Mom....Where are we going.....CRAZY

2008-12-29T22:05:00.001-06:00

Hello Friends
It has been a long time since I updated this blog and I do miss it. It was a nice way to share my thoughts. However, since my website (www.kidsinstl.com) has taken off and I update a blog to go with the work web site, I just don’t have time.

So, I have come to a compromise to make me happy and still do both blogs. I am going to put just little personal bits about my life, day, family or just whatever. Then I am going to copy the info from my work blog. Please don’t let my work blog turn you off from stopping by, it is just about stuff to do with your family and kids…. Actually pretty useful stuff.

So that is it for now.. and here is some of my ‘work’ blog. It is good to be back!
Renee

St Louis Family and Kid Activities from December 22 - December 28

Want to check out the best web site for families with kids in St Louis! There are so many things to find on this site: Kids Events Around Town, Kids Birthday Party Venues , Travel Tips, Kids Eat Free Restaurants , Daycares and Preschools , Kids With Special Needs, Daily Activity Calendar, Sensory Recipes, Kids In the Kitchen, Area Parks, Everything Holiday and much more. Here is a sneak peek of the activities for the week and some info from the site. Just go to http://www.kidsinstl.com/for the full list with details.

Play Date Anyone???
This week we are going to spotlight a part of our site a little differently. Have you heard of the company Little Fishes Swim School? Not only are they one of our new advertising friends, but they are a great swim school that has a special offer for our members.

Little Fishes wants to open their doors to offer a free venue to host a very neat play date for any group of Mom’s. Your group can be an official Mom’s Club or just a few moms who want to hang out together. They have a super warm pool, a nice play area and even a snack room for enjoying your lunch. All they ask is if your call and set-up your date and time for your play date. Make sure to tell them you are a kidsinstl member!

Time for a Party….. Over 210 Places to Go!
When we started this site, we were able to compose around 50 fun places to host a kid’s birthday. Now many months later we are totally floored to see our list soar to over 210 places around town. Who would have guessed there are so many great places around town for a kid’s party? If you have not checked the list out lately, take a peek. We bet there will be at least a couple of places you are unfamiliar with and are quite surprised to see.

Monday ~ December 22
9 AM - 10 AM
Infant Play Cooper Ella
9 AM - 5 PM
Gardenland Express Botanical Garden
10 AM - 11 AM
Storytime at WholeFoods Market
10 AM - 11 AM
Paint me a Story - The Painting Paw
11 AM - 1 PM
Imaginary Theatre Company - The Little Fir Tree
2 PM - 4 PM
Imaginary Theatre Company - The Little Fir Tree
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Wild Lights at the Zoo
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Dinner with Santa at the Zoo
7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Dinner with Santa at the Zoo Tuesday ~ December 23
9 AM - 5 PM
Gardenland Express Botanical Garden
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
Creation Station Museum of Transportation
10 AM - 10:30 AM
Story Time at Pottery Barn
10 AM - 11 AM
Childrens Morning Storytime Barnes & Noble Ladue
10 AM - 4 PM
Winter Celebrations - The Childrens Museum
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Preschool Story Time Brentwood Library
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Preschool Story Time Brentwood Library
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Creation Station - Transport Museum Association
11 AM - 1 PM
Imaginary Theatre Company - The Little Fir Tree
11 AM - 12 PM
Tuesday Morning Storytime Ballwin Borders
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
Creation Station - Transport Museum Association
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Wild Lights at the ZooWednesday ~ December 24
Christmas Eve Thursday ~ December 25
Merry Christmas Friday ~ December 26
9 AM - 5 PM
Gardenland Express Botanical Garden
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
Creation Station Museum of Transportation
10 AM - 4 PM
ZOOmagination Station St Louis Zoo
10 AM - 11 AM
Childrens Morning Storytime Barnes & Noble Ladue
10 AM - 4 PM
Winter Celebrations - The Childrens Museum
10:30 AM - 11 AM
Babymoon Boutique Story Time
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Creation Station - Transport Museum Association
11 AM - 11:45 AM
Drop-In Play Date Babymoon Boutique
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
Creation Station - Transport Museum Association
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Wild Lights at the Zoo
6 PM - 7 PM
Kwanzaa: A Cultural Celebration -St Louis Art MuseumSaturday ~ December 27
8 AM - 10 AM
Musical Merry-Go Round FM 88.1 KDHX Program
9 AM - 5 PM
Gardenland Express Botanical Garden
10 AM - 4 PM
ZOOmagination Station St Louis Zoo
10 AM - 4 PM
Winter Celebrations - The Childrens Museum
10:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Penguin Pals & Polar Bear Fun Days Brentwood Library
11 AM - 12 PM
Children's Story Time! Barnes & Noble Cross Keys
12 PM - 2:30 PM
Penguin Party - Missouri History Museum
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Wild Lights at the Zoo
7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Saturday Night Storytime Ballwin Borders
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
St Louis Symphony Orchestra Oz with Orchestra Sunday ~ December 28
9 AM - 5 PM
Gardenland Express Botanical Garden
1 PM - 4 PM
Art that Glitters and Glows -St Louis Art Museum
3 PM - 5 PM
St Louis Symphony Orchestra Oz with Orchestra
4 PM - 5 PM
Joga Yoga for Kids
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Wild Lights at the Zoo

