September 2015 – Page 2 – Hay Happens and Hay's Happen

September 11, 2015November 26, 2015

MIM is the word!

Musical Instrument Museum is more than a word! It’s a paragraph. Man, that place is filled with so much history and entertainment.

We decided to take Tatum to enjoy the museum since she is still free. As we approached, there was only one school bus and one car, so I figured it would be a perfect day to go. And it was.

There are many rooms of different instruments, but instead of entering each room of “do not touch, stand, sit or move (basically), I looked for the experimental room. But first, we had to see the incredible kinds of displays they had.

THIS is a guitar. No frills.

Clear and present

Finally we made it to THE ROOM. The experiment room. We could hear it from the hallway….a world of noise from a group of middle schoolers. I felt right at home. Tatum enjoyed playing on first, the ukelele and even sang us a couple of melodies. The famous Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the ABC’s. Delightful.

Anger management 101

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They gave us headphones for the tour, but Tot was more interested in wearing them for pretend. One thing she loves to do is pretend! It makes time with her so much more fun.

After THE ROOM, we mosied the gift shop of course, and although filled with expensive trinkets, it still was filled with fun odds and ends. It’s time to return soon to the MIM and take in all it has to offer. Especially the cafe!

September 9, 2015September 9, 2015

Strawberries and Beans

After lunch every day, Tatum and I work on letters or numbers, and then read some books. So, we put on her uniform (usually Thomas T-shirt) and get to work! Of course we make it a big game, and she jumps right in.

Last night, while Pinteresting, I found the most fun idea. I cannot take credit for all of these fun things we do, but I can make it my own in how I implement! This morning, I printed the sheets out, laminated, and voila! We have strawberry cards. Now, for some beans. Knowing that I’ll never use all of the great northern white beans in the large lb. package, I opted for these.

We sat down, poured the beans in a little white container and Tatum was hooked! First, we went over the cards with dots, and matched them to the number cards. Then she had to cover the dots on each strawberry with beans as she counted.TADA!Putting the beans aside, now she had to put the number cards on top of the correct dot cards.

I was so impressed with her enthusiasm, effort and success, that I had to give her a cookie. Trader Joe’s has these letter and number cookies, and they sure come in handy when we are learning!

The beans are continuing to fascinate her as she sits and pours them into various cups. Next time, we’ll try kidney beans for a change of pace, No?

September 6, 2015September 6, 2015

Church and changes are a happenin’

Church Sunday is always special. Tatum has come so far, and today was a big change.

We separated.

*Tears*

So, since the potty training is occurring, I figured she was ready to go into a “class.” What we usually do is sing together in worship, stay through the offering and announcements, and then we go into the little room and watch the sermon on the video while she sits with us. I never get the full sermon as I’m balancing Tatum, the volume of the screen, and the others in the room. Today, I decided to have her worship with us, and then go into the Leopards.

I went in with her, and saw that there were FOUR boys, and Tatum. (they were four and up) My heart skipped a few beats, I gave her a huge hug (x 10) and then left. I probably spent the next ten minutes weeping, but then realized this was good for her. It’s an opportunity for her to be a leader and do the right thing in class, listen, and heed the teacher. And that is exactly what she did.

My heart sang with glee, and I heard every bit of the sermon. She enjoyed it, and I realized we reached a new milestone. (She even went potty while in the room!)

We’ve come a long way, girl. I love you.

I truly love you.

September 5, 2015September 5, 2015

Rockin’ with Jack

Visiting with Amy and Jack today turned out to be a jam fest.

Their new house lends itself to the music and all the noise. Definitely a rockin’ good time.

September 5, 2015September 5, 2015

Love Affair

I admit it. I love books.

Tatum seems to be adopting this admiration as well. This morning, she screamed, “MOMMY!!!”, and after the 14th yell, I came in. She had to go potty (yeah!) and wanted out (no!) It was tooooo early, but the potty did call, so I got her out. She asked if she could come into bed with me, and so I agreed. (can of worms just opened)

As she lay next to me with her babies nestled into my head, she whispered, “Mommy? What are we having for breakfast?” Toast, I’d answer. Then two seconds later, “Mommy? What are we doing after breakfast?” Amy and Jack, I’d succinctly answer. After the third, “Mommy?” I kindly said, “Tatum, go get a book and read.”

