Sharing

The Kid loves sharing! I'm thrilled with this notion really!  She loves to share her toys and her snacks and my favorite - hugs and kisses!

This is her "Kisses" face - with her Meme on Christmas Day

What I don't love about her love of sharing, is her sharing of sicknesses!  Just a couple weeks ago she developed a gum infection where she had little cold sores on her gums some of which started bleeding - she was miserable, but recovered quickly, but wouldn't you know it - she shared it with both The King and I!  More so myself than The King who got out of it with a few spots on his throat (we both went to the clinic the same day thinking we had strep, but turns out the infection just settled in his throat) I got it both in my throat and on my gums... I know how miserable The Kid must have been!  Finally we all were starting to feel better, then The Kid had her 15 month appointment last week, she had to have 3 vaccinations, and subsequently developed a fever :( poor thing was right back to being miserable!  She was having a runny nose before than but it turned into a full-blown cold she still can't shake, and wouldn't you know it, she's shared that with me now too!  This is miserable!  My immune system must have gone on vacation since working at the school when I was exposed to every germ imaginable!  Oh the joys of being a mom of a busy toddler!! 

Back to school, back to school

To prove to Dad that I am not a fool....

Yep. That's me, Back to school this week.  My one class turned into two, but I'm kind of excited about the second one I picked up.  I'm taking the second half to Anatomy & Physiology, and Intro to Social Work.

The end of this semester means the end of prerequisites then I'll be eligible to apply for Grad School!

Wish me luck as I go back into the land of late nights studying and trying to keep ahead of my work with a busy toddler and a full-time job!!! Craziness!

Thrifted Finds

I haven't had an opportunity to check out the Thrift Shops lately, but thought I would share some of my past finds with you:

Thrift Shops - June 2012

Newborn cloth diaper cover $.99

4 pack washcloths (cloth wipes for us) $.99

Plastic owl bib $1.49

3 Board books $.25 each

Wooden snake $1

Wooden bead toy $1

Grand Total $6.22 (plus tax)

City-Wide Yard Sale June 2012

6 Kushies AIO diapers $10

My First Bible $.50

Brand new baby bottle $.25

Cat in the Hat Costume set $2

Lincoln Logs set $3

Hooded towel $.50

Guitar Onesie $.50

Yankees Cheerleading Outfit $1 SCORE!!!

LL Bean PJ's $1

Handmade baby quilt $1.50

$20.25 Grand Total!!

Thrift Shops - August 2012

Dinosaur Puzzle- $.50
Iron on TShirt transfers $1.50
Ipod armband case $1.00
Little People Farm $.75
Various Little people $1.00
Veggie Tales VHS $.99
Sega Dreamcast with 3 paddles, 3 games, 4 memory cards,and gun $25 (One game is worth $75 alone)
Wooden trailer truck (no trailer) $1.50
Zebra pants $.49
VCR $3.99
Foam letter, number & sight word blocks $1.99
12 wash cloths (cloth wipes for us) $1.98
Wooden racetrack with John Deere barn $6.99
Wooden letter blocks $.99
Ollie book $.50
Nora Roberts book $.25
Grand Total under $50!! ($49.42)

Thrift Shop Finds - August 2012

Wooden Blocks $1.50

Polar Bear bath book $.50

Wooden lacing beads w/ case $2

Fabric scraps $.80

Grand Total $4.80!

Thrift Shops Sept 2012

Paintbrushes $.50

Wooden Boat $.50

Wooden Tractor $1.25

Red wrapping paper $1

Glass bowl $1

Helmet $.75

Grand Total: $5!!

Another Pinterest Project

This week has been so busy I don't have anything new to share, so I thought I'd show you another Pinterest project we did.

I found a used Cozy Coupe from a daycare that was closing for only $10 this past summer, so we cruised through Pinterest to find a tutorial on how to refurbish the faded plastic.  We found a TON of ideas, here area  few:

We used this tutorial: 

The King really had a lot to do with this project, he took it apart, spray painted it, and drew out the Union Jack. I pretty much only helped with painting the Union Jack and acquiring all the materials. 

I swear that I had a picture of The Kid in it... but I cannot find it right now.  Sorry for the quality of this one... cell phone pic got quite blurry & washed out. I'll get a better picture when the snow melts!

Toddler!? I'm in denial.

I have a love/hate relationship with this stage of the Kid's development.

I LOVE that she is beginning to play more, by herself more, and her receptive language blows me away. She still doesn't have much for expressive words - that we can understand anyway - but she's getting more and more each week - new ones this week include Baby and Doggy (Which just comes out Dee, but says it every time she points to Red or Moaka).  She can be so much fun to play with, but can also be very frustrating when she can't tell us what she wants, or we don't understand what she wants.  The whiny "eh-eh" drives me nuts most days, so my plan of action is distraction.

She hasn't been feeling well lately, teething mixed with a viral infection in her gums has made her very moody and not-so-much-fun to be around.  Since I work full time right now I only get to see her in the evenings and on weekends.  I determined this past weekend to be one we were going to have fun!  We got out early Saturday morning and ran our errands and visited the grandparents, then came home for a nice long nap (well she napped, I cleaned).  Did the sensory activity from the other day, and some other fun play ideas.

She loves when I stack something up so she can knock it down, up until now it's mostly been her blocks, but I decided to try something new - Solo Cups!  She thought that game was such fun.  I could barely get them stacked again before KidZilla was over knocking them down!  (Sorry for the blurry photos... trying to focus on a moving toddler... not an easy task!)

She loves when I stack something up so she can knock it down, up until now it's mostly been her blocks, but I decided to try something new - Solo Cups!  She thought that game was such fun.  I could barely get them stacked again before KidZilla was over knocking them down!


The next game was after a friend and neighbor dropped off some toys their girls had outgrown.. She received a dollhouse that she just loves ringing the doorbell on, a stroller to push her dollies around in and a bunch of other toys, but do you know what a toddler's favorite part is?  The box of course! Especially when The King pushes her around in it!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Sensory Play

I don't believe I have told you yet, but my dream is to someday become an Occupational Therapist.  One of the things I love about OT work is sensory play. I'm huge into working with kids with fine motor skill problems and helping them out.  I have worked with so many clients and students over the years while working as an Ed. Tech and Daily Habilitation Worker with these kinds of issues, as well as observed an amazing OT doing her thing, which has definitely inspired me to want to do more with that dream.  What I haven't done much of yet though is do these sensory activities with The Kid.  We have fingerpainted in the tub, and on paper, which I will blog about soon.  Today I was inspired by Creative with Kids blog and her awesome sensory ideas, and chose to do a pasta and rice sensory bin with some things I had on hand.

Here's what I found in my pantry for leftover rice and pasta:

I had this empty bin on hand waiting for something to be put in it, so I decided to make a sensory bucket.  I added all the rice and pasta, a few cups and odds n ends to dig with, pour with, bury, find, and otherwise play with, and let the kid at it!  Such a great exploration for kiddos at The Kid's age (almost 15 months), and a great way to use up those nearly-empty boxes/bags of pasta and rice that aren't enough to make a meal out of! Win-Win!

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Monthly Photos

I cannot believe how quickly The Kid is growing up.  Her receptive language amazes me more and more every day with the tasks she can do and directions she can follow.  I'm so not ready for her to grow up!  Because I've been reminiscent lately, I thought I'd share her first 12 months with you! Enjoy!

 

 It's my birthday, I'll be grumpy if I want to!