Sorry for my Slackness...

Sorry for my slackness around here lately. I have a good reason, I promise. Would you like to take a guess?

Wow!

I rarely check the site counter on this blog (since I rarely actually look at the actual blog...I read my posts immediately after I post them and check the comments when there are questions), so I was shocked when I just looked at the site counter and saw that there have been more than 200,000 hits! That's just crazy! I had no idea that so many people would read this blog when I started it a little more than a year ago. It really is shocking. I guess I tend to think that the people who comment are the only ones reading, so that number just blows my mind :) So...thanks for reading and sorry things have been slow around here lately. I've got tons of things to post about, but a serious lack of motivation :( I'll get back to it soon, I promise :)

Happy Half Birthday, Miss O!

We had fun celebrating O's half birthday on Friday! I can't believe that my baby is 2 and a half! On Thursday O and Guh-guh made whole grain banana and walnut waffles, so for her half birthday breakfast she had 2 and a half waffles with 2 and a half candles. We sang "Happy Half Birthday" to her :) She had 2 and a half balloons, and she was wearing her #2 shirt. She was so excited to wear her birthday crown and that we wore birthday hats. She was also thrilled that I hung the Happy Birthday banner.

After breakfast O went to her art shelf to write a note. The note says "O, We love you. Love, Mama and Daddy"
Elliott joined in on the fun Friday night by bringing home a tiny cake and book for O. She was thrilled with another celebration! What a fun day!

The 1st Mishap at the Art Shelf

Last night I looked over at O while I was cooking and she was drawing at her art shelf. She was coloring all over the shelf with a marker. I screamed, and the poor child looked terrified. I explained to her that we only color on paper, not shelves. She cleaned it up (luckily, she was using washable markers!) and told me she was sorry. I told her I was sorry for scaring her when I screamed. She looked at me very seriously and said "You screamed too woud (loud), mama! You need use your inside voice. Next time scream like this "ahhh" (her scream was very soft and sweet!) She really doesn't like loud noises, and hopefully she won't color on the shelves again :) She said she colored on the shelf because her paper was full. I reminded her that she can flip to a blank sheet of paper. Hopefully, she'll remember next time!

Unanswered Questions

I know that recently people have asked questions (in the comments section), and I haven't answered them. Now, I can't find the questions because I deleted them from my email account. One person asked where O's glass slippers came from...My mom bought them for her, and I think she found them at JC Penneys. Another person asked what color my kitchen walls are painted. It's basil, and I bought it at Wal-mart about 4 years ago. I think the brand is Kilz, but I'm not sure. I think there are a few more unanswered questions, so PLEASE ask again. I'm not ignoring you, I promise :)

Another Felt Quote

Tonight my Mom put vaseline on O's lips because they are chapped (when she was getting ready for bed). O said "O can't hug baby Emma cause O might get vaseline on her. She's made out of felt, you know." Mom said, "I thought she was made out of cotton." O said "No! She's made out of felt!" She's a little obsessed with felt. She gets it honestly :)

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has had a happy and safe New Year's Eve. We saw a really beautiful fireworks show that ended abruptly when the grass caught on fire :( We spread out a sleeping bag in the tennis courts next to my sister's house, and the girls pretended we were camping out. Lots of fun, but cold!

I thought I'd share some of my new year's resolutions, mainly to keep myself accountable :)
1) learn to knit and crochet
2) organize my house and KEEP it organized (this is a biggie!)
3) lose my fear of my sewing machine, especially now that I have one of my own :)
4) finish all of my handmade Christmas gifts before December
5) run/walk at least 4 times a week
6) take my new handy dandy grabber with us on walks to pick up litter :) (I'm excited about this one since I like to pick up trash, but I don't like to touch it)
7) learn to play chess
8) have family movie night and family game night once a week
9) spend more time teaching O (and myself) Spanish

Hmmm. I'm sure I have A LOT more, but that's all that I can think of now. What are your New Year's resolutions?

Another Felt Funny

O: Is Baby Emma made out of felt?

Me: No. I think she's made out of cotton.

O: O ont (want) Baby Emma be made of felt! (said in a sad voice, and she was almost crying)

(We've been in the habit of speaking to O in third person since she was a baby, and she now refers to herself as "O" instead of "I." It's a hard habit to break, and it sure is cute :)

Even O Has Noticed...

that I'm a little obsessed with making things out of felt. A couple of nights ago, she was upset because Elliott's handheld mirror is broken. She said "I want mama to fix it. I want mama to make one out of felt!" I adore her :)

She's a Good Little Mama!

O is a very attentive mama to her baby dolls. She's nursing baby Emma after taking her to the doctor (I was the doctor, and O was the nurse).

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Sometimes Blogs are Stressful...

