Live today as if it is your first, last, and greatest day of your life.
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Author: momonthegoinholytoledo
Huge fan of living life to the fullest! You're only given one life, it is a gift, don't waste it! I'm a mom of 3 and enjoy sharing and living this philosophy with my kiddos...I share our adventures, experiences, the extraordinary and mundane.
This weekend has been crazy to say the least; it has been full of love, laughter, lack of sleep, and reflection. It started off Friday Night with my hubby and daughter leaving for their first camping excursion with Native Sons and Daughters Program.
Our Daughter striking a pose before she leaves for camp, she was so excited!!
The NATIVE SONS AND DAUGHTERS PROGRAMS is a program that emphasizes the vital role that parents play in the growth and development of their children. The original program, which was the one I attended with my father and my husband attended with his father was sons/daughters learning directly from their father which was patterned from the tradition of some North American Indian cultural groups. (It has since expanded to also include moms and their child. I personally liked the original concept, it was nice for a child to have a special program that they did with their fathers but things change). The program seeks to strengthen the foundations for a positive lifelong relationship between parent and child that is mutually beneficial and satisfying. The program is designed for the elementary school aged child with the recommended age of five or above. Activities are kept brief, varied, and visually interesting to retain the short attention span of young children.
They stayed at Camp Miakonda at the DeVilbiss Scout Reservation, a 160 acres resident-type facility; it is the 6th oldest camp in the United States (just figured I add an interesting fact). So they left Friday evening and they were both so excited, it filled my heart with pure joy. I always knew my hubby would make an excellent father but seeing him in the moment, exuding enthusiasm to be going camping with our daughter brought a tear to my eye. It makes me happy and reassured to see the relationship they are building.
Necklace she made at camp. She chose the name Little Flower. Daddy is still on the fence regarding his native sons and daughters name.Bracelet she made at camp.
I am glad there is a program like this and I hope more fathers take the initiative to participate in this program. When a relationship is not nurtured or when a father is not in a child’s life the outcome can be alarming, the statistics speak for themselves( I included a few below). -Boys and girls without involved fathers are twice as likely to drop out of school, twice as likely to abuse alcohol or drugs, twice as likely to end up in jail, and two to three times more likely to need help for emotional or behavioral problems.
-Teen girls who don’t have a father in their life are two times more likely to initiate sexual activity early and are seven times more likely to get pregnant compared to girls with fathers present.
-Teen girls who have a higher quality relationship with their fathers are less likely to initiate sexual activity compared to those who report a lower quality relationship with their fathers.
I always put on my Sunday best when I clean the house (ha-ha). Don’t you? I mean the toilet really appreciates when you put forth an effort when it comes to your appearance, although, don’t expect the same in return. Why do ‘they’ always miss? It is a huge bowl for crying out loud!!! Aim and fire!
So, while our campers camped I scrubbed toilets, floors, walls (Why does everyone think they need to hold up the walls, they are fine, I appreciate the concern but get your greasy paws off my walls!!!), ceilings (Really!?! How do they get marinara sauce on the ceiling?), vacuumed, dusted, and took down the Christmas Lights (I know it is February…I had been meaning to get to it…and I did. It could have been worse, it could be July) for a showing.
More like what isn’t???
Oh, and I also played get the cat in the cat carrier, fun game, she runs around the house hiding and I try to find her (this is the worst game to play a ½ before a showing). During the showing I took the kiddos to my parents’ house. Then went back to my house for quiet time (much-needed) and then packed up to spend the night at my parents.
Crazy Weekend Part II of II : Who says you can’t go home again? That is where you find The Way
To be Continued. I will leave you with a few more funny retro mama quotes.
I wish!
Spaghetti sauce on the floor, walls, and ceiling!!!!My words exactly, I would rather be spending time with my children.
Since there is so much commotion the morning of Valentine’s Day, with the kiddos treats, valentines for school, and this year we actually received a few inches of snow (like the third time this year, extremely unusual for Northwest Ohio, we usually get good amount of snow) so the kiddos needed to pack their shoes and wear their boots. Since we were fortunate enough to receive some snow most school districts around here had a 2 hour delay. That is all but the two where our kiddos attend school. So this mama’s bus needed to leave on time. As I dropped them off to school it was hilarious hearing the choir of frustrated mommies walking their kiddos into school. One mommy who was walking behind us, through the snow, in her tennis shoes, carrying a 24 pack of water expressed to her son that he needed to sign up for napkins next time. Another mom yelled to her son who was distracted by the snow to help his younger sister carry all her valentines stuff into school. That mom must have repeated “HELP HER” roughly 4 times before he finally did help her. In a weird sort of way it kind of felt like we were all part of this exclusive club due to the crazy circumstances of the morning that bonded us.
That evening we exchanged Valentine’s gifts. We had dinner in the dinning room, we decorated the table, and the kiddos got all dressed up for the occasion (they dressed as a princess, a bride, and our little man was dressed as a mutation of Thor, Spider Man, and a Power Ranger). We had Linguine (Whole Grain & Protein….shhh) with Alfredo sauce and a Salad. After we finished eating we exchanged gifts.
Our daughter gave us this beautiful poem with her hand prints on it. And yes, there was water works; those darn words were so beautiful and true. I dare you to read it without getting misty eyed.
Our son gave us a nice collage of doily on heart with a cute poem. Thought, not as moving as my daughter’s it was still sentimental.
