Menu Planning Helper

I don't know about you, but I tend to feel like we get into a rut with dinners in our house.  As each season moves along, I find myself looking forward to the next season and the different types of meals we will have -- right now, I'm so looking forward to Spring and Summer when the snow will melt and we'll be able to find the grill again!  Halfway through Summer, I'll be longing for comfort foods and my beloved Crock-Pot!  I have been looking for some ways to get out of this food rut and here is what I have come up with:

- I bought a little whiteboard that I put up on the inside of one of my kitchen cupboards.  This helps me in two ways.  Actually, three!  1) I post a list of meals on the board so that I can keep track of what we have eaten recently, so I am not boring everyone with the same thing over and over.  2) Having my meals planned out and listed there helps to keep me on track with grocery shopping - I know that I only need to get things for the meals on the board - and keeps me from wavering and deciding to order a pizza or other take-out -- it's on the board, that's what we're eating!  And 3) My girls used to ask me SEVERAL times a day "What's for dinner?"  I could tell them, and then 10 minutes later they would forget and ask again...  "Go check the board!"

- I think I mentioned this a few posts ago, but I recently blew the cobwebs (not really, my house is a little cleaner than that...  a little...) off of my recipe box and pulled out a few recipes that I had not made in a while, and even found one or two that I had NEVER made yet!  It's fun to go through and find recipes that you forgot you had, or maybe you have Grandma's famous recipe for (fill in the blank) and your kids have never had the pleasure of trying that!  And of course, my favorite place to look things up -- Pinterest!  I have literally over 1,000 recipes pinned on there...  I am trying to use those more when I am feeling tapped out of ideas.  I found an amazing roasted chicken recipe on there that has become a family favorite and this weekend I am making "Dirt Cake" for my teen's birthday sleepover (Dirt Cake was her request -- went on Pinterest, found the recipe!).

- And finally, my new favorite idea that came to me last week!  Do you ever go grocery shopping and you are standing by the meat case and you are thinking, "Ugh, what can I do different to chicken this week?"  Or, pork chops, or beef...  I tend to draw a total blank, especially if I don't have a great shopping list.  I will stand there and feel compelled to buy meat knowing that I will have to make dinners for my family, but have NO idea what I'm using it for, serving with it, etc.  And frequently, because I don't know what I'm making, I won't end up buying the other things that I need to make the meal and then I'm running to the grocery store 3 times a week (or sending hubby...).  That is not only a waste of time, it's super expensive!  Here's what I came up with -- I made a list of all of the meals that I could remember that are in my "repertoire" and then I sorted them by whether they were a pasta dish, a fish dish, chicken, beef, pork, etc.  I LOVE LISTS!  I put this one in the "Notes" section of my iPhone, but if I didn't have that, I could easily write it on a piece of paper and put it in my purse.  Now, when I am planning the meals for the week, or the grocery list, or if I'm in the store and see that something's on sale, I can quickly look at my list and see all of the possibilities of things I can make!  Love it!  And, by the way, I was pretty impressed with my list!  I have a lot of recipes that I make -- I can really mix things up to get my family out of the dinner doldrums!

What ideas do you have for menu planning?  Do you have a favorite recipe you would like to share?  

Brag Book for Child's Schoolwork

We are in the midst of the last week of school before summer vacation, and the girls (and teachers!) are cleaning out their desks and lockers and bringing home all of that great end of the year stuff!  All of that stuff that I look through and then think, "What do I do with all of this?"  Most years I put it into the girls' "special boxes" aka 20 gallon plastic tubs that are now stored in my big storage closet (because our new house doesn't have a basement).  I always think that I should pull those tubs out to make more room -- at the rate that I am going, by the time these girls are in their 20's they will each have no less than TEN "special tubs!" 

My littlest girlie came home with the most wonderful thing that her 2nd grade teacher - bless his heart - put together!  It's called a "brag book" and it's a 1" 3-ring view binder with plastic sleeve protectors inside and inside the plastic sleeve protectors are various things that my daughter did in school throughout the year!!  A few pieces of artwork, a few pieces of writing, a memory booklet that she made to remember 2nd grade, a birthday book filled with handwritten letters from her classmates -- those were wonderful!  What a FABULOUS idea!!  Anyone who worked with me at my former job knows how much I ADORE view binders!!  I had a floor to ceiling bookshelf filled with them -- all white, all with labels on the spine in the same style font -- a sight to behold!  I think this is a great solution to my schoolwork storage issue!  I can put together snapshots of my girls' schoolwork for each grade - nice and neat!  And I should be able to get all of their binders in ONE tub -- woo hoo!  An even less expensive, greater space-saving idea would be to put the work into 10" x 13" envelopes - one for each year.

If I were starting this with them when they were in Kindergarten or Preschool (because I have TONS of preschool stuff too...), using the view binders I would have had my girls draw a picture to slide in the front of the binder and write their own name and age -- what a sweet keepsake I think this will be!  I'm late to the party (as my 13-year-old would say), but I can still have the girls do that from here on out.  For the early binders I'll just find a piece of their artwork from each year that I can use.  If you use the envelope idea, you can do the same thing, having the child draw on the front of the envelope. 

Can't wait -- great summer project for us!

What do you do with all of the school stuff that your kids bring home at the end of the year?

Advice for a New Big Sister

My sister-in-law is expecting her second child - a girl - and her 7-year-old daughter is a little nervous about being a big sister, so my sister-in-law asked my eldest daughter (12) if she would send a note to her cousin.  Here's what my sweet girl wrote:

"Welcome to the Siblings Club! I'm so excited to have a new cousin, and I know you're excited to have a baby sister. I was even younger than you when my little sister was born; you will be seven, but I was only 5 1/2! I know what it is like to have a little sister, so I want to give you some advice!

Don't be nervous. Right now, you're probably feeling really nervous. You've never been a big sister before! You're probably wondering if you'll be a good big sister. Don't worry! I know you'll be a great big sister because you're such a great little girl. Before my sister was born, I was nervous too, because I didn't know what it was like, and no one had any advice to give me! My mom was an only child, and Daddy was a big brother to three other siblings! I also thought the new baby would take away all of Mommy and Daddy's attention, and they wouldn't love me as much anymore. But that's not true because every parent has enough love in their hearts to go around. 

