Mommy and Me Monday- Pictures

Here we are for another Mommy and Me Monday event.  This one will sound like a chore to some moms, but for others it may seem like a fun outing.  It really was a chore that needed to get done, but for my Em it is so fun.  What am I talking about?  Pictures!

My Em has always LOVED going to get her picture taken.  She comes alive in front of the camera.  So this morning when she decided to get all dolled up my Monday plans changed and we headed over to the Picture People to get some pictures taken. 

So here is the result:

Picture People always have given us great portraits of the kids.  The staff is so patient with the kids and there is no sitting fee, that way if you don't love them it only costs you the time out of your day.  And, the pictures are ready to be taken home within an hour!

Mommy and Me Monday- Bike Ride

Mommy and Me Monday this week is all about getting out and about.  It really is a whole family day since daddy is here today too.  Andy and I love to be active with our kids.  We feel as though we need to set an example for our kids and show them how to lead a healthy and active life.  So we take them out for runs and bike rides whenever we can (although I will admit we have not been as active this summer as I would prefer, it's just too hot!).  

Today Andy decided we needed to upgrade Emily's seating because the bike trailer is getting too small for two growing kiddo's.  So we went off to Wal-mart and bought a seat for her to sit behind me on my bike while Will would continue to ride behind Andy in the bike trailer.  Em loves her new seat and could hardly wait for Andy to install it on my bike.  

So as soon as he was done we headed out for our ride.  I am a little nervous with her back there, but I know I won't fall and she has her helmet on just in case. 

Mommy and Me Monday- Fire Station Tour

It was about time to switch up the focus and do something boyish for the boys in our group.  So this week was all about Nico and Will.  

Since I have a few "in's" with the fire department (aka my hubby and his friends), we set up for a play date at one of the local fire stations.  We started out with a great lunch ahead of time at Mimi's.  Mimi's has such a great kids menu.  They offer so many great options for their little customers and even follow it up with a fun desert- worms and dirt.  I think it is one of the more kids friendly restaurants in town.  We were the loudest table in the entire place though- with 5 loud kids and 3 mom's trying to have an adult conversation on top of their noise.  I would highly recommend Mimi's for a place to go with kids though.

After lunch we headed over to the fire station were the kids got to look up close at the fire truck.  They sat in the back seat and tried the headphones on and talked to each other. It was so sweet looking watching them look at each other in amazement while they heard each others voices from the ear phones.  Then they sat in the drivers seat and played with the steering wheel.  Each of them loved this part.  Even Emily who has been around fire trucks her entire life was in awe.  Nico found the horn button and kept honking the horn, he loved all the loud noises. I think we made Nico a future fire fighter today.  

Fire stations are available for any Mommy and Me day, not just for those of us with family connections.  The stations are public buildings!  Although they are closed when they are out, you can go and ask to have a tour anytime.  Just call your local station in advance and ask to set up a time you can go.  They are busy guys too, so don't overstay your welcome, 20 minutes really is plenty of time to check out the engine.  The firefighters are all so nice and may even give your kids some Jr. Firefighter stickers for you little ones. 

Mommy and Me Monday

This hot weather has sapped all the creative energy out of me.  I am a boring mommy this week.  But today as always I did my best to come up with something to do for Mommy and Me Monday.

Mommy and Me Monday is our weekly trips around town or activities in the home, where once a week I take a few hours out of the day to really focus on the kids, take a breather from chores and responsibility and hang with the ones who matter the most- my kids.

This week we did some box art and balloon art.  I know, at first it sounds weird and boring, but with a little explanation it's cool.

Since we (and almost every other kid in the world) are on a Toy Story kick, I thought about things we could tie back to the movies they love.  So we drew on and painted boxes to be a little town so they could play with their toys in the little town.  In the first Toy Story movie, Andy plays with Woody, Buzz, Hamm, Rex and the rest of the gang in a little town made by boxes.  There was a jail and a bank and some fences I think.  The kids had a great time painting the boxes and soon turned into painting themselves and making a giant mess.


What you need for this craft:
Boxes (preferably blank ones)
Sharpee or black marker
Paint

The balloon draw art came after the mess of the boxes.  They got baths and clean clothes and we played inside (where its air-conditioned).  We had lots of balloons left over from Will's party this weekend so we took some and drew faces and animals on them.  I am no artist so be kind...

What you need for this craft:
Non-helium filled balloons
Sharpee or black marker

We made the bee, cow and Minnie Mouse you see above and also a lady bug, cat, princess, silly face and Elmo. I let the kids come up with ideas to draw and crossed my fingers hoping they would find it acceptable. 

Mommy and Me Monday

Mommy and Me Monday is our weekly trips around town or activities in the home, where once a week I take a few hours out of the day to really focus on the kids, take a breather from chores and responsibility and hang with the ones who matter the most- my kids.