For my husband’s gift I place a 12 pack of Yuengling (they started selling it in Ohio like a month ago, so it is still kind of a big deal), his favorite, in a tool box and added 12 pink hearts. Each bottle had a pink heart on it with a future date night that we would be sharing (just wanted to clarify). Since we always plan on date night but it seems like they never occur I figured what better way to actually get them on the calendar. So I am promised at least 12 dates over the course of a year, one a month. I tried to come up with fun and exciting dates that we could enjoy together, they include:
Planet Rock (learn how to rock climb, HELLO, Awesome!!)
Clelands (Shooting Range. It is important to have knowledge of firearms and I know he will enjoy this one.)
Toledo Museum of Art’s, It’s Friday!! (There are various exhibits that come to the museum so I think I will decide which one sounds interesting and we can get a babysitter, a glass of wine, and walk the Art Museum Galleries and special exhibit, I can’t wait!!)
Belamere Suites for a Romantic overnight……. (Their suites have a private garage, fire-place, whirlpool, walk-in shower for two, and fresh muffins and coffee delivered to your door in the morning. Last time we stayed I was preggo. We sat in the whirlpool eating candy watching the fire and television; it was a pregnant woman’s dream come true. I am thinking we might stay here in Dec. around his b-day)
Couples Massage….(We get a massage at the same time. Nothing kinky, just back massages at the same time)
Horseback Riding…(I am still on the hunt for a location for this date. Apparently everyone thinks you want to learn about horses and clean them and stuff. No thank you, I just want to ride them.)
Super Suppers Cooking Class (This looks like fun, it is just one class and you learn some basic techniques.)
Funny Bone Comedy Club (I will let him decide what comedian he would like to see, this is guaranteed to be a fun night.)
My hubby got me a delicious box of chocolates from Christie’s Candies & Mints. One word describes their chocolates, AMAZING! First thing I did when I opened my box of nuts covered in dark chocolate (Haha) was take in that amazing aroma. There is nothing like the smell of fresh chocolate, the prepackaged chocolates just can’t compete.
I have done the responsible thing and only devoured them one handful a day. They are just sooo good!!
For dessert I made cupcakes that surprisingly did not get eaten. The entire family ate chocolates, poor cupcakes, but how can they compete with chocolates? Those chocolates are so good, they make you want to live a better lifestyle so you can be around longer to devour them, ha-ha.
I realize I have been M.I.A. but we have been busy. So busy that I am tired so I will keep the typing to a minimum and let the pictures speak for themselves.
I recovered from the whole cake pop incident and moved onto cookies. Instead of Hello Kitty cake pops my daughter was quite pleased with the idea of a cookie on a stick (honestly, I think if you put anything on a stick a kid would eat it, I think I might try Brussels sprouts on a stick ). So we made Hello Kitty cookies on a stick and attached cute Hello Kitty valentines to each.
Our son is in preschool and he was excited about giving Lego Men chocolates to his friends. So Friday night we (mommy) and made Lego Men Chocolates from a Mold. I had a tough time keeping these little tasty men out of everyone’s mouths (again, not meant to be dirty, what is my deal!)
Then it was onto the next exciting task, the 100th day of school, 100 things (kindergarteners bring 100 things to school). We talked for a little while about what she wanted to bring in and we decided we would see what options the craft store mihgt have. I have made the mistake of walking around in a craft store with my kindergartener, miss crafty kiddo herslef, a few times. She and I are double trouble when we walk into Hobby Lobby. We often walk out 3 hours later, with three times the amount of items we initially planned on purchasing. My husband jokes (kinda, although I think he is partially serious) that all of our money goes to that darn store. So this time I was smart and discussed various ideas before I went, with my mom, while she attended a Toledo Walleye Hockey Game with the rest of our extended family.
I purchased my first hot glue gun, an exciting moment in a mom’s life (especially a mom that can’t sew, but I am hoping to learn). I also purchased a youth shirt and 100+ jewels to glue onto the shirt, it looked cool and our daughter was ecstatic and eager to wear it to school.
When I picked her up from school today she had a 100th day crown (again, something kids love so much) on her head and a huge smile on her face. She informed me that 7 of her jewels fell of but she still liked having the shirt (so much for the glue gun, looks like I will have to bite the bullet and learn how to sew. No more duct tape and glue guns).
The kiddos are so excited to pass out their valentine’s and have their parties; I can’t wait to hear all about their days when I pick them up tomorrow. God, I love being a mom and thank you for entrusting me with these 3 amazing blessings. Each day brings new adventures and much gratitude.
My love affair for Cake Pops started when I was pregnant with my youngest daughter. It was a mid-morning and I needed a little pick-me-up, as most preggos do. So I drove through the local Starbucks drive-thru and to my delighted they had these things called Cake Pops. Cake Pops? Do I dare? I do! So, I figured why not try them out; I am not one to pass up anything with cake in the name.
Starbucks Cake Pops
So I order up a Birthday Cake Pop and pulled around. After receiving the Cake pop I pulled into a parking spot not far from the drive-thru to give this thing a thorough review. It looked gorgeous, a beautiful pink hue with small little white dots sprinkled on top. I started to hear a voice coming from the backseat, I think my newly potty trained son had to go pee or something, but I was too distracted by this delectable delight before my eyes. And then I took a bite. Hello! The moist texture of the cake, the crunch of the chocolate on the outside and sweet taste of this treat ranked right up there with what initially got me into this preggo mess. It was pure bliss. Once the bliss passed and the cake pop was gone I came to, back to reality, and realized my son was not saying he had to go potty but please mommy, please mommy, please mommy. I felt horrible; I had eaten this cake pop right in front of him. So, what is a mommy to do? That’s right, back through the drive-thru we went and this time I got two!
