Open up and Say ....Ahhhhhhh

Today my (almost 4 yr) daughter Soph went to the dentist for the time. I have been prepping her for this day for the last 2 weeks and the main reason for this is because I HATE the dentist. For unknown reasons I have always feared dentist visits. I have great teeth, only a couple fillings and never had braces. So, for the last couple weeks I told my daughter how great the dentist is and how much her teeth will sparkle when he is done cleaning them. Soph did great! She kept her mouth open the whole time and let them check and polish her teeth. The rough part of the appointment was when I told the dentist Soph sucked her thumb. Boy was she mad at me. This is her security secret. She never sucks her thumb in public or around her friends. The dentist explained to her that it will hurt her teeth, then pulled out some pictures of kids with messed up teeth. This hit home with Soph, she is very girly and likes to be pretty.

Tonight at bed time when I saw her with her thumb in her mouth I reminded her to take it out. Boy what a tough situation. I can see it in her eyes she is already struggling with this. She wants to stop but the thumb is a big night time security.

We will see how it goes. Anybody have any good suggestions out there? I could use some help.

My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/Added a bunch of activities to the calendar. Trying to get it pumped up with activities for spring and summer. Here is a list of some of the activities going on around St Louis the next couple of days. Go to the site http://www.kidsinstl.com/ for more detail.

March 1st
10 AM - 11:30 AMFossil Hunt for Kids
10 AM - 5 PMTales of Ireland Magic House
10:30 AM - 12 PMFamily Workshop Art From Africa
11 AM - 12:30 PMPiwacket Theatre Rumpelstiltskin
3:30 PM - 4:30 PMMetro Theater Company's Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
7:30 PM - 9:30 PMWolf Sanctuary Campfire Program

March 2nd

11:30 AM - 5 PMTales of Ireland Magic House
12 PM - 4 PMREI Climbing Pinnacle
1 PM - 4 PMFamily sunday - Quilting Bee
3:30 PM - 4:30 PMMetro Theater Company's Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here is one of the recipes from the Kid Sensory Recipes section of the site. From the home page click on the Kid Sensory Recipes button– To see the whole list check out our site. WWW.kidsinstl.com

Sensory Activities & Recipes for Kids
CINNAMON CLAY

1 ½ Cup Cinnamon1 Cup Applesauce1/3 Cup White Glue
Mix cinnamon, applesauce and glue together in bowl. Knead the mixture until it turns to firm clay. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Best at room temperature. If it gets sticky dust with cinnamon.

Wordless Wednesday - A couple hours late

Sleep Tight Sweet Baby Girl

Shrinky My Dinky.... Oh What Fun

What a rainy, cold and yucky day! Tuesday’s are ‘no school’ days so I usually try to set up a play date or take the kids somewhere. However, when I saw the gloomy weather… I told the kids it was crafty day! A my daughter loves crafts, my lil’ guy does just enough to appease me and moves on.

I pulled out an oldie but a goodie craft – SHRINKY DINKS! I did this great craft when I was a kid. If you are not familiar with Shrinky Dinks this is the scoop. You get these sheets of plastic and you can draw with pencils or markers anything you want on them. Cut it out the pop it in the oven…and watch in amazement. Within 2 minutes the Dink will curl up, shrink, and then lay flat again. Then you take them out of the oven and they cool super fast. You end up with a very hard little piece of plastic that you can use for jewelry, sun catchers, mobiles, etc. My daughter and I did Shrinky Dinks for a couple hours. Here is the mobile we made and here are a few of my favorite ones we made. My son kind of colored on one, then gave up and played with cars.

After the Shrinky Dink fun my daughter wanted to move on to the next craft. I told her that Mommy had to make lunch and that she was on her own. So she asked if she could do her most favorite ‘Grown-up’ thing to do…. take pictures with my camera. She loves doing this so much that I have sort of made art of the pics she takes. She has the great frame in her room that holds 7 pics. Each month I put new pictures that she took into the frame. She is very proud of this ‘work of art’ and it is always the first thing she shows her friends. Here is a sample of the pictures she took today.

My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/

Added a bunch of activities to the calendar. Trying to get it pumped up with activities for spring and summer. Here is a list of some of the activities going on around St Louis the next couple of days. Go to the site http://www.kidsinstl.com/ for more detail.

