An awesome Minecraft Birthday party!

Zoodle will be SEVEN tomorrow! He is passionately into Minecraft, and for the second year in a row, he's wanted a party with that theme.

A month or two ago, he told me, "I want four stations at my party." Then he went on to tell me the four game/activity stations he'd dreamed up. Well, who am I to say no to a six-year-old party planner? It all sounded doable, so I got to work.

Or that's how I wish it had gone! In reality, Zoodle gave me his ideas; I said, "Uh huh, that sounds good;" and then weeks later I realized his birthday was sneaking up on me, so I frantically planned a party in just over a week. Whew. Despite my procrastination, it went great!

First, I made invitations (with Zoodle's real name on them--this is an edited version!)

I had these printed on cardstock at Office Depot (and later found out I could have had them done much cheaper at the UPS Store, so take note!) They turned out really cute. (I'll give more info on making your own at the end of this post.) Zoodle wanted to invite his whole class plus other friends, so we printed plenty.

This morning I set up the four stations Zoodle had suggested. At each station I hung up a sign--see below. When kids came, they played outside, and then we put 4-5 kids at each station.

Theoretically, we were going to switch every ten minutes, but it ended up being a little bit closer to a free-for-all. It was still fun though...maybe MORE fun than if it had been super-structured! Other parents helped at most of the stations.

Station 1: Pin the Sword on Minecraft Steve

The day before the party, I looked up a picture of Steve and drew it on poster board, and Zoodle colored it. I purchased a digital Minecraft coloring book for $2.99, then printed and cut out a whole bunch of diamond swords. (I traced one of the swords on the poster board so we could judge who'd placed theirs the best!)

The kids really enjoyed it, especially since each group had a winner who got a prize (a box of candy.)

Station 2: Minecraft Crafting Table Game

I found an image online of the top of a Minecraft crafting table, and printed a bunch. We put them in a square, and had kids hop over them. If they touched a crafting table with their foot, they were out. Whoever got the furthest in each group got a prize.

Honestly, this was the least popular of the stations. I think if we'd taped down the crafting tables it would have gone better. But the kids liked the prizes (again, boxes of candy.) And I commend my kiddo for making up a new game!

Station 3: Coloring Minecraft pages

Who knew? Coloring is still a super-popular activity in our digital world. I printed the digital coloring book I'd purchased, and the kids went to town.

Station 4: Cookie Decorating

This station was a big hit! I used a sugar cookie mix to make large rectangles (basically like big cookie cakes), and then I cut them into squares once they were baked...because it's Minecraft, so cookies must be square! We gave the kids lots of topping choices...Biscoff spread (made from cookies), grape jelly, two types of frosting, and a big variety of sprinkles.

I told the kids they could decorate two--eating one, and bringing one home. We had little treat bags for them to put their cookies in, plus a Sharpie to label the bags.

The kids got more outdoor play time, and then they came in for pizza. After pizza, we had cake. I made a cake with two green layers, one darker than the other. As cake decorating goes, a Creeper cake is ridiculously easy!

Then it was present time, and Zoodle got enough Minecraft and Lego stuff to make him thoroughly spoiled, in a geeky, Minecraft-y, Lego-y sort of way!

I'm swearing off cheapo party favors, so here's what we did instead of a goodie bag full of toys that will break the next day. I found some cool Minecraft stickers on clearance at a bookstore near me. I laid those out on a bookshelf near the front door, and as kids completed coloring pages and cookies, we added those to each child's stack-o-stuff. (We also put candy there when the kids won it.) So each kid got a fun sticker, plus two things they'd made themselves.

All in all, it was an awesome party! I'm glad Zoodle had so many good ideas, and I had fun putting it all together. (Next year, I just want to start earlier!)

In case you're having a Minecraft party and would like to make invitations, signs, etc., here are some resources.

Green Minecraft background: I made this; you're welcome to use it in any way you want. Just right click, and select "Save Image."

Fonts: I downloaded two free fonts, MINECRAFT PE (available here with some other choices) and Press Start 2p (the smaller font, available here.) Minecraft PE is a transparent font; I had to fill each letter with white using a photo editing program. I also added a drop shadow to it.

If you're having your own Minecraft party, have a Minecrafterrific time! (I wanted to put that on the invite, but it got vetoed by Zoodle!)

