Activity Two

Franklin is 19.5 months old

Sorry this blog is coming so late! It's been a busy day (I had a chiropractor appointment today and we went to buy a carseat and stroller...after a bit of grocery shopping)

So, today's activity was a shapes puzzle.

After he mastered the small spaces activity (toothpicks in a salt shaker) we decided to get him something a bit more challenging. Yeah, that lasted about two days. Now he can complete the puzzle with minimal help. (Like, he knows where each piece goes and only needed my help to turn it just right for it to fit)

Activity One

This morning our activity was unloading the dishwasher!

I didn't manage to get any photos, sorry!

Franklin stepped up and wanted to help me this morning. It originally started with him wanting to play with the silverware. So, we started saying "Thank you, Franklin" all excited and taking whatever he was holding. It didn't take long for him to get the idea. He started wanting to hand us silverware all the time (with the sharps removed of course) A few months ago he moved on to wanting to help with the rest of the bottom rack. I helped him "be careful" and use both hands and now he's a really great helper! (Especially considering that Mommy is getting too big to bend over successfully!)

As he gets taller we'll move on to the top rack. 

Now, he doesn't always want to help...but we don't pressure him. After all, we want this to remain something FUN. So, when we're unloading we always ask if he wants to help and bring him in the kitchen. If he stays, cool. If he leaves, that's cool too!

The key to this activity is patience. It takes twice as long to let your toddler help. (I get handed silverware one at a time usually) So, do this one on a day when you're not rushing!

What was your activity?

A Grinch Kind of Holiday

It's a running joke in my family about what a Grinch I am. No, I don't set out to ruin the holidays for others...I'm just not a fan. The holidays hold a lot of past pain for me. When I was living at home we didn't get along. The holidays meant no school. So, we were spending more time together...and fighting a lot more. One of my strongest memories of Christmas was a HUGE fight while being forced to put up the Christmas tree.

This year the holidays snuck up on me. I hate that. I can usually prepare for them but my pregnancy brain changed all that this year.

I ended up with a wakeup call from God...in the form of American Family Radio. Have you ever read/heard a Scripture 100 times only to have it mean something totally different on time 101? That's where I was this weekend on the car ride home from Thanksgiving.

John 16:33 reads: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV) Those are the words of Jesus. 


When I've read it in the past I focused on the very last part: "Take heart, I have overcome the world." It was uplifting and inspiring for me. This time I realized something else...stay with me.


The Word of God is true and God is always true to his word. When people talk about this they're usually referring to the uplifting parts. You know, healing and salvation and whatnot. I realized this weekend that it's not always the "positive" parts that fall into this. Read the Scripture again (the second half). 


In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.  

Did you catch it? Jesus told us that we'll have trouble in this world. It's spelled out right there. 

What does that mean? 


We're supposed to rejoice in God's truths, right? That means (you may not like this) we should rejoice when things get rough. Seriously. I'm not saying that God is sitting up there purposefully making things hard! I'm saying that sometimes He puts us through tough times to strengthen our faith. Have you heard the song "Praise You in This Storm" by Casting Crowns? It talks about praising God even during the hard times. I like this part:
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"

There's another song I like called "Better Than a Hallelujah" by Amy Grant. The chorus goes like this:
We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

Sometimes the most heartfelt things we say to God come out of hard times.

This holiday season I'm making an effort to thank God when I'm having a rough time. Thank him for being true to his word, even if I don't like it! Will you make that effort with me?

December 31 Day Challenge

'm challenging myself (and YOU of course) to join me this December in my challenge

What does this mean? Simple, if you have a toddler you come up with AT LEAST one activity a day in the month of December. No repeating activities during the month (you can use past activities but it's more fun to be creative)

Encourage your toddler to help around the house (it's funny how "chores" are "play" at this age)

Build fine motor skills with stacking activities or small spaces activities.

Build gross motor skills by running and throwing a ball back and forth.