This week for our Mommy and Me Monday we are at home, playing dress up!  We have recently inherited a mound of awesome dress up stuff- thanks to my niece Elyse and my Grandma Jo.  Emily is definitely in the 'obsessed with dress up' stage- playing princess, fairy, horse, frog, whatever.  She is happy in her pretend land.  Normally, she just changes and prances around for me to adore, but today I decided Will and I will join in on the fun.

Playing dress up is so important for kids developmentally, so it's a great to encourage it.  Dress up teaches self confidence and a good self esteem.  As they become proud of what they are wearing and find themselves able to pretend to do anything.  They learn they are beautiful or strong depending on the dress up outfit.  Dress up also encourages good social skills- sharing for instance.  When friends play dress up together, sharing is fun.  Kids interact easier together.  It is easier to be less shy and more outgoing in a different outfit, as someone else. 

Kids can learn empathy from dress up also, as they learn about being in someone's shoes and can learn to pretend to feel like someone else.  Kids at this age are all about themselves, egocentric.  It's normal and a developmental stage that they had to go through.  But as they grow older thinking about others creates a nicer and happier child.

A more obvious benefit is creativity.  Kids learn to be creative with their dress up, creating new outfits and personalities.  Creativity helps build better problem solving and critical thinking.  This in turn helps build independence.

Kids who play dress up also explore different parts of their personality, from girly girl to smart doctor to brave fire fighter, they see they can be many different things.  This will continue in real life as they decide which parts of all their dress up personalities fit in their day to day life.

So for us, we see the great benefits of dress up and will encourage it as long as they love it.  Even if it gets me in silly wigs and looking goofy.  My kids will hopefully grow up to be smart and creative and confident.  Because while they may just be pretending to be anybody, I want them to be able to be anybody they want. 

Mommy and Me Monday- We All Scream for Ice Cream!

It's getting to be really hot around here.  Too hot for the park, too hot for our usual evening walks with friends, too hot for much outdoor fun.  There is nothing better to cure the heat blues than some Ice Cream!

So this week we took a trip to the ice cream shop!  Dewar's Ice Cream and Taffy's are famous here in Bakersfield.  This little shop has some of the best ice cream I have ever had.  The taffy's are also amazing.  So we decided to pack up the kids and take them out for a special treat, perfect in the hot weather.











Dewar's is a perfect trip for kids, that's obvious.  But the special part about Dewar's for your kids is the tours!  So this takes a little planning ahead of time, but I promise it will be worth it!  Sadly, tours are not available Monday's so instead of a Mommy and Me Monday it will have to be Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.  The tours are at the Downtown location, and you will get to see first hand the making of taffy and ice cream!  What a perfect mix of educational and delicious! 

Mommy and Me Monday

This Monday we were not able to get out because we had some little guests, Nico and Alyssa were for the day.  So since we had a houseful of kids, I thought we would do a Mommy and Me Monday activity here at home again.

I thought we would do a craft from the Disney's Family Fun Craft Finder App for the iPhone.  If you have never seen this app before, it is so fun.  It's one of the best free apps I have found. 

Craft ideas are as simple as choosing your child's age range, the time you want to spend on it, and the time of year or a holiday that's coming.  Today we did a Preschool activity in 30 minutes for the 4th of July, which is coming faster than we think! 

We chose to do fold and snip stars which also helped Em learn scissors.  It is a pretty simple craft but will make our house look so festive!  I am so excited to use more crafts as time goes on!   Em had such a great time making the stars which we hung from the ceiling in the playroom.  During the craft there is great opportunity to talk about shapes, counting and colors.

Here is the craft.  It is easier with the pictures.  But I will try to explain:
1.  Fold the paper in half from top to bottom.
2.  Fold it again from top to bottom and undo that fold.
3.  Take the top right corner to the left side of the crease just made.
4.  Fold the top left corner over the last fold.
5.  Fold it so the left and right side come together making a point.
6.  Cut a sharp angle making a triangle, which will unfold into a star.

I have to admit, this took me a few tries to master it.  Fortunately I tried it out before doing it with Em.  She had fun learning to cut and then got to decorate the starts after.  Even Will helped color! 

What did you get to do with your kids today?

Mommy and Me Monday

My oldest loves to be creative.  Painting, coloring, singing made up songs, etc., you get the picture.  She is always begging me to paint, which because of the mess that follows I save for days when I have an extra amount of patience.  Thankfully for her, that is today!

So the theme is this Mommy and Me Monday is: Painting!  We have these amazing paint sets from Lakeshore Learning that decreases the mess because there is no spilling the paint out of bowls, its all built in.  Another essential in our house is the paint smock, of which we have nice plastic one, but can also be a worn out adult shirt.  These are important for protecting the kids clothing, although most kid friendly paints are not only non-toxic but also washable. 

On a large piece of paper draw common everyday items or a familiar scene, I used the sun and a flower on one piece and fruit on another (her choice).  Let the kids choose what colors to use and see how the scene looks.  At the preschool and toddler age groups we cannot expect the colors to stay in the lines, but what they come up with will look amazing!

Hang their art and let them be proud!