I don't like to say yes

This kid....

He is pretty awesome. He's creative and smart and sweet and funny.

But, man, can he whine.

I like having simple, repeatable reminders I can say to my kids over and over and over to address behavioral issues. My most recent one?

"When you whine, I don't want to say yes."

It's certainly nicer than, "STOP WHINING, YOU WHINY WHINER!" which might be my most natural response on a bad day. But it's not only nicer; it also lets him know in a simple way that whining doesn't get him where he wants to go.

I think he's getting it. Maybe in time he'll lose his position as a World Champion Whiner.

(I'd be okay with that.)

Youre a perfect little snowflake

I look down at myself right now, and I see a shapeless t-shirt that identifies me as a worker in the kids area at church. I see 8-year-old PJ pants with cartoonish penguins on them. My sparkly toenails don't come close to redeeming this lazy Sunday afternoon outfit.

There are people around me, though, who see more.

A little while ago, Zoodle showed me a picture. I quickly deciphered the writing on it, with its oddly-hyphenated words. "No matter what youre always a perfect little snowflake!" it read. He'd drawn an orange snowflake with the label, "Perfect little snowflake."

 "It's for you," he told me.

Then he took it back, and to make it clear, wrote, "To Mommy" on the corner.

But his creativity was still flowing, so he once again grabbed the paper and made an addition--another snowflake. This one wasn't that attractive, so he gave it the captions, "Bad snowflake" and "Not like you." We both smiled.

Then he drew one more snowflake, with long eyelashes and a big smile. "Pretty snowflake like you," he wrote.

I cuddled with my guy and knew this was one work of art I won't throw away.

In his eyes, I am a perfect, beautiful snowflake. I'm not sure what I did to deserve those accolades today, but I'll take them.

Look around. I bet there's someone who thinks you're amazing. It may not be a universally-held view, and that's okay. That someone has the opinion I want you to listen to today. Don't listen to those who criticize needlessly. (A lot of days you probably shouldn't listen to your own opinion of yourself either.)

Instead, listen to that person who sees the wonder of you. Smile, and bask in it. Know that your Creator also sees this wonder in you, every single day.

You're a pretty snowflake too.

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to school we go

Oh, you know, it's just me...blogging after 9 months off. Man, I could have gestated a human being in that length of time!

For the record, I didn't. But a lot sure has changed.

I took on a very part-time job at my church, directing the elementary ministry. I decided to leave real estate behind to focus on that. Then that job turned into a part-time-but-closer-to-full-time-including-office-hours (hey, with nine months off from blogging, my ability to be concise is rusty) job as a children's pastor.  And this week...the kids went back to public school.

I'm glad I always told people that I was open to reevaluating homeschooling, since it ended up (unexpectedly!) being only a two-year venture for us. For various reasons, it was time for a change.

But I was nervous. Chickie has been dealing with something that one in eight kids struggles with...anxiety. (If I remembered where I'd read that statistic, I'd cite it!) I felt it was time for her to gain some confidence by spreading her wings at school. But I knew that she would need a teacher who could be gentle and understanding with her. I prayed and prayed--and so did Chickie--that she would get a great teacher.

A week and a half before school started, the kids and I went to New Family Orientation. We walked down the third grade hallway, and Chickie saw a sign outside one of the doors. It was hand-painted with the teacher's name, and it had popcorn painted on it too. We peeked in the window and saw a cute classroom. "That's the teacher I want," she said.

A week after that, we were back for Open House, the night when the kids would meet their teachers. We found the lists--and Chickie had gotten the teacher she wanted. By the time we'd visited Zoodle's class and walked to Chickie's, all the other parents were gone from the room. A few minutes alone with the teacher...on Open House night? Score!

I asked the teacher if we could talk. She, Chickie, and I sat down, and I explained Chickie's anxiety and what I've found works when she gets upset. The teacher listened with a look of kindness and understanding, and then she bent down a little so she was eye-to-eye with Chickie. "My daughter deals with bad anxiety too," she said. Then she proceeded to ask Chickie questions about herself. Everything about her spoke gentleness and kindness. I came away from the meeting amazed at the perfect match of this teacher with my daughter. We'd prayed--and God really did care. He put Chickie in just the right place.

