Beach Photo Tour 2012

I haven't been blogging much lately, just super busy lately!!  Just wanted to share some pics I took to spell out Rehoboth from local businesses that make Rehoboth beach so special.  Do you know where the letters are from?

  Enjoy! I did :)

Throwback Thursday: Roos

Kangaroos that is.  They rock.  This is my son's second pair.  These were his first pair.  The pair in the picture are his current tennies.  While we rode to train to D.C. this past weekend to visit the National Museum of Natural History, we put quarters in the zipper pockets like I used to do as a kid :) You know, just in case you get lost and need to use the pay phone! They come is all sizes and colors, I just might have to get a pair for everyone in the Barr household.  For now, my little boy can kick it old school, solo :) TTFN!

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

So in my New Year's Resolution I wrote "You know what else is super annoying? I can't find two of the Little People that go in my daughter's Fisher Price airplane.  I know they will turn up when I stop looking for them, this is a lesson I HAVE learned."  Well, I lied.  Every time I have been in the playroom with my kids  I have looked for them.  The little man in the khaki pants has also been missing, Captain Obvious!, and I have been on a tear for him as well.  

This is a problem I have.  When parts of toys are missing, I know about it.  And I stop at nothing to find them.  Well, I use to stop at nothing anyway.  Now, I really have learned that they will turn up when I forget about them for a while.  But when thoughts of them pop in my head, I go on the hunt.  

So, since January 6th, I have tried to put the passengers to the pink Fisher Price Little People Airplane in the back of my mind, but they have lurked, occasionally calling to me to be found :).  So today, my daughter wanted to jump on her trampoline before I left for work.  She used to be a really amazing sleeper, but lately she has been having trouble sleeping through the night and waking up earlier than usual.  But she still goes to be early, so I won't complain.  I appreciate the time with her in the morning, it doesnt happen ofen during the week.  She is just the sweetest thing, with her pacifier (that I KNOW I should be getting rid of any day now) and sniffing her blanket whenever she needs a fix.  Anyway, as I sat down to watch her jump I happened to catch a glance in the bottom shelf of the play kitchen refrigerator.  And lo and behold, there they were!  I was so excited I took a picture.  I also told my son when he got up how happy I was.  I said, "Guess what I found this morning!?, Those Little People I have been looking for!"  He said, "I put them there, I just didn't want to tell you."  Thanks for torturing me for almost three weeks sweetie!  

So, all in all, I am super excited that they are finally able to take their places back in the passenger seats on the airplane and the Zookeeper can get back to his duties.  And, my life lesson about things turning up when least expected is once again reaffirmed :).  

TTFN!!

New Uses for Old Things #8: Rubber Band

I can't recall where I read this recently, but I decided to try it in my classroom the other day! The kids in my class, and my own, have a habit of using way too much soap.  All you need is a rubber band. Simply wrap it around the neck of the soap pump and voila!  The rubber band acts as a stopper, allowing for only perfect, child size portions of soap.  I used two in this pic because it is a large container.  Happy hand washing :)  TTFN!

Why Re-Invent the Wheel: Word Clips

I forgot that I scheduled this to publish last week on Wednesday!  Oops.  Basically, I love this idea for my classroom for teaching name recognition, and spelling.  I love it for home too, but my son already knows how to spell and write his name (not to toot my own horn!) and my daughter is not even kind of ready.  If she would sit still that would be a start.   In my program we do a lot of work with names.  Recognizing you name, your friends names, etc.  I plan to take the kids pics when they arrive in September and glue them to a sentence strip on the left like above.  Then I will simply follow the same idea for writing their first name and putting the letters on clothespins.  Love it!  Find more ideas by clicking Word Clips.

**As always and as promised, this idea can be used in the school and home setting. **

I love new shoes

I can't wait for these little puppies to arrive for Emmie today!  I live for Adidas Sambas, and there were just two adorable to pass up.......

Zappos.com

Summer Kickoff

I couldn't stay away, but tomorrow I will....I just had to share what I accomplished yesterday including the following photo of the two kids together, which is an almost impossibility!

1.  Playdate at Bull Run followed by DQ 2.  Encouraged independent bath, drying and dressing with success (with the 4yr old) 3.  Provided a hot lunch (grilled cheese with Muenster YUM!)

 4.  Made dinner (tuna helper, but it was organic, who knew!?)

 5.  Taught 17 month old how to sign 'more' (if this link does not work, go to aslpro.com to see hundreds of signs in action)

I am happy with those 5 things that we accomplished on our kickoff to summer! So happy my time off started on a positive note.  It's going to be a great summer............

On a School Night!?

