Here's whats for dinner!
Sunday: Crockpot Broccoli Cheddar soup with french bagettes
Monday: homemade Spaghetti and meatballs courtesy of my sister in law Shawn; leftover bagettes and light salad
Tuesday: Chicken fajita bake with rice
Wednesday: Panera mac and cheese and ham slice
Thursday: Crockpot pulled chicken sandwhiches, french fries
Friday: out to Halloween party
Saturday: homemade pizza
Sunday: Tomato Basil Parmesan soup and grilled cheese sandwhiches
Monday: whole chicken in crockpot with sweet potato casserole (from Miss Kay's cookbook) and oven roasted brussel sprouts with bacon
Tuesday: baked spaghetti squash with cheese and spinach
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Italian chicken bake over rice with steamed vegtables
Friday: buffalo chicken ring with carrots/celery and ranch dip
Saturday: out to restaurant of choice or leftovers
A few other things we plan on whipping up for treats, and snacks:
Granola bars
Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins
Cheerios breakfast cookies
Cinnamon banana bread
Creamsicle breakfast smoothie
I am really trying not to waste any of our food and with our upcoming move I am trying to use up things we already have so I don't have to throw stuff away when the time comes.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Preschool Circiulum
So I am assuming that most people don't really care about my preschool experience, but I am writing this more for my own reference in case I travel this path with future children. When I first started, we would go over the basics ie day of the week, month, bible verse, weather; but she wasn't really into it and wasn't really retaining any of the information. So I started incorporating songs into circle time and while she often huffs and puffs the tunes are catchy and she is learning/retaining more this way. If found this blog helpful and used most of her circle time ideas.
We start off singing our Good morning song and "This is the day"
Next come circle time activities including:
Days of the week: the tune of the Adams family
Months of the year: the tune of the Ten little Indians
Whats the weather: tune of Oh my Darling
We also review the date/year and season
We count starting 1-30 for September and increase by 10 each month til we get to 100
Then we sing some silly/active songs (ie head and shldrs, baby bumblebee) and I also try to incorporate a song related to our bible story and what we are learning about that week.
I like the flexibility of the way I have designed this year. Since we only do 3 days a week it allows us to pick and choose which days we have school and allows us to do other fun things and not feel stuck at home. A few times we have only done 2 days due to our schedule/sickness/etc. Our preschool lasts anywhere from 40 min to 2 hours depending on the program and what we are doing that day/week. and sometimes little brother joins us and sometimes he just piddles around and plays or takes a nap.
We start off singing our Good morning song and "This is the day"
Next come circle time activities including:
Days of the week: the tune of the Adams family
Months of the year: the tune of the Ten little Indians
Whats the weather: tune of Oh my Darling
We also review the date/year and season
We count starting 1-30 for September and increase by 10 each month til we get to 100
Then we sing some silly/active songs (ie head and shldrs, baby bumblebee) and I also try to incorporate a song related to our bible story and what we are learning about that week.
I like the flexibility of the way I have designed this year. Since we only do 3 days a week it allows us to pick and choose which days we have school and allows us to do other fun things and not feel stuck at home. A few times we have only done 2 days due to our schedule/sickness/etc. Our preschool lasts anywhere from 40 min to 2 hours depending on the program and what we are doing that day/week. and sometimes little brother joins us and sometimes he just piddles around and plays or takes a nap.
Week 5: T is for Tent
This week we discussed Abraham and how he was constantly moving from place to place and his obedience to God is following not knowing where he was going. It's a story our family can relate to in the past year :) and of course we had to read our story in a princess tent.
We also sang Father Abraham and Little Cabin in the woods. I also started incorporating more writing, letters, and colors to our curriculum. I found some awesome workbooks for pre-k handwriting, numbers etc from the dollar tree and so she is doing a page or two each day as we focus on a particular letter and number each week. Here she is with her tent craft, she drew a garden, trees, sky and we added the tent.
We were planing to go camping at the end of this week, which would have correlated perfectly with what we were learning about but the forecast called for rain all weekend and I am just not that brave and don't love camping enough to do in the rain with 2 small kiddos.
Week 4: Z is for Zoo
Week 4 was all about the letter Z so of course we read the story of Noah and the Ark and by the end of the week Mia acted out the story using her fisher price Noah's Ark set. We also practiced making the letter Z using animals
And then we used these cut outs to make clothespin animals for our zoo
We also had to make some fun paper plate and toilet paper roll animals. My favorite is the octopus with the big eyes!