Those moments set the tone for Chickie's school year. I've been so pleasantly surprised at how well my daughter--to whom change can be daunting--is adjusting this week, and I give her teacher a large portion of the credit for that!

Zoodle missed the first two days of school thanks to illness, and these last three days have been up and down. The adjustment of a stricter schedule, plus the long school day, has worn him out. I think he'll be fine, but for now he's not so sure about this whole school thing.

But you know what? The God who cared enough to put my daughter in just the right class cares about my son too. I'm looking forward to seeing the little miracles that happen with him this school year.

I'm glad we had this chat. Let's do it again soon, okay?

Honest talk

We were at the museum today, and I took both kids into the ladies' restroom. We had it all to ourselves. As we were getting ready to leave, Zoodle pointed at the dispenser on the wall and said, "What does T-A-M-P-O-N-S spell?" I told him, and then explained what tampons and pads are used for.

I'd previously told him a little about women's menstrual cycles, and he accepted my simple explanation today with no embarrassment or awkwardness. It was just a conversation about something he didn't know about, and he didn't react any differently than he would have if we'd been discussing China, or spiders, or toenails.

I found myself so glad that we've been open about "taboo" subjects from early on. We haven't gone into detail on everything; we try to give age-appropriate explanations. (They've heard from me that a little bit of daddy and a little bit of mommy join to make a baby, but they don't yet know exactly how that's accomplished!) Because I try to answer their questions without embarrassment, they don't think there's any reason to be uncomfortable with sensitive topics.

I don't always navigate these difficult waters with ease! Recently the word "s-ex" came out of Zoodle's mouth in a way that was totally inappropriate for a five-year-old, because I hadn't adequately monitored his media. (I'd put an app on my tablet that I thought just had innocent sound effects on it, not realizing it had clips of very adult songs on it too.) I felt like a terrible mom, overreacted, and made way too big of a deal about it. Now I'm trying to fix that by being open (in an age-appropriate way) about the word s-ex, so that he doesn't think it's a bad word and isn't scared to use it around me. (Pardon the hyphen inside that word; I'm trying to avoid being found in certain Google searches!)

In general, my kids seem to feel very comfortable asking me questions that I want them to ask me (because I'd prefer they get the information from me rather than someone else!) I sure hope it stays that way as they get older.

Kids and money, plus a review of Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream

I've been teaching my kids how to do more chores around the house, and I've started paying them 25 cents per chore. (Some chores, like cleaning up their toys, are unpaid!)

My stash of chore quarters

We went to the mall Saturday, and both kids brought some money with them. Zoodle only had a little change, and he was quite disappointed that he couldn't find anything at all for under $1! I considered making up the difference so at least he could buy a $1 package of silly putty or something, but I wanted him to learn about the value of money. So instead I told him, "This is a good reason for you to do more chores around the house!"

Today, he was determined to earn some money and repeatedly asked me for chores. My dishwasher is emptied; towels have been put away in the kitchen; the tile has been cleaned with the little sweeper, and my bathroom countertops are wiped down. What a guy!

Zoodle is thrilled to watch his money grow! (He's also learning to count money, which is a nice bonus!)

Speaking of the value of money, I love getting fun stuff for free. I received the Sun-Kissed Vox Box from Influenster recently. It's a box with free items in it that I'm invited to try and honestly review. The item I've been using daily is Olay FreshEffects BB Cream.

According to the Olay website, Fresh Effects BB Cream has six benefits:
• Refreshes skin instantly
• Brightens for a radiant glow
• Evens tone with a splash of sheer color
• Hydrates for 24 hours
• Smoothes for softer feeling skin
• Protects against UV damage with SPF 15

I had never tried a BB (Beauty Balm) Cream, and I really like it. It's an easy way to get a layer of sun protection. Being 35 years old with imperfect skin, a tinted moisturizer doesn't offer quite the coverage I want, so most days I layer the BB Cream with powdered mineral makeup, and I am loving the combination of the two. My skin isn't breaking out (which is a problem I always had with liquid foundation), and it moisturizes really nicely. I tend to get patches of dry skin and haven't noticed that happening since I started using this product. Like many liquid foundations, this has a slight odor I'm not crazy about, but it's not enough to stop me from using it.