Encourage creativity with music, dance, song, and art!

The list is endless.

If you decide to join me please LINK UP below and grab the button to put on your blog.


<a border="0" href="http://morinhouse.blogspot.com/2010/12/december-31-day-challenge.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/KasMorin/Untitled-1.jpg"/></a>;

Toddler Update

Just an update on Franklin's learning progress. At 19.5 months old

Words he says:
- uh oh
- aww man!
- pe-ew (like something stinks)
- duh (dog)
- book
- booger
- mama
- dada
- good bye (when he thinks no one is listening)

He signs:
- more
- eat/want
- milk
- music
- bath
- shoes
- socks
- water
- go (like go out)
- love
- bed (bedtime) We're still working on this one...
- all done
- apple

He can identify (when asked):
- yellow
- head
- ears
- belly
- penis (he kept pointing so we told him what it was called)
- fingers/hand
- toes
- nose (sometimes)
- booty (Daddy taught him this one)

- he can blow a kiss, give a real kiss, and a hug
- he also waves and says "bye bye" sometimes (it comes out "my my" which is adorable)

He also understands "no" and can follow instructions like, "Give your bottle to Daddy" if he asks for milk and Daddy is in the kitchen.


I guess he's on track?

We also did a "small spaces" activity today. I gave him toothpicks and an empty salt shaker. The point was to put the toothpicks in the holes in the top. I thought it might give him at least a bit of difficulty at first. Nope, not this child. He had no problem with it...and I only had to show him ONCE.

I think we're going to learn "up" and "brush teeth" this week. "Up" would cut down on some of the whining!

Gratituesday: Kindness of Strangers

There's a special day at Heavenly Homemakers called Gratituesday. Basically, you take Tuesday to remember for what you're thankful. I'm joining this week!

A little bit of backstory for those joining that don't "know" me. My husband and I are in the red right now financially. We got there because our insurance doesn't pay for a midwife and I desperately want a homebirth. (And I refuse to go on base for medical care unless I absolutely have to) So, we've been paying her out of pocket. Praise God that she gave us a good price! Add in that our insurance also doesn't pay for a chiropractor (I've heard that sometimes you can see one on base...but that might just be for Airmen and not dependents) and we're buying raw dairy and more nutrient dense foods (read: stuff you can't really find at Walmart) and it all adds up.

We pay our bills and then live off of the credit card the rest of the month. This is not a practice I recommend! However, it's what we have to do at the moment. I meal plan, shop sales, and we've cut back on eating out and "fun" eating and whatnot. (It works out because it's healthier...) Every little bit we can save counts a ton.

Which brings me to my thankful post.

Today I'm grateful for the kindness of strangers.

Last night when we went to the grocery store Stefan was still in his uniform. (We left pretty quickly because we had two stops to make) While in line we noticed the manager pull our checker aside for a moment and then stand and watch her ring up our groceries. My first thought was that maybe she's new and being observed (I've been there and that's exactly what it looked like) When the groceries were rung up Stefan went to pay only to have the manager step in and say, "Someone is going to pay for your groceries in honor of your service. So, this is taken care of; you all have a good night." Honestly, it took a second for it to click. A perfect stranger paid for our groceries. That was $70 that we kind of don't have and ended up not having to spend. That was a good chunk of our food for the next two weeks that we got for free.

I have a post that will go up tomorrow about praising God even during the hard times. Check back tomorrow. I can't help but wonder if this was His way of blessing me/us for remembering to praise him...even when we don't want to...


1 John 3:17-18  (NCV) Suppose someone has enough to live and sees a brother or sister in need, but does not help. Then God's love is not living in that person. My children, we should love people not only with words and talk, but by our actions and true caring.



Share your thankful blog!

A Clean Living Room

I get a lot of requests for "how did you do that???" when I post before/after photos. I always say, "I'll show you sometime" and then life happens and "sometime" never comes.