Since our first encounter I have tried to maintain a distant relationship with the cake pop out of respect for my thighs, but it isn’t easy. They are at most children’s birthday parties and, after all, I don’t want to be rude. I however have not personally attempted to make a Cake Pop, that is until last night.
My daughter has decided to hand out Hello Kitty Valentines and along with each, thanks to a search on the internet, we are including Hello Kitty Cake Pops.
I have friends that have made cake pops and they always look amazing and taste fantastic. Granted I am not in the same baking caliber as they are but I figured I would give it a gander. Why? Maybe it was my newfound confidence in cake decorating since receiving my certificate for completing the cake decorating class? Maybe it was because I did not want to disappoint my daughter? Maybe it was the 3 cups of coffee I had that afternoon? What ever the reason, and I still can’t quite figure it out, I said yes to what would become a hot mess.
I started making the cake pops around 9pm, after the kiddos went to bed. I had hoped to be done around 10pm so I could get a much-needed shower. I was a little over-confident in the beginning. I had no problem crumbling up the cake and mixing the frosting. I had a tough time determining the actual size of the cake balls. I knew if they were to big they would not stay on the stick yet if they were to small they would just look weird.
After I went through and resized the cake balls what seemed like seventeen times or so I finally arrived at what I felt was a structurally sounds size. So I melted the chocolate, dipped the stick in the chocolate and then placed it in the balls. And then watched them fall right off the balls. I finally figured out that I would have to leave them ball side down with the stick standing straight up (this is not meant to be dirty, sorry). I placed them in the refrigerator for a few minutes then got them out to place the chocolate chips on the sides, which would help resemble Hello Kitty’s ears. That was a piece of cake (no pun intended).
Then the most complicated step of the night, dipping the cake balls into the chocolate. By now it was around 10:30pm. So, I had to determine where the cake pops would stand to dry, the website recommended a Styrofoam block, I did not have a Styrofoam block. So I got the next best thing, I took apart our Thanksgiving Gratitude Turkey and used the Styrofoam ball from it, yes, I said ball, round sphere, not block, as recommend.
Cake Ball Down....Medic
On to the most tragic part of the evening, casualties, I had casualties left and right. The first one fell into the chocolate, the second stayed on the stick for a few minutes then fell, this continued for the next half a dozen or so. And yes, I ate the casualties, it was so hard just seeing them sit there, so sad.
I can’t just leave him there!
Once I got the chocolate to the right consistency I managed to actually make 11 cake pops, ate roughly the same amount but 50/50 isn’t bad for the first time around, right? I finally gave up, I know when to admit defeat and that point is when I am in the kitchen at 11 o’clock at night sipping a glass or wine and crying over cake balls swimming in a pool of chocolate.
Stay….stay…..stay……NO!!!!!11 out of 45, my precious 11
The current state of my relationship with cake balls is a trial separation. I really can’t stand to look at them, it reminds me of that night.
Thankfully a few did turnout great….
A few of them turned out great; it’s like, Hello Kitty.Then there are those where it’s like, HELLO kitty? Eck!The lucky 11 went off to the Girl Scout meeting today.
Have you ever made cake pops? Or maybe you have had to admit defeat? Please share.
Far too often it seems like moms get so caught up in their children’s lives that they forget to live their own. I am sure we have all been witness to the “crazy mom”, you know the one, shoot you might even be her. The mom that is constantly running one child from one activity to the next, making certain each child is on time, with water/snack, bag, change of clothes, etc. but she can’t seem to remember the last time she ate or even had a BM. Or maybe you are familiar with the moms who purchase the high-end clothes for their children yet run around town in glad rags with holes that showcase their granny panties, talk about embarrassing (sad thing is there are mirrors in their homes they just don’t have time to look in them).
Just the other day I had a personal encounter with an “I have invested all my life into my children” mom. She stood there talking to other moms during pick up and she had a towel on her head and the sad thing is I am not sure if she realized there was a bath towel on her head. I wanted to interrupt and share the news with her but she looked frazzled as it was and I didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news.
And I have saved the best for last, the “I live through my child” mom. Thanks to Toddlers in Tiaras this example is effortless to explain. Plain and simply stated, the “I live through my child” moms are the moms on that show. They are the moms who did not have the opportunity to be in pageants, or dance class, or (fill in the activity/class here) when they were children so they are forcing their children to do the activity hoping to live vicariously through their child’s actions. This type of scenario only ends badly, often with an upset mommy (that is putting it mildly), unappreciative child, and years of therapy, but I didn’t have to tell you that.
Whether you suffer from overscheduled children, no time to look in the mirror or living vicariously through your children, I am here to tell you that help is available.
Take your life back, granted you still need to do everything for everyone but include yourself in the mix. Sign up for a cake decorating class, join a book club, take dance lessons, whatever your interest may be, you’re not dead, live your life! Many moms say they will get back to their life once their children are grow. There are two problems with that statement, one, you never know how long we have on this planet so make the moments count, why put off tomorrow what you can do today? And two, we are modeling behaviors and lifestyles for our children, don’t we want them to live their lives to the fullest once they are adults? Be the mom you want your daughter’s to become one day, the inspiration for your sons to look for in future wives, Live YOUR Life!
How I am living MY life …..
