So I finally did it....

I gave up my Blackberry! I have been thinking about it since, well, about a week after I got it! It was ok for some things, but it just did not work the way I wanted, or needed, or thought it would. I can see why it is called a Crackberry, but I just could not do everything I needed to.

So I got...

An iPhone!



Ok so not THIS one...but this was the first picture taken from my phone at the store. (THIS particular display costs about $15K!)

I am SO very happy (and so is Nick, since he got my iPod Touch) and this truly IS an AWESOME phone! It is only an 8GB, but it does what I need it to do, and since I use Pandora, I really do not need any other songs on there. I have a couple movies, but that is about it, and a TON of apps!

I am finally happy with a phone lol. I am picky when it comes to technology :)








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!

Tin Can Herb Garden

Krafty Kidz Tin Can Herb Garden You'll Need...Empty aluminum can Screwdriver and hammer Liquid gesso (recommended: Liquitex Basics Gesso) Acrylic craft paints in colors of your choice Acrylic sealer spray, matte finish 5-10 small rocks, stones or pebbles 1.5 cups potting soil 4-inch potted herb plant Water Flower stickers (optional) To Make... Completely wash and dry aluminum can. If necessary, sand off any rough edges from opening of can. Turn can upside down. Parent should use screwdriver or other pointed object to poke holes in the bottom of the can. Use a hammer to tap the end of the screwdriver to make the holes. Paint outside of can with one coat of gesso. Let dry completely. Once dry, paint desired color; repeat coats if needed. Decorate however preferred-- stickers, rainbows, pom poms, etc... In a well-ventilated area, spray the outside of the completed can with acrylic sealer spray. Let dry. Place enough rocks or pebbles in the bottom of the can to form a single layer. Add enough potting soil to fill the can two-thirds full. Remove potted herb from its container and transplant into the can. Fill edges with remaining potting soil, gently pat down so that plant is firmly in the can but not compacted so much that it's too tight. Place can on a plate (to catch any water drainage) and add some water to the newly planted herbs. Apply flower sticker if desired. Place your new garden in a sunny window and remember to water them! Enjoy!

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!

Healthcare Reform...

So I am trying to figure out a lot of why people are scared of the new health care reform bill. From what I saw on this post, we will not be paying much more a week then we are now, and those in the lower income brackets will be paying even less...and those who can not afford it will have assistance.
cho
Are they scared that poorer people may now become healthy, be able to work, and take the rich's money away? Are they afraid that the children that were not able to be covered then, but will be now, will take quality healthcare away from their own children? Are the rich people scared they will not have enough money to go on weekly vacations to DisneyWorld or to Peter Island (where is costs upwards of $4000 a night to stay there)??

I really am trying hard to figure out the objections...besides the obvious...those opposed to Obama will be against him no matter WHAT he does...even something as normal as saying what team he thinks will win on a certain sport...apparently that was also an issue...I never thought becoming president meant you can't still have a favorite team. If so, then count ME out!

I know of one family in North Carolina who could not get coverage for their THREE year old child, even though he has been perfectly healthy for almost 2 years, because of a pre-existing condition. A CHILD could not get insurance?! I know this word is not allowed in my house, but that is plain STUPID! Thanks to this new reform, this family's child can now get the coverage he needs. A little too late, if you ask me, since his parents already had to sell their house and move in with parents in order to afford the basic needs, after their child's medical care!

I do not care how many people I may tick off, but to me, if even ONE (or two, I actually know a few) child(ren) can get medical coverage they need and deserve, then the rest I can put up with!






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!

Mommy blog spotlight...

So I decided to try to do a spotlight on a mommy blog (starting today) at least once a week. So today's, in honor of my love of Montessori, is Mommy Moment who has a weekly blog about Montessori activities.


I just recently came across this blog, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way it is run, laid out, and all the information it provides. They have DAILY meme's of sorts, that have fun activities, fun stuff, and more. I really like the Monday's Montessori Moments. This week they highlighted the sandpaper letters that I know Wyatt loves to use at school.

You can also become a fan of them on Facebook!

This is one of the few blogs I may actually check out daily!!! They have so much information, and it seems that you can really take away a lot of great things from their blog.










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!

Easter Pics...

So yesterday we took the kids for Easter pics. I love the way they came out...even though I just noticed that Evan had white fuzz on his pants!!!!!!!!! Oh well.

Here they are before we went...

And here they are in their great pics!

We picked the last one, but will probably print out our own, since they are WAY too expensive to order from them!!! YAY for free 10x13s!!






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!

Happy St. Patricks day and more...

Happy St. Patrick's day!!! 

I really like Google's picture today 

So today, the day for the Irish to celebrate, is my 100% Italian grandfather's 80th birthday! I always pick on him for this, though it is not his fault lol. It is still funny! I wonder what my Nana said when he was born on this day...I should have asked her! (I sure do miss her, but she lived a long life, 92 years!!!) They are going out to dinner...if I was not 2 hours away, I would join them :) Now that we are back in NY, I get the itch to go visit, but dislike traveling in the winter...even if it IS 63 outside :)

Here is a picture of my grandfather and 3 of the kids, the last time we were in Syracuse:

He sure does LOVE having those kids around! 

Wyatt also had a St. Partick's day party today at school, but bad mama, I forgot to take pictures :( I am hoping, though, that he forgets about the cupcake he brought home ;) His teacher bought green food dye and made green milk!!!! She was going to get Shamrock Shakes, but decided against it...thankfully!!!! 

