Tots and Me... Growing Up Together: August 2011

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Giveaway Opportunity at Mama to 4 Blessings: Three Cups Book

It's been a while since I entered any giveaways. I just saw this one while I was linking up my Wordless Wednesday Post. Not sure how I missed it. This book looks very interesting. I would love to teach my children to be good stewards of their money. If you are also interested in teaching this to your child I would suggest heading over to Nicole's blog: Mama to 4 Blessings and check out this book. The giveaway ends tomorrow!

Wordless Wednesday: August 31, 2011

She's doing really good getting down these stairs. Maybe next week I will have a shot of how she gets down the stairs in the house.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up- August 30, 2011

Welcome to the NEW and improved Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up with your hosts Aimee @ Classified: Mom & Karen @ Tots and Me & Alicia @ McCrenshaw's Newest Thoughts!

This link up will be posted Monday at 8 PM est. and run all week long! Make sure you stop in as often as you can to list your latest giveaways.

Here is how to use the Giveaway Link Up

1. Post your reviews and/or giveaways, as many as you have, be sure to add the end date (family friendly please)

2. Help spread the word about the giveaway link up by grabbing our button, Tweeting or posting on Facebook. (Not mandatory- but it helps get more exposure to your giveaways as well!)

3. Take a moment to enter any giveaway that strikes an interest to you!

If you would like to follow the three hostesses, we will gladly follow you back! Simply leave us a message to do so.

Thank you for linking up with Aimee @ Classified: Mom & Karen @ Tots and Me & Alicia @ McCrenshaw's Newest Thoughts!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Scavenger Hunt Sunday: August 28, 2011

Scavenger Hunt Sunday items: Old and New, Night Photography, Music (Self Portrait suggestion), Cheesy and Sun
Old and New

Old seats at Ralph Wilson Stadium with new/current Gameday Magazine

New endzone/turf

Night Photography

Wanted to show a progression from twilight to night.

Music

Amelia dancing to the Shout song after one of the Buffalo Bills scores.

Cheesy

Sun

The girls were using their magnifying glasses to look at a spider on the ceiling. I like the way the sun was coming in the window and through the magnifying glasses.

Don't forget to head on over to Ashley's blog, Ramblings and Photos to check out other's interpretations.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: August 24, 2011 (w/linky)

A Day in the Life

We have continued to have some lesson time during the summer, but with the start of our new curriculum we are sort of unofficially starting school again this week. I am going to try to be more organized now. We'll see.

I have been having a hard time waking up at a decent time. The plan was to be up at 7am, but the earliest I seem to be able to get moving is 8am. The girls are more likely than not to already be up and running around, or getting in Hannah's crib (now that they are sharing a room). So, when mommy finally hauls herself out of bed (possibly after munching on some Rice Chex or Life cereal) I find clothes for all of us and we head downstairs.

We get dressed.

We have breakfast. I will do hair as they are eating, munching on my food as I go (which lately has been a two egg sandwich as nothing else gets me through the morning as well).

The girls take their plates into the kitchen and then play while I clean up from breakfast.

I aim to start lesson time around 10am, though sometimes I find myself hunting for materials I thought were in a specific place and they aren't, very frustrating.

We start with prayer

Pledges to the Flag...

and the Bible.

Then we sing the B I B L E. On the second and third verse we walk around the dining room as we take the Bible along with us and sing about being H A P P Y.

Then we do our calendar.

We then do our FIAR and some from the Weaver Interlock.

While I get lunch ready the girls watch a video. It is usually something like Dora, Elmo's World, Super Why, Leap Frog or Veggie Tales. Then we eat lunch.

Next up is reading time. I usually read 2 or 3 books. They will each pick a book and sometimes I have one or two I want to read. Yesterday it was a Go-Along book for our FIAR story.

We are currently trying something new. As the girls are now sharing a room they tend to not take their naps very well. So, after the stories, I take Hannah upstairs and lay her down. Then the girls work on their Brain Quest workbooks (which Tabitha likes to call her Homework). When we are done with that, Amelia goes for her nap. Then Tabitha reads her Abeka reader to me and another easy reader. Depending on her attitude she may go up for a nap, or she may just rest on the love seat. I have been known to let her get on Starfall or Sesame Street at this time too.

When they get up it is dinner time. If they get up early they sometimes go out to the back yard to play while I cook dinner. We eat around 5pm so hubby can go to work (he works 12 hour shifts as an LPN). Then the girls play while I clean up or sometimes get on the computer and waste time. I try to get the girls out to the park and/or go for a walk. Then it is time to finish cleaning and get ready for bed. I aim for bed by 9:30 and am trying to get it moved up to 9:00.

Menu Plan Monday: Week of August 22, 2011

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Broiled chicken and rice with green beans

Wednesday: Breakfast For Dinner a Day Early: Pancakes (of course) with scrambled eggs with veggies

Thursday: Chicken Tacos

Friday: Chili

Saturday: Take food to Buffalo Bills game (possibly some hot dogs at the game)

Sunday: Leftovers

Head on over to I'm An Organizing Junkie to check out other's menu plans.

Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up- August 23, 2011

Welcome to the NEW and improved Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up with your hosts Aimee @ Classified: Mom & Karen @ Tots and Me & Alicia @ McCrenshaw's Newest Thoughts!

This link up will be posted Monday at 8 PM est. and run all week long! Make sure you stop in as often as you can to list your latest giveaways.

Here is how to use the Giveaway Link Up
1. Post your reviews and/or giveaways, as many as you have, be sure to add the end date (family friendly please)
2. Help spread the word about the giveaway link up by grabbing our button, Tweeting or posting on Facebook. (Not mandatory- but it helps get more exposure to your giveaways as well!)
3. Take a moment to enter any giveaway that strikes an interest to you!
If you would like to follow the three hostesses, we will gladly follow you back! Simply leave us a message to do so.
Thank you for linking up with Aimee @ Classified: Mom & Karen @ Tots and Me & Alicia @ McCrenshaw's Newest Thoughts!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Muffin Tin Monday: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

We started our FIAR curriculum. This week we are rowing the book Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton. So, of course I had to figure out how to make a tin revolving around this theme.

A bologna and cheese roll up with a construction hat pick (to remind us of the construction rollers)

Spaghetti-Os with meat ball boulders to dig out.

Cucumber wheels and carrot construction cones.

Grape "rocks"

Applesauce with raisins to dig out.

No bake cookie dirt

(We made them last night and I stuck one in each of the girls' muffin tins)

Hannah's tin:

Daddy didn't know we had made cookies and he decided to make a dirt pudding dessert for the girls. He had it all done before we woke up. He found the recipe here. Basically it is pudding mixed with Cool Whip which is alternated in the pan with ground up Oreos. Oops, can't forget the gummy worms that are mixed in. The animals represent all the people observing Mike and Mary Ann (his steam shovel) as they attempt to dig a cellar in one day. He got the idea, I think, from the cake in the archives.