Pinkfig Girly Patchwork Skirt

Some of you know that recently I've gotten a little obsessive about making these darling skirts. Clara has three, and I have two, almost three. My best friend has one, all my nieces on my side have one, and two of my sisters have one. Last week we got together and had a skirt sewing party, so don't get too excited- I didn't make all of those skirts. It was very girly and very fun. They're just such darling skirts- I can't get enough of them! Which is why I'm sharing it with all of you. Aside from being so stinking cute, I love this skirt because:

1. it's easy to make
2. it's a great skirt for teaching girls to sew because it's mostly just straight stitching

Obviously I haven't taught Clara how to sew them. She just gets to benefit from my madness. But if you have daughters old enough to learn, this would be the pattern to use. After they pick out fabric and assemble all those strips, they'll not only be proud of themselves- they'll be excited to wear it because they will look SO CUTE!

The pattern is by Pinkfig Patterns, and here's the website where you'll find the pattern, along with other darling ones. Her patterns aren't sold everywhere, but she has a list of stores near you where you'll find them.

Have fun sewing with or for your cute little girls!

P.S.- I figured out how to make one for Mommy sizes. Leave your email in the comments if you'd like the measurements.

Websites You'll Love

I've been introduced to some awesome websites with the cutest, creative ideas for activities to do with your kids (once again illustrating that pretty much everything I put on this blog is NOT my own, original idea). Here they are:

Children's Learning Activities

No Time For Flash Cards

Fall Crafts for Kids

DLTK's Sites

I think these websites are very useful because the ideas are simple but fun. I think you'll really like them. They have so many cute things for this time of the year. Have fun with your kids this week!

Do you have another site you really like? What Fall activities do you with your kids?

I have one more website I want to highlight, and it's for you moms. My friend and her sisters started this up, and it is so cute! I am amazed at how creative they are! They update everyday, so there's always something new.

Keep the Juices Flowing

I'm feeling better now...

First of all, I want to apologize about my craziness I leashed out on you all in my last post. I don't like using this blog as a place where I vomit all my inner struggles in your laps (was that analogy too icky?). I know you have your own to deal with. Heaven knows you don't need mine too. But I appreciated the chance just the same. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. In my defense, however, I went to bed late that night and woke up at 4:30 in the morning to the lovely call of heartburn. I had to do something to pass the time, and venting felt like a good idea.

You know what the interesting thing is, though? Not long after I hit "publish post," I stopped by another blog by another mother. Someone must have whispered in my ear to go on over there because her post was exactly the thing I needed to see. All of you who understood my feelings and were having some of them yourself, you need to take a look see as well. If you've never been to Diapers and Divinity, you're in for a treat. Go there now and see what I mean. I'm so glad I discovered her. (P.S.- She also gave me great advice in her comment to my last post.)

I've been thinking a lot about my last post, and I remembered something my sister-in-law said to me that at the time was an answer to prayer. It's something that will always apply to my life, but unfortunately, like most things, I too often forget it and need reminding. By the time I hear her thoughts in my head I've already let myself get down, and it's her thoughts that pull me back up.

She said those comforting words one day when a few of her sisters and I were gathered together one afternoon. We were talking about motherhood, as all mothers do when they get together. I don't remember the exact question I asked her (something to do with comparing ourselves with other moms), but I remember her answer (in my own words, anyway). She said:

I stopped comparing myself with other moms because I realized that they're probably comparing themselves with me. We compare ourselves with women who have talents in an area we are lacking, and because of that, we tend to put them on a pedestal and say, "They're good at everything." When in reality, they probably look at us and see something we're good at but they aren't and then put us on the pedestal. We're all good at different things. I realized there is a handful of things I am good at, so I focus on those things, and I'm not going to beat myself up for the things I'm not good at.

I loved that! And I get so mad at myself for forgetting it (have you noticed I'm rather hard on myself?). I think it's something we all can learn from. We all have talents that are different from each other, and while it's okay to want to improve ourselves in certain areas and to try to learn new skills, it's not okay to beat ourselves for things that come difficult to us. It's much more productive and beneficial to all to focus on what we are good at.

