Homemade Water Colors

This is a pretty neat thing to do for your little one, especially with Easter right around the corner! 

1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 tablespoon glycerine
plastic bottle caps or paint pans, or styrofoam egg carton
red, yellow and blue food coloring

1. Mix vinegar and baking soda together in a small bowl.
2. When mixture stops foaming, add cornstarch and glycerine, mixing well.
3. Pour mixture into bottle caps or paint pans
4. Add several drops of a different food coloring to each pan or cap or carton cup. Stir until the color is well-mixed. Be sure to add plenty of coloring, since the tint will lighten upon drying. Mix primary colors to make secondary colors. For intense colors, try kool-aid or food coloring paste (Wilton makes great food coloring pastes).
5. Let set overnight to harden.








Stay at home, business owning mom of 4 young kids, Nick the Sportsman, Michele the Princess, Wyatt the Wild One, and Evan the Baby. Bachelor in Early Childhood Development and Education, with 20 years experience. I could not ask for anything more!

All I Need to Know About Life I Learned From My Girl Friends

*Good times are even better when they're shared.
*A good long talk can cure almost anything.
*Everyone needs someone with whom to share their secrets.
*Listening is just as important as talking.
*An understanding friend is better than a therapist; and cheaper too!
*Laughter makes the world a happier place.
*Friends are like wine; they get better with age.
*Sometimes you just need a shoulder to cry on.
*Great minds think alike, especially when they are female!
*When it comes to "bonding," females do it better.
*YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD FOR SLUMBER PARTIES!!!!
*Girls just want to have fun.
*It's important to make time to do 'girl things'.
*You can never have too many shoes.
*GEMS MAY BE PRECIOUS, BUT FRIENDSHIP IS PRICELESS!!!!!








Stay at home, business owning mom of 4 young kids, Nick the Sportsman, Michele the Princess, Wyatt the Wild One, and Evan the Baby. Bachelor in Early Childhood Development and Education, with 20 years experience. I could not ask for anything more!

Snow cream!

Since Wyatt is not going to school today, because of his fall, I decided that, after lunch, I would help him make snow cream. I could not get all the pics, since I did not want to hold the Blackberry with syrup hands! 

So how do you do this? 

Take a very snowy day:

Get a bowl:

Get some snow!: 

Add some flavoring: (we just added pancake syrup)

Give it to your child:

And enjoy watching them enjoy their treat!: 

You can also add other flavorings, but we only had the syrup at the moment! You can also blend it with other things, to make a kind of snow cream shake! This is very fun for a great treat when you at stuck indoors!


Oh, and don't forget to let your older kids have some, when they get home from school!!

Stay at home, business owning mom of 4 young kids, Nick the Sportsman, Michele the Princess, Wyatt the Wild One, and Evan the Baby. Bachelor in Early Childhood Development and Education, with 20 years experience. I could not ask for anything more!

Video Friday

Stay at home, business owning mom of 4 young kids, Nick the Sportsman, Michele the Princess, Wyatt the Wild One, and Evan the Baby. Bachelor in Early Childhood Development and Education, with 20 years experience. I could not ask for anything more!

This is why I tell my kids it is their body, their choice!

So I was perusing Facebook, and I can across this article. It warns parents that they should never force their children to hug/kiss anyone, not even parents or grandparents, if they do not want to. I have always told my kids this, and even got berated by my in laws at one point, because I refused to force my child to hug them, when they did not want to. Sorry, but I want my kids to trust their own instincts, and know that it is their body, their rules. Thanks to this article, my feelings have been reinforced!

I agree with this quote:
one of the most important things we can teach our kids when it comes to their personal safety is to LISTEN to that inner barometer, their INSTINCT…a.k.a. “the uh-oh feeling”   

I also agree with this:
Because they may be getting an “uh-oh feeling”  that you’re unaware of.   Maybe earlier in the evening Uncle Johnny said or did something that felt “yucky” to your child which you’re oblivious to.   Later on, when it’s time to go home, you insist that your daughter kiss Uncle Johnny goodbye, demanding it when she flat out refuses.

