Meijer Horsey-It's a Midwest Thing...

Have you been inside this store?

Have you purchased groceries, clothing, toiletries, diapers, dishes, cds, toys, dvds, furniture, home decor, candles, stationery, plants, or a keg from here?

If so...you just might be from the midwest or the wonderful Mitten State (Michigan)

And you've probably rode this horse...Sandy!!!

The penny horse at Meijer is one of my fondest memories growing up. Everytime we went our mom let me and my younger brother Marquis ride to our hearts content. She'd shell out penny after penny after penny.

And now I get to pass the tradition along to my only daughter Cassie! It's extra special to her because her dad call her Sandy and the horse shares that name. I bet the horse's full name is Cassandra lol

So if you'd like to know more about our midwest heritage you can read this awesome book about Fred Meijer his self.

 Cassandra also sampled Fruitty pebbles cereal for the first time this past week. She loved em! It was my hands down fave as a kid.

Time out with momma

"You can live with almost anything if you have what you can't live without" -Toni Morrison, Love

This was a fun time out at Buffalo Wild Wings.
 
My sweet little Cassie Pie enjoys the honey bbq flavor on Wing Tuesdays! I use a fork to pull the chicken off of the bones for her so that she can dig in with ease. Sometimes though she chooses to be a really big girl and try to eat off of the bones.
 
We go faithfully, sometimes me and her, sometimes as a family.
 
I love sharing meals there with her and the infamous coloring sheets. She breaks the crayons, sticks em up her nose, monopolizes them, sometimes assigns them to participants. Once she's had enough of the "dubs life" she either curls up in my lap or stretches across the chairs.
 
This Tuesday evening she politely said, "I ready to go HOME now"
 
Spending one on one time with just your child if there are other siblings or family structure are memory makers. It's important for a child to know that while they are an important part of the family unit they are special as an individual and deserve their own time too.
 
What do you do one on one with your child? I challenge you to set aside special time for each member of the family to have you all tho his or her self this week.
 
Do as momma says, Do as momma does

Christmas in July-2012

It's Christmas in July in our home! We got all prepped and ready on "Christmas Eve"....




Our TO-DO List looked like this:

*purchase large candle
*purchase our favorite soups from Whole Foods Grocer
*Decorate mini Christmas Tree and Plant (named San Francisco) with lights and candy cane
*Gather all the Christmas holiday themed books from Cassie's personal library
*Gather all the stored hats and scarves
*Get out wrapping paper and stored Christmas gift bags
*Get ingredients for marshmallow wreath treats
*Buy hot coacoa
*Get charger plates down and decorating supplies
*Rent Christmas movies from RedBox and gather Christmas movies from collection at home
*Make Christmas playlist
* Set up pillow pallet in living room
*Locate pretend snow mixture


...And finally...everything was all set...

Santa came last night, and I'm sure he was hot in his suit as it was nearly 100 degrees in Michigan :)

Cassie had fun camping out for a while with us watching movies under the tree lights and lit candle

In the morning she awoke to a few wrapped gifts, and hot coa coa with extra marshmallows

She loved opening her gifts:
*Barbie swimming pool with slide that she had eyed at Target the other night
*Tea Party yarn dollies so she can imitate the Fancy Nancy story (extended learning)
*A decorate sequined pillow for her day bed since she said "I need more piwlows" the other day
*Work books for 123's and ABC's
*A dream catcher that Grace got her last weekend from the art fair to go with her "nightime survival kit
*Happy Feet Two dvd

She didn't appear estatic but I do believe she was grateful.

We first filled the Barbie pool with water and then later decided to add the artificial snow mixture. It was chilly to our hands and a lot of fun to scoop with her shovels and buckets too.

We went on a quick trip to Dom's bakery and ate yummy bacon and toast (crustless bread for C)

It was fun to wear hats and scarves around our air conditioned home :)

The charger plates we decorated for Christmas dinner are very cute!

We decided against the wreaths and just put the mixture into a glass pan.

Cassie enjoyed Christmas Stories before her nap time back rub.
It's nice to think about how blessed we are and how celebrating is a way of life for us. There is always something to celebrate in our homes. I love that we have this Christmas in July family tradition.
What are your family traditions? Any out of the ordinary ones? What about traditions from other cultures? Find a reason to celebrate with your child. Come up with a new tradition and stick with it.


Do as momma says, Do as momma does.

Little artists

I know I'm beautiful but please focus on what is behind me.

All over our home at her eye level as well as at adult eye level are wonderful, artistic creations made by Cassie!

It makes children feel proud to have their artwork up around the house.

I honestly do LOVE her artistic expression though, not just because I am her mother.

I gave her the trademarked name when she was just one years old "Pablo PiCassie"!

What do you do with your children's artistic creations?

