Risk

Dom and I have a healthy rivalry going on lately. We have been playing the game of Risk on the computer that is sitting in the Living Room. He leaves for work in the morning but not before taking his turn and there isn't a day that passes that I haven't taken my turn before he returns from work. Then we play together in the evening and continue the game that same way the following day if neither of us has won yet. We have really enjoyed this the past couple weeks but to tell you the truth the buzzing of the computer all day is kind of getting on my nerves!!! I will sacrifice my nerves for a victory any day!

Mena-ism: Babcia's Birthday card

Mena drew a card for her Babcia's (Dominic's mom's) birthday yesterday. She colored on the front and then I asked her what she wanted to say to Babcia.
She said, "Thank you for living. I love you, okay."
Isn't that hillarious! I wrote exactly that on the card and needless to say, Babcia loved it!

AHHHH! I am losing it!

This is the absolute hardest part about having a husband that is a teacher. My daughter and I get so used to having him around every day during the summer that when he goes back all hell breaks loose. Mena is a basket case! She won't let Dom look at her, talk to her, or touch her without literally screaming at him or telling him "no". She has been yelling and screaming for me whenever I ask him to help me with something pertaining to her, ie get her bathed, fed, in bed, take her to the potty. Anything. I am the only one she wants right now and she will let us and all the neighbors know it. I have never heard such a high pitched scream. I don't know what to do. I have tried talking to her and giving her spankens but nothing seems to work. She has said horrible things to her dad and it breaks my heart. I don't know if this is because he went back to work or this is an age thing or what, but I have just about had it. Where is my sweet little girl...I want her back. I think I am going to make Dom spend time with her with out me around everyday after work. Maybe that will help and she will feel like she has some special time with her daddy again. Ahhhhhh! Has anyone else been through this? Do you have any suggestions?

The Stoning

I don't know how many of you have seen or even heard of this powerful movie called The Stoning of Soraya M. I think it is a MUST SEE and it will change the way you look at things. It will be hard to watch, but so worth it. Watch the trailer on the website now. It is finally playing in Ann Arbor which is great for those of you in Michigan. Check the website for a list of current theaters that it is playing in and pray that it opens around you. Dom and I saw it months ago and have been praying for it to open wider. Please support this movie. Take the poll that I have going on the sidebar. I am curious of the results!

Wordless Wednesday!

How hilarious are these shots! Mena found a wrapping paper tube and a travel neck pillow and ran all around the living room yelling through the tube. What a character!

Handmade Bubble Blower

Here is an idea for a bubble wand made out of straws. It worked pretty well. We used bendy straws and were able to send the bubbles off in all different directions.

Thanks to Chasing Cheerios for this great idea!

Here are the bendy straws after I bundled them together with masking tape.

My How You've Grown!

This is Mena's sunflower that she grew from seed! It is so big now. I wonder if I should leave it in the pot or plant it in the backyard? I so don't have a green thumb! She loves to water it every day and my oh my does it need a ton of water! There are always dead leaves at the bottom that need to be "taken care of"!

Awesome blog!

I just stumbled upon an awesome blog, Chasing Cheerios! It has a ton of great ideas for homeschooling/activities to do with your children. I love her newest post about plastic page protectors for preschool activity books. That way they can be used over and over again. While your there, check out her rain gutter bookshelves. I am planning on having Dom's dad over to help me make these. There great!

My (husbands) Best Friend's Wedding.

Dom's best friend Rob got married last weekend. It was such a beautiful wedding and the reception was wonderful too. It was held at his parents new house that they built. GORGEOUS!

New recipes...

I absolutely hate cooking!!!!!!!! Now that I got that out of the way, I was wondering if anyone had any recipes to share. I am especially looking for some seafood recipes for Salmon and Talapia, but anything would be helpful. I have never cooked fish before and I know there healthy. Any favorites???

Mena-ism: Bridal Shower

We were getting ready to attend Cia Cia Grace's Bridal shower yesterday and Mena says to me, "I hope they'll be potty's there!" and "I hope they'll be snacks there!" You can tell what is on this child's mind. She is doing fantastic with potty training lately. She has stayed dry for 5 days in a row and two days of dry naps AND dry during the night. I never thought this day would come!!! Hooray!

Montessori activities

Here are some of the activities on our shelf right now...

Materials: Clothespins and paper plate

I showed Mena how to open and close the clothespin and attach it to the rim of the plate.
Materials: Two bowls, one filled with dry noodles or equivalent item on the left hand side of tray. One spoon for scooping and transferring.
Allow the child to scoop noodles into the bowl on the right. Always work from left to right as that helps to prepare them for reading and writing later on. Encourage the child to try the activity with both hands. I asked Mena to use her left hand and she said, "It's not comfy" and wouldn't do it with that hand. Maybe she's right handed!

Materials: Two baskets of bowls and small balls or other object.

I used ten small rubber balls for this activity.

Have the child transfer the balls from the basket on the left to the basket on the right one at a time. Variation: Count as you go.

Materials: Ice cube tray, child size tweezers ( I found these at Ikea for very cheap) and a bowl of pom pom balls. I used ten.
Have your child tweeze one pom pom and put it in the top left compartment moving left to right. Then do the second row.

Materials: One bowl filled with water and ice cubes and an empty bowl, Spoon, sponge to wipe up any drips.

