{e}'s favorites | tv shows

{e} is not a big tv watcher. Not like she has much of a choice, we try to limit her tv intake. But, there are certain times when it's almost inevitable. She usually watches tv in the mornings while her dad and I get ready for work. She's an early riser, so I get her all ready first, and then she hangs out in the pack-and-play in the bathroom and watches tv with us. She is fairly picky about what she watches, and these are the favorites and what our DVR is full of.

The Notekins | BabyFirst: This show features 7 cute little characters that represent the 7 musical notes. It introduces baby to different instruments as well as various music concepts through fun adventures.

Li'l Vinnie's Art | BabyFirst: Li'l Vinnie introduces baby to famous works of art, and adds his own creative flair while teaching basic concepts of art.

Color Crew | BabyFirst: Each episode, two crayons are chosen to color a picture, teaching baby different colors, objects, and what happens when we make mistakes.

Peg + Cat | PBS: A little girl and her cat solve problems using math and science skills, along with cute songs and dances.

Sesame Street | PBS: Obviously.

Bubbles Guppies | Nick Jr.: This is a new one for us. The cute little mermaids teach kids a variety of skills, all while exploring the ocean.

All of these shows also do not make me want to gouge my eyes out with rusty spoons when we watch them 65468798 times, which is a plus. I have to say though, Peg + Cat is my favorite. The songs are catchy and the design is great.

50 kernals | sticky marshmallow

popcorn no. 2 | sticky marshmallow

popcorn | orville reddenbacher microwave

toppings | This was more of a 'sauce' than a topping per say. I melted one bag mini marshmallows in 6 tablespoons butter. Then mixed in 1/2 cup each of sugar and corn syrup. Once this was a nice, sticky mess, I added 4 cups of cornflakes.

thoughts | The way the recipe read, this was like a sauce that would coat the popcorn, morphing it into sugary goodness. However, when poured on top of the popcorn, it immediately started sticking together. I incorporated everything as best I could, and then spread it out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. This made it almost like a popcorn brittle/treat, but tasted good. The biggest downfall? Kernels. They got stuck in the marshmallow and were quite a threat to the teeth. Overall, I don't think this one will be making a second appearance.

50 kernels is a series based on recipes taken from the January/February 2014 Food Network Magazine.

50 kernals | brown butter & lemon

I got a subscription too Food Network Magazine over the holidays. They included an insert with 50 ways to eat popcorn. Well, I love popcorn and I love trying new food, so here we go. I'll share my methods, tweaks, thoughts, and photos on all 50 versions. Really hoping to find some new favorites along the way.

popcorn no. 1 | brown butter & lemon

popcorn | orville reddenbacher microwave

toppings | 6 tablespoons butter, browned & zest from one lemon

thoughts | This one was good. In the future, I think I would use not quite as much butter- it was a little greasy. The recipe called for 16 cups popcorn, and the bag I used ended up having about 11 cups. Either way, it is way too much popcorn for 2 people. Note to self- check servings per package before beginning recipe.

resolved

Let me let you in on a secret...I suck at new year's resolutions. I have the follow through of a gnat. As I reflected on why this was, I think it was because my past resolutions have never really meant anything to me. Yeah, it was something to do, and something I wanted, but it never mattered if I followed through or not. Well, that will {hopefully} change this year. It took me a while to come up with my list this year, because I wanted to think about what would really enhance my life, and I think I have narrowed it down to four. Here goes...

Lately, I have made it a priority to get up a little earlier than normal to spend some quiet time drinking coffee, praying, and reading a devotional and/or this week's Sunday school lesson. I have really enjoyed these mornings, and find that not only am I growing in humility, understanding, and awe of the Father, I feel more pleasant and ready for the day. I have been reading the great devotionals from #shereadstruth and am currently in the middle of their fresh start series. There are also some mornings that I work on my scripture journals, which I will share about later.