Feb 28th
9:45 AM - 10:30 AMWhere Art and Play Go Hand in Hand
10 AM - 11 AMtoddler Storytime Sachs Branch
10:30 AM - 11:30 AMCreation Station - Transport Museum Association
10:30 AM - 12 PMPiwacket Theatre Emperor's New Clothes
4 PM - 5 PMDuct Tape Extravaganza - Weber Library
6 PM - 8 PMREI Climbing Pinnacle
6:30 PM - 8:30 PMEndangered Species Near You

Feb 29th
10:30 AM - 11:30 AMStory time Fun Baby Moon Boutique
11 AM - 11:45 AMWhere Art and Play Go Hand in Hand
11:15 AM - 12 PMDrop in Play Date Baby Moon Boutique
6:30 PM - 7:30 PMDon't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
7 PM - 8:30 PMTeen Afterhours: Chocolate Fever! - Sachs Library

Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here are some of our favorite tips we recommend for children. From the home page click on the Parent Resource & Tips then go to 12-24 months button– To see the whole list check out our site. http://www.kidsinstl.com/
Parent Resources & Tips
12-24 months
Nutrition Tips/Strategies for Picky Eaters:

*For non-veggie eaters, blend the vegetables in a stock to make a hearty soup or grind the vegetables and blend it into meat e.g., meat patties

*For non-fruit eaters - make a fruit smoothie (fruit, milk and or ice-cream). Introduce it unfrozen or if you choose to freeze it, make Popsicles in containers.

Tile Shopping…. There is a winner and a Loser

It was a crazy weekend! Friends over for pizza and cards on Friday, birthday party on Sat and the ever so fun tile shopping on Sunday.

The first time my husband and I went tile shopping for the kitchen we took the kids. Big Mistake! We went to this place called Hoods. It is a huge rusty shed that leaks when it rains that is so dirty and it is filled with wonderful contractor’s surplus. The great thing about Hoods is that you can get interior building supplies very cheap and the bad thing is that it is just all thrown in piles so you have to dig to find the things you want. Anyway, as I said we took the kids and my daughter Sophia decided to take a short run… fall over a brick and bust her mouth open. Real nice…. Uggg. It was not very bad but you know how a facial wound bleeds….gushing everywhere.

When it was decided to try to find tile again we knew the kids had to take a visit to Aunt Tina’s. So we drop the kids off and on to the tile stores. If it was only that easy.
When we bought this house 2 year ago my husband (the architect) said he was not interested in the interior decorating, that it was all me. Yea … right…. Wrong. Well, my husbands interest in home décor has changed. He wants to “help” decide everything regardless how miniscule. It has been painful.

We went to 4 stores and my husband found the one he liked in the first. It is a nice natural stone but sort of dark shades. I found the one I liked in the last store. Here is the problem, this is really not something you can compromise on… one person loses and one wins. You can’t tile a room with two completely different styles of tiles.

My ‘I don’t care how we decorate’ husband has suddenly turned into Martha Stewart and states why his tile is the only one that will work in our kitchen. Oh please. So here I stand….. sick of looking at tile, wanting lunch and gauging how much I really care if I don’t love the tile in my kitchen. I was going to lose the ‘Tile Fight’. I tell my husband he wins, buy what ever he wants. He tries to tell my there should not be a loser when buying tile, that should both love the tile. Easy to say when he is the Winner!

Here is what the tile looks like:

We close this chapter with - new tile that will look fine, the knowledge that there is a winner and a loser in the tile war and finally (chuckling) the realization that my husband will not get around to installing this tile for months.

My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/

Added a bunch of activities to the calendar. Trying to get it pumped up with activities for spring and summer. Go to the site http://www.kidsinstl.com/ to see all the details.

Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here is a partial list of some of the some of our favorite Links. From the home page click on the Favorite Links button– To see the whole list check out our site. http://www.kidsinstl.com/
SPECIAL EDUCATION
http://www.loc.gov/nls/NationalLibrary - Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS)
http://www.disabilityinfo.gov/digov-public/public/DisplayPage.do?parentFolderId=96 http://www.firstsigns.org/Disability - Information
http://dese.mo.gov/divspeced/FirstSteps/Missouri - First Steps - Birth through 3 years old special education
http://www.ssd.k12.mo.us/Sp_edu/index.htmlSpecial - School District Ages 3-21
http://www.beachcenter.org/ - Beach Center - A Family Resource Center at the University of Kansas

Coughs....Fevers....and Freezing Rain - Oh My!

My Life – Oh God… please stop the freezing rain…. I can’t take another snow day! Let me date myself, I was in high school over 20 years ago and it would take over a foot of snow before the schools would close. Now if there is a slight sheen on the streets the schools will be closed for days. Uggg. Not that I don’t love being imprisoned in my house for days with my kids, but last week everyone missed school because of the flu. By the end of the day tomorrow after being stuck in the house with the kids for the last 5 days I just may have to drink my self into a stupor after my husband gets home. Just kidding…. Hangovers just aren’t worth it any more.
My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/
Here is a list of some of the activities going on around St Louis the next couple of days. Go to the site http://www.kidsinstl.com/ for more detail.