My sister-in-law's thought relates to my thoughts on my last, crazy post about struggling with what to do at home for preschool. I realized I have a silly idea that I should be the one teaching my kids everything. Whatever they learn in life should be learned at home first. Not only is that impossible, it's not healthy. Much of their knowledge in life is going to come from their own experience in the world. It's my job to prepare them for that experience. That does not mean I have to literally teach them everything before they experience it.

So, here's what I decided. I am going to make a list of the things I for sure want to teach my kids. I think this idea goes along with my sister's-in-law because I think that things I want to teach my kids will naturally coincide with things I'm good at. For example, I love books and reading and am good at teaching my kids to love them as well. So, a love of reading is something I for sure want to teach my kids.

I haven't made my full list yet, so I'll post that on another day. I would encourage you to look at yourself and make your list of things your good at/things you want to teach your kids. What are you good at? Some of you may be good cooks. Or you may be good at being physically fit. Or you might be good at being cheerful. You might be artistic and creative. You might have a strong testimony. Or you might be good at making new friends.

Try not to make your list too long, maybe only about five things. I'm not saying you can't be good at more than five things, but just focus on five things you are good at and want to teach to your kids. Any more than that will just get overwhelming, and we don't want that, do we!

Does this idea make sense? It makes sense in my head, but it's very probable that I'm not communicating it very well. I hope you get what I'm saying, and I hope it helps someone like it has me. Although, it would help me a lot more if I'd just remember it and stop needing to be reminded all the time! I honestly sometimes don't know how the Lord stays so patient with me.

I would love to hear what all your talents are! Don't be shy about it either. I give you permission to brag about yourself!

A realy long rant about my home preschooling woes

A while back I posted about preschool. I don't think I explained me feelings very well, so here it goes again.

FOR ME, I feel that kids should be kids for as long as possible. They're going to be in school for the rest of their young adult lives, why rush things? There is so much pressure to get your kids in preschool, and I think many moms think it's what they HAVE to do. If they don't, they are guilt stricken by societal pressures and feel like horrible mothers. Sound familiar?

Now, here's my problem. I feel guilty. I feel overwhelmed. I feel pressure. And where's all this coming from? From ME! ALL me! Although I have no problem not taking Noah to someone else to teach him letters and numbers and seasons and whatever, I feel a responsibility to be doing that at home. But every time I think about doing it, I get anxious and my stomach ties up in a jumble of unconquerable knots.

You see, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I say "a bit" because I don't consider myself a true perfectionist. My house is not always perfect. I like organization, but I do let things get untidy. My hair and makeup and fashion are not always immaculate (mostly not). Sometimes I let things go a little. But, I LOVE it when all the stars align, and my own little universe flows smoothly and flawlessly. It makes me feel happy and right with the world. So, I'm sort of an oxymoron. I have spurts of laziness and spurts of organizational genius. I'm a cyclical perfectionist.

I guess you could say there are certain areas of my life that lean more heavily to my perfectionist side. Thinking about at home preschool is one of them. I feel like if I can't do it perfectly than I can't do it at all. But I also feel that I have no hope of doing it perfectly because I don't really know how to do it! I've never been trained to be a child educator. I didn't go to school for elementary education. I was a music major!

I end up feeling anxious and overwhelmed, so I try to avoid the whole thing. But then I feel guilty for avoiding it, so I go back. And the cycle goes on and on...

It's not just that I feel I should do something at home, it's that I also want to. This is my last year with Noah, and I want to make it count. I want to teach him about the exciting world we live and have fun doing it. I should also mention that he wants to learn stuff. He always says he has to do his "homework." My final resolve is that I will do something, but I want to keep it simple, so as to avoid all overwhelming, send-me-to-a-loony-bin feelings.

Simple. Repeat it to yourself. Simple.