Have your child scoop up and ice cube and transfer it to the bowl on the right.

I realize that these activities can seem very tedious or juvenile, but it is in the repetition and the concentration that the learning happens. All of these activities have a higher purpose than what it seems at first glance. Try them and see what your child might learn. We are having a lot of fun and are changing the activities quickly on our shelves as Mena masters each one.

Our Classroom

Here are a few pictures of our basement converted into our Montessori classroom. It is still a work in progress as I am expecting more shelves and actual Montessori materials in the next couple of weeks.

This is the Prayer Corner. We have a kneeler, prayer table with statues and prayer book, Mena's Bible, and Rosaries. We also have the vase with flowers for flower arranging.

This is the library area. We have her bean bag chair for relaxing in while she looks at her books. We also have her puppet theater and puppets in this area also.

This is her art area. We have table and chairs, easel, splat mat on the floor, and a shelf full of art materials and play doh. Some of her materials are upstairs at the moment, since she is very interested in coloring right now.

Block area and shelf full of hand made Montessori activities that Mena is interested in at the moment. I will post individual pictures of these in another post.

Wordless Wednesday!

Mena all ready to go to Daddy's best friends wedding. She was such a beautiful princess!

(This is the first time I ever curled her hair! I loved it!)

Itch! Itch! Itch!

Oh my! I had like 20 hives on my feet this morning! They itched so bad. At first I thought they were mosquito bites but they itched constantly and didn't get any bigger as I touched them. They just kept popping up all over my feet and a few on my hand and legs. Ridiculous! I took two Benedryl and am so tired now. I need to go to sleep! Nap time should be soon. Here's hoping!
How do you like my new bog layout? Just curious.

First day of school

I am starting to home school my daughter tomorrow. I am so excited! We are doing the Montessori method and starting out with practical life activities. She will be learning how to stand, how to walk, how to walk in a line, how to walk around a rug, how to sit, and how to sit in a chair. I know they sound basic, but so many people never actually teach their child how to do this stuff and then get frustrated that they are not doing it correctly.

I am looking forward to spending some quality time with Mena because Dad is starting back to work tomorrow. This will be a great chance to get on a good schedule and stick to it!

I have been organizing and changing our basement into a Montessori classroom. I will post pictures soon. (I can't seem to have enough shelves!!!!)

Mena-ism: Conference Call

So last night Dom and I were introducing ourselves for our conference call for Lighthouse. I said, " Dominic and Amanda from Michigan." Mena yells, "and Mena too!" It was pretty funny.

Mena-ism: The Bomb!

So the other day we are driving and Dom says something to the effect of "I'm the bomb!" Mena pipes up from the back seat and says, "No! Daddy not the bomb. Mommy's the bomb!" It was hillarious! And YES, we are bringing the bomb back. Whenever you hear it, thank us for bringing it back!

My family picture with Grandma

My immediate family with my Grandma (Mom's Mom) All five of the kids are three and under. Oren had just turned three the previous Saturday. So, just barely three and under! Oh and one on the way in my sister Marie's belly!

The Next Stage...

Tomorrow I have to make an appointment with the Gago Fertility Clinic in Michigan. This is a big step. I am a little scared I guess and would love some support from friends and family. Right now I feel alone, like this is a huge deal for Dom and I, but that some people don't even have a clue that we have been trying to have a baby for two whole years now. No one ever asks me about how I am doing (accept for a few wonderful people!) and I guess I just feel like I would like someone to talk to about all this. I am hopeful that something wonderful will happen through the Dr's help at this clinic. I hope you don't feel like this is a sympathy message. I just needed to vent. I am sure that I don't have to state this, but of course we're not pregnant this month. Again.
I will let you know about the appointment when I have more details.

So yeah...

Sooo, last night was an exact repeat of the night before. I got her down at 8 last night, she was up at 11pm and stayed up til 3am! What is the deal!!!! I put her down at 10:45 tonight. I am so hoping she will stay asleep all night long. I need a good night sleep as much as she does. That was just a bit crazy!

I've about had it!

This is getting a bit crazy!!!!!!!!!!!I am sitting here next to my daughters bed trying to get her to sleep. You will never guess what time it is... 1:47 am! That's right folks. Like I said, CRAZY! We slept in this morning so I didn't let her take a nap this afternoon. She fell asleep around 7 and then woke up five times before 10:30 so I made the huge mistake of having her come sit on the couch with me because there was no way I wanted to put her down for yet another time only to go back in a few minutes later. Well, she stayed up. It's almost 2 and I am exhausted. I am getting so drained because Mena will only let me put her to bed, she insists that I feed her (which is also getting old and needs to be nipped in the bud!), and she pretty much is a mommas girl all day long. I need a break!!!!!!!!!! Dom is starting back to work in just a few weeks now and I am so disappointed that we didn't work on this stuff will I had him this summer. He needs to be able to put her to bed sometimes! She also needs a better schedule. This school year will bring some much needed changes. For now, just pray that I get through the night (while dad snores in the other room!!!)

Wordless Wednesday!

Mena was so pooped out from the trip that she feel asleep on her daddy in the lazy river at the reunion. It was simply precious. This nap lasted about 45 minutes with Dom going round and round. He will never forget it. There is nothing more beautiful than a sleeping baby...let alone one sleeping in your arms while you are floating along!