Feb 23 - Sat.
10 AM - 11 AMSee You Later, Alligator! After While, Crocodile!
10 AM - 2 PMMaple Sugar Festival
10:30 AM - 11:30 AMPreschool Workshop - Artful Zoo
11:30 AM - 12:30 PMKids Club: Black and White Tic-Tac-Toe
6 PM - 9 PMSnow Moon Evening

Feb 24 - Sun

12 PM - 5 PMCelebrate the World: An International Festival
1 PM - 4 PMFamily Sunday Art Museum
3:15 PM - 4:45 PMFamily Jump Time- Chesterfield

Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here is one of the great kid sensory recipes. From the home page click on the Kid Sensory button– To see the whole list check out our site. http://www.kidsinstl.com/
OOBLICK

1 part water1 part corn starch
Mix water and corn starch together, and stir

One of my Favorite Things – Battery Powered Toothbrushes. My kids were always fine with brushing their teeth, but never asked to do it. I bucked up and purchased a couple of those battery operated fancy toothbrushes and now they want to brush at least 3 times a day. I thought it was just a ‘new’ thing but this has been going on for over 2 months. Great Buy!

The Human Lint Roller..... ugggg.

My Life – If you have dogs you will be able to relate to this post and if you are allergic or anti-dog you just might be a little afraid.
I am sitting at the table drinking my morning coffee and it has just stared to snow. I tell my little guy to look at the snow and he then tells me he can make it snow inside.


I said really… how? Owen proceeded to crawl behind my living room chair, and then he comes out and puts his hand over the blowing heating vent. Puff…. Up billowing through the air goes a handful of white dog hair. I am not sure whether to laugh or be grossed out… I was a little of both. Owen then yells, ‘It’s snowing!’.


Just a couple of days ago Sophia was laying on the ground in her footie pj’s holding on to the end of a blanket and Owen was pulling her around the house. After a few rounds around the room, they were standing there laughing. When I asked them what is so funny. My daughter turns to me and says, “I am a big lint roller!” Her footie pj’s are covered in dog hair. Yuk!


Welcome to my world of two kids and two dogs that shed like crazy. I sweep, vacuum and dust mop everyday but there is still dog hair. Oh well, I guess I will just call in the ‘Human Lint Roller’ when things get out of hand.


My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/

Just about finished the Summer Camp List! Boy what a big job. Here is a list of some of the activities going on around St Louis the next couple of days. Go to the site http://www.kidsinstl.com/ for more detail.

Feb 20th
10 AM - 10:45 AMToddler Storytime Mid County Library
10 AM - 11 AMSing Along Pottery Barn Chesterfield
10:30 AM - 11:30 AMCreation Station - Transport Museum Association
1 PM - 1:45 PMBig Kids Science Lab Workshop
7 PM - 8:30 PMAnime Movie Night - Prairie Commons Library

Feb 21st
9:30 AM - 10:30 AMPBS Kids Share A Story
10:30 AM - 11:30 AMTap! Tap! Tap! Woodpeckers
11 AM - 11:45 AMWhere Art and Play Go Hand in Hand
6 PM - 8 PMREI Climbing Pinnacle

Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here is a partial list of some of our favorite baby songs with links. From the home page click on the Educational & Interactive Activities button, then go to songs – To see the whole list check out our site. http://www.kidsinstl.com/
Favorite Baby Songs
ABC song

Row, row, row your boat

Wheels on the Bus

5 Green Speckled Frogs

This Little Piggy

Hickory Dickory Dock

Twinkle Twinkle

One of my Favorite Things – Mr. Clean Eraser! Oh My have you tried one! This little sucker gets stains off almost everything. Crayon or marker on almost anything…. Rubs right off. Spiffs up dirty white sneakers super fast. Now be a smart parent, don’t wipe your kids skin with this item. It is a cleaner, just like Windex. Would you ever spray your kid down with Windex and buff him to shine.

Thank God for Good Little Boys and Grandma's

My Life – Good Golly…this has been a rough week! My daughter and I have been very sick. It has been 7 days of fever, vomit, and hackin’…..will it ever end? This week has been the sickest I have been in at least 6 years. AND this was the first time ever I had to call someone over to my house to take care of my kids. I was so sick I could not get out of bed and my daughter was sick in her bed. This left my 2 year old basically on his own running the house. He thought that was pretty cool. So I called Grandma to come over. Boy what a hard thing it was for me to admit I could not physically take care of my family.

Well, we both just started rounds of antibiotics, so hopefully this is the start of the end. This will be a short log because I know that no one wants to hear the gross details of the last few days. However, this is what I will say…..

Why at day four of being sick with a fever, you just have a virus and need to ride it out….. but if you wait it out to day 7 then they will give you meds. I know that the docs have to be so careful because they get so many ‘frequent fliers’ in their offices, but antibiotics 3 days ago would have saved my 4 yr old from days of misery. Oh well, that is it… I will get off my soap box. We are all on our way to getting healthy.