If we were still in Columbus, I would have taken Mia to the zoo this week. But the zoo here is less then stellar and more expensive then I would like to spend on a subpar zoo (I am kinda a zoo snob!) So we settled for making our own zoo out of legos complete with a watering hole for the alligator and hippo. We had so much fun working together and it brings me such joy to spend those moments with my kiddos.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Week 3 Letter A is for Apple
Week 3 was all about Apples! We read about Adam and Eve in the garden, studied Romans 3:23 "For ALL have sinned." I also expanded our circle time to include counting from 1-30 and increasing by 10 each month and more preschool movement songs trying to relate them to what we are studying. I am also going to try to start incorporating some math and biblical character traits that go along with our bible stories each week. For example, for September we have been focusing on Obedience and looking at how various people were obedient to God in the bible. We made applesauce, apple pie, apple stamps and dissected an apple to see the various parts of the apple. It was a great week. We are loving this curriculum and learning so much!
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Travel expert
I am starting to think that I have become somewhat of a travel expert since I have now taken 4 round trip airplane rides with 2 kids and only 1 of those trips was accompanied by another adult (thanks Mom!). So I thought I would share with you some of my tips that I have learned the hard way in case anyone is thinking of traveling with little ones.
1) Car seats: There are many theories regarding car seats and do you keep them with you or check them with your baggage. I have done both and here is my preference, since I have two kids in car seats, I prefer to check the car seats with my luggage. Some airlines will let you do this without counting it as your free bag. However, with Southwest it counts toward one of your free bags. My daughter car seat came with a carrying case that I saved for some odd reason (but has really come in handy) and for the infant car seat I bought a car seat bag from Buy Buy Baby
2) Stroller: Because I have a 4 y/o and 1.5 y/o I have toyed with the idea of double stroller vs single umbrella stroller. I have done both and have come to the conclusion that a double stroller is a life saver when traveling in an airport esp when you have a layover and have to change planes/terminals etc in a short amt of time. This has saved me! You can gate check the stroller upon entering the aircraft free of charge and they deposit it to you as you exit the aircraft. The double stroller is also great because you don't have to drag your 4 y/o through the airport or keep an eye on her when you know that she is sitting safe in the stroller and you can briskly walk or in some cases run to catch the next plane. And if you are lucky enough to have a decent lay over you can walk the children around until the little one falls asleep.
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3) Mommy Hook: This has been a lifesaver not just in the airport. While traveling, I use this to hold my camera bag, my carryon/diaper bag, my daughter's book bag/carryon keeping my hands free for my littles and the stroller. Seriously, if you have kids you need to get this!
4) Seating choice: I always choose a middle seat and a window seat and here's why. The window distracts my older child for a little while, my younger child loves to open/shut the window panel. Seriously a good 20 min, of entertainment. I can also put the younger child down to move about a little between the middle seat and the window seat. Also, I always try to make light of the fact that I have two kids and comment to whoever chooses to sit next to us. They will usually say something like: "Do you mind if I sit here?' and I will respond, "As long as you don't mind loud children!" That way they have been warned. And sometime we get lucky and get the whole row to ourselves.
5)Entertainment on the plane: As I mentioned earlier, the window is a fine source of entertainment for toddlers along with the lap tray and the reading material in the seat back pocket. Even my 4 y/o will thoroughly look at the safety packet to review 'the rules'. Another thing that entertains a toddler surprisingly is the plastic cup they serve drinks in. I always ask for mine and my older child's with a lid and straw. It's impossible to keep from spilling while holding a toddler and dealing with an older child. My 4 /yo loves to eat the ice and my youngest loves to pull the straw out and put it back in. I thought this was a one time thing but we had two flights in one trip and both flights he played with his empty cup and straw for at least 20 min! It was awesome!
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6)FOOD: People have differing views on this, however, after having several worst case scenario's on airplanes I have come to find it is best to have an arsenal of snacks on hand. My favorites are the mini kit-kats that come in a resealable bag because what kid doesn't like chocolate. They are small and soft enough for a toddler to easily handle and I don't have to keep open individual candy bars, Some others include goldfish, Twizzlers, cereal bars, and fruit snacks. I usually also have a bag of Swedish fish or M&M's stashed away for my sanity :) However, keep in mind that goldfish can be easily ground into the floor and apparently they don't have vacuums on airplanes! I always bring a water bottle for each traveler (empty of course) and once we are in the terminal I buy a huge bottle of water and divide it among the water bottles for the ride.
7)Extras: I have learned the hard way to always have a change of clothes for each traveler especially for mom :) If you don't have them you will need them! make sure you have extra wipes in case your child gets airsick on the lady sitting next to you!
I have traveled solo with kids enough to experience the worst of it including a screaming child for an entire 2.5 hour flight d/t bedtime, stopping the bottle and paci the same week we traveled. (not recommended) A nice stewardess even put lavender oil on me in hopes of calming him down and he finally fell asleep as we landed! Ha! I have been thrown up on along with the lucky girl who choose to sick next to me as we landed thanks to turbulence that made my 1.5 y/o air sick and even had the pilot trying to help me clean up the mess on me, the baby, the plane and the poor girls leather boots! I have been pooped on mid flight and had to change a diaper and clothes (his not mine) in the seat since we weren't permitted to leave our seats at the time.
