Chest Hair and Maxi Pads

Today has been a blur. We have been moving nonstop since we woke up to get the older boys packed and ready for their week at Grandma's. Of course, I am completely sick to my stomach so have to occupy my time by randomly cleaning and organizing as we pack. In between the busy tidbits of our day, I have had the opportunity to listen to my 2 little ones share some of their latest quirks.

C has spent the day trying to convince me that he is developing chest hair. He has been watching himself in the mirror and rubbing her chest while telling me to rub his chest, in hopes that I would see it too. It is so hard to keep a straight face, but he is so serious that I know he would be completely devastated if I so much as cracked a grin.

This brings me to my wild maniac D who has spent the past 3 days carrying a maxi pad purse that I received as a freebie in the mail. He told me that it is his "wallet" and is not keen on replacing it anytime soon. It goes well with the naked baby doll he carries on his hip. While it drives his Dad a little nuts, I feel like he will probably be a really good father in tune with his wife's cycle.

With A and B away at Grandma's this week, I am sure I will spend the better part of my days entertaining the 2 little ones. They will for sure be lost without the big boys to follow around. Hopefully this stay goes well and I don't lose my mind and end up driving 8 hours to get them back!

Lego Duplo Read and Build Party

If you are not signed up for House Party yet, then you should be. It gives you an opportunity to try new products for free with your friends. This week we were chosen for a Lego Duplo Read and Build Party. We received 4 Lego Duplo Read and Build sets, a poster, 13 magnet frames, plates, napkins, and 13 sticker sheets. The boys loved the sets! We were sent the farm sets, but I cannot wait to try out the other ones. Here is Decker checking out the animals:

I am definitely going to add a few of these to my block center and reading area. My preschoolers love Duplo anyway, but I love that there are stories and pictures to encourage dialog.

Finally Made It



Left side



Right Side

In between new student orientation(enrolling in 2 separate colleges for fall-vomit), PTA board meeting, and making homemade peanut butter-chocolate chip cookies, I made it to my classroom. I also made it to the Target dollar spot and Dollar Tree on the way. So it happens to be 2 separate classrooms with an accordion wall that I will open of course. There should be more than enough room and I will have 2 sinks. The downfall is that there is no bathroom in my new room and they apparently have a Sunday school group that meets there. I am so selfish and hate that I have to share a room. No one can take care of your belongings like you do. Plus side I found a few $1 items that everyone should have:

From Dollar Tree: Perfect for holding sorting materials

Target: These have 4 slots and holes at the bottom...I am thinking water table!

Nothing a Little Glitter Won't Fix

I wanted to work in my classroom today, but of course I didn't make it there. My husband took the keys to the A-team van that had the carseats in it and the minivan is having thermostat issues. This gave me an opportunity to raid my craft supplies. After seeing someone paint their Tom's with modge podge and glitter, I had to do it! I love Tom's, they take a beating.
Using the finest (size not quality lol) glitter, I mixed it with modge podge and "painted" my shoes. To my surprise, they turned out awesome! I am debating on adding some Texas Ranger T's on them, but I am not sure. This was such a quick fix for my raggidy old shoes. On the original silver sparkled Tom's, I used the same size glitter that was already on my shoes.

Original Silver Tom's with stains and holes

Old gray Tom's with holes

Like new shiny Dorothy-looking Tom's and New Silver Tom's

Total Cost:  $3.47 for fine glitter at Hobby Lobby

Total Saved:  Atleast $90

Speechless!

I woke up this morning and did my typical check email, check facebook, read the local headlines, scroll through pinterest. I was ecstatic to see I actually had a pin. This is the most traffic I have seen on my blog EVER. I have been so horrible at updating my blog and making resources for my boys/classroom. Now I am feeling motivated to get up to my classroom and dive in. Maybe during this one week off I will be able to post some fun ideas while I have all this blog traffic!

Happy New School Year!

So many changes have occurred in our house since my last post. I have started going back to college to get my Early Childhood through Sixth grade teaching certificate, we joined a fruit/vegetable coop, and I am teaching two classes of 3 year olds next year.

This summer I conquered 14 hours of college, took my first trip out of town with no husband or boys, attended the state PTA conference, and had a few great workshops. This is my only week "off" before I start my inservice and organizing my new upstairs classroom. Hopefully this blog will motivate me to be more creative and accountable this year. (or be free therapy!)

Potty Time

Decker is potty trained! He has by far been the easiest one of the four boys to master this task. I know that he is very young. I know this is not possible for most newly-turned 2 year olds. I also know that we will have ups and downs.

As a preschool teacher, I have parents constantly asking me how to potty train their child. Then there are the  parents that send their almost 4 year old to me for 2 or 3 days a week, hoping that I will be able to do it for them. I have a secret for all of these parents....

Stop buying Pull-ups and diapers! Your child knows that you will change them. They know that they can continue going about their day without having to take a break to go potty. When I was younger, I potty-trained fast. Do you know why? Answer: In the 80's we wore more cloth diapers and felt the poop and pee and thought it was nasty!

There is nothing worse than having to change a 40 pound child with a huge poop. Why are you doing this to yourself? If a 3 year old is walking up and telling you that they have a dirty diaper and need to be changed, then throw a pair of underwear on them. Who cares if your child knows the whole alphabet and can speak spanish if they can perform basic life skills, then something is wrong.

As I am finishing my potty rant, I would like to add that some children do have developmental delays that prohibit them from mastering certain tasks at such an early age.