Springtime at Preschool

This was my last time teaching the little preschool group this year. We made these cute little spring flower baskets (thanks to Emily's blog for the idea) and I think the kids enjoyed themselves. It's amazing watching the kids' different interest and noting their different attention spans. I think some of it has to do with age, and others, it's just interest. Julianne is all over the place, where as Sophia is very meticulous about hers. Some boys like it and some boys are done in two seconds. Some want to do everything themselves, others want me to jump right in and help.

As I look to next fall, I would really love to start a JoySchool, with a group of excited mothers. Check out the curriculum HERE and let me know if you are interested. I've used the curriculum before and loved it. My kids loved, loved, it too. Or if you know of someone who might be interested, let me know as well.

Painting a Picture is Fun to Do!

Well it's Spring Break around these parts, and we are just hangin' out around the house. We've cleaned house, played outside, visited a park with some friends, and today we decided to get our craftiness on. If you like creative art projects for your kids, check out the new widget on the side for Deep Space Sparkle. This lady has all kinds of great ideas. That's where I got the idea for the bunnies.

We got to SPONGE PAINT!

haven't done that before

 Here's the final products.

(Do not ask about the hot pink sweatsuit or the really bad idea for a hair do today. I'm struggling people, to clothe this ginormous belly of mine. Focus on the PAINTINGS people, please!)

Waiting for Spring

We are patiently awaiting the arrival of Spring around here. It's supposed to snow again next week. So to by our time, we've resorted to crafting and other nonsense. March is kind of busy month for us, with two birthdays and all, and we are trying to add in some St. Patrick's Day traditions. It's one of those holidays that has never been celebrated in our house before, but the girls are really excited about making a leprachaun trap this year. And we decided to make a holiday tree. I got the idea here. With a spot at $1 rack at Joanne's fabric store, we have completed our tree...finally! (we were going to decorate if for Valentine's Day, but it never happened and we've had this crazy thing floating around our house for a while)

 While we are waiting for warmer times, I've finally taken the innitiative to potty train Julianne. I have been dreading this like the plague. I would rather you cut my foot off than have to potty train. But, she has done surprisingly well and yesterday she pooped in the potty for the first time and stayed dry all day. That was as exciting as winning the lottery, let me tell ya. So here she is giving us a thumbs up while dissolving that yummy Hershey's Kiss in her mouth. No her teeth aren't natually brown.

 And group baths are happening a little more regularly. It's a little cramped in there. I don't know that the two little ones really like Gabriela in there with them, but what do you do?

Gotta love SISTERS!!!

A week at a time...for now.

Wow, I would love to get on here and blog all the time. I am constantly thinking of things I would like to write about, but it's just never at a convient moment. So for now, we will have to cover a lot at one time. So here's what's been going on with us.

Last Saturday my dear friends in the neighborhood threw me a wonderful baby shower. I get so nervous about those things, because anytime I have home parties or things noone usually shows up, but it made me feel great when so many people came out to support me. I think baby brother is pretty set now. Thanks to everyone!

Gabriela has an obsession with the body. We are constantly having conversations about the body and how it works. She is particularly interested in her "eggs." A long time ago she came to me and told me she already had her babies inside of her, but that they were just teeny tiny and hadn't grown yet. That led me to tell her that she was kind of right and that she was born with little eggs inside her body and that someday when she was big and married, those little eggs would grow into babies.

Well she took that and ran with it. One day she was complaining about her leg hurting and told me it was her eggs in her leg. So I had to obviously have another discussion about where those tiny eggs are hiding and that they don't move. Anyways a long story short, she is constantly asking about the brain and the heart and how stuff works, so I finally checked out some awesome books from the library. You should have seen her face when she opened them up. She devoured them! I guess this is all good, because I'm sure we are going to have to have a lot of anatomy conversations when baby brother shows up. Yikes!

  Sophia is in a little rotating preschool here in the neighborhood and yesterday was my turn to teach. In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, we made our own Dr. Seuss fish after the book One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. I think the kids did a great job. I really do love teaching kids. Oh and Gabriela was home that day and joined in because she was out for parent teacher conferences. She actually said preschool was a little boring. I guess you can't please them all.

 Another big kick I'm on is whole foods. I posted a while back about the green smoothies and now I've been reading her book. I'm totally convinced that this is the way to go. I don't even crave high fat food anymore. I would be happy with simpler food and less processed stuff. The funny thing is, the kids love it! They come to me in the morning and ask for "healthy cereal." They are pleased as punch when they get to show how they eat their broccoli for dinner. They don't whine and gripe when at the store they ask for something and I don't buy it. All I have to say is that is not really healthy for us and they get it. It's awesome. Well today I went to the grocery store and when I checked out, I was so proud of myself and felt great. I came home with a bunch of greens and natural foods. More granola, almond milk, fruits and vegetables. It's a great feeling to know I'm feeding us a lot better. The oranges, bananas, and carrots are missing from this picture.