When Daddy Thinks No One is Watching

2008-05-06T00:05:00.009-05:00

Today was one of those days that you catch a sneak peek of you husband and all those totally annoying things he does just doesn’t really matter.

It was a beautiful day out today, so the kids were playing in the backyard while I cooked dinner. My husband came home and went straight to the yard to play with the kids.

As I spent the next 50 minutes cooking dinner, I would occasionally peek out in the yard. Here are some of the things I saw and it made me smile from the inside – out.

- Daddy and Soph sitting on the ground making flower crowns so they BOTH could wear one.
- Daddy taking turns swinging each of the kids around and around even though I could tell his arms were hurting him
- Daddy playing hide and seek and acting like he could not find the kids even though they hid in the same spot the last 8 times.
- Daddy playing hopscotch, boy that was a scary
- Daddy scooping the sand out of the mouth of the little guy and not even scolding him once (that kid has such a taste for sand, ugg)
- Daddy dancing around with bubble wands making bubbles everywhere

So… tonight I pushed aside the dirty socks on the floor, shrugged off the dinner dishes left on the table and didn’t even say a thing when my loving husband blew his nose and left the tissue on the end table. Without even trying, he reminded me that all those little annoying things he does can be overlooked or forgiven… because he is a wonder Daddy and Husband… and those are qualities worth their weight in gold.

Here are two of my favorite pictures! Daddy with both his kids when they were just born.

Hey if you got a minute, check out my web site http://www.kidsinstl.com/

There is a ton of great stuff – Great Present suggestion for Mothers Day, Kid Recipes, St Louis Birthday Party ideas, Parenting Tips, Children’s Books, Travel Tips and much more.

Here is a sample of some of the Travel Tips:
Traveling with a Toddler

- Use a lightweight umbrella stroller verses a cumbersome stroller

- Make sure that you have lots of magazines, crayons (if you child is ready), and of course books and toys

- Ensure that you have an extra change of clothes

- Check your stroller in at the gate verse at the check-in counter, so that you can push your child around while waiting for the plane to arrive

- Have a good supply of snacks and cups

- Walk your child up and down the airport terminal to burn energy

www.kidsinstl.com

Thank God for the Teachers that Go that Extra Mile

2008-04-15T00:06:00.006-05:00

Thank God for the Teachers that Go that Extra Mile

My daughter is in her first year of preschool and loves it. She goes three days a week, but would be perfectly happy to go 5 days if it was offered. My daughter goes to a small private preschool with only 9 students and 2 teachers. First let me explain the ‘private’ part of the school. It is private because it is at a Methodist church and I started out picking this preschool only because it was half the cost of the local public preschool. However after almost ¾ of a school year over, I would never send either of my kids any where else.

