To start off with, I made a pile of winter clothes on the floor and told the kids “Brrr! It’s cold! We should get our coats on!” I then encouraged each of them to select a coat, scarf, hat, and gloves. Only my two did, though. I think I may have confused the other two.

Winter Kyla

Winter Lucas

After they were bundled up in their winter clothes I brought out the pieces to our box snow man (found the idea on Pinterest). All four of the kids got involved making the snowman. So cute! I also let them color on the snowman when they were done.

Winter Lucas

Coloring the snowman

Next we had a snowball fight (with cotton balls). They had a blast! Kyla and Lucas even asked to have more snowball fights later in the week. (Sorry. No pictures. I was too busy throwing snowballs.)

We then tried the Do-a-Dot “S is for Snowman” page that I did with my kids last week. It’s interesting what a difference 4 months can make at this age. Either that or personality. Not sure which. My two immediately started carefully placing dots in each circle. The other two randomly dotted the page and somehow (I didn’t even know they would do this) made the ink splatter all over the place. Kyla looked at them like they were crazy, but Lucas thought it looked kind of fun and joined in. I let it go for a little bit, but when I saw the green splatters all over Lucas’s white shirt, I had to put a stop to it (thankfully, the ink IS washable, though they don’t state that on the package). I know, I’m no fun.

S is for Snowman

To make up for it, I brought out the shaving cream for some snow painting. When I did this with the kids last week I mixed the shaving cream with glue and gave the kids snowflakes to paint. This was pointless. The paper became so wet there was no way it would ever dry without sticking to whatever surface I placed it on to dry and I was paranoid the whole time about the flecks that Lucas flung across the room when he shook his hands. So this time I simply put straight saving cream directly on the table and let the kids go to town. They hat a lot of fun. They all have their own styles, which is funny. They boys were much less concerned about mess than the girls.

Snow paint

I didn’t get any pictures, but we had the kids make their own pizzas using sandwich thins as the crust. Of course, I suggested to them that they make them look like snowmen, but none of them really did. All the kids ate really well. Mine ate every bite of theirs and I thought it was funny that Kyla and Lucas asked to make pizza again the next morning for breakfast. Who was I to argue?

C and I agreed that the activities went really well this week. All of the kids seem to be getting better at doing the activities we set up for them. Either that or we’re getting better at planning things they’ll do. I look forward to seeing what she has planned for next week!

I’m linking up to Tot School. To see more activities for little ones, visit Tot School.

It’s Playtime!

Kyla wanted to be a “Ballet Princess” and wear her princess dress, and Lucas wanted to dress up as well. So I put together a “Prince” costume for him from his closet (just a sweater and blue pants, but he bought it!). I also made him a construction paper crown to wear. They had a lot of fun pretending to be a prince and princess. They even gave each other kisses to “wake up” (and had me give them kisses as well). I loved it! Their growing imaginations are so much fun.

Prince Lucas

Ballet Princess Kyla

Last night I decided to write down our “schedule” on their dry erase board. There are certain things we do every day around the same time. This is what I wrote on the board:

7- Wake Up (with a picture of open eyes)
12- Eat Lunch (with a picture of a fork)
1- Nap (with a picture of closed eyes)
3- Wake Up (with a picture of open eyes)
5- TV (with a picture of a TV. This is when I usually begin working on dinner, so I let them watch TV while I’m busy)
6- Eat Dinner (with a picture of a fork)
8- Night-night (with a picture of closed eyes)

Throughout the day today we would go back to the schedule and see what was coming next, what time to expect things, etc. They have a clock in their room (with the minutes covered up) so they would run to their room and check to see if it was time for the next thing or not. It actually worked pretty well. At noon I told them it was time to eat lunch and Kyla said “No. Not eat time.” So I took her to the schedule, showed her the 12, then showed her the clock. She said “Oh,” and sat down to eat! She didn’t actually eat anything, but at least it stopped the argument.

