Blog Problems!!

So here is the deal....even though I have been blogging for about a year I still feel like an amateur at this whole blogging world. I must tell you that I LOVE to take pictures and I love to post pictures! Here is my problem, I have filled my quota for pictures on my blogs and as far as I can see the only way to solve this problem is by deleting posts or paying money for more "space." I am sad because we do not have the money for me to be putting into my blogs, so for now I will no longer be posting anything new. I am looking into different things, I may start a new blog but not with blogger. I will continue to read all the blogs I love and if I do get a new blog started I will post the address on this blog! If anyone has any advice for me that would be wonderful and thank you in advance for the advice!! Also thank you to those of you who are interested and do pop by to see my blogs!! Until I figure things out..... bye for now!

Colleen

Sidewalk Chalk!

The artists are at the top of the picture!! Sidewalk chalk is just so much fun and made our driveway look much better!!


Each of the children did a 'pose' and we traced their shadows!
Once their shadows were traced, they got to add a face and decorate themselves!!
Jesse got right into his picture!!

Who need toys when you have a BOX!

Brought out paint and let the children decorate away! This box has been everything from a house to a boat even a secret cave!! Seriously I am selling all the toys and just getting boxes!!:0)

Sunshine Pancakes!

These turned out so cute and yummy too!! Pancakes, blueberry eyes, strawberries cut in half, and chocolate chips for the mouth! I'll give you one guess what the children ate first!!:0)

Playing with ICE!!

Along with regular sized ice cubes, I froze water in yogurt and baby food containers. In the large tub I put the ice, containers of ice, some scoops and let the children at it!!
It was so much fun on such a hot hot day!!
They played with it for a very long time and amazingly the ice took a long time to melt too!
The kids had a blast transferring the ice into different containers, tasting the ice, scooping it, watching it melt and overall just keeping cool!!

Banana Pops!

Peel bananas, cut them in half and put a popsicle stick into each one. Then cover a cookie sheet with wax paper.
Dip bananas into yogurt or melted chocolate. Then decorate with whatever your tummy feels like!! We used fun sprinkles!!
Put into freezer for a few hours.
Then enjoy!!!!
Yummy!!!

Z is for Zebra and Zipper!

Black and White felt. Zebra head printed off the Internet. Zippers from the dollar store! I must admit that this was a bit more of an "adult help" craft. I glued blue paper onto cardboard to make it a bit more sturdy then cut out the letter Z in white felt. The children glued on the zebra's black felt stripes and the zebra's head. To finish it, my wonderful husband sewed on the zippers! I thought the real zippers would be fun for the children to play with after!
So that is the finish of our alphabet! I will start back at the letter A in September with more new fun crafts! I already have a few ideas that I am excited about!!:0)

Y is for Yo-yo and Yellow

I cut out a letter Y and had the children glue it onto paper. Next the children painted their Y's using yarn and yellow paint! My oldest daughter Emma never seems to like the crafts I offer and always wants to do it her own way. I would like to think that she is being creative, so I do let her create her own art but sometimes it can get a wee bit frustrating!!!!! Anyway her picture is the bottom right one and she drew the letter Y on yellow paper along with some circles. Next she added pieces of yarn to make her yo-yo's!!
I put clothes pins on the yarn to try and make this a little less messy on the hands and easier for the little ones to pick up the yarn.

X is for Xylophone!

I got this craft idea from No Time For Flashcards.

It is an orange X glued onto green construction paper. The rest is made out of foam stickers.

Emma wanted to fill her X and coloured some of it with crayon.

The kids also added music note stickers too!

The little black thing on the xylophone is supposed to be a mallet!!

Then they had to make some music!!

W is for Watermelon!

Me oh My, I am FINALLY back to my blog!! We have been back from our vacation for over a month and I am just now getting myself back together! I think I have been on Maui time!! I feel like I have so many projects to post about, one day I will get caught up. For now I will continue getting caught up on the alphabet that we finished in the middle of June!!


