Week 3: January 15 - 21, 2010 {#Mamatography}

It was so hard to choose photos for this week's Mamatography post. It seemed like I had the camera out all of the time. And we did so much! I had the kids help me choose which picture to include and this is what we decided on:

Day 15 (1/15/12)

"I push this button!"

Little Guy was just thrilled when "Brubber" invited him to play computer games on his laptop with him. Usually, we try to keep him away from our computers because he gets over-excited AND had that "I know what I'm doing and I'm going to do it myself" attitude going. The two of those, together, usually equal a computer that is completely frozen up within minutes and hours of trying to figure out how to fix it. But, my oldest patiently kept little guy in check and found a game that would allow him to use the mouse pad easily. He had the BEST time!

Day 16 (1/16/12)

Warm Winter's Catnap

Number 1 has been in heaven lately. He comes into the house after spending a few hours in the freezing cold, gets a bite to eat, then lays down somewhere for a nap - purring the entire time. I can't help but wonder if he ran into a stray who told him he should be grateful for a warm home and food in his belly. He's been showing his appreciation in many ways, too. He knows how much I like a kitty sitting on my lap, but he never really cared for it himself. Not recently! He's been bringing up "presents" to the door (and sometimes tries to sneak them into the house) in the form of field mice. My oldest usually is the recipient of these gifts, since he's often the first one to leave the house in the morning! And, he has even been hanging out with Little Guy, who has just recently made the differentiation between stuffed animal and real animal.

Day 17 (1/17/12)

Goofball

If you're my friend on Facebook, you already know about this picture. My oldest borrowed my camera for a school project he had to do (how cool is it that he can email his homework to his teachers?!) And, while he had the camera, he had to screw around a little, right? I found about 20 goofy pictures of him and his friend on my camera after he returned it to me. I jokingly told him that he should always delete photos after uploading, or they could make their way into the wrong hands. Then I mentioned putting one of the pictures on Facebook and tagging him in it. The kid actually DARED me to do it. Well, being the mom that I am, that's exactly what I did. I started feeling bad a few minutes later, so I removed the tag (the picture is still there.) I just don't know if one of his classmates might get a hold of his goofy picture and turn it into some kind of nasty joke. So, it's on my wall and he can tag himself in it if he wants. And I'll be having prints made of these photos because they are just too fun to forget about!

Day 18 (1/18/12)

You Could Have Put Your Eye Out!

You know how you're always warning kids to be careful with scissors? Yeah... While Little Guy and I were making our Craft Idea Book, I put the scissors down for a split second. That was long enough for him to come charging across the room at full-speed to grab them. Only I was faster and snatched them up. And, as you can see by the picture, I didn't do so safely. I stabbed myself in the hand - and it was a bloody one. Little Guy's eyes were like saucers when he saw what had happened. I think that he truly did not believe me all of those times I told him that scissors are dangerous. He probably thought I was just saying it to keep him from having all of the cutting-up-paper-fun. Ever since this occurrence, though, he hasn't tried to get my scissors. And I'm on the look-out for a good pair of child safety scissors for him. It is fun to cut paper and why should I be the only one to enjoy it?

Day 19 (1/19/12)

My Very Cold Friend

It was so cold! The wind was blowing like mad and the temperature, without taking windchill into account, was 9F. We have a pair of Blue Jays that have decided to winter in the woods behind our house and I couldn't help but see this bright blue guy all puffed up and trying to stay warm when I passed the window. I tossed a handful of seeds out for him and he quickly swooped down from his perch to fill his stomach.

Day 20 (1/20/12)

The Sick Blanket

Another chilly day. Rather than heading outside, Little Guy and I had an all-day indoor camping trip. This picture was taken early on in our day. We ended up making a campfire out of paper towel tubes and tissue paper. We made beds and Little Guy took a nap in his tent. We had snacks. We even went fishing, using sticks, yarn and paper clips for hooks. We didn't catch anything and concluded that fish do not like gummy worms, so we ate the worms for "dinner", instead!