I think I’m going to make something a bit more permanent (but that can be rearranged) to have posted either in the hallway by their room or in their room (high enough that they can’t reach it). For one thing, it’s teaching them their numbers and about time. For another thing, I know kids like to be able to know what to expect. I’m thinking that if I make cards with several of our “typical” activities along with some blank ones that I can use dry erase markers on, we could make our schedule for the next day each night. Of course, I know things might end up needing to be changed, but that’s an important lesson for them as well: flexibility.

We’ve also been adapting our night time routine a bit. I’m trying to be better about having them brush their teeth right before bed and I’ve added in bed time prayers, which they are loving. It’s so cute to hear them say “Dear God…” It started out where I would say a line and they would repeat it. Now they are starting to fill in blanks. I’ll say “Thank you for _____” and they’ll fill in “Mommy” or “Daddy” or “food” or whatever pops into their heads (I love it when they say thanks for their friends!). And we always ask for a good night’s sleep and a great day tomorrow. The other night they both stopped N as he was putting them in bed, saying they needed to “do prayers.” It was the first night he had been home after we’d started it, so he didn’t know to do it. Hopefully this will be something they will continue to enjoy.

Every day is an adventure with these two. Even on PJ days.

• I love listening to the two of them play together. They laugh so much! And the conversations they have are hilarious. There was one morning when we were visiting my mother that the kids woke up, but stayed in their room. I was so grateful for the video monitor as I watched Kyla “teaching” Lucas how to “do ballet.” Then, of course, Lucas had to show Kyla “‘nastics” (gymnastics). Too cute! I really hope we can get them each into a class in the Spring. I know they’ll love it.
• They give the sweetest kisses and hugs. Just one will brighten my day considerably. Too bad they can be stingy with them at times.
• They are really starting to use their imaginations. Friday they pretended to be the Monkey King (character from Ni Hao, Kai Lan), witches, and Mommy. They also love to pretend to eat things. It’s fun to watch this side of their play emerge.
• Lucas took me by surprise the other day when he started pointing to words in a book and running is finger across them to ask “What that say?” Clearly he’s made the connection that the letters on the page make words that I can read and he wants to as well. They are both starting to “read” books that they’ve heard over and over. And of course, they’ve always been avid book lovers. But I didn’t really expect that connection to appear just yet. I’m thrilled, of course, but will not push, just guide him as best I can.
• Kyla has become VERY girly. She loves pink and purple. She wants to wear dresses (unfortunately, we only have a few that are cold weather appropriate) all the time. And she’s enjoying playing dress up. Looks like it may be time to hit some thrift stores for “costumes” and for me to get to sewing some long sleeve dresses! Being that I’m not girly at all, it isn’t my first thought to buy dresses. I’m a jeans kind of girl.
• The other morning Lucas wanted to have “noodles and chopsticks” for breakfast. Then he saw that Kyla was having cereal and he wanted that too. And he wanted grapes. So I gave him a plate of noodles (we had some plain spaghetti noodles leftover from another meal in the fridge), cereal, and grapes. Of course, since Lucas had chop sticks, Kyla wanted them too. To eat her grapes. Which she fed to Lucas with the chopsticks. Then Lucas started using his chopsticks to feed Kyla his noodles. Cute. But messy.
• I really try to give my kids every opportunity I can to feel independent. Even though it can occasionally be hard to give up control. One thing I’ve been trying to do recently is give them cups without lids. They love it, of course. I only put about an inch of liquid in the cup so that if/when they spill it’s not as big a mess. Mostly they are careful. But they also like to stick their hands in the cup. Or, as Kyla did the other day, get a mouthful of milk and let it dribble down their chin. I have no idea why this is fun. It makes no sense to me. And drives me a little insane. But they sure think it’s hilarious.
• I find it interesting to watch my kids in public play areas. Saturday we went to McDonald’s with two other moms with twins (so 6 kids altogether). Their twins mostly played separately, only occasionally joining up to play in the same area. However, my two stuck to one another most of the time, occasionally going their separate ways. I hope that means they will continue to be close. But I’m not sure. I have a friend that is the girl half of boy/girl twins and she says she hated being a twin and having her brother “always there.” She and her brother don’t even speak to each other as adults. I don’t want that. I want my kids to love having one another around. Though I know Kyla frequently gets her fill and would like a break from Lucas (Lucas does not feel the same, though). While we don’t do it nearly often enough, we do try to give them individual time with us. So they know they have worth individually and not just as a pair.
• Going on walks with these two takes FOREVER. They love to stop for everything. Acorns (or “aporns,” as they call them), leaves, dogs, kids, you name it. They are taking in the whole world. It’s hard to remind myself that it’s okay if it takes a while to get anywhere. I notice that I get a lot more impatient with the stopping when we’re heading home than when we’re heading to the park (where every walk ultimately takes us, it seems). And of course, one will be way ahead of me and the other way behind me, leaving me to worry that one of them will take off into the street and I won’t be close enough to stop them!
• Friday Lucas was having a fit (he rarely wakes from nap in a good mood) and was crouching on the floor. I tried to tease him out of his mood by saying “You look like a frog. Can you say ‘ribbit’?” His response, through his tears, was “Tree frogs have sticky toes.” LOL It took a while for me to figure out what he was saying, but Kyla backed him up, repeating the phrase with him until I figured it out and adding that “Tree frogs go in wa-wa.” I asked them where they learned that and they said “I don’t know.” Then it hit me. Go Diego, Go. I guess at least they’re learning something!
• On Thursday I was cutting up an onion to use in the soup I was making for dinner. It was a particularly pungent onion and it made my eyes sting almost immediately after cutting it in half. I said “Ooh! This onion is making my eyeballs hurt!” To which Lucas replied “I go get them!” and he ran off towards my bathroom, coming back with my contact case! I guess that’s where he thinks I store my eyeballs, since I’ve often said I’m “putting in my eyeballs” when they watch me put in my contacts. LOL What a clever boy!
• These kids are so stinkin’ smart and I marvel at how much they absorb every day. I am so glad I get to be their teacher!