Today was also Michele's parent teacher conference. I had some time, so I went into the book fair and got them a couple more books. I spoil them! Her teacher said that she is where she needs to be...in June!!! She is way above her level in reading, and does better then most of her class in spelling. She is also advanced in math, but has a little trouble with money and what comes next (ie for -5 23 ( ) 13 etc...) but she is improving. Her teacher also said she is a very quiet child...really?! MY daughter?! Michele?! Are we talking about the same kid here lol. Ok so she is a great kid...but no where NEAR quiet at home!!! She does give answers when asked, and as her teacher said, a very smart and sweet little girl. Her teacher was also very surprised at how well she transitioned into the new school/classroom. That is par for the course, Michele has always been very adaptable. Nick too. I am hoping it is genetic, and the boys also fare well with transitioning and adapting into new situations. 

I took Evan to the doctor today as well. We are very concerned that he has not been sleeping well in about 3 or 4 months. Luckily, there is nothing physically wrong with him, but she did tell me to call Early Intervention, just to make sure! Now, to figure out a way to make him sleep more then 2 hours a night!!!! It is really taking its toll on both of us! 

Of course, when we got home, Wyatt played outside. I got his bike for him, since he is way too big for Tyke now. Of course, my no fear kid decided to go up the street a little way, and coast down, causing him to fall off his bike. Luckily he was not very hurt, but made mama quite scared! He decided it would be better to go play inside at that moment. 

I am also waiting on Nick's new phone...but debating of whether or not to tell him about it, until I have it set up the way I want it to be. 

Ok here are some random pictures from today! 

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!

March 16, 2010

Find spoon, will dig!

Posted by Becka 0 comments

Today Wyatt was learning about the outside. At school his teacher gave them buckets and they scooped rocks and dumped them, looked at the budding trees and talked about the colors they saw (mostly brown!)
He had fun looking at all the trees, and their changing branches/budding leaves, as well as talking about what will be happening in a few weeks/months.

When we got home, we went right out side, where he explored on his Little Tykes, and then found a spoon to dig with in the dirt. He decided to transfer (another thing that is popular in Montessori) the dirt from the fence to the side of the garage. I did not get as many pictures as I wanted, since I had to keep an eye on Evan, so maybe if Evan takes a nap tomorrow after school, I can get more pictures!

Here is a picture I took of a budding tree at his school

Wyatt waving and saying bye to the truck that was at the end of the street! He thought this was pretty neat to see. 

My big guy going all the way to the end by himself! 

Here he is, digging in the dirt! I should have gotten a video of this one, it was really cute. 

And here is Evan, enjoying the outside, and mama telling him all about the birds, trees, noises he hears, and more!

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!

THE Letter..

Posted by Becka 0 comments

If you have a child in 5th grade or beyond, you KNOW what letter I am talking about. The letter every parent gets if they have a 5th grader. Usually in the spring. The letter that tells you that your child will be in either the boys group or girls group (obviously depending on their gender...) and told about what will happen to their bodies in the next few years, if not already.

Well, I got that letter yesterday! I looked up at my now 10 year old son, and almost cried...ok I cried. All I could see was this little 3 year old boy, so sweet and innocent, not old enough to even GET this letter! Then reality hit me...

OMG I am going to have a teenager in a few years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When the heck did this happen!??! Wasn't he JUST born?! Didn't he JUST start kindergarten!? No...PRESCHOOL!!!!!

I am in denial...and I think I will be, until he goes to college...

The bad part is, I have to do this THREE more times...I think I will have more of a hard time with Michele then any of the boys!








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!

March 15, 2010

My blog is carbon neutral!

Posted by Becka 0 comments

I came across post and thought is was a GREAT idea!

Here’s how you can participate!

Just write a short blog post about our programme “My blog is carbon neutral” and include one of the buttons below on your site (ideally in the sidebar). Send the link to your blog to CO2-neutral@kaufda.de and we plant a tree for you, neutralizing the carbon dioxide emissions of your blog. The trees will be planted in the spring of 2010 by the Arbor Day Foundation. For more information about how and where the trees are planted, see the NEWS section.
Just a few easy steps to make it green:

1. Write a blog post about the initiative + insert your favorite button
2. E-mail the link to your post to CO2-neutral@kaufda.de
3. We plant a tree for your blog in Plumas’!

Note: We plant a tree for each domain. Please copy the html-code and paste it in your blog. Make sure the carbon-neutral button works, the html-code must not be changed. Use the carbon-neutral-white button for a white background or the carbon-neutral-transparent button for different colored backgrounds. If you need help, please contact CO2-neutral@kaufda.de. We are looking forward to planting your tree!

This is such a great and important idea! It is great that, for every post you make, they plant a tree! I have seen SO many trees mindlessly cut down and then the space has either sat there for years, or buildings have been built, but not used, buildings that have been halted and just standing there unfinished, or spaces abandoned.

I want my blog carbon neutral and want to see MORE trees!!









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!

He LOVES bringing his Montessori work home!

Posted by Becka 0 comments

So today, all the kids in Wyatt's class were out. So Wy was the only one!!!! It must have been nice to get that one on one attention. His teacher said he did a lot of great work today, and really concentrated on all their lessons. He also talked to daddy on the phone when we got home, and told daddy "I really like school daddy!!! I had fun today!" That to me says a lot about his teacher, as well as the school!!

So when I went to pick him up, his teacher showed me how they worked in the sand tray. She write in the sand a "W" and asked him to do it too, after she "erased" hers. And he did!!

And so when we got home, I took a bread pan and some pastene pasta (no sand yet!) and let him play around. 

See if you can tell what letters these are :) 

He was really enjoying himself

Then I decided to try transferring...but his little brother got too interested. 

We will have to do this when baby boy is asleep!

Here are some shots of his other Montessori work. He is doing SO well!

Can I say I am glad I chose THIS school over all the others I looked at (Montessori and non). :)







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!