Outgrowing Nicknames

          

    Princess turned six this year.  After she turned six she informed me that she had outgrown her nickname baby doll.  This instantly saddened me.  Not because she did not like her nickname anymore, but because she was growing up to fast.  It has taken me sometime and a lot of reminders from Princess to quit calling her baby doll.  I still do it a little and anytime I do, she instantly reminds me to not call her that.  I know with eventually I will stop all together.

  Has your child ever told you that they have outgrown their nickname?  If so, what did you do?  Feel free to leave a response.  Thanks for stopping by!

Christina

2014 Summer Bucket List

It is getting to be that time of year again.  The kids are finishing up with school and if you are like me, you’re wondering what am I going to do with them all day long?  Last year my family started a new tradition of doing a summer bucket list.  I came up with it by myself and told the kids what we were going to do each day.  While my kids enjoyed this I could tell that they wanted to be involved more.  This year I decided to let help pick what to put on this list. Each day they are going to take turns choosing what we are going to do.  They loved this idea so much and cannot wait to start working on checking things of our list.  Below is the list that my kids and I came up with.  Hope you enjoy and find some inspiration for your own family.

SUMMER BUCKET LIST 2014

1.     GO TO THE ZOO

2.     GO TO AN AMUSEMENT PARK

3.     HAVE A PICNIC

4.     PLAY RED LIGHT/ GREEN LIGHT

5.     PLAY HORSE OR PIG

6.     HOPSCOTCH

7.     WATCH THE SUNSET

8.     EAT ICE CREAM FOR BREAKFAST OR DINNER

9.     MAKE PLAY DOUGH  recipes are from Motherhood on a Dime

10.                          MAKE HOMEMADE POPSICLE recipes from tipnut

11.                          FLY A KITE

12.                        CATCH LIGHTENING BUGS

13.                         GO STAR GAZING

14.                         PLAY IN THE RAIN

15.                         SPOT SHAPES IN THE CLOUDS

16.                         MAKE CAMPFIRE FRUIT AND SMORES CONES from kids activities Blog

17.                         GO CAMPING IN OUR BACKYARD

18.                         BUILD A SAND CASTLE

19.                         HAVE A WATER BALLOON FIGHT

20.                         GO TO A BASEBALL GAME

21.                         GO BERRY PICKING

22.                         GO ON A HIKE

23.                         VISIT A FARMERS MARKET

24.                         DIET COKE AND MENTOS ERUPTION found at Science Kids

25.                         DIY SLIP AND SLIDE from Inner Child Fun

26.                         DIY BUBBLES from Homemade Bubble Solutions

27.                         HAVE AN OUTDOOR MOVIE NIGHT

28.                         MAKE HOMEMADE ICE CREAM

29.                         MAKE LIQUID SIDEWALK CHALK from smashed peas and carrots

30.                         HAVE A FAMILY GAME NIGHT

31.                         GO ON A TREASURE HUNT

32.                         RUN THROUGH THE SPRINKLER

33.                         MAKE SOLAR SMORES from Spoonful

34.                         GO SEE FIREWORKS

35.                         DIY WATER BLOB from Clumsy Crafter

36.                         GO TO THE MOVIES

37.                         MAKE TRIPLE BERRY NO-DRIP POPS from Kraft Recipes

38.                         MAKE A TOILET PAPER BIRD FEEDER from Homeschool Antics

39.                         GO ON A SCAVENGER HUNT

40.                         MAKE A MILK JUG BALL CATCHER found on Lakeshore Learning

41.                         DO AN ICE EXCAVATION ACTIVITY found on Gluesticks

42.                         GO BOWLING

43.                         WATCH THE SUNRISE

44.                         MAKE AN OUTDOOR TENT FORT

45.                         MAKE A BACKYARD WATER PARK

46.                         MAKE TRAIL MIX

47.                         GO TO THE PARK

48.                         PLAY MINI GOLF

49.                         VISIT A CHILDREN'S MUSEUM

50.                         SWING IN A HAMMOCK

What are you doing this summer?

