The luxury of breakfast...

Since having kids, breakfast is no longer a slow and relaxing start to my day.  It seems like a constant rush of getting everyone what they need, refilling drinks, fetching vitamins, cleaning sticky hands and having a few sips of my never-hot coffee in between.  Don't get me wrong, I love serving my children healthy food that will jumpstart their day, but I do miss the luxury of a long, slow breakfast.

Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of enjoying a breakfast out...yes, out!  I only had one child with me and it was glorious.  I was able to dine with a friend who also brought her little one.  Even though we spend a lot of our time chasing and appeasing our children, we actually ate a warm breakfast and drank hot coffee!  What a luxury.

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I hope you enjoy some longer and slower breakfasts during this cold snap!

Along with a birthday comes a well-check...

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Whew!  We did it. {It took the whole family}  

After 4 pokes, a trip to the potty, hearing beeps in our ears, reading a chart, feeling a tight cuff on our arm, answering many questions and telling a few stories, we made it out of the doctor's office alive.

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Yes, we had the dreaded well-check today for my big girl.  It was a BIG one to say the least.

It is so hard to explain to a young child why an immunization is a good thing.  We have been reading this book and it really does a good job of going over what a well-check is.  It also talks about why an immunization is needed to keep you healthy.  Thank you Stan and Jan!

We absolutely love our pediatrician's office.  It is the perfect mix of experienced doctors, kind pediatric nurses (you know, the older ones that seem like a mother to the whole family) and a friendly atmosphere.  Normally our visits there are quite pleasant but today it was just horrible.

You see, this is the visit where they get the child ready for mainstream schooling.  They take many tests to make sure the child is healthy for school.  Our poor girl did great during all of it but as soon as we stepped out the back door of the office she broke down into uncontrollable sobbing.  Her feelings were so hurt.  A trip to her favorite sorbetto shop and restaurant didn't even begin to erase the memories of today.  Poor kid...

Thankfully the doctor reassured her that she wouldn't need any more pokes until she was a teenager.  {Thank heavens!}

On a side note:  It was neat to see my girl interact with our pediatrician.  She was anxious to tell him about stubbing her toe, the foods she eats, alphabet, numbers, colors and more.  The independence of the child was definitely at the fore-front of this visit.  I just ordered this cute chore chart to promote some more independence and responsibility at home.

Yo-Yo Garland

For my little babe's birthday last summer, I enjoyed creating some fabric garland.  It was neat to create something unique for her with my own hands.  I hope to use it in the future too.  So, when it came time to think about a unique decoration for my big girl's party I scoured the internet for ideas.  I wanted to do garland again because it is fairly simple to create and it takes no room to store.

I ended up sewing yo-yos and then attaching them together to make garland.

I used this simple tutorial from none other than Better Homes and Gardens.  Here is another great tutorial.  Fabric yo-yos were very popular in the 1920s - 40s because they required such little fabric.  Old clothes and fabric scraps could be used to create lovely yo-yos that were then, most commonly, sewn into quilts.

Now let me be the first to say, I am not great with a needle and thread.  I get easily frustrated with complicated sewing projects.  Yo-yos are the easiest thing and the results are quite stunning.

At the party, I ended up just using them as sort of a table runner because there wasn't the best place to drape/hang them.

At home, I hung them in our kitchen windows for the week.

They were quite cheerful, especially on this cold winter week!

Candy, balloons and hammering nails...

these are a few of my big girl's favorite things.

Favorite things was the theme of my girl's birthday party this year.  Ever since she was 2 we have been taking her to Home Depot's Saturday morning workshop's for kids.  They are completely free and so much fun.  Fun with a purpose is right up my ally and I especially love that my girl gets to work with tools and building things.  

I don't know about you but planning a birthday in the middle of winter can be challenging.  I have always wanted to have a cozy party at home but I think that might be hard at this age, especially if we can't be outside.  

