BED and catching some Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz‘s
Pamela is the author of Reviews She ROTE. Pamela is a SAHM of two children. She enjoys scrapbooking, taking photos, and a little reality TV. Pamela says, “I’ve had a blog for a while but just in the past few months really taking it more serious. I blog about “life” and I also do product reviews and a few giveaways feel free to check me out.” 🙂
The Very Literal Stay at Home Mom
When I say that I’m a stay at home mom…I mean it…literally. I stay at home. I don’t go anywhere. I stay at home and I don’t go anywhere because I don’t have a driver’s license. Believe it or not, it has nothing to do with my sister’s accident…I just never got my license.
I wasn’t your typical teenager, I suppose. While I had friends and I did enjoy going out with them from time to time, I enjoyed staying at home by myself. I was very busy in school with theater, chorus, band, and various clubs so I didn’t get to be home very often. I was quite happy at home while I was there and I wasn’t screaming for any type of independence or freedom. In PA you could get your Driver’s Permit when you turned 16. You had to take a test for the permit and pass. Once you had your permit you could practice driving with a licensed driver over the age of 18 in the front seat. Once you had sufficiently practiced you could take your driver’s test. The permit would expire in 3 years and so would your physical exam. If you hadn’t passed the driving portion of the test before your permit expired, you would need to get another physical and take the permit test again. At least those were the rules in 1995, some of the details have changed since then.
When I turned 16 my parents didn’t say anything to me about getting my license and I didn’t say anything to them. My younger sister on the other hand (who was a year younger than me and dying to get her license) had been told she wasn’t permitted to apply for her permit/license until she was 18 due to her grades. I also had practical reasons for not getting a license. I knew that I wouldn’t be getting my own car. I knew that we had only one car and both of my parents worked. I knew that I didn’t have a job, didn’t want a job, and didn’t have time for a job with all of my extra curricular activities therefore I didn’t have the money to pay for a car, insurance, or even gas. I also knew that because of my busy schedule, my curfew, and the boring town that we lived in…I really wouldn’t be going out much anyway. I didn’t make a decision not to get my license, I just simply decided that there wasn’t any rush to get it. Only two weeks after turning 16 I acquired a boyfriend who had a license, a job, and his own car. He also happened to be involved in theater/chorus/band as well, so he began driving me everywhere.
I was signed up for Driver’s Ed because completing the class would get you a discount on your insurance. I had yet to take my permit test. Driver’s Ed didn’t help me at all. The class was taught by a history teacher that I’d had three different years since Middle School. He was a nice man, but one of my least favorites as far as teaching was concerned. He never really taught anything and his big thing was “study guides”. He would give us photo copied study guides in his very poor barely legible handwriting and had us fill in the blanks from our text books during class. In the three different years I had him as a teacher I don’t recall him ever saying anything to us other than telling us to keep quiet during our study guide time or telling us what page to turn to. Luckily I was good at history and managed to do fine as long as I could read his handwriting. Driver’s Ed was no different. We were given study guides to go along with the Driver’s book. We were also lucky enough to watch some outdated films on anti-lock breaks and drunk driving. We never once got into a car. We didn’t have one of those fancy student driving cars where you got to drive around the parking lot while your teacher keeps slamming on his extra set of breaks. Nope. Just, “here’s some questions to study for the permit test (most everyone already had their permit), here’s how breaks work in the rain, don’t drink and drive…the end”.
Above: 18 year old me, a happy passenger.
(Don’t worry, we were parked otherwise I would’ve had my feet on the ground and a seatbelt on!)
After I graduated from high school and spent the summer busy sleeping in and hanging out with my boyfriend my mom felt it was time for me to get a job in the fall. I didn’t have any ID so we had to go get one at the DMV. I hadn’t studied at all for the permit test, but my mom said that I should try to take the test anyway since we were already there. You were allowed to get three answers wrong…I missed four. I failed the permit test that day, but we went back and I passed it the second time and every time since then. I started working a part time job and then eventually went to a full time job. My mom worked full time M-F 9a-5p and I was scheduled shifts all week from any time between 9:45a-9:45p.
As time went on I kept going back and renewing my permit and getting physicals. It seemed like every time I needed a new physical my doctor had moved or my insurance had changed and I had to find a new practice…again. I did some driving here and there, but for the most part we were all too busy and too tired to bother with it. I couldn’t practice driving on my own. Someone had to take me and teach me. The older I got and the longer I went without driving…the more scared I got. I wasn’t scared to begin with, that wasn’t why I had put off getting my permit, but the more time I spent in the passenger’s seat the less of a desire I had to drive. When I would drive I was absolutely terrified of hitting parked cars, or having a car come up behind me. I found reverse confusing. I hated it.