Thanks for stopping by!

Christina

Breastfeeding and Biting

 

 I would not by any means say that I am an expert on breastfeeding.  In between my 3 kids I have breastfed for a total of 39 months so far.  In that time I have had my fair share of issues.  From clogged milk ducts to latching problems.  But to me one of the most painful issues is biting.  Now with my 1st two I got lucky cause they teethed late.  There was biting but it was not nearly as painful because there were not any teeth.  Both princess and captain curious stopped relatively easy for me.  Now I am on to number 3 and he is being a real pistol.  He has 2 teeth and is work on number three.  The real problem is he keeps biting me.  Little man has bitten me so hard I have bleed.  I have tried everything I can think of to get him to stop but nothing is working.  I have tried taking it away, telling him NO,  I even cried the day he bit me so hard that I bleed.  He did cry that day but then he went right back to biting.  Short of quitting nursing I do not know what to do.  Do you have something that works?  I would love to hear any feedback that anyone can give.

Thanks

Christina

Father's Day

        Happy Father's Day!  I am off spending the day with my wonderful husband and children.  Hope you all enjoy the day.  I will be back to writing tomorrow. 


What are you doing for Father's Day?   I would love to here from you!

Christina

The Virgin Diet update

1^st of all I want to start by saying that I am sorry that I have missed the last two weeks of menu planning.  With Princess off for the summer I have been trying to rearrange my schedule.    I am working on trying to find a happy medium, so that I can do everything I need to do.  So far our summer has just been mad chaos, which has caused me to not have enough time to work on my blog.  Hopefully in the next few weeks here I will have ironed out all the kinks and be able to get back to posting regularly. 

               Now on to my diet update.  So far on TheVirgin diet, which for those of you who do not know what this is, it is an elimination diet.    Anyway back to my point, so far I have lost 15 lbs in 3 weeks.  I have been learning a lot from this diet.  For example before this diet I did not realize how much stuff corn and soy hide in.  I now know they are in a lot of what I was eating and I also know that I am almost positive that I have intolerances to both. 

               This diet is not easy by any means.  Especially when you have to have food you cannot eat in the house for the rest of your family.  It takes a lot of will power.  You have to really want to improve your health to do this diet.  For me, my health was the whole reason for doing this.  I had been suffering from stomach issues since I was a teenager.  Maybe even before that.  Through the years I have had pretty much every test possible run on my digestive tract.  I have been diagnosed with countless things.  But shortly after every diagnosis the symptoms have always come back, sometimes with extra symptoms with them.  I had come to a point where I had just accepted this as just part of my life.  Just something I had to deal with. 

                     Then one day I was researching the internet and came across information about food intolerances.  I started talking to my mom about it and she found JJ Virgins page here.  She got the book and started talking about it.  I knew it sounded like something I needed to try, but was not sure I wanted to spend the money.  In the meantime my mom started the diet.  Once I saw the changes that were taking place with here I knew for sure that I was going to give it a try.  So I bought JJ Virgin’s book, read it and went and bought the supplies for the diet.  I have to say it really has been amazing I have had more energy than I have had in years.  (And I do not even get to sleep through the night thanks to little man.)  My skin is clearer.  And the best part I have not had any stomach problems in 3 weeks.  This was something I had been dealing with prior to the diet on a daily basis. 

                       Now I have had to restart the diet twice, and am going to have to restart it for the 3^rd time on Monday.  But I know with a little perseverance I will figure out what all had been causing my problems.  And for me that is an amazing thing.  To be able to know that I may not have to deal with my issues that I thought were just a part of my life.  If any of this sounds like something you have experienced or if you just want to know more please feel free to check out JJ Virgin’s page here.  