That’s all I’ve got time for at the moment. I know there is plenty more, but nap time will be ending soon and I have other things that need to be done as well. I will have to post more “little things” in the future.

Tot School- Winter Theme

We were supposed to have our friends over for Tot Time on Thursday, but C woke up feeling sick so we decided to postpone. We’ll be doing our Winter Theme tomorrow instead. However, I already had many of the projects set up and ready to go, so the kids and I went ahead and did some of what I’d had planned (but not all).

I had printed up some S is for Snowman Do-a-Dot pages from 2 Teaching Mommies and bought some Bingo markers from The Dollar Tree. This was the first time I’d given the kids Bingo Markers and they loved using them. They filled every dot on the page and asked for more, so I printed up the I is for Igloo page from the same site and they had fun with that one and wanted even more. I think they ended up doing 4 pages a piece before I told them we were done. They asked to do it again the next day, so I just gave them the same pages again and they had no issues with dotting over their previous dots. I thought it was funny that (on the second day), Lucas carefully made sure the entire circle was filled in with color (but didn’t care if it spilled outside the circle). He was very meticulous about it. I was surprised with how much they loved this activity. Not sure how E & N will be with it, but I will certainly offer it again tomorrow.

Do-a-dots

I’d already mixed up some snow paint (got the recipe from here) and didn’t want it to go to waste, so I gave them some snowflakes I’d printed on cardstock and let them paint. At first they were very timid and very neat about their painting. But soon Lucas discovered how much fun it was to dig his whole hand into the paint and make a royal mess! I did not get pics of the mess because he kept flinging it around when he shook his hands and I didn’t want to take a risk on getting any on my camera. As it was I was frantically running around cleaning up spots on the carpet before they would dry! Next time I plan to use just shaving cream. I know I’ll be a lot less worried about it getting all over and it’s not like they really care to see what the finished product ends up being! I dumped them both into the bath immediately following our snow paint adventures!