What is so cool about this school is that since it is private the class rules and curriculum is more flexible. Once a month each student is required to bring in the snack for the class, however it can be homemade. It is so fun to bake cookies or cupcakes with my daughter for her to bring to her friends at school. Also, the class can celebrate any holiday. We dressed up at Halloween, had a Christmas pageant, and the Easter Bunny made a personal appearance. However, my favorite thing is the curriculum and how the teachers make it fun.

For example, February was Cowboys and Indians month. Yes you read correctly, they learned about Indians, not Native Americans. I know some people think that is politically incorrect to say Indians and not Native Americans. The kids learned about horses, cowboys, western attire, Indians, and wonderful Indian folklore and it was all taught in the most respectful manner.

This last month the class learned about Scotland. Each week my daughter came home with wonderful knowledge about bagpipes, kilts, thistles, the Loch Ness Monster and much more. The most unbelievable thing that the teachers did for these kids was to give them first hand experience about what they learned was by signing them up as participants in the Scottish festival. These teachers personally made each student special outfit, including a kilt, to wear while marching in the parade. These kids had a great experience they will never forget.

So, I will wrap up this entry with a big THANK YOU! To all those teachers out there that go the extra mile, love our children and often use their own time and money to make lifelong memorable learning experiences for our kids.

What Is Happening at – www.kidsinstl.com
We have changed the format of the Parent Forum to make it more user friendly, check it out. Here is a sneak peak of what is going on around town for the next few days. Go to http://www.kidsinstl.com/ to see a detailed list of all the kids activities around St Louis.
Tuesday ~ April 15th
10 AM - 11 AM
A Storytime Classic- Borders Chesterfield
10 AM - 11 AM
Borders Storytime - Classic Story about Corduroy
4 PM - 5 PM
Club Read: Chinese 'Good Luck Knot' Key Rings.
Wednesday ~ April 16th
10 AM - 11 AM
Baby Storytime Sachs Branch
10 AM - 10:45 AM
Toddler Storytime Mid County Library
7 PM - 8 PM
Family Night: Science Fun - Lip Gloss/Putty
Thursday ~ April 17th
10 AM - 10:30 AM
Storytime: Toddler/Preschool - Schlafly Library
10 AM - 11 AM
Borders Storytime - I Want a Pet!
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Bed Bugs Bedtime Story Hour
Friday ~ April 18th
10 AM - 1 PM
Earth Day Extravaganza
11:15 AM - 12 PM
Drop in Play Date Baby Moon Boutique
11:45 AM - 1:45 PM
Farm Fair

Nothing but the Girls!

2008-03-28T00:01:00.004-05:00

I have been out of the blogging world for the last week or so because my 4 year old daughter and I took our first girls trip. We flew out to San Francisco to see a friend’s new baby. I also must tell you that I left my 2 year old son with my husband for a week of male bonding.

This was a trip I was not only was excited about but I also needed for a mental health break from the home front. Overall the trip was wonderful! The baby is super sweet and my daughter had a blast.

Here are a few things I have learned about taking a girls trip with a 4 year old and leaving your son and husband on their own for the week.
- Take a lot of little snacks for the plane ride. I say little because it keeps things interesting if they can have many different snacks instead of just a big bag of chips or something.
- Apologize to the person that is sitting in front and on the side of your child at the beginning of the flight. No matter how much I told my daughter not to kick the seat or yell, she still did it. Now I must say she was pretty good, but there were still some moments.
- Buy some new little toys or games for the plane. Since these were all things she had never seen or played with just getting them out of the package and open was an adventure. (and took up time)
- When leaving your husband and your 2 yr old son to fend for themselves make sure there is a lot of easily prepared foods that are nutritious… or they will just live off of Hardees.
- Do not expect to come home to a clean house. Just be happy that everyone is safe. However I must tell you.. when we walked in the house I immediately smelled gas. I ran to the kitchen to find the knob on the stove top turned. My husband then comments …’Oh that is where that smell is coming from, I thought I smelled gas when I woke up’ OMG!!! I am so thankful that my house did not blow up or that the dogs didn't take a nap and never wake up!