 

Christina

Stocking Up for Summer at the Dollar Store

    Summer is quickly approaching and the kids will be done school soon.  Princess finished school last week.  Depending on what you have planned to do with your kids this summer, it can become quite expensive.  That is when I turn to my trusty Dollar Tree.  Now you may not be able to get everything, but you can still get a decent amount of stuff.   They have everything from picnic supplies to pool noodles, and arts and crafts supplies.    A lot of what I got coincides with my Summer Bucket list here.  Here is what I was able to get on my trip on Sunday to the Dollar Tree.

                          Water Balls - these are great for in the pool or for water fights.

                                                Water Guns - another fun item for water fights.

                   Water Blasters - These are like water guns, but much easier for little ones.

Water Catchers

             Fishing Fun - I plan on putting the fish in our baby pool and letting the kids have fun with it.

Kites - I know there is only 1 in the picture, but the package came with 2 kites.

Bug Kits

Craft Sticks - The package says craft sticks they are actually just popsicle sticks.

Safety Scissors

\

Pooh's Number Match

Crayons

Scribble Pad

Glow Sticks - These came in fun shapes, but they have regular glow sticks there also.

 

That is what I got on my most recent trip to the Dollar store.  Where do you go to stock up for summer?  I would love to hear from you!

 

 

 

Christina

 

Mother's Day

      Happy Mother's Day!  I am spending mother's day resting.  I wanted to share a funny store about a gift that Princess made for me at school for mother's day.  Princess made me several beautiful pictures for mother's day but at school they also did this questionnaire titled All About My Mom!  Now I imagine that the answers were all probably pretty funny.  Below is what the questionnaire said.  Princess's answers are in between the lines and my responses are in the ().  Hope you enjoy and hope you all have a wonderful mother's day.


All About My Mom!



Let me tell you about my mom!
She is __5____ years old.   (Not even close but it is funny that she thinks I am her age.)

She likes to _______take care of my babies__________________________________________.
  (Um I do not have a clue what she means unless she is talking about her baby dolls.)

The best thing she cooks is ________Egg Salad_____________________.
    (Not the best thing I cook but it is one of her favorites)

Her favorite food is
____________Chicken Nuggets______________________.
    (Wrong but I give her credit for trying to guess.)

Her favorite thing to do to relax is
__________________do her e-mail____________.
     (Probably because she sees me working on my blog a lot.  She thinks whenever someone is on the computer they are checking e- mail.)

We like to ______fold laundry______________________ together.
     (I do not really enjoy folding laundry but she does)

She is really good at ______ironing_________________.
       (This is funny because she has never seen me iron anything)

As you can see my mom is special because
_________flowers_________________.
(LOL um I do not think she understood this question.)

Chores for Preschoolers

  Are your little ones always asking to help?  If they are anything like mine they are.  My kids Princess and Captain Curious are always asking to help.  Princess will say, "Can I help mom?"  and then Captain Curious always follows with, "I help please mommy?"   What do I do when they ask this question?   I find something for them to do of course.  I was recently thinking about giving the kids some chores to do.  Some of these are daily and weekly.  Also some are by themselves and others are with help.  Below is a list of what I came up with.


DAILY CHORES

________   Put dirty clothes in the laundry basket

________   Set table or help set table

________   Clear your dishes from the table

________  Clean up toys

For my older one Princess I have a few extra daily chores.

________  Help dry any plastic dishes

________  Help change laundry around. 

Both of my kids love to empty the lint trap.  But for Princess she also likes when I hand her the wash and let her put it in the dryer.

________  Put any of your laundry away.

Princess loves to put her clothes away.

WEEKLY

________  Help dust

________ Help sweep

Princess sometimes helps with cleaning the bathroom.  But I do not use toxic chemicals.  I only use a white vinegar and water solution, and sometimes baking soda.  I will talk about this another time though.  My point is that what I clean with is safe for her to be around.  I also never force this on her it is only if she wants to help with the bathroom.  Do your kids have any chores?  What do they do to help?  I would love to hear from you!

