always/never

ember:
never/ take a bite out of Embers cookie before handing it to her. //massive melt down
never/ let her see you open a diet coke. // she will want it
never/ forget to pack her caterpillar or binki on any trip. //no matter how short

always/ snuggle for as long as possible in the morning
always/ make a big mess in the middle of the day
always/ go for walks //if even through the hallways of our apartment complex

ty:
always/ let Ty watch a cartoon in the morning to wake up //Dinosaur Train is our new favorite
always/ play with truck and build train tracks
always/ bring Dustie the plane on all outings

never/ eat a bite of his food. //My kids don't share food well
never/ call a train Thomas unless it is actually Thomas.... //big mistake

his new purple scissors

Ty's Nana knows how much he loves to craft so she sent him up a box full of goodies... His most favorite thing is his new purple scissors. He seriously can't stop talking about them and telling everyone around all about his "NEW PURPLE SCISSORS"

He kept wanting to use my fabric scissors... Yeah right. I would die if they were used on anything but fabric. Plus they are so sharp they would definitely do damage if he accidentally got his finger. I kept telling him "No, they will hurt you". So now with his new purple scissors he says things like....

"My scissors not hurt me"
"My like my purple scissors"
"Purple scissors just for Ty... They will hurt you mommy, just Tys"
"My love my purple scissors mom...lets cut stuff"

Notice how they are never just "my scissors" they are always "my PURPLE scissors"

Yeah he is in heaven.

I thought with his new purple scissors and fascination in cutting I would teach him proper things to cut... Like paper and never ever ever hair or blankets, pillows and any other house hold decoration.

So a good, cheap and fun way for him to learn to cut really good.

Get some

Paper

Markers

Kid scissors

Draw a straight line down the middle of the first paper. This is the easiest one and was the best to start with. He struggled at first with getting the proper grip but once he figured it out he was going to town on the paper. Then draw and loopy line and a zig-zag. The zig-zag was the hardest for him. He had to keep moving the paper in different directions but he was determined and finished. 

While doing the zig-zag line he said

"Mom, I'm trying so good"

"This is harder but I do it"

"Mom, I'm just trying so hard"

He finished them all and loved using his purple scissors.

Fun
Cheap
Educational

Sounds good to me. 

... Thanks Nana for Ty's new purple scissors.

Colorful cheerios

Do you have those days where your to-do list seems longer than you can handle. Today was one of those days. It went like this... Scouts//Primary//Sharing Time//Changing diapers//Making Lunch//Cleaning//Laundry//Make copies//Go to play group//Suffer in the snow... Something like that. All very Do-able things... I was just totally overwhelmed. Pretty sure I was with in seconds of breakdown tears while face timing my parents. With a lot of parental advice and some smiles I decided to take a break. Ty was melting down demanding my attention//and we all know if toddlers don't get positive attention then they start to act out and get negative attention..still attention. So there Ty was breaking down...I'm trying to type on the computer...frustrated and about in tears. Called my mommy and decided to take a break and make some fun crafts with Ty.

It was exactly what we both needed. I badly needed a break from scouts... He needed some mommy-time and some craft time.

I bought this bag of fruit-loops the other day. Not because they are our favorite cereal but to make some necklaces out of them. It was a hit. Ty was in heaven.

"Mommy, these are colorful Cheerios"
"Mommy, we can make yummy necklaces"
"Is it ok if I wear a necklace if I can eat it"
"Girls wear necklaces but Ty can if Ty can eat them"
""Can we make it as long as as as. . as long as me mommy"
"Mommy I like necklaces"

We were struggling at first because the yarn kept fraying. He couldn't get the colorful Cheerios to go on the string. So I eventually tied a knot on the top. problem solved. His tiny fingers had no problem after that. 

"Mommy can we eat them all"
"Mommy if I eat them all can we make another one"
"Mommy it looks like a colorful snake"
"Can we do this every day"
"Can I save it and eat it in bed with Thomas"

We ended up eating them as we made it. They are yummy.. I mean if you like sugar. Why not?! When I went to take his picture he said "See I show you, it is Yummy mom...I promise"

Yummy. check
fun. check
hand-eye coordination. check
craft for the day. check
happy boy. double check

 ...Just need to make a few more I guess. Ty says "Daddy need one and Mommy and Ty and Ember and I need some some more and me and you Mommy"

critter march

Today we woke up early... all ate breakfast together... sent Jayson on his way to school.. Then the kids and I ran to the store. It was about 9AM when we got there and we almost had the store to ourselves. If you want to shop in peace and quiet go early in the morning. I think this will be the only time I grocery shop from now on. The kids were wonderful. They were playful and sweet. We joked and giggled together. Ember waved to all the people walking past. Ty helped pick out what cereal to buy and put all the apples in the bag for me. They both got one treat while we were there. Ty always loves to pick out his "One thing" and he enjoys helping Ember with hers. Today they both wanted the applesauce pouches. I always feel funny giving the cashier empty containers to ring up. O well. It works for us.

Did I say the kids were wonderful at the store? They were.

I was in such a good mood when we got home and the kids were still being little dears... so we decided to have craft time. Craft time is always most successful when the kids are in good moods.

I saw these little critters on 8footsix. She is such a fun mom and always inspiring me to play more and create more with my kids.

I love recycling projects. We just made those fun cardboard roads and houses that Ty adores. So this was fun. All we did was cut up our egg containers. We buy eggs in bulk. Jayson and I have them almost every morning. So we were able to make four critters today.

 
Get some:
Empty egg cartons
Scissors
Googley Eyes
Markers
Pipe Cleaners
Hot Glue Gun and Glue

Ty had a blast. He is always asking to make crafts. We are frequent shoppers of the dollar store, goodwill and walmart.

Took us about thirty minutes to finish them. And get this it was totally free! Well free because we had all the supplies on hand. The googly eyes, pipe cleaner and markers you can all get at the dollar store.. So I guess that's 3$ plus we bought the eggs, a dozen is maybe 2$.

Ty calls them a little family. "It's Ty and Mommy and Daddy and Me and Ember and Ty"
Silly kid.

happy

a few things that are making me happy

 //jayson is rocking his classes this semester. love you babe
//the kids new alphabet posters. total dollar store buy
//ty's potty training progress
// ty went to sunbeams..and liked it
//facetime with family
//new pants my mama gave me
//hot chocolate
//embers now giving high-fives
// my new 50mm 1.8 lens. actually using my camera on manual 99.9% of the time now
//love notes that i find around the house
//the mountain of laundry i had been putting off  for days is finally done
//i moved the couches again. love it
//tys play group.


making me not so happy

//it snowed. this is bitter sweet
//today we though our car was stolen. we just couldn't find it in the parking lot
//the 12 lbs that are still sitting on my backside from the holidays
//not wanting to go shopping because of the snow. we need food. like yesterday
//need to color my hair. now