Writing my own blog is nothing but fun for me. It takes very little time (about 15 minutes a day), and it's really just an extension of what I love to do anyway (documentation). I can't remember a time that I haven't had a camera in my hand and a pen ready to write in my journal. So writing a blog is the obviously a perfect fit for me. It's so much easier than writing in a traditional daily journal or making a traditional scrapbook. So... MY blog doesn't stress me. It's all the other wonderful blogs out there that cause me anxiety :) There are SO MANY fantastic ideas out here in blogland, and I want to do ALL of them. Obviously, there's not enough time for that. I'm really thankful for google reader since it enables me to star blog posts and go back to them later. So...thanks to all of you wonderful bloggers out there (even though your great ideas cause me stress!).

Just a Reminder...

If you ask me a question in the comments section, then I answer it in the comments section...so don't forget to check back! I read ALL comments, and I try to answer all questions. However, every few weeks, I'll notice that a comment has been sent to my junk mail, so it's possible that I don't get all of them (I only read them through email, not on the blog...I don't read my own blog :) Also, I am often in a hurry when I read my email, and if I don't respond immediately, I sometimes forget to respond at all. If I never respond to your question, PLEASE ask again! My lack of response was unintentional, I promise :) Thanks, everyone, for reading and commenting! I'm still constantly surprised and thrilled that people are actually reading this blog and using some of the ideas/activities that we've enjoyed :)

I Think She's Taking it a Bit Too Far...

All week I've been casually talking to O (no pressure) about how it will be nice to give some toys that she doesn't play with anymore and books she doesn't read to children that don't have toys and books. She usually is not very happy about this idea and says that she doesn't want to do it. Today I was going through her books and found several that we should donate. At first O said she didn't want to, but she thought a minute and changed her tune. She wanted to give the books I chose and a lot more (that I didn't want to give away!) to the "other children." Tonight while we were getting ready for bed, I asked if she had any dolls that she wanted to give the children who didn't have toys. She said no, but then I asked her about a doll that she rarely plays with. She smiled and said "O not ike that doll. Let's give her to the other children!" THEN she looked on her shelf and said "Let's give THAT doll to the other children. O not ont (want) her." Ummm, not an option. She was talking about the doll that my Granny made for me when I was 6 years old. This doll also shares O's name, and she is one of my most precious possessions (since she's handmade by my Granny). I explained to O why baby doll O is precious to us and she's not going anywhere. THEN she looked at the dolls on her top shelf and said "Those dolls not special. Let's give those dolls to the children!" Umm, again, not an option, but thanks for feeling so generous :) She was talking about the mama, daddy, and O dolls that I made for her in the Spring. Obviously, I wasn't very excited about her choices, but I am glad that she's feeling generous :)

My Christmas List

Elliott and my mom always ask me for a Christmas list for myself, and I always have a hard time thinking of anything to go on it. It wasn't too hard this year because I had a few things in mind :) Here it is:

a thermos with a pop-up top and straw from Target (I LOVE my kleen kanteen, but the top is annoying. A straw top would be so much easier to use, and I'm sure I would drink more water if I weren't so annoyed by the top!)
laminating paper
Dr. Sears Vaccine Book O is selectively vaccinated on a delayed schedule. She's actually almost caught up with her shots, but I'd like to have this book as a reference, especially if we ever have any more children.
Kids Knitting One of my New Year's resolutions for last year was to learn how to knit. It hasn't even come close to happening, so I'm hoping this book will help me come closer to this goal for the next year :) It has great reviews, and since it's written for children maybe it will be easy enough for my old brain to understand :)
a sticker maker I have big plans for this sticker maker! I plan to make stickers for O using photos, illustrations from old books, pictures from magazines, etc. However, I need to make sure the sticker cartridge has repositionable adhesive in it instead of permanent, so I won't have stickers permanently decorating every surface of my house!

That's it! Yes, I'm boring :) So...what's on your list?

O's Christmas List

I have to admit that while I try to minimize the amount of "stuff" that O has, and I strive to give her more handmade gifts than bought gifts, I do LOVE toys. I have a great time making O's Christmas wish list each year, and I'm so glad that her grandparents always request a list (otherwise I wouldn't make one). I enjoy researching toys and reading reviews. I have pretty strict criteria for the toys that go on O's list...no plastic, no batteries, no characters, made of wood, heirloom quality, open-ended, inspires creativity, etc. However, their are ALWAYS exceptions to my rules :) I make a LONG list so that O's grandparents can choose something that they like, and so they, hopefully, don't feel like I am just telling them what to buy :) Her grandparents usually buy 3 or 4 things off her list. We are VERY lucky that O's grandparents are respectful of our "criteria" for O's toys :) So here it is: (I'm copying and pasting from the email that I sent to O's grandparents. Although I have edited it a bit within the last week.)