As a lot of my nearest and dearest friends and family know, I am not good with change or spontaneous ideas or anything that I have not been able to plan or at least have my hand in a little bit.  I am also not really good with 'evening activities' during the week.  They get in the way of my re-organization of the children's toys, dinner, cleaning up the kitchen, general tidying (for what reason I have yet to know b/c the minute I walk out the door in the morning everything goes back t sh*#), and catching up on DVR'd shows.  Oh, and wine consumption.  Plus my daughter goes to bed EXTREMELY early, like 6 PM, so it's hard to ever do anything for fear of baby breakdown and public embarrassment .  So yesterday when I was talking to my lovely sister on my way home from work, and I informed her that my family was going to eat dinner at Cracker Barrel and then go to Family Jump Time at Pump it Up, she asked cautiously, "On a school night?" Yup, on a school night.  I was actually really excited about it and it worked out very well.  Both kids were well behaved at the restaurant and had a blast running around it P.I.U.  I was also very excited to order my favorite Cracker Barrel offering, Eggs In a Basket (sometimes known as Rocky Mountain Oysters Toast) with a side of Hash Brown Casserole and bacon, as pictured above.  I mean really, does it get any better, minus the fact that is goes straight to the ass and arteries?  My plate was so clean at the end you would have thought I licked it.  I was kind of embarrassed. Anyway the Hash Brown Casserole at Cracker Barrel is T.D.F. (To Die For), a little abbreviation I made up over the weekend. My husband was mortified when I uttered my new term and my mother was elated.
I am really proud of myself for participating in this family event that I would otherwise shy away from.  It was a success!  Yay me.............TTFN!

T.V. Really is The Devil

Today confirms why there are guidelines and recommendations for not allowing children to watch t.v.
My son hears music in the neighborhood and yells "It's the ice cream truck"
My jaw hits the ground.  For 4 years my husband and I had him.;  It's the Music Truck of course! It drives around and plays music for little children.   All if this lying and scheming was to avoid this.  Aside: one of my favorite Eddie Murphy bits of all time.  Anyway, I let this little statement go without responding and revisit later when he is winding down for the night.  Here is how the conversation went:
Me: Hey! Did you hear the Music Truck earlier? (I am so stealth!)
Son: Yeah, but it was an ice cream truck
Me: Hm, how did you know it was an ice cream truck?
Son: Because I saw it was white (??what??)
Me: Oh, but how did you find out it was an ice cream truck?
Son: I saw it on PBS

Thanks a lot! All that hard work and lying right down the drain..........Oh well, now I will just have to lie about not having any money.

Why Re-Invent the Wheel: Crafts

I recently got this Paint Your Own Gnome kit at my favorite store, Target, of course.  Seriously, my love affair with that place is out of control.  This kit is only available in stores and it's only 5 smackers! I picked up one for my 2 1/2 year old niece as well.  My son and I painted this little friend, and when I say little I mean it.  I was all excited about it and the gnome is like 3 inches tall!  Oh well, it was still fun.  Maybe I should retract that, fun? He wanted to paint this little guy one way and I another.  He would start and I would frantically say "oh! why don't you let me help you with that.....' and snatch the little paintbrush before he could get a word in.  Ugh, I am so controlling.  I should have just let him go at it.  Oh well, in the end I did share the task with him and he looks pretty cute.  Plus, when I would add a little detail, my son would praise me for being such a good artist.  Ha. That's hilarious because stick people are hard for me to draw.  Another craft I picked up at Michaels the other day is a Makit & Bakit Suncatcher.  My sister and I made these like they were going out of style back in the 80's.  I can not wait to get started!  Needless to say, my son will not be invited.  I love him dearly, but if he mixes those little crystals I might faint.  

Newsworthy

I found two new magazines at Target this morning, Lucky Kids and The Nest, which I am now laughing that I bought because it is totally geared towards newlyweds!  And apparently its not THAT new; I think it was put on newsstands back in July 2010.  New to me anyway.  This seems to be a recurrent theme lately.  Oh well, maybe I will get some ideas for the home nonetheless.  I did not buy Lucky Kids....yet!  I know myself and I will see things I like and start obsessing about where to find the best deal and if my kids even need it, but I want it!  And then I will start filling my internet shopping carts with items that are not destined to be ordered.  It's a vicious cycle really and I chose to stop it before it even started.  I took one look inside that magazine at all the cute clothes and new products and toys and starting having heart palpitations.  Nope, I made a sound, mature choice to put that magazine right back where I it belongs. On the magazine rack.  Now I have more time to devote to learning how to be an effective newlywed, ironing perhaps?  

Tootles!