Beyond my motherly, wifely, community, etc. duties I enjoy taking classes and reading. I like to always be learning and gaining knowledge, for wisdom is knowing that you don’t know it all. I most recently attended the Wilton Course 1-Cake decorating basics class at Michael’s http://www.michaels.com/wilton_cake_decorating/wilton_cake_decorating,default,pg.html.
Here we are, the moms who took the class with me and me all ready to decorate! It was so much fun.
Like the website states, you don’t have to be a chef or even experienced in the kitchen to decorate a cake, cookie, cupcake or brownie. The Wilton Method of Cake Decorating taught me the techniques to decorate treats that are sure to put a smile on my kiddos faces. I am now prepared for our next birthday party, Valentines party, Christmas celebration, etc.
I learned how to make a cake into a blank canvas. Look closely, no cake crumbs.
I am so excited to put my new-found skills to work and see what amazing characters I can create on a cupcake, cake or cookies. I was amazed at how easy it really is, once you are familiar with the various tips and techniques you can really create anything, your imagination is the limit. (But let’s just keep the fact that it is actually easy between the two of us, shhhh).
This was the first cake I decorated in class. If nothing else, at least it illustrates the progress made from the first cake decorated to the last.
I would highly recommend this course to any and every mom or person planning a party in the near future, like the instructor said, “Lets turn those $.50 cupcakes into $3 cupcakes”, she had a great sense of humor and patience, thank you Laetitia. I did become a little frustrated when it came time to decorate the cupcakes, but I have a tendency of making the simplest things very complicated.
My flowers, they are a work in progress. The key to perfecting the flower is determining where you are going wrong, which the instructor did and helped me correct.
I took the class with two other moms from our playgroup, they actually bought me my cake kit as a birthday present, thanks again ladies. I highly recommend taking a class with a friend, it is a lot of fun (and you have a good chance of having someone else in the class that has supplies that you might have forgotten, like disposable bags, food coloring, and cupcakes, thanks Lilly, I owe you).
This was the final cake, I was so proud, as you can tell by the statement I chose to place on the cake.Lilly, one of the moms I took the class with, this is her cake and it is gorgeous. The flowers were a pretty peach color, the leaves were perfect, and the lettering was amazing.Evangeline was another mom in the class, she rocked the flowers, and her cake turned out beautiful she’s a natural!
Another added bonus to the class, you get time away from the kiddos for a couple of hours, it is important to have time away, it makes you a better mommy (seriously, there are articles and statistics to back up that statement, just Google it). I had so much fun I want to sign up for another, and I think I might since they offer a discount for the next class!
Yep, I will be framing this.
I am also in a book club with other moms that meets every other week. It is so enjoyable to sit down for a couple of hours every other week and catch up with the ladies (because let’s be honest book club is roughly 60% chit-chat about life and 40% about the book, no, maybe it’s more like 30% about the book and 70% the everyday mommyisms, the percentage isn’t important).
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is the book we are currently reading. I am having a tough time putting this one down. I have so many questions and thoughts I can’t wait to share with the other ladies tonight! Here is what I am thinking; he is actually on a search for answers regarding GOD since he says he is an atheist. I think he is having a tough time with his father’s death and the whole idea that he just seizes to be (I wonder if I am right?).
Again, it is nice to have a couple hours in the evening away from the family to remember who you are and that you have your own thoughts, questions, and feelings to share, regarding the book of course, Duh!
So, join a book club, or a garden club, or whatever your interest might be or if you can’t find one start one, www.meetup.com offers a great way to meet up with other people who share your same interest and are local (this is not a dating site, they have playgroups, garden clubs, vegan clubs, book clubs, you name it and there is probably a meetup for it and if there isn’t, start one).
What are you doing to live your life and not your children’s? Or what would you be interested in doing? I know if can be tricky thinking about yourself for a change but please do so and share your thoughts.
One of the moms in our playgroup announced that she was expecting her third child roughly six/seven months ago, and right away all of us moms were thinking baby shower! Granted we knew we had to wait a few months but we had great time thinking about various ideas and sharing our own baby shower stories. Though she struggled with the idea of finding out the sex of the baby she ultimately decided that the anticipation was just too much and she did, it’s a boy! This will be her third boy in 3 years so we needed to really contemplate what we were going to do for a baby shower. We wanted to do something different, she already had a big baby shower with her first baby and she has everything she needs for a baby, so what to do? We knew she had never had a pink baby shower (but I am still holding out for baby number 4..shhhhh…she might not like hearing this right now). So we decided that instead of a baby shower we would have more of a celebration of motherhood.
So over the course of six weeks seven moms communicated via text messages, facebook messages, and emails planning this celebration of motherhood. We wanted it to be a surprise for her so the topic was moot when we had gatherings/play dates.
Weeks later and the day had finally arrived with only one minor hiccup. Instead of having the shower at my home she requested that we have it at hers since her hubby was out-of-town she needed to be with her boys (they would be sleeping). If there is nothing else that I have learned being the mother of three children it is flexibility that is the key. So we went with the flow. I packed my laundry baskets with decorations and food and headed for her home while other moms were doing the same.
The theme was pink lemonade.
Motherhood is like a glass of pink lemonade on a hot summer’s day. It is beautiful, refreshing, and no two sips are exactly alike, some are bitter while others are sweet, and it is the most relaxing when shared with friends.