Wellp, we are back and look forward to getting back to the normal daily routine!

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/ and check it out!!

Here is a preview of what is on our Recommended Toys Page:

Thomas the Tank Engine

Find Me Multicolor Play Tunnel
ALPHABET:

LeapFrog Fridge Farm Magnetic Animal Set
SENSORY:

Little Tikes Bubble Bellies Bubble Saurus

Wordless Wed - Birthdays are Never your Own, Once you have kids

2008-03-26T12:35:00.007-05:00

Dance Party With Dr Seuss

2008-03-15T23:27:00.012-05:00

Yesterday my kids school celebrated Dr Seuss’s 102nd Birthday. What a guy that Dr Seuss and what a wonderful author. Everyone has a favorite Dr Seuss book, mine has to be ‘A Fly Went By’. My son’s favorite is ‘Go Dog Go’ and my daughter likes ‘Inside your Outside’.

It is sort of funny if you really look at the books each of us likes, ‘A Fly Went By’ has a part about the little boy getting a switch and whipping the fox chasing the pig and that always makes me chuckle because now a days a children’s author would never write something so non-PC in a book.

My Son likes the ‘Go Dog Go’ book simply because he digs doggies. The thing I find funny is he always inquires why the dogs are blue and green, not why are the dogs driving cars. Just shows what is important in his little mind.

Now my daughter just turned 4 so she is a little sponge for knowledge, which is why ‘Inside your Outside’ is her favorite. She just loves to ask questions about red and while blood cells and other body stuff the book talks about. I often have to go to the internet to find the answers to her questions.

The school went all out with crafts, story time, dancing and specials guests like – Clifford, The Cat in The Hat and Mother Goose. It was a great day and we had a blast. What a wonderful way to pay tribute to a guy we forget played such a big role in many of our young lives.

Here is a little clip of my daughter dancing at the party. This clip is a little over 2 mins long, but I promise you will be smiling by the end.

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.

Monday Mar 17th
9 AM - 10 AMInfant Play Cooper Ella
9 AM - 1 PMEASTER BUNNY HUTCH
10 AM - 11:30 AM'It's Easy Finding Green' Hike
10:30 AM - 11:30 AMRocking Chair Story Time

Tuesday Mar 18th
9:15 AM - 10:15 AMCreation Station Museum of Transportation
10 AM - 10:30 AMStory Time at Pottery Barn
2:15 PM - 3:15 PMShoemaker And The Elves - Kramer's Marionette Theater
4 PM - 5 PMClub Read: Xbox 360 - Got Game?

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. http://www.kidsinstl.com/
BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR THE YOUNG CHILD (24-36 MONTHS)
COUNTING: Baby Buddies: Can You Count (Baby Buddies)
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

FACT or FICTION ...........Make it stop!

2008-03-14T00:09:00.006-05:00

With my crazy kid schedule and the closing in holiday I have not had much time to get on the computer. However, many things have happened in the last few days to give me plenty of data for this little blog I will call Fact or Fiction.

1) When you sit on a ball of Silly Putty and smash it all over your living room chair and pants – both are ruined forever. FICTION
~ Actually Silly Putty rubs off pretty easily, you just have to take your time. However, I was still pretty mad and threw the Putty away.

2) Markers that claim to be ‘washable’ will not stain the white fur of a dog when the kids decide to color him. FICTION
~ Boy my poor doggie … the kids colored his legs and part of his back. Now this may be a Fact if I would have gave him an intense scrub down, but it is winter here so I was only able to wipe him with wash rags and soap. He is still a bit pink and green.

