Category: Totally Tatum

It’s become a tradition by buying Trader Joe’s Gingerbread house and transforming from box to house in *%^& minutes flat. Ha!

Year one, we had tears and frustration because she wanted to eat it more than build it.

The second year, I totally messed up the frosting as it turned to hardened glue and there was not much rejoicing. 

I refused to be denied this year as I bought that darn kit again to tackle it with my full monty. Tatum couldn’t wait to just lick up the mess we make. 

There it is! Ok, now I’m going to READ the directions this year with my glasses. You must whip the egg whites FIRST.

THEN THEN THEN add the lemon juice and sugar.

Tatum made sure I was doing it right and each time I went to lick my fingers, she absconded me and said, NO FAIR MOMMY!! Eek I’ve been caught. 

OK, let this dry now.

Now we wait for it to set and dry so we can decorate.

And now the BEST part. One gummy for the house, one for me.

After we decorated it was ready for display.

I think we are getting better at this every year. I am going to keep trying since this frosting decorator thing-a-mig that they give you is not as friendly as the house! 

They look pretty happy on that house not realizing how much glue frosting they need to just keep standing.  Oh the joy of the holiday decorating!

Finding a sitter is always a difficult process. Leaving your child with anyone can be quite unsettling if you don’t truly trust the person. You have to just do your best in vetting the person. 

Well, about two years ago, we met Bianca Allen at LA Fitness. She works in the KidsCare and goes to college. She is wonderful with the kids, and I had a good feeling about her.

Two years later, she has become a great friend for us, and Tatum adores her.

Thank you, Bianca for being such a light in Tatum’s life. You always bring such joy when you visit, and Tatum always loves being with you. You also always bring creativity and fun with you, and always show kindness as a model. 
We love you!

Every year mom takes copious amounts of our Christmas pictures in front to the tree. You’ll get to see these later when I do, but in the meantime. you can hear about the fun that goes into getting ready to get ready to smile.

Tatum poses to practice. A little straighter; to the right; nope…more to the left. Perfect!

She practiced on me. Mommy smile bigger!!!

Ok, now we wait for Mama and Coti boy to join us. 

Hopefully Coti will smile and stay still this year.

We decided to draw some cards for her teachers this year. I bought some blank cards and envelopes because it is so much more meaningful to receive a homemade card!
Mrs. Holman, Mrs. Gould, Sra. Walker, and Miss Wilson! We appreciate you.

Chocolate Mint stars to complement the artful drawings. I’m so proud of her hard work and attention to detail. (and heart)!

Tatum had a little surprise in her salad tonight. Did you ever wonder how tomatoes reproduce?  

Now, this little gem of produce produced a new elevation to our dinner conversation.

The next step to our conversation was, who gets to eat the little baby? Vegetables are not supposed to cause such controversy!

The joy of produce and producing!

Her Kindergarten class is doing a fundraiser for Christmas. The money will go to a local food bank. I love how much SERVING her class does. 
Mrs. Holman thought a great way to raise money would be  to sell bags of dog treats. So she employed all of us parents to make some delicious little bites. 

The plan was to make the dough and cut it into cute little bones. Wellllllll, first the recipe I made was not the one she gave us. It had kind of weird ingredients like beef cubes. I had to find an alternative because I didn’t want to buy all the ingredients AND I wanted them to be taste-worthy. So, I found a great little recipe with peanut butter, eggs, pumpkin and whole wheat flour. Simple enough! 

It made TON of dough and cutting into shapes was just not an option. PLUS, would the dog care if it wasn’t a cute little bone? Probably not. 

Afterward, Tatum couldn’t wait to try them. Guess who else couldn’t wait try them?

I stress to Tatum daily that she must do her best. She needs to ask herself as she does her work, Is this my best work? If it’s not, she should do it again. This needs to be a value she holds in life.

Math is one area where she can always improve. Her numbers need to be exact, and her lines have to be straight. I’m kind of a stickler for this as early as Kindergarten because habits need to start as early as possible. 

Each week they have a math test. She sometimes makes little errors and they are not from not knowing the information; they are from sheer sloppiness or not paying attention. She is NOW valuing doing her best and paying attention to detail.

This was her test from last Thursday.

Her numbers were done with precision and she seemed to do her best. Yes, she could have stayed in the lines when coloring, but I’m just so proud of her numbers! I continue to love watching Tatum value her own work. 

We often recite Colossians 3:23 “Work happily at whatever you do as if you were working for the Lord and not for men.” 

I love you sweet girl! Keep up the hard work and the joy of doing it!