Everyone brought a dish to share. The idea was to bring dishes that were pink and yellow to go along with the color theme. Lilly made her amazing pink cupcakes and cake balls (along with beautiful glass serving dishes and cupcake holder, love it!) and she found wraps that looked pink, they were delicious. Tammy brought fresh veggies and veggie dip dyed pink (too cute). Mary got really creative and had fresh fruit in a watermelon; I am not doing it justice, checkout the picture. Alison made a warm savory artichoke dip. Jill brought Skinny Girl Margareta, Hello! Now it’s a party (though we really didn’t drink too much because we all knew we would be getting up with little ones during the night or early in the morning). I brought lemon bars and Sugar cookie sandwiches.
In terms of entertainment Lilly but together a fun trivia/quiz page for all of us to fill out. She did a wonderful job coming up with unique questions. My favorite was the questions that dealt with moms in media/entertainment industry that also have three boys just like the expecting mom. Additional questions included, how many words can you form from the word MOTHER (you’d be surprised, give it a try).
We also played a game; it was like table topics but for moms, Moms’ Topics. Each mom who attended the shower submitted ten questions to be asked during the evening. Lilly was kind enough to print them off and glue them to card stock, pink of course (thank you Lilly). The questions included:
Besides the lack of sleep what do you detest most about having a new-born?
What are your best kept secrets for surviving those first six weeks with a newborn?
What do you fear most about bringing home a newborn?
What modern convenience could you not live without and is essential to your daily routine as a mother?
Were you the first of your friends to have bay?
What do you love most about being a mom?
What’s the most embarrassing thing your child has said in front of your mom/mother-in-law?
And many more
Then it was onto the bead ceremony (yes you read correctly). I was not familiar with this at first but it ended up being a very beautiful and meaningful blessing way ceremony. The blessing way ceremony consisted of each of the moms selecting a bead from Meant to Bead (local bead store) based upon the meaning/color behind the bead. We all brought our bead to string on the bracelet in addition to a meaningful poem or message. We went around in a circle, and each mom presented their bead and read their blessing or message and then stringed it on the bracelet. We then asked our expecting mom to take it with her to the birth and we set up a phone tree to contact each other when labor begins and we will each recite our prayer/blessing for her and light candle for her while she labors.
Last but not least it was onto the gifts. We decided to base our gift selections on items that got us through the first year of motherhood. Things that got us through were, a few minutes to ourselves to read a book or magazine (or maybe just look at the pictures), a special fragrant body gel that would be used once a week when we were lucky to get a shower, music that helped to relieve stress, cozy sock slippers that comforted mama during those cold 3am feeding in the winter, etc. The gifts she received were, stain remover, awesome diaper cake, inspirational books/reflective reading, lotions,baby lotions, aroma therapy, gift card for a pedicure, etc.
It was such a wonderful and meaningful evening for all of us moms. We enjoyed planning the shower together, meeting at Meant to Bead, and gathering in joy of our friend and her soon-to be new bundle of joy, Jude.
It is that time of year again when parents begin the long and stressful process of determining where they would like their little bundle of joy to attend preschool for the Fall.
Here she is at 2 years old painting in our kitchen. Look at that adorable little face, seriously, who am I suppose to entrust with her life?
I remember when our eldest was 2-1/2 years old and I started to collate information on the various preschools located in our city. I remember thinking all the crazy thoughts that moms think. Like, how the heck am I supposed to just leave her with teachers I had only met on a couple of occasions? What if something happens to her there, I would never forgive myself. What if she is thirsty and the teachers don’t understand her and she becomes dehydrated and then has to go to the hospital? (Okay, I would like to say this is an exaggeration but unfortunately it was something I had actually pondered). What if she has an accident and all the children laugh at her and she then becomes socially scarred for life? What if the teachers aren’t paying attention and she pulls a sneak attack out to the parking lot? The thoughts were never-ending. Friends and family tried their best to ease my worries but it didn’t help. The only thing I knew that would make me feel comfortable was thoroughly researching the various preschools, talking with the teachers, taking tours, seeing the children in action, etc.
Our son came along for the ride, checking out preschools.
So, I began my search by looking for the top ten signs of a good classroom as suggested by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Children spend most of their time playing and working with materials or other children. They do not wander aimlessly, and they are not expected to sit quietly for long periods of time.
Children have access to various activities throughout the day. Look for assorted building blocks and other construction materials, props for pretend play, picture books, paints and other art materials, and table toys such as matching games, pegboards, and puzzles. Children should not all be doing the same thing at the same time.
Teachers work with individual children, small groups, and the whole group at different times during the day. They do not spend all their time with the whole group.
The classroom is decorated with children’s original artwork, their own writing with invented spelling, and stories dictated by children to teachers.
Children learn numbers and the alphabet in the context of their everyday experiences. The natural world of plants and animals and meaningful activities like cooking, taking attendance, or serving snack provide the basis for learning activities.
Children work on projects and have long periods of time (at least one hour) to play and explore. Worksheets are used little if at all.
Children have an opportunity to play outside every day. Outdoor play is never sacrificed for more instructional time.
Teachers read books to children individually or in small groups throughout the day, not just at group story time.
Curriculum is adapted for those who are ahead as well as those who need additional help. Teachers recognize that children’s different background and experiences mean that they do not learn the same things at the same time in the same way.
Children and their parents look forward to school. Parents feel secure about sending their child to the program. Children are happy to attend; they do not cry regularly or complain of feeling sick.
Also ask if the program is accredited by NAEYC. NAEYC accredited programs complete a rigorous self-study and external review to prove that they meet standards of excellence in early childhood education.
This is where she will put her bag when she enters the classroom in the morning.This is where she will be washing her hands every morning.
