Melissa & Doug: Trunki Giveaway

Are you traveling with preschoolers this holiday season?  Our sweet boys will be 1, (almost)3, and 4 during the holidays.  As we prepare for our adventures, we are excited to be pulling a Trunki along with us.  What fun to ride, pull, and even pack.  Our holidays are going going to be an amazing fun time with family.  Would you like to win a Trunki for someone you love?  See all of the Terrific Twenty Toys!  Fill out the Rafflecopter form below!  Contest closes at midnight on Black Friday!  Open to US residents only.

***Disclaimer: I have received a product in exchange for this ad.  All expressed opinions are my own.***

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Muffin Cup Lunch!

Do you have a favorite simple pre-school friendly lunch?  Our "big" boys are 4 and almost 3.  They love fruits and veggies - and Asian Toasted Sesame dressing.  This lunch was a hit - especially when they got to use cheese spreaders to put peanut butter (and soynut butter) on their celery!

It started with leaves

I have boys.

They act like... boys.

My boys love to examine nature.  They especially love leaves, rocks, sticks and pine cones.  In fact, everywhere we go they are searching for these special treasures. I love this about my boys.  I want to find ways to encourage this curiosity as they grow.  But this brings us to problem #1.

Problem #1

 Our van floor is covered with broken down leaves and pine cones.  The boys bring them into the house and examine each bit as they crunch them into tiny bits on the floor.  I found a rock in the baby's car seat last week - under him.  I KNOW he did not pick it up, I think it was a gift from one of his doting brothers.

The floor in front of Cracker's seat

I love my boys.  They love to get comfortable as soon as they walk into the house.  Some days I have to walk over one or the other just to get inside, because he is taking off shoes or tugging a jacket off.  Unfortunately, at 23 months old and 3 years old, they are not so fond of putting things away all of the time.  Sometimes we're lucky and I get all 4 shoes where I ask them to put them.  Generally they end up in a bedroom or the bathroom or somewhere in the middle of the floor.  

Problem #2

Things get cluttered and messy.  It is hard to find the right shoe or jacket.  Getting ready to leave the house takes MUCH longer than it should because we are looking for assorted missing items.  It makes me crazy.  I like to be on time.  I also like a clean house.  

Solution

I was really annoyed when I found a rock in the baby's car seat.  It's not a BIG deal, just more mess and clutter.  I happened to be sitting near an unused McDonalds bucket and plunked the rock into it.  I thought, "gee, I should get them each a bucket to use for their nature".  That's how it started.  Then, I realized if I put the buckets on a shelf, behind the front door.  We could collect nature, hats, coats, and shoes as they make it into our house.  

I searched our house for a shelf that was the right size and only found 1 that was narrow enough to fit in this space.  It does not look beautiful, eventually we will make a nicer shelf.  The wall isn't finished yet - but look, organized, functional - now I just have to convince my boys to use it.

Mommy Lesson #12

Moral: Trust your instincts.

So, I just finished writing my post about Crackers and his newly formed coffee problem.  I took a shower, and upon exiting the shower, Mr. Crum admitted something.  He just remembered that he had finished his coffee before running errands.  Crackers did NOT drink half a cup of coffee after dinner (although I'm certain he would if he had the opportunity - therefore that lesson still applies).

There we have it, mama was pretty sure that mug was empty, and mama was right.  Trust your instincts!

Our week in education

Here are some of the educational activities that we have/will participate in this week:

Monday

Play Dough Free Play

Sorting & Lining Beads

A trip to the zoo, riding 2 rides (addressing Monkey's train fear)

Tuesday

Free Play & Exploration Outside

Shaving Cream Fun

Bath Water Bonanza 

Wednesday

Finger Painting

Free Play & Exploration Outside

Cracker's first overnight with grandma

Thursday

Ear Surgery 

Friday

Library Trip

Building with BIG blocks

Family night - games at church

What's in your noodles?

The truth?  I very rarely serve noodles to my family and boxed foods, like Mac&Cheese are extremely rare.