My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/

I did not get to work for the last few days. Way to sick. But please still check it out! Here is a list of some of the activities going on around St Louis the next couple of days. Go to the site www.kidsinstl.com for more detail.

Sat. Feb 16th
10 AM - 11 AMKids Club: Log Cabin
10 AM - 11 AMCultural Connections Presents: Ireland!
10:30 AM - 12 PMFamily Workshop Construction Sculpture
11 AM - 1 PMMyth Adventures Imaginary Theatre
1 PM - 2 PMStorytelling in the Galleries - I Built This with My Hands
3 PM - 7 PMREI Climbing Pinnacle
7:30 PM - 9:30 PMWolf Sanctuary Campfire Program

Sun Feb 17th

12 PM - 4 PMREI Climbing Pinnacle

Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here is a recipe from our Kid Sensory Section. From the home page click on the Kid Sensory Recipes button– To see the whole list check out our site. www.kidsinstl.com
GAK

1 Cup Warm Water1 Cup White GlueFood Coloring1 Cup Warm Water with 1 Tabl Borax dissolved into it
Mix together 1 cup water and glue. Add food coloring. Pour in the water and Borax mixture. The reaction will happen immediately. Stir, lift out gak and drain excess water from bowl. Work gak with hands until smooth.

My Funny – Not many funny things to laugh about in the last few days. But I do have a small chuckle for you. I did manage to make it to the couch yesterday so my 2 yr old would not totally be on his own. He was actually being very good, just playing with cars. He walked over to me and asked if he could get me a drink, I smiled and told him no thank you. He then told me he was going to get something to eat. I said ok, but tell me what. He went to the frig, and walked into the family room carrying an 8 pack of drinkable yogurt. He sat on the chair and in the most grownup way said, ‘I will drink this whole pack, ok?’. I had to chuckle, and tell him no not OK and only take one out at a time. He was ok with that because I think he knew I did not have much fight left in me to stop him when he had his 2nd or 3rd drinkable. Luckily, he ran out of tummy space for the remaining pack!

One of my Favorite Things – One sentence….. A healthy family. I will leave it at that.

Bad Juju and Invisible Cookies

My Life – Boy did we have some bad Juju going around our house this weekend. Everyone is or was sick, including myself. Of course Mom has to take care of everyone and get very little sleep in the process, so now I am sick. At least I did not have to cook dinner tonight, hubby went and pick-up takeout.
My daughter was the sickest this weekend. She ran a fever from Friday night until Sunday that never went below 102 even with Tylenol every 4 hours. What is really freaky when my daughter has a fever is that she hallucinates. The first time it happened it really scared me, now it just sort of creeps me out. There are times she sees and talks to people who are not there and last night she was eating cooking that were not there. Her fever finally broke today and she is back to herself.

My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/
We just put a new music link on the home page. If you click it, you can hear some of our favorite Children’s songs. Here is a list of some of the activities going on around St Louis the next couple of days. Go to the site http://www.kidsinstl.com/ for more detail.

Monday Feb 11th
9 AM - 10 AM Infant Play Cooper Ella
12:30 PM - 2 PM Homeschool Special: Maple Sugaring
6 PM - 8:30 PM Daddy/Daughter Valentine?s Dance
7 PM - 8 PM StoryTime Valentine?s Day - Thornhill Library
7 PM - 8 PM UnValentine's Day Party - Thornhill Library

Tuesday Feb 12th
10 AM - 10:30 AM Story Time at Pottery Barn
10 AM - 11 AM Stories from the World Village - Prairie Commons Library
10 AM - 11 AM Pre-School Storytimes Sachs Branch
1 PM - 2:15 PM Be My Valentine Party- Museum of Transporation
7 PM - 9 PM Bogart Movie Night
7 PM - 8 PM Stories from the World Village - Rock Road Library
7 PM - 8 PM The ABC's of Daily Care Seminar

Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here are some good links to help when you are picking out a daycare or preschool for your child. From the home page click on the Daycare/Preschool button– To see the whole list check out our site. http://www.kidsinstl.com/
Daycare & Preschools
What are the different preschool philosophies?http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=1367
How do you select a preschool that meets you and your child's needs?
http://www.cullensabcs.com/articles/How_to_Select_a_Preschool_r16.ldv.pdfHow_to_Select_a_Preschool_r16.ldv.pdf
Preschool Checklists
http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,6014,00.html

My Funny – My daughter had some pretty crazy moments hallucinating when her fever spiked up. At one point last night I had just settled down on the couch to zone out in front of the TV, and then I hear her yelling. I ran to her room and she was sitting up in bed waving her arms all around. I asked her what was wrong. She told me to get the bees away from her and take them out of her hair. I sat down on her bed and gently shook her and rubbed her back explaining to her that it is nothing. She then turned to me, eyes wide open, and said in a real creepy calm voice “Get the bees out of my hair”. I said alrighty… so I rubbed my hands all over her head and told her they were gone. She looked back at me and said thank you and went back to sleep. Geezzzz. At lease she was still polite and said thank you when she was acting like the creep show!