As we began to think about party places and ideas, my husband mentioned that he saw someone having a party at Home Depot.  At first, I thought that wouldn't be any fun for a girl but after giving it some thought we decided it would be great for a group of preschoolers.  Who doesn't love hammering and creating?

Home Depot only allows one party a month so if you are thinking about it, be sure to call early.

My girl loved it!  She enjoyed getting to build with her friends.  Each kid got an orange apron to wear and build a shelf to take home.

We incorporated a little candy bar for the kids as party gifts.  Right now, all my big girl talks about is candy.  I guess it is from all the holidays we celebrated last fall (Halloween, Christmas, birthdays, etc.).

I purchased these fun scoops because I thought the kids would enjoy scooping candy into their little bags.  The 5 oz scoop worked well in the large cracker jars from Anchor Hocking.

The balloons are the cheapest and easiest way to add color and decor to a party!  They were a mess to untangle though.  The wind was whipping when we brought them in so they tangled very easily.  Many-a-child had to wait for their balloon as we untangled them.  

Overall, it was a fun way to spend a cold, wet afternoon celebrating a sweet girl's birthday!

Angels

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After my children were tucked for the evening, in I was summoned by my big girl.  When I arrived in her room and asked her what she needed she said this:

"Momma, I want to go check on my little sister."
I then asked, "Are you worried about her because she was sick today?"
She responded: "No."  " I want to go see her because she thinks there are monsters in her room."

I then I reassured, "But we don't have any monsters in our house, right?"
She promptly said, "Yes, we only have angels.  They fly around our room and watch us while we sleep."

I sat stunned by her sweet words that were so eloquently stated.  These are the moments I just don't ever want to forget.

Another year...

Another year has passed even quicker than before and we're celebrating another glorious year of our big girl's life.  They just keep getting better as our love grows deeper than we could have ever imagined.  Happy Birthday sweet girl!

I have been inspired by my fellow bloggers to do a little interview on her birthday as well as randomly throughout the year.  It will be neat to see how her answers change.

What is your favorite food?
Cheerios and "Ach-O-mok" (oatmeal)

What is your favorite book?
Builder Bears
Do you mean Bernstein Bears?
yes


What do you like to do outside?
plant tomatoes


What do you like to do inside?
play with toys and with my sister...and take stuff from my sister 


What is your favorite toy?
princesses


What is your favorite color?
purple and pink


Where do you like to eat out?
Chick Fil A and Burger Fries


What is your favorite drink?
Agua con gas and apple juice


What is your favorite dessert?
cake


What do you want to be when you grow up?
a princess, no, I'll be a mommy


What time do you go to bed?
six o'clock


What time do you wake up?
six o'clock


Where do you like to go in the car?
the grocery store because they give me stickers and balloons...
I like stickers, presents and balloons -- presents from Santa and the reindeer

A new favorite

I am a huge fan of children's books that teach a life-lesson, moral or any other hard-to-teach value/manner.  My mother used to read me this German book:

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It is from 1845, yes, that's right....1845!  

It is full of little tales about the consequences of bad behavior, habits and manners.  The lessons can seem a bit harsh but it was a great teaching tool and kept me out of trouble!

Some of the illustrations are quite brutal.  I especially remember this one:

It is the tale about the kid who sucked his thumb and then had it cut off because he wouldn't quit the bad habit.  I was a thumb-sucker and this little tale scared me!

As my girl gets a little older, I expect more of her.  We have found a new book that we are both excited to read each night that goes over manners and being polite. 

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Unlike the harsh German book from my youth, it teaches polite manners in a sweet and pleasant way.

It goes over everything from greetings, table manners, manners at school, with friends, etc.  The illustrations are darling like all the wonderful books by John Bemelmans.   It is a fabulous teaching tool and my daughter seems excited to learn more each night.  I have even found her practicing some of her newly acquired manners in public. {happy, happy, happy}