Friday, January 30, 2015

First Trip to the Library!

We took our first trip to the library today!   Growing up, it was one of my favorite places to go.  I would check out my favorite books again and again.   In the summertime, they had so many fun things for children that I remember participating in during the season.  

I have had so many positive and fun memories from my times at my hometown library (with the exception of research papers in high school!)!  I'm surprised that it has taken me so long to become a member of our local library (over 10 years).   A friend mentioned that she takes her girls to Story Time each week.  I thought that would be such a great activity for the girls!  However, we have to stay very healthy until FL has her surgery.  It's cold and flu season, so we limit any outings with her to necessity only.  No Story Time for my littles!



We were supposed to have an appointment with a pediatrician this week, but they called after I'd gotten the girls up, dressed them and myself, packed up snacks, toys and anything else they might need (you moms of toddlers know what that means!), put together medical records in an organized and easy to access place, role played and mentally prepared the girls, loaded the car with everything and everyone, arrived in town and then they cancelled for reasons that were not my fault.   Ugh...
I thought about going to the grocery store (a trip to town is a thirty minute drive one way), but our time was limited, I was tired and their little fuses were short.  No grocery store!  I remembered as we drove home that we had passed a very small, quiet branch of the library.  I thought I'd stop, get my card and see if they had any books relating to our teaching theme this week.  


It was a last minute idea that only took 15 minutes!  The library had only one other person and we walked out with 6 new books, including two that related to our theme!  The girls were quiet and well behaved.  They were happy to "share" books with the library and even happier to stop and take a look at the water fountain (their favorite part!)! : )


I'm so glad we turned the little hiccup in our day into a positive experience!  And the girls were not at all dissapointed about not getting to visit the doctor! ; ) 


We've enjoyed our books that we are "sharing" and I look forward to many more positive experiences and memories with our library, including Story Time in the future!

It was another very happy "first" for me and my littles!  Being a Mama can be so, so hard sometimes, but there are many moments that I have dreamed of and am now enjoying with my own sweet children.

I'm thankful! : )

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

One Cool Cat

When we started the adoption process, I was very excited about having a house (and barn!) full of animals!  I have witnessed time and time again how animals make such a difference in the lives of humans, especially children.  The connections they make can be so amazing.  My animals have made such a difference in my life that I couldn't wait to share them with my own children!
You can imagine my dissapointment when I was told that one of my children STRONGLY DISLIKED animals of any kind.  When we gave her a stuffed animal as a test, she took it and threw it down... over and over and over again.  She shrieked and cried when a chicken, cat, dog or horse was anywhere near.  I was heartbroken!  Two of my big loves that didn't love each other!  Two huge parts of my life that had to stay separate!  My other daughter was indifferent and a little wary, but not at all interested in animals.  All I could do was hang on to the fact that at least they weren't allergic to each other!!!

Well, times are changing!  The girls feed the horses and chickens with me each afternoon and they are now in charge of pouring out the food for the cats each evening.  C feeds Henri (he's getting used to screams of delight, poor guy!) and FL feeds Scout.  It has made a major difference in their relationship! In fact, Scout comes almost every morning and evening to play on the mat with the girls.  And if they aren't playing there, she rolls around on the mat until she gets some attention!

Here are some pictures of their first time playing together:


Studying each other and coexisting!


So far, so good!


Learning to share the shiny banner...


Putting "tickets" under Scout's paw...


Wrapping her up in the banner (she was totally happy with this - what a good cat!)!



Silly Scout!


I'm so glad they are now "playing" together!  The girls are mostly gentle with Scout and do a good job being quiet and gentle with Henri.  Scout puts up with them "cleaning" her with little scraps of fabric, FL doing stretches with her and C putting things under her paws and reading her books very loudly.

Scout really is a patient and loving cat.


She enjoys the attention and is teaching the girls how to pet her!


Here she is instructing FL on the proper form for a cat nap stretch. ^


Now FL is trying to walk on her paws like Scout!


Scout is a calm cat that enjoys having her belly rubbed.  If things get to be too much, she just gets up and walks away.  She has never scratched or bitten - she really and truly is a great first cat for the girls! We're so thankful for her and her great disposition!

I am so happy that my daughters have started a positive relationship with animals, as I know what a comfort they can be when things are rough or you've just had a bad day.
Being in charge of feeding the cats (and other animals) has helped to bring about a major change in their relationship.  Seeing the animals eat, play and us interacting with them on a daily basis has helped to show the girls that they are ok.  Giving C and FL small, manageable responsibilities and teaching them that they are helping these creatures makes them feel a part of their lives.  If you are introducing a child to an animal and they are having a hard time, start small and let them watch you help them, give them a tiny resposibility (make sure the child and animal are always set up for a safe experience!) and just sit and watch the animals and talk about (and point out) the ways that they are like you (playing, eating, sleeping, cold, happy, sad, etc.).  C and FL enjoy watching the horses, dogs and chickens in their pastures/pens.   They will often come to me and tell me what the animals are doing/feeling.  They know almost all of their names now and will willingly approach most of them, Scout being the one they are most comfortable with.  It is such a joy to me to watch their enjoyment of each other grow! 


Thank you, God for creating such wonderful creatures and for blessing us with a home that allows us to enjoy and live life with them daily!  Thank you for giving us animals that are kind, patient and gentle, just like our creator! : )

If You Want to Make Her Happy...

Give her Chinese food!