But - I LOVE noodles.  I can't think of very many ways to eat noodles that I don't like.  The problem is that I am a type 2 diabetic.  For the most part, noodles are just plain out of the question.

Today was one of those extremely rare days.  I pulled out a box of "noodles and cheese" for my boys.  Monkey usually will not eat them, he's not a pasta guy.  I can't just serve them plain noodles and cheese either - I'm one of THOSE moms that can't leave a "good" food alone.  I searched the cupboard, looking for something to make it slightly healthier for my family, I checked the fridge...

Here's the end result:
Noodles & Cheese with hidden curried cauliflower
and some hummus
and some cheddar
and some parmesean

Sound gross?  I only gave Monkey about a spoon full, he gobbled it down and wanted more.  My noodles experiment was a success!

Do you hide things in your noodles?  What do you do to make this traditional lunch healthier for your family?

(By the way, tonight is lasagna night - my "noodles" will be thinly sliced yellow squash

And it's only 8:30

What a morning!

Mr. Crum had the opportunity to leave early and spend some time with his friends for breakfast.  I am so glad that he was able to do that and enjoy the time out.  I was especially excited because it meant that I would not feel like I had to get up with him first thing and get things around for the day - a chance to sleep in!

Generally we wake up at 6:20 and leave home at 7:30.  Monkey wakes up around 6:30, Crackers gets woken up at about 7:15.  Not today.  This morning Monkey was in my room asking for breakfast AT 6:00 - I know because that is when the alarm starts going off - he made it in seconds before it started buzzing.  Crackers?  Well, he was up long before 7 also.  It's hot though and I was tired - I got Monkey to lay down with me for half an hour or so, until he decided to go upstairs to his room and shred some paper that he had found yesterday.  The joys of being 3!

I got up and around - I'm on iron pills, that's not fun - I clogged the toilet while my children were crying at me about wanting "eat time".  I got C changed and fed them both - ready to turn this morning into a great one.

Did I mention it's already 82 degrees in my living room at 7am?  I've been having a lot of difficulty with the heat and humidity - it makes it hard to breathe.  I served breakfast and started gagging on drainage from my sinuses.. then.. puke.. lovely!

I ate a popcicle and somehow felt much better.  Hopped onto the computer to see if there are any exciting emails in my blog inbox (nothing new today).  Happened to spot a friend online who lives in China.  While talking with Carrie, I realized that mr. Monkey - the 3 year old - is VERY quiet.  Why is that, I wonder... then I remember noting a bottle of bubbles at the top of the stairs - I'm pretty sure I know where he is.

Guess what - I was right.

Now the Incredible Hulk is sitting at the top of the stairs, coated in green bubble solution - so is the carpet, and the gate... Did you know that green bubble solution turns bath water green?

As I prepare to give Monkey a bath and a good scrubbing, I hear screaming.  Not to be left out - Crackers has gone into my bedroom and decided to play with the change jar. That's a glass gallon jar about half filled with loose change.  He's managed to hurt his fingers and needs a lot of attention.

And now, it's 8:43 - I'm playing "Something More" the newest CD from Heartland Church.  I'm drinking a Diet Caffeine Free Dr. Pepper - and taking a deep breath - getting ready to start over.

Bring on the day!

Sharing a room

I love it that my boys are friends.  They love to play and jabber and laugh together.  They like to bounce on each other's beds (until mama catches them) and tell jokes that only they understand.  It is so cute, and so much fun.

Recently I decided to move their beds into the same side of their large bedroom.  Previously they were separated by a partial wall for sleep time - now the other side of the room is preparing to be the "classroom" area.  It made sense to move them because their room has 1 air conditioner and 1 heat vent - both on Monkey's side of the room.  So I decided that while Mr. Crum was at work one day, I would take care of it.

Everything fits so nicely the way it's set up.  It's great being able to read with both of them easily at bed time.  It's friendly having them in their together.  Until it comes time for actually sleeping.  We have a couple of problems when it's actually sleep time.

Problem 1:  My boys are friends - they want to play and entertain each other to avoid sleep.

