Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

Yes, it really is magical!!

It removed some all too carefully done marker or crayon (not sure which) that a certain 2 year old boy had applied to our masonry on our hearth. He even managed to stay in the lines of the cement.

Of course, since cement and the Mr. Clean are not meant to be used together, we did go through 2 sponges. Since then I have taken stock in 2 more boxes.

I am sure that this is not the end of the artist formerly known as Houdini.

Dinosaur Unit Study

Knowing that many of you reading this are homeschooling as well, I thought it might be fun to share our self-made unit studies from time to time. That way, we can share a whole week's worth or two sometimes of lesson plans.

I opted to do a dinosaur unit with Katie for the last week and a half. I planned for just a week, but since she was so interested, we continued a little longer.

Here are some of the titles I used for good coloring pages, ideas, and sorting/ matching cards:

Learn About Dinosaurs Coloring Book published by Frank Schaffer.
Dinosaurs from the Primary Theme Series by Creative Teaching Press.
The Mailbox January book for grades 1-3 by The Education Center.
- this book also has ideas and pages for Martin Luther King Day, whales, polar animals, and penguins. We will next be doing a unit on Arctic animals, so it will come in handy again.

Books to read-aloud:
Fossils Tell of Long Ago by Aliki
Digging Up Dinosaurs by Aliki
What Happened to the Dinosaurs? by Franklyn Branley
Did Dinosaurs Have Feathers? by Kathleen Zoehfeld
Dinosaur Bones by Aliki

Dinosaur Hunters by Kate McMullan

Dinosaur Babies by Kathleen Zoehfeld

Dinosaurs Big and Small by Kathleen Zoehfeld

Where to Look for a Dinosaur by Bernard Most

It Could Still Be a Dinosaur by Allan Fowler

Dinosaur Time by Peggy Parish

My Visit to the Dinosaurs by Aliki

The Day of the Dinosaur by Stan & Jan Berenstain

Dinosaurs Beware by Marc Brown

Dinosaur and other Prehistoric Animal Fact Finder by Michael Benton

Craft Ideas:

We sculpted dinosaurs from Crayola Model Magic. And also made fossils with seashells and other objects in flattened model magic.

We planned to do dinosaur dioramas, but Nick broke the shoeboxes, so maybe we will make Arctic habitats once I can get my hands on some boxes.

We made dinosaur tracks by taking dinosaur toys and putting their feet in paint and then stamping on paper.

Other ideas:

We played matching games with dinosaur cards that I reproduced and then colored.

We also sorted these cards into dinosaur categories: plant eater/ meat eater. Small/ big.

We had a map where we marked where various dinosaur bones were found.

We played lots with dinosaurs that we had in the house. Katie liked grouping them by type and giving the bigger mommy dinosaurs matching baby dinosaurs.

Thy Will Be Done

I've had a lot of time on my hands to do some thinking and praying recently. With Nicholas' end to nursing, I have spent my nights, rocking him quietly in his room until he is relaxed, and what a perfect time to be thankful for my many blessings.

With all the sickness that has been passing through this house the past month, I found myself praying each night that nothing else would happen. That my children and family would become well. That everything would all turn out okay. But I also found myself thankful that we were having nothing more than ear infections and stomach viruses.

I have pondered the words of the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done", over and over, and truly wonder how many times I have said them and not really meant it. For me, control is a big issue. I have this need to control all parts of my life. How hard it is to give that control up to God. Yet, I know that in order to find that inner peace and ultimately relax more, I need to leave what happens up to God. He won't test me beyond what I am capable of handling. I know this.

So for now, I am continuing my nighttime reflections. And especially focusing on those 4 difficult but special words. For me, this is a challenge, but a worthwhile one.

The First Big Snow

Finally!!

After several wintery months, we have had our first major snowfall of the season. While Katie greeted the snow with great JOY, Nick was less than thrilled with the white powdery stuff on the ground and flying in his face.

We did manage to get a few sled rides with him, as well as interest him in a little shoveling before he wanted nothing more to do with the hat on his head and declared he was ready to go in. So lucky mommy, got to take him inside where he immediately stripped down to his long underwear and happily watched THE WIGGLES!