 

Being a sister is so much fun! Having a sister is so much fun because she's a playmate\friend that you have around all the time! When my sister and I are in the car all day driving on long trips, we share toys and watch movies together. On trips when we share an air mattress to sleep on, we annoy my mom and dad because we giggle all night long! Life is never lonely when you have a sister.

Babies are a lot of work and your mom will need some help. You won't remember when my sister and our other cousin were babies, because you were a baby too. I got to help Mommy out a lot with with my sister. I helped entertain her, and once I even changed her diaper. I also remember helping to give the babies baths.

 

Babies are also so much fun, though, and they're cute, too! Our family has had a lot of very cute babies, so your sister is going to be so cute, too! Babies are like real live baby-dolls. My mom LOVED dressing up my sister, and her outfits were so adorable. Babies are also so small, and it's so cool to watch them grow up.

You can teach your sister a lot of things! You love so many things: dinosaurs, superheroes, horse-back riding. You can share these interests with your baby sister! This way you'll have something in common. You can teach your sister how to do SO many things. I taught my sister how to use the computer, and I teach her a lot of things in the Art Studio. Just don't teach your little sister bad things.

You are such a sweet little girl. I hope you know you can call me or e-Mail me OR write me a letter anytime you want, and if you have ANY questions you can ask me. Do you know what? You and I are very similar. We're both older sisters to little sisters! Anyway, you and your little sister will have to learn how to be sisters together, just like my sister and I did. Along the way, there will be times when she is just downright annoying (I know the feeling), but at the end of the day, just know that you both love each other very much and your parents love you too! You'll be a great big sister and a wonderful role model."

Did I mention my girl's 12?  Pretty proud of her!  She even added the picture above to the e-mail she sent her cousin -- it's a picture of my two girls on the day my youngest was born.  And yes, I may refer back to this when they are, as my girl put it "downright annoying" to each other!  ;)

Girl Scout Daisy to Brownie Bridging Ceremony

Tonight was the last meeting for my Daisy Girl Scout troop!  Tonight the girls (and myself and my co-leader) all bridged from Daisy Scouts to Brownie Scouts!  It's been a great year and it was wonderful to celebrate with the girls and their families.  I told my co-leader the other day that all year I find that I stress and worry getting ready for every meeting, trying to get loose ends tied up, make sure everyone knows about the meeting, what they need to bring, what I need to bring...  And then I get there and the girls are so much fun and things happen the way the happen -- either smoothly or not, but we always have fun and enjoy ourselves, and I always leave feeling so thankful that I have had this opportunity to share Girl Scouting with my daughters and their friends.  I highly recommend it, if you have the chance -- go for it!  Even if you aren't up for being a leader, leaders always love to have parent helpers and your daughter will love to have you help out her troop!  I've been particularly blessed this year with a wonderful co-leader, some really helpful parents, a great troop of girls, and also my 12-year-old daughter who helps at my troop meetings.  What a truly lovely thing for my two girls and I to get to do together!

For our bridging ceremony, I typed up the "inside" of an invitation on the computer and then printed copies out for the girls to decorate the outside covers.  They took these home to invite their families to our big ceremony.  We worked on learning two songs to sing to the parents -- "Amazing Daisies" an adorable little song we found on iTunes -- and "Make New Friends" a Girl Scout classic that I remember from when I was a Girl Scout (about 100 years ago...).  My little one made up a few hand movements to go along with "Make New Friends" so she taught them to the rest of the troop and they performed this little dance while singing.

We were able to borrow an actual little bridge for the girls to walk over to symbolize their journey from Daisies to Brownies.  We read a story -- another Girl Scout classic -- "The Brownie Story" and we had the girls cross the bridge and peek over to see their reflection in the "pond" (full-length mirror on the floor).  We handed them each a bag with an adorable certificate that we found on Etsy.com, the badges they earned this year, and a sweet dvd that my 12-year-old made on Windows Movie Maker.  It starts with a video clip of the girls singing "Amazing Daisies" (so cute!!) then there are still pictures from throughout the year and video clips of the girls individually telling what Girl Scouts means to them, all set to the Selena Gomez song, "Fly to Your Heart" from the first Tinker Bell movie.  At the end of the dvd she listed all of the girls names, the troop # and the year -- it's about 4-1/2 minutes long, but something I know I would (and will) definitely cherish as a parent!  I briefly thought about borrowing my dad's screen, projector and laptop to be able to show the dvd at the ceremony, but I decided simpler was better for a one hour meeting!  Aside from that we had certificates to thank our volunteer parents and everyone brought a snack to share. 

All in all, a really nice end to a really nice year of Scouting!  Now we can rest up and gear up our energy for next year!

Easy, Reuseable Daily Calendar

I saw this adorable calendar on Pinterest and my eldest daughter and I decided to start this for 2013!  If you click on the link above, it will take you to the original blog with all of the details of the project -- the original is very cute, but we decided to simplify it!  We simply took index cards that we had at home (probably from the dollar store) and my girl went through with the calendar and wrote the month and day for each day of the year on the cards.  We added in Leap Year so that we have it when we need it.  Now that we have the cards prepared, at the end of each day we take the card and write the year and then something that happened that day.  And then next year, we will write "2014" and then something that happened that day.  I still need to find something to put our cards in (cute recipe box? berry container, like the original?) and some cute cards to use as dividers.  The original version had vintage post cards which are adorable -- I don't have those, and I'm working on this with my girls, so I was thinking I'd have the girls decorate cards with drawings that are appropriate for each month (hearts for February, shamrocks for March, flowers for April, etc.).  I'll let them use their artistic license!

My daughter loves this project and has written many of our calendar entries.  This is a great calendar for looking back and reflecting on where you were and what you were doing in past years.  And it's great for keeping track of things for scrapbooks, baby books, etc! 

Trying to diet as a New Year's resolution?  Track your weight loss on a calendar like this, adding in things that worked and things that didn't -- separate the months with lo-cal recipe cards or inspirational photos or quotes.  So many possibilities!