Problem 2: Monkey has decided he is ready to actually go to sleep, but Crackers still wants to entertain everyone, so he squeals and giggles and jumps in his bed... and Monkey gets angry and frustrated.

It's unpredictable exactly which problem we'll run into when.  Generally nap time is easier than bed time for some reason.  We've attempted to fix this problem by separating them at the start of bed time.  Crackers goes to bed first - he's generally easier to get to sleep - while Mr. Crum reads to Monkey.  Mr. Crum puts Monkey to bed when he's done reading.  This works when Monkey feels like he wants to sleep AND Crackers has already fallen asleep.

Does anyone else have struggles with shared bedrooms?  Does anyone have great solutions?  These boys are likely to share a bedroom for a very long time!

Chronicles of the Mean Lady

Do you ever have days/weeks that you feel like you're just the meanest person in the world - not because you're trying to be mean, but you're trying to help kids learn and grow?

Yesterday at about 3:15 I was standing in my living room and watched the 3 year old neighbor boy take a toy from my yard and run.  I walked outside to confront him, but he was gone.  Sadly for him, his bike was still sitting in front of my house.  So I moved his bike to my porch and walked to his house.  I couldnt' see him, so I hollared to him that he could have his bike back when he brought my toy back.  I'm so concerned about this kid because he's 3... almost 4, and roaming my neighborhood, regularly unsupervised.  We don't live in the worst neighborhood, but this side of town is not known for safety.

Anyway, he came back several minutes later with his head hung low (one of the adults that is at his house sometimes - I don't know who lives there and who doesn't - had found him and sent him over with the toy).  He dropped the toy on the yard, and as he lifted his head, he saw his bike.  His jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide.  "You can't take my bike" he said to me.  So mean lady said, "If it's okay for you to take my things, then it must be okay if I want to take your things."  He did not like that idea.  I let him know that once he brought back my shovel (which I had seen him with 2 days before) and any other toys he had taken from my yard, he could have his bike.

Somehow he figured out what shovel I was talking about and brought it over in exchange for his bike.  Within minutes of me going inside, he was in my yard, picking up another toy.  Lesson learned?  I guess not.


TODAY: I felt so mean - I let the boy I babysit cry for nearly a full half an hour while I washed dishes and made lunch.  He's been gone for several weeks to visit family, so it's hard for him to adjust to being back, I'm sure.  As soon as I sat him at the lunch table, he stopped crying.  He ate nothing at all, but fell asleep on the table.

THEN: My own son, 18 months old, was drinking his milk.  He drinks from an open top cup at home.  He decided it would be fun to stick his hand in the cup.  We have regular "discussions" about that.  Mama was not in the mood to play the cup game, so took it away after only 1 warning.  Mean, mean mama.

Have you felt mean recently?  Has anyone learned from it?  Have you learned from it?

High on life

I want my 2 year old's attitude about life.  He believes that anything is possible and that makes life amazing.  Each moment is a new possibility.  I used to have it all the time, I remember.  Maybe it's part of being a kid and we all grow out of it, but do we have to?

This morning Monkey is flying all over his room.  To the untrained eye, it looks more like throwing himself at the floor or his bed or the dresser.  He and I know, however,  that he is flying in a very real way.  He's practicing for the day he gets to fly to school or the park.  Those skills are definitely going to come in handy when it comes to meeting just the right young woman (I hope she can fly too).

I think part of his attitude is about knowing how to REALLY use his imagination.  I love to imagine things, but I think that my ability to imagine the impossible has dwindled as I've grown.  Maybe I just suppressed it because "it is much more practical to imagine the probable".  I am so excited that my big boy is learning the world of imaginary.  I love it that I can enter it again through him.  He opened the door to my imagination and once again, I can fly.

For the record, when I was in elementary school, I used to practice flying off the end of my bed.  I even remember waking up some mornings, opening the window, and flying to school.  I guess that was probably a dream, but it is pretty clear in my memory!

What impossible thing will you do today?  What's your best memory of your imaginary world?