3) With a determination a 2 year old can actually put on his own diaper. FACT
~ I refused to put a diaper on my little guy until he at least tried to pee pee on the potty. He walked into his room, shut the door…then walked out with a diaper that was put on totally correct. Wellp, I guess we will try potty training again in a couple months.

4) If you eat a handful of sand it will come out the looking almost the same as it went in. FACT
~ A little nice weather makes the kids go crazy. After a long winter, I let the kids go out in the yard on a day it warmed up. I stepped inside to get some drinks and in that short time my little guy ate at least one huge handful of sand. Ick.. that can’t taste good. (Side note – I did call poison control and the only real hazard with sand is chocking.) Well the next morning I changed a diaper full of poopy sand. Yuck!

5) Finger Nail Polish remover will eat the polish on a wood table almost immediately. FACT
~ My little girl wanted her nail painted for her 4 yr pics. So we had to take of the old stuff. I walked to the counter to get a napkin (4 seconds) came back to see my daughter squeezing the cotton ball with the remover in it on the table. Well I quickly wiped it off, but there is still 3 circle marks on my table…bummer.

6) The Easter Bunny will know where to bring your basket, even if you are not at home on Easter Morning. FACT
~ My little girl verified this with the Easter Bunny today when she sat on his lap today. We are doing a girl’s trip to San Francisco…. Can’t wait!

Check out my web site - www.kidsinstl.com
It is a wonderful resource for anyone with kids! It is jam packed with fun things to do with the kids while on spring break.

Open up and Say ....Ahhhhhhh

2008-02-29T23:35:00.004-06:00

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

2008-02-28T01:47:00.003-06:00

Sleep Tight Sweet Baby Girl

Shrinky My Dinky.... Oh What Fun

2008-02-26T22:22:00.010-06:00

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/

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

2008-02-24T23:24:00.007-06:00

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!

2008-02-21T23:27:00.005-06:00

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.

2008-02-18T23:43:00.004-06:00

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

2008-02-14T23:46:00.003-06:00

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

2008-02-10T22:56:00.000-06:00

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.pdf How_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

2008-02-09T00:28:00.000-06:00

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

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

2008-02-07T21:32:00.000-06:00

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

2008-02-06T10:10:00.000-06:00

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!

2008-02-05T10:58:00.000-06:00

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!!!!

2008-02-02T23:28:00.000-06:00

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!

Get That out of your Ear!!!!! AHHHHHHH

2008-01-31T22:04:00.000-06:00

Welp, here is my second post in my blog. It is exciting to see that people took the time to read my first post. Thanks All!!

My Life – How about that snow! Today was a lazy day in my house, no school or classes for the kids. We had plans to run errands, but as soon as the snow started we (or should I say ‘I’) decided to stay home. Let me regress a bit and tell you about the deal made with my 4 yr old daughter. She is my early riser and then runs around the house and wakes everyone up, which makes my husband furious. So I told her if she stays in her room and quietly reads books in the morning, that I would let her pick out a special book reading lamp. That is the errand we were going to run today. I will keep you updated if my big book reading plan works!

My Web Site – http://www.kidsinstl.com/
We are making some big changes with the site! We are taking down the Playgroup matching page, it just was not getting the hits we wanted. We are going to set up some kind of adult hobby schedule, but that is still in the works. I am working like crazy to get the summer camp list out so it can be published by mid Feb. I had no idea there were so many summer camps for kids in the area! Two new birthday venues will be added to list - Hui Hula 'O Punahele and Woody's Café. Check out the whole list, I but you had no idea that there is over 100 places in the area to have a kids birthday party. Here are some of the great activities that will be going on around town the next couple of days. Check out the site for the detail.