Daddy and Mommy got to have some fun sledding down our nicely sloped driveway as well. Even Hodge got a turn, a little unwillingly. The true meaning of the phrase dog sled!!!

Later while Nick took his nap, Katie had lots of fun playing in the backyard with the neighbors and making snowmen, snow angels, snow balls, and more sledding.

More Illness!!

It seems like we will never be well again. After suffering through the stomach bug the first week of the New Year, we have now branched out into the land of ear infections and viruses.

Katie started a fever and runny nose on Friday. Nick had a follow-up on his ears on Monday. The doctor checked them both and said so far no ear infections but both kids had fluid in their ears. If they continued to run a fever over 100, bring them back on Wednesday.

Guess What??

Fevers continued between 100 and 104. So today we marched back to the doctor's office. Katie has an ear infection in one ear. Nick again gets a double whammy. And to add to the feeling of hopelessness that he will never get better, he is scheduled to see an ENT on Friday to see if he needs tubes put in. After all, it has been about 5 months of ear infections.

So now it looks like he may be having a double surgery in February. The good news being that they will only have to put him under the one time, and they should be able to do both surgeries at one time.

Poor Nicko!!

So we continue on here, with both kids on antibiotics, and both parents trying to fight off the same virus that knocked out the kids.

Hopefully better news will be coming soon.

Finally!! An Update

We have been busy around here. Not just busy, but BUSY!!!

First we had the pre-holiday mad dash to get presents finished. I stayed up late several nights, finishing some homemade gifts that I will BLOG later with pictures. And of course, there were all those yummy Christmas cookies to be baked - and eaten. Presents to order and presents to mail and presents to wrap...

After Christmas, my parents stayed until Thursday, which the kids very much enjoyed. Nick still asks for Grandpa and Grandma several times a day, and can't figure out why they left the dog with us. He thinks Grandpa forgot his dog.

Then the following night we went out for pizza at the mall, and some light shopping. After putting the kiddos to bed, we were alerted to Nicholas crying around 10:30. Not an unusual occurence since he hasn't ever slept all night yet. I found Mike in the bathroom with Nick and lots and lots of throw up everywhere. Needless to say, he was hit by the stomach virus and hit hard. He continued for 3 days unable to keep much of anything in his system. 4 pounds lighter and very weak and lethargic, I finally called the doctor's office New Years Eve and got some advice as well as the welcome news that their Urgent care clinic was open until 8 that night. Turns out we never needed to go. He slowly came back around and now is making up for lost time by eating everything he can get his hands on. He had some goldfish, a bowl of cereal, and 6 oz. of yogurt this morning before 7:30. We have finally branched out of just starchy foods and have put everything back in his diet again.

This also means that since he wasn't keeping anything down for 3 days, we quickly ended his nursing. He had a hard time while sick, but I couldn't give in or he would be sick again. So FINALLY, after 26 months, he is done. I was always willing to nurse him until he was 2. Extended nursing is highly recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, doctors, and any people knowledgeable about the subject. Unfortunately it is also highly frowned upon by the general public. I always felt weird when people found that I still nursed him, but it was his way of settling and going to sleep. It was a comfort thing. And while I still take the same time every night to cuddle him and rock him until he is almost asleep, I can't say that I don't miss it in some ways.

Moving on... Now Katie is sick with some version of a cough, cold, and fever.

I think I am going to take out stock in tissues, tylenol, cold medicine, clorox wipes, purel, and soap.

While I try to contain the latest illness for the New Year, here is hoping the rest of you have managed to start 2007 healthy.

Christmas Celebration

Katie with one of her many, many presents.

Nick with one of his GeoTrax, that he loved.

Nick on Katie's scooter from Santa.

Pre-Christmas pics

Katie in her pre-Christmas spirit.

Nick waiting for Christmas.

All Dressed Up

My beautiful 5 year old, all dressed up for our date to the Nutcracker.

My two charming children in the photo for our Christmas card, that you will be receiving sometime AFTER Christmas.

