Category: Totally Tatum

The other day when I walked into her classroom, Tatum was reading with the other kids. Mrs. Holman is so grateful for Tatum because when they are in the reading center, Tatum can help the other kids since, “She is the only kid in the class who can read.” (according to Mrs. Holman).

Now, I LOVE to hear this. Well, when we got home, she had just received some new books in the mail. LEGO books of course.

So she wanted to read them (even though they were above her level).

She read them in the car too!

This was perfect timing because she decided with her allowance she wanted to buy another watch. A LEGO watch actually.

OH is it cool! You can take out links and add in Lego faces.

This watch was $20, and she had been saving in her “SPEND” folder for 3 weeks for this watch. (She gets $5/week; she usually puts $3 in her SPEND folder, $1 in her GIVE folder, and $1 in her SAVE). She is up to $25 in her SAVE and she has not touched it.

Instead, she used her SPEND folder to buy the watch keeping her SAVE folder of $25 untouched. HOORAY! (Her GIVE is distributed weekly at church).

I’m so proud of her and she is experiencing the joy of long-term gratification.

My  little reading super Lego girl.

One of Tatum’s amazing qualities is her QUICK ability to recognize when she “misses the mark.” The Holy Spirit, I believe, is very strong in her. She gets it. 

A major lesson we can all learn in life is that it is not about what happens to you (or mistakes you may make) that are the issue. IT’S HOW YOU HANDLE THEM after their occurrence.

Do you….blame?
Do you……have a fit?
Do you…..complain and grumble?

Do you wallow in your sorrow?

OR….

Do you…. admit you are wrong and make things right?
Do you….. take a time out for yourself before you say something you’ll regret?

Do you…..talk things out or let them fester?

Do you….learn from mistakes/challenges and become more kind/compassionate/

You see, Tatum has a lack of impulse control with her comments sometimes (like anyone under 25 …and over for that matter!). This means at times, she will  say something not so kind (or the TONE will be unkind). BOOM. She realizes it before I need to give her that look or say something to her.

And you know what? She makes it right immediately. Key word: Immediately.

Repentance and confession…they are a forgotten need in our world. “A broken and contrite heart you will not despise.” Psalm 51:17. She knows this and I love this about her.

 

Show and Share this week was to bring 2 things that rhyme.

So, Tatum and I brainstormed. She then looked at her ring and said she wanted to bring this in. But what rhymes with it??????
Oh, yes, we had just met the dolphin, Ping, at our Dolphin adventure last week.

I printed out a picture for her to bring in, and I brought her the ring since I was to volunteer that day. She did so well explaining it all, and all of the kids were so engaged in her stories.

 

One of Tatum’s little friends at Church, Maggie Kate, takes ballet and jazz at Centerstage. It was a perfect opportunity for Tatum to join. She wanted to take a class and I couldn’t find a fit. After hearing about Maggie Kate’s class, I knew I needed to sign upTot there as well.

And so we did!
She loves it so far! Stay tuned.

Yes, she’ll read to anyone who will listen.

This came in handy when we were at SBC on Sunday. I needed to get my coffee, and so I plopped her down at the table and asked the nice older couple if she could read there. Tatum just started reading TO them, and then he read back to her.

She charmed the pants off them while reading  a nice story about giraffes.

Today we had no real agenda so we decided to rent some bikes. Now, Doug and I knew that Tatum would probably last about a mile or  so. We had no back up plan so we just rolled with it.

First stop, breakfast! She opted for blueberries today. Fruit loops in a cup for later.

I’m full. Wink wink.

Ok, Tot bike and 2 cruisers. Electra is the name of our bikes and comfort and power is their game. WOW!

Off we go. Doug mapped out for us to ride down to the bridge and around the bay.

So far so good!

Do you know we started at 12:30, stopped for lunch then continued until near 4:00. 10.6 miles!!! We rode all over  Coronado. She had 5 revolutions for every one we had. The little studdette! Doug and I were so proud of her.

I think we tired her out though.

She earned some new Legos, and honestly I love putting them together with her.

What fun! This made us all want bikes for our future home.

We slept so soundly that last night, and our ride home was so peaceful and fun. Tot had much to keep her busy.

She made art for us and I had to work a bit.

All in all it was so special to be a family together.

Tatum surprised Doug with a card and drawing for him in gratitude.

Taco bout AWESOME!

You are the best honey. We love you to pieces!!

Our walks down to the beach to get shells always turn into so much more.

We love to see the pretty foliage. This time it was moi who noticed this one because I’m into birds ya know.

Then, we run into this beautiful dog. He’s an English Creme Retriever. I fell in love with his color and serenity. His owner, Chuck, had just built a home in Coronado. Right there you just knew he had a few bucks and probably time to enjoy it.

Chuck took our picture and told us we were a beautiful family. We hear that often. Smile. 

Just one with my honey. Poor guy doesn’t get to be in enough pics.

Then we ran into Mr. Sandman. He makes these tremendous castles on the beach. For fun. And it takes him maybe 3-5 hours.

Magnificent.

Usually there’s an owie or two that occurs. OR there is a need for a little chat, so we have a quick time out for this.

We headed back because we were hungry for our brekkie.  It’s a treat to have a free buffet at the hotel, so we must hurry.

Tatum’s eyes grow bigger than her body when she sees the choices. All she could think about were Fruit Loops. Yes, cereal of all things. Now, I couldn’t just give her a whole bowl of these…or could I? Aha…IDEA!
Toast, cottage cheese, and Fruit Loopy topping. Delishioso.

After our fill of yogurt, eggs, peanut butter, coffee and fruit loops, we headed back to get ready for our beach day.

Doug always makes it so easy for us.

We pack enough for us to be riding the waves, shading our bodies and relaxing in our chairs. Funny we don’t use much of what we bring, but you know that if we didn’t we would need it. So, as good scouts, we are prepared!!

It was quite a cloudy day, so we didn’t do too much in the water.

Of course Tatum played in the sand the whole time, and Doug and I talked and played in the water a bit. Just a nice day

We were definitely ready to crash.

 

And then go get our dinner. On the way, we had a chance to play on the piano. Tot and I did a duet. Practice has paid off!

Another nice night of dinner, games and silliness. I think this is my favorite part of our trips. We can enjoy a nice dinner in our rooms then play games and eat chocolate. This is called quantity and quality time. Just what we needed.