Where are we?

HELLO!  You might thing I've forgotten about my little blog, or maybe that I'm just sitting my kids in front of the tv all day and have nothing to blog about (my friends are laughing at that!).  Thankfully neither of these are true.  I haven't been blogging for a bigger reason and one that I'm disappointed to confess. I have no pictures. Sad huh.  Really, what's a blog without some pictures - just a bunch of words that jumble together and aren't nearly as interesting.  So sadly, I haven't been blogging.  Don't even get me started on the guilt that my dear daughter has a paultry amount of pictures of herself compared to my son.

Today is no different, I still have no pictures. I'm here because I missed loging our fun and we've had such a terrific time through the holidays and so far this year.  It would be boring to detail it all in a single post, so I'll just summarize. (forgive me my friends and famiy if I forgot something major! Just remind me please!)


October ~ We continued to learn about trees and spent a HUGE amount of time at our local pumpkin patches.  Our city has THREE terrific patches that have many things to do.  If you recall, Turbo was completely dis-interested in our Tree Nature walk and I wondered if we'd continue with trees. We did and it turns out that he still, to this day, will tell me that Trees need water, nutrients and sunlight to grow.  Sometimes that boy leaves me scratching my head.


November ~ We learned about Thankfulness, pilgrams and turkeys. The highlight for Turbo was making this paperbag turkey with Little Sweetie and our friends. It was really cute and he still talks about it.  It was Lil' Sweetie's first glue project. We'll wait awhile for the next one.  We spent Thanksgiving with our dear friends as we've done for 10 years! Only missing ones when we were visiting back East.

December ~  We learned about the meaning of Christmas and did tons of Christmas'y' crafts. We read lots of books and spent lots of time with friends. Christmas Day was spectacular! The joy, amazement and wonder in my children's eyes were my greatest gift.  We also went down to SoCal to visit with family the week after Christmas. It was wonderful to see the kids with their Uncles, Great-grandparents and Grandma.  We ended the year celebrating at our friend's house for a party and sleep over. The kids stayed up until 11:00pm when they started asking to go to bed!

January ~ We're learning about Insects and also the Character Trait of being Orderly. We're having fun with this theme and will soon drive down to Pacific Grove to see the Monarchs migrating. Oh what a lovely site that will be!  We just spent another week in SoCal visiting my Mom and Grandparents again. We went to the Living Desert Zoo, The Largest Dinosaur exhibit and lots of time visiting.  My Grandparents live in Indiana, so it was an opportunity to spend more time with them before they went home. We also spent two days visiting a long-time friend and her family who are all so dear to my heart.  

I'm leaving out and forgetting tons, but that's the gist of it.   My camera will be found and charged over the weekend so I start taking pictures again!  Hopefully you'll see some color on my blog soon!

Where are we?

Have you been hearing the sounds of crickets on my blog? Our break has been considerably longer than I anticipated! I thought we'd be back to full Tot School and blogging by the 2nd week of January.  Uh, not quite.

I can't believe we've only been home for 5 week!  We got back from vacation then my Mom came to visit, then we potty trained, then Rick's parents came and this week I'm sick. I've completely lost my voice and my poor husband is again out of town and can't enjoy it. (Just kidding, right honey!) Sweet Pea is 6 months old and the funny thing is this happened to me when Turbo was 6 months old too.   I lost my voice 3 times between him being 6-9months. I wonder if there's any connection between their 6 month mark and a decrease in my immune system. We'll see if it happens again. Not if I can help it! Anyway, then Rick's parents come back next week, then I head out to San Antonio for my brother's Air Force Basic Training graduation.  Then it's March!

While we're still doing Tot School things each week, my creative prep work and blogging has taken a back seat these past 5 weeks.  I have a limited amount of evening time and I've been spending it learning something terrific! I'm learning some serious money saving strategies involving coupons. 

Towards the end of last year, I decided a goal for 2010 would be to get savvy about really saving in my everyday budget.  Things are going great! In January, my average saving for all my purchases (not including eating out) was 73%! Wow!  To do this I shopped sales, used coupons and submitted rebates.  Coupon shopping now certainly isn't what I did 12 years ago!  There's nothing like leaving the grocery store with 8 boxes of triscuits/wheat thins and 4 packages of mission tortillas for ...nothing.  Just a smile and thank you
In the mean time, please stay tuned, I'll be back with our regularly scheduled programming soon!!  Our latest letter is G g, so watch for a post up this weekend for sure!