So, after careful review and tours of preschools I decided I wanted something in-between home with mommy and preschool for 3 days a week. And we found precisely that at Epworth’s Child’s Day Out program, (CDO) thanks to a referral by a friend of my mothers. Child’s Day Out is a program located in Toledo, Ohio for two & three-year-old children. Its purpose is to provide a good, reasonably priced, child-care program in a safe and caring environment that enables parents of small children to feel confident about leaving their children for 2-1/2 hours one day a week. They provide, within a safe and caring Christian environment, an opportunity for children to participate in activities, enjoy stories and music, and develop social skills. CDO was precisely what we needed; it was like a steppingstone between being at home with mom and going to preschool.
This is where she will go potty. (See, no joke, I took a picture of everything to help prepare her).And then wash her hands after she goes potty. (Having these visuals in her room where she viewed them for a few months made it feel like home once she got there).She even got to play in the kitchen area for a few minutes during our tour.I like the fact that the outside play area was fenced in but had plenty of room for the kiddos to run and have fun.
We took a tour during the day so that we could see children in the classroom and observe the activities and get our daughter acclimated with the space. I brought my camera along and took pictures of the classroom, the kitchen play area, the puzzle area, the rug where the children sit for circle time, the playground, the art area, and even the toilet where she would be going potty. Later that week I then put together a poster board for her of all the pictures and hanged it in her room. We would talk about our visit to CDO and I would have her point to the various activities and the potty. I made certain I only said positive things about CDO with an enthusiastic tone. Sure enough the first day of CDO came and she was so excited. While other children were crying and clinging to their mommies for dear life my little lady was running to the kitchen area and then the rug for circle time, she was so excited. To be totally honest I was a little disappointed that she did not even seem to miss me but I was so pleased to see her run off with an expression of pure joy. Even though she was safe, comfortable, and having fun I still stayed in that building for the first month of CDO. I was experiencing separation anxiety.
I even took a picture of the door to the classroom. We talked about the cute bear on the front and the different colors. I wanted everything to be a pleasant, exciting memory.
My daughter and son have graduated from the CDO program and our youngest will start in a couple of years. Child’s Day Out is the best program around because it allows children and parents to become acclimated with the idea of being separated. And thankfully in small spurts, only one day a week for a couple of hours. This Mom on the go in Holy Toledo highly recommends the Child’s Day out (CDO) Program at Epworth United Methodist Church. For more info check out, http://www.epworth.com/ministries/children/childrens-day-out
And yes, in case any moms were wondering you do receive some one of a kind jewelry when your child attends CDO. I dare you to find another fruit loops bracelet as fine as this one; it was something to be treasured. (Until the darn dog got into my purse and ate it, I had never been so broken up over fruit loops).
If you do not live in the area ask around in your community. Moms are always dying to share their thoughts and experiences, inquire about a similar program in your community.
So what was, or is, your worst fear about preschool?
Okay, so in our household watching television is a privilege and the children are well aware of this fact. If you are a good listener, respectful of others and their things, and listen to mom, dad, and teachers than you have earned that privilege (truth be told, they have only lost that privilege a couple of times). They are allowed to watch a half hour of television in the morning. They usually watch the Sunny Side Up Show on Sprout in the morning. Then in the afternoon, while mommy is getting dinner ready and cleaning up random objects throughout the house thanks to our little toddler tornado they may watch two television programs (half hour shows). They often watch Veggie Tales, Sponge Bob, Yo Gabba Gabba, and/ or an iCarly episode (We are practical with the television, moderation is the key).
So, yesterday morning while they were watching the Sunny Side up Show I came into the room and gave them the morning routine reminder (we usually have about an hour for the four of us to be ready and out the door so I try to maintain somewhat of a daily routine). I basically said they had ten minutes left then they needed to come upstairs when I called their names. So ten minutes goes by and I call my son’s name. He doesn’t come upstairs. I then call my daughter’s name and nothing. I go downstairs to confront the situation and both of them are staring at the television and not even looking in my general direction. I speak louder this time and still I am ignored. I go over and turn off the television. Boy did that get their attention. What followed was a lot of whining. There are two things I can not tolerate well and those are being disrespectful and whining. As they are aware there are consequences to our actions but of course being a mom I have to reiterate this at least twenty times a day. Case in point, that morning, so I did the mommy song and dance and long story short the consequence of their actions that morning would be no Television privileges that afternoon. That sounded like a solid punishment for the crime committed. I walked away feeling like a good mom, like my mom and other mothers before me would be proud of my decision.
Well, 4pm rolls around mighty fast. And after picking-up, dropping-off, and cleaning up, laundry, going through the alphabet, numbers, colors, patterns, games, and reading a slew of books in-between I had had it. Momma was ready for a little down time. I desperately needed the help of a tomato and a cucumber or perhaps a yellow sponge to take over while I prepared dinner. But wait, damn it! I had made that proud speech earlier in the day about television being a privilege and having consequences and yada yada yada. I knew I had to follow through so I suggested a few activities to occupy the kiddos time while I prepared dinner. Can I just say it is fascinating how many activities a kindergartener, preschooler, and toddler can go through in a single hour. I can honestly say that was one of the most exhausting hours of my life.
It started off with music and instruments then evolved into a band. They each needed to have their own drum to bang and bang they did. Five minutes into the “Jam session” and I was praying to God to please give me the strength to survive this punishment, for it was I, and my head, my throbbing head that were being punished, not the children.
