We had so much fun learning the letter L with our preschool class.  (For those new readers, I have a preschool swap program with a couple friends that have kids the same age as mine.  We trade off who teaches every couple weeks.  It really works out great!)  So it was mine turn to teach the letter L.  We had a blast Leaping like a Lion, making our own lion masks, decorating the letter L with Leaves, making L’s with play dough, and making a cute Lady bug take home project.

Ladybug supplies needed:
black construction paper
wiggly eyes
1 paper plate
red paint

Very simple… cut a paper plate in half and let the kids paint it.  Once it is dry have the kids glue it on a pre-cut ladybug head and body.  I used a hole puncher for the spots and crinkled construction paper strips for the legs.  **This is a cross-curricular activity since it covers, art, science, and math.  Take time to help the kids count the ladybug spots and talk about ladybugs and insects!

The kids really enjoyed this one!  Even though it is winter out we were able to find enough leaves to do this.  It was different for the kids so they thought it was pretty cool.

 

Lion Mask Materials
Paper plate
crayons
wide popsicle stick

 

I gave birth to the most perfect and beautiful baby ever.  She came out looking just like my husband and was everything I had always imagined.  We named her Ella Bree!  She was ours, all ours.

Before a newborn is discharged from the hospital, their pediatrician needs to give the okay for them to leave.  All was going well until the doctor put her legs together, pushed her knees up and the spread them apart.  Her hips were completely displaced.  There wasn’t even a real click, they just easily came out of socket and her legs practically fell to each side.  Of course we had never heard of hip dysplasia, so we asked a lot of questions.  It is most common in first born girls because of the conflicting hormones of baby and mom (don’t ask because I’m not exactly sure why).  They said she would have to wear a harness that goes on the outside of her diaper for probably 2 weeks.  HEARTBREAKING.  My perfect babe had to wear a Pavlik harness just four days after she was born.  I had so many thoughts going through my head– “people are going to think there is something seriously wrong with my baby”, “I’m going to have to explain this to everyone”, “why me and us”.  Here is what her Pavlik harness looked like:

She was so tiny, only 6 lbs when she got the harness!  Oh man, the day she got the brace, my hormones were raging.  I cried over anything and everything and I was so sore from having a csection.  This just added so much more fuel to the fire.  Life has to go on and you live with each challenge.  Well two weeks with her in the brace, turned into a long six.  Seemed like the longest six weeks of my life, but they were over!  She was checked out and ready to live the nonbrace life!

She went for her three and six month check-up at her pediatrician, no hip clicking.  Thank God!  Then, we went for her nine month well visit.  The doctor felt a click in her hip.  Brian and I were so devastated.  I think I cried for four straight hours.  How could this be happening again?  She was already mobile and pulling up– she would have been walking in no time.  I called her pediatric orthopedist (Dr. McHale located in Annandale, VA) and was able to get an appointment the next day.  Dr. McHale said Ella could have the surgery where she had to wear a body cast for six weeks, but she felt like she needed to go back into harness to see if that would help and then move into another brace called the hip abduction brace. What?!  The harness that covers her whole body.  How would she crawl?  Well, she learned and adapted fast:

This was just a couple of days after she was put back into the brace.  Meanwhile, the doctor ordered Ella to have an MRI.  If you know much about MRIs, you have to be completely still = baby needs to be put under.  So, my poor sweet 11 month old at the time, had to have anesthesia to get an MRI.  Thankfully, the MRI came out to show that she did have cartilage there, it would just take a while to turn into bone.  This means she needs to wear the hip abduction brace (which Dr. McHale found from Germany) for a while.  Here is what the hip abduction brace looks like:

Of course Ella’s issue is so small compared to so many other children, but I still had meltdowns every so often seeing that my baby wasn’t “normal”.  She went to the doctor every month to six weeks and got x-rays.  We got the same response every time “she’s winning and I really don’t think she will need the surgery” and “I wish I had a magic ball to tell you how long she would need the brace”.  Thankfully, Ella did not need the surgery AND she learned to walk in the brace.  She walked at one year and one day.  Check out the video.  It will seriously melt your heart.