January Update #1

Goodness, it's been awhile since my last post! I've missed blogging and sharing our lives this past month.  It's hard to believe we've only been home three weeks! We've fit so much into that time.  That first week home we got some organization projects completed that had been lingering. The best part is that I now have more room for my TotSchool supplies!  Here's my closet almost entirely dedicated to his TotSchool - there's more room to the left and another shelf up top and room below the last shelf. YEA!

Then last week my Mom came for a visit. It's always fun when she's here. The kids absolutely adore her and she spends tons of time with them. Her visit was great timing because Rick was traveling and it rained the ENTIRE week. It was nice for all of us to have the company! For several weeks last year she was in India training their offshore staff, so she brought us some treasures from there. She brought Turbo some instruments made from wood and reeds. They are lovely and absolutely treasured by my musical boy.  There were gifts for all of us that are just lovely and very 'India'. We are so grateful for all she did to buy and bring them to us!!  She's going back again in March, so it will be a few months until we see her again.

This week we're undertaking potty training. YEP! Starting tomorrow Turbo will be in underware!  Rick and I are both excited and nervous about it.  The timing is really perfect since with Sweet Pea's nap and Turbo's rest schedule, we're home most of the day anyway. Plus Rick's parents will be here part of each week in February and the extra attention and time for Turbo will really help with the training.  I'll be posting every day with our progress, more about the 'method' we're planning to use and how it evolves over the first few days. Stay Tuned & wish us luck!!

January Update #2 - COUPONS

2010 is going to be a great year - I can feel it already.  I have written out most of my goals for this year and a plan on attaining them.  One of my plans is to use our money more wisely. I want to be spending less and getting more for my dollar.  My biggest focus for January has been learning to use coupons, rebates and sales to stretch our money for groceries.  We returned home on Jan 5th and that first weekend I went out to the stores, armed with my coupons and scored some incredible deals!! Seriously, I can't believe how much money I had been wasting by being uneducated in the strategies of sales, coupons and rebates.  Does it take time? Yep! In fact those first two weeks it took a LOT of time.  It was an investment and one that I happily made. Seriously when you see that big "You saved 70%" at the bottom of your grocery receipt, you realize it was time well spent.  See that $79.48, that's what I saved.

So let me tell you, I am now THAT mom, the one with the big basket of groceries and handfuls of coupons that you DO NOT want to be behind in the checkout line! I have a funny story, I purchased a bunch of groceries at Safeway and after my coupons it came to $.08 - yep - even the checker was impressed.  When I went to swipe my credit card, she couldn't believe I didn't have $.08 and had to use my cc for the transaction. She razzed me a bit, in good fun.  When I got home and told Rick about it, he laughed and made me start carrying a quarter with me for my next super deal!

February plans are to make all the phone calls to reduce or comparison shop our monthly and annual expenses such as insurance, cable, etc. 

Do you have any strategies to save your family money this year?

We're Home again!

We've been gone for awhile and I've missed blogging!  We traveled to Pittsburgh to visit my husband's family. He has a large immediate family and a huge extended family (think of the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding") in both the Pittsburgh and Allentown areas.  While visiting his parents, we were blessed to see all his siblings and many of the cousins that were also home for Christmas. It was non-stop visiting! The best part was watching all the kids running around, playing and having so much fun together. There was such a sense of family and love - even with the kids.  For part of our trip we drove to the other side of Pennsylvania to visit Rick's Grandmother (Dad's Mom) and all the family on that side.  It was a very special time to be together.   I'll be posting updates over the next week or so with pictures from our visit.

I must take a Mommy bragging moment here - MY KIDS ARE AMAZING!!  Travel is tough for little ones with our very early and long travel days, TONS of new people all at one time, off schedules, many different enviornments, not as much dedicated time with Mommy, different foods, not all the favorite books, etc.  My kids were terrific!!!!  Turbo was excited to be in new places and did great on all the travel days (air and car!) I was so happy at his behavior - he kept his humor and easy going nature for the entire trip.  Sweet Pea was sweet and adorable during the days. She was fine being passed around and smiled/laughed for everyone.  Yes, they are absolutely amazing.