It's her love language! : )

Sensory Week

Last week's theme was birds, this week's was Sensory.  Everything is truly sensory, but these activities encourage sensory play and may be new experiences for the girls.  The week's schedule took some twists and turns (all good), so I didn't get all of the things I had planned done and I switched some activities ( we added playdough, cookies and sensory bags, didn't get to homemade finger paints and lavender cloud dough - there's always tomorrow !).  Over all, it was a good week and we had plenty of fun! : )

Day 1- Shaving Cream Painting on the Window

When C and FL saw their aprons come out they got excited!


They dove right in to painting!


FL went back and forth with having fun and not being so sure about her crazy American mom and her hairbrained ideas...


C was all about it!


It was a good sensory experience eventhough we ended up smelling like a bunch of old men - choose unscented if you do this activity! ; )


It was pretty messy in the sense that shaving cream got evverywhere, but it was fairly easy to clean up.  I gave them too much at one point.  Next time, I'll put them in their bathing suits and give them a little less! : )


C would have put it anywhere and everywhere if she could have!


FL didn't like that she couldn't get it off of her hands easily.  I had to agree with her - it was hard for me too and I wasn't even playing in it!


We ended up sticking other objects to the window because I overloaded them with shaving cream. : )


Foam letters, paint brushes, cups, plastic coins, junk mail credit cards - it was all fun!


You couldn't see out of the bottom half of the windows when we were done!!!


My windows got cleaned really well afterwards (and the girls liked that part, too!) and this is most definitely an activity that we will revisit (but with bathing suits and maybe in the bathtub!).

Day 2 - Water Beads with lavender oil

I saw this idea on another website, but originally discovered these at my cousin's wedding while they were putting together centerpieces.  Everyone loved playing in the beads!!!
I added some lavendar oil because I heard that could be calming (and who doesn't need more calm these days?).  I really hoped the girls would like them...


And it was a hit!  One of my daughters struggles with being overwhelmed by new activities.  She doesn't know what to expect, and predictability/familiarity is her security blanket these days.  Totally understandable.


Both girls love, love, loved the beads and the scent.  Even Sam and I liked them!


They did bounce out from time to time, but you can just rinse them off and reuse them over and over.


We love the beads and I plan to keep a container of them on hand at all times.  They are great for children (and adults!) who just need a little redirection when overwhelmed or overstimulated.  Also good for tired children or when you just need to get dinner on the table!


I put aprons on the girls for the first time, but they weren't necessary.
All in all, our family gave this activity five stars and eight thumbs up!

Day 3 - Sensory Bags

This was another idea I saw online I thought the girls would enjoy.  They did!


I set the timer for 5 minutes and we switched bags at those intervals.


One bag had shaving cream and food coloring, the other soap and beads.  I was worried about the soap and bead bag getting punctured or torn, but it withstood light use.


FL really liked the shaving cream bag.  She kept picking up her hands and looking at them to make sure she didn't have anything on them! : )


C liked the beads.  The shaving cream bag went bad after a few hours and the bead bag started to leak where it was sealed and taped over and over with packing tape.  I might do the shaving cream bag again, but I will transfer the soap and beads to bottles for the girls to play with.  It was fun, but didn't keep them interested for very long.

Day 4 - Texture Table/Cookies

Textures are great to explore physically, but I also enjoy textures visually and wanted to introduce that to my children early on.  I searched the house for flat, textured objects that we could make crayon rubbings with and taped them to the table. ( Grams, do you see your old wallpaper here?!)


The girls could not wait to see what I was up to - all I heard was "Mama Mama Mama Mama!" during my entire prep time! : )  
I let them explore all of the objects with their hands first.  They weren't quite sure what I had done with their table!


C and FL enjoyed the process, but the crayons I chose weren't the best.  Something wide and flat with no point would have been better for this age group.  They kept wanting to use the pointy tip which didn't reveal the pattern.


They did have fun, though!  This was a hand over hand activity.  I helped each child with each texture object.  My girls' fine motor skills are on target for their age, but they lack a little strength and coordination for this particiular project.  I think if we did it again in a few months' time with different crayons it would be spot on!


The rubbings came out well, but the prep work took longer than the activity!!! ; )  Our favorite items were corrugated cardboard, a used up sticker sheet of stars, flat lace, canvas and canvas wallpaper.
I have to confess that C and FL's favorite part was helping me peel off all of the tape and put everything away!  Well, I guess that's a sesory experience, too!!!!

Day 4 Part 2 - Cookies!

We came, we baked, we ate!  Round Two of trying to make cookies for a neighbor, and no, they never made it!  That's ok, because I love baking with these two sillies, and they love eating cookie dough and chocolate chips!  They jumped right in  with so much excitement when I told them what we were doing. : )


Someone even agreed to have her picture taken with a smile, albeit a silly one!


She loves chocolate and she loves to be silly!!!


It was a sweet time - an activity that I don't ever think they will turn down!


It was a good way to end a busy week!

Saturday, January 17, 2015

We Survived!

Sam was working this Saturday, so in an attempt to get out of the house and get milk for this evening, I took BOTH children to the grocery store with me (FL's first time ever!)!!!!! 

 I am alive.

The children are alive.

Only one display was knocked over by the ginormous kiddie cart.

Only one elderly lady was horrified by my cart driving skills.

No one needed to go potty.

No one cried (not even me!).

So I celebrated by letting the girls have a cookie in the check out line. : )
 

The look on FL's face is priceless!  Can you tell they don't get sweets very often?

C knows all about the grocery store and its free cookies.  She asked and pointed when we arrived and took it quite well when I said, "Not this time, maybe next time."


Ummmm, yeah, FL liked her first trip to the grocery store!


I think we'll be coming back again soon!