Olay FreshEffects BB Cream can be purchased at the Olay Fresh Effects website or at Amazon.

A sad phase indeed

Zoodle is growing up.



Silly boy.

(Don't worry. I still steal plenty of kisses. And he laughs when I do it.)

Pioneer Week

A couple of weeks ago, we had a homeschooling Pioneer Week. It was so fun!

My favorite project of the week was making applesauce...only it wasn't actual applesauce, it was pearsauce! I'd gotten a box of apple pears (a.k.a. Asian pears) for a fantastic price from Bountiful Baskets. I used ten of them to make pearsauce and wish I'd used more--it was a big hit! (I used this slow cooker recipe, and have also used it for a bunch of applesauce recently. It's delicious, though I do reduce the amount of water; I use a little more than half the amount the recipe calls for.)

The reason I loved this project so much was because I used it to teach every major subject! I started by having Chickie predict what would happen to the pears when we cooked them, and how long it would take them to soften (Science). She wrote down her predictions (English/Language Arts). We talked about pioneers and why they had to make their own applesauce (Social Studies). Before we put the pears in the slow cooker, we counted them by tens, as shown in the photo above (Math). I even talked about healthy vs. unhealthy foods (Health), and I had the kids play outside while I peeled and cut pears, which is practically P.E., right?!

This was the type of project I really looked forward to when we started homeschooling!

We did one other cooking-related project. We made our own butter using these instructions (though, since we were using the butter immediately, we did not rinse it.)

It was delicious, and, once again, I had Chickie predict how long the process would take. (With both the pearsauce and the butter, she was very close!)

As a math activity, I set up "Beth's General Store" (an idea I got from this pioneer lesson plan--the same source for the applesauce idea.)

 

The kids had fun choosing what items they wanted to purchase. We then counted up their totals, and I helped them use play money to pay. Chickie and Zoodle love this type of role-playing, and it makes learning fun for all of us.

The cutest activity we did was making cornhusk dolls, using these instructions.  They turned out adorable! (I'll admit, I had to do the bulk of the work on this project; it requires some advanced fine motor skills. But the kids helped!)

Ann and I have been coordinating our themed homeschooling weeks--you can read about her Pioneer Week here. We then gather together to do activities related to the theme. Our kids had fun playing marbles and Hoops and Sticks (another idea from this lesson plan.)

 

Coqui and Chickie both quickly figured out how to use their "sticks" (wooden spoons) to push their "hoops" (offbrand Hula Hoops from the dollar store!)

The next week, we enjoyed the main event--the field trip that inspired our Pioneer Week. Ann and I took our kids (along with others from a homeschool group to which we belong) to a nearby museum made up of all sorts of pioneer-era structures. The kids got to see how people in that day lived, even observing a longhorn bull and a real blacksmith! (Click photos to enlarge.)

 

(In that bottom-left picture I was comparing my comfy toeshoes to the narrow, painful-looking boots women of that day wore!)

It really was such a fun week. We did other projects I didn't take pictures of. Most of those activities (as well as many we didn't do) are in these Pioneer links on my Delicious bookmarking site. If you're planning a Pioneer Week, I hope you find my links helpful.

Pioneer Week was a lot of fun...and a lot of work! We don't always do such involved theme weeks, but I do like having a theme (complex or simple!) around which to base our lessons each week. It gives me direction as I plan, and it makes things a lot more fun for the kids!

Our first days of homeschooling

Well, we've completed two days of homeschooling, which makes me an expert!

Or, maybe not quite an expert. Truth be told, I'm figuring this out as I go along. But I'm having fun doing it!

The kids were so excited to start their first day of homeschool!

Chickie, 1st grade

Zoodle, Pre-K

We have a daily schedule (that may be tweaked through the year!)

So yesterday morning, we had breakfast and read a Bible story/devotion from this book:

(Click the picture to see the listing on Amazon.)

The Kindle version of this book is currently $3.99, but Amazon Prime members can borrow it for free. My kids have really been responding well to it. It's interactive, with questions at the beginning and the end, and the Bible story is short--appropriate for their ages (six and four.)

We then did the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag, using a computer flag image. (We did the same with our state flag and the Christian flag.)

Then it was time to get to work! I'm having Chickie start each day with 15 minutes of free journaling. I instructed her to fill up all the lines on the page with writing, and then to draw a picture to go along with what she wrote. Zoodle wanted to get in on the action too.