Toys and Puzzles

rainbow blocks O loves her unit blocks so much that I think these will be a welcome addition to her open ended, creative block play!

Just Like Me Toddler Photo Doll Girl/Boy Set with Terrific Twins Clothes (felt paper doll made using O's picture) I think O will be thrillled to see herself as a paper doll! This is such a neat idea, and I think that since O loves to play dress up so much that it will be neat for her to dress up a doll that looks just like her!

block buddies
These blocks are so cool, and it's a great brain building exercise. I don't think amazon has a very good picture of the blocks, but www.mindware.com has better pictures if you are interested.

body puzzle Since O is very interested in veins and bones, I think this puzzle will be thrilling for her. I am sure she will learn so much from it.


yoga kit for kids O loved doing yoga months ago when we had a kids yoga library book, so I think it will be a fun addition to our morning routine to do yoga. I especially think she'll like pretending to be the different animals.

kids PVC free yoga mat

dollhouse nursery furniture

dollhouse accessory set
dollhouse furniture playground
marble runaround
All-in-One castle This is such an amazing toy. I wish I could see it in person! I think this is one that could definitely be passed down to O's children!

Nesting water waves
rainbow glockenspiel
magnetic labyrinth
Paint cups

Stories on CD

Jim Weiss Sweet Dreams cd

Jim Weiss Animal Tales

*Jim Weiss Good Night

Jim Weiss Fairytales

Montessori Materials

binomial cube
http://www.montessorioutlet.com/cgi-bin/item/S-021-1/search/Montessori-Outlet-Binomial-Cube

third box of color tablets
http://www.montessoriequipment.com/Color-Tablets-p/s.006.1.htm

baric tablets
http://www.montessoriequipment.com/Baric-Tablets-p/s.008.2.htm

thermic tablets
http://www.montessoriequipment.com/Thermic-Tablets-p/s.009.1.htm


metal insets with 2 stands http://www.montessoriequipment.com/Metal-Insets-p/l.411.1.htm



Games

Hello from around the world memory game O LOVES matching games, and I really like that this game uses actual photographs. I think it will be fun for her to learn how to say "hello" in so many different languages!

soundtracks game

Tell Me a Story cards

A Lesson for O

Just in case there is any confusion...this post was written last Friday :)

We think it's important to teach O from an early age that it's better to give than receive. Last year, we filled a shoe box with goodies for Operation Christmas Child. This year we've (us and our extended family) adopted a family with 7 children under the age of 7. I told O about the family today, and I explained to her that we are buying toys and clothes for these children because they don't have many toys or clothes. Elliott gave O a few dollars, and O, my mom, and I went to town to quickly shop at the 3 dollar stores (this is a small town, and the only stores they have are Family Dollar, Dollar General, and Super 10. At least we didn't have to worry about Black Friday craziness!) O was not excited about buying toys that she did not get to keep at first. She picked out a doll that she felt like she just HAD to have. Luckily, we convinced her easily that she didn't need it since Baby Emma was waiting for her at home :) O was proud to show our purchases to my sister when we got home, and she said they were for the "other children and not O." Phew! I was afraid she wouldn't understand and would think that she got to keep the toys once we got them home. She also donated 2 dollars to St. Jude's, but I don't think she really understood that concept. Oh, well. At least we've started young :) I've also told her that when we get home (we are still at G & G's house) that I want her to go through her toys and books and choose some items to donate to kids who don't have as much as she does. She did not like this idea AT ALL, so we'll see how it goes!

A Lesson Learned...

I'm learning more and more about sewing everyday. Last night, I learned a very valuable lesson...it's sometimes a good idea to turn the sewing machine off before threading the needle! I was threading the needle while O was standing beside me drawing on a piece of paper. Somehow she stepped on the presser foot without realizing what it was, and that needle started moving FAST! It scared me too death, and we all screamed, but luckily I wasn't hurt :)

100 Followers!

I just noticed that this blog has 100 followers!!! Thanks for reading, everybody!

So I've Spent A Lot of Time...

looking at toys on the internet lately. I love to find and research great, heirloom toys year around, but it's especially fun at Christmas time :) I worked for several weeks on a Christmas list for O that her grandparents requested (and I'll post it eventually in case anyone is interested). I'm not looking forward to the day that O wants to choose her own toys :) Anyway...I love this tree house. O is too young for it, and I don't think she'd be especially impressed with it now. Also, it cost much more than we spend at Christmas, but I REALLY want to get it for her...maybe next year! What are your dream toys or games for your children?

Little Ladybug

IMG_2023 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

Here is the back view of Baby Emma in her ladybug costume for dogs :) I also bought a witch costume for her, but I haven't tried it on her yet.