For this craft, I cut a W out of blue construction paper and had the children colour it with blue crayons talking about water while we did this. Next the children glued on red and green felt pieces to look like watermelon then added seeds with a black marker. The watermelons on the bottom right w have different seeds. My daughter hole punched black paper for her seeds.

Of course we had to have watermelon for snack too!!!!

Yummy!!

Bye Bye Blog....

...I am off to BEAUTIFUL Maui with husband to enjoy the sunshine!!!! YIPPIEEEE!!!
We are going to do a little swimming.....

a little snorkeling......

a little relaxing....

and A LOT of this.......

No computers, no phones, and no TV! It should be a wonderful vacation!! When we return, I will be reading and catching up with all my bloggy friends!!!:0)

V is for Volcano

We made a mini volcano first for a science project. Baking soda, red food colouring and vinegar! The smaller bottle worked much better and looked more like a volcano erupting!!
Here are the children's volcano's. I got this idea from Sandy at Just For Fun!

U is for Umbrella!

Jesse busy colouring his U before gluing on the rain drops!
Perfect for a rainy day activity!!

T is for Toothbrush and Teeth!

For the letter T I cut out 'toothbrush' shapes in pink and had the children glue them onto red paper to form the letter T. For the bristles I cut out white rectangles and made little cuts on one side of the rectangle then the girls glued that to their toothbrushes. Next they glued on teeth. I thought about making the teeth yellow so when they were brushing them it would 'clean' them but for this time the teeth were white!!:0)

Using old tooth brushes the girls painted using white paint! I also thought about using real toothpaste but I did not know how it would dry - has anyone else tried using real toothpaste for an art project?

Here they are brushing their 'teeth'!! Lots of fun!

Jesse had a great time too, he also wanted to brush his hand!!

Here are their finished T's!!

Free Chocolate!!

Yes you read it right - it says FREE chocolate!!!!!! Go to this website to find out more:

Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act Blog

You.are.welcome! :0)

My Favorite Mom's Day Poems!

When I get an e-mail that I really love, I save it. So here are some poems that I have saved over the years that I am sure any Mom can in some way relate to, laugh at, or come up with a memory. Since I have gotten these poems through e-mail, I am not sure who wrote them so I cannot give credit where credit is due, I apologise for that. Enjoy!

Before I was a Mom
I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mom,
I slept as late as I wanted
And never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words of lullabies.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations

Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on
Pooped on
Spit on
Chewed on
Peed on
Or pinched by tiny fingers

Before I was a Mom I had complete control of:
My thoughts
My body
And my mind.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a Mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
Could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
Every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay
I had never known the warmth
The joy
The love
The heartache
The wonder
Or the satisfaction of being a Mom.I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

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MOM - JOB DESCRIPTION

POSITION: Mother, Mom, Mama, Mommy, Momma, Ma

JOB DESCRIPTION: Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an, often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT &PROMOTION: Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE : None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION: Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.

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Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby ......... Somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, "Normal," is history.

Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct ... Somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.

Somebody said! being a mother is boring ...... Somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit.

Somebody said if you're a "good" mother, your child will "turn out good." Somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.

Somebody said "good" mothers never raise their voices ..... Somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbor's kitchen window.

Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother. Somebody never helped a fourth grader with her math.

Somebody said you can't love the fifth child as much as you love the first. Somebody doesn't have five children.

Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books ....... Somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his ears.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery .... Somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten.or on a plane headed for military "boot camp."

Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back ...... somebody never organized four giggling Brownies to sell cookies.

Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married ... Somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home .... Somebody never had grandchildren.Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her ....... Somebody isn't a mother.

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THE COST OF CHILDREN

I have seen repeatedly the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, But this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice, really nice!! The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle-income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition! But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into$8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have children if you want to be "rich." It is just the opposite. What do your get for your $160,140?

Naming rights. First, middle, and last!

Glimpses of God every day.

Giggles under the covers every night.

More love than your heart can hold.

Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.