See that striped, crocheted blanket? My great-grandmother made that before I was born (I think it may even be older than my mom.) It is known as "The Sick Blanket" because that is the blanket that we used whenever we were ill and laid on the couch in the living room all day, while our mom or dad nursed us back to health. It is used for the same purpose for my kids and, hopefully, one of them will become as attached as I have to it and their kids will get to know The Sick Blanket, as well. And when we were well, that blanket made the BEST tents... Still does!

Day 21 (1/21/12)

Wintertime

This is the picture of winter in my mind. Sled and squirrel tracks in the snow. Kids' footprints, big and small. The sunshine creating those cool blue shadows that you can only see in the wintertime across the snow...














So, what did your week look like? If you'd like to join me in this endeavor, just click on the Mamatography button at the top of this post to learn more. I'll be linking this post at Diary of a First Child's Week 3 Mamatography Linky when it's posted on Wednesday (1/25), so if you'd like to see more photos you should head over!

Looking For a Fun & Educational Book for the Kids? {@CowsCantJump}

I've always been interested in how children learn. With my oldest, I was amazed to find he could suddenly do things that he didn't know how to do the day before. He taught himself to read seemingly overnight just after he turned four. Well, really he didn't - I just wasn't paying close enough attention to notice all of the little signs of reading that he had been showing. With Little Guy, I've been much more keen on every little thing he learns. Witnessing his speech go from babbles and coos to actual words was amazing! And I loved finding out that, although he didn't have the physical ability to say certain words, he knew what they meant when I said them to him. One particular thing I noticed in his speech and vocabulary development was that nouns came first. I "tested" my theory that this is the same for most toddlers while watching and listening to them talking to each other at the library. Their speech was mostly made up of nouns, with a few verbs and adverbs thrown in (usually due to a phrase that they often used, such as "Go bye-bye.")

Now that he's speaking very well, using full sentences and a wide array of words to express himself, I wanted to introduce him to new words. Since I believe heavily in unschooling, I didn't want to sit down and "teach" him these words. I wanted him to learn them in a way that was natural and fun. Boy, did I jump for joy when I received an offer to review two children's books that contain a ton of new words. Cows Can't Jump and Cows Can't Quack, written by Dave Reisman and illustrated by Jason A. Maas, are the perfect fit!


Cows Can't Jump starts with, "Cows can't jump... but they can swim." It goes through many different animals, starting with what the animal can't do, then showing what it can. The book moves from familiar verbs, such as swing, to those that children don't often hear very often, such as wallow. Cows Can't Quack is similar, except it uses animal sounds. I loved showing little guy what each of these new words meant. We wallowed in the blankets on the bed. We grunted loudly. We laughed quite a bit!

After asking me to read the two books about a zillion times withing a couple of hours of receiving them, Little Guy decided to read them to me. Then to his stuffed animals. And, when my oldest came home, he just had to read the books to him! Later that evening, as he was playing with his cars, I listened in on Little Guy's narration (he is always talking!) His BMW was "pouncing" on the Cadillac. The tow truck was talking to the bus with a series of clicks, just like dolphins. I was watching my little one practice his new words!

Another thing I observed him doing was building up his cars' self-esteem. (Yeah, I know it sounds weird!) But, at one point, he was using a piece of cardboard with a block under it as a ramp. One car would speed down, but the other one kept crashing half-way down. After a few times, my empathetic kid picked up the crashing car and said, "You can't race fast, but you can so stunts!" I'll be willing to bet that he made that car feel much better! He's also used this way of dealing with shortcomings on the cat and even me. And, just last night, after he tried to keep up with my oldest while playing a football video game that he kept losing, he was feeling pretty low. My oldest, being the big brother, kept saying things like, "Ha, ha! I win!" to him. (Yeah, I thought that sibling rivalries would be non-existent with 10 1/2 years between the two.) Little Guy was getting frustrated and feeling sad and I was just waiting for him to lose his composure. He came close, then he thought of something. "I can't win, but I can make pizza!" My oldest lost his interest in cooking early, an Little Guy knows he doesn't know how to cook much more than Ramen or a bowl of cereal. He made himself feel better AND stood up for himself in one sentence - and my oldest was dumbfounded! LOL

I highly recommend these two books to anyone with infants through preschoolers - even up to kids in elementary school who are learning to read. The illustrations are hilarious. You can check out some preview pages of Cows Can't Jump and Cows Can't Quack by clicking on the links. The books are are easy to read and interesting - something you often don't find in easy-readers. And, as I started off saying, they're educational without being "teachy", if you know what I mean. I am especially impressed with how, just by reading these books, Little Guy has managed to figure out how to deal with blows to his self-esteem (and his cars', too!)