The lollipop it took to get the one child to sit still for ONE decent photo.

But he does look awful cute with those big, blue eyes and new Christmas haircut!

Books We Are Reading

Blogger has decided to put up a fight tonight, so I am forced to enter my current book list here instead of on the sidebar.

Katie and I are currently reading Charlotte's Web, and for the most part enjoying it. I think she could do without the killing and blood references though.

A Special Place For Santa wonderfully combines the history of St. Nicholas with the current Santa Claus and the real meaning of Christmas. Kind of difficult to understand for young kids, but has lots of pictures and can easily be simplified.

The Polar Express Makes me smile each time I read it. We watched the movie for the first time the other night, and Katie really enjoyed it. Then we read the book for the first time since last Christmas, and she was telling me what would happen next throughout.

The Night Before Christmas by Jan Brett. Who doesn't love a good Jan Brett book? And while I am on the subject, we are also reading The Mitten.

Next on the list is The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats. Just a nicely illustrated version of the song.

A Little Golden Book's The Christmas Story is another classic read-aloud. It just has such nice illustrations, and it only cost me $1 at Half-Price Books.

Then there are several for Nicholas. Katie and Nick both enjoy reading Rosemary Wells' Max's Christmas. Who couldn't love these cute bunnies and the sweet stories she tells.

Nick also likes Christmas in the Manger, One Baby Jesus, and Jingle Bugs.

Christmas Cookies

The tree and advent calendar are finally up, (only 12 days into the month of December), and now it is time for baking.

I am planning on making some of my very favorites, but am also looking for a really good cutout cookie recipe. I have tried different versions every year and still have been unsuccessful in finding that one recipe that makes me say WOW these are really good. I have tasted some good ones in the past, so I know they exist. If you have a recipe to share, please do so.

Kolachkes
1/2 pound butter
1/2 pound margarine
4 cups flour
3 egg yolks beaten
1 c. sour cream
jam fillings
powdered sugar

Cut margarine and butter into flour. Add yolks and sour cream. Blend with fork.
Refrigerate overnight.
Sprinkle flour and sugar on board and roll out small portions.
Cut into squares.
Put filling in center of each square and pinch middle closed.
Bake at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar once cool.

Mrs. Fields Mother Lode Brownies
Brownie Layer
3/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
3 oz. semisweet chocolate
3/4 c. unsalted butter
1 & 1/2 c. light brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Caramel Layer
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3 tbs. water
1/4 c. heavy cream, scalded
2 tbs. unsalted butter

Toppings
1 c. coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
1 & 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. milk chocolate chips

Grease and flour a 9 X 9 inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 325.

Make the brownie layer: In a small bowl, combine flour and baking soda.
In a double boiler, melt the unsweetened chocolate and the semisweet with the butter. Stir until smooth and set aside to cool slightly. In a large bowl with a mixer, beat the brown sugar and eggs until lightened and pale in color. Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture and the vanilla. Gradually add flour. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40 -50 minutes, or until center is set but moist and a bit fudgy. Cool in the pan.

Prepare the caramel layer: In a small, heavy saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the water over low heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then let boil without stirring until the syrup turns a deep amber. While the syrup is boiling, brush down the sides of the pan from time to time with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Remove the pan from the heat, then stir in the hot cream (be careful, it will bubble rapidly). Continue stirring, over low heat if necessary, until all the caramel is dissolved into the cream. Stir in the butter until smooth. Set aside until cooled slightly but spreadable.

Assemble: Preheat the oven to 325. Spread the caramel over the cooled brownies. Sprinkle the toppings over the caramel layer and place the brownies in the oven for 5 minutes to set (do not let the chips melt completely)

Cool and enjoy.

Holiday Spritz
1 c. butter or margarine, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
2 & 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. almond or vanilla extract
Food color if desired.

Preheat to 400.
Beat butter, sugar and egg in large bowl with mixer on medium speed. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Place dough in cookie press. Form desired shapes on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 5 to 8 minutes until set but not brown. Immediately remove from sheet to wire rack.
Decorate as desired.

Peppermint Bark
16 oz. almond bark, broken into pieces.
candy canes left over from Christmas.

Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, waxed paper or parchment paper. Melt the almond bark.
Smash candy canes in whatever way possible in a heavy plastic bag. Stir the broken candy into the melted bark.
Spread evenly on cookie sheet. Let stand for about 1 hour until hardened. Break into pieces.

There are several more that I will post later.

Happy St. Nicholas Day

Just wishing all of you and my own very little Nicholas, a happy St. Nicholas Day! I still have fond memories of leaving out my shoes for a little present from St. Nick the night before.

Unfortunately with all the vacationing and chaos that comes with getting back to life as normal, I realized that it wasn't the 5th of December today at around 10:00. I also had Mr. Cable Guy coming between 12 and 5, and a sick Nicholas, so we stayed home and cleaned. Maybe next year, I can remember on the 5th??

Happy 5th Birthday, Katie! Disney Style!

On Thursday, we spent the day honoring our Princesses every wish. No scary rides, It's a Small World and the Carousel and bazillion times, and long lines waiting for Ariel.

I think the best part for her and for me was going to Cinderella's Castle for lunch with the Princesses. I had never been inside the castle before and found it absolutely amazing. They kept the kids busy with Wishing Stars, the girls got Magic Wands and the boys got little swords. They immediately brought the adults and kids two sampler platters with food. These guys know kids. They don't sit long, and they want food when they are hungry. The kids got fruit and cheese, while we got some type of chicken, cheese, and salad. Then the real food came. All was very yummy, including dessert.

Hungry boy with sword

Katie and Belle

Katie and Snow White

Don't forget chocolate covered Nicholas, who had been thwarted by Snow White, when trying to play with the cake knife. (Notice the small hand in the bottom right with a nice, sharp gray knife)

"Oh, Dear, let's not play with that!"

Katie and Jasmine

Katie and Cinderella

On to Disney World

We hopped a plane Monday morning to Orlando, and were greeted by gorgeous warm weather. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge on Disney property, which was a beautiful hotel with a nice heated pool. After some initial room snafus, we settled in and headed off to the Magic Kingdom.

Tuesday night we went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, which is a special limited event that only allows in a certain number of people. We were able to ride all kinds of rides without waiting, and saw the Christmas parade that is shown on ABC with Regis and Kelly on Christmas day (they filmed the day after we left).

Katie got to ride the carousel for the first time. She has always been to apprehensive to go on one. We tried numerous times at Kemah's Boardwalk, but were always met with a firm NO!

Disney must have the magic, because she eagerly got on, as long as the horse was "beautiful" as you can see by the roses. We also got to ride on the carousel with Mary Poppins several times.

Nick, of course, loved the race cars. Neither kid would ride with Daddy, so I drove along with my pint-sized passengers, who kept yelling for me to go faster. We unfortunately were in a car with no steering ability so I kept hitting the rails, but they didn't seem to mind too much. Luckily the next couple rides were in better cars, and much less bumpy. I couldn't convince Katie to steer the car ever though. I think she thought the car could go off the track and crash.

We also got to see two different fireworks displays that night. For my daughter, the timid one, the first display took the edge off, and the second one resulted in just this picture.

The best part was while Daddy rode Pirates of the Caribbean, Wendy came and hid behind our stroller while being chased by Mr. Smee. And then we got to meet Peter Pan too.

Thanksgiving

Yes, it has been a very long time since my last post, but you definately can't blame me. I have spent, with my family a total of 35+ hours driving the US, and 6+ hours aboard planes.

The weekend prior to Thanksgiving we packed up for Chicago to board our dog with my brother for our impending trip East. So we left that Friday afternoon and returned Sunday night, driving through freezing rain.

We then packed up once more for our 13 hour drive to Long Island, NY to visit Mike's family for the holidays. We arrived late Wednesday night, with just a small sprinkle of rain to start our trip as we traveled through New Jersey and into New York.

Thanksgiving Day - it poured and poured and poured some more. But with faces like these, who couldn't have a good time. This was the first time all 4 cousins were seeing each other, and I think they enjoyed playing with each other.