Cell Phone Wish List

I have found a new use for my cell phone! For the past 6 months or so, when I have been at the store with my girls and they start pointing out things they want for Christmas (or birthday, or just in general!), I whip out my cell phone and take a picture of the child with the item they are requesting. Lots of times I’m able to even include the price in the photo so that I have it for budgeting purposes!

I also use the camera on my cell phone when I am in a store by myself and I see something that I know one of my family members would love to receive as a gift. And once in a while if I see something that I would like for myself, I’ll snap a picture and send it to my husband or parents as a gift idea! I always have my phone with me and it’s a great way for me to remember things that we see throughout the year and may forget by the time the rush of the holiday season is in full swing.

Chasing Away Your Child's Nightmares

Over the past week my little one started having nightmares - four nights in a row, which is unusual for her!  A week ago Friday, there was a fire near our house, which we saw on our way home.  We were never in any danger, which I explained to her, and the firefighters did a wonderful job of putting it out before it got too out of control, but I think it was weighing on her mind.  On the third night, she woke up and climbed into bed with my husband and me, and on the fourth night when I heard her crying, I woke up and went in to sleep with her.  On Day Five, when it was bedtime, I tried something new - in addition to telling her that she was safe and sound in her cozy house, and that Mommy, Daddy and her big sister were all there with her - I told her that I was going to throw away all of her her bad dreams.  She was lying in bed, and I leaned over her and picked at the air around her head - seemingly grabbing her bad dreams and tossing them over my shoulder.  She loved it and giggled, but I was very serious in my task, and you know what?  No nightmares that night!  So, I did it again the next night - again, no nightmares!! 

My elder daughter went through a period of time where she seemed to be having quite a few nightmares and Grandpa and Gramby gave her a dream-catcher that she has had hanging on her bed for years.  She believes that it helps her, and it certainly seems to be doing it's job - she rarely ever has nightmares!  I was talking about this at work recently with some friends who are moms.  One of them said that her daughter went on the internet and found a Bible quote about God watching over her, which she posted near her bed.  She had been having nightmares and it has really helped her.

Whatever the method, in my experience, if you can reinforce to your child that they are safe from harm - whether through a strong power of suggestion or a strong sense of faith - the "monsters" will vanish and sleep will be restored to the kingdom!  

Chalkboard Reminders

How cute is this??  It's actually a chalkboard cheese tray that my  friend Jeanine thoughtfully brought me when she came to a party at our house.  I absolutely love it, and will use it when I entertain, but we really don't entertain as often as we used to -- so I came up with an alternative every day use for it!  I had an extra plate holder (about $4 from Hobby Lobby) and I have it on the kitchen counter near the sink.  It is GREAT for writing notes on -- like yesterday's, "Last lesson!  Don't forget your clarinet!"  And things like that...  It will also come in handy to leave notes for my dad when he's watching the girls -- I'm always looking for paper and a pen to leave him reminders.  And when I want to use it for a party, I can wash it and it will be all ready!

I LOVE things like this -- multi-purpose, and super stylish!

Tip for Packing Children's Clothes for Travel

We are heading out this weekend to visit our family in Long Island -- to celebrate Christmas! (And then after that we are really done with the season for this year!!) We have been racing around finishing our Christmas shopping (crazy!) and making some homemade gifts for our Kris Kringle gift exchange with my husband's siblings -- I can't wait to show the two things that I made (found them from a fellow blogger's site -- loved them!!) -- I'll show you pictures and include a link after we get back! I grocery shopped on lunch today, took the girls for a visit to see my grandmother who recently moved into a nursing home -- one quick visit before we head out of town! -- my husband has been doing laundry, we've packaged up gifts, packed bags to entertain the kids (and me!) in the car -- you name it! My eldest daughter has a chorus concert tomorrow night so we are trying to get everything done and have the car packed before we go tomorrow so that we can get up and head out by 5:00am on Friday (yikes!).

I am a terrible packer of clothing -- my own and my children's. We're taking a short trip, but I don't know about the weather and we are going out one night and of course I hate everything in my closet -- so I'm bringing all of it in the hopes that I'll like it better when I'm looking at it in someone else's mirror... All week I've been throwing things into bags and every time we go on a trip I find that I a) over pack, and b) throw in weird combinations of clothes for my children "just in case..." Tonight, I took a deep breath and I decided to organize by outfit -- particularly for my 5-year-old. She counts on us to lay her clothes out for her, and tonight I thought the most organized way to do it would be to put together whole outfits -- top, bottom, underwear, undershirt, socks or stockings. Once I did that, I took the undergarments and the socks/stockings and I opened up the "top" for the outfit and I tucked everything inside. So in her bag, I don't have a sea of underwear and socks and undershirts -- I have complete outfits, ready to go! I even took the time to put them in order of when I planned for her to wear them. Jammies for the first night on top, outfit for a birthday party, outfit for Christmas celebration, comfy outfit for the car ride home. I did pack 2 spare outfits -- just in case. And on my dresser is an outfit for her all ready for the early morning car ride on Friday.

Sometimes I think I am saving myself time by grabbing things and throwing them in a bag whenever I have a moment to spare -- this time I took a little extra time, concentrated on what I was doing and organized her bag. It probably took me 15 - 20 minutes at the most and it will save me time and headaches on our trip!