Friday Activities
10 AM - 11 AMLap Time: The Great Backyard Bird Count - Rock Road Library
10:30 AM - 11:30 AMStorytelling in the Galleries - Mardi Gras Mambo
10:30 AM - 11:30 AMStorytelling - Give Me Mo! And Pigeon Too! - Thornhill Library
10:30 AM - 11:30 AMCreation Station - Transport Museum Association
10:30 AM - 11:30 AMStory time Fun Baby Moon Boutique

Saturday Activities
9 AM - 10:30 AMThe Children’s Garden Club Terrariums
9 AM - 1 PMHeart of the Family Event
9 AM - 12 PMHome Depot How To Clinics
10 AM - 11:30 AMKids Artstart
10 AM - 11 AMKids Club: Pop-Up Groundhog
10:30 AM - 12 PMArtful Valentines St Louis Museum

My Funny – Well this one is funny but sort of scary! With the snow falling and us just sitting at home I heard ”Can we go out and make a snowman” at least 100 times. I tried many times to explain to my two little darlings that if you can see the grass there is not enough snow. We have this snowman kit that Santa bought, it has the eyes, nose, etc. Each face part is made of fabric then has a long plastic stick attached to it, to make it stay in the snow. Pretty cool right (I bought it as Target, if you want to get a kit). The kids had all the snowman parts all over the floor playing with them. I look over at my 2 ½ yr old son and he is in the process of sticking the long plastic stick up his nose so he can have a ‘carrot nose’. My first reaction was to scream NO! this made him jump and stick it in a little farther. Glad to say, he is fine not even any blood. Why is it my little guy wants to stick everything in his nose and ears! All day long I yell at him to – ‘Don’t stick that in your ear!’ Here is my little guy trying to stick his whole hand in the biggest hole on his face.... ahhhhhhh!

One of my Favorite Things – This favorite thing was actually made by my husband. My kids are huge magnet fans! They are forever in my kitchen with magnets all over. So as a solution my husband went to Home Depot and bought a piece of sheet metal, cut it in half, painted it a cool neon green, framed it up then screwed it to the walls in their bedrooms. It was a pretty cheap and easy project and now I no longer hurt my toes by stepping on magnet toys in the kitchen.

Dance Like Elaine...we all doing it

2008-01-29T23:10:00.000-06:00

This is my first entry in my first blog! Wow if you would have asked me yesterday if I would write a blog, I would have laughed in your face and said NO WAY.

I was doing some research for my web site (I will tell you more about that later) and was reading blogs. After reading a bunch, I thought what a fun way to share the funnies of life. So I am giving it a try.

My life revolve around my kids, cleaning house, updating my web site and an occasional Mojito (they are soooo good, I could drink 10 of them!)

My Life - Today my daughter (3 yrs almost 4 yrs) had dance class. Since she could walk she would dance around the house all day. So I thought she would be a natural at dance class. HAHAHAH Oh my gosh! Once a week I take her to class and then an hour later my face hurts from laughing. They take 30 minutes of ballet and 30 minutes of tap. The ballet is not that bad, 8 little girls and 1 boy walking around on their toes. Now tap is a different story. Have you ever seen the Seinfeld when Elaine dances... you know where she kicks her feet out and stick her thumbs out. Well tap looks like 9 little mini- Elaines dancing. I will keep you updated....there is a recital in a few months.
My Web Site - I have a great local web site I am trying to get up and running www.kidsinstl.com. I spend almost any free moment on the site updating, changing or developing new pages. I started this site with another stay at home mommy, we are pretty proud of it. Check it out.
My Funny - My kids always do something to make me laugh! It was very quite in the house. My daughter was at preschool so it was just me and my 2yr old son. I went looking for him and found him in my daughter's room. He was sitting in the middle of her room with little Polly pockets and Barbie’s all around him... and they were all naked! When I asked him what he was doing he held one up and yelled NAKED!
One of my Favorite Things - I have this great shower curtain with big pockets on the inside from top to bottom. My husband and I keep our razors and stuff in the top pockets out of reach of little hands. The bottom pockets hold all the bath toys. I love it no tub net that always fall or toys to step on.