First Girls' Night Out!

This weekend, Sam was busy with work, so one evening after feeding the horses I asked the girls if they would rather eat at the Big Table or get in Mama's Car and go eat.  They quickly and simultaneously said and signed, "Mama's car!"  Out we went!   I had no idea where we were going until I remembered that kids eat free at a local deli. 

The girls had fun being somewhere different, thought at times they were both very nervous.

They are so well behaved sometimes it is easy to forget everything that they have been through and how it still influences their feelings.   FL does NOT like it when other people touch her.  She gets very quiet at new, noisy places and can't focus on any activity.  She just wants to sit.  C asks for hugs and to sit on your lap.  She is finally a little more nervous around strangers, especially if they talk to her.  She freezes until they leave, then she reacts.

Despite their nerves (and mine, too to be honest!  Who takes two two year olds to a restaurant by themselves for fun?!), we had a good time!   The deli offered many healthy choices for children and they gobbled it all up! 

They even tried a little of the free ice cream.  How's that for healthy?!  : ).  C loved it and FL wanted to like it, but it was just too cold.

One of the things I liked best was that there was no clean up for me!  It was a positive experience for everyone and the girls did great!   Yay for Girls' Night Out!  It's a tradition that will continue.

Farm, Fun and Feedsacks

The girls help me feed the horses and tend to the chickens nearly every afternoon/ evening.   They've never been upset about going to "help the horses eat" and will also remind me that there are chickens and dogs that also need tending.

I often wonder if they get bored, but it almost always seems to be a happy time for us.   I do try and keep it interesting when I can and make sure they have a role in each chore.  When something new or interesting comes up I do my best to stop and enjoy the moment.

On this particular day, I let the girls take turns carrying an empty feed sack down to the trash can at the end of our long driveway.  It is a long walk, but we do it each day.  Then I thought of a better idea!   Why carry the feed sack when it can carry you?!  We used it like a sled and I definitely got my exercise pulling it super fast for them!

The girls had the best time riding on the feed sack!   I don't have pictures of the actual ride, but we had a lot of laughs!   It was a good day to be growing up on the farm! : ) 

I'm so thankful that God has given us this farm to enjoy with our children.  It is a lot of hard work, but it is so good for them in so many ways and so good for us.

I hope I can always remember to look for the opportunities to make life memorable and beautiful for my girls.

The days are long, but the years are short.

Camping Week

This week's theme is Camping!  So fun!  

Day One is setting up camp.  I was having a hard time coming up with a way to do a tent in our house, when I reminded myself that the girls are 2.5 and almost 3 and have never camped before...  anything would be fine! : )  I had grand ideas of making a little fake campfire out of tissue and toilet paper rolls, but it is Monday and the house has to be cleaned along with having fun!  The tent alone would have to do.  FL helped me pitch the tent, so to speak, but C was the first to jump in and try it out!  

As you can see, C loves it!

She settled right in and took some time to read and relax with some library books.  Our tent was just an old flat sheet draped over a room partition and a drying rack.  I did put some little white Chinese lanterns on the inside and pugged them in - sets the mood! : )  Pillowcases for sleeping bags (thanks for the idea, Little H and Little K!), our old play mat and some pillow pets finished out the decor.

FL wasn't about to be left out and we just had to include our binoculars from Bird Week!

Then a big bear named Scout crashed our camp by pouncing on little feet in little sleeping bags and chewing on binocular straps!  Relaxing getaway interrupted by a calico bear!

C decided to try and get FL excited about binoculars, but FL is just not buying it.

Snack time in the tent?!  So fun!  it's going to be hard to strike camp the at the end of the week!

Day 2 - S'more Sorting Envelopes

This is also something I saw online, though I changed it a little to make the shapes more like s'mores to fit our camping theme.  We had a white circle for the marshmallow, a brown rectangle for the chocolate and a yellow square for the graham cracker.  I put one shape on each envelope and taped them to the wall on the inside of our "tent."  I cut out several more of each shape and put them in a container for the girls to sort.  I was surprised how much C enjoyed this activity.

It kept her busy for the better part of an hour.  She sorted them then I would ask her to bring me one of each kind so I could put them back in the container.

We mixed them up, which she also enjoyed, and did it again!

She liked doing this independently as well.