I challenge you to hang two pieces of art in your home in a place other than the refrigerator. Place one at your child's eye level and one at your own eye level. Make a point to show someone else and also spend time admiring it with your child. Describe to your child exactly what you like about it. (I love that you chose 4 colors, I like how one line is short than the other, etc.)

Do as momma says, Do as momma does.

Meet Seahorse

Cassie has always had the most interesting stuffed animals. My mother and I set out on a venture to make sure she didnt have the typical toys from infancy on till age 3.5 now.

This "seahorse" has been very special to Cassie in her toddlerhood. First off, it came out of a game machine. Her dad is a genius at those things and whens just about every time he puts quarters in. I NEVER win. So he won this one for her.

Seahorse became her nap pal of choice when she started school last Fall.

One day I washed him and one of his pink fins came off. I didn't know what the fin was at the time and sadly threw it away. Her abuelita assured her that it was okay and that her seahorse was now like the character Nemo in her favorite movie at the time "Finding Nemo."

Her favorite preschool teacher felt otherwise and designed seahorse a tape bandaid with an illustration of a bandage on it.

Seahorse has traveled with her to her new school and weekend stays away from home.

We love you seahorse.

Does your child have a lovee? Choose a unique lovey for your child so that it is not mixed up with other childrens' treasures at school. Document special memories involving their lovee. They will love to hear these stories later in life.

Do as momma says, Do as momma does.

The "Nemonade" Stand- 2012

My sweet little Cassie Pie hosted her first Lemonade Stand here in Michigan.

 

 Trust me when I tell you readers that I was one proud momma! I made her photo invites at the local drug store. She rode around town with me to deliver them to close friends and more family members. She walked down the sidewalk to give them to our favorite neighbors. Everywhere we went that week she asked strangers if they would come to her "nemonade" stand. Bless her heart. Each morning she woke up asking if that day was thee day. Finally it was.

 And our first guests were none other than Abuelita and Uncle Tae!

Filling the cup...

Happy Customers!

Her fancy shoes she picked out from the store the night before her debut.

Auntie Jess made it!

One proud mommie.

Our generational picture. Lovely ladies and gent.

Auntie Raven and Cousin Devyn made it!

Some may not understand my logic in letting my 3 and a half year old daughter host a lemonade stand.

In the previous couple of weeks I've been teaching her about earning money and also counting money. She earns $5 allowance weekly for age appropriate chores. From the chores she learns responsibility, team work, how to clean, and builds her self efficacy each time she is able to complete them.

I thought it would be neat to teach her how to earn even more money and have a business mind. She caught right on and as mentioned above did a little bit of marketing and advertising of her own.

She earned way more than a pretty penny let me just tell you!!!! She learned communication, following orders/adhering to requests, manners, and logic.

We also got a little bit of bonding time in and arts in crafts with the decor.

Entreprenuership is something very present in my own life. Now that I have exposed Cassie to it, it will be her choice if she later chooses the same type of road.

Expose your children to your many gifts and talents and don't be afraid to introduce concepts early on in life. I'm sure she will NEVER forget her first Nemonade Stand.

Do as momma says, Do as momma does. 

Bored Toddler...

Bored toddler??? I think NOT!

Here are some fun things to do the next time things get a little boring and it's too hot to go outside.

Colorful bubble bath. Use crayola tablets.

Barbie pool party with bathing suit on in tub.

Give em a box and some art supplies.

 They will either create something artistically or engage in dramatic play (pretent the box is a house or boat or castle etc.)

Make anything with cookie dough. It doesn't matter if it is store bought or you make your own from a recipe. I'm no doctor so you'll have to make your own decision about tasting the dough.
 

Tea Party Picnic for lunch.

Water the plants around the house with a squirt gun.

Take a mini trip to a local shop on the city bus!

Sometimes as parents we get brain farts and forget how to have fun. I challenge you to think like a child. Come up with something fantastic yet simple to do at home.

What's the "funnest" thing you've done with your child lately?

Do as momma says, Do as momma does.

Icecream You Scream

From the freezer. From the store counter.

 No matter how you scoop it. Or soft serve it.

 I am convinced...

 Kids love Icecream! And I'm the BIGGEST kid of all.

In our home we eat icecream nonstop. Anytime of day.

On a couple ocassions, before dinner!

 Really all year long. Even in the Winter.

 But now that it is Summer 2012 we have a new excuse to Scream for Icecream.

Tis nothing sweeter!

Break the rules every once in a blue moon and have an extra special treat or even a treet before dinner. It's cool to surprise your kids in this special way. I will never forget the Thanksgiving that my grandma allowed me to eat a slice of sweet potato pie before the grand dinner. Despite my mother's protest against it grandma won out that time and that memory has held a special place in my "memory box." So much so that I allow my own toddler to do the same. She always raises her hands and screams when I chant "dessert first, dessert first, dessert first."

Do as momma says, do as momma does!