My next step is to go online and search preschool websites for parents and teachers. I've found a few that I like, but what is inevitable as I peruse through their buttload of resources? I feel overwhelmed. All hopes of "keeping it simple" are thrown out the window and whack a bird off it's perch on the tree next to my house. In place of them my mind whirls over thoughts of "lesson plan ideas," "theme days," "arts and crafts," "songs and rhymes," "circle time," "books to read," "printables," "shapes," "letters," "numbers"...Aaaaagh! I do this until my mind is a jumble of really-good-but-way-more-than-I-wanted ideas and I feel like I'll explode! Not to mention the giant, gnarling and twisting mess that once was my stomach.

Breath. Just breath. Turn off the computer. Walk away from the computer. Think happy thoughts. Remind yourself that it doesn't matter what you do with your kids, just as long as you're with your kids. Whatever you do with them doesn't have to be perfect. Just do something. Even if it's getting on the floor with them and becoming a human train, taking trips from the living room to the kitchen. Whatever. Just be with them.

Well, that's all good and fine, but there's still that annoying nudge from "Miss Perfect" that I should at least have one day a week where we practice letters and stuff or do an art activity because if I don't plan it than it probably won't happen, which leads me to my next beast to be conquered: scheduling. He's a tough one, but that's another rant for another day. For now, back to the rant at hand.

If I can just get over this idea of it having to be perfect, I'll be okay. That's going to take some time and probably some tears. The annoying thing is, I need to be a little bit perfectionistic with it or else I won't really get much accomplished. That means I need to somehow organize my thoughts and goals and out them construct a SIMPLE plan of attack.

Whew! I think I've said my piece, although I don't really feel much better. Just writing about being overwhelmed makes me overwhelmed. What a basket case I am! Will there ever be a time when I don't question my abilities as a mother and feel like I'm doing okay? (Actually, that's another favorite cycle of mine. Sometimes I feel like I'm a great Mom, other times not so much. Do you do that too? Or am I crazy?)

After all this complaining and venting, you're probably thinking what a pathetic person I am and wanting to tell me to get a grip already! But before you do so, I end my post with a little ray of sunshine. Yesterday I may have had a little break through. I'll let you know for sure after a few more days of experimenting.

If you've suffered through this whole post, first of all- I'm sorry. Second of all, if you should comment, I would feel much better if you could say something on the lines of "I understand how you feel." I'd feel so reassured, even if you're just pretending. Also, if I made absolutely no sense, I'm sorry for that too. It made sense to me, although when I see it all written out I can see how crazy sounding it is. The sad thing is, I really haven't even said the half of it. Oh dear...

Preschool Dilemma

I am a Dr. Laura fan, and today one of the calls reaffirmed my feelings on preschool. But, before I tell you what they are, lets go back to the day N was born. On a rainy fall morning, six weeks early, our little boy was born. Thrilled to have our premie healthy as any 40 weeker, we were in new mommy and daddy heaven (apart from our feelings of shock, fear, bewilderment, pain, and exhaustion, as are normal for any new parent). We made the huge adjustment that was parenthood and learned day by day what the heck we were supposed to do to raise our little guy to be healthy and happy. I thought my job was to love and kiss him, change his poopie diapers, feed him, bathe him, play with him, sing to him, read to him. Boy, was I naive.

Upon taking my little boy to play dates or other functions where mommies show off their adorable, brilliant babies, I would get questions like:

"What words does he say?"
"Does he know his ABC's?"
"Can he count to 20 yet?"
"Can he spell his name?"
"What are you doing for preschool?"
"Can he sing the Star Spangled Banner?"
"Can he count backwards from 100?"
"Can he spell chrysanthemum?"
"Does he know his 12 times tables?"
"Does he know and understand Einstein's Theory of Relativity?"

To which I would nervously reply, "Um, he's only 6 months old." The other mothers would then give me their fakest sweetest smile, turn up their noses and proceed to tell me all the amazing things their 6 month old has been doing for months. I sat their listening, pretending to be awed by their brilliant children and not at all embarrassed at my apparent brainless child. But inside my own brain was reeling- What have I done? I've failed my son already! I'm a horrible mother! Tomorrow we're starting on a strict schedule! Play time will now be replaced with learning time where we will learn every subject form reading to the history of America! Then we'll see who has the smartest 6 month old!

