More Fun Than Allowed…with Kids

Puddin Pop and I decided to do a little playing outside yesterday since the weather was so beautiful and the weather people predict rain and thunderstorms for the next 5 days.  I decided to make it a photo session and managed to get a few good ones before she got camera shy.  Who knew that at 3 she would all the sudden start shying away from the camera.  I even heard “No more pictures Mommy.  Just stop.”  I snapped a few more and put the camera away.  She’s such a good sport.  I did get a few “posed” pictures but mostly just some candids.

I can’t believe my baby girl is 3!

Happy Birthday Puddin Pop!

My MIL gave me a bag full of old sheets a while back.  She gives us a lot of her old stuff…and we’ll leave it at that.

While trying to decide what to do with the sheets (donate, throw out…) I came up with a plan to create a new environment for the kids to play in.  I hung all the sheets in the kids play room, blocking off the toys, books, games and TV and made an “empty” room for them to play.  It obviously requires imagination when there are no visual aids to rely on.  The kids thought it was very cool.  They used it as a stage and performed singing acts.  They also used it as a secret hideaway since I also hung a sheet in the doorway, thus giving them the feeling of privacy.  They told secrets, laughed, and enjoyed each others company without the struggle of toys to share. 

I would love to create a permanent environment where they can bond together or with friends and feel independent while still close to the comforts of home.  We’ve discussed making a clubhouse in the back yard where the pool used to be and seeing how much the kids enjoyed this space I think it may be in our near future.  Anyone want to come help?

What space do your kids have all to themselves?

My 5 year old asked me last night “If I tell you something, do you promise not to tell Dad?”  I replied “yes”.  Today I am rethinking that choice.  First, let me say that that was the end of the conversation.  My son said “Okay.  I was just wondering.  Maybe I’ll tell you tomorrow.”  So I’m not keeping a secret yet.  But is this the message I want to give my children? 

Part of me knows that I should let them know that Daddy and I are a team and share everything (even if that’s not totally true), but part of me wants the kids to know that they can always come to me (or their dad) with anything and we will help them through it.  I’m sure there will be times when our son will feel more comfortable talking about certain things with his dad, and I don’t think I would be insulted not to know.  I also think that if I told my husband something that our child said in confidence, he would be hurt and want to know from that child why they didn’t feel like they could talk to him thus betraying the original confidence and putting the child on the spot.  Not knowing what to do if this situation arises again, I went looking for answers.

First of all, there seems to be a lot of articles about keeping secrets with kids from parents that are divorced, but that’s not the case here.  The only relevant information I could find was from Dr. Gregory Ramey PhD, a child psychologist at the Children’s Medical Center in Dayton.  Here is what he had to say: (and the original question posed)

Question:
The other day my 12-year-old daughter told me something in confidence about a friend at school. She was quite upset, but didn’t want her dad to find out about our discussion.

My husband asked me about the conversation later in the day, and told him it was about her schoolwork. I didn’t want to let my daughter down. Don’t you think that there are some conversations that should be kept personal between a mother and daughter?

Answer:
Relationships are all about trust. You made a serious mistake in lying to your husband.

I don’t think parents should keep secrets between each other when it involves the children. If you really felt that you wanted to keep something private between you and your daughter, then you should have honestly told your husband that the conversation with your daughter was personal.

Be very careful whenever you are asked by your children to keep a conversation confidential. There are times when kids say things to parents that require you to act on their behalf.

I think the next time I am asked if I can keep a secret from my spouse by one of my children I will let them know that “it depends”.  I think keeping a secret about a crush they have is really harmless, but would not want to promise to keep a secret that just shouldn’t be kept.

I recently came up with a new idea to keep my (almost) 3 year old busy while I help her brother with homework after school.  She is usually so excited to have him home that she wants to do everything with him, including his homework.  At the beginning of the year she was satisfied sitting at the table with a blank sheet and some crayons, but as the year wears on, she demands more of his attention and it makes it difficult for him to focus when she is singing silly songs, dancing on chairs and doing anything else she can to make him laugh and get his approval.