Now, before you think it's all a picture print by Currier and Ives, we did have major sleeping challenges. Basically one or the other seemed to be up constantly throughout the night and only Mommy would do. Sweet Pea screamed during bedtimes like I'd never heard her do before and was so out of sorts I thought she needed to go to the doctor! After a day she was better, but not completely herself as she wouldn't sleep by herself for naps or bed. So I napped her in the carrier or held her. It was so nice to have the time to just hold her - I didn't mind. As for the nights, let me just say, I am still amazed at how little sleep a Mommy requires.  Honestly, it was inconsequential compared to the memories we created.

While visits are fun, there's also a joy in coming back home and settling back into routine. Next week we'll start TotSchool and our other activities again. More posting to come!

Grateful!

We're heading to Pittsburgh to visit hubby's family for Christmas, so this might be my last post of the year.  2009 has dealt economic challenges to our family as most of the country, but that is not what we'll remember years from now. This year we've brought a new life into the world with our daughter's birth, witnessed the astounding growth of our son, strengthened friendships and continued to grow as individuals and as a couple.  There are so many reasons to celebrate and be grateful this (and every) season.  Here are just a few blessings that top my list.

• We are healthy, fed, warm and loved
• I'm tremendously grateful for my amazing husband that provides such a wonderful life for my children and me. I love him dearly.
• My two children - healthy, happy and very sweet little people
• Our family and friends for their love and support
• I'm deeply grateful to those that really love my children. As we don't have family nearby, I'm especially grateful to my friends that show such love for Turbo. Thank you for being our 'village' and allowing us to be yours too.
• I'm very grateful to you that follow our blog! The encouragement and care for our family is heartwarming
• I'm also very grateful for the fellow bloggers that provide so much inspiration. Seriously, what would Turbo and I do all day without you guys?!? 

Wishing all of you a very warm, peaceful and merry Christmas!

Overwhelmed and making adjustments

I've been a bit overwhelmed with Rick's seemingly non-stop travel and the added responsibilities of the new baby. It has been challenging to work in all the daily duties, our classes, playgroups, playdates and our tot-school activities. An extra pair of parental hands helps so much and I miss it when they're gone. My heart goes out to the military wives who have husbands deployed. They are true heroes in my book.

Until a class ended last week, we've only had 1 morning a week open. That quickly got filled with errands and such.  There just hasn't been enough time to do all the things I wanted to with Turbo and Sweet Pea. It's funny how just one short activity outside the house can require an additional hour or more for getting ready, commuting to and from, then getting settled at home again. Mornings are golden hours for learning and they've been disappearing during the week.

I've learned so much from all my TotSchool peers here in bloggy-land that I'm more confident than ever in my ability to teach and productivly play with my kids. I no longer feel like I need to have several classes to keep my kid(s) occupied. I know I can do that myself!  2010 is going to be a terrific year.

That being said, I've decided to cut back on outside activities next year. We won't be doing Mommy and Me preschool since the class wasn't well managed and the activities required so much parental involvement - I ended up doing several myself (and I'm ALL for the openness of art.).  We have two playgroups each week and I'll have to see how it works out. At this point I think I'll skip one playgroup day(each) per month. I'm sad to say I will likely drop MOPS this time around too. That will give us at 2 or 3 open mornings each week.  Music Together is the only class we're keeping, because Turbo absolutely loves it. In addition, it's the only class that is targeted for ages 0 - 5 in the same class - and actually works well!  

I'm excited about our upcoming TotSchool week. I have a lot on our plan and hope to accomplish most of it.  When we first started TotSchool, I was doing a letter of the week. We're getting back to that with the letter R  ~ inspired by a Rainbow we saw on Friday.

Stay tuned for some fun posts this week. I have several coming up....including a little gift sent our way!!!!

Are you adjusting your schedule in the new year? What changes are you making?

Kids Bathroom Decor

The bathroom next to Turbo's new room needed some kid decor in a bad way. Until he moved into his new room, all his teeth brushing and such was done in our Master Bath - so the hallway bath hadn't been a priority.  Ages ago I found this idea and decided it was time to just get it down.  Here's the new pictures.

Super cute shower curtain, matching towels, a couple themed accessories and a Bulletin Board Under Sea Life pack from the school supply store (laminated) = DONE!  No painting required (thank the Lord!)

