Preschool Prep, Week 2

Well, we've got another week of lists and stickers under our belt. As much as I want to just wing it as we go, I find that our days go so much more smoothly when I pre-plan the night before.

For Monday, I looked up what the Storytime book would be about and then planned our activities around that. The book was "The Red Boat" by Hannah Cumming. So when we got home I folded a red origami canoe for Rosemary and let her paint a lake for the boat to float on with some of her toys inside.



On Tuesday, we voted! I carried Poppy on my back and pushed Rosemary in the stroller to our polling place. Rosemary got a sticker, seen on her hand below. A fire truck was in the parking lot and Rosemary talked to a fireman and sat in his seat in the fire truck. She declined putting his helmet on her head. We then went home and voted on what we would eat for lunch. I voted for leftover hamburgers, but Rosemary and Poppy won the vote for PB&J sandwiches.

Decorating the voting box.

Tallying votes.


We also played Chutes & Ladders. Rosemary won!


On Wednesday we went to the craft store to pick up supplies to make a "calm down jar." I call it a Sparkle Jar. I had seen the tutorial on Pinterest and wanted to give it a go.

Making the jar.

Giving it a good shake!

This is what it looks like at rest.

Falling stars.

I won't lie; we made this jar for me. I'll often shake it up when I'm stressed and then instantly feel my blood pressure drop along with the sparkles.


Poppy wanted to get in on the tong transfer activity that day.

We also went outside. Man, Wednesday was a great day!


Thursday wasn't as productive. It was obviously a "let's not plan ahead the night before and see what happens" day. Well, nothing much happened. It was also too cold to play outside. Fail. Too be fair, we were in the basement for an hour waiting out a tornado warning on Wednesday evening, so that got in the way of planning time. That's my story.

I at least have some cute pics from Storytime.



Today, Friday, I started the morning by testing Rosemary's knowledge of the alphabet. She can recognize 9 capital letters!

I also decided to try a sensory bin. It's like an indoor sandbox! It kept Rosemary entertained for at least 20 minutes, which Mommy really needed. It was a rough day.

Sensory bin with white rice, barley, chickpeas, and measuring cups.


Poppy is enjoying her new-found mobility. Here she is exploring the toy area.


That's it for this week. Tune in next Friday to see what else we put on our lists!

2011's Dramatic Entrance

The last day of 2010 was spent worrying about this storm.



This doppler picture was taken just before the storm roared into our little town and hung around for an hour. I always thought that tornadoes couldn't form in the rain, so in my mind, we were safe as long as it was raining. The newscasters pierced that happy dream by announcing the storm was producing "rain-wrapped tornadoes," and that set off my panic alarms. We have a basement, but it is unfinished in a dank, dismal, non-baby-friendly way, so we weren't going to go down there unless we absolutely had to, which meant my ears were tuned into every thunder rumble, waiting for it to not stop but only get louder as the funnel cloud touched down in our neighborhood. But the thunder sounds came and went, the dark, terrible sky cleared up again, and the newscasters shifted their attention to the damage that had been done versus the damage that could still happen. We were safe.


Miss R rang in the new year by falling asleep to Mary Poppins.

After being unsuccessful in our attempts to kick the in-laws out of the house for the night, Senpai and I went to a party held by our neighbors. We learned the joys of Farkle, and I re-learned how to get a hangover.

Coming in to 2011, there's a glimmer of something on the horizon, and I'm holding my breath in wait for it. Love and joy to all.