Cows Can't Jump comes in paperback or board book, and Cows Can't Quack is available in paperback.You can order these books at Jumping Cow Press HERE. Shipping is only $1.99 for ANY quantity order in the U.S.! You can also find these books online at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. You can also find Jumping Cow Press on Twitter and Facebook.

I'd like to thank Dave Reisman for sending me a copy of each book to review. My little guy absolutely loves them both and so do I! I can't help but wonder if there is anything else cows can't do...

Disclaimer: I received paperback copies of Cows Can't Jump and Cows Can't Quack, and a board book copy of Cows Can't Jump (all signed! YAY!) from Jumping Cow Press for the purpose of this review. I did not receive any other form of compensation. All opinions are my own.

Are You Ready for Another Etsy Giveaway? (11/17) US {ElJay Plushie }

I cannot tell you how happy I was to receive an email from Leah, owner of ElJay Plushie, asking me if I'd be interested in hosting a giveaway. Early this past spring, I won a really cool Stuffed Fleece Hippo and Matching Pillow. "Hippie" has become one of Little Guy's very favorite friends. Hippie has become a great comfort to him since he's decided to fall asleep on his own most nights. And, in addition to being a lovey toy, Hippie also can play rough. He's a very good volleyball and makes a great monster truck obstacle. And, through all of the loving and roughhousing, Hippie is as good as new. His seams are all perfect and he's as soft and squishy as ever!

When I hosted the Etsy giveaways in May as part of my Random Acts of Kindness, I was sure to include ElJay Plushie in the line up. I paid for a really cute rattle set that was in the shop and Leah doubled the prize by adding a really cute stuffed lion that was similar to Hippie (except he was a lion - LOL) You can read more of my review of ElJay Plushie from that giveaway post HERE.

Now, I must admit that is has been a while since I visited Leah's shop. Let me tell you - I was shocked at how much she's expanded over the summer! She has a lot more items for sale now and she's also expanded the types of things she makes. What I tend to think of as her signature Stuffed Animals are still available and there are so many to choose from now! One of the new items I see is the Cloth Baby Books. I absolutely love this kind of books for little ones - they can become familiar with books in infancy, yet all the chewing that inevitable occurs doesn't ruin the book and it can be easily tossed into the washer to get all of that extra teething drool off. Another new item that I really like is the Fleece Dolls. They're soft and simple - perfect for any doll-loving kid. And they're affordable at only $10 each!

Here's where I was surprised the most - ElJay Plushie doesn't just carry plush items anymore. If you love brightly-colored, affordable, original Paintings or expertly Painted Art Dolls, this is the place to stop!




So, how would you like to WIN a $25 GC to ElJay Plushie? You can use it on any item in the shop, or Leah can work with you to create a custom item worth $25 (or more if you'd like to pay the overage.) Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and get your chance to win a great gift for yourself or someone special in your life!
***If the Rafflecopter form is acting funky, please click on the title of this post. It will reload the page so only this giveaway is showing. Somehow, having a few Rafflecopter forms on the same page crosses wires or something!

Number 1 {Wordless Wednesday... uh, kind of...}

Cheese!

This is Number 1, our cat. He was born in the middle of winter, 4 years ago, under the blankets of y bed - right next to me feet. We had let a poor stray cat into the house that night because it was one of the coldest nights on record and I felt so sorry for her. I didn't know she was pregnant - I never really bothered to look! Anyway, we were NOT going to keep her or the kittens. Our landlord had already kicked two different people out for having pets. That's why we named him Number 1 - he was the firstborn and we didn't want to get attached. We didn't even name the others. Well, everyone found homes quickly except Number 1 - we named him and couldn't get rid of him. He even hides when the landlord is around!

He's been taking naps with Little Guy since he was a newborn. If nap time is late, Number 1 gets very upset and starts pacing back and forth on the bed.