Then it was onto make-believe box where they dressed as Super Heroes and princesses and for some reason they each had items that made noise. The toddler had tickle-me-Elmo (heeheehee….drove me crazy) and my son somehow managed to find these fake machine guns my in-laws gave him that I had hidden due to the terrible noises they made, and the kindergartener had her Barbie cash register checkout scanner going off, cha-ching . So every two minutes it sounded like tickle-me-Elmo just got shot down in the jungle and Barbie was in her glory over the whole thing, cha-ching. So the next ten minutes went something like this, Heeeheee….Chaggggggggg….Ahhhh…. cha-ching…. cha-ching. HeeeeHeee…Chagggggg…Ahhhhhh….Cha-ching..cha-ching. And who is being punished?
I stood in front of my pantry desperately searching for something quiet that the kiddos could all do together and then it was as if the angels started singing as I cast my eyes on the play-doh drawer. Hallelujah!
Play-Doh= Peace
I have learned my lesson. Taking television privileges away means that mommy will be required to put some overtime in. Going forward, if something similar to this scenario arises again, and I am sure it will, I will not be taking television time away I will rather, require that they watch Planet Earth or another form of “boring” television as defined by a preschooler.
Remember moms, before you hand out a punishment contemplate all possibilities that might play out during that said punishment and ask yourself, who is really being punished?
Last week our house was filled with excitement to see the Eric Carle’s Treasured Stories by the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia on Thursday. Our eldest was going on a field trip with her class to see the presentation while our son and daughter would be going with me to see the performance thanks to tickets given to them by their loving Nana for Christmas (experiences truly make the best gifts).
So to prepare for the performance the kiddos got out all their Eric Carle books and stuffed animals affiliated with those books and read books in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
They also made their very own Little Hungry Caterpillars’ out of an egg container, pipe cleaners, and paint. Our daughter was so excited that she took her’s to school to show her teacher and friends. We also enjoyed edible Hungry Caterpillars.
So the day finally arrives and I had everything ready to go. We dropped off our eldest at school with her booster seat (parents drove but not me since I had the younger two, I was disappointed that I couldn’t chaperon but I understood the logic). After dropping her off at school we headed to the performance.
It was originally supposed to be at Lourdes College but the venue changed to the Valentine Theatre which is gorgeous. So we arrive at the parking lot across the street with plenty of time to spare (45 minutes to be exact). The funny thing is at this moment, when I am pulling into the parking lot I am worried about how I am going to kill time until the performance, boy, if I only knew.
So, I roll down my window to retrieve the parking ticket from the attendant and then drive to a parking spot. Once in my spot I go to close the window and to my surprise it will not close. So, like any other women would do I sit there and press the button a few times (because maybe by the tenth time it will just start working?), still nothing. Then I look to see if there is an object stuck in the window jam. I see a small gum wrapper but I am not sure if it would be causing such an issue and besides, I couldn’t reach it. So I called my hubby for help and moral support because by now my preschooler is getting impatient and my toddler was impatient before we left the house (HELLO, did I mention she is a toddler?). But he didn’t answer his phone so; again like many women do I figured I would try to call him again, mind you I literally just hung up the phone on his voice mail. After calling him three times in two minutes I came to the conclusion that he was not available. What to do? Call Dad. And I did. He answered! My hero! But he was not near by (he works near the theatre so I thought he could make everything better somehow?). He did suggest putting something in the window but I had nothing. I did not want to leave my window wide open in a parking lot in the middle of Downtown Toledo unattended (I am not saying that crime is really bad but when you leave a window wide open in the middle of January aren’t you just asking for trouble?). Not to mention, it was raining. So I told my kiddos the unfortunate news. And my preschooler began to cry and I was a second away from crying myself, oh, and the Toddler had already been crying for a good ten minutes (I think she just became background noise after five minutes, don’t judge, I was a little preoccupied with trying to save the day). in-between sobs my preschool said “mommy, can we pray for the window to close, please?” My heart melted. Sure, I told him and we did but nothing, the window still did not budge.
So I pulled up to the same attendant who greeted us a half hour ago and handed her our ticket and explained the situation. Then she said something that totally caught me off guard, she said that she would simply move her car and I could park where her car was and she would watch my vehicle during the performance. WOW! I thought in my head what an amazing woman, how kind of her. I thanked her, pulled into her spot and got the kiddos out (as well as my registration info and any other info with my personal id numbers. Hey, I am trusting but I am not a fool).
We get inside with ten minutes to spare. As we were walking in we ran into a mom and her boys who attend the same preschool as our son, crazy, right? It wasn’t planned at all and we were both running a little behind so we quickly went to be seated and asked to sit together if possible. Well, they did not have enough seats all together on the main level so they said they would escort us up to the box seats. Once upstairs the view was breathtaking. The Valentine is gorgeous, there is a huge chandelier in the center of the ceiling, velvet and gold as far as the eye can see and exudes pure elegance. So there we sat, quickly scanning the room to locate my eldest and her class. We spotted her way up in the center balcony seating. Part of me wanted to go get her and have her see the performance from our awesome view but I resisted.
Even the stairs are gorgeous, every view is amazing.
The performance was amazing. They did three of Eric Carle’s stories, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you See?, and Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me. The Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia present the stories as puppets with the creative use of black light it really captivates the audience (and by audience I mean 3-6 year olds and chaperons) attention.
After the performance we headed to our vehicle. I bucked the kiddos in, looked around and found that everything was exactly where I had left it, the stroller, car seats, booster seat, etc. and then opened the driver’s side and made myself nice and cozy in the puddle that had accumulated on seat. A wet, cold butt was a small price to pay for the joy I had just experienced with my children.