Today I took a video of them explaining what they'd written and drawn.



Next I pulled out our calendar so we could review the day and date, and the kids took a quick trip outside to check out the weather, which we briefly discussed. I ordered a wall calendar that will facilitate this calendar/weather time, and I'm looking forward to its arrival.

Each week we'll be focusing on one character trait that I want the kids to incorporate into their lives. This week it's respect. We talked about how to be respectful, and reviewed a pertinent Bible verse.

Then it was time to do the work I'd planned for the day. Both kids did various worksheets. Chickie's covered reading, writing, math, and social studies. Zoodle is currently doing worksheets that help him learn to recognize and write letters, but he also watches some of what his sister does.

Next it was time for science. The kids were very excited to do this project! We went outside, where they collected various small nature items.

Back inside, Chickie taped her items to paper and wrote brief observations about each item. (The ladybug was dead before we picked it up and taped it to the paper....)

Zoodle turned his into a nature art project. (Wow, that kid can use a lot of tape!)

Finally, it was time for Chickie to do 20 minutes of quiet reading, a very important part of our daily schedule! So far she's been happy to read out loud so that Zoodle can share the stories too. I'm so glad my girl has inherited my love for reading! She really has an aptitude for it!

And that completed our first day of homeschooling. Today was similar. Chickie is really enjoying it. Zoodle told me it's boring (except the science part), and I assured him he doesn't have to sit there the whole time. He's just in pre-K, and I don't mind if he's playing during much of our "school day." So we'll try to find a good balance for him. He likes learning, but his attention span is shorter than his sister's, and that's okay.


Now that this happy mommy is a happy, homeschooling mommy, I imagine I'll be writing a lot about our adventures in home education. Whether or not you're a homeschooler, I appreciate you reading!

Big changes this school year!

We loved Chickie's kindergarten year! Her teacher was wonderful. The curriculum at her school was great. I felt safe sending her there, and really enjoyed the experience of my daughter being a student at our local public school.

So it may come as a surprise that this year, as Chickie enters first grade, we've decided to homeschool.

I thought I'd never be a homeschooling mom. I know others who homeschool, and I've told them, "It's just not for me. I'm not organized enough. God would have to make it really clear to me that he wanted me to homeschool."

Well, God didn't write any instructions across the sky for me. (I wish he would do that; it would be so much easier for me to to make decisions!) But one big thing changed--I realized I wanted to homeschool. And when I want to do something, I can be organized and creative because I have the motivation and energy I need! God didn't turn into a divine skywriter, but I do think the desire to do this came from Him.

Parents have so many different reasons for choosing homeschooling. For us, the bottom line is pretty simple:

I want more time with Chickie. And she wants more time with me.

I want more time with her so I can be the primary influence in her life. I want to encourage her to develop spiritually, to grow as a person, and to make good choices. This year, it was going to be hard for me to say goodbye to her for seven hours a day. And it turns out she wants to be with me during that time too.

There are lots of secondary reasons we're homeschooling too. We think it will be fun. Through my best friend Ann, who's also a homeschooler, we've connected with a local group that does weekly activities or field trips. That will be a great way for my kids to have social experiences with other kids. Ann's son Coqui is Chickie's age, so we're planning to do some of our academic and creative activities together, which should benefit all of us. I'm already enjoying using my own creativity as I think of fun ways to help Chickie learn what she needs to learn.

We're also really looking forward to the scheduling flexibility that's possible with homeschooling. If we want to visit my parents in the middle of the school year, and drive to Disneyland, we can! We can do school on the road. Most days, Chickie's "school day" will be shorter than it was last year, and she's thrilled about that!

Zoodle is also excited. He'll be doing some Pre-K homeschooling, but I plan to be pretty casual with it. He's only four, so we'll let his interests and motivation be our guide.

Because I was happy with the public school curriculum, I'm using the state educational guidelines to help me as I plan our own curriculum. I bought workbooks that will give the kids lots of age-appropriate work, and we'll do plenty of our own projects and activities too. We'll add in topics that are of special interest to me or the kids. They'll learn about our Christian faith. We may spend weeks focused on subjects like spiders or the human body. My goal is to make sure they're learning what they should learn at this age, plus learning about things that are important to them and to me and The Engineer.