Happy Travels!
1) Car seats: There are many theories regarding car seats and do you keep them with you or check them with your baggage. I have done both and here is my preference, since I have two kids in car seats, I prefer to check the car seats with my luggage. Some airlines will let you do this without counting it as your free bag. However, with Southwest it counts toward one of your free bags. My daughter car seat came with a carrying case that I saved for some odd reason (but has really come in handy) and for the infant car seat I bought a car seat bag from Buy Buy Baby
2) Stroller: Because I have a 4 y/o and 1.5 y/o I have toyed with the idea of double stroller vs single umbrella stroller. I have done both and have come to the conclusion that a double stroller is a life saver when traveling in an airport esp when you have a layover and have to change planes/terminals etc in a short amt of time. This has saved me! You can gate check the stroller upon entering the aircraft free of charge and they deposit it to you as you exit the aircraft. The double stroller is also great because you don't have to drag your 4 y/o through the airport or keep an eye on her when you know that she is sitting safe in the stroller and you can briskly walk or in some cases run to catch the next plane. And if you are lucky enough to have a decent lay over you can walk the children around until the little one falls asleep.
3) Mommy Hook: This has been a lifesaver not just in the airport. While traveling, I use this to hold my camera bag, my carryon/diaper bag, my daughter's book bag/carryon keeping my hands free for my littles and the stroller. Seriously, if you have kids you need to get this!
4) Seating choice: I always choose a middle seat and a window seat and here's why. The window distracts my older child for a little while, my younger child loves to open/shut the window panel. Seriously a good 20 min, of entertainment. I can also put the younger child down to move about a little between the middle seat and the window seat. Also, I always try to make light of the fact that I have two kids and comment to whoever chooses to sit next to us. They will usually say something like: "Do you mind if I sit here?' and I will respond, "As long as you don't mind loud children!" That way they have been warned. And sometime we get lucky and get the whole row to ourselves.
5)Entertainment on the plane: As I mentioned earlier, the window is a fine source of entertainment for toddlers along with the lap tray and the reading material in the seat back pocket. Even my 4 y/o will thoroughly look at the safety packet to review 'the rules'. Another thing that entertains a toddler surprisingly is the plastic cup they serve drinks in. I always ask for mine and my older child's with a lid and straw. It's impossible to keep from spilling while holding a toddler and dealing with an older child. My 4 /yo loves to eat the ice and my youngest loves to pull the straw out and put it back in. I thought this was a one time thing but we had two flights in one trip and both flights he played with his empty cup and straw for at least 20 min! It was awesome!
6)FOOD: People have differing views on this, however, after having several worst case scenario's on airplanes I have come to find it is best to have an arsenal of snacks on hand. My favorites are the mini kit-kats that come in a resealable bag because what kid doesn't like chocolate. They are small and soft enough for a toddler to easily handle and I don't have to keep open individual candy bars, Some others include goldfish, Twizzlers, cereal bars, and fruit snacks. I usually also have a bag of Swedish fish or M&M's stashed away for my sanity :) However, keep in mind that goldfish can be easily ground into the floor and apparently they don't have vacuums on airplanes! I always bring a water bottle for each traveler (empty of course) and once we are in the terminal I buy a huge bottle of water and divide it among the water bottles for the ride.
7)Extras: I have learned the hard way to always have a change of clothes for each traveler especially for mom :) If you don't have them you will need them! make sure you have extra wipes in case your child gets airsick on the lady sitting next to you!
I have traveled solo with kids enough to experience the worst of it including a screaming child for an entire 2.5 hour flight d/t bedtime, stopping the bottle and paci the same week we traveled. (not recommended) A nice stewardess even put lavender oil on me in hopes of calming him down and he finally fell asleep as we landed! Ha! I have been thrown up on along with the lucky girl who choose to sick next to me as we landed thanks to turbulence that made my 1.5 y/o air sick and even had the pilot trying to help me clean up the mess on me, the baby, the plane and the poor girls leather boots! I have been pooped on mid flight and had to change a diaper and clothes (his not mine) in the seat since we weren't permitted to leave our seats at the time.
Happy Travels!
Week 2 Letter G is for Garden
Then we headed to the lake to search for some feathers
And because Lancaster is known for their Amish community and my Gandpop drives them to work each day he was able to arrange a horse and buggy ride for us and his wife Martha gave us a tour of her AWESOME garden that I hope to replicate one day!
We had a great time and even Grandma came to visit from Ohio!
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