Kids Beach & Sea Bath Progress

I've been working on the kids' bathroom to create a beach and sea theme. First... I am NOT an artist, so please be kind in evaluating what you see! But, overall I think it will turn out ok.

Before from previous owners:

YOWSA!!

Best & Fast Sting Cure! (with update!)

I MUST share this with you all,  especially since we're in summer and high time for bites & stings.  The other day I got stung, not a bee but a round black insect. I have no idea what it was but it was a sting, not a bite and it did not look like a bee with wings.

Is All Day Kindergarten Biologically Correct?

Amidst my cute and fun posts on kid's bedrooms and accessories, I've had a dark cloud hanging over me for the past week or two. My 6 year old's behavior has become unacceptable at school. Naturally, my immediate thoughts rush to: What did we do wrong in raising him?  Were we too lenient? Too harsh? I am also questioning a few socially-accepted parenting and educating ideas that we imposed on him.

"Tarzan" is very smart so his academics are fine, but his personality has always been a bit fiery. He loves soft comforting hugs, but also needs the tickling and wrestling with daddy. He is emotional, not sensitive, just emotional. When he's upset, he'll cry, when he's mad, he's MAD. At school, it's more about seeking attention: talking out, laughing too loud, impulsive, not keeping hands to himself. Sounds like a serious behavior issue, doesn't it? He's six.

As a former school counselor myself, I'm caught between two parallels:

The Pricing of Children's Performances

I just looked up information on a children's performance group. This group has a tv show and I thought it would be fun to go see it on stage. Actually, in the past few years I've inquired on a few performances: Barney, Bob the Builder and now Imagination Movers.

You can certainly call me cheap, because I often am, but I'm astonished at the prices to go to these performances! The going rate on these tickets in my area is $60. I checked other locations and the lowest I found was $50 for the nose-bleed section. For that reason, we have never taken the kids to the stage to see Barney or George.

Would You Pay $26 For Lemonade?

I found a great post on teaching kids about money.



 Emily at Family and Life in Las Vegas,  has a toddler and is using her experiences with money to teach her little one.  And what a better place to really learn about it than from right there in Sin City! Well maybe teaching the sins of gambling are too old for our toddlers, but we can start with the basics.

Kindergarten Registration

I know so many of you have already experienced this so bear with me - I label myself  "another mom who realizes her babies are growing up!"  Usually, I'm the stressed, yelling, complaining mom but occassionally I get sappy...



Another Mom Moment

The past few months I've been on a slow but steady quest to get my life back.  We all know that when you have kids, much of you gets put on the back burner or even disappears for several years.  My boys are 4 & 6 and over the last several months they have finally reached the point of self-reliance in most areas.

So while I have purposely made the effort to give them independence, at the same time I've also been trying to focus on me. ME. Doing things in life that are fulfilling just for me. Not to say I'm not satisfied, but I need to do things for myself. I think all you moms know exactly what I'm talking about!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My boys were busy yesterday! After cutting & coloring these for Daddy, they taped them above our bed "so Daddy will see them when he gets home."

From our 6 year old:

From our 4 year old:



Kindergarten class project:



And both boys wanted to give me flowers! Carson, 6, picked out the pink roses and Porter, 4, picked out the longer-lasting orange flowers!