Though, it was rather amusing trying to get out of the parking lot. Every car I passed thought I wanted to say something. I mean, after all why else would my driver’s side window be down in the rain? So I had a brief conversation with my daughter’s teacher and then kept the conversations with stranger short and simple by exclaiming “Great performance, huh?”.
Thankfully I only had to drive around with my window down in the middle of January for one day. The fresh air and rain was a great pick me up, I didn’t even require my usual afternoon caffeine thanks to the cold, wet rain against my face during afternoon pickup and dance drop off. My hubby had it fixed the next day.
Granted there was nothing better than dropping the kiddos of the following day and being able to open and close my window, it felt like $350 (yes that is how much it cost to be able to open and close a window). There is a price for everything these days but true happiness, now that is priceless.
The saying is, When God closes a door, he somewhere opens a window. Well, in this case God opened the door to opportunity and fun and left the window open too!
Special thanks to Nana for getting us the tickets to the performance, also to the kind parking attendant who watched our vehicle, and my hubby for getting the window to operate again.
So, we got home late last night from my parent’s house so the kiddos went directly to bed without making their lunches. Our 6 and 4 year olds fell fast asleep but the 17 month old had a high fever followed by crazy coughing fits. So I gave her some Tylenol to lower the fever but for some reason Tylenol acts as a stimulant for her and she was up and miserable and she definitely wanted me to know it. The night went a little something like this…
Or…another convenient method that is all the rage with the toddlers these days is just wiping their noses on mom. This way it cuts the cross contaminate process out entirely and she is guaranteed to get your germs. After all isn’t mom always saying you need to share?
We got cozy on the couch, or as cozy as one can get on a couch with a toddler that moves ever ten minutes. I would get close to falling asleep then she would sneeze or cough a wet nasty cough using my face as a tissue and say “mama ouch”. Her sweet raspy voice saying “mama ouch” really distracted me from the fact that my face was starting to stiffen up from the amount of snot I had accumulated over the course of three hours. I say three hours because my eyes were constantly on that crazy clock determining exactly how much sleep I could get if we fell asleep at 1pm, at 2am, at 3am…then we were greeted by another visitor, my 4-year-old. Followed by my 6 year-old at 4:30am, she had to sleep on the Yo Gabba Gabba couch on the floor surprisingly our couch could not comfortable sleep all 4 of us. Around 5:30am I found myself exhibiting jealous feeling for my 6 year-old that was squeezing her long legs into a small Yo Gabba Gabba couch on the floor. Why? Because that small couch only sleep one and was snot free!
You know you have reached a new low when you find yourself contemplating throwing your child off this couch so that you can sleep on it. I haven’t experienced jealous like this since I was in sixth grad and Kimberly pulled off the Blossom hats better than I did (what were we thinking?).
Unfortunately 7am came and I had still not slept a wink but this means nothing to anyone, after all I am mommy, we are supposed to just function on oxygen alone, food and sleep are just luxuries. Remembering the kiddos did not have time to make lunches the night before I quickly started to throw lunches together then got breakfast on the table.
Even after 2 cups of coffee this mama is still not waking up so I am running on empty for the remainder of the morning and I opt to do morning drop off in my PJ (it is really difficult to tell in the winter since I have a longer coat, boots, and sunglass on. Although it is not sunny out so that might have been a dead give away).
Well at least my unconventional attire might have provided a topic of conversation for some mothers, your welcome ladies. I was thinking of you all along and how I could make your day more fluid and besides, there is nothing worse that sitting down with a friend and have nothing to discuss.
So, as we are heading out the door I do the double-check/reminder questions, which go as follows;
Do you have your folders?
Do you have your lunch?
Do you have socks on? (Yes, surprisingly sometime they rush out without socks even in the winter but I think my talk about frostbite and gangrene really help or just scared the crap out of them, either way they are wearing socks).
All of which my 6 year-old replied a firm YES.
Upon our arrival home I let out a huge sigh of relief, I did it, I made it through the morning mayhem on no sleep. Then I see it……
Stupid Kitty!!! She isn’t even smiling but it feels like she is smirking at me.
That crazy little kitty waving at me, I have never experienced so much animosity towards an inanimate object in my life.
So, what would you do?
They say children lean responsibility in three ways. First, by watching the behavior being modeled for them by their parents, they are watching your every move, secondly, by being instructed, and third, through their own life experiences.
I have already instructed her to remove her old lunch bag from her book bag when she returns home. I have also provided guidelines in term of the morning routine of removing the lunch bag from the refrigerator and placing it into her book bag. I also encourage her to double-check prior to leaving the house that she has everything that she requires. This morning she answered yes to all questions including the lunch bag question. Therefore is it time to move onto the third step, should I let her learn through her own experience?
They say (doctors, therapists, professionals, etc.) if you don’t do things for them and let them fail they can learn the consequences otherwise they will not take the ownership. But they never said how hard it would be, should I just drop off her lunch? She is going to have nothing to eat. But then again she does get a snack and she does have friends who might share the stuff they don’t want, like the healthy stuff, carrots, apples, etc. But then again I am the mom and I am supposed to provide for my children but I am also supposed to be raising a one day self-sufficient contributor to society. Ahhh…..I don’t know what to do but maybe it is because of my lack of luxuries, you know food and sleep, gotta get me some of those.
Mom on the go in Holy Toledo 