Snow paint

We will be continuing the Winter theme with our friends tomorrow.

Dramatic Play

Okay, this wasn’t planned by me at all, but I thought it was too wonderful not to share! I had pulled out our colored silk scarves that we’ve had since the kids were babies because I’d planned to use them with out Tot Time. When the kids saw them they got very excited and asked me to put them on as capes and hats. Then they each grabbed a stick and said “I Monkey King!” (character from Ni Hao Kai Lan) but complained “I no fly like Monkey King.” It was so cute. Later they happened to find their Halloween costumes from two years ago (they were crayons) and put them on. With the pointy hats they decided they were witches. Who was I to argue? (the only pic I got of the “witches” was on my phone, so the grainy pics will have to do). They have been playing pretend a lot lately and having a lot of fun acting things out.

Kyla Monkey King

Lucas Monkey King

Kyla "witch"

Lucas "witch"

Muffin Tin Monday- Number 3

To continue working on number recognition we had a 3 tin today. While they were very impatient about how long it took me to put this together (even though it was ready well before their usual lunch time), they both seemed to enjoy the majority of the contents, asking for more of several of the items.

3 grapes/3 olives, Ranch (Kyla had ketchup, of course), 3 goldfish, 3 shaped quesadilla (I called it a "tres-adilla"), 3 Mickey nuggets, 3 three-shaped pita crisps

To see other Muffin Tin Meals, visit Muffin Tin Mom.

I’m linking up to Tot School. To see more activities for little ones, visit Tot School.

It’s Playtime!

Monday we went to the aquarium with MIL, the kids she nannies, BIL, and his girlfriend. It was difficult maneuvering the double stroller around, but there was no way I could go without it. The stroller was a nice threat to have any time a kid would try to get away from me. And I also used it when we walked the mall (yes, the aquarium is in a mall) and when we walked to lunch. Little did I know that keeping them with me inside the building was the least of my worries… As I was loading up the back of the van with all of our stuff the kids got out of the stroller (upon my instruction) and were supposed to climb into the van. However, Lucas walked past the door and when I told him to get in he looked back at me, then turned and took off. It was the most terrifying moment of my life. I immediately dropped the stuff I had in my hands and pushed the stroller out of my way to run after him. I told Kyla to get in and ran for my life, screaming his name at the top of my lungs. Thankfully, a woman across the parking lot heard me and made her way through the traffic, stopping cars and attempting to stop Lucas. He tripped on a curb and I was finally able to catch up to him just as she got to him. I felt horrible for not stopping to thank her more than I did, but I didn’t know if Kyla had gotten in the car or not. Praise God, she had! I held back the tears (but not the lecture) as I got him into his seat and picked up all of our stuff from the middle of the parking lot. There was a person waiting in their car to take my spot, so I didn’t feel like I could take a deep breath until I’d pulled out and moved away from the spot. At that point, I started bawling. I’ve never been so scared in my life. And of course, I’ve been extra freaked out every time we’ve gone anywhere since.

Tuesday we went to the library for story time and then to McDonald’s with our friends. The kids all had fun and it was nice to have the addition of one more friend and her twins at McDonald’s. I was amazed when Kyla and Lucas both ate every bite of their Happy Meals, which is somewhat rare.

Wednesday we met up with friends at Ghatti Town, a pizza buffet and game place. I had not let Lucas walk into or out of a building since his escape attempt, and this day was no different. However, once inside, I put him down so I could pay. He kept pretty close, so I didn’t pick him up when we headed farther inside to look for a table. Mistake. As I turned towards the tables he caught site of the game area, looked back at me, and took off. I dropped my backpack, called to my friend “I’ll be back!” and ran after him. In retrospect, I should have let him go. Perhaps it would have taught him a lesson. After all, there was far less danger in the restaurant than there was in the parking lot. And no one could take him out of the building without going past me. But I did run, and I did catch him. I immediately deposited him in a high chair and strapped him in, then asked Kyla “Do you want a high char or booster seat?” She chose booster seat, so of course Lucas wanted one too. I told him “Too bad. You lost the privilege of choosing when you ran away from me.” I didn’t allow him out of the high chair until it was time to go (except when I took him to the bathroom).