Well, I may be exaggerating a tad, but I wanted to portray the intense pressure I felt as a young mother. Some of you may understand me from your own experiences. Many mothers are pressured into thinking that if they're not educating their children academically every day and if they're children aren't able to do certain things by certain ages, then they are horrible mothers. At least, that's how I felt. That feeling took the fun out of teaching N. Instead, often it was very stressful. I felt like I should be doing some kind of formal learning time at home every day. To say that was overwhelming for me is an understatement.

Finally I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't worry about a formal learning time at home. I would just play with him, find teaching moments in play time, and let him learn and develop his brain by exploring the world around him and letting him use his imagination. I wasn't always confident with this philosophy. Often I would compare myself with other moms and wonder if I was doing the right thing. But I would reassure myself by saying, "He's not going to be twenty years old and not know how to count to 20."

Now that N is actual preschool age, I've wondered If I should send him away to preschool. N has just one year until kindergarten, but other kids N's age have already had at least one year of preschool. I didn't even bother looking into putting him in last fall because he had speech therapy and kindermusik. They're each only one day a week and no more than an hour and a half (speech is only 1/2 hour), but that's a full plate for a four year if you ask me. But, as this next fall- N's last year before kindergarten- has been approaching I've contemplated on what to do. He'll still be in speech and kindermusik, and really, that is plenty in my book. But, I've been comparing myself to other Moms again (Bad Marianne!) and wondered if he'd be behind all the other kids if he didn't do a year of preschool. Thanks to the advice of some older, wiser people in my life, I have come to a conclusion, which is my feeling on preschool that was reaffirmed today on the Dr. Laura show. It is this:

Let kids be kids. They're going to behind a desk for the rest of their lives! Don't start them any earlier than is necessary! This is the time for them to develop their imaginations, explore the world around them, be silly, and have fun! They'll learn so much more if they do all that with YOU! There will be plenty of time for them to learn the other stuff.

I love what Dr. Laura said to the caller who sounded as pressured as I once felt. She said, "Remember- you're raising a person, not a computer."

Now, let me explain that I'm not against preschool, ones that are at home or away. If you want to take your kids somewhere- great (just make sure class sizes are small)! If you want to do your own at home- great! I'm still not totally against me doing it at home. I've just discovered what my limitations are and what I can handle. Or, if you don't want to do preschool at all- great! There will always be learning opportunities. The main thing is to not feel pressured into whatever you do. That's what I learned. Find out what works for you and your child. Some kids want to learn things, but others don't want to sit and be taught (like mine). You might be a creative, organized mom who loves to come up with her own lessons or you might be like me who likes using the work of another mom's genius. Or you might also be like me in that you get easily overwhelmed, so you like to keep things as simple as possible.

This post is getting really long, and I'm getting tired. I hope this made sense. It did to me when I started, but my eyes have gotten heavy and my brain is working a little sluggish. I have more to say, though, so I think the rest will have to come later.

Nursery Rhymes

Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away
With the spoon.



Nursery rhymes have been handed down from Mother to child for centuries. Frankly, I've wondered why. I mean, if you think about their words, most of them make absolutely no sense and some have rather depressing endings, like "When the bow breaks the cradle will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all." But, despite all that, kids love them.

My kids are no exception. I just bought this book (pictures above) not too long ago because I didn't have a book with nursery rhymes and I sadly only knew a few by heart. I found my copy at Wal-Mart, and I think I may have seen it at Target too. It's also fun because it comes with a CD for added enjoyment, and in case you were wondering, it is made by Priddy Books. Anyway, it became an instant favorite at my house. C is always dragging it off the shelf and begging me with her big cow eyes to read it, and N likes to try and say some of the nursery rhymes with me. I think his favorite is The Three Little Mittens.

One reason I bought the book is because Kindermusik does a lot with nursery rhymes, and their teacher has talked a lot about how important they are for kids development. I thought that was interesting, so I looked up WHY nursery rhymes are so beneficial to kids, and I found some interesting articles to back up what their teacher said. Here's what I found:

10 Reasons Kids Benefit From Nursery Rhymes:

1. Rhyme: The rhyming format found in nursery rhymes makes it easier for kids to pick out rhyming words, and studies show that kids who struggle with rhyming words, also have struggles with learning to read.