Girl Scout Leader Supply Kit

So as I mentioned, I'm totally immersed in Girl Scouts right now, and I love it! We are having our second meeting tomorrow afternoon. The first meeting was at my house, because our troop was so new that we had not received confirmation for a meeting site. Now we are all approved to meet at one of the nearby elementary schools -- which is great -- they have a large "all-purpose room" (cafe-gym-atorium, is what my sister-in-law Susan calls them -- you know, lunch, gym and assemblies all occur in one place!), bathrooms, playground -- perfect! And, it's free! But, since it is not at my house where I am prepared for all sorts of activities and emergencies, I decided to make a travel kit for my Girl Scout supplies. I grabbed an empty Rubbermaid tub from the basement (practically everything we own is in Rubbermaid tubs in the basement -- my husband's record collection, mementos of my children's early years, pictures, clothes, holiday decorations, china...) and I gathered some things from around the house. We also stopped at the dollar store and I picked up a few other things that I might need. Here's what I have so far:

- paper towels
- plastic bags
- band-aids (I need to get a first aid kit)
- hand sanitizer
- scissors, tape, glue sticks, crayons
- pipe cleaners
- wooden craft sticks
- acrylic paints, paint brushes, paper plates for "palettes"
- wipes (I LOVE wipes -- my kids are both out of diapers, I will never stop buying wipes...)
- construction paper
- scrap paper
- coloring pages
- yarn
- brown paper lunch bags
- napkins

I need a couple more things from the store tomorrow -- I thought I would grab a box of small paper cups to keep in there for snack time. To help save the troop some money (and my co-leader and myself), we are going to have a sign-up sheet for snack. This way one person won't be in charge of it for the whole year, and as we learned from doing this in preschool, the kids seem to enjoy getting to have their own choice of what they want to share with their friends.

I also have to organize my binder -- I learned in training that I need to carry the girls' health forms with me to meetings, field trips, etc. I bought a binder to keep all of those forms in, my training info, a copy of the handbook (I'm buying one, but it's on back-order until December!), attendance forms, meeting schedule, etc. (Ask anyone I work with -- I am the binder queen of America -- love them...)

Trying to stay organized and being prepared will probably go a long way to helping me be a good leader. And, having everything in one place will make it easy to leave my kit in the back of my van and I'll be all ready for my Girl Scout meetings.

Repurposing A Child's Dresser

Do you remember this adorable little dresser? Well, as much as I loved it in my littlest girlie's room, as she is growing, so are her clothes -- it was time to move up to a larger dresser! We moved this dresser into her closet to try and give her some more drawer space, without taking up precious floor space in her (smaller than her sister's) room! That was a nice idea in theory, but we have built-in shoe shelves on the bottoms of our closets and the dresser was more cumbersome in there than helpful. I already have three other dressers that I am using for storage between the basement and the garage, and I liked the shape of this little dresser, so I decided to spruce it up and use it in the living room.

After dropping my daughter off at Princess Dance Camp one morning last week, my husband pulled out the painting stuff including a can of black paint that we had in the basement. I painted the dresser in no time, of course leaving the sweet baby drawer liners in place! I finished painting and left it to dry while we went back to pick my girl up (9:00 - 12:00 -- not bad!) and conveniently, her dance school is located just minutes from Hobby Lobby (my favorite store)!! I found some adorable vintage-y looking knobs for the dresser -- I was THRILLED to get them for 50% off! When we got home I put the new knobs on and voila, I have a lovely "new" piece of furniture that I am proud to use in my living room. Having the paint on hand and getting the sale price on the knobs allowed me to make this dresser over for only $17! Not bad for a new piece of furniture that I will use and love for years to come.

Preschool to Kindergarten

This is our last year in preschool. We have loved it and have had close to 4 wonderful years at this school – two with our eldest daughter, and now we are finishing up the 2nd year with our youngest. I was struggling with the thought of my baby going off to kindergarten next year – I always joke with her that I want to shrink her down and carry her around in my pocket. She loves that and tells me, “Shrink me, shrink me!”

Back in January, we received an assessment from her preschool teacher. We were quite taken aback at the results of that assessment and the ensuing conversations with her teacher. Our girlie, who is (to us) completely wonderful, bright, and witty received less than favorable scores and her preschool teacher recommends that we hold her back for another year instead of sending her to kindergarten. This was a total shock to us. Her older sister has never had problems in school and brings home fantastic report cards and test scores. She attended the same preschool and had the same teacher, but this was six years ago, before the school began doing assessments – it would be interesting to be able to compare their preschool assessments to see what the differences are. Obviously, they are two different people with different personalities, but some of the things that my girl scored poorly on left me scratching my head in confusion. My husband and I felt like, “What is the matter with us? We would never have thought that we needed to teach her that!” Specifically, one of those issues was “alternating feet when walking up and down the stairs.” It’s a developmental thing, and apparently something that they look for to see if kids are developing properly – we never would have ever thought anything of that if it had not shown up on this assessment. I am sure that this was not something that we taught our eldest daughter – it would have been interesting to see if she would not have met standards in this area too.

We have been working on these things (and more) with our girl and we thought we had seen a lot of improvement. The preschool teacher had originally said that she would do a second assessment, but later told us that she had seen "no marked improvement" and wouldn't be doing that. That was followed by another discussion where she strongly suggested that we give our daughter "a gift" and hold her back. She said it would be the best thing we could do for her. She also said that she felt our girl had low self-esteem, often saying "I can't do it" when asked to do something at school. It was difficult to hear one thing from the teacher and feel something entirely different from our personal experience with our child. For most people that know our younger daughter, low self-esteem is not at all in the list of adjectives that they would use to describe her. She's a confident kid -- she knows what she wants, she'll tell you, and she'll also call you on your own behavior/actions if she feels that it's not right. (Grandpa says she'll be a great supervisor later in life!) In fact, this was another thing to consider -- is it that she can't do the work or that she has no interest in it? She'd rather play, certainly. But is that the issue? She has (what we think is) a great vocabulary for her age. She is wonderful socially -- that was actually one area on which the preschool teacher praised her.

It was hard to separate our personal bias as parents and try to make the right decision for our girl. Would it be so bad to hold her back? No, not necessarily. But what if she really didn't need that extra year -- what if she were bored attending preschool again. How would she feel entering the 4's class as a 5-year-old? How would she feel being a grade behind her cousin who is only a month older than her?