Thursday was supposed to be Tot Time. Unfortunately, my friend woke up feeling sick, so we decided to postpone. Turned out to be a good thing, as I got a migraine that morning. However, I did end up doing some of the activities I’d planned with the kids, since I already had the materials set out. They seemed to have a lot of fun with it. Lucas was still in quite a mood, though, being defiant at every turn. At one point he told us “I pee.” Sure enough, he’d peed in his underwear (at the time he wasn’t wearing anything else). But after searching all over the floor where he had been standing, N could not find a puddle. We finally asked Lucas where he was when he had peed. He immediately took us to the play room and pointed to a pile of stuffed animals. He had peed all over them! But it had to have been at least 10 minutes prior to his announcement, since he had not been in there in that time! We were livid. I told him he needed to go to his room so that I could calm down. He told me no. So I took him to his room and closed the door. He cried, of course. When I’d calmed I walked into the room and tried to talk with him. Once again, it felt like talking to a brick wall. I got to go out for my M.O.M. meeting, but N said that Lucas ended up peeing on a chair and the wall before the night was over. All of these seem like they must have been on purpose, since he has had so few accidents lately. It’s so frustrating.

Friday was the one day we didn’t have any plans, so we stayed in our pajamas until after nap. We did a lot of fun activities, but it was very relaxed and a much happier day. I’m wondering now if maybe there had just been too much going on for Lucas and that contributed to his acts of rebellion (this seriously just occurred to me as I typed). After nap we decided to go for a walk through the neighborhood to a nearby park. I had a talk with Lucas before we left about not running away and listening if I tell him to stop. I told him that if he didn’t listen we would have to come back home and he would have to hold my hand the whole time. Thankfully, the walk went relatively well and we all made it back unscathed.

Saturday N volunteered to take on an extra shift at work, so I decided to join some M.O.M. friends for a McDonald’s playdate. I normally try to avoid McDonald’s on any day that kids are out of school because it can be a total madhouse, but decided to brave it anyway. The kids had a great time and even though it was crowded it wasn’t as crazy as I’ve seen it other times. Even with the birthday party going on! It was nice getting to chat with some moms I don’t see as often. Once again, they ate every bite of their happy meals. I’m going out on a limb and saying they must be hitting a growth spurt!

I was originally sitting down to type out a Tot School post (which I still plan to do), but this turned into something totally different. I wanted to record this week because it was such a challenge with Lucas being so unlike himself. I usually can rely on him to want to do things to please me, but that was not on the top of his list this week at all. I’m hoping that maybe a few days of having Dad home, along with a less busy week, he’ll get back to his usual self. At least, that’s what I’m praying!

1- Finger Paint

Lucas' Finger Paint Heart

Kyla's Finger Paint Heart

This one didn’t work for the eBook because the pictures I took didn’t work cropped into a square. And by the time I realized this, the hearts had dried and curled up, no longer looking like hearts. But this was the first time I’ve used finger paint at home with them and while they were hesitant at first, they ended up enjoying it. And the mess wasn’t TOO bad.

2- Doted Hearts

Kyla's 1st Doted Heart

Lucas' 1st Doted Heart

For this one I made a heart using circles in Adobe Illustrator, then printed it out for each of them. The idea was supposed to be that they would dot their finger in each circle. Unfortunately, they decided to smear it instead. I was impressed that they ended up looking like hearts still, but it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. So I kept trying…

3. Handprint Heart

Handprint Heart

This was a quick one. I made homemade ink pads (using wet paper towels and liquid tempera paint) and had Kyla make a hand print with “Rose” paint and Lucas made one with “Grey” to form the heart. The first one didn’t turn out right because Lucas decided to put his hand on it again and smeared it. But I already planned on making two, so I was able to get the second one to turn out pretty well. I actually made copies to turn into Thank You cards, so I got double use out of it! This is the project I submitted.

