Friday, May 30, 2008

Will you still need me, When I'm 64........

I am a total people watcher. I love to not only watch people, but to try to imagine what their lives are like. What are they struggling with? What makes them happy? What trials have they been through?

Working at a hotel, I get to observe many people. Most are tired from travelling. A few are very friendly and love to chit chat with the bored front desk girl.
And many, are not so nice.

And then, there is the cute old couple. They walk into the hotel at around the same time each night. As they head to the elevator, he gently takes her hand. They walk slowly together, both with genuine smiles on their faces. He then guides her to the side of the door that leads to the elevator, and opens it for her. They are just so fun to watch, and so adorable.

I wonder how many years they have been married. What trials have they been through together? Was there ever a time when they regretted being married to one another?
How long have they been as happy as they are today?
Do they have children? Did they ever lose any children?
What things in their lives brought them close together as a couple?
Were there any things that ever drove them apart?
What were their happiest moments?
How did he propose to her?
How did they meet?

I would love to just know their story.

But for now, I'll just settle for what I do see.
They are the happy couple who perhaps have grown old together and still take the time to walk lovingly hand in hand.

I hope to be that way with my husband when I am old and gray.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

My Mister Mom

I just had to take a second to dote on my hubby.
See, I am one of those naggy wives, I admit it. But, I do think I am getting better at not being such a nag, at least I hope I am, because I have really been making an effort.
And since I feel like I don't point out enough the wonderful things he does, I knew I had to share this with all of you..........................

Tonight while at work, I called home to say goodnight to the miss, and the hubby asked if they could call me back. See, he had taken the kiddos outside to play, and since the older two had covered themselves in dirt, he was giving them a bath.
And, as hubby started the bath, the baby decided that it was a great time for his next meal. Those babies always seem to have impeccable timing, don't they?
So, hubby was then giving the little one his bottle while washing the other two. He told me he felt like Mister Mom.
And, after telling him it was fine if they called back, I realized that I had the biggest smile on my face.
I don't know about you other wives out there, but the whole responsible mister mom vibe thing, it's quite a turn on.
He's such a great hubby and an amazing daddy.
Oh and when they did call back, he said he had to cut it short and clean the kitchen, because it was messy.
Who needs chocolate or oysters?

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

...But We Know What It Effects

I visited Especially Heather today, and was moved by her post, most specifically the video she had posted. I have placed it below, because it is one of the most powerful 60 seconds that I have ever witnessed.
So, please view it and if moved, perhaps you can see what you can do to help fight brain cancer.

Weekend of Fun

I hope that you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Mine was very nice, actually.
Friday night, I had the girls come over for our monthly craft night. I decided that once a month, we'd all hang out and do a little sewing, scrapbooking or crafting. I hosted our first get-together, and the evening's project was tutu making.

We used this awesome tutorial and, really, it was pretty easy.

Well, actually, I stunk at making tutus, but everyone else had an easy time.

Here I am working on a tutu for a birthday party I was taking the kiddos to the next morning.

We joked on how we felt we were wearing HUGE garters. You have to wear the elastic band around your thigh, because it aids in the knot tying, unless you are me of course. My knots stunk.
And Sara teased me about the whole garter look, as I rushed up the stairs mid tutu creation, to help out the little mister who was in his room screaming. Don't you love those two year molars? (and yes, I did rush, but I also stopped to pose....okay?)

I don't have a picture of my finished tutu, but I do have a picture of Sara's. Her tutus came out beautifully, don't you think? (I stole this photo from her blog, SHHHHHHHHHH!)


Saturday morning, it was off to a shower and birthday party at my best friend's parents' house. And my best friend, who lives out of state, was there too. It was soooooo wonderful to see her.
She is one of my photographer friends, so I left the picture snapping to her. So, I am sure to have some great pictures from that day by the end of this week or next. So you will just have to be patient, okay?
I did take one picture of my handsome baby boy. Isn't he just a doll? That smile of his, it just melts my heart.


Yesterday was my hubby's 29th birthday. And in celebration of him now being an old fart, we went to see Indiana Jones. We ended up taking all of the kids. The mister had trouble sitting still during the first half, so I found myself walking around the arcade with him for awhile. But during the second half, he did much better. My miss, whose daddy indoctrinated her into the world of Indiana Jones a few months ago, enjoyed this one. She did get quite scared in parts, though, and buried her head into her daddy's arm several times.
The baby just slept the whole time. So, he was very easy.
I wish there hadn't been so much language in the film, especially since my younger ones were there. And, if my miss hadn't been such an Indiana Jones fan, we probably would have seen the movie without the kids in tow. But anyway, it was a great film and you should see it. :o)

So, there you have it. I hope you all have a Splendid week.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Show-Off

Just had to show off a picture of the baby taken yesterday...He is 2 months old today, crazy, huh?


And I had to show off a taggies blanket I made for a shower I am going to tomorrow. It was sooo easy. It took like 30 minutes...and I totally have to make one for my little guy.



And for my friends who are having babies, I am totally making you a taggie blanket. ;o)

Monday, May 19, 2008

Two of the Three


Saturday, May 17, 2008

Charleston Cuties

The miss has a dance recital coming up in a few weeks. Today, they had professional pictures taken, individual pictures and one with the whole class. They had to come in their costumes, with makeup on and hair in curls.
Then, after their pictures, they were to go into the larger studio to perform their dance.
Unfortunately, their teacher was absent today. She is recovering from a surgery or something, and none of us moms really knew the dance. So, the girls were doing it all on their own.
It was funny watching my miss, because near the end she began improvising. She even tried to do the splits, LOL.
She is the blonde in the pink near the far left.
ENJOY!


Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Always Remember.....

Here are things I hope I never forget:

The way the miss twirls around in her dresses and then runs to put on her dress shoes, so that she can tap dance in the kitchen.

The way the mister looks at me with his big blue eyes and then gently presses his forehead against mine as he smiles.

The way the baby smiles at me and goos to me when I come home from work in the evenings.

The mister's walk. He swings his right arm in the cutest way.

The miss' obsession with Jesus being in the clouds, driving a cloud car and how badly she wants to be in the clouds with him.

The baby's cute awwww sound he makes, when he tries to sneeze, and it doesn't quite come out.

The miss' plea for me to sing, "You Are My Sunshine" to her every night.

The mister's open mouthed, wet kisses.

The baby's soft skin and heavenly scent.

The miss' stick figure drawings where everyone has long legs and no arms.

The mister's love of, "If You're Happy and You Know It" and the way he points to his eye or sticks his finger up his nose, instead of placing it to the side of his mouth during.."your face will surely show it."

The way the baby looks up at me with his denim eyes, while nursing. And the way his little fingers stroke my back.

The way the miss says gugglegum.

The mister's laugh when he is tickled.

The baby's new smiles.

The smile the miss gets when she accomplishes something.

The mister's dancing...spinning in circles with his hands up.

The baby's little feet.

The miss' songs she always seems to sing at around 5:00. It's like her music hour.

The way the mister sweetly comes to you, and rests his head on your shoulder, when you ask him to give you cuddles.

The little noises the baby makes when he really wants to eat.

The miss' love of Indiana Jones movies and "Power" of the rings movies.

The way the mister says, "woooaaaahhh" when he stumbles.

The baby's first laugh.

The way the hyper miss will stop running around and sweetly ask to be held or cuddled, every so often.

The way the mister makes sure everyone prays at dinnertime.

The way the baby wraps his hands around my arm at night when we are sleeping.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Spread the Word

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He Wears His Heart On His......

For snack, I gave the kiddos heart-shaped lollipops that I brought home from work last night. The miss wanted goldfish for snack as well, so I told her to start on her lollipop and I'd get the goldfish in a minute. I was in the other room, attending to the baby.
Well, she had a fit because I wasn't giving her "goldfish right now!!!"
So, she left the table so that she could meet with me face to face to explain to me her disappointment.

My reply, however, was to sit back down, eat her lollipop and be patient, or I would eat it.

Upon returning to the table, she began crying because her lollipop had disappeared.
The mister was happily sitting in his seat eating a lollipop, that I thought might be hers, but I couldn't find a second one anywhere, not in his seat, not on the floor, not stuck to her seat cushion.
Her lollipop was gone.

I gave her goldfish, and told her that I'd get her another lollipop the next time I went to work. And she was surprisingly okay with that.

After snack time, we headed into the front room, sat on the couch, read a book and sang some songs. When the mister got up to dance around, we found the missing lollipop. Well, actually, he must have been eating her lollipop, because his, well it had ended up here...

Monday, May 5, 2008

No Humans Allowed

So, the miss had just finished watching Happy Feet and preceded to dance around the family room while pretending to be a penguin. She also announced to us several times that she was a penguin, in case we were wondering.
The mister then decided to join her, excitedly spinning around in circles.
She immediately stopped dancing, looked at him sternly and told him that he had to leave. "You're NOT a penguin, she said, You're a HUMAN!"

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Tons of Preschool, Pre-K and Kindergarten Teaching Links

My miss is going to miss the Kindergarten cut off this year. I have been looking into pre-k programs for her, but geesh they are expensive. I am quite certain I can teach her the same stuff they would, for free. I do, however, want to get her involved in something part time if I can, to give her the social aspect that she needs.

But, I am going to teach her at home this upcoming year, well starting now, actually, because she enjoys it and asks constantly to do her workbook or crafts.

She knows most of her uppercase letters, she does get a few mixed up. She struggles with many of the lowercase letters. She does understand that letters make words and she can sound out quite a few words.
She can count, but struggles with number recognition.
So those are the things we will focus on the most.
I will also throw in Science, Social Studies, Bible and Music lessons into the mix as well.

So, I went surfing the internet for resources to use in working up a curriculum for her, and I found so many awesome things. So, I thought I'd share them with all of you as well.

MATH


Kindergarten Math Worksheets
Kindergarten Math and Literacy Online Games
Flower Counting Book
Songs for Teaching
Numbers Poster 1-12

LITERACY



Ladybug ABC Puzzle
Flower Alphabet Book
Beginning Reading Free Worksheets
Exercises for Letters A-Z
Bible and Rhyme Letter Songs
Handwriting Lessons
Make your Own Handwriting Sheets
Tracing Pages
Learning Letters Worksheets
Letter Tracing Sheets
Tons of Great Ideas for Teaching Letter Recognition
Activities for Literacy and Reading Skills
25 Fun Ways to Encourage Reading
Alphabet Posters
Tons of Literacy Printouts and Ideas (YOU MUST CHECK THIS SITE OUT)


SPANISH

Play and Learn Spanish



MUSIC

Montessori Music Lesson Materials
Teaching Musical Instruments
Alfred's Piano Prep course A (Which I will be starting with the Miss)

CURRICULUM

Sound of The Week Curriculum
A Joyful Heart Character Curriculum
ABC I Believe Lessons
Many Lesson Plans
Eric Carle Teaching Resources




Kindergarten Skills Test (What should be mastered upon completion of Kindergarten)

There you have it for now. I may do another post with even more links, as I find fun stuff to share with you.