Turbo had so much fun placing some of the sea creatures and telling me where the others should go. Great thing is we can move them around or swap them out easily. Seriously fun!

 

 

Art Journal & Free Photo Book

As I was looking through Turbo's older art, I realized again just how much his drawings and paintings have changed. The first pictures were clumsy swipes and dots - (ok, he was really just banging the crayon...but they were still dots.)  I smile remembering those first drawings and how often more crayon in his mouth than on the paper!

I want to document the ongoing progression of his art in a way that's easy to look back on it. I have two great ideas!


#1 - Art Journal. What a great way to have a single source of his drawings in a way that is easily stored, reviewed and preserved!  It will be so fun to turn the pages and see his art evolve and take shape into pictures of his life, experiences and thoughts.

Using a Michaels craft store 40% coupon, I purchased a hard-bound book with blank pages. You can also find these at many book stores. Each month he'll draw in the book. I'll date it and eventually ask him to write his name on the paper. What a great way to see his signature evolve too!  We started today.

#2 - Photo Book - I'll take pictures of his arts and crafts through out the year and then put them in a photo book.  It's a great way to preserve but not keep all of his work.  My favorite place to make books is Shutterfly. They have the best templates, are super user friendly and have great quality.  Use this Shutterfly link to get your free Photo Book. If you go there directly, the promo code is: UR48-4V38-GZB3-4Z1A7. The offer expires 11/30/09, so get over there soon. It's FREE - think Christmas gift, birthday gift or keep it!  You could make a timeline book - say highlights of 2008 or 2009. You can also make a theme book - say the last 6 years of family Thanksgivings (easter, summer vacations, birthdays, crafts, nature activities - whatever!)

shutterfly.com picture

Have any other ideas? What are you doing to keep your child(ren)'s art?

Little Bunny Foo Foo

This song is by the lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket and it totally rocks.  Such a hip version of a childhood song. Although be warned, you can't get it out of your head! 

Turbo and I have been reading the Little Bunny Foo Foo library book and listening to this song almost every day. We hop around, chase each other and even pretend to BOP the field mice. Mostly he likes when he's Bunny Foo Foo and I'm the good fairy. (A little real-life reenactment.)










Thanks to Mommies Wise Little Bookworms for sharing this!

~~~ Blog Award ~~~

Wow, I got a blog award!! It came from one of my favorite blogs - Counting Coconuts.  Mari-Ann is very creative and is always doing something new with her little man. Our kids are about the same age and I love to steal read her ideas! It's touching she thought of me. THANK YOU Mari-Ann for the award!

It's my turn to pass it along to a few other blogs I think are lovely.


Little Hands Big Work - I'm always amazed by this wonderful lady. She has three boys under 3 (yes!) and creates many wonderful things for them to do. Her blog has inspired me in many ways... one of which I'll be posting about next week!!

Mommies Wise Little Bookworms -  Home of our favorite Open Ended Art! Her art and nature posts inspire me with great ideas and new techniques to make art and nature fun, different and interesting. Plus she likes Toad the Wet Sprocket ~ got to love her for that alone! 

Spinner's End Nursery School - A Mommy blog with great Tot School activities. Her ideas are creative and always sure to be FUN! I've been stalking her blog for a very long time.

Chronicles of a Babywise Mom - This blog is full of resourceful information on Feedings/Naps/Night Waking questions for my little Sweet Pea!  When there's something amiss in those areas, I go here first for some ideas. There is so much great advice on her blog.

Adventures of Bear - Another Mommy blog that I read regularly.  I enjoy her Montessori type because they use tools/items we all have in our house. I can always find several ideas for Turbo and do them that same day!

These are just a few of the blogs I think are lovely. Bet you'll enjoy them too!

To "accept" your award, all you have to do is copy the award image above and add it to your blog (if you want to, of course).

Great deal for Classic Children Books!!

I read a post over at Chasing Cheerios about a great sale on Children's Books. It's a set of 12 hardback books, each with a matching Audio CD! It's only $24.95 with about $3 of shipping!! That's less than $2.50 per book/CD set. Incredible. It's a upstanding company and no catches.

I just ordered it as a Christmas gift for Turbo and Sweet Pea. Check it out and see if it's for you and your kids.

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