Monday will be our first day. I'm really excited to start! I'll take pictures as we go, and blog about how it goes.

I don't know how long we'll homeschool. We'll take it year by year and see how it's going. But I'm entering this first year expecting it to go well, and expecting to have a lot of really wonderful experiences with my really wonderful kids!

In the corner

Chickie's "testing phase" has greatly improved. I feel like I've got my girl back, and I love it! But I'm still really trying to be more consistent with discipline, for both kids.

We've always used a lot of time outs. "Go sit in the red chair!" was, until recently, a common command around here. Then I realized kids can have way too much fun in a chair. Somehow they'd end up hanging upside down over the back of the chair, entertaining themselves through time outs.

So recently, we've gone retro in our discipline.

Yep...my kids now stand in the corner. Just like I did as a kid. And it's clearly way more boring than the red chair.

The first day I started using the corner, Chickie decided to test my resolve. I set the timer on my phone for four minutes, and every time she talked to me, I reset it and required her to start over. I think her first "four minute" time out in the corner actually lasted around 20 minutes.

But here we are, a couple of weeks later, and I don't usually have to restart the timer for either kid. Best of all, it seems to work. Standing quietly in the corner for a few minutes usually bumps their attitudes back in line.

I don't subscribe to every form of "old fashioned" discipline. I'm not going to tell my kids to go get a switch from the tree outside for a spanking, like The Engineer had to do as a kid. (Our poor, young trees would soon be bare if I did that!) But standing in the corner...that's a retro practice that works for us.

He ain't no sharpshooter

If Zoodle grows up and joins the military, I'll support him. I'll be proud of him. And I'll advise his superiors not to make him a sniper. The guy has no aim whatoever.

How do I know? The proof has all-too-often been written all over my bathroom floor.

Peeing takes, what, 30 seconds? It it really impossible to stay focused for 30 seconds? Apparently so, when you're a four-year-old boy. I've seen how it happens. He starts using the potty, and then turns to me to say something. But when his head turns, his body does too, and he starts decorating the bathroom in a shade I call "Stinky Lemon."

I first realized what a problem this was a few months ago, when my extra-sensitive pregnant nose caught the distinctive odor of stale urine in the bathroom. I cleaned the tile immediately. Then the same day, my bare foot rested in a fresh puddle as I sat down on a toilet in another bathroom.

"Zoodle!" I exclaimed, "You have got to tell me when you make a mess! This is disgusting!" My sweet kid tried to start notifying me after that, but sometimes he still forgets.

Sunday I discovered that awful stink in the bathroom again. Between us, the Engineer and I discovered puddles on the tile on both sides of the potty, plus more on the potty itself. Apparently my kid is making abstract art, with the whole bathroom as his canvas. Yesterday, it was still stinky, despite me using bathroom cleaner and mopping with vinegar water. I finally conquered the stink with Febreze, which left the tile sticky but got rid of the odor.

One of these days, Zoodle's not-so-sharpshooting will gross him out.

When that happens, he'll learn to take careful aim, and the bathrooms he uses will again be safe.

Or at least that's what I'm telling myself!

Optimist

Yesterday we'd planned a swimming play date. But I got a call from my friend, suggesting we wait until a different day. It was already uncomfortably hot and sunny, and I didn't mind changing plans. We decided to meet at Chick-Fil-A instead, where we could all have lunch and the kids could have fun in the indoor play area.

The problem was...I'd already told Zoodle about the swimming plans. I want him to learn that sometimes plans change, and that's okay. So I gently broke the news to him.

Of course, it doesn't matter how "gently" you break bad news to a four-year-old. He cried, and threw a little fit, and needed to be cuddled. "I don't want to go to Chick-Fil-A!" he told me. "I want to go swimming!"

Eventually, he calmed down, and realized that he did still want to spend time with his friends. We got in the car so we could meet them.

On the way there, he said, "I'm glad we're going to Chick-Fil-A! That's more fun than swimming!"

What an attitude change! I told him how proud I was of him, that he was choosing a good attitude even after he'd been disappointed.

I consider myself an optimist. But I don't expect everything to always go my way. To me, optimism isn't about expecting to never be disappointed. That's just not realistic.