2. Rhythm: The rhythms found in nursery rhymes help children exercise their auditory memory skills. It's easier for them to remember the words because of the rhythms. Also, my kids seem to enjoy my telling of the nursery rhymes more when I really emphasize the rhythmic pulse, and I'll even bounce or tap on my kids to the beat.


3. Phonemes: Phonemes are the individual units of sound that make up words. Rhymes sensitize children to these sounds. The rhyme "Baa Baa Black Sheep" places three /b/ sounds in a row and later in the verse, dame and lane highlight the long /ay/ sound. This helps children develop a sensitivity to language, which prepares them to think about the sequence of sound in a whole word. This skill is crucial for learning to read and spell.


4. Listening Skills: They introduce the concept of listening from beginning to end. They're the perfect first stories because they're short.


5. Imagery: The colorful images painted in nursery rhymes help expand a child's imagination. Remember how I said The Three Little Kittens is N's favorite? A lot of times after we read our nursery rhyme book he's off pretending to be a kitten.


6. Fun: Any time you read to your children, it sends them a message that you enjoy spending time with them. Nursery rhymes introduce literature as something fun, helping your children develop love of reading. I enjoy reading nursery rhymes to my kids because they are fun to read. Some of them I know a tune that fits with the words, like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", but others I've just made up my own tune. Sometimes the tune is quite dorky, but kids don't care. Singing as you read to your kids captures their attention and helps them listen better. If I don't sing the rhymes, I do a lot of vocal inflection and facial expressions. Not only do my kids have fun, but I have a blast too!


7. Humor: Most nursery rhymes are just plane silly, but kids don't care that they make no sense.


8. Vocabulary: Because nursery rhymes have been around forever, they often have words that aren't used in everyday language and often introduce math concepts.


9. Coordination: Many rhymes have hand gestures and clapping to go along with them. This can help a child develop coordination and motor skills.


10. Confidence: Reciting nursery rhymes gives a child practice and confidence in speaking in front of strangers.

I got the above information from two articles: Nursery Rhyme Benefits and Why Children Need Nursery Rhymes. The latter was very interesting. It had some additional benefits, so I'd encourage you to check out the full article.

Some of you who might be a little uncomfortable reading rhymes like "Jack and Jill" or "Humpty Dumpty" or any of the other more depressing ones. The article "Why Children Need Nursery Rhymes" gave a good suggestion. They suggested taking creative license and coming up with more happy endings. For example, instead of "Couldn't put Humpty together again" you could say, "Took him to the Doctor - now he's better again!"

If you don't have a collection of nursery rhymes in your personal library, I'd encourage you to get one. Your kids will love them, and they're very beneficial. There is a large selection of nursery rhyme books, so you don't necessarily have to get the one I suggested. Although, it might hurt my feelings if you don't.

Happy nursery rhyming!

Kindermusik

Okay, I am a huge music freak! I've sung and played the piano for as long as I can remember, and I graduated college with a Bachelor's in Music, so I love to sing and dance with my kids. And I have a firm belief that there is power in music.

I know I've mentioned Kindermusik before, but this post is dedicated entirely to the subject. I first heard of Kindermusik when my oldest sister certified to be a teacher. I learned from hearing her talk about it what fun the classes are, but I didn't understand just how fun and beneficial they are until I finally got my kids enrolled last fall. I can attest firsthand to the validity of this quote from the Kindermusik website:

"...All the research in the world can’t accurately capture the look of pure delight in your child’s eyes when she experiences the sights and sounds of Kindermusik, both in the classroom and at home."