He loves going for walks in the woods with us. He knows that we do not appreciate dead animals as gifts, so he's been bringing us live offerings. They usually spend a night in our bathroom and I let them go in the morning while Number 1 is eating his breakfast. He's recently been banned from coming into the house because he attempted to catch us a skunk. The smell is wearing off... very slowly!

Keeping A Busy Guy Happy When It's HOT Out

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Yep, it's hot outside! Even with the sauna-like heat and humidity, I'm still going to say that I like summer best and this type of heat wave is to be expected at least once a year. I can live with it, but I'm not sure Little Guy can. We've had to keep him inside during the day, as the heat index has regularly been hitting the upper 90's and has gotten over 110 degrees F a few times in the last week and a half. Add 75% or higher humidity and you've got a catastrophe waiting to happen with this kid. He's like Forrest Gump - he MUST run everywhere. It's hard to wrangle him up for a drink of water. He just loves being free. I swear, the kid giggles the entire time we go for walks or to the park, only stopping when he wants to tell us something. You could pick him up off the ground and his feet would still be going.

When he doesn't get his daily outings, he can become a handful of trouble. He's got so much pent up energy that he needs to release that it can turn into fury. He just doesn't know what to do with himself. He'll end up hitting, throwing things, having tantrums over the simplest things... it's a nightmare. So, hubby and I decided to alter the whole family's timetable. We've been putting Little Guy to bed around midnight rather than 9:30pm. We stay up until 1 or 2am to get some alone time. Little Guy usually doesn't wake up until 9-9:30 in the morning now, instead of his usual 7am. Strangely, nap time has only moved back a little bit, but it's lasting longer (YES!)

What do we do while we're up so much later? We go for walks and head to the park! On our walks, we encounter lots of interesting creatures that you just don't see during the day. Little Guy and I have been looking for moths and other insects (and arachnids!) in trees, on lampposts, in bushes, and on our own porch. Check out some of what we found in just one night (the first three pics are of a moth that was about 3 inches long!):

My husband says he said his name is "Irving"

These guys remind me of Murano glass beads.

I've seen this type moth in some amazing colors - from brown like a leaf to fluorescent purple. They all are the same size with the same shape. Someday, I'll find out what they are.

In addition to our walks (or Little Guy's "runs"), we've been hitting the park. I've been having a ton of fun taking pictures blind - it's so dark there that it's really hard to see anything, especially through the lens of my camera. As you can see, the flash can be a blinding surprise!

Sometimes I caught some pretty cool photos by just pointing and hitting the button!

There are some drawbacks to taking a little one to a very dark park - if he's running faster than you, he can disappear into the night. I shot the above pic in hopes that the flash would show us where he went. Oh, and there are wild animals at the park. Little Guy was running toward the shelter, where people picnic. It has a nice trash can filled with all kids of leftover goodies that attract animals. Just as he got to the shelter, I saw the shadow of a small animal scurrying away. Then we noticed something... n odor. It was a skunk and Little Guy had surprised him. I took off like a bat out of hell toward the shelter, screaming, "STOP!!!" at the top of my lungs at 11:30 at night. I grabbed up Little Guy, praying that he'd still smell like citronella oil and NOT Eau d' Pepe La Pew. He was fine. That's when I noticed that every house across the street from the park had its lights on and people were mulling around on their porches and front yards. Oops - guess the screaming must've woke a few people up. After this incident, we kept Little Guy in MUCH closer range! 

Looking at the stars.

 We also took advantage of the lack of players on the tennis courts. Now here was a place that was partially lit and fenced in - our little freebird couldn't get too far away from us! He loved throwing his ball and chasing after it. Plus, we didn't have to run after him. We managed to sit down, drink our ice water, and talk! Oh, and I want to mention that, when we got home on the night these photos were taken, we checked the Weather Channel - the heat index, at 11:45pm, was 90 degrees!

So, what do you do when it's too hot for your little ones to get outside and burn off some energy??? 

***I just want to add here that the really cool bug shirt little guy is wearing is from Tea Collection - it's a prize I won from a giveaway on Abby Approved! Isn't it awesome?!

Look What the Cat Dragged In...

Poor little guy...

