Mr. Director

CP became Project Manager. 
We repainted our dining room and my husband is building the most amazing shaker style wainescoating! Well, someone woke up hard from his nap so he needed to be with daddy. I set him up in his sister's highchair (keeping him contained while paint was drying) and he had his snack. 


While sitting there, he started telling daddy where to paint and what he needed to be doing. He had a blast. I realized, quickly, that he was practicing such wonderful vocabulary and building complex sentences. We started using the "manager" game to do different things around the house. 

-  Have your child tell you where the toys go as you are picking WITH them! They have to pick up too otherwise, they don't get to be "the manager". Kids start to learn vocabulary for different places around the house and learn nice ways of telling people information without being bossy. 

- Try doing dishes together. 

- Feeding animals/pets

- Fold blankets or clothes (depending on the age)

    

- Sorting animal toys/ different balls/ blocks/ letters/ pictures/ numbers into categories. - Teach them how it looks to think about how to sort things. 

***Remember**** Demonstrate to your kid what it looks like to give information and not be bossy. No matter what the age (I see this with fifth graders daily), you need to show them what the expected behavior looks like and vocabulary sounds like. It will help create a very thoughtful kid! I promise!!!

Video Monitors

Our play group is expanding! We have welcomed three new babies so far, one will arrive any day and three more to arrive after the first of the year.  With all of us having a toddler in one space of the house and a new little one in another (attempting) to sleep, we may need a second set of eyes. 

My mommy group friends have asked about video monitors. My husband and I thought it would be fine with our original sound only monitor from Graco. We quickly found out that we were driving our selves crazy figuring out the needs of our two little ones. 

After many requests, I have come up with a conclusion on a great monitor. 

We use the Summer Infant Sleek and Secure. We have found that it works well in our home and will travel to the neighbors' yards with us (only next door). We have one camera in our son's room and the other pointed on our daughter's crib. 

  
Things we love about it:
- Can have the sound on very high!
- Can have the picture on without the sound (Motorola does not offer this)
- Can scan between cameras with the sound rotating between rooms as well
- Can see up to four cameras on one screen (we choose the room to have the sound on)
- No extra light put out that competes with the night light or adding extra unwanted light 
We travel a TON! It is extremely easy to pack, travels well, and sets up EXTREMELY easy! We don't have to reset it. Just plug it in and let it go! 

 Non Deal Breakers :
- Size of the screen 
- Wireless range

Things we wish we could upgrade:
- There's no vibrate mode like on the Gracos
- The farther the camera from the bed, the grainer the subject/picture


Overall, we really do like this camera alot! We have used it for 8 months now and have had not problem with recharging the battery or power.   I would recommend this product to friends and family.

Thanksgiving Cards

I know that I am a little late on this, however, if I posted before the holiday it may have ruined the crafty surprise to family. Now, feel free to pin this one for next year! 

  

I spent some time painting with CP and his little sis. His palm is painted brown and each finger is painted a different color coordinating with feathers on a turkey. When the paint dried, I used a black sharpie marker to draw a neck facing forward with two eyes and the orange marker to make a beak and "gobbler". It was a blast to make a full set of cards for our family.

Easy Baby Food

I LOVE making my kids baby food! It is so extremely easy! You don't need to be crafty, handy in the kitchen, or have a ton of time. It's great to have a full freezer of healthy goodies!!!

Here's the easiest set up ever: 

1. slice and dice your veggies

2. microwave in a Pampered Chef steamer until tender and cooked through

3. Puree in blender or food processor until smooth

Today, in less than 30 minutes I made 10 -2 oz jars of sweet potatoes, 10 - 2 oz jars of peas, and 11- 4oz sweet potato, apple, banana mixed pouches. 

I love these easy containers to send to school with my infant and as carrying cases for snacks and formula, when necessary. These containers were cheap and easy to clean. Since they are cheap, I don't mind if they get lost at school or not returned to me right away. They do break easily under pressure but the benefits outweigh the cons.

I bought a Freeze Squeeze system this morning and love it so far. I am looking forward to trying reusable storage for my toddler and mid-aged infant.

Thinking about how much our family loves and enjoys Plum Baby pouches, I want to see if this is a better deal than the 10 for $10 at various stores :) 

1 lg sweet potato 1.10

4 med apples 2.50

1 lg banana (paid about a $1 for 4 bananas earlier in the week)

So..... for about $4 made 11 pouches. The system costs about $30 and $17 for 50 extra pouches. 

Doing some extra math the pouches are $.34 a piece and depending of the cost of food each filled pouch will cost about $.65-$.75 each. Saving money for those families who are on the go and want homemade food for their little ones. 

Special Paint

We spent time painting our new8 dining room and of course he wanted to help paint the room. 

I gave him a cup of water and a paint brush and he painted parts of the wall that were "out of the way". 

 

This led me to an amazing idea!!! I taped construction paper to the dishwasher while I made dinner and TaDa!! An awesome canvas with  "special paint". It kept him busy for a good 20 minutes!