One of my Favorite Things – HANGERS!! The nice plastic clothing hangers and not because your clothes hang nice on them. My kids are always carrying the bathroom stools around the house to turn on lights in different rooms in the house. It drives me crazy, because then I am constantly tripping over the stools. I made the new rule that the stools are to stay in the bathroom, well that rule backfired. Now my kids are always calling me to different rooms to turn on the lights. So one morning I was sitting at the table drinking my coffee trying to wake up. My daughter was calling me to turn on her light. I told her to find something and push it up herself. She walked out of her room holding a hanger smiling. I now find hangers in weird placed because both my kids use them to turn off and on the lights, but now I am not falling over a stool.

Don't Sweat the Small Things

My Life – Thursday was a sad day for St. Louis, in particular Kirkwood Missouri. As I was just getting ready to sit down and watch some of my favorite programs (Celebrity Apprentice – I know I have issues) the local new broke in with a special report. A man walked into a City Council meeting and shot 7 people, killing 5. Two the five killed were police officers. One of the Officers he shot was just walking across the parking lot from having dinner at a pizza parlor. Apparently this man had some on going issues with the City and just walked in shooting.
This hits very close to home for two reasons. First my husband is an architect and often works on buildings in or for the City, which requires him to attend City Council meetings. The second reason is because my Brother-in-Law is a police officer. You would never think that a City Council meeting held in a building attached to the police department would be a dangerous place to be.
Times like this just remind me not to sweat the small things and try to make the most out of each day. Most importantly I always tell my children and husband I love them at least twice a day.
So with at that said …. On a lighter side….. Anyone know what happened on the Apprentice? It was over by the time the news report ended.

My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/
Added a bunch of activities to the calendar. Trying to get it pumped up with activities for spring and summer. Here is a list of some of the activities going on around St Louis the next couple of days. Go to the site www.kidsinstl.com for more detail.

Sunday Feb 10th
12 PM - 4 PM
REI Climbing Pinnacle
12:30 PM - 2 PM
Roaches to Zebras Camp Bugaloo
1 PM - 4 PM
Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt
1 PM - 4 PM
The Masked Prowler
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
The Trickster Raccoon
Monday Feb 11th
9 AM - 10 AM
Infant Play Cooper Ella
12:30 PM - 2 PM
Homeschool Special: Maple Sugaring
6 PM - 8:30 PM
Daddy/Daughter Valentine?s Dance
7 PM - 8 PM
StoryTime Valentine?s Day - Thornhill Library
7 PM - 8 PM
UnValentine's Day Party - Thornhill Library

Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here is a partial list of some of the books we recommend for children. From the home page click on the Recommended Books button– To see the whole list check out our site. www.kidsinstl.com
BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR THE YOUNG CHILD (24-36 MONTHS)
COUNTING:
Baby Buddies: Can You Count (Baby Buddies)
One Lonely Sea Horse
INTRODUCTION TO SPANISH:

My First Spanish Word Book / Mi Primer Libro De Palabras En Español
INTERACTIVE/PROPS:

Hide-And-Seek With Leo: A Hand-Puppet Book
RHYMING/SONG:

Baby Beluga (Raffi Songs to Read)
ANIMAL CHARACTERISTICS:

My Jungle Pop-up Book
SELF-ESTEEM:

The Mixed-Up Chameleon
BODY PARTS:

From Head to Toe Big Book

My Funny – Over the last couple months I feel like my children are training me to become OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Let me explain – I have a 2 ½ yr old and a 4 yr old and they both want to be the first to do everything… and I mean everything. Of course when you have two kids they both can not be first, so we do everything twice.
Making breakfast we push the waffles down twice. Leaving the house the first kid opens the door and walks out, and then I shut the door so the next kid can open it. We go through the same route when we walk in the house. I have stated the team work rule where they do some things at the same time together, but it does not always work. I know many of you mom’s out there think I am crazy. This is such a small thing in life, and I no longer sweat the small things.

One of my Favorite Things – Glue! I am a total Glue Crazy Mama! There is always at least one broken toy on my counter that has glue drying. I have all different kinds of glue – gorilla glue, crazy glue, foam glue, fabric glue, hot glue gun and for the really crazy stuff…. Liquid nails. I will very rarely throw a toy away without first trying to glue it back together.