We had discussion upon discussion (my husband and I) about what to do -- friends and family encouraged us to get another assessment, we spoke with our doctor who felt that our girl was doing just fine developmentally. When we mentioned that she was struggling a little with writing her name (which is 9 letters long -- she does the first 3 with ease), the doctor said, "Well, her name isn't LISA. It's pretty long to learn and remember!" We called and spoke to the principal of the elementary school (who knows us from our eldest daughter attending for the past 4 years) and she was encouraging by telling us that it is their job as educators to make sure that our child is successful in school. She assured us that if we or they felt that our child needed help academically, they would provide her with the tools to be successful. This all helped reassure us that kindergarten was the way to go this next year. The final deciding factor? We took our daughter to have her eyes checked. The Lions Club had come into her school and they voluntarily tested the kids' vision. They sent home a note saying, "have your child's eyes checked again." We thought perhaps she wasn't cooperating, perhaps she was distracted. Our doctor's office referred us to an eye doctor and my husband and I took her to her appointment. We mentioned the assessment to the eye doctor and mentioned that we were wondering if perhaps her eyesight could be affecting her school work. After a trying time with the doctor's assistant -- her seeming very crabby and put out that we were somehow wasting her time -- our girl was hardly answering any of her questions -- the eye doctor examined her and told us that she has a good deal of astigmatism and she needs glasses. This was quite a surprise to us, and I asked, "Does she need to wear them all the time?" The doctor said, "It will be such a difference that she'll WANT to wear them all the time. It will be like, 'Oh, hello world!'" We left his office and picked out a pair of pretty pink frames and we waited for a week for her glasses to come in. The doctor was right -- at her young age, she adapted to them immediately. She puts them on first thing in the morning, she takes them off at night and puts them on her nightstand. And they seem to have really made a difference to her in every day life and in school.

Recently, my husband was assisting at school and while he was helping out in the other room, the teacher had each child go up to the board individually and write their name and draw a person. Both of these have been issues for our girl. My husband did not see this, but the teacher told him later that when she called our daughter up and told her what she needed to do (name and person), our girl thought about it for a second, then went over to the attendance board and grabbed her card with her name, carried it over to the board and used it to help her spell her name! She wrote her name on the board and she drew a stick figure person, just like the teacher had requested! The teacher was very impressed -- and so were we! I overheard the teacher telling another teacher at the school that our daughter had really improved. It's been a trying few months, but we are happy that we kept working with her, kept advocating for her, and tried to consider every possibility to make the right decision for her and to give her every opportunity to move along to kindergarten.

My Guilty Conscience. Period.

Have I mentioned that guilt is a big thing with me? I feel it all the time, about everything. Even things over which I have no control. Some people call it “Catholic guilt” – maybe… Or it may come from my grandmother – she has perfected guilt to an art form (don’t tell her I said that!). Regardless of the source, and my usual, relative innocence, I feel guilty all the time. The latest cause of my guilt? The agonizing weight of knowing that I need to have “the talk” with my 10-year-old daughter, particularly about getting her period… Too young? Yeah, that’s what I think too, but kids are growing up so quickly these days, and I would rather her a) hear it from me than from someone at school, and b) be prepared in case it shows up unexpectedly while I am not around to help her.

I have asked other mothers (friends of mine, relatives, her friends’ mothers) to see if they have brought up the subject with their daughters, and have found out that no, they have not. Some are not really worried about it yet, some are thinking about it and planning how to bring the subject up. One family member let me borrow a couple of books to read with my daughter, but I have been so freaked out by the whole thing, that I had not even taken them out of the bag! I have also swapped stories with friends at work, my mother, my mother-in-law – I’ve received lots of good advice on what to do – prepare her, just in case is the big tip. LOTS of friends never knew anything about it until it arrived – big surprise! Also, a friend at work mentioned that once her mother told her about it (after she got it the first time) her mother neglected to tell her that it would only last a few days (and come back every month, of course) – but she thought it would continue for the rest of her life – continuously! See? Good information to have!

I have a slightly unique situation, considering my daughter has a form of OCD that we refer to as “stuck thinking.” She can see or hear something that is upsetting to her, and it will get stuck in her head and cause her a great deal of anxiety. I have been trying to walk the fine line between telling her too early and causing her to endlessly perseverate over the idea, and not telling her in time and causing her to freak out when it arrives unexpectedly and she is unprepared. SIGH. Decisions, decisions…

So, now that you have an idea about my state of mind for the past, um, six months or so, let me tell you what NOT to do. Do not wait until the last minute. And the last minute for me was after a particularly stressful day, with an episode of “stuck thinking” and anxiety in the morning while getting ready for work and school. And a pronouncement to my family that night that I have a very important event for work the next morning and I cannot have a repeat of that morning’s episode – everything must run smoothly – please, oh please, be Mommy’s big helpers! And then we wake up yesterday morning and things are running smoothly, until my daughter tells me that her lower back is hurting her and she describes the pain as “crampy.” And my guilty conscience rears up and tells me, “You should have told her sooner!” And I worry that, while I don’t know why her back is bothering her, it COULD be a hint that “IT” is coming (having lived through many, many crampy back pains over the years…). So, what do I do on my crazy, busy morning? I decide not to let my daughter go to school without a little bit of information about possibly getting her period. But I am in a race to get my daughter and myself ready so that she can get to school and I can get to my important work function… Needless to say, it was not the sweet, mother-daughter bonding moment that you might see on a tv. I tried to start out calmly and first asked her if she had heard anything about it from her friends. No. Then I started to explain that as boys and girls get older, they go through some changes. Boys’ voices might change, boys and girls start growing hair in other places on their bodies, girls begin to grow breasts… And then I launched into the talk (as best I could – not great on the spur of the moment) about girls getting their periods. It did not go well. After much stress on both of our parts, and her insistence that she was not interested in having that happen, I asked, “Would you rather have the information ahead of time and file it away for when you need it, or would you rather be surprised?” And she said with a sigh, “Have the information.” In the end, we both felt better and she did hide a couple of little pads in her backpack, just in case. It ended up being a false alarm, but I would never have forgiven myself if I had sent her off to school unprepared and something had happened!

As a follow up to our delightful talk, I had planned to buy the American Girl book, “The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls.” I saw it at Barnes and Noble recently and thought it was wonderful – I should have grabbed it right then and there! Luckily, my friend Kristin actually had a copy of it and she is letting me borrow it until her daughter needs it. It really is a great book for young girls to have. It covers everything from hair care, hygiene, ear piercing, choosing the right bra, and of course, everything you need to know about getting your period. My daughter and I sat down this morning and looked through the book together and read a little of it. This is something that we both feel comfortable either reading together, or she can read it and we can talk about it together.