The message your child gets: 
1) Don’t trust your own instincts.
2) You have to obey the grownups no matter what.
3) Mom/Dad will not believe you if you tell them about an uncomfortable feeling or touch because you haven’t got the right to speak up for yourself.

The message Uncle Johnny gets:
Jackpot!  Here’s a target — a child who’s been taught to be polite no matter what the circumstances.  Here’s a child who probably won’t  know how to resist an inappropriate touch or have the ability to tell anyone about it!   At the next gathering,  he decides he may be able to go a little further with his behavior because you’ve basically laid the ground work out for him already.  


So in essence, this article should tell parents to listen to their kids, and to take their cues! NEVER force your child to hug anyone if they do not feel like it, no matter WHO it is! The person will eventually get over it, and you could potentially save your child's life! 







Stay at home, business owning mom of 4 young kids, Nick the Sportsman, Michele the Princess, Wyatt the Wild One, and Evan the Baby. Bachelor in Early Childhood Development and Education, with 20 years experience. I could not ask for anything more!

So yesterday while I was nursing the baby...

Wyatt decided it was ok to drop an egg on the floor. Awesome! He sure is my little firecracker. I have to watch him more then I did the older 2 combined! I swear it takes me 20 minutes to do something that used to take me under a minute! Even when I give him soemthing to occupy himself with while I am doing something, like making dinner, changing the baby or feeding the baby, or even cleaning the house, his attention turns away from the project at hand, and he is off to cause mischief. (Funny, since his Montessori teacher says he has great concentration!)

So I kindly tell him to step away from the egg...it takes him a few minutes, but thankfully he does without touching it (ick!). I continue to feed Evan with no other major incidents.

So I am done nursing Evan, and he is sound asleep on my lap. I transfer him to the Boppy, and get up. Wyatt is playing ever so nicely on the floor, so I head into the kitchen to clean up aforementioned dropped egg, making sure that all the other eggs are safe in their carton home. I am not 2 feet into the kitchen when I hear a THUD!

So I stop dead in my tracks, and in the millisecond it takes me to rush into the living room I am thinking of a few possibilities as to why I heard said THUD...did Evan fall, did something fall onto Wyatt, did Wyatt make Evan fall, did Wyatt fall, did Wyatt finally get over that railing?!

So I came in and no Wyatt...until I hear a small cry. Well, it finally happened...Wyatt ran to the chair by the window, climbed up to the top, and promptly fell right off, 3ft onto the hardwood floor! I raced over to him, and rushed him into the bedroom. (yea, secretly not wanting to wake up Evan, I know, horrible! But I had to take care of Wyatt!) I laid him down and checked his eyes, etc... But I knew he was not "right." S I called Chris and made him come home and take him to the ER. (I was not about to drag 4 kids to the ER alone, and since he lives quite close, he got home very quickly!)

So they leave for the ER, mama crying, and the other 2 not home so they have NO clue what is going on.

My baby had a concussion! Of course, I have said time and time again, since Wyatt started climbing this chair...at about a year old...that it needs to go, since no matter what happens, he always climbs it. Luckily today is he talking and acting fine, and eating great (considering he has had a poor appetite lately, maybe the bump was a good thing and made him eat!!)

Of course, as usual, I was blamed for not "standing over Wyatt at all time." Apparently you should corral all our kids into one room and hover over them at all times. Apparently I need to make sure I am always in the same room as him and never be more then an inch away from him. Wow this could prove uncomfortable when I have to go to the bathroom!

It is ok, because as Chris was standing over Wyatt, Evan, and Nick last night, Wyatt decided to drive over Evan with his bike...guess standing over them really works...huh?


Now, off to take care of my babies! Who happen to be doing something so cute right now, take a look!











Stay at home, business owning mom of 4 young kids, Nick the Sportsman, Michele the Princess, Wyatt the Wild One, and Evan the Baby. Bachelor in Early Childhood Development and Education, with 20 years experience. I could not ask for anything more!