What does a toddler love to look at more than anything?  Themselves.  What if that image moved right along with them?  What if it captured sound?

Here’s my little broken record amusing herself while her brother and I finish homework.  You may want to try this with your toddler, it’s definitely worth a good laugh.

Boogie had a “family project” for school a couple weeks ago.  The assignment was to create a snowman from recyclable things around the house.  We ended up using a gallon juice jug for the body and made the head from newspaper, in the form of paper mache’.  We then found different scraps of foam leftover from other projects and used those for the eyes, buttons, nose and a hat.  When it came time to “color” the body and head, my original thought was paint, but in keeping with the recycle theme, we ended up using plastic grocery bags with the logos cut out.  The head was a little wobbly, so I used some left over felt and inserted into the bottom of the head to help attach it to the bottle (body), using the extra to make a scarf.  Boog was very pleased with his creation and that is all that matters.

Paper mache’ head while drying 

 Completed snowman minus the scarf.

See what you can make using only recycled materials around the house…Have Fun! 

Through my blogging endeavors I’ve met up with a couple of great Moms and entrepreneurs.  I have recently been assigned the title of Editor in Chief for the Tidewaterkidsguide.com, a subsidiary of Us Family Guide.  Originally a Colorado based website featuring all things pertaining to kids, Us Family Guide is branching out to cities nationwide and putting together sites for busy parents to find resources on everything from vacation spots to pediatric dentists.

I look forward to building my site to be the number one resource for parents in my area as well as potential vacationers and those moving into the area.  We are surrounded by military personnel, so I feel this could be a great tool for anyone with children.  Look for things to do in your area or possible vacation spots to make informed decisions.

US Family Guide is currently looking for editors to help complete their vision of having a guide in every city across America.  If you are interested, you can go directly to US Family Guide and get more info.

Boog really wanted to learn the Twelve Days of Christmas and to help him out Hubby made a cheat sheet with pictures and numbers so he could remember.  He is not really fond of singing the song from the beginning, but instead likes to start at the end.  He’s been singing it for days.  When I asked how he got so good at remembering all twelve days he told me he had been practicing on the bus, at recess, and at bedtime.  He is very proud of himself, and so am I.  Maybe he can teach me the twelve days.

His sister is not so enthused with the spotlight not being on her, but she tolerates it, as you can see.

Enjoy!

My son did this project at school for a “countdown” to their Holiday Party.  His sister was a little envious, so we did one at home, so she could count down the days until Santa arrived.

Cut out strips of paper to make a chain.  glue or staple the “correct amount” of links to form a chain.

Cut out (or have child cut) a bell and attach at the top of the chain.

The saying we put on our bell is this (modified from son’s bell):

     December 1st through 25th

     Is the longest time of the year.

     Seems as though the fun and gifts

     Never will appear.

     Break a link every night

     As the sandman casts his spell

    And Christmas morning will be here

    By the time you reach the Bell.

The kids each have one in the doorway of their rooms, and break a link each night before going to bed.

That’s what we did last night.  We took our hellions lovely children to their Mima and Papa’s house and made allowed them to spend the night.  It’s important to pay attention to your “adult” relationship and while I know this, it isn’t often that Hubby and I get a whole night without the kids.  We took advantage of it.

Today is Hubby’s birthday so I convinced the in laws to take the kids for the night (last night).  We went out to eat.  A meal without interruptions is a good thing.  Then we came home and I made brownies.  We settled in to catch up on all the adult TV we tape and never get to watch.  When the brownies were finished, we topped them with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup and pigged out!  We would never do this with the kids around (we would have to share).

We watched TV until we fell asleep (that’s my story) and got to sleep in this morning since Mama didn’t bring the lovelies until noon.

Happy Birthday Hubby!