Most importantly, however you handle it, I think it is so important for girls to get this information from their mothers. I specifically asked my daughter not to talk about this with her friends or cousin until I know from their mothers that they are informed on the subject. I told her that it is important for their moms to tell them -- not her! It is not an easy topic to bring up, but once I was able to get over my own discomfort about discussing it, we both feel better about it and she is ready -- whenever the time comes!

What Do I Do With All Of Those School Calendars?

I have two children, who are both in school – two separate ones (middle and pre) to be exact. We have SO many important papers that we have to refer to on an almost daily basis for each girl. We have the school lunch calendar, the calendar that tells us when gym day is and when library books are due, the school calendar that lists days off and testing dates, the preschool assisting calendar, the preschool lesson plan calendar, the instrumental music lesson calendar – and the list goes on! We also have school illness guidelines (when to keep your child home), the religious education calendar, and phone lists from the schools for scheduling play dates. It’s overwhelming! Since these are things that we refer to often, I don’t want to get them mixed in with all of the other paperwork – mail, homework, flyers from school – so a few years ago I started to tape everything up on the inside of our kitchen cabinets. This works out great for us – when the cabinets are closed – no mess! But we are in a routine – myself, my husband, and even our 9-year-old – and we check the schedules inside the cupboard every night to prepare the girls for school the next day. This has worked out great for us!

What is one of your favorite organizational tips for keeping all of the kid’s school info accessible?

"What Do I Do With All of This Stuff??" New Series!

I thought I would do a little series of posts based on the theme, "What Do I Do With All of This Stuff?" This theme encompasses a wide variety of topics and I thought I could share some of my ideas with you and I hope that you will comment and share some of your ideas with me as well! It's Halloween weekend, so let's start with the kids' holiday crafts! (For those of you keeping track, this falls under the larger category of "Kids' Schoolwork" and the sub-category of "Kids' School Artwork...") I am a sentimental saver by nature. I mostly owe this to genetics and my grandmother (my dad's mother). Since Gram, each generation has tried their best to break out of the "Sentimental Saver" (aka hoarder...) mode. I'm getting better and better with each passing year! I do not want to find myself on an afternoon talk show in an intervention situation... ;)

Anyway, the kids do SO many projects around the house and at school and it really adds up over the years (even months!) if you don't stay on top of it. I cherish their little projects and I love to display them, but sometimes it gets to be too much. This little witch is something that my niece colored about 4 years ago. I thought it was so cute that I put it in with my Halloween decorations and I have pulled it out and set it on the window in my kitchen every year for Halloween.

This little white, clay pumpkin is something that my eldest daughter made out of Play-doh a couple of years ago (when she was 6 or 7?). She left it out to dry and I have kept it along with my niece's witch. This little pumpkin actually reminds me of a something that my husband made when he was a little boy. I remember him showing me this little, brown, clay log-like thing that his mother had on display in the guest room. He had made it when he was very young and she had kept it all those years. It was, in fact, intended to be a log, but I have to tell you -- it looked like something else... But, he made it with love for his mother and she has kept it for over 30 years! I think if we can restrain ourselves and not keep EVERYTHING that our children make for us, but still keep some special things, it really shows the kids how precious they are to us. I think it fills a child with pride to see their parents showing off their artwork.

The great thing about holiday or seasonal artwork is that you can save a few pieces and pack them away with your holiday decorations and bring them out to display once a year. It saves on trying to find a space for everything all year long and its like a walk down memory lane for you and your kids -- seeing their special projects from years past! I will definitely be adding this cute, finger-painted pumpkin that my littlest girlie made at preschool to the annual Halloween decorations!

What do you do with the holiday projects that your kids bring home? Anything particularly special that you cherish? I'd love to hear about it!

Potty Time!

Warning – this post may be considered “TMI” (Too Much Information) – but all parents have gone or will go through this ordeal. I thought I’d share my trials and triumphs! (I’m sure my daughter will LOVE this when she’s older! You can bet I’ll be saving it for her! Hey, at least I’m not posting any potty photos!!)

We have been working on a new “project” at our house – potty training!! Shocking, I know – my littlest girlie just turned 4… But, we learned with her older sister that when the child is ready to learn, it goes much faster and is much less painful, than if you decide (or others tell you) that it’s time! And really, I should confess that while we still were not seeing any of the “signs” that the experts tell you to look for – the child showing interest in the bathroom, the child telling you when they have to go to the bathroom, the child showing signs of discomfort in their diaper (asking you to change them) – we decided to take matters into our own hands last week! It was partly prompted by her 4th birthday, and also partly by the fact that we had over a week where either myself or my husband would be home with the girls – a great time to work on it!

So, after we procrastinated for the first, hmm… two-thirds of the week? ;) I jumped right in a week ago this past Sunday. Well, we started on Saturday, but I had her in a disposable training pant (pull- up), and I intended to put her on the potty every 30 minutes or so. At first, she used the training pant as a diaper, so that was not successful. (I was trying to save myself from accidents…) Then, I tried to put her on the potty (ok, toilet – she’s too big the “potty” that we have…) and she screamed and cried big tears and acted downright scared of the toilet! I decided to try again on Sunday. On Sunday, I tried putting her in a pair of her Disney Princess underpants that she got for Christmas and I put a pair of training pants over the underpants – my brilliant idea was that if she tinkled, she would feel uncomfortable in the underpants but the training pants would prevent a big mess for Mommy to clean up. Nice thought – she tinkled and kept playing – didn’t bother her at all! (See – no “signs”!) Well, this was my last day off (Daddy was home for the next two days) and I was bound and determined to have a breakthrough on the potty-training.