Pretty sweet huh?

She started wearing the brace at night only when she turned two.  Ella still goes back to the doctor every 3 months and still has to wear the brace at night.  She said Ella will have to wear it at night until she’s three.  My husband said we are taking everyone cake in the orthopedist office when she has her last hoorah at age three.  They have all been so sweet.  They know Ella every time we go in there.  They even tell other patients all about her and how she’s been there since birth.  Even the doctor, who is SO busy (seriously the busiest doctor’s office I’ve ever seen) knows her and said she wanted to publish an article about her case.  I could seriously rant and rave forever on Dr. McHale’s office.  They have all been so awesome.

Lastly, here’s my girl now in her brace:

This girl doesn’t skip a beat.  She is one of the most energetic and outgoing kids I know.  Kids do adapt to everything.  I’ve learned to seriously count my blessings.  Now, she even asks for her brace at night.  She’s used to sleeping in it.  I do thank God everyday that she was able to be fixed without surgery and long term side effects.

Please ask if you have any questions.  I love talking with other people about it!

My six year old never attended official preschool.  I sort of did my own thing and worked with him at home.   At the beginning of the school year my little monkey came home and wouldn’t tell me what he learned.  He said I wouldn’t know what it was anyway.  I assured him that I had gone to school before too.  He said that he was sure I had no idea what natural resources were since I had never mentioned them to him before!  Funny boy!

So today he came home blabbering on and on about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  He was going on about how they did this or that and how long ago they lived.  Then he demanded to know, “how could you have not told me about them before!”  Love this kid!

He was also disgusted to learn that there use to be a public library that would only let white people check out books.  Good job little six year old… you are already wiser than all your ancestors!  He was excited to tell me about how this 9 year old boy refused to be bullied and worked to get the law changed so that everyone would be able to check out books.  Oh how I love this smart little guy!

Anyway, here is an easy yet incredibly adorable Valentine’s Card you can make at home with your kiddos.  It’s so easy and is a great card to make for Daddy’s and Grandparents!  I made this card with the kids I babysit.

All you need to do is cut out three large hearts from construction paper.  Let the kids paint or decorate them.  When they are done, use a thick black marker and put and “I”  on one, “Love” on the other, and “You” on the last one.  Take a picture or your little guy holding each heart.  Use the pics to make a cute Valentine’s Card.  Top it off by having your  little guy write a letter in his or her own handwriting.

 

 

I always take something to anything we are invited to.  I feel like the host has gone through so much effort to make it a great evening, the least I can do is bring something.  Most of the time it’s either a dessert or appetizer.  If I don’t have a lot of time, I usually make this.  It’s so delicious and EVERYONE asks for the recipe.  This past weekend, I helped host my friends bridal shower.  I brought this spinach dip and homemade hummus (recipe to come later).  This is Hidden Valley’s recipe.  Look at how cute it is:

All you need is:

Water Chestnuts
16 oz. Sour Cream
Box of Chopped Spinach (thawed, rinsed and completely drained)
Ranch Dressing Packet
Kings Hawaiian Bread

Dice up water chestnuts.
Make sure spinach is completely dry.
Mix all together and put into bowl to let sit for at least 30 minutes (I did mine over night).
Cut out hole in bread and serve.  Wahhhllaaaaaa

I should have made this post before Super Bowl.  It would have been something perfect and easy you could have taken to a party.  Lay off all the store bought stuff when you go places, it just makes you look lazy!!!

So have I mentioned that I pretty much love anything from the Lion House Bakery?  This bakery is most famous for its breads, pies, and desserts.  Anything you get from here is going to be good!  I recently posted a crepe recipe from the Lion has as well that my family has been using for years and years.  Anyway, I had a friend in my neighborhood get really sick this past week.  I wanted to make something to cheer her up and feed their family.  So I made this Challah bread from the Lion House Bakery to go with Alice Springs Chicken.

It turned out really yummy!  I made a loaf for my family and a loaf for my friend.  It is delicious pull apart bread that is soft and fluffy on the inside!