Then she presorted all of the shapes and then put them in the envelopes.  She had a great time and I will leave this out in the tent for her to do for the rest of the week.

After our fun time we got back to doing some camp chores, like laundry. : )

C likes to help, so we made a fun game of it by letting her run under the tent to put the dry laundry in the basket.  I tried to have the item folded before she brought the next one.  Got the chore done quickly and in a fun way - she LOVED it!

And, yes, since the drying rack is part of the tent we still made use of it (the girls are growing so much that I can no longer dry their pants!)!

And don't think I forgot about FL.  She just isn't all about the great outdoors, indoors.  She chose a different path today, which is fine. : )

I just wish she would go to the grocery store for me!!!

Day 3 - Campfire Songs and Shakers

Today was a simple craft, shakers and songs around the campfire (or in the tent)!   

I had C add beans to some containers I had saved.   

It was good for helping with her fine motor skills in her left hand.

And, yes, for the first half of the day FL was doing her own thing. : )

But who can resist goldfish crackers for snack and having snack time in the tent?!

She even willingly sorted some s'mores! 

Not the best picture, but it captures the memory of singing campfire songs and using our shakers!  There's not much that's cuter than two little two year old girls belting out "Kumbaya" before bedtime.  : )

Day 4 - "Marshmallows" on a stick!

Ok, a little disclaimer here!  This wasn't a great activity in terms of safety for toddlers/preschoolers.  I don't recommend it even though we had no problems.

I had originally planned for the girls to put styrofoam on a stick, but I didn't have any, so I used construction paper cut into circles.  The girls had to fold them, put them on the stick, push down and not push too far.  It was great for challenging their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Look who enthusiastically decided to join us?!

They were both engrossed by this activity!   Since they were using the sticks (I cut the sharp tip off) I was engrossed in watching them and ensuring their safety!

They put the marshmallows on and off over and over...

It turned out better than expected and nobody got poked or lost an eye!

Day 5 - Camping Trail

Today we went down the trail to hike and hop and have fun!  I had originally planned to do a trail/exploration walk outside, but it didn't get warm enough for me to take the girls out until late afternoon.  I saw this zig-zag tape activity on line and thought it would be great for getting some energy out since we couldn't go outside in the morning.  At first, I put way too many zigs and zags in it and it was too complicated for their level.  I smoothed it out, added some hopping areas in it and made it much longer.

Here's C, testing it out...

She was unsure of what to do at first.  I find with almost every activity I have to model it for them several times and be VERY enthusiastic.  After that, they are usually ready to jump in.

Before long, she was skipping and hopping and running it all by herself and I enjoyed watching her!  Truth be told, all of the hopping was good exercise for me, too!

The trail ended at the tent.  C turned around and did it again from the other direction (pictured above are the dotted hopping lines).

FL was in a different mode again today.  We let her do her puzzles and hope she will join in tomorrow!

This activity was easy to set up and not at all in the way, so I think I will leave it up for a while. : )

Well, that about finishes up Camping Week!  Tomorrow we will strike the tent and head to the grocery store.  It's been fun!  Thanks for camping out with us!

Going Toe to Toe

The other day, I decided to do a little something for myself and paint my toenails during the girls' naptime.  Well, someone woke up early, took one look at my toes and had to have hers done, too!  Another first for me and my little girl!

It's a rite of passage, isn't it?  Mama and daughters painting their nails and talking about life together.

She picked a sweet, pearly pink - I asked her to smile and this is what I got! ^

And then she gave me a little better one! : )  Silly girl!

Sweet and cute, just like her personality!

But what do you do with a busy little girl that needs to let her toes dry and stay quiet?

I let her play with my polish, and she convinced me to put on a layer of sparkles. : )

But then she wanted more, more, more, more!  So I had to think of something else...  why not touch up Mama's toes with the same color.  What could go wrong?!  (you're saying 'oh no' to yourself, aren't you?)

Not too bad!

Ok, keep it on Mama's toenails!!!

Ok, do it the way you want, little C!

And there you have it, Mama/Daughter toenail painting!  I had to laugh and just let it go!

It was fun - I love you, little Charlotte!

Charlotte is my careful, particular, type A child.  What do you think my toes will look like when Flora Lin paints them?!  I'd better choose clear nail polish!!!! : )

And, yes, I did a double take when I woke up the next morning - thought there'd been a terrible accident! ; )