Breakdown, was more like it… My elder daughter was waiting for her best friend’s mom to come and pick her up for a play date that afternoon, and my little one and I were having a power struggle over the potty. She had no interest, and I desperately wanted to make this work! I had M&M’s (bribery!) for any attempt to go on the potty – no dice! Stickers and a sticker chart and then I tried reasoning – rarely if ever successful with a preschooler (or their 9-year-old sister, truth be told!) – “Sweetie, everyone you know goes potty on the potty! I know you can do it – you are a very smart girl!” Her response, “I AM NOT A SMART GIRL!! I DON’T WANT TO GO ON THE POTTY!!” Cue her big tears and stomping, pan to my older daughter crying because she doesn’t like to see her sister cry. What did Mommy do? She called Daddy at work to give him a heads up that she would more than likely be running away from home later in the day… (Kidding, of course!) Then I took a deep breath and regrouped, and I told my girlie that if she would at least TRY to go on the potty every day that week, then on Friday we would take her to see “Toy Story 3.” That worked for her! She came over and sat on the potty – hallelujah! I had a step stool at her feet to make her more comfortable, and I had a pile of books on the counter next to her. She and I sat in there for an hour and I read all of the books to her. And in all of that time – not a drop! In the meantime, her sister had left for her play date, and when my friend arrived to pick her up, I told her what I had in store for my day. She was very sympathetic, and I said, “Really, isn’t there a camp where you can send your child and they’ll send them back potty-trained?” and my friend paused and said, “You know…” and I said, “IS there a camp like that?” She said no, but had momentarily thought of a business opportunity and then said, “But I don’t want to be in THAT business!” Agreed!

Anyway, after an hour we decided it wasn’t happening and I put another pair of her underpants on her – no training pants (living on the edge!) – and we went downstairs and watched “Toy Story.” I kept asking her if she had to go potty, and finally when the movie was over we went upstairs and tried again – different pile of books this time! And lo and behold – she pooped! (Hey, I warned you this would be too much…) We were both SO excited! She got a hug, a kiss, and 4 M&M’s. We also called Daddy at work to tell him the big news – ok, I will share, she told him, “Daddy, it was as big as a carrot!!” (No idea why she said that, but she sounded very proud at the time!) It’s the little things that we like to look back and remember fondly! 

Since then, she has been doing great – 4 little accidents in 8 days (2 each on 2 different days) and we are very encouraging about how proud we are of her, and we make sure to say, “Are YOU proud of you?” And she is! This is such a big accomplishment for our little ones, and for us as parents – there are so many things that we have to teach our children and some things just come easier than others. But, if you stick with it and remind yourself that more than likely, your child will learn to use the potty before high school – you will survive potty training! (Two kids down, no more on the way – we survived – hooray!!)

And we did go to see Toy Story 3, which she loved, and I will tell you about that later!

Child Safety Seats

I remember when I was pregnant with my first child and going to register for my baby shower -- I read so many different things about child safety seats and child restraint systems for the car! We were fortunate and we essentially received THREE different car seats / child safety seats that carried us through all of the years that our child needed a safety seat. We had the infant carrier with the base that stays in the car, the convertible child safety seat, and then the booster seat. However, just having the right types of safety seats is not enough -- you also need to keep track of how long your child should be in each seat, and when it's time to move on to the next level! Over the past 9 years, between our first and second daughters, I have found myself looking up child safety seat info on numerous occasions -- not just to see when I could move my girls into the next car seats, but also when we have traveled out of state. Different states have different requirements -- if you are traveling to another state, it is a good idea to look on that state's DMV website to make sure you are following their requirements. The information below is the current child safety restraint information for New York State -- please make sure to check your own state's Department of Motor Vehicle information for your area's safety restraint requirements.

Safety Restraints

Are child safety seats and child restraint systems required in New York State?

New York State law requires all children under the age of four to ride in safety seats. Before November 24, 2009, the law requires that all children ride in child restraint systems until their 7th birthday. As of November 24, 2009, this requirement applies to all children until their 8th birthday. Safety seats and child restraint systems must be certified according to Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standard 213. Follow the instructions of the manufacturer of the seat or system, and make sure you install and use the seat or system correctly. The web site of the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee has a list of permanent child safety seat fitting stations in NYS.

How do I select the correct child safety seat or child restraint system?

To select the correct protection for your child, carefully read the recommendations of child safety seat or child restraint system manufacturers.  The recommendations tell you what age weight and height a child can be to use the seat or system.  The recommendations are normally printed on the outside of the package. 

An appropriate child safety restraint system:

- Is required for all children until their 8th birthday as of November 24, 2009,. (Prior to November 24, 2009, the requirement applies to children until their 7th birthday), and

- Must meet the size and weight requirements for the child based on the Federal requirements and the recommendations of the manufacturer, and

- Can be a child safety seat, a harness, a vest or a booster seat attached with the vehicle seat belt system, but not the vehicle seat belt alone, and

- Should not be used in the front seat of the vehicle.

These examples can help you to select the correct child safety seat: 

- Infant seats are normally for infants that weigh approximately 22 pounds or less, are 25 inches or less in length. Always place the seat in the back seat of the vehicle and make sure the child safety seat faces rear of the vehicle. Never put an infant in the front seat of a vehicle that has a passenger-side air bag.

- Convertible child safety seats are normally for infants or toddlers that weigh approximately 40 pounds or less. For infants, face these seats toward the rear of the vehicle. Follow manufacturer instructions to adjust the seat as the child grows. For the best possible protection, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that a child continue to face the rear for as long as possible up to the weight and height limits specified by the seat manufacturer. For toddlers, you can change a convertible seat to face the front of the vehicle.

- Booster seats are for children who have outgrown convertible or toddler seats. Booster seats are for children who are four to eight years old, weigh 40 to 80 pounds, and are less than four feet, nine inches in height.  You can use a booster seat until an adult seat belt correctly fits the child without use of the booster seat. Always use both the shoulder and lap belts with a booster seat. Never use only the lap belt with a booster seat. · Built-in child seats are available with some vehicle models.

- Built-in child seats fold away from the standard car seats. Do not use these seats for infants.

Always read the instructions and the information provided in the vehicle owner manual about the use of child safety seats or child restraint systems. Make sure you install and use the seat or system correctly at all times.  Never use an infant seat in the front seat of a vehicle that has a passenger-side air bag. Make sure that other passengers use their seat belts. Read more tips on the correct use of safety seats and child restraint systems.

I thought this was a great picture for this post -- I actually have 3 different-aged children, in 3 different safety seat / restraint situations -- in one picture! What are the odds! ;) This is my eldest daughter sitting in the car with a seat belt, our friend in the middle who is sitting in a booster seat with a seat belt and my youngest daughter in a convertible car seat.