Lets see, what else, oh, I'm chewing on the idea of trying to have this baby the natural way. No wait, not natural as in I don't want drugs, but natural as in vaginal. Crazy I know, but after reading so much online and so many people's stories, I think it can be done. I'm crossing my fingers and toes I can find a doctor who will support me, but I at least want the chance to labor and see if I can do it. If it doesn't work out, well that's fine too. I was already signed up for surgery anyways, but I just don't want to heal from another surgery. It's emotionally challenging for me, becuase of all the demands at home. Anyways, stay tuned for more on that.

That about wraps things up around here. My kids still fight, my house is a mess, but we are doing well.

Cinco de Mayo (better late than never)

So, Cinco de Mayo has turned into a big deal around our house. This was our second year celebrating it and you would have thought it was Christmas. The kids were so excited! They all got showers and then dressed themselves up like little Mexicans. They even wore those clothes to dance class and excitedly told everyone they say, "Happy Cinco de Mayo!" I had a whole bunch of fun activities to do that day, but we couldn't get through them all. So here's how the day progressed:



After dance we had burritos for lunch and then we tried making our own pinatas. They were thrilled with ripping up the newspaper, but when the goopy flour/water mixture was brought to the table, Gabriela quickly quit smiling. I should have known better. She wouldn't stick her hands in the pumpkin last year either. But the other two, oh no, no problem at all. In fact Julianne thought is was like a mud bath. Instead of smearing it on the balloon, she was coating her body in it. I couldn't help but laugh and just let her go for it. In the end, Sophia was the only one who came out with a completed pinata. However we hung it outside to dry and then it got rained on.







While the girls were taking a nap, Gabriela and I decided to do a cleaner craft, more to her liking. She loved it. We made "papel punchada." It's a Mexican folk art of making paper streamers. We were both pretty proud of our work and in fact, it's still hanging in our kitchen. It is very festive and fun.



Then came the thing we had been waiting for all day. THE FOOD!!! We made taquitos, refried beans, mexican rice, pico de gallo and had Jarritos (Mexican orange soda.) We invited Miguel's parents over for the dinner and they seemed to love it as well. After dinner we had a little dance to some marriachi music and then made sugar cookie sombreros. Mom had to go to a meeting, but the girls stayed with Papi and did some Mexican bark paintings as well. (sorry no picture of those). It was so fun and we can't wait till next year!

I haven't disappeared, I've been DECORATING!

GIGI CAME TO VISIT, HOORAY!!!

We all look forward to when my mom comes to visit. It usually is accompanied by a suitcase full of goodies and being spoiled for a little while. And boy did she ever spoil me (which is so nice for a stay at home mom with three preschools to feel spoiled.)

We went to our most favorite place to shop...none other than Gardner Village. This is our tradition, and my new obsession is the fabric store. It is a sewers heaven. I get all my girls clothing patterns there and it's just so inspirational. Any ways, when we pulled into the parking lot, she told me she had a surprise for me. I gave her a blank stare and then she told me she had booked us hour long massages! I was both elated and mortified. I hadn't shaved my legs in a day or two! But hairy legs or not, I wasn't going to pass is up! I just had to give the gal a long explanation and my appologies just so she was clear that I would have normally shaved for such an occasion.

It was wonderful and accompanied by lunch and some shopping. The girls were super thrilled to see her. They were treated by bedtime storytime! Dominoes

And loads of crafting lessons. Just kidding, they could have cared less about our crafting marathon, except when it came time to make them slippers. (My fabric store find)


Aren't they just darling. LOVE THEM!!!

A few months before she came, I asked her to help me redecorate the girls bedroom. I wanted it to be pink and girly. I found a Pottery Barn room that I loved and my mom made her own version. Bless her heart! She sewed three of these babies. I can't imagine how long it took her. We had them quilted while she was here and it was so fun to see them finally finished. Beautiful.

This was my project. Yep, that's right, I painted that joker on their bedroom wall. Pretty proud of it!

On her last day here and in celebration of all our hard work, we treated ourselves to some gormet cupcakes. They looked yummy, but we weren't so impressed with the taste. Sorry Cocoa Bean, but it's true.

She was smitten with Julianne

I caught Sophia enjoying her new revamped room and had to grab a photo.

My mom survived the week, but just barely. I guess that's the joy of being a grandparent. You get to skip town just when you think your nerves can't take it any longer. A funny story; she took the girls to a toy store to pick out something and they chose stick horses. She wanted them to put them in the car while we headed over to the distribution center to grab a few things. I told her just let them ride them to the store. She was mortified and just raised her eyebrows in submission. I know she was embarassed, but I thought it one of those good humbling moments. The girls created quite the site riding the calvalry into the store, but let kids be kids. It was fine until Sophia decided to gallop on out of the store. We sure do relax a lot once we become parents huh?