Well, it finally did! After packing this past week my living room looked like a bomb went off. I decided that this time I'll not only give you step-by-step instructions...but PHOTOS as well. (You'll have to excuse the quality. The actual camera is in the car and I had to use my phone!)

Okay, this is where we're starting:

Crazy, right? I have no idea how we even walked in the door last night.

Step One: Pick up all trash and move dishes to the kitchen. (I'd already done this when I took the photos)
Step Two: Pick up all clothing. Put dirty clothes in the laundry room and consolidate clean ones. You don't have to fold anything...just get it all in one place.

That puts us here:

Step Three: Pick up toys/random items. Again, they don't have to have a "home" at the very moment. Just get it all in one place. I take a bin and collect toys and drop the whole thing in Franklin's room. Then I put all the random stuff in another bin to deal with later. It's easier to find things a home when it's clean (something about a clean room makes you more motivated).

Now we're here:

Step Four: Surfaces. Clear and wipe 'em!
Step Five: Floor. Vacuum/sweep/mop.
Step Six: Fine Tune. Make those little pretty changes.

Ahhh, Finished.

It's FAR from "perfect" but so much better.


Show me how you clean!

A fun weekend

We went to visit friends this weekend! It was a LONG drive (5 hours with the sun in Franklin's eyes through the back window) but well worth it. Here are photos from our last night there!

Okay, I don't advocate using toys the way it specifically says not to...but he LOVED being pushed around in the doll stroller and the girls loved it too.

Wondering why we aren't playing with him.

He also liked pushing the stroller. Check out the big mama belly in the upper corner.

Just a fun shot.

This same friend has a jewelry business. Once she gets her website totally up and running I'll be promoting it! So, keep checking!

Taking it easy

Last night Frankie felt warm. That's not *too* unusual for him because he runs hot like his Daddy...but it was a bit more than usual. This morning it was the same so I took his temp. It came back normal. This can only mean one thing: TEETHING!

I risked losing a fingertip and felt his gums. One of his molars only had one point on Monday and it now has three. Yep, teeth. I didn't hesitate to start today with Advil.

We did a few floor activities (I didn't even attempt anything that required focus).

We walked on cushions:

I didn't realize how much dexterity that took until I saw him stumble a few times. After he figured out exactly what to do I started counting "One, Two, Three" for each cushion. I put them in different shapes and spaced them out differently. That was a good 10 minutes of activity.

Mostly, though, we've been doing this:

He helped me unload the dishwasher (He LOVES to help with this chore)

I tried to get him to help make chili...but it was so new to be up on the chair that he didn't care about what Mommy wanted. I think he's going to have to be up at my level more often so the newness wears off.
He also helped wipe a table.

That's it for today. We've been sitting around. Frankie doesn't feel good and the weather is dreary and Mommy is afraid she'll throw her back out again...

Oh, this is from last night...he's learning how to jump! It's super cute.

We'll probably be really laid back the rest of the week. Frankie gets horrible teething pain (they come in fast, though) so I'm following his lead even more than usual.

Cutting it Short

We're having a rough day around here. I think those two top molars are giving Frankie trouble. Tantrums = many this morning. We tried, though!

The cotton ball activity he loved yesterday? Yeah...

So we moved on to playing with cereal. It was WAY more fun to eat it!

I scored some awesome silk leaves from the Target Dollar Bins yesterday. So, I thought we'd try to sort two colors...

Another activity that didn't work out. By this time I was starting to see a pattern and sense it was going to be one of THOSE DAYS.

I did find at least one activity he liked.

Of course it was the destructive one!!!

A couple of days ago I cut a hole in a coffee can big enough to fit poker chips. A couple of days ago he really liked it...

After those photos he tried to throw it everywhere.

Next, acorns. These were a huge hit yesterday.

That was the only photo I got before he tried to eat them...numerous times. I had to take them away after that...and another tantrum ensued.

This is probably how we'll spend most of today...poor kid.