Dried Up Food Stuck to His Coat

My Life – Ok… I am such a sorry sack! I worked out Monday and I am still soooo sore. I need to kick it up more than once a week…haha.


Today was school for my daughter. I have really enjoyed these days alone with my little guy. For two years it was just me and my daughter. Ever since my son was born it is almost like I have one big kid with 4 arms. Most of the time they are like one individual with twice the reach. So this year when my daughter stated pre-school it was the first time I really was able to spend a lot of time alone with my son. I can actually say I really dig him and I enjoy his company. Many days we go to Borders or Starbucks have a cup of joe and talk or read. He is only 2 ½ but does a good job of holding up his side of the conversation.

Today was another day of dance and it was observation day. So Daddy comes to watch his princess dance… oh boy. Well, Sophia was in rare form and was not listening to the teacher at all. When all the pretty little ballerina’s were doing their toe pointing, my wild child was off in the corner acting like she was at a rave. My husband was so mad! He thinks it is a waste of money if she is not going to listen. The class ended with tap and Sophia’s listening skills were still not very sharp. Not a great day for Daddy to see his lil’ darling shine.

My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/

Today was our big development meeting. By big meeting I mean, sitting on the couch with my friend talking about our site while she feeds her newborn. Haha.
We talked about setting up a new page on our site about ‘Green Living’. Going green is a hot topic right now, so I am very excited. We also are setting up some audio clips of some great children’s songs. Check it out on our Home Page and also under our Educational & Interactive Activities Page. Here is a list of some of the activities going on around St Louis the next couple of days. Go to the site http://www.kidsinstl.com/ for more detail.

Saturday Feb 9th
10 AM - 11 AM
Kids Club: Heart Pencil Topper
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Funny Valentines St Louis Museum
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Valentine?s Day - Thornhill Library
1 PM - 2 PM
Storytelling in the Galleries - Will you Be my Valentine?
2 PM - 3 PM
Cultural Connections Ireland - Rock Road Library
3 PM - 7 PM
REI Climbing Pinnacle
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Wolf Sanctuary Campfire Program
Sunday Feb 9th
12 PM - 4 PM
REI Climbing Pinnacle
12:30 PM - 2 PM
Roaches to Zebras Camp Bugaloo
1 PM - 4 PM
Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
The Trickster Raccoon

Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here is one of the Kid Recipes from the site – To see the whole list check out our site. www.kidsinstl.com

Recipes for Kids
RAINBOW IN A BAG

1/3 Cup Sugar4 Cups Cold Water1 Cup Cornstarch
Mix all ingredients and heat until it begins to thicken, stirring constantly. Cool. Divide mixture equally into three containers and add food coloring. One color per container. Add three heaping tablespoons full of each color to a Ziploc bag. Seal the bag and tape it closed. Have the children knead their bag to mix the colors.

My Funny – I often try to play some kind of word games with my kids while in the car. One of our favorite games is I-Spy. We take turned finding things in the car of a certain color while every tries to guess what item we have picked out. It was my turn and ‘I-Spied’ something that was brown. The answer I was looking for was the brown giraffe that was on the floor of the car. My daughter gave me a couple answers that were wrong. So she looked around then yelled out I KNOW….. THE CHEWED UP PIECE OF DRIED FOOD STUCK ON OWEN’S COAT. Oh Gross! But I was laughing so hard, I had to tell her, she was right.

One of my Favorite Things – With infants and kids comes stains on clothes. And if your house is like mine, often stains that get washed dried and remain on the clothes. I have tried many stain removers to try to get set in stains. Some kind of worked and many did not work at all. Then a friend told me to try Dreft Stain Remover. Yep, it is the same brand of the baby detergent. For what ever reason, Dreft Stain Remover is very hard to find. I finally found it at Target. If you have a stain, spray it with the Dreft rub it in a bit then let it sit for about 10 minutes. Wash it up and most of the time the stain will be gone. I love it!

Super Tuesday - Up in Flames

My Life – Super Tuesday…was yours super? Mine was actually sad. Here in St Louis it was just raining all day. We even had some thunder storms… in Jan ..who would guess. The kiddos and I just had a lazy day at home, we like to call them jammie days. That is because we all stay in our pj’s. I knew I would have to get showered and dress to at least go vote, but I waited until my husband came home. Even though it was down pouring I went out to vote, the polling place is only 4 blocks from my house. While there the most incredible shot of lighting lit up the sky. It really freaked everyone out. I made it back home to switch with my husband so he could go vote. As I walk up to close the door behind him I notice the house down the street was on fire. Remember the lighting strike. The fire burned for a very long time and it was so close to our house the kids watched it from the window. The house is a totally gone, the only thing left is the front door. So sad. At one point when the flames were as high as the trees, I wanted to go out and take a picture. I am sure that makes me kind of demented. I did walk out with my camera, but I felt bad for taking a picture of someone’s loss.
Now here is the catch they had to block off the streets because the fire was huge. This means that many people were not able to get to the polls to vote. So I am waiting to hear about that controversy.



