Don't forget to enter today!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Fun & Educational
Some of the fun and educational activities that we have participated in at the Crum house this week (some yet to come):
Monday
Fire Station Tour (totally free activity)
Ultrasound (fascinating for Monkey)
Tuesday
Finger Painting (haha, read yesterday's post)
Tower building (Duplos are my current favorite thing)
Wednesday
Box Day (playing with recyclables - using imagination)
Homemade Play Dough (mama made it, boys played)
Park Exploration with Daddy
Box Day (playing with recyclables - using imagination)
Homemade Play Dough (mama made it, boys played)
Park Exploration with Daddy
Thursday
Bath Splash - fun water play
Relax day - free time while mama works
Friday
Mom Time - mama gets to play with friends, so do boys
Saturday
Possibly Kid City - local educational event
Bath Splash - fun water play
Relax day - free time while mama works
Friday
Mom Time - mama gets to play with friends, so do boys
Saturday
Possibly Kid City - local educational event
TOTAL COST FOR THIS WEEK'S EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES: $0
YEP, FREE ACTIVITIES ALL WEEK
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Mommy Lesson #4: Double Check
The moral of this lesson: If you thought you heard your toddler, check.. if you don't hear him from the stairs, look... don't assume it's the neighbor kids outside.
Now for the story:
I have an 18 month old and a 3 year old, I also babysit a 2 year old a few days a week. Nap time is a VERY important of mama's day! Yesterday I got the boys all down for nap at about 11:30, they were asleep by 12 - lots more squirming than normal.
In my now relaxed state, I decided to take a short nap - less than an hour - in my own room. When I got up, the boys were still asleep, that's always good news! So I decided to do a little bit of other work and watch an episode of Monk.
My sister called to tell me she got Heelys in the mail. That's right, Heelys - I was eagerly awaiting mine as I talked with her. (Review of Heelys shoes to come in the next few weeks). I thought I heard some talking upstairs, which usually means the 2 bigger boys are awake. Then it was quiet so I ignored it. Suddenly there was a knock on my door.
It was Mr. UPS himself! He was bringing my Heelys. I noted that the neighbor kids were standing around in my front yard (this annoys me but I ignored it). I figured I MUST have heard them, and not the sleeping angels upstairs. As I inspected my new Heelys, I heard another noise upstairs. I hollered up to my darling Monkey and told him to come downstairs right now.
I went back to the "tv room" to work on lacing the great new shoes. Moments later, Monkey showed up in the doorway, rather concerned and said, "I got ant on me". Ant?! I looked at him and was NOT at all concerned about an ant. I don't know if I could have seen an ant.
Have I mentioned that as I started cleaning I discovered that he had also found a couple of canisters of play doh and a container of moon dough?
Oi.... again - double check!
Now for the story:
I have an 18 month old and a 3 year old, I also babysit a 2 year old a few days a week. Nap time is a VERY important of mama's day! Yesterday I got the boys all down for nap at about 11:30, they were asleep by 12 - lots more squirming than normal.
In my now relaxed state, I decided to take a short nap - less than an hour - in my own room. When I got up, the boys were still asleep, that's always good news! So I decided to do a little bit of other work and watch an episode of Monk.
My sister called to tell me she got Heelys in the mail. That's right, Heelys - I was eagerly awaiting mine as I talked with her. (Review of Heelys shoes to come in the next few weeks). I thought I heard some talking upstairs, which usually means the 2 bigger boys are awake. Then it was quiet so I ignored it. Suddenly there was a knock on my door.
It was Mr. UPS himself! He was bringing my Heelys. I noted that the neighbor kids were standing around in my front yard (this annoys me but I ignored it). I figured I MUST have heard them, and not the sleeping angels upstairs. As I inspected my new Heelys, I heard another noise upstairs. I hollered up to my darling Monkey and told him to come downstairs right now.
I went back to the "tv room" to work on lacing the great new shoes. Moments later, Monkey showed up in the doorway, rather concerned and said, "I got ant on me". Ant?! I looked at him and was NOT at all concerned about an ant. I don't know if I could have seen an ant.
My dear, sweet Monkey found the red finger paint. You see, a couple of days ago I started my "organize the classroom space" project upstairs. I did not get everything put away properly... and he found the paint. He was pretty upset that he was going to get in trouble about this (I made it clear that I was not too happy with him). As I started his bath water, he began rubbing his eyes, like he was going to cry. You know what happens when you rub your eyes with paint on your hands?
It gets in your eyes, and that makes you cry more. After a lot of scrubbing, I emptied the tub water and refilled it, giving him some instructions about washing himself as well - it wasn't... isn't.. all gone yet. I went upstairs to check out the damage.
First thing I notice: red footprints all the way down the stairs - and red marks on the wall where he stabled himself as he came down. Then, I got upstairs and saw the paint on his cabinets, desk, floor, some clothes, and the things I had been sorting. It's a mess, but here's a small bit of what I found.
Oi.... again - double check!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
"Why not"
This is the response we get for EVERYTHING right now, if it is not in agreement with Mr. Monkey's wishes. Heck, even if he's just confused, "why not we going backwards" (when the van is backing up and he wonders why).
So we get into the old dilemma - answer it with a good explanation, or tell him, "because I said so". (or something along those lines). We try to answer his questions honestly - we want him to feel free to ask questions and know it's safe to challenge authorities at the right time.
Our struggle is when it's not the right time to challenge authority. For instance - when Mommy or Daddy said, "no candy right now" - "Why not" is not an appropriate response. We have been working to teach him "yes ma'am" and "yes sir". He gets it, with visual reminders.
But - he's 3... so, "why not" answer him when we can. He'll learn to trust our decision making (eventually), and learn that sometimes asking "why" gets answers longer than what you really want to hear.
How do you deal with the "why" or "why not" age?
So we get into the old dilemma - answer it with a good explanation, or tell him, "because I said so". (or something along those lines). We try to answer his questions honestly - we want him to feel free to ask questions and know it's safe to challenge authorities at the right time.
Our struggle is when it's not the right time to challenge authority. For instance - when Mommy or Daddy said, "no candy right now" - "Why not" is not an appropriate response. We have been working to teach him "yes ma'am" and "yes sir". He gets it, with visual reminders.
But - he's 3... so, "why not" answer him when we can. He'll learn to trust our decision making (eventually), and learn that sometimes asking "why" gets answers longer than what you really want to hear.
How do you deal with the "why" or "why not" age?
It's a....
BOY
If you guess "boy", you were right! Congratulations, you have earned an ADDITIONAL extra entry to my diaper giveaways - make sure to go back to the Cow Patties Cloth Diaper giveaway and leave another comment, reminding me that you guessed "boy". Don't forget to leave your email address in the comment!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Last chance for an extra entry!
Make your guess before noon on Tuesday, August 2 to gain an extra entry into the Cow Patties Cloth Diaper review, or the next diaper review (coming soon).
I'll be revealing baby's gender tomorrow!
Leave your guess on this blog post
I'll be revealing baby's gender tomorrow!
Leave your guess on this blog post
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)