A hand to hold usually covered with jam.

A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sandcastles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.

Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up.

You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to keep: reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day. Ø

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.

You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter, filling a wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal.

You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.

You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

ENJOY YOUR KIDS AND GRAND KIDS! The best things in life are family and friends!

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This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's OK honey, Mommy's here." Who walk around the house all night with their babies when they keep crying and won't stop. This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse. For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T. This is for the mothers who gave birth to Babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes. This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at football or soccer game Friday night instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it. This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet like a tired 2-year old who wants ice cream before dinner. This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't. For all the mothers who read "Goodnight Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one more time." This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead. This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot. This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home. This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away. This is for mothers, whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them. For all the mothers who bite their lips sometimes until they bleed -- when their 14 year olds dye their hair green. What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

For all the mothers of the victims of all these school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting. For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely. This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children's graves. This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all. So hang in there.

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A Mom Joke

A father came home and found his 3 children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.
Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.
In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.
He hurried up the stairs, stepping over toys and strewn clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she may be ill, or something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel.
She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?"
She again smiled and answered, "You know, every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world did I do today?"
"Yes," was his incredulous reply?She answered, "Well, ........today I didn't do it.

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When I'm an old lady!!

When I'm an old lady, I'll live with each kid,And bring so much happiness...just as they did.I want to pay back all the joy they've provided.Returning each deed! Oh, they'll be so excited!When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)I'll write on the wall with reds, whites and blues,And I'll bounce on the furniture...wearing my shoes.I'll drink from the carton and then leave it out.I'll stuff all the toilets and oh, how they'll shout!When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)When they're on the phone and just out of reach I'll get into things like sugar and bleach.Oh, they'll snap their fingers and then shake their head,When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)When they cook dinner and call me to eat,I'll not eat my green beans or salad or meat,I'll gag on my okra, spill milk on the table,And when they get angry...I'll run...if I'm able!When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)I'll sit close to the TV, through the channels I'll click I'll cross both eyes just to see if they stick.I'll take off my socks and throw one away And play in the mud 'til the end of the day!When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)And later in bed, I'll lay back and sigh I'll thank God in prayer and then close my eyes.My kids will look down with a smile slowly creeping And say with a groan, "She's so sweet when she's sleeping!"God Bless All Moms and Grandmas Everywhere!

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Being A Mom

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. Do you think I should have a baby?" It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations." But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable. I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die. I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitation. I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right. I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom. However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs. I want her to know that a caesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic. I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving. I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts. My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a Silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings. Please share this with a Mom that you know or all of your girlfriends who may someday be Moms. May you always have in Your arms the one who is in your heart.

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Mommys Day Cards

I look after two little girls aged 2 and almost 2 and I could not decide what Mother's Day card to do for their Mom's, so we did three!! The first one I found when I googled Mom's Day and I just added my own touch. The girls coloured the bears, I cut them out and glued them on the front of the card so they 'wiggled'. The poem says:

A wiggle and a jiggle,

I love you so much

I just have to giggle!

Here is the inside of the card. As a Mom, I always love getting hand prints of my children so I traced their hands, cut them out and glued them in along with some pictures!

Here is the second card that we did and I got this idea from Michelle at Her Cup Overfloweth.
Childrens feet in paint, let dry, cut out and clue to front of card.

On the inside write this poem: Thank you for walking the path before me and showing me how to L-O-V-E! (I also added pictures!!)

Here is the third card that we did and I got this idea from Trish at Preschool Playbook
I printed the I 'heart' Mom off the internet and let the girls paint it. When it was dry, I cut it out and glued it onto the paper. The finishing touches were a picture and this poem:

I miss you when were not together
I'm growing up so fast
See how big I've gotten
Since you saw me last?
As I grow, I'll change a lot,
The years will fly right by
You'll wonder how I grew so quick
when and where and why?
So save this card in a safe place,
And take it out each year
The memories will come back of me
When I was small and dear.