Christina

  

Summer Reading List

 The other day I was thinking about all the books that I want to read for myself or to the kids.  I came up with an idea to do a sort of summer bucket list, except instead of activities it would be for books I want to read.  Hopefully I can make it through all of them this summer. I have separated the list up in to categories and then I choose 10 books for each.

BOOKS I HOPE TO READ TO MYSELF

NOVELS

 
1.   Heart of Gold by Lacy Williams



2.  Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte



3. The Preacher's Bride by Jody Hedlund


4. The Fixer Upper: A Novel by Mary Kay Andrews



5. A Turn in the Road (Blossom Street) by Debbie Macomber



6. The Penny Tree (Nal Accent Novels) by Holly Kennedy



7.Hannah's Journey (Love Inspired Historical) by Anna Schmidt



8. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs



9. Knit Two (The Friday Night Knitting Club) by Kate Jacobs
I know this is kind of cheating because it is a 2 part series, but my feeling is that it is two separate books so it counts.



10. Texas Neighbors: The Key/The Promise/The Neighbor (Heartsong Novella Collection)by Debra White Smith


SELF HELP/ FOR THE HOME/ PARENTING


1. Essential Home Remedies: Staying Healthy With Simple, Natural Home Remedies From The Pantry And The Garden by Sue Woledge



2. The Early To Rise Experience: Learn To Rise Early in 30 Days (Early To Rise Series) by Andy Traub


3. Simply Stylish: How to Revamp Your Wardrobe for Chic Style at Any Age by Carrie Foster



4. The Stress Free You: How to Live Stress Free and Feel Great Everyday, Starting Today by Elizabeth O'Brien



5. Tell Your Time: How to Manage Your Schedule So You Can Live Free by Amy Lynn Andrews


6. How to Sew: Basics by Various



7. The Art of Frugal: Feeding a Family on a Budget by Kaylee Cole



8. Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook (NYM Series) by Jessica Fisher



9. Funny Woman Guide to Get Organized NOW! or at Least Sometime Before You Die. . .
by Isabella McBride



10. How To Take Better Photos - Your Guide To Taking Better Pictures From Any Camera
by HelpMePublishing.com 

BOOKS I HOPE TO READ TO MY KIDS

KIDS PICTURE BOOKS



1. The Bible Tells Me So, Volume 1 (First Steps Devotions) by Paul J. Loth
I actually plan on doing this whole series with my kids.



2. What Does It Mean To Be Green? (What Does It Mean...?) by Rana DiOrio



3. The Ugly Duckling (Illustrated) by Hans Christian Andersen



4. I'll Follow the Moon (Mom's Choice Award Honoree and Chocolate Lily Award Winner)
Written by Stephanie Lisa Tara
Illustrated by Lee Edward Födi



5. Cougar Cub Tales: I'm Just Like You by Sharon Cramer


6. The Elephant's Child by Rudyard Kipling



7. Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann


8. Bear Circus by William Pene Du Bois


9. Julius, the Baby of the World [JULIUS THE BABY OF THE W] by Kevin Henkes


10. Amelia Bedelia Collection (I Can Read Book 2) by Peggy Parish

KIDS CHAPTER BOOKS



1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll



2. The Adventures of Peter Cottontail by Thornton W. Burgess



3.  Strawberry Girl 60th Anniversary Edition (Trophy Newbery) by Lois Lenski



4. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald



5. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes



6. The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh by Ernest H. Shepard


7. Junie B. Jones Is a Beauty Shop Guy (Junie B. Jones, No. 11) by Barbara Park



8. Elmer and the Dragon (My Father's Dragon) by Ruth Stiles Gannett



9. Thank You, Logan! (Hopscotch Hill School) by Valerie Tripp



10. Wild Horses (A Stepping Stone Book(TM)) by George Edward Stanley

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