Our cat considers himself to be a great hunter and usually brings us all kinds of poor little baby animals to take care of. This year, thankfully, this guy is the first (and, hopefully, the last) of our visitors. He's got a little knick on top of his head that looks superficial. But , then he's got a little bit of roughing up just behind his neck, too. I wanted him to calm down before I checked him out any further, so he's in the bathtub, in a big box with lots of rags to bury himeslf into.

I think he'll make it and, by the size of him, he'll probably be ready to head off on his own pretty soon! As a teenager, I worked for wild animal rehabilitation center. (Yeah, that always gets me - what am I rehabilitating them from? Drugs, alcohol?) Anyway, I've been lucky enough to gain enough experience to know how to handle the majority of the mammals, birds, and - yikes! - even reptiles that may need help.

Now, who could turn down helping out this poor little guy who's lost his mommy and gotten beaten up by a big, bullying cat?!

Doggie Express {March of Kindness: March 2}

Today, my random act of kindness is very random for me. I donated money to a good cause. Now, I'm not stingy. We just live on a very tight budget. I'm a SAHM and going to school full-time online. My hubby is unable to work due to lots of pain and a little thing called manic-depression. We live in a 628 square foot apartment with our almost-13 year old son and a toddler. We're living hand-to-mouth. So, whenever I see great causes that really need money, all I can do is hope they'll get the money they need from somewhere.

Not this time! I saw this and had to help:

ON MARCH 5 - I WILL BE TAKING A VAN FULL OF UNWANTED DOGS THAT CAME FROM THE MIAMI-DADE SHELTER IN FLORIDA - MOST OF THESE DOGS WERE DEATH ROW DOGS AND WOULD BE DEAD BY NOW

I HAVE OVER A DOZEN DOGS GOING NORTH TO RESCUES IN SOUTH CAROLINA, PENNSYLVANIA AND BOSTON - THESE RESCUES ARE GREAT RESCUES GROUPS AND ARE NO KILL - THESE RESCUES WANT TO TAKE MORE DOGS IN THE FUTURE! RIGHT NOW I HAVE THE DOGS IN VARIOUS FOSTERS AND KENNELS ALL OVER THE MIAMI AREA.

I HAVE A PAID SHELTER WORKER GOING ALONG TO TAKE CARE OF THE DOGS - WE HAVE EMERGENCY CONTACTS ON THE ROUTE IN SC, NC, VA, MD, PA

ALL DOGS WILL BE CRATED ON THE TRIP WITH VARIOUS STOPS ALONG THE WAY FOR POTTY BREAKS AND EXCERCISE

I AM RAISING MONIES TO COVER THE PULL FEES, KENNELING, VAN RENTAL, GAS, FOOD AND MISC. TRAVEL COSTS

I HAVE INVESTED HUNDREDS OF HOURS AND A LOT OF MY OWN MONIES TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN - I AM ASKING YOU TO HELP ME OUT WITH THESE COSTS

 When I lived in Los Angeles, I was really big on the cat rescue circuit. People really do go to shelters, bail the animals out, and then take them hundreds of miles to no-kill shelters. It takes a lot of time and costs a lot of money. The people who do this sort of thing are usually pretty darn poor, yet they choose to spend their time and money helping helpless animals rather than going out to eat or buying a new dress.

I have a PalPal account for the survey sites I belong to to deposit the dollor or two I wearn here and there into. I use the money to buy little luxuries when I see a great deal. Things like super-discounted toys, magazine subscriptions, household items. You know, stuff I really don't need, but they're nice to have. I also save up and buy gifts for holidays and birthdays. Well, when I saw the above plea for help, I opted to skip the new frying pan I had my eye on and help this poor woman get those pups somewhere safe.

That's my random act of kindness for today. I would love it if you could help out, too. It doesn't have to be much - even just a dollar or two. It all adds up!

You can donate HERE with PayPal. If you would like to deduct your contribution, you can send a check or money order (this is a 501c3 rescue organization):

Make payable to: "ARNNE" (Animal Rescue Network of New England)

Send check/M.O. to rescue address:

Ladydog Productions/Rescues

P.O. Box 1843

Broken Arrow, OK 74013

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS - CALL 202-465-6861 OR EMAIL: revivaljoe@usa.net