Fast Facts: Information for Parents & Parents-To-Be

Fast Facts: Information for Parents & Parents-To-Be Supersized Kids-- One-third of all kids -- including 24 percent of 2- to 4-year-olds -- are now overweight or obese, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This is mostly due to supersized portions and unhealthy choices. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has come up with guidelines to help parents, or moms-to-be, reevaluate what they're eating. There isn't a clear cut, one-size-fit-all answer for everyone, so the USDA has come up with easy to follow and (more importantly) easy to understand portions breakdowns. Click HERE for more information.

Stay at home, business owning mom of 4 young kids, Nick the Sportsman, Michele the Princess, Wyatt the Wild One, and Evan the Baby. Bachelor in Early Childhood Development and Education, with 20 years experience. I could not ask for anything more!

If you live in Wake County, North Carolina, PLEASE READ!

Your urgent action is needed. The Wake County Public School System is making $20 million dollars in cuts to Central Serjavascript:void(0)vices, which includes Project Enlightenment, an early childhood education and early intervention program that serves families and teachers of children in Wake County prior to school age.

http://www.projectenlightenment.wcpss.net/

These budget cuts will likely include deep cuts at Project Enlightenment. Project Enlightenment is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year and is a model program. People have traveled as far as from Australia to see the work they do. Countless parents in Wake County have received parenting support and classes through Project Enlightenment, and countless preschool children have received help when struggling in preschool with behavioral challenges. Project Enlightenment trains so many teachers in the area on how to approach children, better classroom management techniques, help for special needs teachers... this is just absolutely unthinkable.

So far, this has not been reported anywhere. I learned about it from a brief email posted on the front door of Project Enlightenment and by speaking to several staff members (who were very concerned but unable to speak publicly). It sounds like the announcement of what will be cut will be made on Tuesday, and that will be the first time most of the county hears about this.

This is the most short-sighted move the school system has made yet. Early intervention for children with special needs and behavioral issues saves the school district millions of dollars in special needs services for elementary school children.

Nearly every preschool handbook in Wake County includes a note that if there are unresolvable issues with a child's behavior, Project Enlightenment will be called in to observe and consult with the parents and teacher.

And Project Enlightenment has a parent service where you can call at any time and schedule a free appointment to receive help with discipline strategies, disruptions to your child's life, etc. This service has helped so many families in Wake County.

If you support the work being done at Project Enlightenment, or think that parents have the right to know about these kinds of deep cuts BEFORE they happen, please spread the word. Pass this email along to your contacts. And take five minutes to call one or two members of the school board. If you know someone who has been helped by Project Enlightenment, tell their story, and if not, just ask them to please reconsider any cuts to this organization.

School board members:
Chris Malone 850-8865
Carolyn Morrison 850-8870
John Tedesco 850-8866
Deborah Prickett 850-8871
Kevin L. Hill 850-8867
Ron Margiotta 850-8872
Keith Sutton 850-8868
Debra Goldman 850-8873
Anne McLaurin 850-8869


Also, you can write a message to them through Facebook:

John Tedesco

Debra Goldman

Chris Malone

And please go tell them how you feel on WRAL

And join our Facebook Page
 
















Stay at home, business owning mom of 4 young kids, Nick the Sportsman, Michele the Princess, Wyatt the Wild One, and Evan the Baby. Bachelor in Early Childhood Development and Education, with 20 years experience. I could not ask for anything more!

So here is a blog for me!

I have a blog for recipes, for parent education, and for coupons and deals. So here is my new blog for every day ramblings.

We had some snow last night, and into today. Ok more then some snow...A LOT of snow! There was about 7in. of snow that accumulated on the deck but since it had fallen off previously, there was actually about 2ft. out there, by the time we got up this morning! And of course, the older 2 decided to go to their friends house! Nutty kids!

School was actually cancelled, which surprised me! Of course I figured that Wyatt would have no preschool, but usually the kids always have school...this IS New York after all. 

Stay at home, business owning mom of 4 young kids, Nick the Sportsman, Michele the Princess, Wyatt the Wild One, and Evan the Baby. Bachelor in Early Childhood Development and Education, with 20 years experience. I could not ask for anything more!