4. Dotted Hearts (take 2)

I picked up some Bingo Markers from The Dollar Tree the other day and had the kids use them on a Do-a-Dot page I’d printed up. They enjoyed it so much I decided to give the Dotted Hearts a try again. These turned out more like what I was wanting!

Lucas' Dotted Heart (take 2)

Kyla's Dotted Heart (take 2)

I’ve really been enjoying seeing all of the heart projects that will be going into the eBook. I can’t wait to see the finished product and totally plan on donating to The American Heart Association so I can get a copy! I mean, AHA kinda means a lot to me anyway, so the book is a bonus! If you’d like a copy of the book, be on the lookout for a post from me with details. It will be made available on February 1st!

When I participated in the 30 Days to Hands on Play Challenge I got an opportunity to grow as a mom. I loved feeling like a part of a community of women sharing ideas. I’ve been a part of a FB group for moms to share learning ideas, and the addition of Pinterest to my world has multiplied the ideas swirling in my head by hundreds.

Now I’m participating in a Heart Project hosted by Hands on as We Grow. I’ve been amazed by the wonderful contributions that have been submitted so far. This world is filled with so many creative people. Their creativity isn’t taking place in a huge corporation or being broadcast on television, but their passion matters SO much. The kids that benefit from this creativity are very, very lucky. I’m just so glad I’m living in a time when I get to visit their worlds through their blogs and learn from them so that I can strive to do more for my kids.

I’ve mostly felt like an outsider looking in. I know that I post about what we do and all, but I certainly don’t feel like I deserve a “following” or that anyone would find my world all that interesting. I blog for me. I like being able to look back. But when I look and see that I have people, complete strangers, following my blog, it’s a bit of a shock. And makes me feel like I need to post more, do more, be more. But that’s not really a bad thing, is it?

I will be sharing about our Heart Project soon, so stay tuned!!

I know that the kids are two. I know they say they are “terrible.” But really, the one that is terrible is me. At the end of the day, when all is quiet, I want to yell at myself for how awful I’ve been. Yes, I’m great about playing with my kids, giving them things to do to help them learn and grow. But I do not react well when they do the exact opposite of what I’ve told them to do. It angers me. I try to stay calm, but when they continue to be defiant I yell. The more I yell, the worse they become. It’s almost like I can see what I’m doing and know that I’m in the wrong, but don’t have control over my own anger. I want my kids to listen to me because they respect what I have to say, not because they are scared of me. When I make my children cry it makes me want to cry as well.

I always apologize. But I know that’s not enough. I need to be a better example. I need to show them how to constructively handle every situation. I need to be different. And I know the only person that can change me is me.

Now, I’m not always like this. I can be quite patient with them and feel confident that I’m doing a good job. But the more tired I get, the more they challenge me at every turn, the more days in a row I go without much of a break, the worse my reactions become.

I think it’s time to challenge myself. Each day I go without yelling, keep calm, and set the example I want for my kids, I will mark on a calendar. I think it will be a wake up call. Seeing a visual of my behavior will keep me accountable and prayerful. I know I can’t do this without His help. God does not want me to be this kind of parent, so I know He will help me become a better me.

I am currently working on a project, created by Jamie at Hands on as We Grow, who is pulling together a “Heart Project eBook”. This collaborative project, involving more than 50 bloggers, will be a fundraiser with all proceeds going to the American Heart Association. The Heart Project eBook will be available by making a $5 donation.

Many participating bloggers will also host giveaways in conjunction with the fundraiser to raise awareness. I will not be hosting a giveaway, but will try to direct you to others’.

You can also participate in this great fundraiser by submitting your own heart project by January 25th or by donating to the American Heart Association and receiving a copy of the eBook when it becomes available in February.

For complete details on this event, visit Hands on as We Grow. More information to follow!