Here are some reasons we love Kindermusik:

• they get fun CDs for home that they love to listen to. C lights up as soon as she hears the first note of the first song.
• they get fun instruments to play with at home
• as a Mom, I learn fun ways to teach my kids to use their ears and hear the music all around them
• the classes also suggest fun activities for parents to do with their kids at home
• the classes are fun learning and social experiences
• Kindermusik has greatly helped N with his speech issues
• C started when she was less than a year old, and it has made her very aware of the world around her. I really think it's made her smarter!
• I love how they encorporate music in everything. It's not JUST about music. N learned about cities this semester, and the semester before that they learned about weather. The kids learn how music is everywhere, like the sounds of a busy city or in the wind.

These are just some of the things we love about Kindermusik, but you really have to experience it because I think there's a magic about it that you have to see for yourself. That might sound cheesy, but I really do think it's magical.

I highly recommend Kindermusik, especially if you're not musical but you want your kids exposed to music. You can enroll kids as young as newborn all the way up to 7 years old. I could probably blab on and on about it, but I'll spare you. Instead, go to the Kindermusik website and you'll find answers to all your questions. You'll find info on classes, you can find a teacher near you, and you can also shop for instruments. But, if you decide to enroll your kids, you probably need to get in contact with a teacher ASAP because classes fill up fast. One last thing I will say is that you might think it a little expensive, but it is worth every single penny!

Also, N and C's teacher has a blog with some fun suggestions for activities and things. Click here if you're interested.

Pure Imagination

N isn't doing preschool. My reason for not enrolling him is because I didn't want him over scheduled. I have him in Kindermusik, which is once a week for an hour, and he also does speech once a week for a half an hour. I felt like adding one more thing would be too much for a 4 year old.

Although I generally feel fine with my decision to not put him in preschool, I occasionally feel a little guilty. This feeling only comes when I hear of other moms who took their kids to preschool and whose kids loved it. I wonder if I cheated N on a great opportunity for him to learn and grow. I know I shouldn't compare myself, but it's so hard not to!

I had a wonderful talk with N's Kindermusik teacher, Ms. Susan, and she helped me see that I don't need to feel guilty. I value her opinion greatly because not only is she a wonderful Kindermusik teacher, but she also has a degree in child development, raised great kids of her own, and is constantly studying about children and their development- especially how the brain develops. She talked to me about how at N's age his imagination is going wild (boy is it ever!) and the best thing I can do is foster that even more. She gave me some suggestions on what I can do at home to help develop his little brain. I was happy that I already do some of them. Here they are:

• Give him a pen/paints and a blank piece of paper- no lines that would inhibit his creativity
• Give him play dough with no play dough accessories and let him sculpt to his heart's content (this is one of his very favorite things to do)
• Let him go outside and explore the world
• When reading, don't just read the story. Talk about what's going on, ask "what would happen if...", or make up a surprise new ending to see how he reacts
• Make up stories
• Talk about things and ask him questions, questions like: what's the weather doing today?

All these things encourage your child's brain to explore different possibilities, to branch out and make new discoveries.

Yesterday I put her advice to action. N was drawing and I sat down with him and drew my own picture. I drew a picture of a Christmas tree and started drawing presents of various sizes and shapes under the tree. He was, of course, very interested in my picture. I asked him what he thought was in the presents. It was so fun to watch him think. I could see the wheels turning as he thought of what treasure could be hidden inside the boxes. I can see that opportunities to do things like this with N are everywhere. I just have to pay attention to them.

N's imagination really is going wild right now. Sometimes it's not good because he imagines scary things and gets very worried if he doesn't know where I am (this I don't understand- we live in a very small house. I can't go far). But for the most part, I'm very glad he has such a vivid imagination because I know his brain is developing in wonderful ways. I love watching his imagination at work. I try to make sure I play with N each day, but I also try to make sure he has alone time to make his own fun. Ms. Susan helped me understand that doing that will help him so much right now. The more I encourage it the better off he'll be.

So, I'm not going to feel guilty anymore. If I was letting him sit on the couch and eat potato chips all the live long day then I would have good reason to feel guilty. Instead, his favorite things to do are drawing, sculpting play dough, making up stories with his toys, painting, and, of course, a movie no more than twice a day (I need a break sometime!) N's learning tons just by letting his imagination expand. Lets all help our kids grow by letting them use their imaginations and color outside the lines.