I know for sure that Katie fell in love with her baby girl cousin, and has since named her new baby doll from Grandma after her.

Even the boys enjoyed some fun playing with Daddy.

And we even got in some time at the park.

Houdini

There is a small Houdini in the family, by the name of Nicholas. I am riding along in the car on the way back from a doctor's appointment. Both kids are in the second row of the van, Katie singing and talking to herself, Nicholas is making noise.

I stop at a red light as Nicholas says "Arm".

I respond, "What about your arm?" and turn around to look.

While strapped in his 5 point harness car seat, he has managed to pull his arm out of the sleeve of his shirt, and can't figure out how to get it back in. Mind you we are in a heated car, but it is only in the upper 30's outside.

He had also managed to place the sticker from the doctor's office carefully on the back of his head.

Of course, do I dare mention that he took both shoes and socks off on the way to the doctor....

Discipline

I must confess, I have a whacker. Also a hitter, smacker, tugger, puller, but primarily a whacker. He occasionally goes by the name of Nicholas, although we don't think that truly is his name. (He rarely responds to it). But if shown a picture of himself, he will say it is NICKO!

Anyway, how did I end up with this child. There have been days when I've wondered if the nurses brought me back the right child. After all, I was in that postpartum bleary world after having a baby. How did I know what he looked like? But his voice is remarkably like his sister's, and his face looks exactly like hers as well. So he must be mine.

Me, the psychologist, who specialized in child development. Who worked with parents and children with behavioral and emotional problems. I have been presented with the biggest challenge yet. Overcoming the whacker!

I make it sound funny, but it really isn't. He luckily so far doesn't hit other kids. His sister seems to be the only target thus far. And quite the target she is. Getting hit with a bucket, a plastic spoon, a plastic basket, and numerous hand slaps that I can't even count, just in the past 2 days. The problem as I see it, is that she reacts in such a dramatic way that she partially instigates him. I have tried coaching her in ways to stop her behavior and hopefully decrease his to no avail. So now my behavioral plan for him began yesterday, and boy am I exhausted.

Thankfully I have written my share of behavioral plans in the past and instituted them. So as of yesterday, Nicholas is stopped each time he hits, made to say he is sorry and hug his sister. He is not allowed to play with any toys until he has done so. Every time is a battle of wills. Mommy versus Nicholas. So far I seem to be winning, but my energy is quickly fading. I know we are in it for the long haul in an effort to end or at least decrease the behavior. I know that his behavior is supposed to get worse before it gets better just to make sure the limits are going to stick. But boy is it exhausting.

I know this is "normal" 2 year old behavior. Hopefully the plan works and peace will reign or at least make a showing every so often here.

Great Books

I am a happy book lover. I love to read, to peruse, to scan, and to enjoy. My husband is even more of a book lover and we have turned our two kids into book lovers too.





The latest book Katie and I finished reading was My Father's Dragon.

The book is enormously entertaining, and would be great for little boys. Better yet, it is a great first chapter book. The chapters are short and full of adventure. During the crocodile chapter, Katie yelled out, "Oh NO!". I thought something was wrong. She was just yelling to the book it turns out. She was so into it that she was worried about the Elmer being attacked by crocodiles.

If you haven't read a good book to your little ones in a while, this is a great one.

Dance Mania

I am crazy, but at least I know it. I have watched faithfully (when not putting the kids to bed) Dancing with the Stars for all 3 seasons now. I love it!! I am addicted! I will even go so far as to let Katie stay up late and watch with me, just so I don't have to miss part to put her to bed. Luckily for me, she loves the show too, and wants to grow up to be a dancer.

But maybe the obsession has gone too far. Now I have 2 tickets to the Dancing with the Stars Tour when it comes to Cincinnati. I bought 2 the first day they went on sale, and have grand hopes that a good friend will come in for the night and go with me. If not I will find a neighbor to go, or even Katie. I didn't care at the time who I would be going with, just the thrill of watching the show is enough for me.

Forgotten Halloween Picture

2 Year olds think literally.
When I asked Nicholas to show me his candy (meaning in the pumpkin bucket), this is what I got!!