Throughout the years my mom and husband have taken turns teaching me how to drive. We go for awhile and then something always happens and we get busy, and we stop going. Then I forget how to drive again. I’m not scared of hitting parked cars anymore and a person driving behind me doesn’t bother me as much (unless they’re right on my bumper). I’m not too bad at the actual driving part now and I’m finally starting to get the hang of reverse and parking. In March I started practicing again. This time with a slightly different goal…learn to drive well enough to pass the test. If I never drive again, that’s fine, but at least I’ll have my license if I want it and I’ll have all the time in the world to get more comfortable driving. Practicing is one of the things that I’ve been doing lately when I say that I’m busy.
I still don’t have much of a desire to drive, but I feel like my daughter and I are missing out on so much being trapped in the house until her dad gets home. We can’t go to the park or Mommy and Me or MOPS or anywhere really. I’ll be 32 this September. Kids that I used to babysit have now had their licenses for years. Now I just want to get my stupid license so that I can have it already. I don’t even know if I’ll ever really use it since the idea of driving with my daughter in the car, or without someone else next to me to help me, scares me. I just want to get it over and done with even if I never drive again afterwards. This August my permit is going to expire…again. My physical will expire then too so I’ll need to get a physical…again. And guess what…my doctor’s practice shut down…again. So I’m going to need to find another doctor…again. So that I can take my permit test…again. I really don’t want to have to do all of that…again.
Today at 12:30pm I’m scheduled to take my driver’s test for the first time in 14 years. I can’t say that I’m feeling very positive about it. Last night I thought I should practice parallel parking in front of my mom’s house. There was a space between her neighbor’s car and her car. I tried 3 times and couldn’t do it all three times…and the last time I tried I hit my mom’s car (well, the cars touched…I backed into it very slowly going -5 miles an hour!). I went around the block again to come back and park and the neighbor had gotten into her car to move it away to safety (why, I didn’t hit her car?!). Let’s just say it didn’t give me a big boost of confidence. I just hope that my test goes well today and I can just pass and move on with life as a licensed driver.
Or maybe I’ll just get a chauffer.
**Updated: Nope, didn’t get it. Failed the parallel parking before getting a chance to do the rest of the test. I was way too nervous and hormonal. Oh well, I’ll try again in another 15 years (and by then Adaline should have her license and Jonathan close to getting his permit!).
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Guest Post: Toilet Training – For the patient and unwearied
This is a post from dekota at dekota marie blog. Be sure to stop by her place today!
Toilet training has never been easy.
And, I have to say, I am absolutely not an expert. The only true, sound advice I can give you is to be patient.
However, there is something I have heard from the time I became a parent that I never thought would ring true today.
Wait until your child is ready for toilet training.
You, and your child, will know when he or she is ready.
When my son was two, I honestly thought that I would never see the day that he would be potty trained. That he would still be using diapers on his way out the door for college. That I would still be asking him if he did a stinky before he leaves for his first date with a girl.
It often times reminded me of an episode of yes dear. Two parents struggling to potty train their son, often day dreaming of their son pooping in the corner in his diaper in his 20’s.
I tried everything I could. I did everything that books tell you to do. He had his own potty, a training seat for the “big boy” toilet, books, dolls, m&m’s – you name it, we tried it. I was at my wits ends, I was frustrated, and I was DONE. I gave up. I was willing to wipe his hiney until he was an adult. It would have been less frustrating, right?
Until one morning he woke up and got out of bed. His diaper was so full and so heavy that it fell right off of him. This wasn’t unusual because this boy could pee and did a lot at night.
All of a sudden, he started crying and screaming. I, of course, panic and run to his side to find out what is wrong. I GOT TO GO PEE!
Of course, knowing me, you would know that I started to laugh. This, after all, angers him slightly. We rush to the bathroom and with delight he goes in the potty! We do our happy dance, flush the toilet, and hop on out of the bathroom.
He has been toilet trained ever since.
So, simply said, it was just easier to wait until he was ready over pushing him to be ready because I no longer wanted him in diapers. I couldn’t keep forcing him to try to do something that was unnatural for him. Peeing and pooping in a diaper was what was natural for him since day one.
I know this is easier said than done, but when you are at your wits end and ready to be done you should know that there is hope! He or she will be potty trained, it just takes a lot of time and patience – or waiting in my case :).
dekota marie recently moved from Florida to North Carolina where she is a stay at home wife, mother of a two year old and four year old, a full time student, an avid eBayer, and the owner of dekota marie blog. She writes about her experiences as a mom, as a wife, and as a woman along with sharing recipes, crafts, and awesome products she finds online.
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Fun and Dysfunction 