Challah Bread (makes 2 loafs)
From the Lion House Bakery Cook Book
1 Tb dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (not too hot)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
2 eggs beaten well
4 1/2 to 5 cups of flour
1 egg yolk beaten well
1/4 tsp water
sesame seeds
poppy seeds (I added this to mine as well)

1.  Place the warm water in your bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and let sit for a few minutes until is is slightly dissolved and frothy on the sides of the bowl.

2.  Add sugar, oil, salt, beaten eggs, and 2 1/2 cups of flour.  Beat well.  Add enough remaining flour to make soft dough and knead until smooth.

3.  Grease your dough and bowl with a cap full of vegetable oil.

4.  Cover and let rise until double (about 30 -40 minutes).  P

5.  Punch down and divide in half.  Then take each half and make three long ropes.  Braid the three ropes together and then repeat with the other three ropes.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.

6.  Mix egg yolk with 1/4 tsp of water and brush over the braids.  Sprinkle with seeds.

7.  Cover and let rise 30 minutes.

8.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

***I baked mine for 30 minutes and it was a little browner than I would like.  I had to run out for a minute and asked the hubby to keep an eye on it.  He didn’t do a great job. Haha… apparently men (at least this one) doesn’t have the eye for checking on bread!  I would recommend checking it at 20 and 25 minutes.  So yummy and fancy looking but such an easy recipe!

This is an easy tutorial on how to make korker bows for your little lady!  They are so easy to make, so now you never have to buy another!

First, here is what you need:

Ribbon (not satin and 3/8 inch works best)
Alligator Clip
Wooden Dowel (I bought mine at Home Depot, so easy to find and I took a handsaw to make it shorter)
Dental Floss
Needle
Hot Glue Gun (not pictured)
Several Clothes Pins (not pictured)

 

First, preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Then, cover your alligator clip by glueing ribbon around entire clip (these are sold at any craft store or I bought mine at hair-hardware dot com):

Next wrap your ribbon around wooden dowel and put a clothes pin on each end:

Place wooden dowels (as many as you want) on a baking sheet and put in oven for 25 minutes.

When it comes out, it should look like this:

Next cut your ribbon to desired length that you want for the total width of your bow.  The younger the child, the smaller the width should be (unless you want the bow to consume your child’s head).  For my baby, I would do about three inches and maybe add an inch or two for anyone older than a year.

Next is the easy easy easy sewing part.  All you do is thread the dental floss through the needle and stick through the middle of each piece of ribbon.  Then, come back through each piece of ribbon and then tie the bottom end and top end of the dental floss together.  You don’t want the ribbon all facing the same way because it will look too perfect.  Lastly glue the bottom of your bow to your alligator clip and WAHHHLAAA!  Super easy bow!

Another optional thing to do is to take a lighter of some sort and burn each edge of the ribbon.  That helps keep it from fraying at the end.  Make sure you don’t put the fire too close because it will burn it and make a brown mark.

Also, you can do so much with the korker ribbon and make several different styles of bows.  Play with it!  I would love to see some of your newly made bows!!

Remember my Daisy Hair Bow Tutorial???  If not, check it out and make that adorable bow too!

 

 

I feel everyone is always looking for fun birthday party ideas for preschoolers.  Once they are in grade school the kids seem to have their own ideas of what they want for their birthday parties.  So why not have a Lion Jungle Party.  This party was awesome and very inexpensive!

We decorated the house with different shades of $1 green streamers hanging from the ceiling to give it a jungle feel.  We also got some jungle looking plates, napkins, and a table cloth.  Green balloons littered the floor as well.  As the party kids arrived they sat at the table and played play dough with all my animal cookie cutters and plastic animal toys.  I called one child over at a time and had them pick an animal face painting design I had preselected (I checked out a book from my local library).  I painted each child’s face with some left over Halloween face paint.  After everyone had their face painted we went to the basement and played freeze dance to some sweet jungle songs (Lion King sound track, Wild Thing, Jungle Fever, etc..).

After that it was cake and cupcakes!  Easy and inexpensive!  The party went really well and the kids had a great time!  I highly recommend a Lion Jungle Party!