So she did and STAYED in her room. I slept for thirty more minutes.

This wonderful picture made me realize something about Tatum. She loves to relate. Her ability to enjoy the character in the book makes her experience that much more exciting. She has to FEEL something for an animal or a person in the book, and then she makes him/her come alive. The dialogue she uses is like what we see and do every day, and watching her act it out via a book is priceless.

This proves to me that reading really engages the mind, creates imagination, and allows one to not only laugh, learn, and grow, but to enter a new world for a short time.

I continue to LOVE buying books and my LOVE keeps growing for all that has been written! Man, the creativity! We also go to the library weekly and pick up about ten new ones and take them for a test drive.

Here is an update to some of my new favorites (from another post).The books I buy for Tatum are for four to eight year olds. Why wait?

Veggie Tales makes some fun books that sing the last page! She loves to play them all at the same time. Great messages.

Bernstein Bears teaching values

HELP! Was a test drive from the library and we loved it. It’s about true FRIENDSHIP

This book is “What a Wonderful World,” by Louis Armstrong in a picture book. We read it (well, I sing it), then I play the real song along with the book. (He’s much better than me!)

This Knuffle Bunny trilogy is by my favorite children’s author, Mo Willems. It’s brilliant, hilarious, and down right FUN! Tatum just adores Trixie.

Another fun book. Inspires the underwear delight!

Fun to sing this book with Tot.

These were another test drive success story. This Little Cub and Old Bear find each other and fall in love. The become Father and Son. Sounds familiar: Mommy and Tot.

Froggy fun! This author has a great style and tends to keep his books with a similar rhythm.

More Mo Willems. Darn funny. I’m addicted and need to get all of them.

The Three Bears, More fun Bernstein’s, and PD Eastman fun.

New classics I came upon.

Yes, I am addicted to books, and Tatum is reaping the benefits.

September 5, 2015November 26, 2015

Mom’s of the CITY!

It’s a new year and a new Mom’s group, MOTC, and we truly are a force…a brave force of awesome women.

We had a fun starter play date at Scottsdale Gymnastics.

Jennie reminded me how NOT flexible I am.

Another semester starts next week, and this year, I’ll be a table leader. My goal is to bless the moms at my table and make sure that they have a oodles of support. Last year, that is exactly what I felt; so loved and accepted exactly where I was. It’s time for me to pay it forward.

To welcome my ten new ladies, I decided to have a little treat at each of their seats. Tatum and I visited the dollar store, and I bought a few items. Tatum helped me fill the bags with the goodies. Here’s what we did:
We filled each bag with these items:

Smarties, Starburst, Hugs, Kisses, Post-it Flags, an eraser, and Kleenex.

Hmmmm…what does it all mean!!??
I wrote up a little insert for each bag:

“As a MOM you play so many roles! Here are a few things that represent how awesome you are:

Erasers have softeners in them to keep the paper from tearing: Like that time your LO got a boo-boo and you couldn’t erase it, but you sure could soften it.

Mini post it flags locate and organize important things: Like that time your kiddo’s room had a hurricane come through and you helped put things in proper order.

“Star”bursts because stars give light in an unfamiliar world: Like that time your LO just needed some guidance.

Smarties: Because you wear the smarty pants! (Who’s kidding, right!?)

Kleenex wipes, dabs, cleans and applies: Need a say more?

Hugs. Yes, you give the best hugs

and Kisses of course.

These little inserts went into each bag with all of the items.

I hope the girls will be blessed!

September 4, 2015November 26, 2015

I rolled over by myself

In the pool that is.

We have been practicing this for so long, and today, she did it THREE times. Chris was so proud of her, but moreover, I was!

She dove in, rolled over, then back over by herself.

I have a feeling the lesson was the answer today. She was not in with the usual other student since we were making up in an earlier class. The other student’s name was Ivey, and she was just ADORABLE. But, at one point, she had a meltdown, and her mom had to retrieve her. The rest of the lesson was Tot’s. This is when she shined. She had me cheerleading on the side.