My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/
Worked on the Activity Calendar. So many places and things to do, so little time to enter them in. I am still working on this summer camp list, uggg. It never ends. Here is a sample of some of the activities for the next couple of days. Go to the site http://www.kidsinstl.com/ for more detail.

Thursday Feb 7th
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Computer Bryte Kids Classes
9:45 AM - 10:30 AM
Where Art and Play Go Hand in Hand
10 AM - 11 AM
toddler Storytime Sachs Branch
10 AM - 11 AM
Storyteller - Stories From the World Village - Weber Library
1 PM - 1:45 PM
Big Kids Art Studio Workshop
4 PM - 5 PM
Happy Valentine's Day - Prairie Commons Library
6 PM - 8 PM
REI Climbing Pinnacle
Friday Feb 8th
9:45 AM - 10:30 AM
Where Art and Play Go Hand in Hand
10 AM - 11 AM
Give Me Mo and Pigeon, Too! - Sachs Library
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Storytelling in the Galleries - Will you Be my Valentine?
10:30 AM - 12 PM
Roaches to Zebras Camp Bugaloo
11:15 AM - 12 PM
Drop in Play Date Baby Moon Boutique
Family Fun Night Whittle Shortline
6 PM - 8:30 PM
Daddy/Daughter Valentine?s Dance
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Wolf Sanctuary Campfire Program

Hey for all of you that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here is some of our favorite links – To see the whole list check out our site. http://www.kidsinstl.com/

EDUCATION/HOMEWORK HELPERS
www.pta.org

Learn to advocate for your child & help them become successful students

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/homeworkhelp/bjpinchbeck/

Sites to assist your child with homework

http://encarta.msn.com/hubpages_K12Success/K12Success.html

Learn how your child can best be prepared for school

My Funny – My daughter now understands about looking nice and often wants to do things that ‘make her look pretty’. Santa brought her some kiddie make-up this year and dressing up her face is one of her favorite ‘pretty’ things to do. I noticed had not seen the little princess in a while, so I called her from her room to see what she was doing. When she walked in the room it took every ounce of strength not to laugh. My daughter had every barrette she owns in her hair (about 20) and big circles, lines and blotches all over her face done with very bright make-up. Of course she thought she looked beautiful, so I had to agree. I should have taken a picture, it seems like a Kodak moment happens every 10 minutes in my house!

One of my Favorite Things – My little guy does not get diaper rash very often any more. He is pretty good about telling us right when he goes poop. However, there are times when he over does it with a food, like oranges, and then he does get diaper rash. Both of my kids were the babies who would get diaper rash so bad it would bleed. It was horrible and often almost made me cry. I have tried almost every diaper cream on the market. The best one I tried was Dr Smith. It is hard to find and a bit expensive, but it is worth its weight in gold. I recommend it to everyone who has diaper rash problems.

Not Everything Takes Batteries!

My Life – Monday was not only back to school for my daughter but it was also show and tell day. They have a show and tell day once a month and it is always a big production to figure out what she is taking. I try to suggest things, but I want her to make the final decision. From when she woke up through the next 2 hours she changed her mind 20 times. First it was a toy pony, then a book, then her princess dress….. what ever…pick one! Geeezzz. There was one item in her room that she cherishes but I never suggested for her to take it, a very breakable Cinderella snow globe. However, I it would be a great show and tell things, so I suggested the snow globe. Oh boy was she thrilled. She took it to school and show and tell was a huge success.


While my daughter was at school, I decided to go to the gym. They have a daycare at Club Fitness, so my son loves going there. Now I must make it clear – If I make it to the gym once a week…. I am doing good. I wish I had more motivation! I feel good about myself after I go…who knows. Anyway, I worked out….oh gosh I am so sore today. It hurts to pick up my coffee cup. How out of shape can I be!

My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/
Last night I worked on the ‘At home Extension Activities’ for the calendar. It you go to the site, you will see that everyday we have one craft that can be done at home that kind of goes in line with one the items on the calendar. It is a lot work finding these projects, so I hope someone is using them! HAHA. I am still working on this summer camp list, uggg. It never ends. Here is a sample of some of the activities for the next couple of days. Go to the site http://www.kidsinstl.com/ for more detail.