I think this is something we all get sucked into and could benefit from. Now that my phone has everything on it, I find that my attention will drift to it more that it should. During the commercial of whatever I'm watching, while Adam is changing {e}, while {e} is busy eating....too often. I want to be present in her life, in my life. So, my goal is to put the phone down while {e} is awake. With the exception of phone calls, no screen time when she is around. She is more important than any Facebook status, Pinterest pin, or Instagram comment.

This one seems a little shallow, and self-centered, but hear me out. I have hit that 'new mom' rut. {e} is a year old now, so we've found our groove as a family of 3. But that first year...man. It is all about survival and finding that routine. In those moments, I could care less about whether or not my hair has been in a ponytail for 2 weeks straight (I did manage some washes in there though), my earrings match (or I am even wearing them) or my legs are shaved (sorry honey). Heck, it was a successful day just to get my teeth brushed and everyone out the door on time. But now, we've got this. And I'm ready to start feeling like a mom-person again, not a mom-zombie. It is really important to me that {e} has high self-esteem, and feels good about who she is. Growing up, I never heard from any strong female influence that they liked the way they looked, they were happy with themselves regardless of the number on the scale, and they made it a priority to take care of themselves. I do not want my precious little {e} to have any more self-doubt that necessary. I want her to love every inch, every fiber, every quirk of herself. This has been a process for me, and I don't want it to be a process for her. I want to teach her that it is okay to look nice. It is okay to enjoy painting your nails (or digging in the dirt if that is her thing). It is okay to take 30 minutes getting ready. It is okay to take bubble baths for the sake of taking a bubble bath. It is okay to feel good about yourself. And I know it starts with me. So, I'm working on saying goodbye to the constant ponytail days. Goodbye to the same 5 outfits that were on rotation. I want to work on saying hello to the things I used to do and enjoy before I became a mommy, like looking put together for work. Like finding the perfect accessory. Like trying new hairstyles and embracing it for whatever it was. Like having fun being a girl again.

Now, before you think I'm going to just thumbtack random pictures all over my house, stop. That's not what this is. I have pinned almost 3,000 things (we can talk about a support group later). How many of those pins have come to fruition? Maybe 10. That's ridiculous! There are so many good ideas, fun things to do with {e}, outfits to me tried, life-made-simple tips not to try to make more happen. I'd like to say I will do 2 a month, but let's get real here. I have a one-year-old, remember. So, instead of setting a number to it, I'm just putting it out there that I want to try and make it more real life.

So there. My 4 things. 4 ways that I would like my life to change in 2014. I will do my best to post updates and pictures and ins and outs. But intranets....you've got to keep me accountable.

What are your 2014 goals, resolutions, big ideas???

our favorite christmas board books

Wait..is this a blog? Like, where I'm supposed to post frequently, or something? I guess I didn't get the memo :). Goodness, I have been busy. Between coaching, teaching, graduate school and my baby turning one a few weeks ago, I have been a whirlwind. But now that stuff has slowed down, I'm back.

We love books at our house. LOVE. {e} has more books than I can count right now, and her collected is always growing. She is really into 'reading' right now. Often times she will crawl up to me with a book. She doesn't always want it read- she is perfectly content to flip through the pictures and babble her own story. Because of this, we are on a big board book kick- they are a little more indestructible. I like to keep a basket of themed/seasonal board books in our living room for her, and a few in her diaper bag for when we are out. These are some of our favorites right now.

Christmas in the Manger by Nola Buck. This has very cute artwork with simple words about the manger and Jesus' birth

Where is Baby's Christmas Present? by Karen Katz. Karen Katz is very popular at our house. {e} loves the all of the lift-the-flap books, so the Christmas version was an obvious addition to our collection.

Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer. I remember being a fan of Olivia when I was younger, and I love sharing stories from my childhood with {e}. I'm also a sucker for the sweet and simple illustrations.