 

So, if you’re like a crazy frazzled woman me, you forget a lot.  This includes things like: Did I turn the stove off from making eggs? or Crap, did I leave my straightening iron on?, or Did I feed the dog?  Yes I did, no I didn’t, maybe I did?!?!  Women have 1001 things on their mind and are always thinking about the next thing to get done and not always about what they are doing that second.  Don’t worry, you’re normal!

My sweet sweet Anna has basically been living on antibiotics due to her tear duct being stopped up and getting infected.  I saw this idea on pinterest and I thought it was a PERFECT way for me to remember if I gave the medicine to her or if I still needed to.  I don’t know about you, but I definitely need helpful reminders and it’s one less thing to stress over or have to think about!  All you need is a sharpie!

So I have a problem… I have a hard time saying no.  I just want to be helpful.  People know this about me and ask me to help with the strangest things.  It is probably because they could not find anyone else to ask that would say yes.  Haha.

So anyway, I was recently asked to babysit a pet tarantula for a month.  Yes, weird request.  I was assured it was really easy.  Apparently they only eat once a week.  All I would need to do is keep the water bowl full with bottled water (something about the tap water containing something harmful to spiders) and toss in a worm once a week.  There was even a grate at the top of the cage so I can just poor the water right through it and not have to open the cage.

Doesn’t seem so bad does it!  And hey, I have three boys so having a tarantula around would make me immensely cool in the little boy world.  So I say yes.  Wow, I am so cool… I have a pet tarantula staying at my house!  Everyone wants to see it and each time I let a neighbor kid or a cousin see it, I am a little more cool in their eyes!  Now I am anxious to show off this freaky looking spider to all my child guests.

One day during this spider babysitting month I have a little girl visitor.  She has just had her second birthday.  She comes to the front door and the first thing I do is ask her if she wants to see my big spider.  She agrees and gets all excited.  My 3 boys and I all run to the cage to show off our prize.  I grab the cage by the handle on the top of the cage to lower it down to the little girls level and pop… the bottom of the cage drops off and I am left standing there holding just the lid.

A mass panic breaks out as this seriously freaky spider starts running all through the kitchen… this normally lethargic looking tarantula is pretty dang fast!  The little girl is now screaming and crying historically as all the grown ups run around trying to catch this spider.  It was an insane few minutes.  If only I could really put into words the screaming panic you feel when this big freaky looking spider is racing around your feet while babies scream in the background!!!  We did catch him, but I am afraid this little girl will never recover!  I was really hoping I didn’t scar her for life!

I kept imagining this little girl waking up in the middle of the night screaming about spiders because I am an idiot and dropped the cage!  Poor girl!  So I took it upon myself to rehabilitate her new fear of spiders I had imposed on her.  We talked about how cool the spider was and how it was safe in its cage now.  After a while I asked if she wanted to see it again.  She would only look at it if I was holding her in my arms (can you blame her!).  We did this many times through the day.  We talked about where spiders live and what it eats.  Finally she was ready to take a real look up close!  By the end of the day this little girl was blowing kisses to my freaky tarantula!  Mission accomplished…   Thank goodness!  Three cheers for not permanently scaring an adorable little two year old!

I might get a lot of bad views by the title of this post, but it’s probably from the moms that haven’t left their kids before.  Of course I HATE saying good-bye to them, but it’s a chance for me to get to spend one on one time with my husband.

Last weekend, we went to Wintergreen Resort skiing (midwest fans don’t laugh) with Brian’s work.  We had the most awesome time.  We slept in and enjoyed each other without interruptions.  It was just us.

Some things I just don’t notice when I’m busy with two kids, here’s one:

We definitely had great food while we were there — a serious shout out to Harris Grant Consulting for everything.  This was our last meal.

We had so much fun, but I was so excited to see my babes!

My whole point of this article is to tell you that it isn’t easy getting away and leaving your kids, but it really is healthy.  It was great spending time with my husband and so awesome to see my kids faces light up when they saw me after the trip.  Ella did have a great time with her grandparents and they had a great time with her.

Seriously, try it.  Go away for even one night.  There is an advice sheet that the doctor gives parents at each well visit and all of them say to take time to spend with your spouse.  So true.  It was amazing.