Wednesday Feb 6th
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
Creation Station Museum of Transportation
9:45 AM - 10:30 AM
Where Science and Play Go Hand in Hand
10 AM - 10:45 AM
Toddler Storytime Mid County Library
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Meet a Construction Worker Magic house
Thursday Feb 7
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Computer Bryte Kids Classes
9:45 AM - 10:30 AM
Where Art and Play Go Hand in Hand
10 AM - 11 AM
Storyteller - Stories From the World Village - Weber Library
1 PM - 1:45 PM
Big Kids Art Studio Workshop
4 PM - 5 PM
Happy Valentine's Day - Prairie Commons Library
6 PM - 8 PM
REI Climbing Pinnacle

Hey for all you people that are not in St Louis, I want to share one of the many other parts of my site that can be used by anyone regardless of where they live. Here is one of our ‘Kid Sensory Recipes’
CORNMEAL DOUGH

1½ Cups Flour1 ½ Cups Cornmeal1 Cup Salt1 Cup Water
Mix all ingredients together in bowl. If mixture seems dry, add very small amounts of water until smooth dough is formed.

My Funny – We are kind of trying to potty train my son. He is 2 1/2 yrs old, so he is getting to the age, but I am not going to turn commando on him yet. A few times a day I will ask him if he wants to go sit on the potty (he still wears diapers). He will still and actually go pee pee almost every time. The problem is going poop on the toilet! I just can’t seem to get him to go. Yesterday he ate a big lunch and I knew it was just a matter of time. I have him sitting on the potty and I was reading to him. We sat there for a long time and I suggested for him to try to push. He did try then looked up at me and as serious as he could tell me – “Poop won’t come out because my wiener is broke and needs new batteries.” I laughed so hard I almost feel off the tub edge. I then had to explain that poop does not come out of his wiener and it will never need batteries.

One of my Favorite Things – This has become one of my favorite things because I hate to clean sand off my floor. My kids received a bunch of that moon sand for Christmas presents. They love it and I hate it! I would sit them at the table with trays and tell them to be very careful. Minutes later the floor would be covered in sand then it would be tracked all over the house. I stared to tell the kids that the moon sand was only an outside toy, but it is winter time…not a very good time to sit outside and play. I knew I needed to figure out a way they could play with this sand that made everyone happy. I decided to take my long wrapping paper Rubbermaid container and empty it out. I put all the moon sand in it! It is long enough for both kids to play with out sitting on top of each other and the sides are high enough to keep most of the sand contained. Now see that I said ‘most’ of the sand. There was still a mess to clean up, but it was something I could live with and not make my head explode.

Beads.....Beads..........Beads!!!!

My Life – Went down to the Mardi Gras Parade with the hubby today. I set up not one but two babysitters and pre-ordered a pizza to be delivered to my house for dinner. My first sitter has the breakfast to lunch shift then the next one came to take the lunch to dinner shift. It worked out pretty good. The parade was a blast. We actually bought tickets to be in a private tent. This was the first time we did this and we will never do it any other way. They had all the food, drink, heaters, and private porta potties. We were just ½ block from the parade route, so we actually see the parade from our party site. However if you wanted beads you had to go down to the street. So of course we went down. I just happened to be standing with most of my guy friends. It took me a while to realize that they were not yelling for beads, but pulling beads out of these big bags and throwing them to the people on the floats. The people on the floats were quite surprised to get pelted with beads, and it actually made them throw even more at us. At first I did not want to throw the beads. Then I gave in and threw my first on and the guy on the float caught it. I was hooked! I didn’t catch and keep another bead. What a blast!

My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/

Today I am researching activities for the calendar. I am always looking for new family activities around town. If any one knows of some good things, drop me a note. Also still working on my summer camp list, boy what a lot of information! Here is a peak of some of the activities for the next couple of days.
Sunday
12 PM - 3 PMDelta Dental Mardi Gras, Family Style
12 PM - 4 PMREI Climbing Pinnacle
2 PM - 3 PMFolktales and More Magic House
Monday
9 AM - 10 AMInfant Play Cooper Ella
7 PM - 8 PMPj Story Time Sachs Branch
7 PM - 8 PMStorytelling - Stories from the World Village - Thornhill Library

My Funny – My daughter will be 4 in one month and she is miss independent about everything. Picking out her outfits and getting dressed by herself is a daily requirement. So like every morning after breakfast she went in her room and got dressed. Later the morning she was chasing her brother around the house and I noticed she was running funny. When I asked her what was wrong she said her tummy hurt. I went through the normal list of questions, are you hungry, do you need to go potty, etc and nothing. So I put up her shirt to look at her belly and I notice her underwear is strangling her. When she got dress this morning her stepped threw the wrong hole and had the leg hole around her waist!

One of my Favorite Things – This kind of goes with my funny of the day. Since my daughter wants pick her own clothes out now, she would often walk around in some pretty funky outfits. I wanted a solution to make us both happy. I bought one of them closet inserts that has a slot for each day of the week. Now I make sure that 5 matching outfits are always in her slots and she gets to pick the outfit she wants… and it matches!! Win – Win for everyone!