A Christmas Carol by Jennifer Adams. I love, love, LOVE the Babylit series. The concept of turning classic novels into primers for kiddos is adorable, and the illustrations are delightful. {e} will be finding some of these in her stocking this year, but I didn't want to save this one until Christmas day.

10 Trim the Tree'ers by Janet Schulman. We actually do not have this book- it was one that I stumbled upon while compiling our favorites list. We have 10 Trick-or-Treaters for Halloween and {e} enjoyed it. It is another one with cute illustrations that I didn't mind reading 10000 times. This one is on its way to our house.

Five Christmas Penguins by Steven Lenton. This book is full of shiny foil throughout that is fun for {e} to play with in the car, where the sun can catch the foil. A silly little story about penguins excited for Christmas.

Twas the Night Before Christmas by Kate Toms. I had to make sure that {e} had this classic story. Kate Toms does amazing mixed-media illustrations, so I was happy to see that she put her own spin on this story.

Winter by Roger Priddy. Not necessarily Christmas, but seasonal. We have the Spring and Fall versions of these books and they are a simple and tactile way to introduce littles to the seasons.

Welcome Winter by Jill Ackerman. Another cute book about winter, using the senses to discover the season.

2nd Grade | Common Core Checklists

Like most schools, we are moving to the Common Core State Standards this year. We have done a lot of professional development with the standards, and I'm familiar with what they are, but this summer I want to really dig into them and see what I have that can stay, what needs to go, and what needs to be added. I made these checklists to help me with this process. I don't know about ya'll, but my pinterest is overflowing with great ideas. And if I'm not careful, that is exactly where those ideas stay. One of the big motivations behind designing these checklists was to give myself some space to jot these activities down and to get them off the internet and into my classroom. These lists contain the strand code, the written standard, a place to write notes, a place to record dates taught/assessed, and a place to record matching lesson numbers from your school's curriculum. Another part of my design was to break each standard down if it had multiple parts, so I have made separate note boxes for each part, if it applies. Sometimes one standard contains 2-3 concepts, and each concept may have a different lesson, so I have taken that into consideration when designing this. I tend to think in parts like this, so it's nice to have space designated for that. If you are interested in these checklists, you can find them in my TPT store!

 

sensory baby play | float & sink pool time

I was so looking forward to summer for many reasons...no school, sleeping in, time at home with {e}, sleeping in, baseball, sleeping in, and taking {e} swimming. Growing up I was such a water baby, so I was excited to introduce {e} to the pool. We started by getting a small, one ring inflatable pool for the yard. I only put about 4 inches of water in it, and of course watched {e} like a hawk the whole time. And, she loved it! She enjoyed splashing around, running her hands through the water, and poking the inflatable sides. After introducing her to the pool, the next day I decided to bring a little learning in. I grabbed a few different items that would sink and float for her to explore.

You can see in the picture that I grabbed a couple rings from her ring stacking toy, a rubber duck, a full water bottle, and a silicone whisk from the kitchen. As I put each one in the pool, I held it up and told her what it was. Then I put it in the water and told her if it sank or floated. Once all the items were in the pool, she really went to town.

You can see that she really enjoyed the whisk...in fact, she played with it the rest of the day! She also explored the water bottle for a little, but didn't pay much attention to the floating items. Looking back on it, I think that is probably because those were toys she has seen before, and she is more familiar with the concept of floating from bath time. We spent about 15 minutes in the pool on this day- with her fair skin I'm afraid of being outside too long, even with sunscreen {disclaimer- she does have a hat, but had taken it off at this point- we're working on it:)} But, {e} was engaged the whole time! Now, do I expect her to know, remember and understand the concept of floating and sinking after this? No! But, the more she is introduced to these things, and the more experiences I can give her, the better! Like I mentioned above, I could tell she was familiar with the concept of floating to a certain extent from bath time...so the more I expose her to other things, the more familiar she will become with them!