New Swing Set!

There are some pretty happy campers in our household -- our girls, because we are the proud new owners of a fabulous wooden swing set, and my husband and I because the girls are enjoying it tremendously, AND we got a great deal on it! We had purchased a metal swing set about 5 (?) years ago for our eldest daughter. It dutifully served its purpose and was enjoyed by her, her friends, and finally her younger sister. But that swing set has seen better days, and between rust and our not feeling it was sturdy enough for both girls to play on, we decided to look into a wooden swing set. Have you priced these out lately? Whew!! Expensive. Lowe's sells them for about $1500, and Toys 'R Us has some for $800 and up. Friends of ours have been lucky enough to find people who have older kids who are no longer interested in their swing sets, and they have gotten them for free -- just the labor of moving the play set. We looked into that and also looked on Craig's List a site that I rarely remember to check before heading out to the store to buy something new. I did a search for "swing set" and every day for a week there were different options -- lots of people were looking to sell them, or even give them away! We inquired about 3 different ones, went to see one of them, and ultimately that was the best deal and we purchased it! It was the most expensive of the 3 -- $400, but the tower and fort on this alone, sells for between $600 - $700 at Lowes! With the help of our good friend, Michael, and my father, the guys went out (in the rain -- bless their hearts!) and took it apart, drove it home and put it back up in our backyard. It is possibly the best $400 that we have ever spent -- our girls have been out enjoying themselves in the fresh air, swinging on the swings, sliding down the slide, playing up in their new fort, just about every day that we've had it. And we are rediscovering our backyard and starting some other projects to make ours the "Best Backyard on the Block!" (Stay tuned -- I have some ideas to share throughout the Spring!)

Overcoming A Child's Fear of the Dentist

My 8-year-old daughter suffers from anxiety and one of the things that she worries about the most, is taking a trip to the dentist! Naturally, the majority of us would rather do almost anything than spend an hour at the dentist's office, but this goes beyond that for my girl. We had our 6 month appointments last week, and she saw that on the calendar as soon as we flipped over to November -- and she perseverated about it ever since. To add to her anxiety about a trip to the dentist, she has a loose tooth and she will not let anyone near it and was terrified that the dentist would pull the tooth. We tried to remind her over and over that she's been to see the dentist with a loose tooth on two other occasions -- both times he left the tooth in her mouth and told her to eat a Popsicle (or something very cold to numb her mouth) and then to bite into an apple -- he assured her that she would find the tooth sticking in the apple -- how simple is that? No way... She would not try this method, and left herself (and her family...) in AGONY waiting for the tooth to somehow fall out on its own. And, she would not take our word that this is what has happened two times in the past year and a half, and certainly, this is what would happen again.

She has other fears about the dentist -- biting down on the x-ray film with her loose tooth; sitting back in the chair (this was a BIG one a couple of years ago -- couldn't even get her to let the put the chair back even an inch... I tried to point out that she leans back farther in the recliner at home! I finally stepped away on that one and the dentist and hygienist worked their magic with the chair); and a fear of being told that she has a cavity. She wrote a letter to the dentist, which I brought and gave to him at our appointment. It stated that she has a very loose tooth that would hurt a LOT if he were to pull it out, and she requested that he PLEASE not touch it! She ended the letter with an artist's rendering of her mouth and teeth, an arrow drawn to the tooth in question, and a conversation bubble saying "OW! Please don't pull me out!" Fortunately, our dentist took it in stride and said, "Great! More fan mail!"

We tried to make her as comfortable as possible. We always bring her own toothpaste (which has fluoride and is recommended by the dentist -- but it's a flavor of her choice and she likes it better than the dentist's toothpaste). We also tried to address her fears -- I spoke with the hygienist and confirmed that my girl had had x-rays at her previous appointment and there was no need to do them at this time. At least we could alleviate that anxiety while she has the loose tooth! The dentist did not pull her tooth (as we had told her he wouldn't...) but when he gently touched the tooth, he said he saw her eyes dart up to him like, "I've got my eye on you!"

At the end of the appointment, she was chattering away, all happy -- it had not been anywhere near as traumatic as she had worked it up to be in her mind. I came up with an idea -- she would not believe us when we told her that the dentist was a nice man and that going to see him is not that scary -- perhaps she would believe herself! When we got home, I had her write herself a letter to tell herself that going to the dentist is not so bad! I told her that I will save the letter for her and the next time we go to the dentist, I will pull the letter out for her to read. She wrote a letter "To 9-year-old Livvie, from 8-year-old Livvie." (Because her birthday is next month...) In her letter, she told herself to "Cool it!" The dentist is a nice guy and she should be brave like she was when she finally jumped off the diving board! This is a definite keeper... I'll let you know if it does the trick in 6 months!

What tips do you have for getting your little ones through a trip to the dentist?

Bite-Sized Food for Kids

My dear children seem to be getting pickier and pickier about dinner, and I am constantly trying to throw different things into the mix so that we don't get too bored eating the same things all the time. And every once in a while, the girls decide that something they have enjoyed in the past, is now something they no longer will eat... That happened last night with tacos. I figured, tacos, "kid food" how can you go wrong? Yeah, no. No one was interested in those. My older daughter told me she no longer likes ground beef. I said, "Don't you like meatloaf?" (which we had just had last week and she seemed to enjoy) Yes. "You know that's ground beef, right?" Yes, but it tastes spicier, I like it.

Hmm... Spicier than tacos...? Well, who wants to argue! Anyway, at the point that I discovered their distaste for tacos, we were committed to having tacos (meat cooking, seasoning in the meat...). But I grabbed the "Scoops" tortilla chips that we had in the cupboard and for the girls, I made up mini taco cups -- "Scoops" chip with taco meat, shredded cheddar, and topped with a black olive slice. My girls LOVED these -- my older daughter ate the equivalent of what she would have in the past (you know, when she liked tacos... last month...) and my younger daughter actually ate more meat than she would have normally. I might have to try appetizer-like meals on some other things in the future!

I'd love to hear your ideas for getting your kids to eat!