Optimism is about choosing to make the best of situations, even the tough ones. As an optimist, I want to have the attitude, "Good will come out of this, even if it's hard right now."

And that's what Zoodle chose to do. He realized he could enjoy his day, even if he wasn't doing the activity he originally preferred. And with that mindset, of course he had a blast at the restaurant.

I hope optimism is a trait both of my kids have naturally...and if they don't, I hope they choose to cultivate it. Optimism makes life a lot more fun.

"Mommy doesn't play with us."

The kids were having some conversation the other day which resulted in Zoodle saying, "Mommy doesn't play with us."

Ouch.

Here's the thing. I'm a stay-at-home mom, which means I see my kids a lot. Especially Zoodle. I spend a lot of time with them.

Or maybe it's more accurate to say I spend a lot of time around them. That's different than spending time with them, isn't it?

I don't want to give myself a huge guilt trip for not playing a lot with my kids. I really do think that kids need to play a lot without adults. It's amazing the ways their little creative brains start working when they aren't hampered by the preconceived notions that "big people" always have. So I think that it's okay for most of my kids' play time to be independent (loosely supervised by me, of course!)

I'd better be honest, though. I just think that the games four- and six-year-olds play are, well...

...boring.

But when Zoodle said I don't play with them, it gave me some insight. Of course the truth isn't that harsh; sometimes I play with them. Just...not very often. (I'm embarrassed admitting that!) But I need for them to see that I value them, that I enjoy them. That what's important to them is important to me--important enough for me to occasionally join in.

So I'm trying to say "Yes" more often. Like when Zoodle is lonely because his sister is at school, and he asks me to play cards.



It's just a 15-minute game of Alphabet Go Fish to me, but to him, it's a sign that Mommy likes him enough to be his friend.

Independent play is so important, but you know what else is important? Feeling important. I'm recommitting to playing with my kids. Because they are important to me.

An Easter treat (made by the kids!)

Chickie's school had a carnival last week, and one of the events was a "Kinder Cake Auction." Kindergarten kids were invited to decorate a "cake, cupcake, or anything in between" for auction. Proceeds benefited the PTA.

I stretched the definition of "cake" a bit when I decided to make dipped Easter Eggs made out of crispy rice cereal. (Yes, I did use the generic brand of Rice Krispies!) There's a basic recipe on the Rice Krispies website, but we changed it a bit. We used melted Almond Bark instead of chocolate chips with shortening (easier, and it "set" very quickly); and instead of dipping the eggs in sprinkles, the kids just shook the sprinkles on.



One thing I love about this treat is that even a four-year-old and a six-year-old can decorate the "eggs" and they still turn out really cute! No "adult expertise" required.


Caught you eating a sprinkle, Zoodle!

One recipe made about 30 eggs. I made sure that Chickie decorated a dozen for the auction. (We kept Zoodle's eggs for ourselves!)



Chickie's eggs went in a cute basket.



They didn't sell for much. They were sold at the beginning of the auction when things were "ramping up," and I didn't drive the bid up like a lot of other parents ended up doing--oops! But the person who bought them seemed to really want them, and I hope she enjoyed hers as much as we enjoyed ours.

I highly recommend this as a great kid activity for Easter--an activity that results in snacks that Mom and Dad want to eat too! (I mixed and formed the eggs by myself while Chickie was at school, but that's something she would have been old enough to help with too.)

Happy birthday, Zoodle

Oh, my sweet boy. Four years ago you made our family complete (barring any surprises in the future, anyway!) I'm so glad you made me the mommy of a son.

We had Zoodle's party Saturday. (And try explaining to a four-year-old that it is indeed his "real" and "actual" birthday party even when it's not on his birthday. And that he doesn't get a second party on the day of his birthday.)

He wanted a Spider-Man cake. I haven't had the motivation for five-hour decorating jobs lately, so I bought a plastic cake topper off Amazon. (It even says, "Happy birthday from your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!" when you push a button on it.) Knowing that a Spider-Man cake should have lots of red on it...and knowing how awful homemade red frosting tastes...I used white buttercream with lots of red sugar sprinkles. Cute, easy, and still tasty.



Here's my boy this morning...officially four years old!



I fully expect him to have a happy birthday. He's pretty good at bringing happiness to every day!